Skye O'Malley: A Novel (O'Malley Saga) Paperback – December 26, 2007

Once my favorite genre of books, Bertrice Small, created a host of characters that I have loved for over 4 decades. The Irish O'Malley sagas easily intertwined with the Lesleys of Scotland in an amazing, almost never-ending tale of nobility facing off against royalty and the formidable Ottoman empire. Read about these amazing women and the strength of their families and men they ensnare with their beauty and passion.

"There are many men in her life, but she will always steer her course, rule over her own destiny."THE STORY: This is the story of Skye O'Malley and the men she loves and hates and has sex with. The story begins with her as an innocent forced into marriage by her father. By the end of the book she has had multiple husbands and children and many adventures around the world.OPINION: This book was one that I might have otherwise read thirty years ago when I was snatching my mom's romances and reading them furtively in my room at night. What was surprising to me was how current and graphic the depictions of sex were. Skye O'Malley was clearly a groundbreaking book in the depiction of sex and a woman who takes control of her sexuality. Skye is a woman who likes sex and has no problem being in love with several different men. More an epic novel than a romance, I found the first 150 pages difficult to get through. At times I felt that it was sex act after sex act. At times it felt like it was more girl porn than romance. Eventually, however, Skye's story becomes more about the men she loves and I liked it more. By the time the story ended, I reluctantly had to admit that I enjoyed the book overall. It is different from current romance novels and definitely not for everyone. A groundbreaking book of its time, this book is clearly an influence upon today's erotic romances.WORTH MENTIONING: This book has a lot of sex in it. Good sex, bad sex, forced sex. One of the themes of the book is how Skye takes control of her life and accepts herself as a sexual being.FINAL DECISION: This was a difficult book for me to get into. The first part of the book was slow and I wondered how so much could happen to one woman and how much more was going to happen in the remaining 400 pages. Eventually, however, I began to acclimate to the pacing and tone of the book. By the end I liked it.CONNECTED BOOKS: SKY O'MALLEY is the first book in the O'Malley Saga.STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

Finally found a book I couldn’t wait to finish! Beatrice Small is one of my favorite authors. I was so upset to hear of her passing. On to the next one — enjoy!

I purchased this book so that I could essentially re-read it. When I was about 9-10, I had read all of my books to the point of memorization, and began reading my mother's books. This was one of them, but a good deal of pages were missing, so I missed everything between the beginning of Skye's training in Algiers and the duel in England.Being that it had been a minimum of 12 years since I originally read the book, my memory was a bit foggy, and I didn't remember some parts while other parts I remember having happened differently. It was nice to be able to read the full story, as I missed a large chunk my first read due to the missing pages.One theme that I've noticed in several of Small's books that I don't quite agree with is that "proper" sex is only man-on-top, penis-in-vagina penetration, and that if the encounter proceeds any other way, it's "wrong", as indicated by lines like "The stallion should mount the mare, not the mare mount the stallion" (may not be an exact quote, but close) and descriptions of orgasm by manual or oral stimulation not being "satisfying" enough. Such opinions bother my fairly-feminist mind, and tend to kill the mood just a bit when they come about, though others may not have an issue.I tend to describe Small's books as "not smut, but porn - the plot between the sex is often about as bad as the acting between the sex in films". Some parts seem absolutely stilted, and a product of trying to fight through writer's block - understandable, but it could have been revised later so it would flow better. There are a few parts of this book that are almost painful between-the-sex filler, while other parts flow nicely and don't feel forced.Then there's the "food-porn". The descriptions of meals tend to be down to details that even the characters probably wouldn't be aware of. If done in moderation it's not bad, letting the reader know "this is what the food is like in this area", but when meals are described in such detail that almost an entire page is taken up describing the food, it's a bit boring and feels like overkill.I've seen other reviews complaining that the sex is "too graphic". That's almost the entire reason that I read Small's work - I like a good descriptive sex scene. I've come across far too many romance novels that gloss over the sex, barely giving detail, or even worse, just say something like "they spent a restless night". Come on, that's not erotic at all! We're mature adults (I hope) I think we can handle some sex in a romance novel.I will admit that there is a lot of drama in this book, to the point of feeling as if I'm in the Castle Anthrax scene in Holy Grail - "Get on with it!!!" There are points where it does feel as if there's just too damn much drama - whose life is THAT intense? - however, it does lead to (some) character development - wait, that's my husband's reason for watching Yu-Gi-Oh.Overall, my main reason for reading this book as an adult is for the sex, and if I put aside any issues I have with the book, it's fairly interesting. I would recommend it to anyone fond of period romance novels and who enjoys some detail in their sex scenes. If you prefer the romance side over the sex side, this may not be the book, or author, for you.

I loved this book!! Cannot wait to get into the next book in the series! I love all of Beatrice Smalls books! The way she described all the details about everything in the book,you can actually SEE IT,just like you were there!! The clothes,the weather,the castles,right down to the tiniest details!! & The sexxx.....WOW!!! I thought back in those days,women only had sex to make babies! But I was WRONG!! Hot,hot sex lives!! Thank you Beatrice,for all your books! I've loved each & every one that I've read!!!

It was okay, but not one I would want to read again.

Loved it

Very pleased

An excellent read the Wife loves it !!

After finding out i was named from this book I had to read it! Really impressed!