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Frail Blood
Frail Blood is a historical romantic thriller.
California, 1909. A woman straps a pistol to her ankle, walks to her lover’s home, and shoots him. Her motive? After an affair of four months, he jilted her for another woman.
How would an attorney defend the woman in light of her outright confession? Would an all-male jury view her actions with repulsion or pity?
The climate of California in the early twentieth century when women couldn’t vote and men held the real power, where immense wealth rested alongside poverty, held a paradox of contradictions.
The bare bones of this true California court case sparked the idea for the fictional story of Alma Bentley, attorney Malachi Rivers, and Emma Knight, the woman who helps him investigate the case.
When jaded lawyer Malachi Rivers engages newspaper editor Emma Knight to aid him in the case of Alma Bentley, he has no idea they'll eventually unmask a vile web of family deceit, wickedness, and treachery. Constantly putting herself in harm's way, the feckless Emma uncovers dark secrets that lie behind the wealthy facade of the Joseph Machado clan.
With her strong opinions, Emma tests Malachi's patience even while he's strongly attracted to her. She disagrees with every aspect of his trial strategy, but he defends his client the only way he can – by insisting that a woman, a naturally frail creature, is incapable of committing such a heinous crime.
Emma wants to experience true passion and detests the false notion that women are inferior to men in any way. Even while she confronts Malachi at every turn, she falls ridiculously in love with him.
Readers of historical fiction and mystery/suspense, as well as historical romance, will enjoy the elements at play in this slice of life, fictionalized story of California.
California, 1909. A woman straps a pistol to her ankle, walks to her lover’s home, and shoots him. Her motive? After an affair of four months, he jilted her for another woman.
How would an attorney defend the woman in light of her outright confession? Would an all-male jury view her actions with repulsion or pity?
The climate of California in the early twentieth century when women couldn’t vote and men held the real power, where immense wealth rested alongside poverty, held a paradox of contradictions.
The bare bones of this true California court case sparked the idea for the fictional story of Alma Bentley, attorney Malachi Rivers, and Emma Knight, the woman who helps him investigate the case.
When jaded lawyer Malachi Rivers engages newspaper editor Emma Knight to aid him in the case of Alma Bentley, he has no idea they'll eventually unmask a vile web of family deceit, wickedness, and treachery. Constantly putting herself in harm's way, the feckless Emma uncovers dark secrets that lie behind the wealthy facade of the Joseph Machado clan.
With her strong opinions, Emma tests Malachi's patience even while he's strongly attracted to her. She disagrees with every aspect of his trial strategy, but he defends his client the only way he can – by insisting that a woman, a naturally frail creature, is incapable of committing such a heinous crime.
Emma wants to experience true passion and detests the false notion that women are inferior to men in any way. Even while she confronts Malachi at every turn, she falls ridiculously in love with him.
Readers of historical fiction and mystery/suspense, as well as historical romance, will enjoy the elements at play in this slice of life, fictionalized story of California.
266 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 3, 2012
155 people are currently reading
1007 people want to read
About the author
Jo Robertson
22 books51 followersLike many writers, I penned my first story at a young age. However, a family and a teaching career put my writing dreams on hold until my Advanced Placement seniors conned me into writing my first complete manuscript. That story, which subsequently won RWA's Golden Heart Award in 2006, was THE WATCHER.
From the moment I put my fingers to the keyboard, the barrier between my brain and the paper lifted, the story flew from my mind, and I fell in love with everything about the process of writing.
Raised as an Army brat, I lived in Germany as a child, Northern Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Idaho, and Utah before finally settling in Northern California. Whenever I visit my sister in Virginia or my brothers in North Carolina and Florida, upon returning home I remember again why I love Northern California, home of the ancient redwoods, the fecund forests and the rugged Pacific coastline.
From the moment I put my fingers to the keyboard, the barrier between my brain and the paper lifted, the story flew from my mind, and I fell in love with everything about the process of writing.
Raised as an Army brat, I lived in Germany as a child, Northern Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Idaho, and Utah before finally settling in Northern California. Whenever I visit my sister in Virginia or my brothers in North Carolina and Florida, upon returning home I remember again why I love Northern California, home of the ancient redwoods, the fecund forests and the rugged Pacific coastline.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
August 17, 2016
Okay, I like to read across a wide range of genres, and I teach classes sometimes that include the cultural analysis of romance fiction, so when I started to read this free book (it was promoted as "historical fiction") and realized there might be a romance subplot--or so I thought--I decided to persevere. I mean, I've read some combination historical/romance fiction that was actually quite compelling, making me care about the characters and making the earlier time and place come alive for me as I was pulled into the tale.
That didn't happen here. The author followed a rather basic outline for any churn-it-out formulaic romance tale (see the work on the power and use of such a formula written by Jan Radway in Reading the Romance thirty years ago). However, the behavior of the very shallow characters is generally not consistent, nor do logical prompts occur to trigger the erratic and sudden shifts of behavior from accepted upper middle class decorum in 1906 to ten or more pages in a row of hot man and women sex, graphically defined and exuberantly enjoyed, including lots of Anglo Saxon descriptions of body parts and exclamations by the multi-orgasming participants. I guess this is the sort of thing Fifty Shades of Grey hath wraught for contemporary mass market women's romance. I'm no prude--if you ladies enjoy this and it's what makes your reading meaningful, have at it, but the juxtaposition of pages and pages that could have been lifted from the Penthouse Forum with little spurts of plot advancement about a working class servant accused of murder in a secluded wealthy family home hiding lots of taboo secrets just didn't fit for me. I never really cared for the characters and it was easy to solve the mystery and predict how everything would go.
I read the book in part because I wanted to hear more about northern California in 1909 and it was touted as "based on a true story." Historical, spelling, and logical inconsistencies also detracted from effectiveness. If you're going to set large parts of a story in Sacramento, learn the difference between capital and capitol. The great Woman Suffrage Parade in Washington occurred in 1913, so a character in 1909 shouldn't reflect on how it and subsequent forced feeding of American feminist hunger strikers influenced her. If a man in 1909 northern California already had a Picasso hanging in his living room (!) and the heroine recognized it because she had met and partied with Picasso when she herself had been in Paris (!!), don't you think the coincidence would at least come up in conversation? I guess they were just too busy getting it on and forgot. Ah, love. Finally, I think while it's very nice when everyone finds out one of the secondary characters is gay and it makes absolutely no difference to anyone but one bad guy we already hate, it just isn't realistic--like so much behavior here--for believable social interaction in 1909 California.
That didn't happen here. The author followed a rather basic outline for any churn-it-out formulaic romance tale (see the work on the power and use of such a formula written by Jan Radway in Reading the Romance thirty years ago). However, the behavior of the very shallow characters is generally not consistent, nor do logical prompts occur to trigger the erratic and sudden shifts of behavior from accepted upper middle class decorum in 1906 to ten or more pages in a row of hot man and women sex, graphically defined and exuberantly enjoyed, including lots of Anglo Saxon descriptions of body parts and exclamations by the multi-orgasming participants. I guess this is the sort of thing Fifty Shades of Grey hath wraught for contemporary mass market women's romance. I'm no prude--if you ladies enjoy this and it's what makes your reading meaningful, have at it, but the juxtaposition of pages and pages that could have been lifted from the Penthouse Forum with little spurts of plot advancement about a working class servant accused of murder in a secluded wealthy family home hiding lots of taboo secrets just didn't fit for me. I never really cared for the characters and it was easy to solve the mystery and predict how everything would go.
I read the book in part because I wanted to hear more about northern California in 1909 and it was touted as "based on a true story." Historical, spelling, and logical inconsistencies also detracted from effectiveness. If you're going to set large parts of a story in Sacramento, learn the difference between capital and capitol. The great Woman Suffrage Parade in Washington occurred in 1913, so a character in 1909 shouldn't reflect on how it and subsequent forced feeding of American feminist hunger strikers influenced her. If a man in 1909 northern California already had a Picasso hanging in his living room (!) and the heroine recognized it because she had met and partied with Picasso when she herself had been in Paris (!!), don't you think the coincidence would at least come up in conversation? I guess they were just too busy getting it on and forgot. Ah, love. Finally, I think while it's very nice when everyone finds out one of the secondary characters is gay and it makes absolutely no difference to anyone but one bad guy we already hate, it just isn't realistic--like so much behavior here--for believable social interaction in 1909 California.
June 19, 2015
Ah, so that's why this was free... I don't always put down a book never to pick it up again, but when I do you can be sure that it is a terrible book. Based on the description, I thought this was going to be an intriguing who-dunnit. It's based on a real court case from the turn of the last century for crying out loud! Instead, I found a hideous "romance" novel. And not one of those romances based on mutual respect and love. No, a romance novel based on trickery and lusting after his/her hot bod. Gah! What a disappointment!
July 7, 2012
Murder, romance, civil injustice, danger and a hidden family secret in early twentieth century California.
Alma Bentley was cast aside for another woman by the one man that made her feel beautiful and worthy of something more than a low bred legacy of poverty. One fateful night she straps a gun to her ankle and goes to confront Joe Machado, her Joe, and shoots him. No doubt she shot him, but is she the one that sent the fatal bullet through his chest? In a world where women have no power, her fate now lies in the hands of her attorney, Malachi Rivers and a jury of 12 men.
After Emma Knight, a privileged and educated newspaper journalist, publishes a damning article of confession from Alma, Malachi offers her a job working with him on the case to try and prevent her from doing any more damage to his case. Along the way Malachi and Emma fall in love while discovering and uncovering many secrets…secrets that might just change Alma’s fate as well as their own.
Frail Blood is a very smart and well written book based loosely on a real court case. The story flips from Malachi to Emma’s point of view throughout the book and offers us a look inside of what the life of a man and woman is in 1909. We also discover multiple secrets and taboo topics with a “twisted” ending! I would have loved if Roberston had given us a bit of a glimpse into the future of the characters at the end of the book, as I love a good HEA! It is described as a “historical thriller”, but I would definitely add “romantic” to the beginning of that title. If you love a hot romance with a little history and intrigue, this is the book for you.
http://theindiebookshelf.blogspot.com...
Alma Bentley was cast aside for another woman by the one man that made her feel beautiful and worthy of something more than a low bred legacy of poverty. One fateful night she straps a gun to her ankle and goes to confront Joe Machado, her Joe, and shoots him. No doubt she shot him, but is she the one that sent the fatal bullet through his chest? In a world where women have no power, her fate now lies in the hands of her attorney, Malachi Rivers and a jury of 12 men.
After Emma Knight, a privileged and educated newspaper journalist, publishes a damning article of confession from Alma, Malachi offers her a job working with him on the case to try and prevent her from doing any more damage to his case. Along the way Malachi and Emma fall in love while discovering and uncovering many secrets…secrets that might just change Alma’s fate as well as their own.
Frail Blood is a very smart and well written book based loosely on a real court case. The story flips from Malachi to Emma’s point of view throughout the book and offers us a look inside of what the life of a man and woman is in 1909. We also discover multiple secrets and taboo topics with a “twisted” ending! I would have loved if Roberston had given us a bit of a glimpse into the future of the characters at the end of the book, as I love a good HEA! It is described as a “historical thriller”, but I would definitely add “romantic” to the beginning of that title. If you love a hot romance with a little history and intrigue, this is the book for you.
http://theindiebookshelf.blogspot.com...
December 15, 2012
Frail Blood is loosely based on the murder trial of a young woman in Southern California, although the author states the characters and locales are solely products of her imagination.
Alma, a servant in the Machado household, is seduced by the youngest son, Joseph. A simple girl, Alma believes Joe loves her and will marry her after they become intimately involved. After she discovers Joe has discarded her for another woman, Alma is determined to make sure what Joseph did to her doesn't happen to another.
She straps on a pistol and confronts Joseph at the Machado house on an evening when she knows the family is out. She's not even sure why she brought the pistol, other than to maybe ensure Joseph listens to what she has to say.
As it turns out, she doesn't say anything but, rather, fires a single shot at Joseph. The last sight she sees is Joseph clutching his shoulder and falling. Overcome with fright and horror, she flees into the woods where she is later captured.
Malachi Rivers is Alma's defense attorney. A man with notorious past swirling around his relationship with his ex-wife and his abusive father, he resides in Placer Hills in the hopes of leading a quiet anonymous life.
Prosecution Attorney Charles Fulton, together with his band of protégés, is full of confidence his case against Alma is solid and she will hang for her crime.
Rivers and Fulton share a mutual dislike and actively antagonize each other at every opportunity.
Emma Knight is the new owner of the town's newspaper in partnership with her uncle. Emma scores a coup when Alma tells her she shot Joseph. Emma prints a damning article outlining Alma's confession. An article that makes Malachi's defence all the more difficult.
Malachi sends Emma a rather rude and condescending letter about a woman's place in the world and staying out of the realm of matters best left to men.
Emma is a fierce advocate for the equality between men and women and women's rights to independence. Her convictions are vexatious for her parents, who believe 6 months in Europe will bring Emma to her senses so she can be married off to a properly suitable gentleman. Emma is not enamoured by these plans or her parents' attempts to control her life.
After some persuasion from Emma's uncle, Malachi decides Emma is less detrimental to his case if she is actively involved in the defense. Up until now, she's only made a nuisance of herself in guise of a news reporter.
A professional agreement is made between Malachi and Emma that she will assist him with investigation of the murder. Despite butting heads on every issue regarding women's rights, a personal agreement quickly develops. A mutual desire for a more intimate relationship beckons.
Malachi balks at first. The last thing he wants is a committed relationship. He is scarred by his previous marriage. Emma is eager to explore the sensual side of life, believing she has as much right as a man to experience physical love. She leads Malachi to believe she is not unfamiliar with such matters when, in fact, she is a virgin.
Robertson's novel is billed as a "Historical Romance Thriller". "Romance" may be a bit of a misnomer as Frail Blood contains several detailed erotic scenes.
When it is revealed Joseph sustained 2 gunshot wounds, with the second a fatal shot through the heart, Malachi is still determined to defend his client on the basis she suffered an excess of feminine emotion when she shot Joseph.
Emma despises his tactics as an affront to equality and sets out to penetrate the mysterious Machado family. Her probing unveils a new definition of "dysfunctional family" and her life in danger.
Readers comfortable with erotic scenes will find Frail Blood an entertaining read. I do not recommend Frail Blood for readers sensitive to such content.
Alma, a servant in the Machado household, is seduced by the youngest son, Joseph. A simple girl, Alma believes Joe loves her and will marry her after they become intimately involved. After she discovers Joe has discarded her for another woman, Alma is determined to make sure what Joseph did to her doesn't happen to another.
She straps on a pistol and confronts Joseph at the Machado house on an evening when she knows the family is out. She's not even sure why she brought the pistol, other than to maybe ensure Joseph listens to what she has to say.
As it turns out, she doesn't say anything but, rather, fires a single shot at Joseph. The last sight she sees is Joseph clutching his shoulder and falling. Overcome with fright and horror, she flees into the woods where she is later captured.
Malachi Rivers is Alma's defense attorney. A man with notorious past swirling around his relationship with his ex-wife and his abusive father, he resides in Placer Hills in the hopes of leading a quiet anonymous life.
Prosecution Attorney Charles Fulton, together with his band of protégés, is full of confidence his case against Alma is solid and she will hang for her crime.
Rivers and Fulton share a mutual dislike and actively antagonize each other at every opportunity.
Emma Knight is the new owner of the town's newspaper in partnership with her uncle. Emma scores a coup when Alma tells her she shot Joseph. Emma prints a damning article outlining Alma's confession. An article that makes Malachi's defence all the more difficult.
Malachi sends Emma a rather rude and condescending letter about a woman's place in the world and staying out of the realm of matters best left to men.
Emma is a fierce advocate for the equality between men and women and women's rights to independence. Her convictions are vexatious for her parents, who believe 6 months in Europe will bring Emma to her senses so she can be married off to a properly suitable gentleman. Emma is not enamoured by these plans or her parents' attempts to control her life.
After some persuasion from Emma's uncle, Malachi decides Emma is less detrimental to his case if she is actively involved in the defense. Up until now, she's only made a nuisance of herself in guise of a news reporter.
A professional agreement is made between Malachi and Emma that she will assist him with investigation of the murder. Despite butting heads on every issue regarding women's rights, a personal agreement quickly develops. A mutual desire for a more intimate relationship beckons.
Malachi balks at first. The last thing he wants is a committed relationship. He is scarred by his previous marriage. Emma is eager to explore the sensual side of life, believing she has as much right as a man to experience physical love. She leads Malachi to believe she is not unfamiliar with such matters when, in fact, she is a virgin.
Robertson's novel is billed as a "Historical Romance Thriller". "Romance" may be a bit of a misnomer as Frail Blood contains several detailed erotic scenes.
When it is revealed Joseph sustained 2 gunshot wounds, with the second a fatal shot through the heart, Malachi is still determined to defend his client on the basis she suffered an excess of feminine emotion when she shot Joseph.
Emma despises his tactics as an affront to equality and sets out to penetrate the mysterious Machado family. Her probing unveils a new definition of "dysfunctional family" and her life in danger.
Readers comfortable with erotic scenes will find Frail Blood an entertaining read. I do not recommend Frail Blood for readers sensitive to such content.
May 4, 2012
This is loosely based on a real murder trial that took place in California in 1909. Alma Bentley is on trial for the murder of her employer and lover, Joe Machado. Malachi Rivers is called upon to defend Alma, who is uneducated, naive, and clearly guilty. Newswoman Emma Knight is carefully following the trial, and Alma has also confided details about the murder to her. Emma and Malachi become partners to save Alma from herself, and as they investigate the crime, the two begin to fall for each other.
Amazon bills this as a "historical romance/ thriller"; I was disappointed though, that the story was so heavy on the romance (which was the "bodice ripping" style that I don't care for) and that there wasn't more to Alma's story. It did have some interesting twists and turns, but too much of the story was spent with Malachi constantly having to come to Emma's rescue after getting herself into unsafe situations.
Right now, this novel is only available an e-book.
Amazon bills this as a "historical romance/ thriller"; I was disappointed though, that the story was so heavy on the romance (which was the "bodice ripping" style that I don't care for) and that there wasn't more to Alma's story. It did have some interesting twists and turns, but too much of the story was spent with Malachi constantly having to come to Emma's rescue after getting herself into unsafe situations.
Right now, this novel is only available an e-book.
May 21, 2012
So so ... it didn't started out too badly, and the actual plot line was interesting enough, but honestly, sometimes it felt like the author was being paid by just exactly how many 5-10 page sex scenes could be squashed into one book and still manage to toss a crumb trail of words to nudge the plot along now and then. It certainly helped me remember why I have never really been a fan of much of this genre. It just gets darned irritating to have to flip/scan through pages over and over to find the few points where the sex ends and the plot actually occurs.
May 9, 2012
Fabulous book. Definitely a page-turner, and kept me guessing til the end. Very well written. Had a great time reading this, and I intend to see what else Jo Robertson has written. My only problem was the end......I was hoping for a bit more detail on what happens next. But my imagination will suffice.
August 27, 2012
I am expecting more stories from the author. This story is based on an actual case. A Historical Romantic Thriller. I loved the strong willed heroine. The hero of the story really met his match with this lady.
August 29, 2016
Very Spicey
The book was Spicer than I like them so I just skipped the sex scenes. But the story line is great. Set back when women didn't have the vote. Rich vs poor classes. Debauchery, a twist.
The book was Spicer than I like them so I just skipped the sex scenes. But the story line is great. Set back when women didn't have the vote. Rich vs poor classes. Debauchery, a twist.
October 21, 2012
I really enjoyed this historical thriller set around 1909 great characters storyline and lots of suspense to go with th passion of a moder woman.
September 28, 2017
Really boring
This book Reads like it was written by a 15 year old. It is so formulaic - man and woman meet, can't stand each other, fall into sex and they are in love. In between 3 people are killed.
This book Reads like it was written by a 15 year old. It is so formulaic - man and woman meet, can't stand each other, fall into sex and they are in love. In between 3 people are killed.
July 26, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. We used to live up in the Sacramento area so have gone by this courthouse in Auburn many times. It piqued my interest due to setting but I found the characters drew me in as well. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.
September 5, 2023
Too much sex and profanity
What could have been a good murder mystery was ruined by too much graphic sexual scenes. They added nothing to the story. Use of profanity only added filth.
What could have been a good murder mystery was ruined by too much graphic sexual scenes. They added nothing to the story. Use of profanity only added filth.
February 21, 2017
Not a bad premise - but way too much predictable sex added needlessly. I wouldn't recommend this book.
August 11, 2020
2.5★
February 13, 2021
It was OK...
I could have done without the erotic details though. Much more could have been done on the history to enhance the story.
I could have done without the erotic details though. Much more could have been done on the history to enhance the story.
August 17, 2016
If stupidity drives you nuts, don't read this book. It was just awful.
In my opinion, this book doesn't even deserve one star. There were many, many inconsistencies, and just downright stupidity. You might wonder why I bothered to finish the book. It was just such a train wreck, I had to stay on the tracks.
Spoiler alerts!
Heroine, Emma, is half owner of a newspaper, and is a reporter, with no actual experience. She professes to be an independent woman, however she is completely financially dependent on her parents and her uncle.
Hero, Malachi, is an attorney who is representing an accused murder, a woman named Alma. Emma is covering the case for her newspaper. Emma is woefully ignorant about the law, yet feels free to criticize and berate Malachi for both his handling of the case, and for his recommendation to have his client plead not guilty. Malachi is talked into hiring Emma to help him build his defense. The story falls further to pieces at this point.
1. Malachi tells Emma that women can expect to be sexually assaulted if they get the right to vote. Seriously, he did!
2. Emma decides she wants Malachi for a lover. Okay, I have no problem with that. Their client had an illicit affair with the man she is accused of murdering. Emma condemns the client for her sexual behavior, yet apparently feels it is okay for herself to be involved in an illicit affair. Hypocritical much?
3. Things heat up. Emma attempts to seduce Malachi. When he resists, she convinces him that she is sexually experienced (when she's not) and that contraception is not a problem (when it is). Then, when he discovers the truth ( after doing the deed, of course), she has the utter nerve to be angry at him. Why? Because he believed her lies. REALLY? He leaves angry, he had been up front in telling her that he did not intend to marry again. She is devastated because her first time was painful, it was awful, she was never going to have sex again. Yada, Yada, Yada.
4. Emma professes to be an advocate for helping women, yet she is remarkably unconcerned that her client is imprisoned in filthy conditions, is cold, and poorly fed. Yeah, she cares alright! At least Malachi got Alma an extra blanket.
5. After Emma is attacked, injured, and almost raped by two thugs (Malachi saves her, of course), she decides that sex is back on the table. Sure, that makes sense......she had just had what I would assume would have been a traumatic experience, so it's only natural that she would want a repeat of the sexual act that had so worried her. Uh Huh, right? And as for Malachi, I guess he no longer worries about a pregnancy, or the impropriety of an affair. Huh.
6. During a discussion of the case Emma becomes angry at Malachi for debauching virgins. Once again, she is furious at him for giving her what she begged for. Seriously, all I could do was laugh at this point.
7.Emma once again demonstrates her supreme intelligence. Why doesn't Malachi recognize that she is ever so much smarter than he is? Malachi is worried for her safety, so he extracts her promise that she will be careful and do nothing that would put her at risk. But, as usual, she lied to him, she doesn't intend to keep her word. REALLY, should this surprise him at this point? She is convinced she has cracked the case so she goes to question and confront the alleged perpetrators. Zounds! She is imprisoned in the basement. Whatever will she do?
8. She's safe! Rescued by Malachi, of course. The true murderers have been exposed. And Alma? Free for the time being, she has decided to go to Sacramento to stay with her mother. And just why is that significant? Because according to Chapter 15, Alma's mother lives in town, on the docks. We found that out the night Emma was attacked.
Its finally over. Thank heavens.
I have never given a review this scathing before, and I hope I never will again.
In my opinion, this book doesn't even deserve one star. There were many, many inconsistencies, and just downright stupidity. You might wonder why I bothered to finish the book. It was just such a train wreck, I had to stay on the tracks.
Spoiler alerts!
Heroine, Emma, is half owner of a newspaper, and is a reporter, with no actual experience. She professes to be an independent woman, however she is completely financially dependent on her parents and her uncle.
Hero, Malachi, is an attorney who is representing an accused murder, a woman named Alma. Emma is covering the case for her newspaper. Emma is woefully ignorant about the law, yet feels free to criticize and berate Malachi for both his handling of the case, and for his recommendation to have his client plead not guilty. Malachi is talked into hiring Emma to help him build his defense. The story falls further to pieces at this point.
1. Malachi tells Emma that women can expect to be sexually assaulted if they get the right to vote. Seriously, he did!
2. Emma decides she wants Malachi for a lover. Okay, I have no problem with that. Their client had an illicit affair with the man she is accused of murdering. Emma condemns the client for her sexual behavior, yet apparently feels it is okay for herself to be involved in an illicit affair. Hypocritical much?
3. Things heat up. Emma attempts to seduce Malachi. When he resists, she convinces him that she is sexually experienced (when she's not) and that contraception is not a problem (when it is). Then, when he discovers the truth ( after doing the deed, of course), she has the utter nerve to be angry at him. Why? Because he believed her lies. REALLY? He leaves angry, he had been up front in telling her that he did not intend to marry again. She is devastated because her first time was painful, it was awful, she was never going to have sex again. Yada, Yada, Yada.
4. Emma professes to be an advocate for helping women, yet she is remarkably unconcerned that her client is imprisoned in filthy conditions, is cold, and poorly fed. Yeah, she cares alright! At least Malachi got Alma an extra blanket.
5. After Emma is attacked, injured, and almost raped by two thugs (Malachi saves her, of course), she decides that sex is back on the table. Sure, that makes sense......she had just had what I would assume would have been a traumatic experience, so it's only natural that she would want a repeat of the sexual act that had so worried her. Uh Huh, right? And as for Malachi, I guess he no longer worries about a pregnancy, or the impropriety of an affair. Huh.
6. During a discussion of the case Emma becomes angry at Malachi for debauching virgins. Once again, she is furious at him for giving her what she begged for. Seriously, all I could do was laugh at this point.
7.Emma once again demonstrates her supreme intelligence. Why doesn't Malachi recognize that she is ever so much smarter than he is? Malachi is worried for her safety, so he extracts her promise that she will be careful and do nothing that would put her at risk. But, as usual, she lied to him, she doesn't intend to keep her word. REALLY, should this surprise him at this point? She is convinced she has cracked the case so she goes to question and confront the alleged perpetrators. Zounds! She is imprisoned in the basement. Whatever will she do?
8. She's safe! Rescued by Malachi, of course. The true murderers have been exposed. And Alma? Free for the time being, she has decided to go to Sacramento to stay with her mother. And just why is that significant? Because according to Chapter 15, Alma's mother lives in town, on the docks. We found that out the night Emma was attacked.
Its finally over. Thank heavens.
I have never given a review this scathing before, and I hope I never will again.
January 8, 2017
So let's get this straight first. This is Historical Romance, not Historical Fiction. There is a suspense plot built in, but it is first and foremost Historical Romance. Set in 1909 probably around a real historical case, there's Malachi Rivers, attorney for Alma Bentley who shot her lover when she learned he was dumping her and Malachi is defending her in his murder trial. Emma Knight inserts herself into their business when she publishes Alma's confession. Emma is a wealthy heiress running the newspaper her uncle bought for her and she is a staunch advocate of women's rights - without fully understanding the experience of women not of her background. Despite a rocky start, she ends up assisting Malachi's case and seeking to be liberated, particularly in a sexual sense, sets out to seduce him.
So the suspense and the history and all that I had no problem with. I didn't even have all that much issue with the sex - this was typical romance. I had major issues with TSTL heroine Emma. First off, her attitude is atrocious. She has no tact, no patience for other points of view and she honestly seems to believe that the world revolves around her and her views. It is ironic that this woman walks around insisting on independence from men and wanting the right to do whatever she wants, when in reality (at least in the context of this book) without a man in her life she'd be dead several times already. She gets an idea in her head and instead of thinking logically about it, she tells herself that she's a, modern, intelligent and independent woman and can't she do what she likes? So she goes off half-cocked into some dangerous situation and gets herself into trouble, thus demonstrating she's not so intelligent after all. And she ends up relying on someone else (a man) to get her out of trouble - so not so independent either. After the fourth time she'd done it, and Malachi, Stephen and Thomas are all standing around trying to figure out what to do, I was crossing my fingers that they'd vote to keep out of it, let the supposedly independent woman get herself out of her own scrape and hope she comes out of it with a little bit of humility. Emma for all that she wanted women's rights, seemed to work against her cause in her actions and her attitude.
My other SERIOUS issue with Emma had to do with her sexual dishonesty toward Malachi. She's determined to experience sexual pleasure because she wants to be such a liberated woman that she lies to Malachi about her sexual experience. She leads him to believe she's experienced and so when offered a night with her, Malachi doesn't turn her down. They have a conversation beforehand, whereby she tells Malachi that she knows what she's doing, she's not hoping for marriage and that she's already taken care of contraception. Well, he finds out much differently that's for sure. She's actually a virgin, and after an incredibly awkward deflowering scene whereby she screams and bleeds profusely, she informs him that she's not actually protected and that she hadn't given any thought to contraception (even after he'd mentioned it?). So in her selfish pursuit of sexual liberation, she allowed Malachi to risk a child and possibly having to marry her. Ugh! He had every right to be pissed off with her and I can't believe he forgave her. So I wanted to throw-my-kindle because of this woman. Now, Malachi was no perfect peach himself, but his issues (mildly misogynistic, but surprisingly open-minded for the times) paled in comparison to this woman's. I was sadly disappointed to see she'd survived the story.
So the suspense and the history and all that I had no problem with. I didn't even have all that much issue with the sex - this was typical romance. I had major issues with TSTL heroine Emma. First off, her attitude is atrocious. She has no tact, no patience for other points of view and she honestly seems to believe that the world revolves around her and her views. It is ironic that this woman walks around insisting on independence from men and wanting the right to do whatever she wants, when in reality (at least in the context of this book) without a man in her life she'd be dead several times already. She gets an idea in her head and instead of thinking logically about it, she tells herself that she's a, modern, intelligent and independent woman and can't she do what she likes? So she goes off half-cocked into some dangerous situation and gets herself into trouble, thus demonstrating she's not so intelligent after all. And she ends up relying on someone else (a man) to get her out of trouble - so not so independent either. After the fourth time she'd done it, and Malachi, Stephen and Thomas are all standing around trying to figure out what to do, I was crossing my fingers that they'd vote to keep out of it, let the supposedly independent woman get herself out of her own scrape and hope she comes out of it with a little bit of humility. Emma for all that she wanted women's rights, seemed to work against her cause in her actions and her attitude.
My other SERIOUS issue with Emma had to do with her sexual dishonesty toward Malachi. She's determined to experience sexual pleasure because she wants to be such a liberated woman that she lies to Malachi about her sexual experience. She leads him to believe she's experienced and so when offered a night with her, Malachi doesn't turn her down. They have a conversation beforehand, whereby she tells Malachi that she knows what she's doing, she's not hoping for marriage and that she's already taken care of contraception. Well, he finds out much differently that's for sure. She's actually a virgin, and after an incredibly awkward deflowering scene whereby she screams and bleeds profusely, she informs him that she's not actually protected and that she hadn't given any thought to contraception (even after he'd mentioned it?). So in her selfish pursuit of sexual liberation, she allowed Malachi to risk a child and possibly having to marry her. Ugh! He had every right to be pissed off with her and I can't believe he forgave her. So I wanted to throw-my-kindle because of this woman. Now, Malachi was no perfect peach himself, but his issues (mildly misogynistic, but surprisingly open-minded for the times) paled in comparison to this woman's. I was sadly disappointed to see she'd survived the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2015
I was really looking forward to reading this book. It sounded like an interesting legal murder mystery. So I was really disappointed when the book started to head into bodice ripper/romance territory. It has good bones: the story of a poor girl, Alma, who shoots her lover after he abandons her for another. She finds herself facing a legal system that is biased against women, in a time when women have few rights and can't vote. Her lawyer, Malachi River's, takes a unique strategy in her defence.
Emma Knight is a woman of wealthy family, who is a journalist, and owns a newspaper with her uncle. Initially dismissive of Alma's story, as she learns more she begins to understand how things aren't always as clear as they seem. She begins working with Malachi Rivers to learn more about what really happened. As she gets to know Malachi, she finds herself strongly attracted to him. And here's where the book goes south, in my opinion. Rather than focusing on what is arguably an interesting story, the book diverges into Malachi's urges and Emma's perhaps not so virginal passions. Enough with the heaving bosoms and ramrod straight mail parts, I just want to know what Malachi is going to in the courtroom, not the bedroom, to get Alma justice.
I got so irritated that I have to admit, I didn't finish the book. Too many books and not enough time to read them, made this not worth the time to finish it. On to the next one!
Emma Knight is a woman of wealthy family, who is a journalist, and owns a newspaper with her uncle. Initially dismissive of Alma's story, as she learns more she begins to understand how things aren't always as clear as they seem. She begins working with Malachi Rivers to learn more about what really happened. As she gets to know Malachi, she finds herself strongly attracted to him. And here's where the book goes south, in my opinion. Rather than focusing on what is arguably an interesting story, the book diverges into Malachi's urges and Emma's perhaps not so virginal passions. Enough with the heaving bosoms and ramrod straight mail parts, I just want to know what Malachi is going to in the courtroom, not the bedroom, to get Alma justice.
I got so irritated that I have to admit, I didn't finish the book. Too many books and not enough time to read them, made this not worth the time to finish it. On to the next one!
August 13, 2014
I didn't care for this book that seemed like a romance novel where most things are just a tad too predictable. For me (I am 66) there was just too much sex which I was constantly paging over. I realize that is a personal choice and lots of readers would probably like that part but I'm too far past it. I found the story line overall boring but forced myself to finish....just in case....you never know, and I rarely give up on a book.
December 31, 2013
I liked the premise of this story. The lawyer and the female newspaper reporter cooperating to solve the mystery works for me. And the time period (early 1900s) is one of my favorites. However, IMO, the story got lost in what went beyond sensual romance (remember, IMO) to soft porn, which, although I may have missed the warning, was not noted. When the author went to the "romance" parts, the mystery plot got lost.
April 12, 2016
Okay
This is the first Jo Robertson book I've read. It was okay. It is easy to read but falls into a more or less romance novel versus a historical fiction. There are several erotic scenes, and the f-bomb which it really could have done without. I liked the characters, Emma made me laugh with her crazy and sassy attitude, but I thought if this was historical the author could have delved deeper into women's rights and shown that Emma helped that movement.
This is the first Jo Robertson book I've read. It was okay. It is easy to read but falls into a more or less romance novel versus a historical fiction. There are several erotic scenes, and the f-bomb which it really could have done without. I liked the characters, Emma made me laugh with her crazy and sassy attitude, but I thought if this was historical the author could have delved deeper into women's rights and shown that Emma helped that movement.
October 13, 2016
Takes place turn of the century in northern california. Hero is a criminal defense attorney who is helped and challenged by a modern, rich girl who runs the local paper. A lower class woman is on trial for murdering her lover; but the trial brings to light a tale of family secrets worth murdering for to keep hidden. Characters were somewhat shallow which detracted from the story for me. Plot predictable.
May 17, 2012
This wasn't quite what I expected, but I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story.
I have to admit that the heroine reminded me a little of the coed in a horror film who hears a noise in the basement and goes to investigate even though she knows that there is a serial killer on the loose. She took a number of very foolish risks.
Overall, an enjoyable quick read.
I have to admit that the heroine reminded me a little of the coed in a horror film who hears a noise in the basement and goes to investigate even though she knows that there is a serial killer on the loose. She took a number of very foolish risks.
Overall, an enjoyable quick read.
September 16, 2015
This book is advertised as an historic thriller. The book is all about the developing love/hate relationship between the two main characters. It doesn't become a thriller until 3/4 of the way through and actually it's more mystery than thriller. Frail Blood is not a bad book to read by any means. I just don't think it's quite as advertised. It should be classified as a romantic mystery!
October 15, 2015
Women's movement started a long time before the 60especially or even befoe 1920.
I gave this book high marks because it kept you guessing as to what the characters were doing next. At the same time, the true to life women's fight for their own rights was a constant struggle. Interesting and suspenseful.
I gave this book high marks because it kept you guessing as to what the characters were doing next. At the same time, the true to life women's fight for their own rights was a constant struggle. Interesting and suspenseful.
January 28, 2016
I was pretty unimpressed and almost gave up more than once. The book summary seemed interesting, but I knew pretty soon into it that it was really just a formula romance in disguise. I started to quit then, but the story line was decent so I continued. But in the end, it was just trite and somewhat disappointing.
August 19, 2016
Loved it!
Frail Blood was full of social issues, who-done-its, and the passion of two people for each other. The love scenes were written tastefully. The combination of being in court and traveling kept my attention. I really loved this book. I look forward to reading more books by Jo Robertson.
Frail Blood was full of social issues, who-done-its, and the passion of two people for each other. The love scenes were written tastefully. The combination of being in court and traveling kept my attention. I really loved this book. I look forward to reading more books by Jo Robertson.
May 18, 2012
This book was supposed to be a historical thriller, but it was nothing more that a story with a horrible plot and too much talk of "deflowering virgins". Thank goodness I didn't actually pay for this book!
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