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The Nightingale's Song
Clare, Countess of Trent, who has long hidden her identity as The Nightingale, the author of heroic adventures, is threatened with an unwanted marriage at the behest of King Henry, but instead she falls in love with The Dragon, a daring knight and the uncle of her profligate betrothed. Original.
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
2 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Jo-Ann Power
28 books21 followersAka Ann Crowleigh (joint pseudonym with Barbara Cummings).
Writing a new mystery series starring a Texas Congresswoman and her reluctant bodyguard, Jo-Ann Power truly writes what she knows! A career in Washington in media--and a new resident of Texas (relatively speaking...), "JP" has created a series that PW loves as well as RT, Booklist and many readers more!"
Writing a new mystery series starring a Texas Congresswoman and her reluctant bodyguard, Jo-Ann Power truly writes what she knows! A career in Washington in media--and a new resident of Texas (relatively speaking...), "JP" has created a series that PW loves as well as RT, Booklist and many readers more!"
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 30, 2010
I picked this one up at the dollar store, and I gotta say, it was well worth the dollar I paid for it. I'd never even heard of this author before, but I'll definitely keep my eye out for more by her on future shopping trips. The writing style was really good, vivid and somewhat poetic. The characters were unique, Clare being a writer and independent in the time period, and Jordan being sweet and loving and honorable, and still a kickass warrior. They meshed together very well, the frustration and desire for each other was palpable, and I was so happy when things finally worked out for them. The detail of the writing was really good, I could picture what was happening like watching a movie. Definitely a keeper.
January 13, 2018
OK, this was one of my first romance novels, found on the free swap shelf at the library where I was working at the time. Maybe there's some sentimentality there, but it's one I still enjoy rereading every so often. Like a lot of romance novels, it can be kinda purple-prosey. Biggest complaint, but rather comes with the genre, right? But I also like romances that aren't all sex scenes, and this one does have more - some politics, mystery, danger too. The H is strong and honorable, pretty standard stuff, but I also liked that he was a little older too. He meshed well with the h, who was intelligent and independent (both things I value in a romance heroine). They seemed to actually complement each other, not just lust-fueled.
There you go. As Literary Works go... well, it is a romance novel. Still, it's interesting escapism from the normal, interesting characters, some plot twists and a little mystery, and a satisfying HEA.
There you go. As Literary Works go... well, it is a romance novel. Still, it's interesting escapism from the normal, interesting characters, some plot twists and a little mystery, and a satisfying HEA.
April 27, 2023
Deliciously raunchy! Ha
May 27, 2025
September Readathon
3+
An us-against-the-world (nice, I like), with a romance whose conflict is how they can be together, not whether or not they're in love (also nice). Both are established early on.
While reading, it moves along from events to intrigues to action, and on again. When thinking about it over the past hour, there's not really a lot the leads do so much as a lot happens around them they must react to, maybe outwit, and survive.
I'm not confident this was on purpose to mirror how it was for them to be literal political pawns in a warring land, how they didn't have agency much beyond their own behavior and honor, but I don't mind allowing that assumption. Even if that's giving the whole way too much credit.
That doesn't make it about nothing, upon reflection, but it makes it about less than it *felt like* while reading. Which is a skill of its own when writing, and is well and good, but does make the lingering impression thin, and then fade, pretty quickly away.
I really liked the leads. The hero is too good to be true, too honorable, too devoted, too perfectly wounded -- but then he's also the heroine's perfect romantic lead (literally, for her character writes celebrated works and her latest, much inspired by him, is a romance), so that's fine. Also it's nice to read about a big burl handsome paragon of a man brought to a standstill, and then his knees, and then his only happiness, by the singular one worthy woman he at last finds.
I have a good sense of the actual history of the time the book takes place, and that was helpful to me. Not a necessity but I was glad to be able to draw on it as I read.
And again, there's not a lot of actual conflict aside the two leads having to parry external threats and resist one another, but none of what happened-to-them seemed contrived. And they both had to use some wiles and abilities--though it mostly occurred off-page--so they weren't completely at the mercy of events.
Prose borders on purple; florid in sections. It reads like a romance when it was written, and isn't unwelcome. Some florid sincere overwhelm of romance is also nice, sometimes.
Prose is also very dense and not quite standard, owing to trying to sound Historical. That's also fine, but it did make me have to pause and reread here and there to be sure I knew what was happening or what information was conveyed.
Nice and lengthy epilogue that tidies a few things up, gives them the hope of several more years together, and a HEA for everyone in the book that mattered.
3+
An us-against-the-world (nice, I like), with a romance whose conflict is how they can be together, not whether or not they're in love (also nice). Both are established early on.
While reading, it moves along from events to intrigues to action, and on again. When thinking about it over the past hour, there's not really a lot the leads do so much as a lot happens around them they must react to, maybe outwit, and survive.
I'm not confident this was on purpose to mirror how it was for them to be literal political pawns in a warring land, how they didn't have agency much beyond their own behavior and honor, but I don't mind allowing that assumption. Even if that's giving the whole way too much credit.
That doesn't make it about nothing, upon reflection, but it makes it about less than it *felt like* while reading. Which is a skill of its own when writing, and is well and good, but does make the lingering impression thin, and then fade, pretty quickly away.
I really liked the leads. The hero is too good to be true, too honorable, too devoted, too perfectly wounded -- but then he's also the heroine's perfect romantic lead (literally, for her character writes celebrated works and her latest, much inspired by him, is a romance), so that's fine. Also it's nice to read about a big burl handsome paragon of a man brought to a standstill, and then his knees, and then his only happiness, by the singular one worthy woman he at last finds.
I have a good sense of the actual history of the time the book takes place, and that was helpful to me. Not a necessity but I was glad to be able to draw on it as I read.
And again, there's not a lot of actual conflict aside the two leads having to parry external threats and resist one another, but none of what happened-to-them seemed contrived. And they both had to use some wiles and abilities--though it mostly occurred off-page--so they weren't completely at the mercy of events.
Prose borders on purple; florid in sections. It reads like a romance when it was written, and isn't unwelcome. Some florid sincere overwhelm of romance is also nice, sometimes.
Prose is also very dense and not quite standard, owing to trying to sound Historical. That's also fine, but it did make me have to pause and reread here and there to be sure I knew what was happening or what information was conveyed.
Nice and lengthy epilogue that tidies a few things up, gives them the hope of several more years together, and a HEA for everyone in the book that mattered.
February 14, 2016
I was torn on whether to give this 2 or 3 stars. It had some good parts but not so great more so. It was too busy. There was so many names and places thrown out it could be confusing. Also two characters had two different names which was very confusing until I figured it out. I also pride myself on having pretty good vocabulary but there was at least 3 words on each page I had to look the meaning up on. I eventually gave up. Also the I want you can't have you, want you can't have you, got old. It eventually got good towards the end which is why I gave it 3 stars but I was really ready for the book to be over.
June 10, 2012
This book had a 3.88 rating so obviously some people liked it but it was just not the book for me. I found it so boring. It was so hard for me to move forward in it (and it took forever for me to finish...I began it May 17, finished it June 9th! I just never had the desire to read it), it never caught my attention & the pace just seemed so slow. I was hoping it would get better if I could just get past the first few chapters but it never did. By the end I was barely skimming over the text for the most part trying to rush through it so I could start another book.
November 26, 2013
I love this book!!! I went through all my books and donated most of them to a cancer center. I could not let go of this one! If you like a classic romance with danger around every corner, this is the book for you!!!
January 29, 2013
good read
July 10, 2008
I loved how medieval England is shown here, along with the play of power and of course, love.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews