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Charm Bracelet #3
The Emerald Swan
Dear Reader,My new story begins on a terror-filled night when two babies--identical twin girls of noble birth--are separated. One grows to womanhood as the frail, manipulative ward of the handsome young earl of Harcourt. The other becomes an enchanting, street-smart urchin who earns her way as a traveling player on the streets of England and France.The two girls' paths might never again have crossed if Harcourt hadn't run into Miranda in the midst of an exuberant performance. The resemblance to his ward is unmistakable--uncanny, in fact...and an ambitious plot begins to take shape in Harcourt's mind.His ward, Maude, will commit herself to a convent rather than marry the love-struck king of France, who will soon be traveling to London to claim her. What if Miranda were to take Maude's place? Harcourt is confident that with the right training, the right clothes, and the right attitude, the lithe, carefree Miranda will captivate society--and the king.So begins Harcourt's breathtaking scheme to turn an ugly duckling into a gorgeous swan. But if he succeeds too well, Miranda may become something irresistible--even to Harcourt....It's a delicious dilemma and a dangerous deception...and the twists and turns surprised even me.Warmest wishes,Jane FeatherFrom the Paperback edition.
448 pages, ebook
First published January 5, 1998
25 people are currently reading
422 people want to read
About the author
Jane Feather
171 books631 followersJane Feather (born Jane Robotham) is a popular British–American writer of historical romance novels. In 1984 she wrote five contemporary romances under the pseudonym Claudia Bishop. She is a New York Times-bestselling, award–winning writer, and has more than ten million romance novels in print.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
June 7, 2021
Back in the Nineties I never had time for Jane Feather. In those days Mary Balogh, Jo Beverly, Lisa Kleypas and Teresa Medeiros were turning out five-star classics almost every month. But a few weeks ago we weeded out a bunch of old romance titles at my public library and I finally gave this one a try. It's got good research and the sex scenes are adequate, but not great.
Miranda and Maude are twin sisters separated at birth. Gareth is an ambitious noble in Elizabethan times who sees a chance to marry his family into French royalty. All he has to do is swap sexy street girl Miranda for shy invalid Maude and hope nobody notices!
It's a fun plot, but there's too much clutter and too many characters. Gareth falls for Miranda very early on, but he has a bossy sister, with a weak husband, and he's engage to a girl who's cold and very bitter. Also Gareth is one of those annoying heroes who feels used and victimized because his first wife was a stunningly beautiful alcoholic slut who had sex with other men around the clock until she "accidentally" fell out the window and died. Of course poor Charlotte was really murdered, but this is the old-fashioned kind of romance where sluts always die because they deserve it. And when Gareth finds out who the killer was he just shrugs it off and gives the killer a hug. Inspiring!
I liked Miranda, the street girl, but her pet monkey gave me a pain. Chip is cute but he's no Dr. Zaius! And it was annoying how her twin sister Maude went from being a bedridden invalid to a fun-loving adventuress in the space of about two weeks. The secondary romance between Maude and the disguised French king was good, but her passion for him was incredibly sketchy and they had no real chemistry. (She falls asleep in the middle of their first date and he's totally turned on by watching her sleep.)
So yeah, if you have read everything Mary Balogh, Jo Beverly, Lisa Kleypas and Teresa Medeiros wrote back in the Nineties, and you still have time on your hands, you might give this one a try.
Miranda and Maude are twin sisters separated at birth. Gareth is an ambitious noble in Elizabethan times who sees a chance to marry his family into French royalty. All he has to do is swap sexy street girl Miranda for shy invalid Maude and hope nobody notices!
It's a fun plot, but there's too much clutter and too many characters. Gareth falls for Miranda very early on, but he has a bossy sister, with a weak husband, and he's engage to a girl who's cold and very bitter. Also Gareth is one of those annoying heroes who feels used and victimized because his first wife was a stunningly beautiful alcoholic slut who had sex with other men around the clock until she "accidentally" fell out the window and died. Of course poor Charlotte was really murdered, but this is the old-fashioned kind of romance where sluts always die because they deserve it. And when Gareth finds out who the killer was he just shrugs it off and gives the killer a hug. Inspiring!
I liked Miranda, the street girl, but her pet monkey gave me a pain. Chip is cute but he's no Dr. Zaius! And it was annoying how her twin sister Maude went from being a bedridden invalid to a fun-loving adventuress in the space of about two weeks. The secondary romance between Maude and the disguised French king was good, but her passion for him was incredibly sketchy and they had no real chemistry. (She falls asleep in the middle of their first date and he's totally turned on by watching her sleep.)
So yeah, if you have read everything Mary Balogh, Jo Beverly, Lisa Kleypas and Teresa Medeiros wrote back in the Nineties, and you still have time on your hands, you might give this one a try.
May 3, 2009
The first romance novel I ever read. I stole it from my grandmother's house.
May 9, 2016
Završena trilogija... bome neka je!
July 10, 2019
This was a fun story. I enjoyed the history. I gave it a four instead of a five because I had to read some parts a few times to get what the author was saying. A bit confusing. I don’t get the last pages after the Epilogue at all. Perhaps it has to do with previous books in the series.
January 10, 2023
prior to this i have read the silver rose and it wasn't GOOD but i loved jane feather's writing so i tried the emerald swan. first off,,,,, SHE'S HIS NEPHEW????
he could have very well been a family friend rather than cousins and it would change NOTHING i actually can't. janes writing is still a win here but the fact he's her cousin/uncle ruined the whole thing for me. AS IF THERE'S A SHORTAGE OF PEOPLE IN ENGLAND.
i would have dnfed it if i wasn't stuck at school with nothing to do. usually I'm not a fan of the whole swap thing too so that also plays a factor. maybe I'm just stupid but i have trouble seeing the connection between the bracelets. I JUST STILL DONT GET IT WHO WAS THE ALCHEMIST WHAT'S THE REAL CONNECTION BEHIND IT??? A BURNT VILLAGE???
The "plot twists" were also too confusing to me literally everyone was doing the whole swap thing and it just seemed like overkill. something i also didn't get was the smut??? WHY ARE THEY PUTTING FINGERS INTO EACH OTHER'S MOUTHS AND GETTING TURNED ON BY IT.
i really liked Maude at the start for staying true to her opinion and thoughts and not wavering but the downfall of her character to have fallen for a guy like Henry????
alternatively, i didn't like Imogen at the start but towards the end i could sympathize with her. Jane did a great job portraying sibling relationships cause that is so accurate. Imogen was such a girlboss its a fresh perspective on mean ladies in court and I'm here for it.
he could have very well been a family friend rather than cousins and it would change NOTHING i actually can't. janes writing is still a win here but the fact he's her cousin/uncle ruined the whole thing for me. AS IF THERE'S A SHORTAGE OF PEOPLE IN ENGLAND.
i would have dnfed it if i wasn't stuck at school with nothing to do. usually I'm not a fan of the whole swap thing too so that also plays a factor. maybe I'm just stupid but i have trouble seeing the connection between the bracelets. I JUST STILL DONT GET IT WHO WAS THE ALCHEMIST WHAT'S THE REAL CONNECTION BEHIND IT??? A BURNT VILLAGE???
The "plot twists" were also too confusing to me literally everyone was doing the whole swap thing and it just seemed like overkill. something i also didn't get was the smut??? WHY ARE THEY PUTTING FINGERS INTO EACH OTHER'S MOUTHS AND GETTING TURNED ON BY IT.
i really liked Maude at the start for staying true to her opinion and thoughts and not wavering but the downfall of her character to have fallen for a guy like Henry????
alternatively, i didn't like Imogen at the start but towards the end i could sympathize with her. Jane did a great job portraying sibling relationships cause that is so accurate. Imogen was such a girlboss its a fresh perspective on mean ladies in court and I'm here for it.
June 20, 2024
I loved this story. Twins separated as infants during a violent night in Paris grow up in very different worlds. Maude grows up as nobility; Miranda, with a band of performers. Ironically the one who grows up in wealth is morose and makes herself ill; the one growing up in poverty is full of life and joy.
The Earl of Harcourt wants to rise in politics. (His lunatic sister, Imogen, encourages this.) He wants his ward, Maude, to marry King Henry. But Maude refuses. When he finds her double, he decides to have her pretend to be Maude until Maude can be persuaded to marry the king. He will pay Miranda a fortune. But, Harcourt finds out that Miranda's the missing twin and she's slowly stealing his heart.
I loved Miranda's spirit. I loved Maude's transformation. I liked Harcourt for the most part although, at times, he was irresponsible and autocratic. Chip, Miranda's monkey, stole the show.
Miranda's troupe was filled with wonderful secondary characters. And I quite like Imogen's husband after awhile.
I have read this book a number of times.
The Earl of Harcourt wants to rise in politics. (His lunatic sister, Imogen, encourages this.) He wants his ward, Maude, to marry King Henry. But Maude refuses. When he finds her double, he decides to have her pretend to be Maude until Maude can be persuaded to marry the king. He will pay Miranda a fortune. But, Harcourt finds out that Miranda's the missing twin and she's slowly stealing his heart.
I loved Miranda's spirit. I loved Maude's transformation. I liked Harcourt for the most part although, at times, he was irresponsible and autocratic. Chip, Miranda's monkey, stole the show.
Miranda's troupe was filled with wonderful secondary characters. And I quite like Imogen's husband after awhile.
I have read this book a number of times.
May 1, 2025
I enjoyed the plot of this book, for the most part. The reunited twins was cute, even before they realized they were in fact twins. The influence they had on each other was sweet.
I liked both of the twins, Miranda and Maude. I loved the troupe that was Miranda's 'family' for most of the first 20 years of her life.
Some of the characters were quite cringe-worthy though. Gareth most of all. The romance between Gareth and Miranda was kinda creepy. He's an older, experienced man, who just takes advantage of a young virgin. I mean, he has sex with her, regrets it because he has a plan for her, and is worried about her getting pregnant, then has sex with her again, then pairs her up with Henry and is jealous, sends her family away, then has sex with her to distract her from her anger with him. Ewwww. I think it would have been more appropriate for him to end up with the staid Mary.
I liked both of the twins, Miranda and Maude. I loved the troupe that was Miranda's 'family' for most of the first 20 years of her life.
Some of the characters were quite cringe-worthy though. Gareth most of all. The romance between Gareth and Miranda was kinda creepy. He's an older, experienced man, who just takes advantage of a young virgin. I mean, he has sex with her, regrets it because he has a plan for her, and is worried about her getting pregnant, then has sex with her again, then pairs her up with Henry and is jealous, sends her family away, then has sex with her to distract her from her anger with him. Ewwww. I think it would have been more appropriate for him to end up with the staid Mary.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2018
This was a wonderful romance. I enjoyed it and recommend it to a few people! Felt like a "classic" romance!
May 19, 2021
Very Good
October 8, 2023
I don’t read a ton of romance novels but found this in the free bin at the beach gift shop. Was not bad for what it is. A little spicy, I did not like the pet monkey.
October 18, 2024
like this best of the series
June 20, 2012
This is the third story of the Charm Bracelet Trilogy (I forgot to mention that the through-running thread in the first two books,
and
, is this snakey looking charm bracelet. Everybody finds it creepy, but they keep passing it along. Not sure how it jumps from one person in the story to another, but it does tie them all together when nothing else seems to.
The prologue shows a young Huguenot mother with twins, surrounded by a bloodthirsty mob. She perishes under their knives. Her husband arrives soon after and retrieves one of the twin girls and the bracelet.
Skip ahead 19 years. Henry of Navarre is nominal king but he's having to win his throne by fighting his way through to Paris. Gareth, Earl of Harcourt, is there to seek an advantageous marriage between his young cousin Maude and the Duke of Roissy, one of Henry's closest advisors. He's hoping to restore the family fortunes through this match, but back home, he knows, he has a problem. Maude is not particularly willing, and she's fighting every step of the way. Worse, she shows Catholic leanings, which would be disastrous to the match. Anyway, his efforts gain him one better than he'd hoped, and now he has to go find a way to make it work.
He happens upon a traveling troop of performers, and the acrobat, a young girl, looks astonishingly like his cousin, and an idea is born. He approaches the acrobat, Miranda, and offers her a handsome reward if she will pretend to be his cousin when the "Duke" (Henry himself in disguise) comes to court his cousin. Miranda agrees, and during their travels, she begins to feel a strong attraction for this man, her traveling companion. He feels it too, but it's harder for him to let it take hold as his deceased wife was a hot mess and he's got lots of ouchy feelings.
Straining credibility, Harcourt gets Miranda home, dresses her up, puts her cropped hair under a snood, and launches her into society that same night at a dinner with his family and friends, who never guess that this girl isn't Maude. Apparently somewhere in her travels with the circus, Miranda picked up delicate eating habits (though she's never seen a spoon) and while she stumbles here and there everybody buys it. No Pygmalion story here.
It's all going well, but by now Harcourt has a few secrets. First, Maude has put herself out of the running for a suitable wife for Henry by converting to Catholicism. Second, it turns out that Miranda has the always convenient family birthmark and so now he knows she's really the missing twin (saw that coming, didja?) So now he figures he'll let her play the part until she hooks Henry and then spring the truth on her and... what? I guess he figures Circus Girl will have no trouble as Queen of France now, and there's no problem with letting Henry think he's marrying Maude even tho it's actually Miranda. Nobody will ever figure it out, right? Oh, and he deflowers Miranda along the way, so now it bugs him to think of her with Henry, but it's all in the name of power and family status, so what the hey. When Miranda's circus family comes looking for her, he pays them to go away.
When all the secrets unravel (well, sort of, to some people, to some extent), there's hell to pay.
It's a fair story, though credibility was strained to breaking too many times to count. Oh, and I wondered if Feather intended another sequel that might explain how the secondary romance fell apart, since historically it really must have.
and
, is this snakey looking charm bracelet. Everybody finds it creepy, but they keep passing it along. Not sure how it jumps from one person in the story to another, but it does tie them all together when nothing else seems to.The prologue shows a young Huguenot mother with twins, surrounded by a bloodthirsty mob. She perishes under their knives. Her husband arrives soon after and retrieves one of the twin girls and the bracelet.
Skip ahead 19 years. Henry of Navarre is nominal king but he's having to win his throne by fighting his way through to Paris. Gareth, Earl of Harcourt, is there to seek an advantageous marriage between his young cousin Maude and the Duke of Roissy, one of Henry's closest advisors. He's hoping to restore the family fortunes through this match, but back home, he knows, he has a problem. Maude is not particularly willing, and she's fighting every step of the way. Worse, she shows Catholic leanings, which would be disastrous to the match. Anyway, his efforts gain him one better than he'd hoped, and now he has to go find a way to make it work.
He happens upon a traveling troop of performers, and the acrobat, a young girl, looks astonishingly like his cousin, and an idea is born. He approaches the acrobat, Miranda, and offers her a handsome reward if she will pretend to be his cousin when the "Duke" (Henry himself in disguise) comes to court his cousin. Miranda agrees, and during their travels, she begins to feel a strong attraction for this man, her traveling companion. He feels it too, but it's harder for him to let it take hold as his deceased wife was a hot mess and he's got lots of ouchy feelings.
Straining credibility, Harcourt gets Miranda home, dresses her up, puts her cropped hair under a snood, and launches her into society that same night at a dinner with his family and friends, who never guess that this girl isn't Maude. Apparently somewhere in her travels with the circus, Miranda picked up delicate eating habits (though she's never seen a spoon) and while she stumbles here and there everybody buys it. No Pygmalion story here.
It's all going well, but by now Harcourt has a few secrets. First, Maude has put herself out of the running for a suitable wife for Henry by converting to Catholicism. Second, it turns out that Miranda has the always convenient family birthmark and so now he knows she's really the missing twin (saw that coming, didja?) So now he figures he'll let her play the part until she hooks Henry and then spring the truth on her and... what? I guess he figures Circus Girl will have no trouble as Queen of France now, and there's no problem with letting Henry think he's marrying Maude even tho it's actually Miranda. Nobody will ever figure it out, right? Oh, and he deflowers Miranda along the way, so now it bugs him to think of her with Henry, but it's all in the name of power and family status, so what the hey. When Miranda's circus family comes looking for her, he pays them to go away.
When all the secrets unravel (well, sort of, to some people, to some extent), there's hell to pay.
It's a fair story, though credibility was strained to breaking too many times to count. Oh, and I wondered if Feather intended another sequel that might explain how the secondary romance fell apart, since historically it really must have.
November 5, 2015
The Emerald Swan by Jane Feather. Intriguing premise of the lives of separated twins in the late 1500's. But I didn't have it in my head as that early as I got into the story. It seemed more 1700's to me. Politics, politics, politics. The bane of the rich and famous. Death and mayhem leads to the twins' separation when they are only toddlers. One lives the life of a street performer and one is a coddled upper class girl, as both would have been. One would make a prized wife to the future king of France, but which one is he romancing? Believable characters. Insight into the court of England's Queen. Sprinkled with humor. 8 on a 1 to 10 scale. I've been singling out this author for more reads. Don't expect it in a fancy reading club story, just enjoy the escape of a good read.
October 17, 2016
This is a fun read. The story is set in Elizabethan, England and Jane Feather describes this time period very well. Miranda is street savvy but still a little too naïve for a 19 year old at this time. Most were married off by the time they were 16. Maude is not as fleshed out and very whiny. For a family that went through so much trauma over religion I don't think they would have a Catholic nurse/companion be with Maude. I like that Harcourt has a sad back story. Good thing he found Miranda or the family would have just moldered away.
July 7, 2011
Worse than the others, but what did I really expect?!
February 15, 2012
Pretty good book. I am not sure that I will read the others in the Charm Bracelet Series, however.
Read
September 29, 2012One of my favorites.
January 22, 2014
i enjoyed the "lost twin is found and returned to her place in society" part of the story but the bits about the bracelet were weird. did i miss something in a previous book?
August 13, 2022
My favorite in the trilogy. Loved it !
Read
October 9, 2014Missing
Read
May 31, 2015Another good story
What can I say I like Jane Feather. A different story every time. But they always turn out happy. I love a good ending.
What can I say I like Jane Feather. A different story every time. But they always turn out happy. I love a good ending.
May 14, 2009
it was ok... nothing spectacular
November 12, 2017
Medieval
August 9, 2012
wonderful series.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews