I really enjoyed this book. It was not as good as "Heaven's Fire," but in my opinion it would be near impossible to live up to that masterpiece. The story in this novel has just the right touch of intrigue, mystery, and humor to entertain most any reader. And the cast of characters is superb. Everyone from the poor neighborhood leper, Thomas, to Joanna's (heroine) brother, Hugh, and her cats, Petronilla and Manifred, are completely engaging. The hero, Graeham, has his flaws and inner demons, but for the most part is a good man. The thing I like most about the Patricia Ryan books I have read is her ability to convey what feels like real emotion between her hero and heroine, and the way their story tugs hard on your heartstrings. If you're looking for a fast, easy, enjoyable read full of murder plots, secret missions, love, and passion, then this wonderful book is for you.

If you fall in love with Joanna's brother, Hugh, in this story like I did, his own story is told in, "The Sun and the Moon" where the author is listed as P.B. Ryan.

This story takes place in 1165 London. Lord Gui had contracted Graeham Fox, a handsome soldier, to rescue his daughter, Ada, from an abusive marriage. In return, Graeham will receive Ada's twin sister, Phillipa, as his betrothal along with a huge estate. But enroute to Ada's rescue, Graham is attacked and badly injured and ends up recuperating for two months at the home of a widow, Joanna Chapman.

SILKEN THREADS is a delightful story that has a little bit of everything -- picturesque description of 12th century London; light humorous dialogue; entertaining characters with some you grow to love and a few you grow to hate. Ms. Ryan was able to incorporate a few beautiful, exquisitely written love scenes, to balance out a heart-wrenching moment or two, along with some very on-the-edge-of-your-seat thrilling episodes. There were enough twists, turns and surprises throughout the story to keep me enthralled to the very last page.

This was the first time I read a book by Patricia Ryan and it certainly will not be my last. I'm off to find its sequel -- THE SUN AND THE MOON.

This is one of the better historical romances on the market today. While there is still plenty of passion, there is also a credible historical backdrop woven into the plot. Joanna, the heroine, is just a little too independent to believe, but otherwise the story itself is well-told and the little twists make this more than a run-of-the-mill romance. The hero is also a man with faults, but not so darkly brooding as to be a stereotype. The sexual encounters were tastefully written yet still steamy! Recommended for all lovers of historical romance.

I very nearly didn't buy this book, since I'd never heard of it or its author before. I was shopping on the net, purchasing a whole bunch of other books, when I saw it and thought, 'oh well, that looks mildly interesting,' and decided to toss it into my shopping cart along with the rest.

AND I AM SO GLAD THAT I DID! This book is just lovely. Well written, well plotted, entertaining, heart warming and realistic...what more could I have wanted? Nothing, really, because this had it all.

Technically, this book is a romance, and a really sweet, endearing one at that. Fans of historical romance books will undoubtedly lap it up like a cat would a tasty bowl of cream. But this book should also appeal to a crossover audience of readers who wouldn't normally touch anything in the romance genre too, because it's also a really good, entertaining historical novel with a decent plotline. The love scenes are tastefully done, there's no uncomfortable melodrama, and the characters are genuinely intelligent and likeable--and I don't just mean the main characters, Graeham and Joanna, who are both pretty cool, but also the minor characters, such as the street urchin Adam, who hides an intriguing secret; Thomas, the former harper now turned leper, who was my favourite character; Joanna's charming brother, Hugh, who really should have his own book written about him (I must check and see if there is a book about him, actually); and even Joanna's pet cats, who have real personalities of their own. Oh, and even though this is a historical book, there's even a surprise appearance by someone very famous from our contemporary society...you won't know about it until you've finished the entire book and read the author's note, but when you do that, it will have you wanting to read the book all over again just to find this person (just in case you didn't already want to read it again anyway, which you probably will!)

One of the best things about this book, though, is the front cover. It's a very classy cover for a romance book--one that won't embarrass you if you want to read it on the bus (no stereotypical steroid-induced man-boobs on this one, thankfully!). Whilst at first it just looks like a pleasant, ordinary cover, after you've finished reading the book, and you've read the author's note, the cover's significance will become very clear, and take on new meaning. It's not often that you'll find a book's cover becoming a clever plot twist in the storyline (in fact I can't remember it ever happening before) but that's exactly what happens here.

Intrigued? Of course you are! Then do yourself a favour and read this book. You won't regret it.

This was an enjoyable read...it moved along nicely and it had an interesting plot. However....I didnt give it a higher score for a few reasons..
1. While I did connect well with the characters..I felt that we only really had a chance to know them well separately ...it seems to me that they spent more time thinking about eachother rather than interacting. For this reason, I found that when they finally came together I didnt care as much as I would have liked to.
2.I found it highly unlikely that Olive's story would end up as it did.
3. There were just to many convenient happenings at the ending to make it fall into place.
On the other hand, this was definitely a unique plot idea..and I didnt guess the mystery until it was revealed.
Im not saying that "Silken Threads" was a bad book..infact I've already ordered it's sequel...All I'm saying is that it fell short of being a keeper.
All in all...not bad, but not fantastic either