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Notorious
The daughter of notorious highwayman "Gentleman Jim," Devondra agrees to become the mistress of aristocrat Quentin Wakefield to save her father from the hangman, but Quentin's betrayal forces her into a new life as a thief. Original.
352 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1996
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66 people want to read
About the author
Kathryn Kramer
53 books19 followersKathryn Kramer (real name Kathy Lynn Kramer) also writes as Kathryn Hockett and Katherine Vickery.
Kathryn is from the Rocky Mountain area of the United States--Boulder, Colorado--a city with the spectacular Flatirons Mountains as a backdrop. Boulder is often said to be "25 square miles surrounded by reality." Once a camp ground for Chief Niwot and his Arapahoe indians, it is an area rich in history and legend and the inspiration for many stories. Together with her mother, Marcia Hockett, who aids her daughter in research and editing,Kathy has written a total of 40 romance novels that mirror a love of English, Viking, and Western history.
Prior to writing, Kathy sang with a jazz band and devoted her time to music via theater, teaching and singing professionally. She attended the University of Colorado College of Music on a music scholarship. She added modeling to her itinerary when she modeled as the heroine for the cover of her novel, LADY ROGUE.
Kathryn is from the Rocky Mountain area of the United States--Boulder, Colorado--a city with the spectacular Flatirons Mountains as a backdrop. Boulder is often said to be "25 square miles surrounded by reality." Once a camp ground for Chief Niwot and his Arapahoe indians, it is an area rich in history and legend and the inspiration for many stories. Together with her mother, Marcia Hockett, who aids her daughter in research and editing,Kathy has written a total of 40 romance novels that mirror a love of English, Viking, and Western history.
Prior to writing, Kathy sang with a jazz band and devoted her time to music via theater, teaching and singing professionally. She attended the University of Colorado College of Music on a music scholarship. She added modeling to her itinerary when she modeled as the heroine for the cover of her novel, LADY ROGUE.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 24, 2015
Meh
This had an interesting setting that I don't think I've encountered before in a HR.
The H was Cromwell's London magistrate. He was definitely not puritanical, but he came from a poor background and had felt Cromwell was a better choice for England. So, he had fought on the side of the Roundheads in the Civil War. He'd obviously become disillusioned with the tyrannical leader, but he'd also profited handsomely from his allegiance - so he goes along and turns a blind eye to the injustice for the most part.
The heroine is the formerly wealthy daughter of a Royalist soldier turned Highwayman. Her father, Gentleman James, is renowned as a sort of Robin Hood. As the story opens he gets caught and sentenced to hang.
I don't see the reveal of the betrayal mentioned in the description as much of a spoiler. It happens in the beginning and is pretty darn obvious from the get-go, but I'll tag it anyway.
The angry, disillusioned heroine is out for revenge and picks up where her father left off as the "Notorious Lady". There are definite similarities to the classic HR Moonstruck Madness. I'm sure this was inspired by it, but it does have enough differences to not be a total rip off. I could have dealt with that if the writing had been stronger. Everything is inspired by something.
My problem was that we are constantly in the H and h's head and are told everything, leaving no room for interpretation. I hate that! Plus it would have been a much more entertaining read if the H had been less insta-luv and more obsessive insta-lust guy who hopes to use the h as his low class mistress and doesn't realize his true feelings. It's not like this guy was a paragon. Obviously his sacred duty as magistrate was negotiable. But once his manhood experienced the ecstasy of her untouched womanhood, he was suddenly in lurv and his intentions were all honorable. *snore*
ETA: The new cover is just so weird it's hilariously bad. It looks like someone asked a middle school kid to create a piece of "art" that represents the book. So we have the stereotypical romance novel flower, a dollar store masquerade mask and feather, plus an incredibly artistic stick and piece of string to represent the gallows - all stuffed into a cheap plastic base with a few fake pieces of grass sticking out. Seriously. Who thought this was a good idea? Obviously the budget was low, but I'd think a stock photo of a flower or something equally generic would have been less cheesy. Maybe the author's 12 year old granddaughter was allowed to create the art? (hope not, because that would make me a real witch for stomping on a child's dreams. Sorry theoretical little girl.)
This had an interesting setting that I don't think I've encountered before in a HR.
The H was Cromwell's London magistrate. He was definitely not puritanical, but he came from a poor background and had felt Cromwell was a better choice for England. So, he had fought on the side of the Roundheads in the Civil War. He'd obviously become disillusioned with the tyrannical leader, but he'd also profited handsomely from his allegiance - so he goes along and turns a blind eye to the injustice for the most part.
The heroine is the formerly wealthy daughter of a Royalist soldier turned Highwayman. Her father, Gentleman James, is renowned as a sort of Robin Hood. As the story opens he gets caught and sentenced to hang.
I don't see the reveal of the betrayal mentioned in the description as much of a spoiler. It happens in the beginning and is pretty darn obvious from the get-go, but I'll tag it anyway.
The angry, disillusioned heroine is out for revenge and picks up where her father left off as the "Notorious Lady". There are definite similarities to the classic HR Moonstruck Madness. I'm sure this was inspired by it, but it does have enough differences to not be a total rip off. I could have dealt with that if the writing had been stronger. Everything is inspired by something.
My problem was that we are constantly in the H and h's head and are told everything, leaving no room for interpretation. I hate that! Plus it would have been a much more entertaining read if the H had been less insta-luv and more obsessive insta-lust guy who hopes to use the h as his low class mistress and doesn't realize his true feelings. It's not like this guy was a paragon. Obviously his sacred duty as magistrate was negotiable. But once his manhood experienced the ecstasy of her untouched womanhood, he was suddenly in lurv and his intentions were all honorable. *snore*
ETA: The new cover is just so weird it's hilariously bad. It looks like someone asked a middle school kid to create a piece of "art" that represents the book. So we have the stereotypical romance novel flower, a dollar store masquerade mask and feather, plus an incredibly artistic stick and piece of string to represent the gallows - all stuffed into a cheap plastic base with a few fake pieces of grass sticking out. Seriously. Who thought this was a good idea? Obviously the budget was low, but I'd think a stock photo of a flower or something equally generic would have been less cheesy. Maybe the author's 12 year old granddaughter was allowed to create the art? (hope not, because that would make me a real witch for stomping on a child's dreams. Sorry theoretical little girl.)
October 17, 2014
it was ok
June 11, 2017
I struggled through this book. The author has an extremely awkward writing style. It holds you outside the story, instead of drawing you in. This was obviously a day dream of hers, she felt was good enough to share. It wasn't. Avoid this book and this author. I feel guilty even giving it a one star, but there was no zero.
October 11, 2015
There aren't many books about this time period. I thought it was well researched and had a very good plot. It reminded me a bit of the WICKED LADY but the heroine was not as evil. After reading this story I am very interested in highwaymen so I will be reading the sequel - Desire's Disguise. As for the cover on the ebook version - I liked it! Simple and to the point. Not all romance novels have to have naked men and women on the cover......
November 18, 2016
This book was fast paced, full of Robin Hood kind of adventure! I loved this book! Great story and characters!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews