What do you think?
Rate this book
Montgomery/Taggert: Publication order #6
Сърце от лед
Хюстън Чандлър е омагьосващо хубава и затова мъжете я преследват. Но тя не може да се реши да подари някому сърцето си. Докато един ден в нейния живот влиза Кен Тагърт, мъж упорит не по-малко от нея…
Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
244 people are currently reading
1777 people want to read
About the author
Jude Deveraux
199 books7,051 followersJude Gilliam was born September 20, 1947 in Fairdale, Kentucky. She has a large extended family and is the elder sister of four brothers. She attended Murray State University and received a degree in Art. In 1967, Jude married and took her husband's surname of White, but four years later they divorced. For years, she worked as 5th-grade teacher.
She began writing in 1976, and published her first book, The Enchanted Land (1977) under the name Jude Deveraux. Following the publication of her first novel, she resigned her teaching position. Now, she is the author of 31 New York Times bestsellers.
Jude won readers' hearts with the epic Velvet series, which revolves around the lives of the Montgomery family's irresistible men. Jude's early books are set largely in 15th- and 16th-century England; in them her fierce, impassioned protagonists find themselves in the midst of blood feuds and wars. Her heroines are equally scrappy -- medieval Scarlett O'Haras who often have a low regard for the men who eventually win them over. They're fighters, certainly, but they're also beauties who are preoccupied with survival and family preservation.
Jude has also stepped outside her milieu, with mixed results. Her James River trilogy (River Lady, Lost Lady, and Counterfeit Lady) is set mostly in post-Revolution America; the popular, softer-edged Twin of Fire/Twin of Ice moves to 19th-century Colorado and introduces another hunky-man clan, the Taggerts.
Deveraux manages to evoke a strong and convincing atmosphere for each of her books, but her dialogue and characters are as familiar as a modern-day soap opera's. "Historicals seem to be all I'm capable of," Jude once said in an interview, referring to a now out-of-print attempt at contemporary fiction, 1982's Casa Grande. "I don't want to write family sagas or occult books, and I have no intention of again trying to ruin the contemporary market." Still, Jude did later attempt modern-day romances, such as the lighthearted High Tide (her first murder caper), the contemporary female friendship story The Summerhouse, and the time-traveling Knight in Shining Armor. In fact, with 2002's The Mulberry Tree, Deveraux seems to be getting more comfortable setting stories in the present, which is a good thing, since the fans she won with her historical books are eager to follow her into the future.
Jude married Claude White, who she later divorced in 1993. Around the same time she met Mohammed Montassir with whom she had a son, Sam Alexander Montassir, in 1997. On Oct. 6th, 2005, Sam died at the age of eight in a motorcycle accident.
Jude has lived in several countries and all over the United States. She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and has an additional home in the medieval city of Badolato, Italy.
She began writing in 1976, and published her first book, The Enchanted Land (1977) under the name Jude Deveraux. Following the publication of her first novel, she resigned her teaching position. Now, she is the author of 31 New York Times bestsellers.
Jude won readers' hearts with the epic Velvet series, which revolves around the lives of the Montgomery family's irresistible men. Jude's early books are set largely in 15th- and 16th-century England; in them her fierce, impassioned protagonists find themselves in the midst of blood feuds and wars. Her heroines are equally scrappy -- medieval Scarlett O'Haras who often have a low regard for the men who eventually win them over. They're fighters, certainly, but they're also beauties who are preoccupied with survival and family preservation.
Jude has also stepped outside her milieu, with mixed results. Her James River trilogy (River Lady, Lost Lady, and Counterfeit Lady) is set mostly in post-Revolution America; the popular, softer-edged Twin of Fire/Twin of Ice moves to 19th-century Colorado and introduces another hunky-man clan, the Taggerts.
Deveraux manages to evoke a strong and convincing atmosphere for each of her books, but her dialogue and characters are as familiar as a modern-day soap opera's. "Historicals seem to be all I'm capable of," Jude once said in an interview, referring to a now out-of-print attempt at contemporary fiction, 1982's Casa Grande. "I don't want to write family sagas or occult books, and I have no intention of again trying to ruin the contemporary market." Still, Jude did later attempt modern-day romances, such as the lighthearted High Tide (her first murder caper), the contemporary female friendship story The Summerhouse, and the time-traveling Knight in Shining Armor. In fact, with 2002's The Mulberry Tree, Deveraux seems to be getting more comfortable setting stories in the present, which is a good thing, since the fans she won with her historical books are eager to follow her into the future.
Jude married Claude White, who she later divorced in 1993. Around the same time she met Mohammed Montassir with whom she had a son, Sam Alexander Montassir, in 1997. On Oct. 6th, 2005, Sam died at the age of eight in a motorcycle accident.
Jude has lived in several countries and all over the United States. She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and has an additional home in the medieval city of Badolato, Italy.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
July 23, 2014
I really enjoyed this, which proves something doesn't have to be big on wtf'ery for me to like it. It's actually a pretty sweet story and has some elements I love.
A hero who comes from a lower class background and makes it big, yet is still that working class guy and fears people only want him for his money.
A heroine born to privilege and very much repressed by her place/role in society until she meets the hero.
A marriage of convenience that becomes a love match.
Also, a hero with a nefarious ulterior motive for wanting the heroine and a ruthless streak when it comes to keeping her was the icing on the cake.
The hero wasexactly like a real man kind of a clueless doofus much of the time, but endearing. His understanding of women was nonexistent. Not the kind of guy to give flowery speeches, but he'd do anything for Houston.
A hero who comes from a lower class background and makes it big, yet is still that working class guy and fears people only want him for his money.
A heroine born to privilege and very much repressed by her place/role in society until she meets the hero.
A marriage of convenience that becomes a love match.
Also, a hero with a nefarious ulterior motive for wanting the heroine and a ruthless streak when it comes to keeping her was the icing on the cake.
The hero was
June 22, 2022
Overall: ⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡
Romance: 💞
Sensuality: 💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 - I marked it as a 2 steam because there’s a lot of scenes that are open door but they are super short and vague. I can’t say it’s a high steam book.
Humor: A bit
Perspective: Third person perspective from both the hero and heroine, though mostly from the heroine (feels a bit like ‘head hopping’ and doesn’t have definitive sections in each person’s head)
(These are all personal preference on a scale of 1-5 (yours ratings may vary depending what gives you feels and how you prefer you sex scenes written, etc) except the Steam Scale which follows our chart from The Ton and Tartans Book Club )
Should I read in order?
So I’m not sure which is better to read first – I want to say more people told me to read Twin of Ice first, but I followed Deveraux’s chronological list on her website and read Twin of Fire first. As I delve into the beginning, the beginning of Twin of Fire probably gives more background to what situation we’re walking into.
Basic plot:
Houston and Leander have been a couple since she was 6 and he was 12. Now at 22 though, she finds herself pulling away from the phsyical aspect to the courtship
Give this a try if you want:
- American west setting
- 1892 time period
- Lower steam – there are a number of scenes but most are extremely vague and short
- You’re all right with a jerk hero
- A bit of age gap – hero is 12 years older than the heroine though it’s not a major plot point or anything
Ages:
- Heroine is 22, hero is 34
My thoughts:
I’m sorry. I’M SORRY!!! I know, here I am again pooing on another Jude Deveraux novel.
I don’t really want to review this one. I didn’t like it. I did like Houston. Hated everyone else. The hero was cruel and I am left feeling like they definitely don’t have a true HEA – as soon as they feels offended again he would just walk away. There’s no feelings of true love here.
I’m too tired to do this again with Deveraux. I’m sorry. I don’t like it. I hope you love it if you read it. The end.
Content Warnings:
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡
Romance: 💞
Sensuality: 💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 - I marked it as a 2 steam because there’s a lot of scenes that are open door but they are super short and vague. I can’t say it’s a high steam book.
Humor: A bit
Perspective: Third person perspective from both the hero and heroine, though mostly from the heroine (feels a bit like ‘head hopping’ and doesn’t have definitive sections in each person’s head)
(These are all personal preference on a scale of 1-5 (yours ratings may vary depending what gives you feels and how you prefer you sex scenes written, etc) except the Steam Scale which follows our chart from The Ton and Tartans Book Club )
Should I read in order?
So I’m not sure which is better to read first – I want to say more people told me to read Twin of Ice first, but I followed Deveraux’s chronological list on her website and read Twin of Fire first. As I delve into the beginning, the beginning of Twin of Fire probably gives more background to what situation we’re walking into.
Basic plot:
Houston and Leander have been a couple since she was 6 and he was 12. Now at 22 though, she finds herself pulling away from the phsyical aspect to the courtship
Give this a try if you want:
- American west setting
- 1892 time period
- Lower steam – there are a number of scenes but most are extremely vague and short
- You’re all right with a jerk hero
- A bit of age gap – hero is 12 years older than the heroine though it’s not a major plot point or anything
Ages:
- Heroine is 22, hero is 34
My thoughts:
I’m sorry. I’M SORRY!!! I know, here I am again pooing on another Jude Deveraux novel.
I don’t really want to review this one. I didn’t like it. I did like Houston. Hated everyone else. The hero was cruel and I am left feeling like they definitely don’t have a true HEA – as soon as they feels offended again he would just walk away. There’s no feelings of true love here.
I’m too tired to do this again with Deveraux. I’m sorry. I don’t like it. I hope you love it if you read it. The end.
Content Warnings:
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
March 13, 2022
Houston and Kane.
I really like Jude Deveraux stories however she has the quirk of making it a point ending her romance stories suddenly. If you want to read a tender moments of the couples hea it is embedded in an earlier chapter.
Also, for this book in particular. The hero is a rough, proud man. Expect coarse language, a fierce temper, and some definite non pc comments from him. However, with Houston's love and guidance this rough guy turns into a gem of a guy right before our eyes but is still a proud alpha guy at the end of the story.
This story also has layers. Houston is the twin with traditional aspiration of the time period on being a proper lady with a grand house to run and Blair is the twin that has the aspiration be a doctor.
This one was my favorite of the two.
I really like Jude Deveraux stories however she has the quirk of making it a point ending her romance stories suddenly. If you want to read a tender moments of the couples hea it is embedded in an earlier chapter.
Also, for this book in particular. The hero is a rough, proud man. Expect coarse language, a fierce temper, and some definite non pc comments from him. However, with Houston's love and guidance this rough guy turns into a gem of a guy right before our eyes but is still a proud alpha guy at the end of the story.
This story also has layers. Houston is the twin with traditional aspiration of the time period on being a proper lady with a grand house to run and Blair is the twin that has the aspiration be a doctor.
This one was my favorite of the two.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2017
Great! Just great! ❤❤❤
June 26, 2022
This book reminds me of the Klampets from the Beverly Hillbillies. Kane Taggert is the H and the wealthiest man in the state of Colorado. He was born in Chandler and worked as a stable boy for Jacob Fenton leaving to New York City with $500 after Jacob refused to let Kane marry his daughter Pamela. He left with a grudge and plan of revenge in his heart to make Jacob Fenton eat dirt. His goal was to amass a fortune build a bigger home than Jacob’s in Chandler marry a lady and invite him over for dinner telling him he knew that the fortune and mine Jacob owned was really Kane’s left to him as a baby by his grandfather Horace Fenton. Kane’s parents were Charity Fenton and Frank Taggert. Frank died in a mining accident and Charity couldn’t cope without Frank and committed suicide. The father Horace died shortly after leaving everything to Kane and making Jacob his legal guardian until he became 21 and then Kane could manage his own affairs. Jacob bribed some lawyers to change the Will making him the heir and he told Kane he was an orphan and made him the stable boy.
The h is Houston Chandler twin sister Blair. Houston and Leander Westfield had been engaged for years until the night Lee and Blair slept together two weeks before Lee and Houston’s wedding. Kane asked Houston to his home for supper on the same night Blair and Lee slept together. He asked her to marry him. She said she was already spoken for but after Lee slept with her twin and Lee found out about the twins trading places he broke off the engagement. Houston went up to Kane’s mansion and talked to him accepting his proposal. He gave her a huge diamond ring and an expense account of 250,000 to plan the wedding and put his house in order. She decided there would be a double wedding with Kane and herself (Houston) and Lee and Blair. Their engagement, subsequent wedding were not without misunderstandings and hurt feelings. Houston fell in love with Kane but found out Kane just used her to show up Jacob Fenton and left him and went to live with Pamela Fenton Younger who is Jacob Fenton’s daughter and the woman Kane was in love with and bore his child Zachary Younger. Kane’s business partner Edan plus his cousins the Taggerts all left after Houston walked out. Edan asked Jean Taggert to marry him and bought a lovely home for her and her father and cousin Ian Taggert. Opal Gates (Chandler) Houston’s mother went to see Kane to help her daughter and him to reconcile. She suggested he try to find something to give her besides money and jewelry. He knew she had been part of the sisterhood of do Gooder town woman helping the poor miner families bringing in medicine and essentials for the poor families. He offered to bring in baseball equipment so the boys could play baseball and tennis balls and rackets for girls. She gave him a kiss and forgave him going home with him. Next the mine disaster. They worked together helping feed and put up shelter for the displaced miner families. Lee and Blair were helping with the wounded. Kane went to talk to Jacob Fenton about the miners and the disaster. Jacob confessed how he hated being passed over his adoptive father’s Will leaving everything to Kane a three month old baby. Kane decided to have papers drawn up so Jacob could leave his estate to whomever he wanted. He had Lee’s dad a lawyer draw up the papers and he went to Fenton’s estate to deliver them but found Jacob’s body at the foot of the stairs dead. A few minutes later Jacob’s son came home and thought Kane pushed his father down the stairs killing him. Kane was rustled to the ground by three men and hit over the head with a metal statue by a lady. He woke up in jail. The sheriff said that Leander and his father had exonerated him plus the servants had come to the hospital to get help for Jacob. Kane decided to play a practical joke on Houston and tell her he had been charged for murder of Jacob Fenton and that she better get as much Money as she could before he was convicted as the state would abscond his millions. She left and he thought she was really only interested in his wealth. But she went to get Ian and Zachary to help break him out of jail with dynamite. She had two horses ready for their getaway to Mexico. She knew Blair would send them money to live on. They travelled quite far before they stopped to rest. Kane told her everything. He was happy she really loved him. Boy was she angry at him. They went home and she didn’t talk to him for a few days. She felt like the laughingstock of Chandler. She eventually got over it and she forgave him and they both laughed together. The End. It was a cute story written like a western adventure romance. Lots of action and heroism. I gave this four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The h is Houston Chandler twin sister Blair. Houston and Leander Westfield had been engaged for years until the night Lee and Blair slept together two weeks before Lee and Houston’s wedding. Kane asked Houston to his home for supper on the same night Blair and Lee slept together. He asked her to marry him. She said she was already spoken for but after Lee slept with her twin and Lee found out about the twins trading places he broke off the engagement. Houston went up to Kane’s mansion and talked to him accepting his proposal. He gave her a huge diamond ring and an expense account of 250,000 to plan the wedding and put his house in order. She decided there would be a double wedding with Kane and herself (Houston) and Lee and Blair. Their engagement, subsequent wedding were not without misunderstandings and hurt feelings. Houston fell in love with Kane but found out Kane just used her to show up Jacob Fenton and left him and went to live with Pamela Fenton Younger who is Jacob Fenton’s daughter and the woman Kane was in love with and bore his child Zachary Younger. Kane’s business partner Edan plus his cousins the Taggerts all left after Houston walked out. Edan asked Jean Taggert to marry him and bought a lovely home for her and her father and cousin Ian Taggert. Opal Gates (Chandler) Houston’s mother went to see Kane to help her daughter and him to reconcile. She suggested he try to find something to give her besides money and jewelry. He knew she had been part of the sisterhood of do Gooder town woman helping the poor miner families bringing in medicine and essentials for the poor families. He offered to bring in baseball equipment so the boys could play baseball and tennis balls and rackets for girls. She gave him a kiss and forgave him going home with him. Next the mine disaster. They worked together helping feed and put up shelter for the displaced miner families. Lee and Blair were helping with the wounded. Kane went to talk to Jacob Fenton about the miners and the disaster. Jacob confessed how he hated being passed over his adoptive father’s Will leaving everything to Kane a three month old baby. Kane decided to have papers drawn up so Jacob could leave his estate to whomever he wanted. He had Lee’s dad a lawyer draw up the papers and he went to Fenton’s estate to deliver them but found Jacob’s body at the foot of the stairs dead. A few minutes later Jacob’s son came home and thought Kane pushed his father down the stairs killing him. Kane was rustled to the ground by three men and hit over the head with a metal statue by a lady. He woke up in jail. The sheriff said that Leander and his father had exonerated him plus the servants had come to the hospital to get help for Jacob. Kane decided to play a practical joke on Houston and tell her he had been charged for murder of Jacob Fenton and that she better get as much Money as she could before he was convicted as the state would abscond his millions. She left and he thought she was really only interested in his wealth. But she went to get Ian and Zachary to help break him out of jail with dynamite. She had two horses ready for their getaway to Mexico. She knew Blair would send them money to live on. They travelled quite far before they stopped to rest. Kane told her everything. He was happy she really loved him. Boy was she angry at him. They went home and she didn’t talk to him for a few days. She felt like the laughingstock of Chandler. She eventually got over it and she forgave him and they both laughed together. The End. It was a cute story written like a western adventure romance. Lots of action and heroism. I gave this four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
August 19, 2025
Кен Тагърт и Хюстън Чандлър
Просто обожавам тази книга. Чела съм я милиард пъти и ще продължавам да я препрочитам и занапред.
Хюстън Чандлър е истинска лейди. Още от малка, тя внимава да е покорна дъщеря, хрисима годеница и перфектна дама. Тя винаги е знаела, че ще се омъжи за хирургът Леандър, и макар да й е неприятно докосването му, тя истински вярва, че го обича. До деня в който потикната от импулс, моли своята близначка Блеър да се смени с нея, и да отиде с годеника й на бала на губернатора, за да може Хюстън да се измъкне и да посети загадъчния мистър Кен Тагърт, който е собственик на огромната великолепона къща на хълма над града за която всички говорят от години, но никой не е бил поканен да я посети.
Случват се куп неочаквани неща (които са описани в другата книга от поредицата "Сърце от пламък") и в един момент, Хюстън се оказва изоставена от годеника си, който се чувства длъжен да поиска ръката на сестра й. Сега чувствайки се унижена от случилото се и наранена от действията на сестра си и бившия си годеник, Хюстън е готова да погледне с други очи на предложението на Кен да стане негова съпруга. Единственото, което я кара да се колебае, е факта, че не познава грамадния намусен богаташ. Знае само, че той има отчаяна нужда от нейната помощ.
Кен е с бедно потекло. Израсъл като коняр в дома на един от богатите мъже в града, той започва връзка с дъщерята на работодателя си и е прогонен от единствения дом, к��йто някога е познавал. Решен да си отмъсти, той влага всичките си сили и за броени години става един от най-богатите мъже в страната. С намерението да натрие носа на своя враг, той се връща в родния си град, строейки най-огромната и прекрасна къща, която околностите са виждали, и я пълни с прекрасни скъпи мебели. Сега му трябва само една истинска дама за съпруга, която да се грижи за всичко. С тази разлика, че колкото Хюстън е чистокръвна лейди, толкова е и упорита. Тя настоява Кен да обръсне брадата и да подстриже косата си, да спре да носи овехтелите си дочени работни дрехи, и да отделя от ценното си време, за светски визити и шляене. Освен това никак не харесва грубоватият и безпардонен начин по който той общува. Но за отмъщението си, явно ще му се наложи да се примири с властния характер на тази чистокръвна сто процентова лейди.
Книгата е просто великолепна. Толкова забавна, колоритна и интересна. Обичам я от началото до края. Обожавам Хюстън. Тя е толкова интелигентна и състрадателна героиня. Кен от своя страна е точно моят тип герой. Ръмжащ мечок, който под нежните наставления на своята любима се превръща в мъркащо коте. Имаше много случаи, в които двамата срещаха проблеми с комуникацията си, но Хюстън беше толкова съобразителна и разбираща, че дразгите помежду им се оправяха сякаш от самосебеси.
От двете книги, които се развиват паралелно, "Сърце от лед" за Кен и Хюстън винаги ще намира път към най-скритите кътчета на сърцето ми. Макар от същата авторка и същата поредица кнгиата "Сърце от пламък", която е за Лий и Блеър така и не успя да ме грабне толкова силно, колкото успя да ме плени тази книга. За мен "Сърце от лед" е неостаряваща класика в жанра и всеки самоуважаващ се фен на историческите романи трябва да я прочете поне веднъж.
📹 Виж TikTok видеото тук:
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNduyj5cS/
Просто обожавам тази книга. Чела съм я милиард пъти и ще продължавам да я препрочитам и занапред.
Хюстън Чандлър е истинска лейди. Още от малка, тя внимава да е покорна дъщеря, хрисима годеница и перфектна дама. Тя винаги е знаела, че ще се омъжи за хирургът Леандър, и макар да й е неприятно докосването му, тя истински вярва, че го обича. До деня в който потикната от импулс, моли своята близначка Блеър да се смени с нея, и да отиде с годеника й на бала на губернатора, за да може Хюстън да се измъкне и да посети загадъчния мистър Кен Тагърт, който е собственик на огромната великолепона къща на хълма над града за която всички говорят от години, но никой не е бил поканен да я посети.
Случват се куп неочаквани неща (които са описани в другата книга от поредицата "Сърце от пламък") и в един момент, Хюстън се оказва изоставена от годеника си, който се чувства длъжен да поиска ръката на сестра й. Сега чувствайки се унижена от случилото се и наранена от действията на сестра си и бившия си годеник, Хюстън е готова да погледне с други очи на предложението на Кен да стане негова съпруга. Единственото, което я кара да се колебае, е факта, че не познава грамадния намусен богаташ. Знае само, че той има отчаяна нужда от нейната помощ.
Кен е с бедно потекло. Израсъл като коняр в дома на един от богатите мъже в града, той започва връзка с дъщерята на работодателя си и е прогонен от единствения дом, к��йто някога е познавал. Решен да си отмъсти, той влага всичките си сили и за броени години става един от най-богатите мъже в страната. С намерението да натрие носа на своя враг, той се връща в родния си град, строейки най-огромната и прекрасна къща, която околностите са виждали, и я пълни с прекрасни скъпи мебели. Сега му трябва само една истинска дама за съпруга, която да се грижи за всичко. С тази разлика, че колкото Хюстън е чистокръвна лейди, толкова е и упорита. Тя настоява Кен да обръсне брадата и да подстриже косата си, да спре да носи овехтелите си дочени работни дрехи, и да отделя от ценното си време, за светски визити и шляене. Освен това никак не харесва грубоватият и безпардонен начин по който той общува. Но за отмъщението си, явно ще му се наложи да се примири с властния характер на тази чистокръвна сто процентова лейди.
Книгата е просто великолепна. Толкова забавна, колоритна и интересна. Обичам я от началото до края. Обожавам Хюстън. Тя е толкова интелигентна и състрадателна героиня. Кен от своя страна е точно моят тип герой. Ръмжащ мечок, който под нежните наставления на своята любима се превръща в мъркащо коте. Имаше много случаи, в които двамата срещаха проблеми с комуникацията си, но Хюстън беше толкова съобразителна и разбираща, че дразгите помежду им се оправяха сякаш от самосебеси.
От двете книги, които се развиват паралелно, "Сърце от лед" за Кен и Хюстън винаги ще намира път към най-скритите кътчета на сърцето ми. Макар от същата авторка и същата поредица кнгиата "Сърце от пламък", която е за Лий и Блеър така и не успя да ме грабне толкова силно, колкото успя да ме плени тази книга. За мен "Сърце от лед" е неостаряваща класика в жанра и всеки самоуважаващ се фен на историческите романи трябва да я прочете поне веднъж.
📹 Виж TikTok видеото тук:
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNduyj5cS/
April 1, 2017
Jude Deveraux was one of my favorite 80's romance writers. This story was first copywrited in 1985. I remember it fondly & re-read it at least once a year. I'd have to say though, it' probably been about 15 years since I last read it. Looking at my burgeoning book collection, I decided to start wading through. Maybe getting rid of some. Sadly, this book will be going to the Goodwill pile. Just not what I remembered. :(
This story appears to be set in the early 1900's, although it's never really stated for sure. They do have telephones & electricity.
First, I like the heroine, Houston. She's supposed to be demure & ladylike, nicknamed "the ice queen" by her loving fiance (hmm). She has a good heart though, & a decent set of morals. She also has a secret. Once a week, she disguises herself as an old woman & goes to a mining camp to give aid to the poor. She always tries to do the right thing & she's very loyal. Unlike some people in her life!
Houston has a twin sister Blair who has come back from college a doctor. Apparently she has the morals of an alley cat, but I have to read her story again after this one, so I'll have to do her review later. Basically, the twins trade places for an evening & Blair steals the fiance ( after sleeping with him - gasp!)
Kane is the rich guy in town who decides that Houston is pretty enough & a LADY. So, she will keep house for him, have sex with him & show up the other rich guy in town who he formally worked for (in the stables as we are reminded ad nauseum). He is NOT the hero of the story. He's the male lead (big difference). He refers to Houston twice as a bitch & once refers to her as no better then a high priced whore. His best friend punches him in the nose for this comment, but Kane is so dense, he can't figure out why. He remains dense through this whole story. He is handsome,rich, with a body like a Greek god. So what's a girl to do but marry him! Besides, he NEEDS her (cough cough). She falls in love with him, I'm not sure why. I guess because he NEEDS her SO much (sigh).
Through this whole story, even when she proves to him otherwise, he believes she married him for his money. So, he's justified in treating her like crap. She finds out he used her to get back at the other rich guy & he couldn't care less about her. The whole story goes downhill pretty fast. I don't think anything is really resolved at the end. You know without a doubt there'll be a endless cycle of him being a jerk & her having to forgive him for it. Of course, because NOTHING is ever his fault.
I have to say that I've grown up in what I think is good romance fare. This book isn't what I remembered. It just pissed me off!
This story appears to be set in the early 1900's, although it's never really stated for sure. They do have telephones & electricity.
First, I like the heroine, Houston. She's supposed to be demure & ladylike, nicknamed "the ice queen" by her loving fiance (hmm). She has a good heart though, & a decent set of morals. She also has a secret. Once a week, she disguises herself as an old woman & goes to a mining camp to give aid to the poor. She always tries to do the right thing & she's very loyal. Unlike some people in her life!
Houston has a twin sister Blair who has come back from college a doctor. Apparently she has the morals of an alley cat, but I have to read her story again after this one, so I'll have to do her review later. Basically, the twins trade places for an evening & Blair steals the fiance ( after sleeping with him - gasp!)
Kane is the rich guy in town who decides that Houston is pretty enough & a LADY. So, she will keep house for him, have sex with him & show up the other rich guy in town who he formally worked for (in the stables as we are reminded ad nauseum). He is NOT the hero of the story. He's the male lead (big difference). He refers to Houston twice as a bitch & once refers to her as no better then a high priced whore. His best friend punches him in the nose for this comment, but Kane is so dense, he can't figure out why. He remains dense through this whole story. He is handsome,rich, with a body like a Greek god. So what's a girl to do but marry him! Besides, he NEEDS her (cough cough). She falls in love with him, I'm not sure why. I guess because he NEEDS her SO much (sigh).
Through this whole story, even when she proves to him otherwise, he believes she married him for his money. So, he's justified in treating her like crap. She finds out he used her to get back at the other rich guy & he couldn't care less about her. The whole story goes downhill pretty fast. I don't think anything is really resolved at the end. You know without a doubt there'll be a endless cycle of him being a jerk & her having to forgive him for it. Of course, because NOTHING is ever his fault.
I have to say that I've grown up in what I think is good romance fare. This book isn't what I remembered. It just pissed me off!
January 18, 2015
From Ice to Steam
Well I am off to buy the second half of this incredible duology, Twin of Fire. This was a very different story and I was very pleased with the results of the twin sisters switching places for that one event, even though I see some readers have condemned Houston's sister for going to far with her fiancee. Her explanation was reasonable and the results understandable. I suggest you read this very well written book containing many insecure people, and decide for yourself. I found the dynamics between Houston and her millionaire husband to be fascinating. This is illustrated when her ex-fiancee calls her a Ice Princess, her husband replies -What do you get when you apply enough heat to ice, steam. So true.
Well I am off to buy the second half of this incredible duology, Twin of Fire. This was a very different story and I was very pleased with the results of the twin sisters switching places for that one event, even though I see some readers have condemned Houston's sister for going to far with her fiancee. Her explanation was reasonable and the results understandable. I suggest you read this very well written book containing many insecure people, and decide for yourself. I found the dynamics between Houston and her millionaire husband to be fascinating. This is illustrated when her ex-fiancee calls her a Ice Princess, her husband replies -What do you get when you apply enough heat to ice, steam. So true.
December 18, 2014
I really loved this one up until the end, when the problems with the mines overtook the romance and the hero was still reluctant to trust the heroine's feelings for him. It has the usual Deveraux feeling where the hero is a little rough around the edges and the heroine's as far away from a doormat as can be. People who enjoy older styled romances will enjoy this.
April 27, 2024
Oooooooh, I’ve got some complaining to do.
I wish I’d kept an accurate count of the number of times the MMC, Kane, refers to the FMC, Houston, as a “little bitch”. While an obvious problem, it’s only one of my many issues with his deplorable behavior. Join me as I attempt to tally such issues, will you?
This story’s premise begins with twins, Houston and Blair, trading places for one evening, sending Blair on a date with Houston’s fiancè. Weird and ridiculous, yeah, so Blair has sex with her twin’s fiancè while on said date because OF COURSE SHE DOES 🙄 This leads to Houston agreeing to marry the “rugged stranger” Kane to save face or avoid loneliness or WHATEVER.
But my issue isn’t with this story being silly. I’m happy to read stupid nonsense for the sake of a good romance but a GOOD ROMANCE, for me, requires a desirable MMC and good sex scenes and this has NEITHER.
Kane’s whole personality revolves around how much money he has and how proud of a man he is, which in general is already a 🤮 trait. You should know that he wants Houston to marry him because she’s useful in his plot for “revenge boasting” to some old man he hates, because yeah, that’s on brand for a POS like him.
Speaking of his money, he, NUMEROUS TIMES, accuses Houston of only marrying/wanting him for his money despite the fact that he practically begged her to marry him. This becomes a steady, annoying theme in the book until the bitter end when he pulls a stupid stunt in the middle of an actual tragedy to coerce Houston into proving her love for him. Gag me 🙄
You know there’s a HUGE problem when I’m rooting for the FMC to end up with the MMC’s right-hand-man. Kane’s business partner, Edan, is a calm, collected, understanding and kind, handsome and BLOND MAN, SO, EVEN BETTER. There was one spectacular scene where Edan resorts to violence due to Kane’s disrespect of his wife Houston. But alas, the upgrade I longed for never came to be.
Hmmm, what next. . .
OH, the fact that Kane wanted a “lady” for his wife (he’s very clear on that in his stupid and self-serving plan for revenge), yet he makes multiple advances on Houston, which she continuously rejects, until finally she doesn’t and gives into his constant seductions and he TOSSES HER ASIDE AND IS DISPLEASED BY HER UNLADYLIKE BEHAVIOR!?!?!? Gtfoh, that’s INFURIATING.
Aggressive, stupid, selfish, narcissistic. This man goes from calling her a “bitch” of all varieties to addressing her as “honey” or some other endearment in the span of two sentences. He’s a tantrum-throwing toddler with big-boy money is all. He wants his way, and when he can’t buy it, he’s insufferable. “He tried anything he could think of to get a reaction out of her.” THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A GROWN MAN. Yet this is the ENTIRE BOOK, ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP. He wants to provoke Houston or accuse Houston of anything and everything, and becomes a raging asshole when she reacts or reminds him of his own faults instead.
This was just. . .bad. The plot doesn’t hit a high point until late in the book where we’re FINALLY given some substance, but that’s cut short by, WHAT DO YOU KNOW, Kane needing to force Houston’s hand to get her to prove herself to him.
I tend to reserve my one-star reviews for books that are so bad I don’t finish them, hence this two-star one, but that may very well change. If Kane Taggert continues to torture my thoughts for even a day more, I will return to revoke a star.
Look, if I’m being honest with myself, and to anyone who has read this far, I think the truth is that authors like Diana Gabaldon have ruined Historical Romance for me. The bar is too high, my standards have been set, and men like Kane aren’t even worthy of being the dirt on the shoes of men like Jamie Fraser.
This aggravating, infuriating man Kane may be fictional, but my dislike of him is very much real. I think perhaps I need a break from this genre until someone like Diana can once again fill the Historical Romance Hero-shaped hole in my heart.
I wish I’d kept an accurate count of the number of times the MMC, Kane, refers to the FMC, Houston, as a “little bitch”. While an obvious problem, it’s only one of my many issues with his deplorable behavior. Join me as I attempt to tally such issues, will you?
This story’s premise begins with twins, Houston and Blair, trading places for one evening, sending Blair on a date with Houston’s fiancè. Weird and ridiculous, yeah, so Blair has sex with her twin’s fiancè while on said date because OF COURSE SHE DOES 🙄 This leads to Houston agreeing to marry the “rugged stranger” Kane to save face or avoid loneliness or WHATEVER.
But my issue isn’t with this story being silly. I’m happy to read stupid nonsense for the sake of a good romance but a GOOD ROMANCE, for me, requires a desirable MMC and good sex scenes and this has NEITHER.
Kane’s whole personality revolves around how much money he has and how proud of a man he is, which in general is already a 🤮 trait. You should know that he wants Houston to marry him because she’s useful in his plot for “revenge boasting” to some old man he hates, because yeah, that’s on brand for a POS like him.
Speaking of his money, he, NUMEROUS TIMES, accuses Houston of only marrying/wanting him for his money despite the fact that he practically begged her to marry him. This becomes a steady, annoying theme in the book until the bitter end when he pulls a stupid stunt in the middle of an actual tragedy to coerce Houston into proving her love for him. Gag me 🙄
You know there’s a HUGE problem when I’m rooting for the FMC to end up with the MMC’s right-hand-man. Kane’s business partner, Edan, is a calm, collected, understanding and kind, handsome and BLOND MAN, SO, EVEN BETTER. There was one spectacular scene where Edan resorts to violence due to Kane’s disrespect of his wife Houston. But alas, the upgrade I longed for never came to be.
Hmmm, what next. . .
OH, the fact that Kane wanted a “lady” for his wife (he’s very clear on that in his stupid and self-serving plan for revenge), yet he makes multiple advances on Houston, which she continuously rejects, until finally she doesn’t and gives into his constant seductions and he TOSSES HER ASIDE AND IS DISPLEASED BY HER UNLADYLIKE BEHAVIOR!?!?!? Gtfoh, that’s INFURIATING.
Aggressive, stupid, selfish, narcissistic. This man goes from calling her a “bitch” of all varieties to addressing her as “honey” or some other endearment in the span of two sentences. He’s a tantrum-throwing toddler with big-boy money is all. He wants his way, and when he can’t buy it, he’s insufferable. “He tried anything he could think of to get a reaction out of her.” THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A GROWN MAN. Yet this is the ENTIRE BOOK, ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP. He wants to provoke Houston or accuse Houston of anything and everything, and becomes a raging asshole when she reacts or reminds him of his own faults instead.
This was just. . .bad. The plot doesn’t hit a high point until late in the book where we’re FINALLY given some substance, but that’s cut short by, WHAT DO YOU KNOW, Kane needing to force Houston’s hand to get her to prove herself to him.
I tend to reserve my one-star reviews for books that are so bad I don’t finish them, hence this two-star one, but that may very well change. If Kane Taggert continues to torture my thoughts for even a day more, I will return to revoke a star.
Look, if I’m being honest with myself, and to anyone who has read this far, I think the truth is that authors like Diana Gabaldon have ruined Historical Romance for me. The bar is too high, my standards have been set, and men like Kane aren’t even worthy of being the dirt on the shoes of men like Jamie Fraser.
This aggravating, infuriating man Kane may be fictional, but my dislike of him is very much real. I think perhaps I need a break from this genre until someone like Diana can once again fill the Historical Romance Hero-shaped hole in my heart.
February 3, 2012
In general, I've liked the plot of several of Deveraux's books. But by the time I finish reading them, I'm almost always left wondering "what the hell did I just waste my time on?". It's taken me a dozen or so books, but I've finally realized that Deveraux does not know how to end a story. Her plots are fun (if predictable, a la Nora Roberts and others), but as she starts to wrap things up, she has a tendency to slam a last ditch soap opera crisis at you, only to end the story with a kiss on the next page. I'm sure I'll read more of her works (to get my guilty pleasure fix!), and I'm sure when I'm done I'll again ask myself "what the hell did I just waste my time on?". :)
November 27, 2012
one of first romance novels I ever read. really enjoyed reading this and the counterpart "Twin of Fire" as it tells the same story from different view points.
December 17, 2022
Now I am remembering why I liked Deveraux :) I would have given this romance 5 stars except I felt the last escapade "does she love me or my money" was so totally unnecessary.
April 14, 2020
x-ter Re-Read ...
Ok, die Charas sind nicht nur ein wenig klischeehaft, aber sie machen so viel Spaß, dass man das gerne verzeiht.
Ok, die Charas sind nicht nur ein wenig klischeehaft, aber sie machen so viel Spaß, dass man das gerne verzeiht.
April 10, 2015
Okay, so that was really really cute.
To date, I've read several other Jude Deveraux books, but have only really liked one, a short story called "The Matchmakers" featuring the namesake of the hero in this story, Kane Taggart. I guess this tells me I should just avoid anything of hers that isn't written in the Taggart/Montgomery series because it's been a while, but as I recall I was heavily disappointed by the books of hers I tried to read that weren't "The Matchmakers".
Okay, but on to this story. Houston Chandler is one of a pair of twins. She's been engaged to Leander "Lee" Westfield pretty much since birth but can't stand for him to touch her. Their wedding is in only a few weeks when she meets by chance Kane Taggart, a self-made rough-around-the-edges millionaire (keep in mind that this is the 19th century, so a millionaire is pretty much the equivalent to the multitude of bachelor billionaires that today's romance novels expect you to believe exist), who takes one look at her and decides to marry her.
Mm'kay.
Houston and her twin, Blair, switch places, so that Houston can see Kane's house, which everyone in town is curious about, and things get a little out of control between Lee and Blair, enough so that Lee announces to everyone upon the discovery of the switch that he has to marry Blair.
Mmm-hmm.
No matter though because this works out perfectly for Kane, possibly the most confident insecure man (or is he an insecure confident man?) who has ever lived. Houston finds she actually likes him and marries him in a double-wedding with her sister and the guy who cheated on her.
Riiiiiight.
Seriously, this stuff should have been soooo cheesy (right down to the off-handed remark on Kane's part about purchasing part of a company that makes a drink called Coca-Cola), but I loved the absolute crap out of every minute of it. Watching Houston run circles around Kane was so much fun to watch I found it hard to put the book down. It dragged a bit right after the wedding but picked up again fairly quickly.
I have to mark the next sliiiight gripe with a spoiler tag because the events occur so late in the book.
So I wasn't terribly curious about Blair and Lee's story based on their book's summary, but I sort of am now. I'm not sure if I'll get it right away, but if I can get it cheap or maybe from the library, I'll definitely give that one a shot too.
To date, I've read several other Jude Deveraux books, but have only really liked one, a short story called "The Matchmakers" featuring the namesake of the hero in this story, Kane Taggart. I guess this tells me I should just avoid anything of hers that isn't written in the Taggart/Montgomery series because it's been a while, but as I recall I was heavily disappointed by the books of hers I tried to read that weren't "The Matchmakers".
Okay, but on to this story. Houston Chandler is one of a pair of twins. She's been engaged to Leander "Lee" Westfield pretty much since birth but can't stand for him to touch her. Their wedding is in only a few weeks when she meets by chance Kane Taggart, a self-made rough-around-the-edges millionaire (keep in mind that this is the 19th century, so a millionaire is pretty much the equivalent to the multitude of bachelor billionaires that today's romance novels expect you to believe exist), who takes one look at her and decides to marry her.
Mm'kay.
Houston and her twin, Blair, switch places, so that Houston can see Kane's house, which everyone in town is curious about, and things get a little out of control between Lee and Blair, enough so that Lee announces to everyone upon the discovery of the switch that he has to marry Blair.
Mmm-hmm.
No matter though because this works out perfectly for Kane, possibly the most confident insecure man (or is he an insecure confident man?) who has ever lived. Houston finds she actually likes him and marries him in a double-wedding with her sister and the guy who cheated on her.
Riiiiiight.
Seriously, this stuff should have been soooo cheesy (right down to the off-handed remark on Kane's part about purchasing part of a company that makes a drink called Coca-Cola), but I loved the absolute crap out of every minute of it. Watching Houston run circles around Kane was so much fun to watch I found it hard to put the book down. It dragged a bit right after the wedding but picked up again fairly quickly.
I have to mark the next sliiiight gripe with a spoiler tag because the events occur so late in the book.
So I wasn't terribly curious about Blair and Lee's story based on their book's summary, but I sort of am now. I'm not sure if I'll get it right away, but if I can get it cheap or maybe from the library, I'll definitely give that one a shot too.
August 17, 2014
2.75 stars
I read Twin of Ice because I'm a sucker for a historical cowboy story and want to dig into the backlog of popular genre fiction to find those that resonate with me. This one didn't
While this book was chock-a-block with melodrama, it failed to resolve a major story element in satisfactory way *slight spoiler*: the hero NEVER apologizes to the heroine! Not one verbal or clearly communicated "I've been such a dumbass - I'm sorry!" Instead, the heroine realizes how much the hero really loves her through incredibly fast-and-loose reasoning based on assumptions she makes about things she overhears (and only in the very last pages of the very last chapter). I was not convinced.
The narrative was really confusing; awkward sentence and paragraph structuring lead the reader in the wrong direction in terms of who is saying what to whom, and who is doing what during the scene. A character who is part of a moment of antagonism that Kane or Houston struggle against makes such a quick about-face in their opposition, it gave me whiplash. This happened so often, it was exhausting and predictable.
This storytelling makes me think that there was a lack of confidence in the narrative, that they relied on soap opera-like switches to keep the reader interested. We're 80s popular romances written with soap opera storytelling structure in mind?
I appreciate that there are many modern romance writers, who write historical romance, who are better at cutting back on the extraneous melodrama in favor of nothing but the most absolute important high points, and that they work to make the moments of opposition feel authentic.
The mysterious hints at what is happening with Blair and Lee in the simultaneously occurring plot of Twin of Fire were distracting and pointed ("well, you'll just have to read the other book to find out!").
Points for melodrama and an authentic feel in time and place, negative marks for lack of believable and satisfying character growth and dubious structuring of the storytelling.
I read Twin of Ice because I'm a sucker for a historical cowboy story and want to dig into the backlog of popular genre fiction to find those that resonate with me. This one didn't
While this book was chock-a-block with melodrama, it failed to resolve a major story element in satisfactory way *slight spoiler*: the hero NEVER apologizes to the heroine! Not one verbal or clearly communicated "I've been such a dumbass - I'm sorry!" Instead, the heroine realizes how much the hero really loves her through incredibly fast-and-loose reasoning based on assumptions she makes about things she overhears (and only in the very last pages of the very last chapter). I was not convinced.
The narrative was really confusing; awkward sentence and paragraph structuring lead the reader in the wrong direction in terms of who is saying what to whom, and who is doing what during the scene. A character who is part of a moment of antagonism that Kane or Houston struggle against makes such a quick about-face in their opposition, it gave me whiplash. This happened so often, it was exhausting and predictable.
This storytelling makes me think that there was a lack of confidence in the narrative, that they relied on soap opera-like switches to keep the reader interested. We're 80s popular romances written with soap opera storytelling structure in mind?
I appreciate that there are many modern romance writers, who write historical romance, who are better at cutting back on the extraneous melodrama in favor of nothing but the most absolute important high points, and that they work to make the moments of opposition feel authentic.
The mysterious hints at what is happening with Blair and Lee in the simultaneously occurring plot of Twin of Fire were distracting and pointed ("well, you'll just have to read the other book to find out!").
Points for melodrama and an authentic feel in time and place, negative marks for lack of believable and satisfying character growth and dubious structuring of the storytelling.
April 13, 2009
I am going to write the same thing for the Taggart and Montgomery series of Jude Deveraux. First, I can't believe that I read this books because they are so blatantly bodice rippers (not my style at all). And second, and more importantly, I devoured them all! Here is the scoop: We stopped at a friend's house in Tennessee on the last leg of one of our cross country trips about 11 years ago and I had run out of books. She gave me three of Deveraux's books in the Montgomery series and I kindly took them never expecting to read them (my God the covers alone were ridiculous!). Well, I gave in and read them because I needed something to do on the ride home. By the time we got home, I had already called the library and asked them to reserve all of the Taggart and Montgomery series books they had! I devoured them all and loved them? Here's the funny thing - I have never read any more Deveraux since that time (not even the last Taggart book or the last two Montgomery books). I can still vividly remember scenes from the books I read so many years ago!
March 30, 2011
Was hoping for a contemporary, but turned out to be historical. Deveraux had written an anthology including the Taggerts and I hoped this would be within the same family during the same time period. About two twin sisters. One has been engaged to her fiance since they were little, the other chose to pursue a profession in medicine. Three weeks before Houston's wedding she asks her sister for a favor that will turn both their worlds upsidedown. The consequences have the potential to tear their family apart.I always love Deveraux's characters and stories and this one is no exception.
March 29, 2016
My favorite of the twin books
I have reread this one many times. I find I still love it. my favorite of the twin books. Love It. I love Kane and how he has a heart of gold but it's hidden behind this gruff exterior and few see it. Houston is an awesome heroine. I will say I've reread this one many times but I rarely reread Twin of Fire. I would suggest you read TWIN OF ICE before TWIN OF FIRE but again TWIN OF FIRE is not my favorite of the set and I rarely reread it. Fans of great romances are in for a great time.
I have reread this one many times. I find I still love it. my favorite of the twin books. Love It. I love Kane and how he has a heart of gold but it's hidden behind this gruff exterior and few see it. Houston is an awesome heroine. I will say I've reread this one many times but I rarely reread Twin of Fire. I would suggest you read TWIN OF ICE before TWIN OF FIRE but again TWIN OF FIRE is not my favorite of the set and I rarely reread it. Fans of great romances are in for a great time.
July 31, 2009
An enjoyable romance that made me chuckle repeatedly. I'm looking forward to the other half of the book Twin of Fire.
October 28, 2012
first of all, a huge THANK U to my friend Janani who gave me this book
woman, u knw my tastes well ! :)
i now see y a lot of women r in love with Jude Deveraux
she sure knows how to weave magic!
woman, u knw my tastes well ! :)
i now see y a lot of women r in love with Jude Deveraux
she sure knows how to weave magic!
January 30, 2013
una historia fascinante, hay que leer la saga para completar los blancos que deja una y otra, MUY INTERESANTE!!!! Yo leí primero "hermana de Fuego", y me parece que ese sería el orden correcto.
March 15, 2017
Amazing book. I can read it over and over. Though Kane is a little if a basta*d, but it is forgivable.
June 6, 2014
This is one of my favorite books. I love Kane and Houston, and the way the realize their love for each other.
June 23, 2018
Everyone remembers their first, and Jude Deveraux was mine.
I'm fairly certain that the novel my summer camp roommate mailed me after we'd gone home for the fall was actually The Taming, which I don't remember at all. After that first free hit I was hooked, though, and spent the next several months burning my way through Deveraux's oeuvre, mostly while I was at school, where I passed her novels around in what became a long-running communal reading session. (To this day, I vividly remember a group of us getting into a Taggert vs. Montgomery argument at a sleepover.)
All of which is to say I have a nostalgic attachment to Twin of Ice, which while not my technical first was at least one of my first favorite romance novels. Given that I started reading romances in 1992 and would have been largely constrained to older titles carried by the public library, I'm just grateful that my first love isn't more problematic. Written in 1985, during a decade where "no" frequently got heard as "yes" even in romance novels, Twin of Ice follows the story of Houston Chandler, whose decision to change places with her twin sister for one night in order to accept a dinner invitation from Kane Taggert, the mysterious stable-boy turned millionaire whose gigantic house looms over their small Colorado town, up-ends her life. Rough-around-the-edges Taggert has reasons of his own for wanting to marry a lady and immediately proposes to Houston; a proposal she dismisses until she discovers that her sister Blair slept with Houston's fiance the night they traded places. Attracted to Taggert, his offer to let her decorate and run his beautiful house, and the chance not to be completely humiliated in front of the entire town, Houston agrees to become his wife, and much Pygmalion-ing ensues.
While Twin of Ice has some of the major flaws of its genre and time - Kane's unsubstantiated jealousy, for instance, or Houston's fiance's shaming her about the frigidity that's actually a serious case of She's Just Not That Into You - it has a surprisingly strong dose of girl power, especially for a novel that begins with a woman shagging her sister's fiance. The women of Chandler have deep ties, and celebrate them through subversive political and charitable action, and it's not hard to picture all of them wearing pink proto-pussy hats. When a crisis arises in the third act, it's the women who mobilize immediately to deal with it. Admittedly, this does draw some attention away from the main romance toward the end of the novel, but given that's usually the time when authors start spinning their wheels and making their characters do idiot things to drag the tension out for another fifty pages I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
It's always gratifying to discover that the things you loved in your youth hold up - or at least aren't so awful they require burning all your fond memories to ash and mentally dis-inheriting them. Compared to today's more-or-less standard badass heroines, Twin of Ice doesn't look particularly progressive. The thing about first loves, though, is that they're rarely your perfect match, just an early iteration on the path to helping you figure out what you really want. And it turns out that what I wanted and what Jude Deveraux gave a generation of us was a love story about a woman who had her own hobbies and priorities and a man who was secure enough to be comfortable with that. As first times go, that's not half bad.
I'm fairly certain that the novel my summer camp roommate mailed me after we'd gone home for the fall was actually The Taming, which I don't remember at all. After that first free hit I was hooked, though, and spent the next several months burning my way through Deveraux's oeuvre, mostly while I was at school, where I passed her novels around in what became a long-running communal reading session. (To this day, I vividly remember a group of us getting into a Taggert vs. Montgomery argument at a sleepover.)
All of which is to say I have a nostalgic attachment to Twin of Ice, which while not my technical first was at least one of my first favorite romance novels. Given that I started reading romances in 1992 and would have been largely constrained to older titles carried by the public library, I'm just grateful that my first love isn't more problematic. Written in 1985, during a decade where "no" frequently got heard as "yes" even in romance novels, Twin of Ice follows the story of Houston Chandler, whose decision to change places with her twin sister for one night in order to accept a dinner invitation from Kane Taggert, the mysterious stable-boy turned millionaire whose gigantic house looms over their small Colorado town, up-ends her life. Rough-around-the-edges Taggert has reasons of his own for wanting to marry a lady and immediately proposes to Houston; a proposal she dismisses until she discovers that her sister Blair slept with Houston's fiance the night they traded places. Attracted to Taggert, his offer to let her decorate and run his beautiful house, and the chance not to be completely humiliated in front of the entire town, Houston agrees to become his wife, and much Pygmalion-ing ensues.
While Twin of Ice has some of the major flaws of its genre and time - Kane's unsubstantiated jealousy, for instance, or Houston's fiance's shaming her about the frigidity that's actually a serious case of She's Just Not That Into You - it has a surprisingly strong dose of girl power, especially for a novel that begins with a woman shagging her sister's fiance. The women of Chandler have deep ties, and celebrate them through subversive political and charitable action, and it's not hard to picture all of them wearing pink proto-pussy hats. When a crisis arises in the third act, it's the women who mobilize immediately to deal with it. Admittedly, this does draw some attention away from the main romance toward the end of the novel, but given that's usually the time when authors start spinning their wheels and making their characters do idiot things to drag the tension out for another fifty pages I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
It's always gratifying to discover that the things you loved in your youth hold up - or at least aren't so awful they require burning all your fond memories to ash and mentally dis-inheriting them. Compared to today's more-or-less standard badass heroines, Twin of Ice doesn't look particularly progressive. The thing about first loves, though, is that they're rarely your perfect match, just an early iteration on the path to helping you figure out what you really want. And it turns out that what I wanted and what Jude Deveraux gave a generation of us was a love story about a woman who had her own hobbies and priorities and a man who was secure enough to be comfortable with that. As first times go, that's not half bad.
May 29, 2021
Kane and Houston....in Chandler... This is the same story as Twin of Fire, except from their point of view... and fills in some of the blanks left in the first book...
Kane is the son of the rich Fentons - who disowned his mother when she got pregnant by his father - a wrong side of the tracks and poor Taggart... Taggart died when she was pregnant... his mother returned home in disgrace, gave birth to Kane and hung herself... her father rewrote his will giving everything to Kane, and naming his adopted son as his guardian... which angered his adopted son, and then grandpa killed himself... the adopted son bribed the lawyers to accept a different will, and farmed Kane out to strangers to raise... when he was about 10, he came to live at the Fenton house as a stableboy - where his natural leadership put him in charge - but he was never let up to 2nd floor of the house... he fell in love with his uncle's (the adopted son) daughter, Pamela, - and when she became pregnant, he sent her away to marry someone else, and gave Kane $500 and told him to leave...
and with that $500 he went to california, bought a failing gold mine, mined a few thousand dollars, bought some land in San Francisco, and sold it for twice what he bought it for, etc.... and became a multi millionaire. It was his dream to return to Chandler, build a house 5x as big as the Fentons, to marry Pamela, and invite his uncle to his table for dinner... and he built that house (hiring others to do it - bought expensive furniture, and stored it the attic)... and returned to town, where he was brash, and rough, and when he spurned the women's attentions, the town ignored him...
Houston... declared she would marry Lee when she was 6 years old... he went away to school, became a doctor, practiced in Europe & a big city, and then returned to Chandler - and they were engaged with 2 months... and though they got along very well, any time Lee tried to kiss or cuddle her, she would freeze up... and then we have the 'Twin of Fire' story, where Blair, her twin captures his heart... and Houston is embarrassed, and worried she is an ice princess... she defends Kane in the general store, and Kane invites her to his home... no one had been inside his home, and she is eager to see it (having been fascinated with it since the builders first came)... Kane proposes to her, she turns him down... and when Lee dumps her for Blair, Kane comes to the church and declares she had dumped Lee to accept his proposal - and he gets the lady he needs for his table...
And the backdrop is the mines - Fenton owned mines - where conditions are horrible... Houston, and the Circle of Sisters do what they can to help the miners and their families - with food, medicine, etc... and they are trying to help unionists...
and their relationship begins... Kane, for the most part, just acts on his impulses... and he responds to her gentle defense of him and tries to please her... for Houston, she is alive when she is with him - through their discussions and his kisses... Her too smooth edges compliment his too rough edges... at the first garden party she requires him to join her at, he is doing okay, but then he dumps a plate of food on her lap... she leans forward, and tells him to sweep her up in his arms, take her to the carriage, and leave with her, knowing that the others will be awed with his strength and passion for her, not the mess... When he kisses her, and attempts to go further, she melts - and she arranges a picnic to ask him that she remain a virgin until they marry... at first he is hurt, thinking she is rejecting him - but when she confesses that he is 'too good at asking', he understands that is her delicate way of saying she looses control, and wants him to maintain control. He is moody, she learns to deal with his moods... she requires he participate in society (hair cut, new clothes, visitors) and he learns to deal with these changes... she invites his cousins and uncle to live with them, away from the mines - giving his 16 yr old cousin a new chance at life... when Pamela's 13 year old son learns he is his biological father, and comes in and storms at him, Houston gently councils him to talk to the boy and invite him to come play baseball with them...
and they have fun, and he grouses about not getting his work done...
at their wedding, Blair sees Kane kissing Pamela Fenton, and thinking she is ruining her sisters life, she manipulates it so that they go to the other's groom - but Houston claims Kane, and Lee claims Blair...In fact, Kane told Pamela he would not hurt Houston by leaving her at the alter, and they kiss as sort of a challenge - and both realize what they had was no longer there... Kane's prideful response to Houston is that he doesn't care which one he marries - and he storms away after the wedding... Houston follows him up to his cabin, traversing some rough terrain - where they have 3 days of wonderful, freeing, sex - where Houston simply looses herself in him... they return home - things are bumpy -but they are mostly happy with one another... until Kane invites Fenton to dinner, and tells her the stark story - she feels used, and leaves him... he is lonely without her, and on advice from her mother, blackmails her to return to him... and she is icy, ... and he pretends to leave for a few days, she dresses as old Sadie to bring food and supplies to the miners, and he hides in her wagon... she discovers him, he spends time with his uncle Rafe - and Rafe tells him gifts seem to work - Kane tells him he gave her a chest of jewels, and she won't even look at them - and Rafe tells him it just has to be the right gift... so Kane buys and organizes a baseball game for the children of the mines - and takes her up Sunday to see them open them up... and when he also had equipment for the girls (tennis, and ...), she looses her heart to him once again... and on the way home, he pulls the wagon over to a secluded place, lays out a tarp, and they spend the night under the stars - he could not wait to get home to have sex with her...
And then one of the mines explodes... and Kane & Houston respond... Kane spends an hour at the camp and sees they have enough rescurers, but they need food and water, so he organizes that... and after 3 days, he storms to Fentons, and accuses him of murdering all of the miners... but he is more open to listening to Fenton (Houston's influence), and finds a measure of understanding for what he had done to him as a child... and Fenton tells him he is dieing... Kane returns the next day with a legal document that turns over all of the holding officially to him, but he finds him dead at the bottom of the stairs - Fenton's drunk son & friends hit him over the head, threaten to hang him, but turn him over to the sheriff for murder - the servants tell the sheriff they had found him dead before Kane entered the house, and they had left to find help - so Kane is not under arrest... but he decides to test Houston - if he is found guilty, he would lose all of his money - what will Houston do? the sheriff agrees - saying that he will charge him fancy hotel fees... and Houston comes, hears his story - he tells her the truth, but leaves out the part about the servants... and Houston abstractly leaves, as she is making plans to free him... Kane is depressed, thinking that she was after his money - but she returns with dynamite she took from the mines, blows the back wall, he is temporarily deaf from the blast, she 'forces' him on a horse that she has packed with money and food, and they take off for Mexico... after x number of hours of racing away, he signs for her to stop - and sets up a camp, and makes ferocious love to her as he now knows she loves him for him... and in the morning, when he can hear, he explains the whole truth - and she of course is hurt & withdraws from him again, and embarrassed... the 1st few days back in town are to embarrassing for her, and one afternoon she overhears Lee, and Aden (Kanes assistant) and Kane talking... and sees herself in a different light, and starts laughing... and all is well...
except, I don't believe Kane ever told her he loved her - he showed her, but never said it... hmmmm
Kane is the son of the rich Fentons - who disowned his mother when she got pregnant by his father - a wrong side of the tracks and poor Taggart... Taggart died when she was pregnant... his mother returned home in disgrace, gave birth to Kane and hung herself... her father rewrote his will giving everything to Kane, and naming his adopted son as his guardian... which angered his adopted son, and then grandpa killed himself... the adopted son bribed the lawyers to accept a different will, and farmed Kane out to strangers to raise... when he was about 10, he came to live at the Fenton house as a stableboy - where his natural leadership put him in charge - but he was never let up to 2nd floor of the house... he fell in love with his uncle's (the adopted son) daughter, Pamela, - and when she became pregnant, he sent her away to marry someone else, and gave Kane $500 and told him to leave...
and with that $500 he went to california, bought a failing gold mine, mined a few thousand dollars, bought some land in San Francisco, and sold it for twice what he bought it for, etc.... and became a multi millionaire. It was his dream to return to Chandler, build a house 5x as big as the Fentons, to marry Pamela, and invite his uncle to his table for dinner... and he built that house (hiring others to do it - bought expensive furniture, and stored it the attic)... and returned to town, where he was brash, and rough, and when he spurned the women's attentions, the town ignored him...
Houston... declared she would marry Lee when she was 6 years old... he went away to school, became a doctor, practiced in Europe & a big city, and then returned to Chandler - and they were engaged with 2 months... and though they got along very well, any time Lee tried to kiss or cuddle her, she would freeze up... and then we have the 'Twin of Fire' story, where Blair, her twin captures his heart... and Houston is embarrassed, and worried she is an ice princess... she defends Kane in the general store, and Kane invites her to his home... no one had been inside his home, and she is eager to see it (having been fascinated with it since the builders first came)... Kane proposes to her, she turns him down... and when Lee dumps her for Blair, Kane comes to the church and declares she had dumped Lee to accept his proposal - and he gets the lady he needs for his table...
And the backdrop is the mines - Fenton owned mines - where conditions are horrible... Houston, and the Circle of Sisters do what they can to help the miners and their families - with food, medicine, etc... and they are trying to help unionists...
and their relationship begins... Kane, for the most part, just acts on his impulses... and he responds to her gentle defense of him and tries to please her... for Houston, she is alive when she is with him - through their discussions and his kisses... Her too smooth edges compliment his too rough edges... at the first garden party she requires him to join her at, he is doing okay, but then he dumps a plate of food on her lap... she leans forward, and tells him to sweep her up in his arms, take her to the carriage, and leave with her, knowing that the others will be awed with his strength and passion for her, not the mess... When he kisses her, and attempts to go further, she melts - and she arranges a picnic to ask him that she remain a virgin until they marry... at first he is hurt, thinking she is rejecting him - but when she confesses that he is 'too good at asking', he understands that is her delicate way of saying she looses control, and wants him to maintain control. He is moody, she learns to deal with his moods... she requires he participate in society (hair cut, new clothes, visitors) and he learns to deal with these changes... she invites his cousins and uncle to live with them, away from the mines - giving his 16 yr old cousin a new chance at life... when Pamela's 13 year old son learns he is his biological father, and comes in and storms at him, Houston gently councils him to talk to the boy and invite him to come play baseball with them...
and they have fun, and he grouses about not getting his work done...
at their wedding, Blair sees Kane kissing Pamela Fenton, and thinking she is ruining her sisters life, she manipulates it so that they go to the other's groom - but Houston claims Kane, and Lee claims Blair...In fact, Kane told Pamela he would not hurt Houston by leaving her at the alter, and they kiss as sort of a challenge - and both realize what they had was no longer there... Kane's prideful response to Houston is that he doesn't care which one he marries - and he storms away after the wedding... Houston follows him up to his cabin, traversing some rough terrain - where they have 3 days of wonderful, freeing, sex - where Houston simply looses herself in him... they return home - things are bumpy -but they are mostly happy with one another... until Kane invites Fenton to dinner, and tells her the stark story - she feels used, and leaves him... he is lonely without her, and on advice from her mother, blackmails her to return to him... and she is icy, ... and he pretends to leave for a few days, she dresses as old Sadie to bring food and supplies to the miners, and he hides in her wagon... she discovers him, he spends time with his uncle Rafe - and Rafe tells him gifts seem to work - Kane tells him he gave her a chest of jewels, and she won't even look at them - and Rafe tells him it just has to be the right gift... so Kane buys and organizes a baseball game for the children of the mines - and takes her up Sunday to see them open them up... and when he also had equipment for the girls (tennis, and ...), she looses her heart to him once again... and on the way home, he pulls the wagon over to a secluded place, lays out a tarp, and they spend the night under the stars - he could not wait to get home to have sex with her...
And then one of the mines explodes... and Kane & Houston respond... Kane spends an hour at the camp and sees they have enough rescurers, but they need food and water, so he organizes that... and after 3 days, he storms to Fentons, and accuses him of murdering all of the miners... but he is more open to listening to Fenton (Houston's influence), and finds a measure of understanding for what he had done to him as a child... and Fenton tells him he is dieing... Kane returns the next day with a legal document that turns over all of the holding officially to him, but he finds him dead at the bottom of the stairs - Fenton's drunk son & friends hit him over the head, threaten to hang him, but turn him over to the sheriff for murder - the servants tell the sheriff they had found him dead before Kane entered the house, and they had left to find help - so Kane is not under arrest... but he decides to test Houston - if he is found guilty, he would lose all of his money - what will Houston do? the sheriff agrees - saying that he will charge him fancy hotel fees... and Houston comes, hears his story - he tells her the truth, but leaves out the part about the servants... and Houston abstractly leaves, as she is making plans to free him... Kane is depressed, thinking that she was after his money - but she returns with dynamite she took from the mines, blows the back wall, he is temporarily deaf from the blast, she 'forces' him on a horse that she has packed with money and food, and they take off for Mexico... after x number of hours of racing away, he signs for her to stop - and sets up a camp, and makes ferocious love to her as he now knows she loves him for him... and in the morning, when he can hear, he explains the whole truth - and she of course is hurt & withdraws from him again, and embarrassed... the 1st few days back in town are to embarrassing for her, and one afternoon she overhears Lee, and Aden (Kanes assistant) and Kane talking... and sees herself in a different light, and starts laughing... and all is well...
except, I don't believe Kane ever told her he loved her - he showed her, but never said it... hmmmm
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2012
First in the Taggert and Twin romance series set in late 19th century Colorado. This story focuses on Houston Chandler and Kane Taggert in coal mining country in the Colorado mountains.
My Take
I fully agree with Kane. The way the women were carrying on when he first showed up, he didn't have to act like a gentleman since "they was makin' whores of themselves…"
Wow, talk about a soap opera! There's the plot and all the subplots running about making for a complex and fascinating read. It's a look at both sides of a coal mine: the miners and their families and the working conditions versus the cost considerations of management. There's the Chandlers' undercover group of operatives taking a hand in all sorts of activities at which their male relatives would be horrified. Houston and Blair's personal family history has its own dramas with the expectations Houston has nursed since childhood.
Deveraux is rather simplistic in setting up the relationships between Houston, Blair, Leander, and Kane. Although, Kane certainly does enjoy the powerful position it places him in and he's certainly not shy about taking advantage of it.
Oh, crack me up! Houston and Blair are combining their bachelorette party and Edan is a witness to it---Kane is worried about the womenfolk being alone in that big house. Does Edan ever get an eye- and earful! Hah!
Duh, the whole switch thing at the altar was just stupid. More of a desperate introduction to impose some drama. Then Kane's overwhelming need to show up Jacob Fenton was a clumsy plotline to create more drama. Although, it does allow for Deveraux to explain Kane's origins. Following this up with Kane's learning about Houston's extracurricular activities completely blows everything up. And that's before the really big blow-up...! Then the jailbreak... Definitely a turn-of-the-century soap opera!
Interesting factoid about typewriters and the QWERTY keyboard.
When all's said, a fascinating read and I'm looking forward to reading Twin of Fire ...it's got to be about Blair!
The Story
An introduction to Houston/Sadie's unionist activities is followed up by the scandal of the town of Chandler---the megalith of a house bigger 'n anything in town, especially Jacob Fenton's place. When Kane Taggert shows up in Chandler to claim his house, the womenfolk go wild trying to attract his attention. The games stop when none of them can get his attention and, instead, they revert to shunning and making fun of him.
It's one such incident by which Houston meets Kane when she steps up to interfere. An unexpected meeting which leads Kane to believe he's found exactly what he needs and he lays siege to Houston Chandler. He wants himself a lady and that look she gave him… Well, that look just about froze him in his footsteps and that's one way to know a woman is a lady.
The turning point---for Kane—is the private dinner invitation Houston receives from Kane. She inveigles her twin to take her place with Leander, a mistake of major proportions as Blair goes a lot farther than Houston ever considered. Houston has ever been the ice princess with Lee and it seems that Blair has a lot more fire in her.
The Characters
Houston Chandler is the demure twin, but she's also masquerading as the ancient, team-driving Sadie delivering vegetables and medicines to the families of the miners. She's also delivering union materials inserted inside the cabbages. Her twin, Blair, is the fiery one who fights with her stepfather and despises Leander. She insisted on going back east and getting her medical degree. Both of them hate their stepfather Duncan Gates for his obsession with appearances while they adore their mother Opal. Dr. Leander Westfield is Houston's fiancé.
Kane Taggert has been hard done by as a child...wait'll you read just how hard! But he ran off and made good. Now he's back to lord it over his former employer. Edan Nyland is his assistant. Jean Taggert is one of Kane's cousins; she's the central distribution point for the other miners' families for the supplies Sadie brings in. Rafe and Sherwin Taggert are Kane's uncles; Ian Taggert is another cousin.
Reverend Thomas connives at the union activities and serves as a sounding board for Houston. The Sisterhood was founded by Houston's grandmother and is a group of women in town who perform charitable works, helping orphans and sick people, spreading information about unions in the mining camps, you know, the usual things women do.
Jacob Fenton runs Fenton Coal & Iron including the Little Pamela mine. Charity Fenton is Jacob's sister and Kane's mother. Jacob's children are Pamela née Fenton Younger, the daughter who got married off to a man who owed him money and Marc, the rather feckless son. Zach Younger is Pamela's son...and Kane's.
The Cover
It's a very pretty cover with its marbled blue background and the ornate filigreed oval frame encasing a long distance view of a plantation like home in the background itself backed by a mountain and a woman in turn-of-the-century dress.
The title is a actually a rather rude nickname for Houston Chandler---a twin, she is seen as an ice queen, a Twin of Ice.
My Take
I fully agree with Kane. The way the women were carrying on when he first showed up, he didn't have to act like a gentleman since "they was makin' whores of themselves…"
Wow, talk about a soap opera! There's the plot and all the subplots running about making for a complex and fascinating read. It's a look at both sides of a coal mine: the miners and their families and the working conditions versus the cost considerations of management. There's the Chandlers' undercover group of operatives taking a hand in all sorts of activities at which their male relatives would be horrified. Houston and Blair's personal family history has its own dramas with the expectations Houston has nursed since childhood.
Deveraux is rather simplistic in setting up the relationships between Houston, Blair, Leander, and Kane. Although, Kane certainly does enjoy the powerful position it places him in and he's certainly not shy about taking advantage of it.
Oh, crack me up! Houston and Blair are combining their bachelorette party and Edan is a witness to it---Kane is worried about the womenfolk being alone in that big house. Does Edan ever get an eye- and earful! Hah!
Duh, the whole switch thing at the altar was just stupid. More of a desperate introduction to impose some drama. Then Kane's overwhelming need to show up Jacob Fenton was a clumsy plotline to create more drama. Although, it does allow for Deveraux to explain Kane's origins. Following this up with Kane's learning about Houston's extracurricular activities completely blows everything up. And that's before the really big blow-up...! Then the jailbreak... Definitely a turn-of-the-century soap opera!
Interesting factoid about typewriters and the QWERTY keyboard.
When all's said, a fascinating read and I'm looking forward to reading Twin of Fire ...it's got to be about Blair!
The Story
An introduction to Houston/Sadie's unionist activities is followed up by the scandal of the town of Chandler---the megalith of a house bigger 'n anything in town, especially Jacob Fenton's place. When Kane Taggert shows up in Chandler to claim his house, the womenfolk go wild trying to attract his attention. The games stop when none of them can get his attention and, instead, they revert to shunning and making fun of him.
It's one such incident by which Houston meets Kane when she steps up to interfere. An unexpected meeting which leads Kane to believe he's found exactly what he needs and he lays siege to Houston Chandler. He wants himself a lady and that look she gave him… Well, that look just about froze him in his footsteps and that's one way to know a woman is a lady.
The turning point---for Kane—is the private dinner invitation Houston receives from Kane. She inveigles her twin to take her place with Leander, a mistake of major proportions as Blair goes a lot farther than Houston ever considered. Houston has ever been the ice princess with Lee and it seems that Blair has a lot more fire in her.
The Characters
Houston Chandler is the demure twin, but she's also masquerading as the ancient, team-driving Sadie delivering vegetables and medicines to the families of the miners. She's also delivering union materials inserted inside the cabbages. Her twin, Blair, is the fiery one who fights with her stepfather and despises Leander. She insisted on going back east and getting her medical degree. Both of them hate their stepfather Duncan Gates for his obsession with appearances while they adore their mother Opal. Dr. Leander Westfield is Houston's fiancé.
Kane Taggert has been hard done by as a child...wait'll you read just how hard! But he ran off and made good. Now he's back to lord it over his former employer. Edan Nyland is his assistant. Jean Taggert is one of Kane's cousins; she's the central distribution point for the other miners' families for the supplies Sadie brings in. Rafe and Sherwin Taggert are Kane's uncles; Ian Taggert is another cousin.
Reverend Thomas connives at the union activities and serves as a sounding board for Houston. The Sisterhood was founded by Houston's grandmother and is a group of women in town who perform charitable works, helping orphans and sick people, spreading information about unions in the mining camps, you know, the usual things women do.
Jacob Fenton runs Fenton Coal & Iron including the Little Pamela mine. Charity Fenton is Jacob's sister and Kane's mother. Jacob's children are Pamela née Fenton Younger, the daughter who got married off to a man who owed him money and Marc, the rather feckless son. Zach Younger is Pamela's son...and Kane's.
The Cover
It's a very pretty cover with its marbled blue background and the ornate filigreed oval frame encasing a long distance view of a plantation like home in the background itself backed by a mountain and a woman in turn-of-the-century dress.
The title is a actually a rather rude nickname for Houston Chandler---a twin, she is seen as an ice queen, a Twin of Ice.
October 3, 2018
Interesting view of an 1892 young lady, sent to a finishing school to learn to be a wife, afraid to do anything out of the normal except in secret, who meets a heavily bearded, rich man raised without education or money who wants a lady to wed. Parts are hilarious; parts are sad. Sometimes you want to kick Kane Taggert in the butt; sometimes you want to hug and mother him. Houston has her hands full dealing with him. Most of the time I was on her side, but what I really learned was that those finishing schools that I scoffed at growing up teach a lot that is needed to run a home - how to get out stains, how to organize and run major events, how to deal with sticky problems that could cause guests humiliation or shame, and on and on. Who knew? Houston was a revelation to me.
February 20, 2019
#2 of 2. You must read both Twin of Ice AND Twin of Fire because it is from the perspective of the Twins Blaire and Houston. The town of Chandler, their last name, call them Blaire-Houston because no one can tell them apart. Leander and Kane. Spouses.
June 16, 2012
I ended up giving this 3 stars. I would have liked to have given it 4 stars but I didn't like the ending. The joke/love test was going too far. Folks that love each other don't do that and publicly humiliate their spouse. However, up to that point, I enjoyed the story.
I would like to point out though that I dislike that the author had the twins, Houston and Blair, referred to by the townsfolks as Miss Blair-Houston because they couldn't tell them apart. That's just insulting. They should have just called either of them Miss Chandler, using their last name, which would have been more appropriate.
On another note, depending on which website and list you look at, it differs as to which book in the set you're to read first. I got both books printed together in a set Twin of Ice/Twin of Fire and it has Twin of Ice first. Every list I've seen has Twin of Fire listed first. Apparantly, from looking at the start of the second book, they take place at the same time, but from different points of view, which is strange enough. I refuse right now to read Twin Of Fire because I found the twin Blair and her eventual husband Leeander both annoying characters. Both had moments of loose morals that I don't agree with, no matter what reason was given. Seeing as I found both characters annoying in this book, there is no reason to read their love story, which I've already read mind you from the other twins point of view, from their point of view. If anything, I'd rather read a book about Uncle Rafe Taggart's eventual hopefully romance.
I would like to point out though that I dislike that the author had the twins, Houston and Blair, referred to by the townsfolks as Miss Blair-Houston because they couldn't tell them apart. That's just insulting. They should have just called either of them Miss Chandler, using their last name, which would have been more appropriate.
On another note, depending on which website and list you look at, it differs as to which book in the set you're to read first. I got both books printed together in a set Twin of Ice/Twin of Fire and it has Twin of Ice first. Every list I've seen has Twin of Fire listed first. Apparantly, from looking at the start of the second book, they take place at the same time, but from different points of view, which is strange enough. I refuse right now to read Twin Of Fire because I found the twin Blair and her eventual husband Leeander both annoying characters. Both had moments of loose morals that I don't agree with, no matter what reason was given. Seeing as I found both characters annoying in this book, there is no reason to read their love story, which I've already read mind you from the other twins point of view, from their point of view. If anything, I'd rather read a book about Uncle Rafe Taggart's eventual hopefully romance.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews