This Side of Heaven

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A cinema verite documentary about a man living in New York City determined to have raw sex with as many men as possible in a year and meticulously keeping count of the number of 'loads' he takes. V, an older trans woman, is desperately trying to hold on to her rent stabilized apartment in New York City.

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American omitted Musical Feature Films. Share this Rating Title: This Side of Heaven 5. Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Learn more More Like This. Blow Job The Endless Possibility of Sky The End of Cruising A documentary about gay male cruising and public sex and how it has changed over the years.

Sex and the Silver Gays A group of older gay men get together every month and have sex parties. I love Colonial settings, but this one was more of the wall-paper variety, and didn't feel terribly realistic to me, so that also impaired my reading enjoyment, and I ended up skimming a lot to get the the end this book could easily lose pages and you'd never notice it. Jul 29, Regan Walker rated it it was amazing Shelves: It tells the story of Caroline Wetherby who in sailed to the colonies when her gambling father, who she loved, died and left her near destitute.

Matt himself seems cold and distant until an accident lays him up with a broken leg and the attraction that has been building between them emerges full force. Robards brings early America to life and shows us a glimpse of the Puritan society when all things were not so rosy. Matt is rather independent as head of the Mathieson clan and the local reverend regards him with suspicion, but Caroline the religious man hates. She is viewed by the Puritans as a witch. And, though there are witches around, Caroline is not one of them.

She is a courageous woman who also has a tender heart. A poignant tale with an exciting ending—I recommend it! Sep 01, Tanja rated it it was ok Shelves: Dec 07, Tiffany rated it really liked it Shelves: A solid 4-star read, this book from the 90s, my first read from prolific romance author Karen Robards, really teetered between 3- and 5-stars and landed somewhere right in the middle. The positive elements about the book were the unique time period set in Connecticut Colony during the s , the eerie mood that settled over the proceedings due to the witch accusations hurled at the heroine, and the last pages which were filled with wonderful relationship development between the hero and he A solid 4-star read, this book from the 90s, my first read from prolific romance author Karen Robards, really teetered between 3- and 5-stars and landed somewhere right in the middle.

The positive elements about the book were the unique time period set in Connecticut Colony during the s , the eerie mood that settled over the proceedings due to the witch accusations hurled at the heroine, and the last pages which were filled with wonderful relationship development between the hero and heroine, that sizzled with a fantastic interlude in a cave in an attempt to escape an angry blizzard.

I also loved the climax of the story, which came at the very, very end of the book but was so deliciously over-the-top and reminiscent of what made these older romances great. The more negative aspects were the fact that there was really very little romantic development between the hero and the heroine for about half of the book. They were physically in the same place, so I appreciated that there wasn't a drawn-out fabrication that tried to keep them from being with each other, but there also just wasn't much indication that they were at all interested in each other.

Caroline, the heroine, comes to America from England after her father, her only connection in the homeland where she was born and raised, dies, and she ventures to the New World to find her sister Elizabeth. Once she arrives, she learns her sister has died, and even more mysterious is the suspicion that clouds the circumstances of her death from the oblivious Caroline.

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The hero is Caroline's brother-in-law Matt, and much of the conflict revolves around how awful his marriage was and his general mistrust of marriage in general and Caroline specifically since she's related to his deceased wife. I was actually really intrigued by this premise because I love those forbidden love stories.

But the mistrust wasn't that heated, mostly just annoying and stretching on far too long with little to whet the audience's appetite. What was great about the book was how the relationship really took off once they gave into it, but that didn't really seem to be cohesive with the hero and heroine's overall apathy in the way they treated each other during the first half of the book. Add to the fact that Matt had three grown brothers one of which had a crush on Caroline which just muddied the waters and didn't really effectively add to the storyline and two little boys who were really just in the way and had this extended hatred toward Caroline that, again, got to be really frustrating and annoying.

So that's a lot of complaining. But there's something to be said for these classic romances, and even the mediocre ones end up being great for a lot of reasons, and the last pages make the entire book one worth reading. Dec 31, Christine rated it it was amazing Shelves: I really got into this tender historical romance, set in the late 's. I'm not entirely sure what drew me in. The heroine was proud, strong, and had a troubled past.

karenkingsbury | This Side of Heaven

The hero was likewise proud and strong, with a troubled past. They both had their faults, but I found each one likeable. The romance wasn't rushed, and Caroline didn't get over her past trauma simply because of a magic touch. I found their coming together to be sweet and natural, and the story itself to be tender and bittersweet I really got into this tender historical romance, set in the late 's.

I found their coming together to be sweet and natural, and the story itself to be tender and bittersweet at moments. The ending, though an HEA, was surprisingly tragic, leaving me wanting more.

In fact, the one complaint I have about this book is that I felt like it set up a series but I can't find any evidence of further books, perhaps handling the other brothers. I guess not ever set of five brothers needs to find love one at a time. I could nit-pick here, but I don't feel like it.

I accepted the suspension of disbelief and enjoyed the ride. I highly recommend to historical romance readers. Nov 06, Louise rated it it was amazing.

This Side of Heaven (Cody Gunner, #3)

This was the first romance novel I've ever read. It was so hot. Oct 12, Julie rated it really liked it.

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Jan 29, Kelly rated it it was ok Shelves: I did read and finish 'This Side of Heaven' but I wouldn't say that I was converted as a fan of Robards historical novels. There was actually a rather enjoyable plot buried beneath the exaggerated characters and repetition, and a well-captured warmth. The novel was set in the late s, but I never really got a grip on this setting. I kept imagining it as more Regency era s because of the general tone. The description of Caroline's dresses, some of the language used etc.

It didn't smack of the Stuart era aside from the repeated mention of Roundheads and Royalists. I think that the vagueness of setting came from the lack of description about the period. It was stated that Caroline made rabbit stew but not how she did so, what utensils she used etc. It was all rather left to the imagination and without that context, I didn't immediately think that this was a book set in whatever.

The language and dialogue felt quite modern in some instances, and other elements such as Caroline's healing abilities, made it feel more modern than it was. Caroline sought to cool those with fever, yet I would have expected most in this era to combat fever with heat - the four humours - much like the apothecary. I didn't exactly love Caroline as a leading heroine, but she wasn't the worst that I've read.

I suppose that she was too inconsistent for me. Feisty and shouting one moment, then timid and screaming the next, she was aloof then involved, hot and cold… What I did love was her initial courage and her work ethic.

I enjoyed that she dug in an accepted her role in the house. At first, I thought that she would be somewhat of a diva and I wasn't much looking forward to reading about her. But the girl got shit done, and I liked her spirit. Matt on the other hand, I didn't really like at all. All of the men were written to be selfish, brutish, unhelpful, judgmental and demanding, but as the hero, Matt should have been different. Instead he criticised Caroline constantly, and even in front of the others. Yes, there were a few times that he jumped to her defence, but not enough to redeem him. I also didn't rate him much in the S.

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He usually had her skirts up and his breeches down before poor Caroline even knew what was happening. I think that some of my ill-feeling towards the characters was to do with the way that they were written. They were like a parody of their character. Caroline wasn't just feisty at times, but turned into a screaming, swearing, broom-wielding fishwife.

Matt was a 'mans man' which meant that he roared and bellowed and demanded all of the time.

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This just painting a picture of them as being shrill, loud and uncouth, and I didn't like that impression. Along with the events such as the dog chasing the cat or Caroline ending up in the bull pen, these over-exaggerations meant that there was something a bit slapstick and clowny about the whole novel at times. I also felt that this novel was a shade too long for the plot. Caroline and Matt should have come together earlier, but instead we had quite a few similar or repeated events before there was a relationship to develop. Having said all of this, I didn't once consider stopping and I did read the whole novel in one sitting.

The plot as a whole was really enjoyable and I felt that the familial elements were genuinely warm. I liked seeing Caroline develop from the distrusted housekeeper to part of the family. The hustle and bustle of the family home was well written and felt genuine. Overall, I thought that this was a strong plot but really needed some more development of the characters and perhaps a bit more editing. Having being left destitute with the death of their father who had made his life in the gambling halls throughout the 32 year old Matt Mathieson, is the widowed and single father of two boys, going two years since his wife had died.

Having being left destitute with the death of their father who had made his life in the gambling halls throughout the city, Caroline travels all the way to America to find refuge with her sister, someone she has not seen in 15 long years. Wary of what would happen, telling herself its a mistake, she nevertheless has no choice, only to turn up and realize that her sister is no more. The practical side of his character tells him that they all need a female presence around them, that his boys need a motherly influence in their lives.

Against the wishes of his boys, Matt offers her shelter in return for her services as a female of the household, never knowing truly, how Caroline would prove to him that she is unlike any woman he has known before and would ever come across again. This Side of Heaven has a trope that I love reading about. The reluctant and widowed hero, who for whatever reason believes that he would never remarry and the woman who turns up and throws his life into complete disarray. That was one of the reasons why I picked up this title, plus the point that I am a fan of Karen Robards, mostly of her earlier works.

Though some of her books have failed to deliver on a large scale, the ones that do, do so remarkably well, which is one reason why I keep revisiting her older titles every now and then. Though I liked the story that unfolded, the slow sizzle of awareness between Matt and Caroline, the story that I envisioned for them failed to materialize in between.

On the plus side, Matt was not a hero of the asshole variety, as most heroes tend to be in earlier historical novels. However, their coming together was not the joyous and fireworks filled affair I thought it would be — at first. Though the ending where Caroline nearly meets her maker at the hand of the villagers who see her for something else other than what she is proved to be sort of anticlimactic, I would still recommend This Side of Heaven because I enjoyed reading this in one sitting.

L'aggressione finale ci sta come il grana sulla pasta col tonno. May 08, Faye rated it liked it. A fun romance in an fascinating setting of Puritan Saybrook, Connecticut. I enjoyed the dialogue, the Mathieson family, and the love story between Matt and Caroline. I really enjoyed the historical references, the 'savages', 'dominie' etc. Dec 16, Kayla Holthe rated it really liked it. It was a good book. It could have been better though. Some parts were drawn out and some parts could have been drawn more from A women seeking to renew relationship with sister in America, no idea her world will be turned upside down, with trails, tribulations, and love.

Mar 12, Blaze King rated it liked it.

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