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76th out of 335 books
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1,020 voters
If I Fall (The Blue Raven #4)
by
Kate Noble (Goodreads Author)
Every great romance comes with a risk...
After a duke's betrayal, the resilient Sarah Forrester reinvents herself as the Golden Lady: society's leading light, the beautiful and witty life of the party. It's all a façade of course-one that protects her from another intimate disloyalty. When her old friend, Lieutenant Jackson Fletcher, returns to London, he is determined to...more
After a duke's betrayal, the resilient Sarah Forrester reinvents herself as the Golden Lady: society's leading light, the beautiful and witty life of the party. It's all a façade of course-one that protects her from another intimate disloyalty. When her old friend, Lieutenant Jackson Fletcher, returns to London, he is determined to...more
Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages
Published
April 3rd 2012
by Berkley
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I love Kate Noble but not this book.
It just never grabbed me and sucked me in like her others. I found Sarah very off-putting and Jack's attraction to her was baffling. The sexual and romantic tension so well done in her other books was virtually non-existent in this book. Lots of characters from previous books were present, probably too much so. They overwhelmed the romance that I hoped to find. The suspense-spy-action scenes were hard to follow and not interesting. I found myself skimming muc...more
It just never grabbed me and sucked me in like her others. I found Sarah very off-putting and Jack's attraction to her was baffling. The sexual and romantic tension so well done in her other books was virtually non-existent in this book. Lots of characters from previous books were present, probably too much so. They overwhelmed the romance that I hoped to find. The suspense-spy-action scenes were hard to follow and not interesting. I found myself skimming muc...more
I'm new to this author and didn't realize If I fall was the fourth book in a series. It was on offer on Amazon and I bought it.
I wonder if reading the other three books would have meant I'd stick with this book. I'm not sure, as the plot seems self-contained. Maybe the affection for previous characters would have compelled me to keep going on.
As it is, I couldn't stomach past 30%. Nothing in this story makes sense. I understand how she became a "viper" (she's not really, but she's a queen bee)....more
I wonder if reading the other three books would have meant I'd stick with this book. I'm not sure, as the plot seems self-contained. Maybe the affection for previous characters would have compelled me to keep going on.
As it is, I couldn't stomach past 30%. Nothing in this story makes sense. I understand how she became a "viper" (she's not really, but she's a queen bee)....more
2 likes · like · see review
Apr 12, 2012
The Window Seat
marked it as to-read
To begin this review we must first set the scene and take a step back to the final chapters of the previous book Follow My Lead. At the close of that story, the hero Jason finally understands his true feelings for the heroine Winifred, running off from a ball to declare his love. Sadly, the ball he abruptly left is his own engagement ball, and at the same time that Jason and Winifred are about to start their lives together there is one person that was left with her own heart breaking: Sarah Forr...more
A sweet friends-to-lovers story mixed with a bit of espionage adventure. Noble does a great job, as always, with building nuances into her character's feelings and actions, her espionage plot is above average (if still not too complicated nor too difficult to guess the secrets and mysteries) and embedded into Real! Life! History!, and she makes smart decisions in writing a masked caper: namely, the character trying to pull off an assumed identity knows it's ridiculous and he's doing it for the w...more
I'm not sure how this book ended up on my holds shelf at the library, but it did, so here I am reading it.
Turns out this is #4 in a series. I'm thinking it would have been better to start with #1. And, seeing as how I'm finding myself completely charmed by this book, I do believe I'm going to go find #1!
Sarah and Jack are childhood friends who have lost touch for the past six (or was it nine? doesn't matter) years - (he's been on board ship as Lieutenant for the Navy during the Napoleonic war) a...more
Turns out this is #4 in a series. I'm thinking it would have been better to start with #1. And, seeing as how I'm finding myself completely charmed by this book, I do believe I'm going to go find #1!
Sarah and Jack are childhood friends who have lost touch for the past six (or was it nine? doesn't matter) years - (he's been on board ship as Lieutenant for the Navy during the Napoleonic war) a...more
If I Fall is a regency romance with a bit of mystery and espionage thrown in! Written by Kate Noble, who also writes under the name Kate Rorick for The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. (If you haven't watch these, you need to!)
Humiliated, Sarah Forrester tries to face the Ton with as much dignity as she can, but it’s just too much. She knows what the gossips are saying. Since Jason, The Duke of Rayne, broke off their engagement she's been known as “The Girl Who Lost the Duke”. But as quickly as they can t...more
Humiliated, Sarah Forrester tries to face the Ton with as much dignity as she can, but it’s just too much. She knows what the gossips are saying. Since Jason, The Duke of Rayne, broke off their engagement she's been known as “The Girl Who Lost the Duke”. But as quickly as they can t...more
Regency Historical romance (set in 1823, so slightly outside the Regency time period). I found a romance novel that I actually enjoyed. The historical romances I had read in the past have very little historical detail (the history is the frosting on the cake so to speak) and this was an exception. There is enough happening in the story so it is not just about the heroine and hero.
After her engagement to a Duke ends, Lady Sarah Forrester, remakes herself into society's Golden Lady--beautiful, wi...more
After her engagement to a Duke ends, Lady Sarah Forrester, remakes herself into society's Golden Lady--beautiful, wi...more
Well, this is a first for me. I was enjoying this book, with a good bit of eye-rolling, when Real Life intervened. I had to stop reading this book for almost a week. Alas!! that break was FATAL for my enjoyment of the story. As Real Life Stuff receded, I tried getting back into the book, and Just..Couldn't..Do ..It. The story and tone that had so enchanted me at the beginning now seemed silly and forced.
So, the prose is good, the plot is silly, the characters are a bit cardboard (or they are soo...more
So, the prose is good, the plot is silly, the characters are a bit cardboard (or they are soo...more
Kate Noble was recommended to me by a friend on Twitter. The library gave me a choice between Compromised and If I Fall. Normally, I like to read things in order, but, I must admit, I didn't think I was going to like Noble's books so I just picked the plot I thought I'd like better.
I still don't care for 'spy' plots, but my personal preference aside, I thought it was a decent read. I don't think I fully understand at what point the hero & heroine fell in love, but I wasn't really in a 'thin...more
I still don't care for 'spy' plots, but my personal preference aside, I thought it was a decent read. I don't think I fully understand at what point the hero & heroine fell in love, but I wasn't really in a 'thin...more
I wasn't sure how the author would rescue this novel's heroine, who was "jilted" in the previous Follow My Lead. But she does so in a totally believable way, allowing Sarah to take refuge in her identity as society's feted "Golden Lady." When Sarah is reunited with her childhood love, Jack, however, he sees through her facade to the vulnerable woman she is. And when Jack assumes the role of the Blue Raven, England's favorite secret agent, Sarah must work with him to uncover a dangerous spy. A ne...more
I love Kate Noble's writing. She is witty, sarcastic, sometimes a little quirky, but thoroughly readable.If I Fall ties up a lot of loose ends in her other books, particularly Sarah's heartbreak after Follow My Lead. However, you don't have to read her other books to enjoy this one. Ms. Noble does a good job of explaining any character who has appeared earlier. I really liked the fact that Jackson was "adopted" by Sarah's family while he was a Midshipman and then had a career instead of being an...more
The writing in this was fine, but I didn't like the heroes attitude towards the heroine very much. The idea that she couldn't have become the person she was pretending to be and that he'd show her how wrong it was, well, it just bugged. Maybe I'll try Kate Noble's stand alone, because I'm not particularly impressed with this series and I am SURE I would hate book three.
(Which, unrelated note to authors: DON'T WRITE BOOKS ABOUT THE CHARACTERS THAT YOU ARE JILTING IF YOU WANT ME TO EVER FEEL ANYTH...more
(Which, unrelated note to authors: DON'T WRITE BOOKS ABOUT THE CHARACTERS THAT YOU ARE JILTING IF YOU WANT ME TO EVER FEEL ANYTH...more
This is really a 2 and 1/2 stars book, but I'm feeling generous today. I rather enjoyed Noble's first Blue Raven book, Revealed, but the second and third were just too tedious for words (I actually didn't make it through the third). So, my expectations for this one were low.
Which, I guess, is a good thing, since this one was slightly better than its predecessor. The story of the Blue Raven "returning" was the best part of the whole thing. The character of Jack was interesting, but I didn't think...more
Which, I guess, is a good thing, since this one was slightly better than its predecessor. The story of the Blue Raven "returning" was the best part of the whole thing. The character of Jack was interesting, but I didn't think...more
This is the 4th book but yes it could also be read as a stand alone. The first 2 takes place a few years before book 3 and this one, and book 3, well in that one we see Jason fall in love and that is how this book starts. Jason leaves Sarah on their engagement party. If I had not read book 3 I am sure I would have been very unhappy with him, but he was in love, and Sarah, wanted stability only.
The Sarah that used to be is transformed after The Event into the darling of the Ton, cos else she is j...more
The Sarah that used to be is transformed after The Event into the darling of the Ton, cos else she is j...more
Imagine if Sally met Harry when he was 13. And they were friends. And then there was some time apart. And then they re-met as adults. This is pretty much the plot of If I Fall.
What I loved most about this book is how both Sarah and Jack learned, challenged, fought against and negotiated their beliefs about change and expectation. Both had certain expectations from the other based on their childhood friendship and much of the conflict was centered around how people change ... to a certain extent...more
What I loved most about this book is how both Sarah and Jack learned, challenged, fought against and negotiated their beliefs about change and expectation. Both had certain expectations from the other based on their childhood friendship and much of the conflict was centered around how people change ... to a certain extent...more
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Nope, nope, nope. Can't get over heroine's bitchiness.
DNF. So many other good books to read.
I regret reading it out of order. I meant to read the previous book Follow My Lead, but since Jason was put in not so flattering light in the prologue, I lost interest.
Something about the writing was off. It just didn't do anything for me.
DNF. So many other good books to read.
I regret reading it out of order. I meant to read the previous book Follow My Lead, but since Jason was put in not so flattering light in the prologue, I lost interest.
Something about the writing was off. It just didn't do anything for me.
I enjoyed that the author started this book off exactly where the last one ended-with Jason choosing to end his engagement to Sarah to be with Winnie. I really liked the idea of reading about the one who was “jilted” and getting their perspective on it and what happened to them afterward. I was a bit disappointed in how Sarah dealt with it. I enjoyed her in Follow My Lead but I didn’t like how she became this ice queen to help her ignore society. Jack was such a great character! I thought it was...more
A good well-paced, character-developed romance! Not as comic as I usually like, but this was well done. And the harking back to the Blue Raven was awesome! The situation that Sarah finds herself in and armoring herself as The Golden Lady is told in the previous Follow My Lead, but as it's her POV in this book, you don't have to read it first. But you might want to read the first 2 in the Blue Raven series to get the history of the spy.
This is a very romantic friends to lovers story, with a little suspense thrown in. I read this twice, this time in anticipation of the 2nd book in the series, Let It Be Me. I was glad to see the HEA, and suspect there may be a continuation of the suspense in future books. I would highly recommend this historical romance.
I found the romance between Jackson and Sarah to be quite sweet. And wow, a hero who wasn't a womanizer! A genuine nice guy with morals! The whole Burma plot was a bit too much and distracting from the romance IMO.
Will definitely read the other 3 books in the set now.
Will definitely read the other 3 books in the set now.
Another enchanting tale in the Blue Raven series. Sarah Forrester, the jilted fiance of the hero from Follow My Lead, has transformed herself into the Golden Lady. Now much sought after and quite the life of the party, Sarah is determined not to be pitied. Jackson Fletcher, Lieutenant Jackson Fletcher, that is, is a sailor without a ship and the Forresters have happily invited him to stay until new orders come in for him. Sort of a friends to lovers theme. They knew each other when Jackson spent...more
DNF - I didn't like either Sarah or jack's character. She seemed fake and he was just plastic and a caricature of a hero. When the Blue Raven stuff and the mystery started, I shut the book. I do not like spy stuff in romances.
Despite some excellent writing, the characters felt very one-dimensional. There was a lot of potential for emotional depth that was never realized. I just wish I had liked this more, since I enjoyed many of her previous books.
Honestly, I didn't enjoy this as much as the last book. I was actually more interested in what was happening with Marcus and Byrne than I was with Sarah and Jackson.
Feb 17, 2013
Carrie
marked it as to-read-maybe
Recommended on Dear Author. Might buy if price stays low for a while and I catch up on my already over-packed Kindle.
Completely unique and original. I love how Kate Noble defies all conventions with Jack and Sarah's story.
Really, really good. I enjoyed the obviously thoroughly researched historical snippets, the well-drawn characters, the dialogue, and the twisty plot. I am normally not the biggest fan of the Big Misunderstanding plot device but I thought it was understandable here. Sarah was a delight: intelligent, beautiful and faulted. Both she and Jackson made mistakes and were angry at each other, but forgave each other without demanding groveling. Sometimes I get the idea that the relationship is based on l...more
YAY! So delightful to see the Blue Raven again, and Jack was downright adorable.
Lots of fun after a certain point - not my favorite Kate Noble but a good time!
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Kate Noble love books. Romances especially. But, being born into a family of doctors, scientists, and mathematicians, she didn’t discover she was adept at writing until, oh, about junior year of high school. Which came as something of a relief, as she was hopeless at memorizing the Latin names for all the bones in the human body. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle eludes her to this day.
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Mar 03, 2013 03:34pm