This book isn’t terrible but it’s also pretty ridiculous. There’s also a lot more sex than I expected (just a comment, not a criticism.). But I will criticize that despite Davina’s whole plan for revenge she never bothers to find out the results of an inquest which would pretty much negate the need for revenge in the first place. An easy fast read but not particularly well plotted.

More Romance Than Mystery

Davina Granger is seeking revenge. She blames Dr Gareth Lacey for her brothers’ death she attends his college at Oxford with revenge as the ultimate goal. But is revenge as sweet as it may appear? Can she attain it? When romance becomes sweeter than the revenge she imagined, she just can’t stop seeking it… More romance than mystery in this book with a predictable and goofy storyline.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review. I book wasn't bad, but I was looking for a mystery and ended up with a romance.

I enjoyed this romance story with all of the characters. The author had two main couples throughout the story. One couple were Davina Granger and Dr. Gareth Lacey. And then another couple Alicia Norman and Jared Cowan.

Davina Granger is a famous poet and is going to Oxford college to get revenge for her stepbrother. When she gets there she never expected that the person that she plan to ruin is nothing like she thought.

Dr. Gareth Lacey is a English college professor that works at the Oxford college. He never expected to find another woman that he would be interested in a relationship after the passing away of his wife. But when he meets Davina Granger he might change his mind.

Alicia Norman is a student that go to the Oxford college. She is majoring English at the college. When her friend introduce her to a young man that is also attended the same college. After being introduced he asks her to write a mystery play for the treater so they could put on a play for the Easter play.

Jared Cowan is a student at Oxford college. He is majoring in Engineering. One of his class is at the treater. He is on a mission to find help for the Easter play that they plan to put on.

This was fun to read with all the characters within the story. At first it was hard to keep track when the  chapter ended and started a new chapter with different characters with in the next chapter. But I did get the idea of what was happening within both of the couples. There was quite a bit of twist and turns that were fun guessing what might happen next.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

A review I read earlier, nailed it on the head. This isn't really a strong revenge take. More that was the initial plan until the girl quickly develops feelings for the teacher she was hell bent on destroying.

Not a bad story actually. Mostly low key easy read. More of a romance novel. Don't be expecting a revenge adrenaline fueled reading experience!

*Thank you to Joffe Books via NetGalley for the digital reader copy.

Faith Martin has written a number of mysteries in several series. Here she tells the story of a woman who goes to an Oxford College hoping to avenge her brother’s death by suicide. Is Dr. Lacey responsible? How will this turn out?

There is a secondary plot line as well about another student in the college. She is a young woman who is being harassed by her brother and his friends. What will happen to her?

This book has gotten middling reviews. I concur. I just was hoping for a bit more. I did enjoy the Oxford setting.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

This book was exactly as described. Full of romance and mystery. If you go in expecting it to be a mystery you will be disappointed because of the romance. And if you go in expecting a straight forward romance you will again be disappointed by the mystery that is weaved throughout the story.

Overall I enjoyed this book, but I wouldn’t necessarily pick up up again to re-read.

I felt that this story was a bit too steamy and not enough character build up. I was expecting a good murder mystery but An Oxford Revenge fell flat for me. The plot was pretty basic and I did not enjoy the over dramatic romance settings.

AN OXFORD REVENGE
by FAITH MARTIN writing as MAXINE BARRY

This is a book set in Oxford where there revenge supposedly is the order of the day just what I need for a Change of pace alas this was not meant to be.

Very watery storyline it could have melded together well but this didn’t .Starts as revenge,then Loveland lust. I’m by no means a prude regarding novels but this book is racy when it’s not necessary and is almost off putting. If you don’t like sexual content this book is not for you.

The upside for me was the beautiful description of the areas covered in the book which were beautiful and gave me pleasure as some of my favourite.

More Romance Than Mystery.....
Davina Granger is seeking revenge. Firmly blaming Dr Gareth Lacey for her brothers’ death she attends his college at Oxford with a desire for retribution. But is revenge as sweet as it may appear? When romance becomes the order of the day revenge may not be the top of her list. More romance than mystery here with a rather weak and cheesy plot.

I found the plot was good but a lot of the content was taken up with very graphic sex scenes. Sorry I did not enjoy the book because of this.

Delightful and engrossing mystery set in Oxford that makes the reader wonder just how far can they themselves be pushed before revenge becomes all consuming. The book is wonderfully written with characters and a plotline you won't soon forget.

This was an interesting, suspenseful novel by Faith Martin set in the atmospheric surroundings of Oxford University. I was drawn into the story by Davina's quest for revenge, wanting to know what had happened to her brother and how she would exact her toll. However, I thought her ultimate choice of path fell a bit flat and despite the conflict she felt, I didn't buy into her decision to proceed with her plan given her clear feelings for and relationship with her target.

I was also intrigued by Alicia Norman's story in the same Oxford college, but as it was never connected to Davina's plot line and they never intersected in a meaningful way that furthered both plots, it felt like Alicia's plot line was extraneous and could have been left out of the novel. Overall, an interesting read but Davina's story was not as dramatic or twisty as I had hoped based on the book description..

I was really looking forward to reading An Oxford Revenge. I wanted a good, old fashioned murder mystery. What I got was a mild porno decorated with a too neat, cheesy murder plot. Additionally, all the characters seemed to have problems with sensitive nipples.

The story goes like this: brilliant poet, Davina Granger heads to Oxford University to exact revenge on the person she blames for her brother’s death – Dr Gareth Lacey. Things get complicated when she begins to have feelings for him.

The issue I had with An Oxford Revenge – besides the rogue nippular attacks – was that everything was too neat and clean. There was a problem, a confrontation and bam the problem was fixed with a happy ending. It just didn’t work. Furthermore, Barry was over descriptive in everything. Whilst this worked well when describing Oxford and the Cotswolds, it failed to have the same impact when describing the characters because it was used too frequently. It is okay for a character’s eyes to be noticeable and sparkle like diamonds but if every person notices them then it becomes extremely tedious for the reader.

Overall, An Oxford Revenge promised a lot but failed to deliver anything special.

An Oxford Revenge by Maxine Barry is available now.

For more information regarding Faith Martin (@MaxineBbooks) please visit her Twitter page.

For more information regarding Joffe Books (@JoffeBooks) please visit www.joffebooks.com.

As it’s my first book by the author, I didn’t knew what to expect.
Overall it’s a great story that is reliable for nowadays times and couples in my opinion. What I didn’t expect was the steamy scenes in this book, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it and they are very well done, I just didn’t see it coming from the book description but I loved it.

This was definitely not my favorite book by this author, but I did finish it. I was expecting more suspense but for me this was a romance. I was intrigued by the premise of the book but it just fell a little short for me.

The mystery in this story is interesting. The characters and their stories are engaging. However, for me, I felt that the two stories that are being told do not sufficiently connect to each other. It feels as though they were two short stories combined into the one narrative.

I don’t want to spoil the stories for you, but story one is about Davina Granger and her plan to exact revenge on the person she believes responsible for her brother’s untimely demise. But just how far is she willing to go? I was slightly perturbed, or maybe just confused, about the pace of this story and the development of the relationship in this one. There were parts of this story where I was left thinking, ‘why doesn’t she just do this?’, ‘why didn’t just she just break into this and check this?’.

Story 2 for me was better developed and the pacing of the relationship seemed more realistic, young and reckless love etc. being what it is. Again, though, I had thoughts of wondering why Alicia and Jared wouldn’t handle things a little differently. However, adopting the young lovers mindset and it’s easy to overlook these small issues.

Overall I did enjoy the individual stories, but I’m not sure I enjoyed them combined together.

Received a copy of this book.
Plot seems a bit thin, the main character wants revenge on an Oxford Don without doing any research if he was to blame for her stepbrother suicide.
It's about love, list, revenge, and has a twist at the end.
Personally found some of the characters shallow such as Rupert.

As a huge fan of Faith Martin, I was eager to read this one published under the name of Maxine Barry. Sadly, the plot was thin, and the characters never jelled for me. It is about revenge, lovingly set in Martin's favorite locale - the city and university of Oxford, but the revenge is overshadowed by an emphasis on lust and romance. A talented poet, a surprisingly unsympathetic character, seeks revenge on a dishy Oxford don for her student brother's suicide. And her plan for total destruction of this man was decided upon with no research into what really happened with her brother. The romantic subplot with students is also contrived. When the ending is revealed, it just makes everthing and everyone look shallow and foolish, especially the main character!

Something different from this crime fiction author that may surprise her readership. If you're expecting murder mystery, you'll be disappointed. This story set in an Oxford college, in the early twenty-first century, is about obsession, passion and revenge. These are all motivation for murder, but here the focus is more on romance and suspense.

Davina, a successful poet, gains an honorary fellowship at St Bede's Oxford college, to compile and write a forward, for a poetry anthology. She has an ulterior motive for being there, but her quest for revenge is convoluted by physical attraction and passion.

The plot is complex with elements of psychological suspense. The characters are flawed and emotionally vulnerable as a consequence of life events, family and social class. There is good suspense building throughout the story. The exploration of the Oxford establishment and family, peer and societal expectations is insightful. An atmospheric and claustrophobic romantic suspense.

I received a copy of this book from Joffe Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.