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The Ugly Duckling
If fate suddenly made you more beautiful that you ever dreamed possible, would it be the beginning of a fairy tale, or your worst nightmare?The brutal attack should have killed anybody, but Nell Calder did more than survive. She emerged a woman transformed, with an exquisite beauty found only in fairy tales. Nell Calder deserved a happy ending. Instead, her descent into terror has just begun.Her attacker is still on the hunt, determined to finish what he's started. And Nell, protected by a new face, is just as determined to fight back and take her revenge. But to catch her prey, she will have to expose herself—even if it makes her a killer's prime target.
433 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1994
489 people are currently reading
4646 people want to read
About the author
Iris Johansen
357 books7,302 followersIris Johansen is a New York Times bestselling author. She began her writing after her children left home for college. She first achieved success in the early 1980s writing category romances. In 1991, Johansen began writing suspense historical romance novels, starting with the publication of The Wind Dancer. In 1996 Johansen switched genres, turning to crime fiction, with which she has had great success.
She lives in Georgia and is married. Her son, Roy Johansen, is an Edgar Award-winning screenwriter and novelist. Her daughter, Tamara, serves as her research assistant.
IRIS JOHANSEN is The New York Times bestselling author of Night and Day, Hide Away, Shadow Play, Your Next Breath, The Perfect Witness, Live to See Tomorrow, Silencing Eve, Hunting Eve, Taking Eve, Sleep No More, What Doesn't Kill You, Bonnie, Quinn, Eve, Chasing The Night, Eight Days to Live, Blood Game, Deadlock, Dark Summer, Pandora's Daughter, Quicksand, Killer Dreams, On The Run, and more. And with her son, Roy Johansen, she has coauthored Night Watch, The Naked Eye, Sight Unseen, Close Your Eyes, Shadow Zone, Storm Cycle, and Silent Thunder.
http://www.irisjohansen.com
She lives in Georgia and is married. Her son, Roy Johansen, is an Edgar Award-winning screenwriter and novelist. Her daughter, Tamara, serves as her research assistant.
IRIS JOHANSEN is The New York Times bestselling author of Night and Day, Hide Away, Shadow Play, Your Next Breath, The Perfect Witness, Live to See Tomorrow, Silencing Eve, Hunting Eve, Taking Eve, Sleep No More, What Doesn't Kill You, Bonnie, Quinn, Eve, Chasing The Night, Eight Days to Live, Blood Game, Deadlock, Dark Summer, Pandora's Daughter, Quicksand, Killer Dreams, On The Run, and more. And with her son, Roy Johansen, she has coauthored Night Watch, The Naked Eye, Sight Unseen, Close Your Eyes, Shadow Zone, Storm Cycle, and Silent Thunder.
http://www.irisjohansen.com
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May 4, 2011This is one of the worst books I ever read. I stuck with it to the end, though, because it was a best-seller and reviewed well, so I had to try to find out why. I then passed it to a friend without telling her my opinion of it, telling her we'd discuss it after she finished; she then tortured her sister the same way.
We were never able to figure out if Johanssen was writing tongue-in-cheek, or if she were trying to write seriously. She stumbled back and forth across the line so may times it was impossible to decide! I've picked up a few more of her works and flipped through them, and the writing seems so similar that I just put them back on the shelf.
The heroine is seriously disfigured, so a plastic surgeon gives her a beautiful face -- with a Roman nose. Really? Then there is the continued reference to how fat she is -- a "hideous size 12." With all the concern about eating disorders, to consider a size 12 "hideous" is just wrong!
The plot is preposterous, the phonetic spelling of the accents of one of the characters hilarious, and to top it off, not one of the characters is really likeable in any way.
Just goes to prove that a book doesn't have to be good to sell well.
I said I would recommend it to "nobody," but it might be a good cautionary "how-not-to" example for a fledgling writer. Awful, simply awful.
We were never able to figure out if Johanssen was writing tongue-in-cheek, or if she were trying to write seriously. She stumbled back and forth across the line so may times it was impossible to decide! I've picked up a few more of her works and flipped through them, and the writing seems so similar that I just put them back on the shelf.
The heroine is seriously disfigured, so a plastic surgeon gives her a beautiful face -- with a Roman nose. Really? Then there is the continued reference to how fat she is -- a "hideous size 12." With all the concern about eating disorders, to consider a size 12 "hideous" is just wrong!
The plot is preposterous, the phonetic spelling of the accents of one of the characters hilarious, and to top it off, not one of the characters is really likeable in any way.
Just goes to prove that a book doesn't have to be good to sell well.
I said I would recommend it to "nobody," but it might be a good cautionary "how-not-to" example for a fledgling writer. Awful, simply awful.
April 25, 2009
First Johansen novel I ever read, and I was hooked. I think this was the first time I'd read a novel solely about a woman making it on her own, and I found I liked it.
Nell suffered a great deal before her transformation, but I loved her determination to exact revenge on those who started the suffering. She wasn't about to be bullied, and she was going to use her new face and figure to her advantage, come Hell or high water.
That she didn't need to put herself in mortal danger was never a consideration for her. That she had no idea how to track down the people she was looking for, or how to go about getting the revenge she so desperately needed wasn't even a consideration. Her sole focus was the end result, and she knew she'd get there somehow.
Part Rambo, part femme fatale, Nell emerged from under the knife and the hospital visit as someone she didn't even know, and didn't stop to reflect or figure herself out until she had accomplished her goal.
Nell suffered a great deal before her transformation, but I loved her determination to exact revenge on those who started the suffering. She wasn't about to be bullied, and she was going to use her new face and figure to her advantage, come Hell or high water.
That she didn't need to put herself in mortal danger was never a consideration for her. That she had no idea how to track down the people she was looking for, or how to go about getting the revenge she so desperately needed wasn't even a consideration. Her sole focus was the end result, and she knew she'd get there somehow.
Part Rambo, part femme fatale, Nell emerged from under the knife and the hospital visit as someone she didn't even know, and didn't stop to reflect or figure herself out until she had accomplished her goal.
December 30, 2019
Iris Johansen is a romance author who actually puts a plot and developed characters into her stories.
This book is about Nell, a mousy, plain, timid woman who marries a sophisticated and wealthy man. A hit man kills her husband and their daughter, and Nell is severely battered and almost killed trying to defend her daughter. The facial injuries are so severe that plastic surgeons have to piece her together, and she recovers, now with the face of an angel. And she gradually finds out that the killer is still after her, and she can either start a new anonymous safe life, or go after the killer to find out why her family was targeted, and to get revenge.
The book was pretty suspenseful and exciting, even the supporting characters were developed. There were lots of twists and surprises. The only negatives were that the ending was kind of abrupt, and the main character Nell wasn't actually all that likable...she was a little too passive and whiny. However, it was very readable, held my attention, and was pretty exciting.
This book is about Nell, a mousy, plain, timid woman who marries a sophisticated and wealthy man. A hit man kills her husband and their daughter, and Nell is severely battered and almost killed trying to defend her daughter. The facial injuries are so severe that plastic surgeons have to piece her together, and she recovers, now with the face of an angel. And she gradually finds out that the killer is still after her, and she can either start a new anonymous safe life, or go after the killer to find out why her family was targeted, and to get revenge.
The book was pretty suspenseful and exciting, even the supporting characters were developed. There were lots of twists and surprises. The only negatives were that the ending was kind of abrupt, and the main character Nell wasn't actually all that likable...she was a little too passive and whiny. However, it was very readable, held my attention, and was pretty exciting.
September 29, 2020
I read this novel maybe fifteen years ago and could not clearly remember the plot any more. But I did remember very much liking it. My library carries it. Upon a visit I started to reread it there, found I was enjoying refreshing my memory, and therefore checked it out. Upon re-reading it now at home, I appreciate the story even more and am upgrading it from four to five stars.
The novel is panned by a few reviewers as being too formulaic, simplistic, or predictable. It's a revenge tale with some decently written romance, Johansen's specialty from her thirty or so previous books, thrown in. The plot differs little from many a Lifetime channel plot. Even the dialogue is mostly utilitarian, and seldom reaches for heights. So, yes, those may be valid criticisms. Nevertheless, I consider this novel to be a work of genius.
What has changed in the past fifteen years that would bring me to such a conclusion? My MFA degree earned in Creative Writing in 2014 and then trying to publish as well. I see the underpinnings better. Johansen's brilliance is her ability to tell a good, suspenseful story written almost entirely in dialogue. She has just enough description and narrative to set up her dialogue. This is a difficult but highly entertaining way to relate a story that does not come naturally. It takes a lot of training, practice, thought, and determination. One has to know exactly what effect one is trying to achieve.
All storytellers can naturally use narrative and description. We've been relating that way since we told our friends in our high school homeroom class what happened over the weekend. What we don't do, but what every reader, whether they admit it or not, truly enjoys, is seeing the story depicted as though it were on a movie screen. That takes dialogue and a good plot. That's what Iris Johansen delivers.
I want to do some statistics and specific analysis to really drive this point home. I go to randomly selected page 64 (the number of squares on a chess board) of the book. 245 words are in dialogue, between quotation marks. 53 words are not between quotes. In the conversation that takes place, the person speaking switches 15 times, meaning there is 15.3 words of dialogue on average before who is speaking changes.
Next I go to page 64 of some speculative fiction genre book. Let's use The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson since it's sitting on my desk as I write this. The number of words of dialogue on page 64 are easy to count. I get zero. There are forty full lines of text with at least ten words each on average for an estimate of 400 words of narrative and description. The opposite side of a pit is described as maintaining its verdure. "Verdure" is a word I never expect to see in a Johansen book, incidentally, not that this description is any more exciting for its use. Oh man! And I plan to read this beast by Hodgson next month.
Okay, maybe that was a bad example. Let's pull a genre book off the shelf written about the same year as The Ugly Duckling. How about Peter F. Hamilton's The Evolutionary Void (2010)? I dutifully turn to page 64 and start counting. Not bad! 185 words of dialogue; 128 words of narrative and description. What's more, there were 12 changes of speaker, meaning each speech averaged 14.2 words. That's not quite Johansen level, but still pretty decent. Maybe that is a big component of what makes Peter Hamilton so popular. That may have been a bad example for comparison, then, but honesty forbids me from deleting it.
Let's go to Revenant (1994) by Melanie Tem, page 64. Only nineteen words are in dialogue. I'm generously counting the italicized thought expression as dialogue. And there's only one speaker of that dialogue. There's slightly more than 200 other words on the page, mostly narrative rather than description.
My point is that as long as there is a decent plot, some suspense, and consistent characters, then dialogue as the main storytelling device, even somewhat mediocre dialogue, is fun to read. Johansen delivers in spades. And, to be fair, sometimes her dialogue sparkles. Other writers should be able to write that way, meaning in mostly dialogue, but don't. Not at Johansen's level. It takes skill to set up a realistic scene and have characters going back and forth, skill to know what narrative and description the reader can figure out so that it can be omitted.
This is one of Johansen's best books because she was trying to break into a new market (for her): suspense writing. But her extensive use of dialogue doesn't account for all of what makes Johansen such a master writer. I believe the other component is that she pretends for a while that her characters are real people. She comes to care personally and deeply about her characters. From the interviews of Johansen I have read, I have seldom seen an author get as emotionally involved with her characters as she does. That must be a key.
The novel is panned by a few reviewers as being too formulaic, simplistic, or predictable. It's a revenge tale with some decently written romance, Johansen's specialty from her thirty or so previous books, thrown in. The plot differs little from many a Lifetime channel plot. Even the dialogue is mostly utilitarian, and seldom reaches for heights. So, yes, those may be valid criticisms. Nevertheless, I consider this novel to be a work of genius.
What has changed in the past fifteen years that would bring me to such a conclusion? My MFA degree earned in Creative Writing in 2014 and then trying to publish as well. I see the underpinnings better. Johansen's brilliance is her ability to tell a good, suspenseful story written almost entirely in dialogue. She has just enough description and narrative to set up her dialogue. This is a difficult but highly entertaining way to relate a story that does not come naturally. It takes a lot of training, practice, thought, and determination. One has to know exactly what effect one is trying to achieve.
All storytellers can naturally use narrative and description. We've been relating that way since we told our friends in our high school homeroom class what happened over the weekend. What we don't do, but what every reader, whether they admit it or not, truly enjoys, is seeing the story depicted as though it were on a movie screen. That takes dialogue and a good plot. That's what Iris Johansen delivers.
I want to do some statistics and specific analysis to really drive this point home. I go to randomly selected page 64 (the number of squares on a chess board) of the book. 245 words are in dialogue, between quotation marks. 53 words are not between quotes. In the conversation that takes place, the person speaking switches 15 times, meaning there is 15.3 words of dialogue on average before who is speaking changes.
Next I go to page 64 of some speculative fiction genre book. Let's use The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson since it's sitting on my desk as I write this. The number of words of dialogue on page 64 are easy to count. I get zero. There are forty full lines of text with at least ten words each on average for an estimate of 400 words of narrative and description. The opposite side of a pit is described as maintaining its verdure. "Verdure" is a word I never expect to see in a Johansen book, incidentally, not that this description is any more exciting for its use. Oh man! And I plan to read this beast by Hodgson next month.
Okay, maybe that was a bad example. Let's pull a genre book off the shelf written about the same year as The Ugly Duckling. How about Peter F. Hamilton's The Evolutionary Void (2010)? I dutifully turn to page 64 and start counting. Not bad! 185 words of dialogue; 128 words of narrative and description. What's more, there were 12 changes of speaker, meaning each speech averaged 14.2 words. That's not quite Johansen level, but still pretty decent. Maybe that is a big component of what makes Peter Hamilton so popular. That may have been a bad example for comparison, then, but honesty forbids me from deleting it.
Let's go to Revenant (1994) by Melanie Tem, page 64. Only nineteen words are in dialogue. I'm generously counting the italicized thought expression as dialogue. And there's only one speaker of that dialogue. There's slightly more than 200 other words on the page, mostly narrative rather than description.
My point is that as long as there is a decent plot, some suspense, and consistent characters, then dialogue as the main storytelling device, even somewhat mediocre dialogue, is fun to read. Johansen delivers in spades. And, to be fair, sometimes her dialogue sparkles. Other writers should be able to write that way, meaning in mostly dialogue, but don't. Not at Johansen's level. It takes skill to set up a realistic scene and have characters going back and forth, skill to know what narrative and description the reader can figure out so that it can be omitted.
This is one of Johansen's best books because she was trying to break into a new market (for her): suspense writing. But her extensive use of dialogue doesn't account for all of what makes Johansen such a master writer. I believe the other component is that she pretends for a while that her characters are real people. She comes to care personally and deeply about her characters. From the interviews of Johansen I have read, I have seldom seen an author get as emotionally involved with her characters as she does. That must be a key.
December 27, 2013
First off the book did fall short of my expectation though it was an interesting read. I still don't get the need to turn the character beautiful. So you have a plain jane, plus sized heroine who is a doormat. Trampled by her husband, parents and pretty much every one she meets and she takes it in good stride because.....she is not attractive..believable. Then she is targeted by some mysterious gang which ends up killing her husband and daughter whom she really adores and damages her face beyond recognition. A perfect set up for a revenge story. Then you have this hero who also has a scarred past and score to settle going on a guilt trip because he was unable to save the woman and child he just met decides to fly in the world's most renowned plastic surgeon and get the woman's face fixed. So the good doctor gets creative and decides to give our plain Jane a face better than that of Helen of Troy. The hero decides to fake the women's death and give her a new identity to eliminate threats while the Plain Jane turned Helen of Troy wants to do the same but KILL BILL style. Till this I was completely with the author and was pretty sure going to give this one a four star but then as the story progressed I realized there was no particular reason for the face change. What was the author trying to prove. I get it if she used the face to gain information from her former acquaintances or act as a double agent or something but that is not the case. She still goes into hiding, she still needs to train and she still does every thing the way it should be done. The whole time I kept thinking she could have done all this things with her plain self why set up this elaborate plastic surgery ruse if you are not going to use the idea. The writer seems to be saying a pretty face gives more confidence and strength but I think anyone has gone through what she has would become strong irrespective of the face. Which still brings me back to square one. Why the face???It is not as though the villains would recognize her like that..She had more luck blending in as her former self. So there you have it, I have reduced one star for not adequately exploiting the premise but other than that the book is an enjoyable read that should be given a try
April 8, 2018
This is a really strange book that reminds me of some of Linda Howard's books. Iris Johansen, on the other hand, also sometimes has tendencies towards similar novels.
The main characters, Nell and Tanek are all right. I like him a little more than her. But neither of them is a hero that I will remember for years. Tanek is probably created a little in the likeness of Roarke from the Nora Roberts series, but he lacks a bit. In general, Tanek seems to be unrealistic. Nell is an interesting character who undergoes a significant change. However, I find it hard to believe in love between them, friendship and deep respect is credible but love ... not really.
The plot of this book is really strange, although to some extent typical for Iris Johansen. You can talk about the action here rather than about the criminal intrigue. The whole story resembles a scenario of an action movie, also in the absence of any realities. I think I'd rather watch this book as a movie than read it. The whole story focuses on the mother's revenge for the death of her child. However, I could have read too many books of this type because some solutions are obvious to me .
Nice story, read better ones.
The main characters, Nell and Tanek are all right. I like him a little more than her. But neither of them is a hero that I will remember for years. Tanek is probably created a little in the likeness of Roarke from the Nora Roberts series, but he lacks a bit. In general, Tanek seems to be unrealistic. Nell is an interesting character who undergoes a significant change. However, I find it hard to believe in love between them, friendship and deep respect is credible but love ... not really.
The plot of this book is really strange, although to some extent typical for Iris Johansen. You can talk about the action here rather than about the criminal intrigue. The whole story resembles a scenario of an action movie, also in the absence of any realities. I think I'd rather watch this book as a movie than read it. The whole story focuses on the mother's revenge for the death of her child. However, I could have read too many books of this type because some solutions are obvious to me .
Nice story, read better ones.
July 1, 2017
This was much better than I thought it would be. I didn't figure out the mystery til it was solved!
August 26, 2015
This book shouldn't have taken me almost a week to finish - but I just couldn't get into these characters. One thing that Johansen seems to fall prey to in her books is too many characters. Some of them don't even have page-time, so it's a challenge to me to keep all these people straight; I was constantly flipping back to see who the person was. (And they all have weird names that I think Johasen makes up. C'mon, Rivil? Pardeau? Tanek? Kabler? I'm pretty sure she just chooses letters at random and arranges them to make a word!)
I liked Nicholas, but I wasn't really a fan of the main character, Nell. She was way too one-dimensional. I also didn't buy that she so quickly because so smart and confident. She was kind of an idiot, too - did she really believe that her husband wasn't paid off to marry her? DUMB.
I liked Nicholas, but I wasn't really a fan of the main character, Nell. She was way too one-dimensional. I also didn't buy that she so quickly because so smart and confident. She was kind of an idiot, too - did she really believe that her husband wasn't paid off to marry her? DUMB.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2008
Iris Johansen has created and romance, mystery,and thriller all combind into one work of art. The story plot is amazing the why she plans out everything to be reveald just at the right moment.
Nell Calder tricked herself into believing she loved Richard. So she settled as being a trophey wife. She thought she could not get better. She loved being home with her daughter Jill. Jill was and will always be Nell's life. After Jill and Richard had died, she had no reason to live. Tanek didn't agree.
Plastic surgeon, Jeol Lieber, gave her what every girl wants: the swan at the end of every ugly duckling story. Well, at least on the outside; however, inside, she was empty. Once again Tanek gave her a reason to go on. Nell thrived on this; she became obsessed. Deweling on it every minute of everyday doing anything she had to to get want she wanted, better yet, needed.
Tanek took Nell under his wing and brought her to his secret place. She knew she had to keep him emotionally distant; yet, she felt the most comfortable with him, maybe even too comfortable. The two of them grew closer as Nell learned they both had been deweling on the same issue.
I would recomend this book to anyone whos looking for something that will make want to never set the book down. This is the first of Iris Johansen books that i've read and i think there will be more in my future.
Nell Calder tricked herself into believing she loved Richard. So she settled as being a trophey wife. She thought she could not get better. She loved being home with her daughter Jill. Jill was and will always be Nell's life. After Jill and Richard had died, she had no reason to live. Tanek didn't agree.
Plastic surgeon, Jeol Lieber, gave her what every girl wants: the swan at the end of every ugly duckling story. Well, at least on the outside; however, inside, she was empty. Once again Tanek gave her a reason to go on. Nell thrived on this; she became obsessed. Deweling on it every minute of everyday doing anything she had to to get want she wanted, better yet, needed.
Tanek took Nell under his wing and brought her to his secret place. She knew she had to keep him emotionally distant; yet, she felt the most comfortable with him, maybe even too comfortable. The two of them grew closer as Nell learned they both had been deweling on the same issue.
I would recomend this book to anyone whos looking for something that will make want to never set the book down. This is the first of Iris Johansen books that i've read and i think there will be more in my future.
May 13, 2025
A good friend recommended this author to me. I bought a a nice lot of tpbs off Ebay and decided to give her a shot. This was my first book by the author and at first the plot seemed a little far fetched.
I like a good female protagonist in a novel and Nell really was believable. Tanek I thought could have used more of a personality.
With that being said I finished the book on a 3 hour flight and absolutely recommended it. I picked this book as it is a standalone novel and I will start a series she has written soon. I find Iris refreshing and a style all her own. Am looking for some more great summer reads from her. I'm surprised this is the first book I have read by her. She was recommended to me years ago but I had such a backlog of books. Definitely give her a shot. Those giving the book terrible reviews are trolls. She has a unique style and the book was well written.
I like a good female protagonist in a novel and Nell really was believable. Tanek I thought could have used more of a personality.
With that being said I finished the book on a 3 hour flight and absolutely recommended it. I picked this book as it is a standalone novel and I will start a series she has written soon. I find Iris refreshing and a style all her own. Am looking for some more great summer reads from her. I'm surprised this is the first book I have read by her. She was recommended to me years ago but I had such a backlog of books. Definitely give her a shot. Those giving the book terrible reviews are trolls. She has a unique style and the book was well written.
July 3, 2018
I found the book somewhat slow as well as unrealistic. Characters were not relatable. Writing style was good though. Not my favorite book by the author. 3 stars
December 7, 2018
You’ve probably read a lot of books that go something like this:
-We’re introduced to the good guy -The good guy has a young child that he/she loves -Young child is killed in an attack by a bad guy - Good guy swears revenge - Good guy gets revenge.
There’s nothing wrong with such a story. The real talent is how the author fills in all of the details. How believable are the characters? How believable is the plot? Is the story suspenseful? Do you actually care? Unfortunately in this story, it’s these details that make reading this book a rather tedious experience. I never really found the plot believable, the characters were thrown together, and attention was paid to details that seemed completely unnecessary.
Let’s take the main character of the book. The “Ugly Duckling” is our heroine with a four-year-old daughter. She’s really not that ugly, but she’s definitely no beauty. Part of the problem is a lack of self-esteem which comes from a rather insincere and domineering mother. So Nell Cader has a rather low opinion of herself. Yes, she has a husband to go along with her daughter, but there’s no chemistry there at all. He’s a pretty wealthy and important person, obviously. So wealthy that he’s having some sort of party at the beginning of this story with very high profile international people - the kind of international people that terrorists like to attack. An attack happens at the party. Many, including Nell’s husband and daughter are killed. She avoids death even though she’s pushed off a very high balcony into some jagged rocks. She’s in pretty bad shape.
Well, there’s another “bad guy” at the party, but he’s not “as bad” as the terrorists, and he’s out to get their ring leader as well (which the only reason why he’s at this party). It seems he feels sorry for Nell, and arranges for the best plastic surgeon in the world (that he knows quite well) to reconstruct her face after her accident. Well, wouldn’t you know, after the surgery is complete (GASP!), Nell is now beautiful! Now, if you get to this point in the book and think “it can’t get any more ridiculous than this”, you’ll be tempted to stop reading and throw the book in the trash. If you feel that way, please do. I wish I had. All I can think of is that had this been anywhere close to reality, I can see women by the millions who weren’t happy with their appearance throwing themselves over balconies destroying their facial features so they can obtain better features through the miracle of surgery.
To be blunt, all of this is really unnecessary to the plot. Since the connected “bad guy” (who’s not really a “bad guy” remember. I mean, he is, but the main terrorist is the real “bad guy”, so the “bad guy” is really a “good guy”) now forms an unbelievable friendship with Nell, she’s privy to information that will help her go after the big bad terrorist. Of course, being beautiful isn’t enough. She also has to get into shape, so we read about her doing all sorts of calisthenics and weapons training. I guess in this particular fantasy world, a woman can accomplish in a few short months what takes professional terrorists decades to master.
We then read about one ridiculous event after another that denies any element of reality to where Nell can eventually get the bad guy. You might think I’m “spoiling” the ending for you, but it’s pretty obvious from the very beginning how the ending to this book will turn out. Plus, if I’m “spoiling” the book for you, that means you probably won’t read it. And believe me, you should thank me for that. I’ve never read a Harlequin Romance, but this is the type of book that I would think one of those would be like – completely stupid, completely unbelievable, and a general waste of time and effort. Maybe if I were a female I would have enjoyed this better. If that’s the case, I’ll give it a 2-star rating as a benefit of a doubt.
-We’re introduced to the good guy -The good guy has a young child that he/she loves -Young child is killed in an attack by a bad guy - Good guy swears revenge - Good guy gets revenge.
There’s nothing wrong with such a story. The real talent is how the author fills in all of the details. How believable are the characters? How believable is the plot? Is the story suspenseful? Do you actually care? Unfortunately in this story, it’s these details that make reading this book a rather tedious experience. I never really found the plot believable, the characters were thrown together, and attention was paid to details that seemed completely unnecessary.
Let’s take the main character of the book. The “Ugly Duckling” is our heroine with a four-year-old daughter. She’s really not that ugly, but she’s definitely no beauty. Part of the problem is a lack of self-esteem which comes from a rather insincere and domineering mother. So Nell Cader has a rather low opinion of herself. Yes, she has a husband to go along with her daughter, but there’s no chemistry there at all. He’s a pretty wealthy and important person, obviously. So wealthy that he’s having some sort of party at the beginning of this story with very high profile international people - the kind of international people that terrorists like to attack. An attack happens at the party. Many, including Nell’s husband and daughter are killed. She avoids death even though she’s pushed off a very high balcony into some jagged rocks. She’s in pretty bad shape.
Well, there’s another “bad guy” at the party, but he’s not “as bad” as the terrorists, and he’s out to get their ring leader as well (which the only reason why he’s at this party). It seems he feels sorry for Nell, and arranges for the best plastic surgeon in the world (that he knows quite well) to reconstruct her face after her accident. Well, wouldn’t you know, after the surgery is complete (GASP!), Nell is now beautiful! Now, if you get to this point in the book and think “it can’t get any more ridiculous than this”, you’ll be tempted to stop reading and throw the book in the trash. If you feel that way, please do. I wish I had. All I can think of is that had this been anywhere close to reality, I can see women by the millions who weren’t happy with their appearance throwing themselves over balconies destroying their facial features so they can obtain better features through the miracle of surgery.
To be blunt, all of this is really unnecessary to the plot. Since the connected “bad guy” (who’s not really a “bad guy” remember. I mean, he is, but the main terrorist is the real “bad guy”, so the “bad guy” is really a “good guy”) now forms an unbelievable friendship with Nell, she’s privy to information that will help her go after the big bad terrorist. Of course, being beautiful isn’t enough. She also has to get into shape, so we read about her doing all sorts of calisthenics and weapons training. I guess in this particular fantasy world, a woman can accomplish in a few short months what takes professional terrorists decades to master.
We then read about one ridiculous event after another that denies any element of reality to where Nell can eventually get the bad guy. You might think I’m “spoiling” the ending for you, but it’s pretty obvious from the very beginning how the ending to this book will turn out. Plus, if I’m “spoiling” the book for you, that means you probably won’t read it. And believe me, you should thank me for that. I’ve never read a Harlequin Romance, but this is the type of book that I would think one of those would be like – completely stupid, completely unbelievable, and a general waste of time and effort. Maybe if I were a female I would have enjoyed this better. If that’s the case, I’ll give it a 2-star rating as a benefit of a doubt.
November 22, 2011
When Nell Calder witnesses the death of her daughter, she wishes only to die with her, but Nicholas Tanek who was there to protect her won't let it happen. Nell has spent her whole life as a plain jane living behind a frumpy facade. Nell gets a new lease on life getting a complete transformation along the way, the only goal in her sights is revenge on the man who destroyed her family.
One of my favorite books. Nell is determined to not let anything stand in her way. A roller coaster ride of a story.
One of my favorite books. Nell is determined to not let anything stand in her way. A roller coaster ride of a story.
December 16, 2018
I chose this book due to needing a U book for an A to Z challenge and this one had such good reviews. I was not familiar with this author, and I am always looking for new authors, so I was excited to find this book. The beginning and end were engaging. The middle, sappy and dull. I didn’t even read the end carefully. I was so tired of the book I only wanted the gist of the finale. I just really didn’t care enough to want details.
August 17, 2008
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb.
Dumb. And poorly written. No character development, description, imagery. Also medically ridiculous in every way imaginable.
I was so angry I was stuck with only this book. And that I chose to read it instead of just throwing it away and staring at the wall.
Dumb. And poorly written. No character development, description, imagery. Also medically ridiculous in every way imaginable.
I was so angry I was stuck with only this book. And that I chose to read it instead of just throwing it away and staring at the wall.
January 20, 2009
Terrible book! The heroin is an idiot. She's all into vengeance. This book is more made for movie but a terrible one.
August 26, 2024
When you are glad a book is finally over…
Tedious.
Tedious.
July 28, 2007
not one of the best of her's that i've read so far, but certainly WELL worth reading! very gripping "tale"!!
i must admit, tho, i'm beginning to wonder if the woman (Iris Johansen) has had some unpleasant dealings w/ the CIA or something in her life?! except for 2 of the books of her's i've read, she's involved some governmentally abc'd agency, if not more, in her plots, and they've not all been "clean" characters that are SUPPOSED to be protecting us and are SUPPOSEDLY setting good examples for us AND are "above reproach", like we'd hoped those "powers that be" would be!!!
of course, in the other 2 books i read, the only reason it wasn't dirty CIA agencies was because of the time period. THOSE books still had dirty "government" officials, they were "just" kings and such.
as i've been unfortunately finding more and more, progress is only truly "supposed" and it is NOT all it's cracked up to be. i think in WAY too many ways, we've actually backslide NOT moved forward. 8^(
anyway ...
i'll climb off my soap box, for now, and say again that this book, and this author, is a GREAT one if you love mystery, intrigue, twists and turns, and don't mind a little romance tossed in. especially if you like gripping the arm of your reading chair most of the time!
happy readin'!!! i'm off to play w/ laundry, do other chores, and TRY and figure out which book in my pile i'm going to dive into next.
oh, SO many books, SOO many authors, 8^) and SO SO SSOOO little time!!! 8^(
i must admit, tho, i'm beginning to wonder if the woman (Iris Johansen) has had some unpleasant dealings w/ the CIA or something in her life?! except for 2 of the books of her's i've read, she's involved some governmentally abc'd agency, if not more, in her plots, and they've not all been "clean" characters that are SUPPOSED to be protecting us and are SUPPOSEDLY setting good examples for us AND are "above reproach", like we'd hoped those "powers that be" would be!!!
of course, in the other 2 books i read, the only reason it wasn't dirty CIA agencies was because of the time period. THOSE books still had dirty "government" officials, they were "just" kings and such.
as i've been unfortunately finding more and more, progress is only truly "supposed" and it is NOT all it's cracked up to be. i think in WAY too many ways, we've actually backslide NOT moved forward. 8^(
anyway ...
i'll climb off my soap box, for now, and say again that this book, and this author, is a GREAT one if you love mystery, intrigue, twists and turns, and don't mind a little romance tossed in. especially if you like gripping the arm of your reading chair most of the time!
happy readin'!!! i'm off to play w/ laundry, do other chores, and TRY and figure out which book in my pile i'm going to dive into next.
oh, SO many books, SOO many authors, 8^) and SO SO SSOOO little time!!! 8^(
October 11, 2017
This is very suspense-filled and fast-paced and certainly held my attention throughout. I really liked it. The cover is a lovely one and when I bought it it was only 49p so I'm dead chuffed !! I had heard of this author but I've not read anything by her before. I looked her up and it seems she was more of a romance-only writer in the past or fantasy stuff. However, the Eve Duncan series sounds just my type of story so I've marked those to try out as well.
I love a story where someone's out for revenge as our heroine in this story is. You're just pulling for them all the way !! Nell was a nice person too, a lovely lady dealt a really miserable hand. Actually, all the people she met along her journey that helped her were all smashing characters. A special favourite for me was Peter. There were a few shocking, unexpected moments and towards the end I was sick with nerves for them at one point....couldn't stop reading then, that's for sure !!
I did find Jill's vocabulary a bit too advanced for a 4 year old and there were a few apostrophe mistakes and the odd passage that could benefit from a comma. Then a couple of instances that made me gasp, since they'd not been picked up. Rint used instead of print, Thompson's and not Thomson's, waiver and not waver....
I vacillated between 5* then 4* (due to those mistakes that were overlooked) and decided in the end to revert to the 5* as it did really keep me entertained the whole way through.
I love a story where someone's out for revenge as our heroine in this story is. You're just pulling for them all the way !! Nell was a nice person too, a lovely lady dealt a really miserable hand. Actually, all the people she met along her journey that helped her were all smashing characters. A special favourite for me was Peter. There were a few shocking, unexpected moments and towards the end I was sick with nerves for them at one point....couldn't stop reading then, that's for sure !!
I did find Jill's vocabulary a bit too advanced for a 4 year old and there were a few apostrophe mistakes and the odd passage that could benefit from a comma. Then a couple of instances that made me gasp, since they'd not been picked up. Rint used instead of print, Thompson's and not Thomson's, waiver and not waver....
I vacillated between 5* then 4* (due to those mistakes that were overlooked) and decided in the end to revert to the 5* as it did really keep me entertained the whole way through.
January 20, 2021
At first I am like who are all these random people left and right. Then I get really into it and start rooting for Nell to recover as soon as possible and maybe take her revenge or start a brand new life.
Nell soon transforms from a Plain Jane into a Helen of Troy. Yet she doesn't really use her looks to obtaining information or whatever. Like what is the point of the surgery? Otherwise, you really feel for Nell after she lost her beloved daughter and has no idea why they were targeted.
Anyways there's not a lot of details about Nicholas, he still remains a mystery near the end of the story. Like he's not entirely the good guy or the bad guy, but where does he come from and what drives him to do all this?
The story was interesting for the most part but it didn't take it in the direction I had hoped. It become a little of a let down part way through.
Nell soon transforms from a Plain Jane into a Helen of Troy. Yet she doesn't really use her looks to obtaining information or whatever. Like what is the point of the surgery? Otherwise, you really feel for Nell after she lost her beloved daughter and has no idea why they were targeted.
Anyways there's not a lot of details about Nicholas, he still remains a mystery near the end of the story. Like he's not entirely the good guy or the bad guy, but where does he come from and what drives him to do all this?
The story was interesting for the most part but it didn't take it in the direction I had hoped. It become a little of a let down part way through.
February 17, 2017
I got 1/4 of the way through the book and still couldn't connect with the characters. I thought Nell was a sniveling woman with no backbone, a very weak character, and Nick was manipulative. The only one I liked was the doctor's live-in maid. Too bad the story wasn't about her. The conversations had me rolling my eyes; some of them portrayed Nick as incredibly dense, with his word choice being "goddammit" every other sentence, or they were just so "tv drama"-esque, without the dramatic music and raised eyebrow of the main character. Maybe it gets better, but I don't want to waste my time to find out. I didn't finish this novel.
Read
May 22, 2021DNF
June 16, 2021
Nell is a plain-faced servile wife to a rising corporate executive. Her whole world revolves around her 4-year-old daughter. Hardly anything else matters. Then her world is shattered when she is attacked by an assassin who ruins her face and kills her daughter. Someone sends her to a private hospital where a world-class plastic surgeon sets her bones and gives her a stunningly beautiful face. But he cannot heal her soul. A tiger is born in her heart. She will do anything to avenge the death of her daughter.
Tanek has the martial arts prowess of Bruce Lee, the aura of James Bond. He has taken an interest in Nell and tries to prevent her from seeking vengeance, lest she be killed. Nevertheless he has his own mission of revenge to carry out.
Sparks fly between Nell and Tanek as she is unswerving in her goal to kill the man who destroyed her life.
Multiple viewpoints carry this thriller. The characters are feisty, the flow energetic. Johansen wastes no words as she moves from scene to scene. Though I dislike one scene, I can see that every one has its place in the story. I also don't like that two characters had names that rhymed, which caused some confusion.
Johansen grabs the reader from the first chapter and doesn't let go until the final word. Though failure and the possibility of disaster create tension, their mission is accomplished in a pleasing way.
Tanek has the martial arts prowess of Bruce Lee, the aura of James Bond. He has taken an interest in Nell and tries to prevent her from seeking vengeance, lest she be killed. Nevertheless he has his own mission of revenge to carry out.
Sparks fly between Nell and Tanek as she is unswerving in her goal to kill the man who destroyed her life.
Multiple viewpoints carry this thriller. The characters are feisty, the flow energetic. Johansen wastes no words as she moves from scene to scene. Though I dislike one scene, I can see that every one has its place in the story. I also don't like that two characters had names that rhymed, which caused some confusion.
Johansen grabs the reader from the first chapter and doesn't let go until the final word. Though failure and the possibility of disaster create tension, their mission is accomplished in a pleasing way.
May 13, 2020
A very engaging read. It was full of suspense and very compelling. Nell is portrayed as timid and plain but she is a good mother. Something evil is going on at this business party she is attending. Nell is attacked and the end result is that Tanek who was supposed to protect her feels guilty. Nell is changed dramatically, especially her desire for revenge. She becomes strong willed and physically strong. There is romance, betrayal and intrigue. This is one of the best stories that I have read by this author.
December 21, 2022
An excellently written book. Characters well developed, individual and interactions between them well described. As with other Iris Johansen books, emotions are well described and you can almost feel them.
I'm just started reading Iris Johansen's books - some have intercepting characters, others seem to be standalones. Having a hard time finding a list that shows how (or if) they tie together.
I've met people who have lost children. The emotions described in the book are accurate. Parents blame them selves even when logic says they had no fault in what happened. Most often their anger is directed against themselves. As I read these books I wonder - did Iris lose a child herself?
I will continue reading these. They are so realistic!
I'm just started reading Iris Johansen's books - some have intercepting characters, others seem to be standalones. Having a hard time finding a list that shows how (or if) they tie together.
I've met people who have lost children. The emotions described in the book are accurate. Parents blame them selves even when logic says they had no fault in what happened. Most often their anger is directed against themselves. As I read these books I wonder - did Iris lose a child herself?
I will continue reading these. They are so realistic!
August 30, 2017
....typical....unoriginal. ....sounded good but too predictable.....I like her writing style though and will read others.
October 14, 2018
I really liked this action filled novel. It only took forever to read because of work and now that I have my bearings I can enjoy reading again!!
September 30, 2012
The Ugly Duckling is a story of how a woman survives after being betrayed and then goes on a road to revenge the killing of her little daughter.
Synopsis: If fate suddenly made you more beautiful that you ever dreamed possible, would it be the beginning of a fairy tale, or your worst nightmare?
The brutal attack should have killed anybody, but Nell Calder did more than survive. She emerged a woman transformed, with an exquisite beauty found only in fairy tales. Nell Calder deserved a happy ending. Instead, her descent into terror has just begun.
Her attacker is still on the hunt, determined to finish what he's started. And Nell, protected by a new face, is just as determined to fight back and take her revenge. But to catch her prey, she will have to expose herself—even if it makes her a killer's prime target.
Nell Calder is a plain, ordinary woman, whose life is shattered when her husband and small daughter are murdered. She survives the attack but requires a facial reconstruction due to her terrible injuries.
Now with a new beautiful face, she transforms herself from the submissive wife she had been to a strong and determined new person bent on bringing down the people who had so cruelly and brutally murdered her daughter.
Nicholas Tanek, who she first met on the fateful night of the murders, is determined to help her in getting better and stronger. He’s a sensual and good-looking alpha-male, with a secret past and a gentle heart inside which he tries to hide from the world. I liked this guy a lot. Mysterious
I liked the two of them together and throughout the story I wanted them to find each other and be happy together…after each having such a sad and unhappy live before.
There was a really nice touch with one of the secondary characters that Nell meets at a training camp…Peter Drake. Heartbreaking but uplifting in the end.
This author’s writing style is really great…fast paced plot and good character development.
This is a fantastic romance filled with suspense, sensuality, thrills and twists and turns. The story pulled me in and just kept turning the pages, wanting to find out ..what next!!!
And the ending…loved it …..it surprise me in a very happy way!!!!!!!
February 13, 2014
I had high hopes for The Ugly Duckling - my first (and last) Iris Johansen - after reading so many rave reviews on Goodreads and on Amazon. What a disappointment. I realize fiction usually takes a certain amount of suspension of disbelief, but it was a stretch believing a formerly "plain" (ugly) and ravaged face could be surgically transformed to breath-takingly beautiful - especially lacking scars. Whatever. It was supposed to be semi-fantasy I guess. Plus, I was a very unattractive child and teenager - for which I was tormented - so it was kind of fun imagining being turned in to a "swan" through plastic surgery. But I digress. I did not like Johansen's choppy writing style with the one-clause sentences, the abrupt dialogue, and the over-use of repeated unrealistic expressions. It almost seemed this novel was written in another language, translated to English, and released before an editor could proofread it. And do you know anyone who "clenches their fists in frustation/anger?" I don't, and I don't know why writers use this description. Most importantly, I didn't like Nell. Yes, I realize she was traumatized by life and tragedy, but she came across as whiney, difficult, and cold. There was absolutely NO chemistry between her and Nicholas Tanek - who was very appealing and who turned out to be the real hero of the story. Finally, the conclusion was a big let-down. Not so much what happened as how it was written. No emotions described - no soul. That pretty much describes the entire novel.
June 5, 2010
Nell Calder, is a trophy wife and she married Richard Calder an ambitious young executive who is extremely selfish, narcistic and only thinks of his career. Nell is extremely grateful to him and always feels she needs to do everything to assist him to advance his career as he married her because she became pregnant in college and refused to have an abortion. While they were visiting Medeas, Greece at an important business dinner; assailants crash the party and begin to murdered the guests. Included in the victims is Nell's 4 year old daughter Jill who is killed despite Nell's efforts to protect her, she is slashed numerous times and Nell is thrown over the balcony. Nicholas Tanek is one of the guests and by profession is a criminal. Nell's daughter and husband are both murdered that night and Tanek seeks to protect Nell and aid her to in order to find out why her name was on the hit list that he thought was bogus. Nell is thought dead and Tanek hides her away at his remote ranch, he wants to protect her and unravel the mystery why she was on the hit list. Once Nell recovers she wants to aid Nicholas in avenging her daughter and getting those killers. I like seeing Nell transform herself from a polite, shy woman to a strong killing machine in order to avenge her daughter's death.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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