tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18184029671114580992024-02-19T07:38:28.370+00:00An Evening At AlmacksA blog by Regency Romance lovers. Reviews of romance novels set in the Regency period.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-25185729864455216512011-01-21T11:39:00.001+00:002011-01-21T11:39:00.436+00:00The Abandoned Bride - Edith Layton<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZjb7EXkuUCqqclBqkPTBs-3FST3n-u_LimHv9MF1kEygeeuFkioJUtXeHPaCpIqH8y-LZnB-DJtlOtYY5G7fuLcsc1GggG4Vmv3SZcp2mR3YZkua_ZjdUaOMKCpULdhYlqTxKf3PUPY/s1600/n119857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZjb7EXkuUCqqclBqkPTBs-3FST3n-u_LimHv9MF1kEygeeuFkioJUtXeHPaCpIqH8y-LZnB-DJtlOtYY5G7fuLcsc1GggG4Vmv3SZcp2mR3YZkua_ZjdUaOMKCpULdhYlqTxKf3PUPY/s200/n119857.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>Strikingly beautiful young Julia Hastings had been an inexperienced innocent when handsome, high-born Robin Marlowe induced her to elope with him -- only to abandon her without a word of explanation on their wedding night. <br />
<br />
<br />
Julia was left with her virtue intact but her reputation in tatters. Her life became a struggle to defend herself against gentlemen who henceforth considered her easy prey. <br />
<br />
By now, Julia knew better than to trust any man, even when that man was the overwhelmingly attractive Lord Nicholas Daventry, Robin's own uncle. But if Julia had learned how dangerous blissful ignorance was in matters of the heart, she had yet to discover what folly it was to be too wise... <br />
<br />
</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have really enjoyed some of Layton's books that I have enjoyed in the past so I'm always looking forward to find more. This one didn't quite match my expectations though.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The opening scene is Julia's elopement and the author does make it sound like there is a big mystery surrounding the groom's actions but in the end they were not that mysterious. The action then jumps to a few years afterwards. Julia's reputation suffered, she had to go away and find employment so that her sisters wouldn't suffer from her bad behaviour and she is now working as a governess but thinking of leaving her post.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That's when Nicholas Daventry makes his appearance. He is the uncle of Julia's potential groom in her botched elopement and he seems to believe that Julia was the one who left his nephew and treated him badly when the opposite was true. He is looking for his nephew and came up with a plan to take Julia with him to make the young man happy. We can immediately see that the young man must be an immature idiot who concocted a story to keep his uncle at bay. That he did it by harming Julia once doesn't seem to matter much.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I really didn't like Nicholas Daventry. He is arrogant and domineering; he forces Julia to go with him through a mad and a bit too convoluted scheme and eventually becomes violent when provoked. Even without that I just couldn't believe that taking Julia would be a guarantee that he would find his nephew so I thought it all a bit exaggerated. Since he was a disagreeable character I also couldn't understand how Julia kept giving him the benefit of the doubt or why she kept feeling attracted to him. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">They do spend quite some time together till they find Daventry's idiot nephew but I never could overcome my initial dislike of the hero enough to be happy for them. I did like Julia but in my opinion she was too good for that hero. Daventry's stepfather sounded like an intriguing character and I wonder if he has his own book...</div><br />
<br />
Grade: 2.5/5Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-68506794033211142022011-01-15T09:15:00.001+00:002011-01-15T09:15:00.841+00:00The Defiant Miss Foster & A Highly Respectable Widow - Melinda McRae<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3XkIrFFvPfN0iNvTGDBiLY71fijIrU9Gt6AuAxPv4IKJQKPqBgUKLO0xJGVqcnaQsV9eZIHMvBDPfVxR9zsxAVj7dtVHD_1uK69yAbaaV1Ja4usGuukasPMOFKX_8CEGvm1qtEXeIkIA/s1600/th_0451209508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3XkIrFFvPfN0iNvTGDBiLY71fijIrU9Gt6AuAxPv4IKJQKPqBgUKLO0xJGVqcnaQsV9eZIHMvBDPfVxR9zsxAVj7dtVHD_1uK69yAbaaV1Ja4usGuukasPMOFKX_8CEGvm1qtEXeIkIA/s1600/th_0451209508.jpg" /></a></div>Valentine Debenham has just learned that since his father's death, he himself has been responsible for the welfare of a family of orphaned children, including a young girl on the brink of womanhood. Finding a husband for Kat Foster is a responsibility he doesn't take lightly--but he never considered that the only man perfect enough to be Kat's husband was himself.</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">**</div><blockquote>The superbly handsome Earl of Knowilton was a rake without equal. No woman, whether wanton or well-born could resist him, just as none could satisfy him for long. But Knowlton had grown bored with easy conquests. He sought a sterner test of his powers of seduction to stir his jaded sense of sport.<br />
<br />
Then he met Katherine Mayfield. This widowed beauty with her air of unassailable virtue and flaming red hair provided the spark to set Knowlton's passion ablaze. Thus the struggle was joined between this licentious lord and a perfect lady who had to keep the infamous earl at baby and her own heart in check.<br />
<br />
</blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">THE DEFIANT MISS FOSTER</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My love for traditional regencies leads me to pick them here and there, sometimes without any references. Such was the case with this 2 in 1 book. I have to say, though that I don't particularly enjoy guardian / ward romances and The Defiant Miss Foster did nothing to change that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ward in question, Miss Foster, was childish, impulsive, and rude and I just couldn't see how her guardian could feel attracted to her. Even if she, and her brothers, were mad at being deserted by their guardian (the father of the current one) for so long and feel like they don't want one now there's nothing to justify her action in the beginning and her rudeness from then onwards.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides she had a TSTL streak that made her get into trouble often, or almost get into trouble because she was actually a lucky girl. It’s quite unbelievable how a young lady who allowed strangers to be so very familiar with her didn't actually get into big trouble.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Debenham was a bit strict yes but next to how annoyed Kat made me feel that was nothing!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 2/5</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A HIGHLY RESPECTABLE WIDOW</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now this story had a plot more to my taste. Although it is another take on a fairly common theme - rake tries to make a woman his mistress only to fall in love with her and repent his ways. I thought this one was well done, with interesting characters that made it an entertaining read if not an uncommon one.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Unlike the first story here it was the heroine that I liked best. She was sensible, she knew what the hero wanted and how temporary that would be so she told him no no matter how attracted to him she might be. She was also wise enough to understand that if she wanted to raise her child well she would have to swallow her pride and go to the one who could help her. The hero was a bit too self assure and conceited in his actions and it felt good to see him fall.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 3.5/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-26852680424015013172011-01-08T11:33:00.001+00:002011-01-08T11:33:00.482+00:00Imprudent Lady - Joan Smith<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_ZF2A7owQDW3o83W_13DRCMBNUGW6VNo9I-Js7zdwHs8Ga4UaVnbp84Jhegtq9bV9TL0glFxXoy12dyhJ1wh4opzkB2HMO7FsbYjMBWvHRJ0vQT-cfVtDY1e569QYUxBh-5uiPZLve0/s1600/th_0449236633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_ZF2A7owQDW3o83W_13DRCMBNUGW6VNo9I-Js7zdwHs8Ga4UaVnbp84Jhegtq9bV9TL0glFxXoy12dyhJ1wh4opzkB2HMO7FsbYjMBWvHRJ0vQT-cfVtDY1e569QYUxBh-5uiPZLve0/s1600/th_0449236633.jpg" /></a></div>PRUDENCE HAD SEEMED SUCH A PROPER NAME FOR HER... UNTIL SHE STARTED WRITING NOVELS AND BEGAN DREAMING ABOUT A LOVE AFFAIR WITH A WORLD-FAMOUS AUTHOR.<br />
<br />
<br />
Prudence had fallen in love with the celebrated and dashing Lord Dammler from the moment she read his first book. Then she began to have fantasies about him. Then she actually met him!<br />
<br />
Suddenly Prudence was not living up to her name anymore....<br />
<br />
</blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">This is my first read by Joan Smith and I found it intriguing, sometimes amusing but hardly a traditional regency romance. It's more of a friend’s story than a love story... but it does have a HEA.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prudence, the title's imprudent lady, becomes a writer with some success. She shares a publisher with the famous Lord Dammler, the time's most celebrated writer, and ends up being introduced to him. Although she is a bit critic of his work, Prudence can't help but admire him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lord Dammler, alas, finds Prudence quite unremarkable but a series of events lead them to spend more and more time together and as she falls in love with him he just sees her as a friend. Prudence naiveté in terms of the ton's social behaviour does lead her to some trouble with an admirer without ever realising it. Her social awkwardness does make for some humourous moments as does her silly uncle. Lord Dammler is quite unhappy with Prudence's admirers and they become an object of discussion between them leading to some witty dialogue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eventually Dammler realises what his feelings for Prudence really mean but for a moment there it seems all may well be lost and where he previously commanded Prudence's emotions he will now have to work for his happy ending.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">An interesting read, much different from your typical romance novel which is always a plus. However the lack of empathy that I felt with both main characters made it a slow read for me and while recognising its value and originality it doesn't come close to being a favourite.</div><br />
<br />
Grade: 3.5/5Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-30709383419587487512011-01-03T15:28:00.001+00:002011-01-03T15:28:00.315+00:00Lucy In Disguise - Lynn Kerstand<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHgDa1NlQsUugg0yJ2p_qelNUoq8U6i5gEPNhxnomF3F9Ad0frU9nYdJQtrX0qiIhNAucQIjhyYg5BHj2Vd4g2OTt7HhxebkHopFkp9ofXdq7OOTH_Gc_k9XJGK99z-xjsn9JSYm5QIQ/s1600/th_0449001849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHgDa1NlQsUugg0yJ2p_qelNUoq8U6i5gEPNhxnomF3F9Ad0frU9nYdJQtrX0qiIhNAucQIjhyYg5BHj2Vd4g2OTt7HhxebkHopFkp9ofXdq7OOTH_Gc_k9XJGK99z-xjsn9JSYm5QIQ/s1600/th_0449001849.jpg" /></a></div>SHE RELUCTANTLY RESCUED THE ROGUE -- NOW HE'S DETERMINED TO RESCUE HER!<br />
<br />
<br />
Miss Lucy Preston pulls a wounded smuggler from the quicksand of the Lancashire beaches, and she soon rues the day. For the rascal immediately sees through her disguise and that of her heavily veiled companion -- who, indeed, is not a mute, elderly woman but a frightened young lady running from danger and seeking refuge at this remote seaside cottage. <br />
<br />
Happily acknowledging he has just landed in a truly fascinating melodrama, Christopher Valliant is determined to aid the fair damsels. For this reformed rake is motivated by the most noble reasons of all: love -- pure and glorious -- for the lovely, temperamental, and ever-so-delightful Lucy!</blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I recently read Kerstan's Celia's Grand Passion and since this story is about the hero's brother I couldn't resist picking it up next. It has an original plot that resembles that of a gothic story but this one is humourous novel so the resemblance stops there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Christopher Valliant is saved by a lady masquerading as a lad one night when he is about to drown after having fell under a cart on the beach, during a smuggling operation. He is taken to her house to recover and he realises that there are in fact two ladies, one of whom is always hiding.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lucy, the supposed lad, is a rather determined young Lady. She does her best to protect her friend Diana, who has been hurt by her uncle and is hiding from an unwanted suitor, and her efforts go as far as to pretend she is the ghost of an old witch to prevent people to approach their cottage. Christopher can't help but admiring her character and eventually he manages to hear the hole story from Diana and is determined to help them loose the evil guardian.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm afraid I did not like this story half as much as the other Kerstan book I had read. It may be that part of my problem was that I don't always like funny regencies (unless we are talking about Heyer); I always love best the ones that are dark, poignant and a bit tragic. But most of it was that I thought Christopher and Lucy had no chemistry together. I had a hard time believing they had fallen in love and made it a bit of a chore to finish it. I was glad to see Celia and her husband again though and I ended up a bit curious about Diana so I might try to track her book down one of these days.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 3/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-59388117795829822842010-12-27T12:15:00.000+00:002010-12-28T15:26:49.629+00:00A Christmas Promise - Mary Balogh<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih14z-1gJWKUwTEsLT9ATU6yiGmgMQwMXyZOCkVLfmMJezv4b72Z3ftEqfEbV7geH4Ua1StOE88GwM68n7ochq6hzgeTlO7sQZdIdEGkZCvkhKqpYIH99AjmrUmWLxVf1BEiX2pnteNyQ/s1600/n93415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih14z-1gJWKUwTEsLT9ATU6yiGmgMQwMXyZOCkVLfmMJezv4b72Z3ftEqfEbV7geH4Ua1StOE88GwM68n7ochq6hzgeTlO7sQZdIdEGkZCvkhKqpYIH99AjmrUmWLxVf1BEiX2pnteNyQ/s200/n93415.jpg" width="121" /></a></div>THE BOUGHT BRIDEGROOM<br />
<br />
Eleanor Transome found her father's wealth a dubious blessing, for he was determined that she wed a nobleman. Lord Randolph Falloden, on the brink of ruin, could not resist the lure of cold cash, despite his passionate alliances with several other desirable maidens. And though her heart belonged to the handsome, if humble, Mr. Wilfred Ellis, Eleanor would never deny her father's wishes. Thus the match was made--with love not part of the bargain--for the arrogant earl and the coal merchant's proud daughter. But in this season of unexpected gifts, a most remarkable surprise was in store for them both....</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
After reading A Christmas Bride how could I resist picking up another Christmas story. Especially one that has been OOP for so long but has now been reprinted. I really couldn't and I am really happy I read it. Once again Balogh grabs a familiar situation - an impoverished lord marrying a rich Cit's daughter - but manages to write very original characters and situations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eleanor Transome's father is dying. He wants’ to leave her under the protection of a husband and he chooses the Earl of Falloden as bridegroom. He buys the Earl's considerable debts and tells him that either he marries his daughter or he will demand immediate payment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Falloden is disgusted with the arrangement but feels he has no other choice if he wants to save the family estate from being sold. To him Eleanor Transome is nothing but a greedy young woman after a place in society. To Eleanor he is nothing but a gambler and a womaniser but she feels she must respect her father's last wishes and marry him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">To say that the marriage started on the wrong foot is an understatement. They both distrust and despise the other and Eleanor's reserve prevents her from showing her true feelings about her father which Randolph mistakes for coldness. Their wedding night is an intense, poignant, scene where neither wants to show their feelings, in a way it is a fight between them and it must be one of the most different love scenes I've read in a while.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Randolph doesn't understand Eleanor's feelings or how some of her attitudes are dictated by her father's wishes. And she is quick to judge him and take offense and uses sarcasm and irony to attack him. But after Eleanor's father passes away they end up spending the Christmas season at Randolph estate, surrounded by some of his friends and her family, and slowly they start letting their guard down.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did like Randolph very much. He was an honourable man, he had good intentions and after the first bitter moments of resentment for having been forced to marry he tried to turn their relationship into something good. But it was Eleanor that truly conquered me as a character. She was so passionate, so emotional inside but she kept it all locked up because of her pride and natural reserve. She believed the worst of Randolph and also that he must despise her for being who she was but she never gave up a fight and, in her own words, gave as good as she got. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was only after she starts relaxing with her family and the tenants of Grenfell Park that we, and Randolph, have the chance to see how warm and affectionate she really was. One of things I like the most in Balogh's earlier titles is how much introspection we have, we know what the characters are thinking and feeling and we know why they do and say the things they do. Randolph and Eleanor's feelings do not develop overnight and even after that starts they do still quarrel which leads him to call her, affectionaly, an hedgehog. They will only be entirely honest and open on Christmas Day, when Randolph gives her the present her father had left for her.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I really loved reading about these two and their journey to love which, in the beginning, seems that it will take nothing short of a Christmas Miracle to achieve. My one complaint is a minor one, that so many secondary couples finding love is highly unlikely. But that is certainly a detail in the middle of this lovely, emotional story.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 5/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-58470427021129230342010-12-25T12:23:00.000+00:002010-12-25T12:23:00.601+00:00A Christmas Bride - Mary Balogh<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp1B3DUuiYBLlpf_Kp7qA0JL_DHa1sYLkcqcgwvFpN7M1ulrJTT8RTwgfJ4g2Gh1S_qkjnoq_mMd7GJFf5i-vuJt2O74MFx-3OO0DdLwvR51besXQKR6WtRvxphrNGiSD6gpdR05fUQEc/s1600/th_0451191447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp1B3DUuiYBLlpf_Kp7qA0JL_DHa1sYLkcqcgwvFpN7M1ulrJTT8RTwgfJ4g2Gh1S_qkjnoq_mMd7GJFf5i-vuJt2O74MFx-3OO0DdLwvR51besXQKR6WtRvxphrNGiSD6gpdR05fUQEc/s1600/th_0451191447.jpg" /></a></div>The Wrong Lady<br />
<br />
<br />
At six-and-thirty, the very wealthy Edgar Downes had finally decided to take a bride. Although not to the manor born, Edgar had promised his aging father that he would wed a titled lady by Christmas. Edgar came to London to review a parade of eligible misses, all of them pretty, proper, and young enough to bear him a son. But it was the widow Lady Helena Stapleton, in a shocking red dress, who captured his undivided attention. He simply could not take his eyes from her. And as for Helena, she too felt a most disturbing frisson when she saw this seductive stranger.<br />
<br />
An irresistible passion was soon sweeping them into a scandalous liaison. Marriage, of course, would never do. Helena was too old and altogether the wrong lady to marry; Helena thought Edgar simply not in her class. But in a season of unexpected miracles, something wondrous was about to happen... something that would change their minds and transform their hearts forever....</blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Is there anything better than to read one of Balogh's Christmas romances at Christmas time? I think not and this year the first one I read was A Christmas Bride </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lady Helena Stapleton was introduced in a previous book, A Precious Jewel, where she was the villain. Even if you haven't read that book Helena is not exactly a nice character when this story starts. She is cynical, bitter and doesn't trust anyone. She also doesn't seem to feel good about who she is. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Edgar Downes is the heir of a merchant family. His sister, Cora, married the younger son of a duke and he knows he is only received in polite society because of that connection. At thirty-six is father is urging him to marry and give him grandchildren and Edgar decides to spend a season in London looking for a bride. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When he and Helena see each other the attraction is there and Helena decides it's high time she takes a lover. That evening she manipulates Edgar to take her home and they do sleep together but her cold manner makes him leave without plans of seeing her again. In fact he starts to court another young lady but his natural kindness and moral values lead him to inquire about Helena's well being and when it is apparent that she is pregnant he feels that there is no alternative but to marry. Since the Christmas season is just starting and they were already planning a party at the Downes country home a Christmas wedding is decided. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is not in every book that we see a heroine as tortured as Helena. She feels the need to punish herself for a past behaviour and she does that at every turn. Even wounding others so they don't get close to her. With Edgar however she is unable to that. Edgar is a wonderful hero, once he sets his course of action he is determined that he will do his best to have a good marriage. He tries to find a way to breach Helena's defenses and eventually he manages just that and learns what she did in the past. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I really enjoyed their interaction during those days after the wedding. With family and friends in attendance, Helena starts opening up a bit and Edgar feels he might have a chance to heal her if he manages to bring her together with those she hurt and especially if he gets her to forgive herself. Since this is the season for family, good will and forgiveness I thought this was the perfect theme for a Christmas story. Just lovely! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 4.5/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-80885006571320972892010-12-23T11:30:00.000+00:002010-12-23T11:30:02.700+00:00Mally - Sandra Heath<blockquote><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCmFYiCjAJRe9Xu5uJv1WyJYGwxMYCSKTIPxXTUUpdn1486WEWKNEw1H-HsSxmTZ1BkZb7jC2qRfZdJt0tYjMSu8k5uqzbBH7tPRPE9Q3pGaEPmHm_jFw7b117k-BTqo5VywEqsh2dbLM/s1600/n116182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCmFYiCjAJRe9Xu5uJv1WyJYGwxMYCSKTIPxXTUUpdn1486WEWKNEw1H-HsSxmTZ1BkZb7jC2qRfZdJt0tYjMSu8k5uqzbBH7tPRPE9Q3pGaEPmHm_jFw7b117k-BTqo5VywEqsh2dbLM/s200/n116182.jpg" width="115" /></a>HOMECOMING</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Mally came to her girlhood castle home in Wales to discover what should become of her as a woman.</div><br />
With her was Sir Christopher Carlyon. who begged her to be his wife and whose passion was devilishly hard to deny. Missing was her younger sister. Who had vanished with - of all disreputable types of gentlemen - an American. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>And making her feel both all-too-comfortable and increasingly uneasy was her extraordinarily charming host. Richard Vallender. who claimed to be Christopher's most loyal friend even as he drew closer and closer to Mally. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>The questions of the heart and the seductive lies of love- twin puzzles for a young woman who found that all that was once so safe and familiar was now so menacing and strange....</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">I am, slowly, getting to the bottom of the TBR pile and this time I found another Sandra Heath book. I have loved a couple of her books and been less sure of other. This one, unfortunately, falls in the second category.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mally is a young widow, she has a beau in Sir Christopher Carlyon but she doesn't seem much interested in him. At the moment she is more worried with her younger sister who has disappeared and she fears she went away to marry someone her family wouldn't approve of.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My main problem is that I never felt I actually knew Mally and what I did know of her wasn't very interesting. I couldn't understand why she kept Carlyon around if she didn't want him; it seemed kinder than leading him on. I didn't feel like I really got to know Carlyon, by the way, but he seemed a lot more involved with her than she was with him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then the mystery did get me a bit, or lot actually, confused. First Mally's sister had run away to marry, then it seemed something darker was afoot.. When she meets Vallender she first believes he may be the villain who took her sister or at least know what happened to her and when they all find themselves at his castle she can't help but being attracted to him despite everything. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I suppose the idea is to introduce a bit of a gothic feel in the story - mysterious man, mysterious castle but maybe because I wasn't really invested in Mally as a character it didn't really work for me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 2/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-51197585274734121012010-12-11T11:04:00.002+00:002010-12-11T11:08:20.179+00:00Celia's Grand Passion - Lynn Kerstan<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjL_oRuVAtN_xoyvRhGbWMpj231LJ_N06q3Diw0wYXz6cqK1-y1gJhWEwyMGbFf0aSTALjz5kBX3X7GrnvdOa0rGTpDa3jwRRtSWYFUl0nCqND3kkm9-lYRnWN5weCUn2pWwu0m7q0JsU/s1600/n116081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjL_oRuVAtN_xoyvRhGbWMpj231LJ_N06q3Diw0wYXz6cqK1-y1gJhWEwyMGbFf0aSTALjz5kBX3X7GrnvdOa0rGTpDa3jwRRtSWYFUl0nCqND3kkm9-lYRnWN5weCUn2pWwu0m7q0JsU/s200/n116081.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>EVEN OUTRIGHT REJECTION WOULDN'T STOP HER FROM PURSUING HER GRAND PASSION. . . .<br />
<br />
<br />
No man in London could match Lord Kendal's cool elegance nor rival his skills as a diplomat. His icy calm was as notorious as his untouchable heart. And few women had any illusions of finding love in his arms. Lady Celia Greer, however, was not among them.<br />
<br />
Young and very determined, she has made it her mission to melt the ice around his lordship's heart. Though charmed by the exuberant young widow, he is not willing to toy with one still innocent in the ways of love. But if ever there was a gentleman worth saving from his own cold prison, it was Kendal. And if ever there was a woman for the job . . . 'twas she!</blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I've put Kerstan on my WL after reading Lord Dragoner's Wife, that was a MOC story between a titled gentleman and a cit's daughter and I greatly enjoyed it. Celia's Grand Passion is completely different but it was also a nice story.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It starts in a surprising way with a lady of the ton hiding in a closet to spy on the gentleman of her dreams. Naturally she couldn't be an ordinary lady and Celia does have a strange story behind that we get to know as the action progresses. The lover of her dreams is Lord Kendall and he ends up catching her spying on him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When they meet again at a society ball Kendall seems as interested in Celia as she is in him. Since they are both free, she is a widow and he a widower, the eventually decide to engage in a love affair. But everything goes wrong when Kendall discover something about Celia's past, something that makes him distrust her as he did his wife and that left him scarred about trusting people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did like Celia's quiet dignity; she knew she was not in the wrong and that men are often only interested in their own pleasures so she actually bests him and makes him feel the worse about his attitude. They separate, determined not to see watch other again but fate brings them together when Celia meets Kendall's son and brother in the country and he eventually comes home.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did like them more the better I knew them and although Kendall's past wasn't that original I thought Celia's story was a bit different from the ordinary. For a while I thought it would be difficult for those two to find their way to happiness because they kept bickering and fighting each other but in the end I am glad they found a way to make up and confess their feelings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 4/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-76776186948088382092010-11-29T09:48:00.000+00:002010-11-29T09:48:35.893+00:00The Plumed Bonnet - Mary Balogh<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQjLx3sYa9zug-XOonVa9Dti3Fkcu_lAmFNHLBQ-nG3GLi7dm6n8Hom5GoTTLKbgQSlPlYDaqFpOQPUDddM-Wtku40EP4iE7UaQ_4NlSHRmp0tKt07d2HMzwvmMN8K-XcQzieLuqJI_E/s1600/th_0451190513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQjLx3sYa9zug-XOonVa9Dti3Fkcu_lAmFNHLBQ-nG3GLi7dm6n8Hom5GoTTLKbgQSlPlYDaqFpOQPUDddM-Wtku40EP4iE7UaQ_4NlSHRmp0tKt07d2HMzwvmMN8K-XcQzieLuqJI_E/s1600/th_0451190513.jpg" /></a></div>DECEIVING THE DUKE<br />
<br />
There was no reason for a lord as handsome and high and mighty as the Duke of Bridgewater even to glance at a humble vicar's daughter like Miss Stephanie Gray. No reason except the Duke was in need of amorous amusement, and the he was mistakenly convinced that Stephanie was precisely the kind of woman that she was decidedly not.<br />
<br />
It was one thing for Stephanie to be grateful to the Duke for rescuing her from a horrific highway mishap. It was quite another, however, to repay him by accepting what she long had been told was a fate worse than death. So when the Duke stooped to conquer, Stephanie rose to defend her virtue - only to find that even the most proper young lady on the brink of the deepest of dangers could nonetheless fall in love . . .<br />
<br />
</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">The Plumed Bonnet is part of a series that starts with Dark Angel. I have read the previous books some time ago and I never wrote the reviews but reading this one actually made me want to go back and revisit those soon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the beginning of this story we find Stephanie Gray walking along the road in a very colourful hat and destitute. When the Duke of Bridgewater's carriage comes along he sees a lady of easy virtue who might help him pass a few comfortable hours and he offers her a ride. Stephanie is naturally grateful and tells him the story of how she ended up like that and who she is. The story sounds so fantastic that Bridgewater believes it to be made up just to gain his interest. Amused he plays along and they both spend a night in an Inn albeit in separate rooms. When Bridgewater realises she was telling the truth he feels duty bound to offer for her because he knows he has compromised her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Stephanie accepts as she feels she has no option (she has to marry to receive her inheritance) and she does admire the Duke very much for what she feels was a good deed towards her. But the easy communication between the two is now at an end. Stephanie feels like a country bumpkin next to Bridgewater's family and despite being coached in her new duties by the dowager Duchess she feels she may never be sophisticated enough to fulfill her new duties, and Bridgewater realises he wants a true marriage between them but seems unable to express his feelings in a way she understands them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">On their wedding day he decides to be truthful and tell her what he really thought about her when they met. This makes Stephanie realise that he also has flaws; the man she thought had been so kind to her simply thought she was a trollop. While this causes her some pain it was also a much needed conversation to clear the air between them. After the initial big misunderstanding (which I usually don't like) that was quite funny and then the smaller ones that contributed to make this a very angsty read during their engagement. Bridgewater and Stephanie will have to build their relationship on who they really are. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I found this a lovely, entertaining story with very funny moments in the first half and then some poignant ones in the second. It covers the dangers to women alone on the road, the insecurity of meeting one's in laws and how difficult it is sometimes to understand others, be it words or looks, when you don't actually know them. Another winner!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 4.5/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-63393972668249465462010-11-11T22:55:00.001+00:002010-11-11T22:55:00.210+00:00The Obedient Bride - Mary Balogh<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLA3ee30CHtX1wLEs5-vLXk-HuA9RnecK7vhiFxYPjaJ6x-kWGrK0LFOkUB-yU3h5uO-0SyCNy5fXW2vk2ceGHtuvd0Ih283EyJzLTAUcO_eq_uQG5pwNgBazFbcv8dP6co6PkhEM-fvw/s1600/th_0451159624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLA3ee30CHtX1wLEs5-vLXk-HuA9RnecK7vhiFxYPjaJ6x-kWGrK0LFOkUB-yU3h5uO-0SyCNy5fXW2vk2ceGHtuvd0Ih283EyJzLTAUcO_eq_uQG5pwNgBazFbcv8dP6co6PkhEM-fvw/s200/th_0451159624.jpg" width="123" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">LOVE WAS NOT PART OF HER MARRIAGE BARGAIN </div><br />
<br />
Miss Arabella Wilson knew perfectly well that the handsome, dashing Lord Geoffrey Astor was marrying her only out of a sense of duty. She knew she could be only grateful to this man who so generously offered her a life of aristocratic privilege. Surely she could not imagine she could ever claim his heart as well as his hand. Surely she could not object to his mistress, the ravishingly sensual Ginny Cox. <br />
<br />
Surely she should be content with the attentions of the gentlemen of the ton who swarmed around her. <br />
<br />
But Arabella had committed the most scandalous of sins. She had fallen in love with her own husband...</blockquote><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">After a few less than wonderful Baloghs here's one that I truly enjoyed. The Obedient Bride is a "MOC" story; both the hero and the heroine marry out of a sense of duty. Him because he is helping the last Viscount's family and she because she will be able to help her family if she does. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The way they approach the marriage however is very different. The hero sees it has something he has to do but that it won't disrupt his private life, he will continue to keep his usual mistress and doing his usual activities with the exception that now he will accompany his wife to social functions and will present her sisters to society. The heroine, however, is determined to make the best of her marriage and be the perfect wife. In part because she feel he is entering a bad bargain as she is not as beautiful as her sister.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">They do adjust well to married life and in fact Bella, the heroine, likes her new social life so much that she becomes a vibrant young woman always surrounded by friends and admirers. However, one evening she hears that her husband is keeping a mistress and decides to confront him about it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I loved how Bella was so very hurt and disappointed but managed to hold on to her her dignity while making it very clear how mad she was. Geoffrey really couldn't see how his actions could be seen as wrong (which I suppose was accurate for the time and type of marriage) but he felt her displeasure and decided to change. He ended things with the mistress and worked on gaining Bella's trust again. Mind you he did not change overnight, in fact his first reaction was to get very angry that Bella should think and speak in such a way with him. But when he decided to reform he did his best to please her and I felt he actually won her over.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's a subplot with Bella's sister and a rake that I felt was a bit unnecessary unless it was to show how noble Geoffrey was in contrast. In the end I found this a very nice little story although readers with strong feelings about adultery should probably stay away. I always feel Balogh has more original/outrageous plots in her earlier titles than in the more recent ones and this is the perfect example!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 4/5</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-13100096273522227652010-11-08T19:35:00.003+00:002010-11-08T19:37:19.223+00:00The Constant Heart - Mary Balogh<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3H6WrBxPt9OtMQx8xzXO6Yv5u9QdY0g8gV5AogE_7xzUHFEFo6htJxb7q_bbxAaCZ2xpGiczNuE-H6-yCCxK70FoKjoAfV4p-chHLPzxpV5J9tpOG1NBJ7_5VeMetGcV8ELMJoBKch08/s1600/th_0451148835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3H6WrBxPt9OtMQx8xzXO6Yv5u9QdY0g8gV5AogE_7xzUHFEFo6htJxb7q_bbxAaCZ2xpGiczNuE-H6-yCCxK70FoKjoAfV4p-chHLPzxpV5J9tpOG1NBJ7_5VeMetGcV8ELMJoBKch08/s1600/th_0451148835.jpg" /></a></div>THE ROGUE'S RETURN<br />
<br />
<br />
Miss Rebecca Shaw had lost her heart once in her young life - lost it and had it broken. <br />
<br />
At last it had mended - mended enough for her to say yes when the handsome, high-minded young Reverend Phillip Everett asked her to be his wife and share a life of the purest propriety and best of good works. <br />
<br />
But now Christopher Sinclair had returned. He was fee now of the marriage that had given him fabulous wealth at the price of leaving Rebecca behind and betrayed. He was free now to turn Rebecca's head again... away from the man who soon would be her lawfully wedded husband. And Rebecca was also free to change her mind - but was she foolish enough to turn toward a love that had proven faithless once and now could be utterly ruinous. . . .?<br />
<br />
</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Another one of Balogh's oldies The Constant Heart tells the story of Rebecca Shaw, a young woman who suffered a big disappointment a few years before when her beau tells her that he is marrying a rich heiress he met in town and leaving her behind. Now she is engaged to be married to the village Reverend but the return of the man who betrayed her, now a rich widower, does make her heart feel divided. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides her disappointment with him Rebecca keeps hearing about how Christopher mistreated his wife. But she can't seem to stay away from him as they keep seeing each other everywhere and he is always very civil to her. When they meet by accident in the forest and Christopher tells her he still cares for her Rebecca has a hard time dealing with the feelings that his declaration bring to surface. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But soon she finds out that maybe not all that has been said about him is true, that he has been helping her through the years without her knowledge and the real reasons behind his actions. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I thought this plot had great potential for an angst ridden story. Unfortunately, although there are some emotional moments, that potential is not fulfilled. Maybe because we only know Rebecca's side of it or because Christopher actually does seem like a nice guy and there isn't much misunderstanding on that score. That lack of emotion prevented me from being totally engaged in the story and it didn't quite work as I was expecting it to.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The secondary characters were really nice and the love stories they developed also made for a good read. They were the kind of people I wouldn't mind revisiting at a later date to see how well they deal with each other.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 3.5/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-46466204643834532402010-11-03T18:50:00.001+00:002010-11-03T18:50:59.866+00:00Gentle Conquest - Mary Balogh<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhErvMox5UfMdl1vx6ihwU9907wKOR5TiPpoUwN1Tu53XX-Sm5bbaNg4yCILTW82W_903d4_Oh7LtPnqjNtz3c-_DAG2VQUKvuenw3djAGcqIK8ChBu7wdTbdxUL9JaRwFb5bNwqdJBB8/s1600/th_0451150996.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhErvMox5UfMdl1vx6ihwU9907wKOR5TiPpoUwN1Tu53XX-Sm5bbaNg4yCILTW82W_903d4_Oh7LtPnqjNtz3c-_DAG2VQUKvuenw3djAGcqIK8ChBu7wdTbdxUL9JaRwFb5bNwqdJBB8/s1600/th_0451150996.jpg" /></a></div>THE BASHFUL BRIDEGROOM<br />
<br />
It should have been the perfect marriage for beautiful Georgiana Burton. The husband her parents had picked for her, Lord Ralph Chartleigh, was wealthy, handsome, noble, and kind. Unfortunately, he did not measure up to Georgiana's firm notions of what a man should be. He was uninterested in society, impervious to fashions, had the worst of tailors, knew little of women -- and was wary of the little he knew. Clearly Georgiana had to teach him a great deal about life and even more about love...forgetting until it was almost too late how much she had to learn herself.</blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Another Balogh oldie (yes I read quite a few last month) and one that I started worrying about once I was introduced to the heroine. She seemed the ultimate shallow girl, marrying because her parents so decided but determined to make fun of her husband. The husband was intelligent, honourable, charming even although a bit shy with his bride. He fell head over heels in love with at first sight and seemed unable to utter more than a couple of words in her presence. Georgiana pretends to also be shy and delicate while she is being courted but while Ralph never even kissed a girl she has already been kissed by a couple of her friends and sees nothing wrong with a light flirtation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ralph's inexperience and Georgiana’s behaviour lead them to an awkward situation on their wedding night and they do not consummate it. Instead Ralph decided to wait till they get to know each other better. He is quite surprised by the vivacious girl she becomes after the wedding and feels even more enchanted by her. Although seems as shallow as in the beginning we can see that she doesn't have a bad heart and would like to make a go of her marriage. She is a bit impulsive and sometimes her actions really are a bit too much but she is the kind who learns from her mistakes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">They eventually return to London and the ton's social life. Georgiana meets her old friends and makes the acquaintance of one of Ralph's cousins. The more she gets to know her husband the more she wants their marriage to be consummated, you can see her growing up, appreciating her husband as she should and he deserves. But Ralph doesn't seem in any hurry to do the deed. With the help of her husband's cousin she eventually comes up with a plan to seduce him, but since he feels intimidated by her she pretends to be someone else.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I must admit that Georgiana's crazy plan was quite funny. Because of that I could suspend my disbelief regarding the fact that Ralph slept with his wife believing her to be a stranger and never realising it. But I could see a mile away that someone would eventually believe Georgiana to be carrying on an affair and that might have some trouble explaining what she had been up to. How she was found out and how Ralph dealt with the situation was also quite funny.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite what I would think to be a crazy plot if I had just read about it I think the story worked very well, showing two young people (18 and 21) getting to know each other and falling in love while still showing some adolescent behaviour. While this isn't one of my favourite Balogh's it was still a very nice read.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The secondary romance was also a nice touch.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 4/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-79397832944074400752010-10-25T08:33:00.002+01:002010-10-25T08:33:00.306+01:00Miss Dornton's Hero - Elisabeth Fairchild<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUjVhRNDZseY2reZ-1T9wEDR76Nf2Z8rAxSsLHrl9odu3HHsclQtTzKNLTPnkRhhmH53nNpZez-qFgWwFXYnl29UIxMz73DX-i1FhNw4-k8nertTuBV_ksYxifmihZQMO5V5LBx_PnpkI/s1600/th_0451182804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUjVhRNDZseY2reZ-1T9wEDR76Nf2Z8rAxSsLHrl9odu3HHsclQtTzKNLTPnkRhhmH53nNpZez-qFgWwFXYnl29UIxMz73DX-i1FhNw4-k8nertTuBV_ksYxifmihZQMO5V5LBx_PnpkI/s1600/th_0451182804.jpg" /></a></div>Fateful Attraction <br />
<br />
<br />
It was lovely young Miss Margaret Dornton 's first London season. That was why she knew nothing of the fearful reputation of the dark and handsome Evelyn Dade until it was terribly too late. <br />
<br />
To be seen in this notorious gentleman's company meant scandal and social disgrace. To be on close terms with him was to court the most dreadful of dangers. And to fall in love with the bitter and brooding Lord Dade went beyond folly into the realm of ruin. But this inexperienced, impressionable young lady did even more. She awoke the passions of this man driven by private demons, for whom love and war were one and the same. Which meant she not only had to fight her own desires but defeat his as well-in a battle to save what was left of her good name even after she had lost her heart....</blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Although the Napoleonic Wars are present in many regency novels it is not often that they deal with the traumas and scarring from the war. In Miss Dornton's Hero Elizabeth Fairchild brings us one such stories. Evelyn Dade led his men to war and saw every one of them die, now the Ton calls him Captain Death and believes death will follow wherever he goes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When he first meets Margaret Dornton he saves her from a dog and takes her home. Unfortunately just being seen with such a notorious character is enough to damage Margaret's reputation in the eyes of society. Margaret is a bit naive. She has a few scars herself from having seen her brother die in a fire as a child, and she has an idealistic view of people and the world. She likes Dade, thinks him a hero for saving her and does seem to be much worried about being an outcast of society.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Margaret does grow out of it a bit but she never stops liking Dade and looking forward to be with him socially. Dade, knowing the damage he has done and continues doing to her reputation, would rather stay away but feels unable to do so as Margaret becomes the bright spot in his existence. He even concocts a plan to rescue her reputation and then stay away.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Part of the story is told from his point of view. I really liked that despite the fact that it means a separation for the couple. I think this is not light reading but it definitely is a nice one and we can't help but wish that Margaret and Dade are finally brought together in the end.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Grade: 4/5Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-88557083264939859752010-08-30T08:30:00.001+01:002010-08-30T08:30:01.033+01:00Mannerby's Lady - Sandra Heath<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULxF-sncoZ6LXTVEDYJRUfa_0VaCSuq4RzD6yewq1jmWvW5kX2BmOPCu2pFlBfvy9ic1oRk4zmWyuwR3JqdQ90rNSRZlKgS62R27chde4y26XRfDfrl1H86JOZIKjurJs7hvP8EanO5g/s1600/th_0451144392.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULxF-sncoZ6LXTVEDYJRUfa_0VaCSuq4RzD6yewq1jmWvW5kX2BmOPCu2pFlBfvy9ic1oRk4zmWyuwR3JqdQ90rNSRZlKgS62R27chde4y26XRfDfrl1H86JOZIKjurJs7hvP8EanO5g/s320/th_0451144392.jpg" /></a></div>SHE REFUSED TO BE A BARTERED BRIDE--AND BECAME A CAPTIVE IN AN ARISTOCRATIC CAGE<br />
<br />
<br />
To some, the great manor of Mannerby might have seemed a lovely country retreat. To beautiful Sarah Jane Stratford, it was a hateful prison to which she had been consigned for the crime of spurning the odious boor whom her noble father had ignobly chosen to be her husband.<br />
<br />
Always close at hand was her captor, the infuriatingly arrogant Paul Ransome, who clearly believed every scandalous rumor about Sarah Jane. Frustratingly far away was the handsome, gallant Jack Holland, to whom Sarah Jane was eager to give her hand, her good name, and anything else he chose to desire.<br />
<br />
Sarah Jane vowed to brook no obstacle of social censure nor pitfall of prudish propriety on her path to true love--only to discover what sinister snares passion could set, and how treacherous a guide the heart could be....</blockquote><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Heath is a hit and miss author for me. I always open her books with a lot of expectation and sometimes they end being a bit a letdown. Fortunately that was not what happened with this one although I did find it to have some problems. The blurb is also a bit misleading as I thought that what happens before Sarah Jane goes to Mannerby is as important as what happens there and Ransome is not exactly a captor. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sarah Jane is an illegitimate daughter that her father recognised when she was already an adult so that she could marry his heir. Neither Sarah Jane nor her fiancé love want the marriage but she is practical enough to realise that if she refuses she will be condemning herself to a life of poverty. The only person who has been nice to her is a young man and when he proposes to meet her in the woods she accepts despite some misgivings. Her fears were well founded as he proceeds to try to force but she is saved by the appearance of another gentleman, Jack Holland.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite having a terrible reputation Holland behaves in an honourable fashion and takes Sara Jane home. However later in the day he hears the other bragging to friends how he succeeded in forcing Sarah Jane and challenges and kills him. To Sarah Jane he becomes a romantic figure, her saviour who promises to return for her. But his actions and her future mother-in-law malicious gossip make everyone believe that she was his lover and her father decides to send to one of his estates in the country - Mannerby.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Throughout all this Sarah Jane behaves in a dignified manner but on her way to Mannerby her strength is once again tested has her maid, indeed her only friend, dies when crossing a river. Paul Ransome, the tenant of Mannerby, believes the worst of her behaviour but always treats her with proper respect; the same cannot be said of his sister who seems to have something against her. At first Sarah Jane believes that Melissa was the woman her fiancé wanted to marry and that is way she dislikes her but soon is apparent that there is something more at stake as Melissa's behaviour turns more secretive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The problem I had with this story was that it was part romance and part gothic and there seemed to be a bit of hesitation about which should be the stronger element in the story. Sarah Jane finds herself without friends, and indeed almost surrounded by enemies, during her stay in Mannerby and stranger things keep happening has a mysterious man keeps appearing in the woods, a fire is set in a nearby inn and Melissa ends up running away with tragic results.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ransome eventually discovers that Sarah Jane is not the person he thought but when they start to spend more time together Holland returns. All the feelings that Sarah Jane had for him come rushing back and they eventually admit their love for each other.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had a feeling from very early about who the bad guy really was and I was proved correct. The convoluted plot that was behind his actions wasn't as easy to guess but I couldn't believe how Sarah Jane couldn't see it as clearly as I did. That detracted a bit from my enjoyment of the mystery plot and the ending came about so abruptly that I felt a bit cheated on the romance part. It was an interesting story but I think it would have felt stronger if it had been entirely a gothic or entirely a romance.</div><br />
Grade: 4/5Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-24205698881691169822010-08-23T07:58:00.001+01:002010-08-23T07:58:00.266+01:00The Lady's Companion - Carla Kelly<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRqqTlwpwHsGPoM7msjv8Lun4flAUAkzZc72kOarFg0he5mpspBjZVrDQbGM3GTsaYHURZ6Cclqt21_0kFdarCe0k5cMnr2eb3ryFV-ruiJHJcxhSeGg8ihZKPYY4LB4PLAiI07WXK6c/s1600/th_0451186842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRqqTlwpwHsGPoM7msjv8Lun4flAUAkzZc72kOarFg0he5mpspBjZVrDQbGM3GTsaYHURZ6Cclqt21_0kFdarCe0k5cMnr2eb3ryFV-ruiJHJcxhSeGg8ihZKPYY4LB4PLAiI07WXK6c/s320/th_0451186842.jpg" /></a></div>A Compromising Position<br />
<br />
<br />
Miss Susan Hampton was a lady born and bred. She never imagined that she would have to make her own way in the world. But that was before her feckless father gamed away the family estate. That was before her odious aunt turned her into an unpaid servant. Now Susan had fled that tyranny--only to wonder if she had leapt out of the frying pan into the fire. <br />
<br />
In a remote country manor, Susan took the post of companion to the Dowager Lady Bushnell, whose fiery temper made a dragon seem sweet. But even more dangerous was the dowager's boldly handsome bailiff, David Wiggins, whose blood was red, not blue, and who was everything a man could be except a gentleman. Desperately, Susan told herself that he was totally unsuitable as her suitor--even as this infuriatingly irresistible man awoke her as a woman and made her forget she was a lady...</blockquote><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Carla Kelly is usually a hit and miss author with me but I always grab her books with some expectation. I had no idea what this book was about but I couldn't resist getting it because she usually writes about different characters. This story was no exception...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Susan Hampton is a young lady of a good family. Her father, however, is a gambler of the worst sort and has ruined his family. There is no money for Susan's dowry and eventually they have to go and live with a relative. Seeing as she will be treated has a non paid instead of a family member Susan decides to find a proper job and support herself. That is how she finds herself living in the country with the dowager duchess of Bushnell and her bailiff, Daniel Wiggings among other interesting characters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Susan is not exactly a success at her new job. She has no experience and Lady Bushnell is a fiercely independent woman who doesn't want the companions her daughter-in-law likes to send her. As soon as they meet Susan is fired but eventually Lady Bushnell gives her another chance and Susan has to find to best way to be useful and keep her job.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I liked most in this story was how everyone felt so real in their reactions to pain and sorrow. How Lady Bushnell was strong and wanted no pity for the tragedies that she suffered in the past, how she elicited such protective feelings from Daniel and, later, Susan and how. Daniel, bit by bit ends up telling Susan his whole story, how he was a soldier and a thief and was saved, both literally and from a life of crime, by Lady Bushnell and her family. He bears the weight of quite a few secrets and doesn't mind keeping them not to disturb an old lady. And Susan, a special king of courage is needed to break society's barriers. Susan ends up doing it twice, when she leaves her family to find employment and when she accepts Daniel's proposal, and both times she does it with her eyes open. Fully aware that there will be consequences and that she will be made to pay the price. I really couldn't help admiring all of them and loving their story!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 5/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-27188723010582117652010-08-16T07:48:00.000+01:002010-08-16T07:48:32.979+01:00The Talisman Ring - Georgette Heyer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjsOK9q576Npwg4e_IlHYSQq0T7mTpC1DZJ5qoOl8OxKUYTRmvL4rVgmJRf4IXtGyJ9MQOjrGn5khP1XVs9aFALDs-ZOsNm3CKT1Ub3ZpKIE0eKg6OecE_UjqGgTshv-ySC9DGQZkwro/s1600/9781402217715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjsOK9q576Npwg4e_IlHYSQq0T7mTpC1DZJ5qoOl8OxKUYTRmvL4rVgmJRf4IXtGyJ9MQOjrGn5khP1XVs9aFALDs-ZOsNm3CKT1Ub3ZpKIE0eKg6OecE_UjqGgTshv-ySC9DGQZkwro/s320/9781402217715.jpg" /></a></div><blockquote>'I dare say it will not be so very bad, our marriage, if I can have a house in town, and perhaps a love.' 'Perhaps a WHAT?' demanded Shield, in a voice that made her jump. Neither Sir Tristram Shield nor Eustacie, his young French cousin, share the slightest inclination to marry one another. Yet it is Lord Lavenham's dying wish. For there is no one else to provide for the old man's granddaughter while Ludovic, his heir, remains a fugitive from justice... </blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I have been a long time fan of Georgette Heyer, I first read some of books while a teenager in translated versions and now, as an adult, I have been collecting them in the original English thanks to Arrow and Sourcebooks who made them readily available everywhere.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The talisman Ring was one of the books that I read more recently. A mixed story, part romance / part mystery, it sees two couples searching around for a family jewel to exonerate one of the heroes from a murder charge. To make a long story short, Sir Tristam Shield and Eustacie de Vauban are ordered by their great granduncle and grandfather respectively to embark on a marriage of convenience to guarantee Eustacie’s well being and status in life after the old man dies. But Eustacie is a lively and romantic girl who finds Sir Tristam a stuffy unromantic old man and decides to run away to become a governess. On the road she finds her cousin Ludovic, her grandfather’s heir who has been on the run for the past two years after having been suspected of murdering a man on the night his favourite jewel – the talisman ring – disappeared. Ludovic is now a free trader, which seems utterly adventurous and romantic to Eustacie, and after an encounter with the excise men he is hurt and they find shelter at a nearby inn. There they find Lady Sarah Thane, a young woman who travels with her brother and seems to have an original sense of humour, and that’s where Sir Tristam eventually finds them. With Eustacie and Ludovic on their way to falling in love the four set out to find the jewel and prove his innocence. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I must admit that this is not one of my favourite Heyers. I think the story, as a mystery, loses pace because of the romance and all those secondary characters – the free traders, the excise men, the Bow Street Runners – and as a romance looses interest because so much time is devoted to finding the jewel. I think I am more used to those Heyer romances where we find sparkling and witty dialogue between the main characters, where the funny coincidences make for laugh out loud moments and where we have closure in the end. Here, although there are some funny moments they are not so sparkling and witty, and while the story ends with one couple engaged, the other doesn’t get the same king of closure, although everything indicates that they will do so too.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did like Lady Sarah Thane and Sir Tristam Shield very much. To the point where I would have loved to have the book devoted solely to them. In a way, because they are an older couple they reminded me of Abby and Miles from The Black Sheep which I greatly enjoyed. If only we had seen more of them I am sure that we had been gifted with some witty dialogues. Eustacie seemed a bit too young and, well, silly. I have been fond of other young heroines like Horry and Leonie and I have forgiven them their silly naiveté because of their wonderful heroes but here I must confess that Ludovic was not a favourite with me either. He seemed impulsive and extravagant but oh so perfect for Eustacie who only wanted a husband to ride “ventre a terre” to her death bed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But don’t be discouraged by my review, lots of Heyer fans seem to love this story so my advice to you is try it and see. There are a lot of farcical moments in this story and if nothing else it will definitely put you in a good mood.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
********************************</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><em>This review was written for the Heyer Celebration at Austenprose in August 2010</em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-8483074228338772622010-07-03T04:14:00.000+01:002010-07-03T04:14:39.631+01:00The Honorable Miss Clarendon - Margaret Sebastian<blockquote style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Q5SwRykJQfiPB3pLOUN6NzjlTYoAbhLcdLZWZHrlgjpqojZIED9JysuDe8y7sYgSUcq36Csc00dzJOpWYoih0kVuqRb12lA23jphaZdhte8bQnqM1WzZkhljWnDCOvmi2tlTCb1Ch5Y/s1600/dd40dfca09f3db65979585855674141414c3441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Q5SwRykJQfiPB3pLOUN6NzjlTYoAbhLcdLZWZHrlgjpqojZIED9JysuDe8y7sYgSUcq36Csc00dzJOpWYoih0kVuqRb12lA23jphaZdhte8bQnqM1WzZkhljWnDCOvmi2tlTCb1Ch5Y/s320/dd40dfca09f3db65979585855674141414c3441.jpg" /></a>Young Miss Cynthia Clarendon may have fallen upon difficult times, but never could she forget the aristocratic heritage of her distinguished family name. Even when she became governess to a family whose wealth could not buy them a title, she refused to bow her lovely head or humble her stubborn pride. Or then could a mere gentleman's servant, no matter how handsome and charming and resourceful, make her heart beat too quickly for comfort, and her mind dance with impossible dreams? As a Clarendon, it was clearly beneath her. As a proper young lady, she refused to let it happen. But as her unsuitable suitor seemed to know all too well, the Honorable Miss Clarendon was also very much a woman.</blockquote><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In previous reviews I have stated my preference for dramatic stories over funny ones but I have to admit that The Honorable Miss Clarendon by new-to-me author Margaret SeBastian was one that I enjoyed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Miss Clarendon, fallen on hard times after her father's death is forced to accept a position as a governess. When she is stranded after a carriage accident she is helped by a young man that she believes to be a lowly servant - but is instead a duke. Her prides makes her mislead him and tell him that she will be a guest of the family she will be living with. After they part without disclosing their true stations in life the duke decides to look for her but none of the neighbouring families seem to be entertaining a guest. I couldn't help but thinking it was really funny how she kept thinking about him even though she thought he was someone beneath her station. The family with whom she lives also adds to the funny aspect of the story because the mother is quite a character, apparently a light headed woman incapable of two serious thoughts together she manages to manipulate everyone to do what she wants: but of course she is a good soul and treats her new governess as a daughter (implausible but funny).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">After some investigative work and some coincidences (of course) - the duke's uncle ends up being Miss Clarendon's godfather - they meet again and the duke proposes. Miss Clarendon's pride (again) doesn't let her accept him after being so deceived and they part angry with each other. Two more stubborn characters is hard to find, with their happiness within reach but too proud, in her case, and too stubborn, in his to grab it. Fortunately for her the godfather and her solicitor will hatch a plan to bring her out in society and, eventually, accept the duke's suit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think what made the book work for me was the witty dialogue between the main characters but also the fact that there are so many innocent misunderstandings between them and that most of the secondary characters are a bit eccentric and add to the comic aspect of this plot. It was my first book by this author and I'll be curious to read some more.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 4/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-90825174735294218522010-06-25T13:39:00.000+01:002010-06-25T13:39:57.158+01:00An Improper Proposal - Anthea Malcolm<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-0FijK-Sh9_yWvREsDNJ911nuXAWr8A9ynqHfJiUrYRvGj_EdFqge8miKkFtupI3_JE_pbtd5036nE4pJV5bBPIaAWTXhXAaLT6bBWpGengCf3IZ9X0_T1wy98k7WGG_HAe77Bk_0JM/s1600/th_0821738585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-0FijK-Sh9_yWvREsDNJ911nuXAWr8A9ynqHfJiUrYRvGj_EdFqge8miKkFtupI3_JE_pbtd5036nE4pJV5bBPIaAWTXhXAaLT6bBWpGengCf3IZ9X0_T1wy98k7WGG_HAe77Bk_0JM/s320/th_0821738585.jpg" /></a></div>It had only been six weeks since her brother was named the Eighth Marquis of Parminter, but already Rachel's life seemed but a farce played out to please the ton. Suddenly she was Lady Rachel, and her ambitious sister Christine was betrothed to a future duke! And in the midst of it all, their cousin Guy had returned, Guy, whom Rachel secretly loved beyond all reason. Hunted by Bow Street these last two years for a crime he hadn't committed, he had risked imprisonment to prevent his beloved Christine from marrying another. Rachel had to save him-from Christine as well as Bow Street. And what better protection could a Lady offer than the wealth and respectability of an aristocratic marriage?</blockquote><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I had heard good things things about Anthea Malcolm and since the traditional regencies are one of my favourite genres I finally decided to pick one up. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was quite surprised by it because there was a lot more to the story than just a romance between two people. In fact, I think An Improper Proposal is mostly a mystery with a strong element of romance. It's also the story of a family - Rachel, Christine and Magnus and their extended family - and I ended up wondering if there were books about the other characters mentioned. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">When the story opens Rachel has just become a widow and her sister Christine lost her fiancée when both men and some friends died in a fire. Christine accuses their cousin Guy, whom she had a romantic relationship in the past, of being the murderer and he disappears for two years. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Guy returns when the three siblings situation was bettered because Magnus has inherited the family's title and Christine is engaged to a duke's son (the brother of her dead fiancé). The Bow Street Runners are still after him becaure of the deaths and when he asks for a month to find out the truth before being arrested, they agree on the condition that Magnus guarantess his good behaviour. seeing her brother is going to reject the request Rachel tells them they are engaged, even though she believes him in love with her sister still. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Guy and Rachel eventually decide that the best thing is to actually marry, Rachel will have a father figure for her children and Guy will be free to investigate who actually set fire to the theater. The theather is also an interesting theme in the story because not only Guy is a play writer but Rachel actually owns and manages the theater making her a woman of independent means. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most of the book is devoted to the mystery and I thought that was actually very well done. The men who died were part of a radical group that contested some political actions and while their ideas might have been a motive for murder the author manages to make more intriguing and less obvious than that. I was quite surprised in a good way with the detecting skills of the main characters. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I didn't like was the lack of communication between Rachel and Guy. She spends most of the book, almost to the last page actually, believing that he loves her sister and I thought that was really sad. Since she was the one who suggested their marriage it seemed obvious to me that she loved and that he should be the one to talk about his feelings first. Instead he kept putting up with her sister's demands for attention and leaving Rachel with the impression that he still loved Christine. Not only that but I really disliked his attitude when their mother came to visit, the mother had left them 25 years before and while making the peace was the best thing for all of them he should never have shown all that familiarity with her and seemingly putting himself on her side, against Rachel. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a way, because they talked so little, I found it hard to empathise with Guy and Rachel. I would have been much happier if we had more time devoted to the secondary romance of Magnus and Margaret who seemed nice people who fell for each other when they started getting to know one another better. They were a prime example of a couple that changed for the best by having a relationship. Magnus became less cold and Margaret more self assured. Unfortunately they are not given enough time in the story and my disappointment with the main romance leads me to give this one a lower grade. But I was intrigued enough with the story and the fact that there were so many different plots in it to want to read another Malcolm and see how I like it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 3.5/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-70685636932099969862010-06-02T21:25:00.002+01:002010-06-02T21:25:09.758+01:00Come Be My Love - Diana Brown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ6j23kalb3QIW9TqiKrd5n1nRdR2Ht-2bLPQquGWg72A3-SifUG5j8YM7aCM81srvH90O-amiUnNt_yyf6dmORgb1IVf89HsgKpP3kmxmjQy6H9pQSu0ICWiLY9bgIsA1q1gwvJWCgEg/s1600/th_0451121309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ6j23kalb3QIW9TqiKrd5n1nRdR2Ht-2bLPQquGWg72A3-SifUG5j8YM7aCM81srvH90O-amiUnNt_yyf6dmORgb1IVf89HsgKpP3kmxmjQy6H9pQSu0ICWiLY9bgIsA1q1gwvJWCgEg/s320/th_0451121309.jpg" /></a></div><blockquote>IMPOSSIBLE ALEXANDRA<br />
Beautiful, brilliant and headstrong Alexandra Cox-Neville was a thoroughly impossible young lady--with an even more impossible dream of love. If she could not wed Darius Wentworth, heir to the neighboring barony of Blandon, she would have no husband at all.<br />
Thus when Darius took another for his wife, there was but one place for Alexandra to go: London, where a woman could make her living with her pen if she did not fear the censure of society and the scandal of being on her own. Unfortunately, Darius soon followed her to that capital of fashion and folly, and--as Alexandra soon found out --where Darius went, trouble was sure to follow. So it shouldn't have been a shock to a young lady who broke all the rules to find there was no escape from the one man who could break her heart....</blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I'm having a hard time writing a review of this book. It is definitely my least favourite Brown book so far but there were still some good interesting things in it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think my first problem is that Alexandra's love for Darius sounds too much like hero worship, she doesn't really know him, since he spends most of his time at school, and he does see her as a sort of younger sister so while I could understand those feelings in a teenager Alexandra I think she should have grown out of it after he married. But she doesn't. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Darius ends up unhappy in his marriage and when his wife dies in child birth leaving an orphan son everyone believes that he doesn't pay attention to the child because he is heartbroken. I immediately guessed where the author was leading us and I wasn't wrong. Alexandra refuses to wed another and fights with her parents about it. She has always been fond of reading and writing and after secretly publishing a book decides to run away to London to avoid marrying the neighbour her father wanted her to. She first attempted to declare her love for Darius and convince him to marry her but, after a mortifying scene he refuses her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Alexandra writes powerful novels about women's feelings and passions that first make London's society curious and then leads them to condemn her when her poetry becomes too revealing. It seemed to me that it echoed a bit the reaction the Bronte sisters had when their first published their works that also seemed too passionate and coarse to society. But there the similarity ends because Alex, even after warned that she can be disgraced in the eyes of the world, persists in publishing the damaging poetry. This sets in motion a turn of events that could lead to hers and Darius destruction.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But the fact is that Darius never seemed worthy of such love and devotion, and for most of the book he just isn’t interested. And Alex proved to be immature by not measuring the consequences of her actions and in not accepting salvation when it was offered just because of her pride. Where previous books like The Emerald Necklace or St Martin's Summer had poignant moments where the character's misery really touched the reader, here such moments where merely humiliating and miserable for them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did feel the story had potential, the idea of a writer heroine was really good, but that the way it was developed wasn't the best one. Not to mention that Alexandra's father was a tyrant and in the end we are supposed to reach the conclusion that he was right after all. Too weird... But I do like Brown's writing, a lot, and I will definitely continue reading her books and see if the rest of her backlist proves to be winners like all the previous ones I read, or so so reads like this one.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 3.5/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-85067987173624864282010-05-19T08:43:00.000+01:002010-05-19T08:43:53.177+01:00Regency Rose - Caroline Brooks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2L-klfP2KRczpiiX-tDiJI_UDWtDrbfs0GqB7NiCz2RnpN8ddho9Epo-1rw3U8KpkLRIPBHF8gev-RmeTFWnVV344N8UtQpklqu806SoK0GneDMv6q8wpm8H5rmgusAkt1AYh6eNLEQ/s1600/th_0451154738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2L-klfP2KRczpiiX-tDiJI_UDWtDrbfs0GqB7NiCz2RnpN8ddho9Epo-1rw3U8KpkLRIPBHF8gev-RmeTFWnVV344N8UtQpklqu806SoK0GneDMv6q8wpm8H5rmgusAkt1AYh6eNLEQ/s200/th_0451154738.jpg" width="124" wt="true" /></a></div><br />
<blockquote>THE INFORMAL EARL<br />
<br />
<br />
The Earl of Llandath seemed intent on thoroughly disrupting young and lovely Miss Kate Vaughn's life. When this dark and handsome nobleman returned from abroad to reclaim his ancestral estate, he raised clouds of speculation about where he had been and what he had done.<br />
<br />
Then, most unfortunately, he caused Kate to lose here position in the wealthy Stockwood household and shattered her hopes of finding true love with the gallant and idealistic Stockwood heir. And to add to Kate's distress, as she trudged wearily along the highway toward a fearful future and a quite probably dreadful fate, the earl swept her up into his coach and informed her that he would take charge of her whether she wanted him to or not.<br />
<br />
Kate was at the mercy of a lord she had every reason to loathe. And mercy was the one thing that the Earl of Llandath had no intention of offering...<br />
<br />
</blockquote> <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I have more than a few doubts on how to review this story. First of all Llandath is not the dark and mysterious man that the blurb seems to suggest and Kate is well able to get herself in trouble without his help. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">She is a young lady's companion and fallen in love with the young lady's brother. Her love is reciprocated but you can easily see that the boy is a weakling and that nothing will come of it. When she meets Llandath while walking the fields Kate has no problem is pretending that she is part of the family she serves and making him believe she is a well born lady. Llandath also pretends to be someone else but when later he visits the house expecting to find her the deception is revealed and Kate finds herself out of a job and with no beau because her suitor refuses to stand up to his mother. When Llandath encounters her walking the streets in the rain he decides to help her find a new job. The new job, surprinsingly, is as an actress in a theatre company. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are several things that I felt could have been better explained, Llandath's past for instance remains a bit too mysterious. It's also obvious from the beginning that he is helping Kate because he is attracted to her but she never seems to see it. Then I'm not sure that just because Kate is good at pretending and imagining stories that she would be a good actress. But she quickly becomes that company's main attraction. She also keeps pining for her lost beau for too much time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The story does have some attempts at humour. Not enough to make this a funny story though which left me undecided where the author wanted to take this. Especially after Kate's former suitor and his sister both end up in the care of Kate I had my doubts about the plausibility of all this and couldn't help being a bit sorry for Llandath who didn't seem to be any close to getting his HEA. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, not exactly to my taste I'm afraid and since I wasn't really invested in the characters the whole story dragged a lot in the middle and later parts. People who like to read about theater settings might find this interesting though. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Grade: 2/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-24269730106874071332010-05-11T09:22:00.000+01:002010-05-11T09:22:00.373+01:00Sylvester - Georgette Heyer<blockquote style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdKZPAmXx1wyT0Kg-Lk3ir2C8JbdcLfXjx4p66jk6qvDWgLsdVIlbyGLhOMIpRElFtDob1LFQUzk3lB6DM2H-qQM8Gs8xOYIPy7DfOtVTcmPqRBDRl7rku4DWNo6UiaHE76wmivvep44/s1600-h/sylvester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdKZPAmXx1wyT0Kg-Lk3ir2C8JbdcLfXjx4p66jk6qvDWgLsdVIlbyGLhOMIpRElFtDob1LFQUzk3lB6DM2H-qQM8Gs8xOYIPy7DfOtVTcmPqRBDRl7rku4DWNo6UiaHE76wmivvep44/s200/sylvester.jpg" width="131" /></a>Sylvester, Duke of Salford, seeks with unconscious arrogance a bride worthy of the honour of becoming his Duchess. He journeys to Wiltshire to inspect the Hon Phoebe Marlow, unaware that he has met her before and instantly forgotten the tongue-tied girl without beauty or elegance to recommend her. </blockquote><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of these days I was looking for something to cheer me up when I found this Heyer novel. And what a delightful book this one was, I laughed out loud at Sylvester and Phoebe's confrontations; they were truly a matching of wits...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sylvester, the duke of Salford is very much aware of his rank and consequence. When he decides to get married he makes a list of suitable young ladies and goes to his mother for advice on which one to choose. His godmother makes him add one more name to the list, her granddaughter Phoebe Marlow.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sylvester decides to visit Phoebe's family to see if they might suit but Phoebe is less than thrilled with the prospect of becoming his wife. She briefly met him in town during her first season and having thought him arrogant made him the main character of the novel she was writing. Not realising that there is a smart young woman behind the shy and repressed young lady he meets there Sylvester starts planning how to leave without being rude but the pressure Phoebe's parents put on her finally lead her to run away to London. But on the road her carriage suffers and accident and it's Sylvester which will come to rescue forcing them to spend some days together and actually get to know each other.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately Phoebe's book where Sylvester features as the wicked uncle (which the second title of this novel) is about to be published and the ton not only recognises him in the character but starts believing that what is written might be a bit true. Phoebe have a very angry, and public, quarrel over it with her deserting him on the ballroom floor and their relationship will go through quite a few problems before it can be saved.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is a really interesting and colourful set of secondary characters who add to the appeal of the story. The scenes where Phoebe and her friend Tom end up being kidnapped by Lady Henry and her second husband, who are eloping to France, not to mention the scenes with little Edmund are completely hilarious. The main characters start as a very unlikely couple and it makes for a really funny journey to watch them spar. I liked Sylvester more than Phoebe because he never felt that arrogant to me and he accepts most of her criticism quite charmingly. We don't see what led Phoebe to dislike him so and in fact she gladly accepts that she didn't know him all that well. In the end one can't help but cheer for Sylvester when he finally quite clumsily blurts out his feelings for Phoebe... It was a hard road to happiness for these two but a lovely one for me.</div><br />
Grade: 4.5/5Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-20941987089205593062010-05-05T12:04:00.001+01:002010-05-05T12:05:36.030+01:00Bellfield Hall - Anna Dean<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgso0kJ88-u_DdtNZhh1Nf4S4UwrL3GGsYJq_is2udJiEBqVKeWPoJpjTL83B5RUO-gV8sfT6oMNj1CIl6WMOce_yZUhyphenhyphennx3uPttyXa5fWvWuR5YSzFoHwuv14q4T0PqeAPmznxDIY5oe8/s1600/9780312562946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgso0kJ88-u_DdtNZhh1Nf4S4UwrL3GGsYJq_is2udJiEBqVKeWPoJpjTL83B5RUO-gV8sfT6oMNj1CIl6WMOce_yZUhyphenhyphennx3uPttyXa5fWvWuR5YSzFoHwuv14q4T0PqeAPmznxDIY5oe8/s200/9780312562946.jpg" width="133" wt="true" /></a></div>1805. An engagement party is taking place for Mr Richard Montague, son of wealthy landowner Sir Edgar Montague, and his fiancee Catherine. During a dance with his beloved, a strange thing happens: a man appears at Richard's shoulder and appears to communicate something to him without saying a word. Instantly breaking off the engagement, he rushes off to speak to his father, never to be seen again. Distraught with worry, Catherine sends for her spinster aunt, Miss Dido Kent, who has a penchant for solving mysteries. Catherine pleads with her to find her fiance and to discover the truth behind his disappearance. It's going to take a lot of logical thinking to untangle the complex threads of this multi-layered mystery, and Miss Dido Kent is just the woman to do it.</blockquote><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Let me start this review by saying that this is a traditional regency mystery and not a traditional regency romance. But I enjoyed it so much that I thought I should share my review with you all...<br />
<br />
Miss Dido Kent is a spinster, she never married but she comes from a big family and her brothers occasionally ask for her help when dealing with their children. She has a special fondness for her niece Catherine who lived with her for a while when she was a young child and when she asks for her help Dido runs to her side. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Catherine had just become engaged when, during the celebratory ball at his parent’s estate, Bellfield Hall, the fiancé is approached by a mysterious man who, without a word being spoken, makes him break the betrothal and run away. On the next day the body of a young woman in found murdered in the shrubbery. Although Catherine is more concerned with being reunited with her beau, Dido can't help but think that the two events may well be connected. Is the unwavering faith that Catherine has in Richard well deserved?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I really enjoyed the world that Anna Dean has created; Miss Dido Kent is a very believable maiden aunt, with a great deal of curiosity and a keen eye to observe the world around her. I thought it interesting that part of the story is told through the letters that Dido is writing to her sister relating what happens and how she sees the events. Garnering knowledge not only from the other guests but also from the servants of the house Dido soon realises that all is not as it should be with the family and that some of the guests are not what they appear.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Set in the Regency period Bellfield Hall is a wonderful cosy mystery where an amateur detective has to uncover the truth and find the villain before the house party is over. Dean created a suspenseful plot where the danger increases with each chapter and where the clues are cleverly inserted in the plot in the form of little details... I look forward to revisit Miss Dido Kent and her world in future books of the series.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 4/5<br />
<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-15819014725197131452010-04-19T11:58:00.000+01:002010-04-19T11:58:00.988+01:00A Grand Deception - Elizabeth Mansfield<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf99RyRcdMkSis_h8AxsFKrWqVIEv4Wj49bkQ6SvBY52cxLUz79qe06BT-mxSg7oPm5qvPy5wy7gxWw7BjIWt0ai5pnbmvU003qC04CrF0GCV-fYW2ECSSc62_-yjqADLB1zMyYrFsfko/s1600/n114458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf99RyRcdMkSis_h8AxsFKrWqVIEv4Wj49bkQ6SvBY52cxLUz79qe06BT-mxSg7oPm5qvPy5wy7gxWw7BjIWt0ai5pnbmvU003qC04CrF0GCV-fYW2ECSSc62_-yjqADLB1zMyYrFsfko/s200/n114458.jpg" width="121" /></a></div>LOVE'S BOLD DISGUISE<br />
<br />
<br />
Miss Georgy Verney doesn't wish to upset her mother, but she can't bring herself to flirt with the gentlemen of the ton--much less accept a marriage proposal based solely on social status or financial gain. Then she finds herself attracted to the most handsome, eligible catch of the season....<br />
<br />
Anthony Maitland, Viscount Ivers, wants nothing more than to return Georgy's affections--then the spirited girl runs away. Desperate to avoid scandal, the girl's mother concocts a bold and daring masquerade, but the viscount's heart is not easily fooled. Amid a flurry of mistaken identities, Anthony embarks on a deception of his own, determined to bring Georgy back home and into his arms....<br />
<br />
</blockquote>A Grand Deception is a fun and light story. It's about two couples, Anthony Maitland, Viscount Ivers, and Miss Georgy Verney, to whom he is greatly attracted the night he meets her at a ball but who decides to run away to be an independent woman; and Georgy's brother Jeremy and Peggy, the girl he finds to replace his sister and hold Maitland's affections while they all attend a house party at Maitland's estate in the country.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I thought it was great fun how Georgy and Jeremy's mother was so keen on her making a grand marriage that she doesn't even let her disappearance stop her. When she sees Peggy and her resemblance to Peggy she immediately concocts a scheme in which Peggy will pretend to be Georgy and conquer Maitland till they can find the real Georgy and convince her to return and marry him. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although Maitland and Georgy's story is supposed to be the main romance I confess that I was more interested in Peggy and Jeremy. They spend more time together and we see their feelings develop while Maitland and Georgy only have that one ball and then she leaves for the country. Georgy's idea was actually an interesting one and I really enjoyed reading about her and her pupils but I couldn't help feeling that first she was attracted to Maitland but never acted on it and then she refused him despite that attraction without really strong reasons... I found her a bit irritating at times and in the end when faced with a real obstacle she gives up and goes back home...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The best part was watching Peggy fool Georgy's friends and her relationship with Jeremy but also Allie's witty conversations. Allie is Georgy and Jeremy's younger sister and she seems just the right kind of girl to give a hero a lot of headaches, I wonder if there is a book about her?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 4/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-35020496696058543422010-04-14T10:53:00.004+01:002010-04-14T11:00:24.242+01:00THE TEMPORARY WIFE - MARY BALOGH<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamnOmbPi5K1i1EJgUxVRTFe-XRTjN9wPZHcihmnyBdc9bvGJKEcM1cKYPaScxva8rPZ-BJK5hLNCBBUOSnPNqGUqiDQSzy4aTIOysBlmFYyyEEt77dtcSdoGlWsIik8Qy7Tm7h53jwMA/s1600/temp+wife.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 122px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamnOmbPi5K1i1EJgUxVRTFe-XRTjN9wPZHcihmnyBdc9bvGJKEcM1cKYPaScxva8rPZ-BJK5hLNCBBUOSnPNqGUqiDQSzy4aTIOysBlmFYyyEEt77dtcSdoGlWsIik8Qy7Tm7h53jwMA/s200/temp+wife.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459930571555446066" border="0" /></a><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">The Pernicious Proposal<br /><br />Miss Charity Duncan had no illusions when she said yes to the marriage proposal of Lord Anthony Earheart. This arrogant aristocrat made it painfully clear what he wanted of her. Would Charity agree to be the wife he needed to enrage the father he hated? Of course. Would Charity then depart from his life in return for the money she and her family desperately needed? Of course. Was Earheart as heartless as he was handsome and as remorseless as he was rich? Of course.<br /><br />It was only when Charity entered into this mockery of a marriage that she discovered that things were not as simple as they seemed. For when the libertine lord took her in his arms, it was not only her marriage contract that threatened to be broken--but her heart as well...</blockquote><br /><br />Where do I begin?! Why is it so hard to write a review about a great book? I know I won’t be able to make it justice, but I shall try nonetheless… Because this is one of my favorite books ever, one of those Desert Isle Keepers, like our friends from *all about romance* use to say…<br /><br />This is, first of all, a story about 2 people falling in love in a marriage of convenience. Yeah, not so original, but me thinks this is one of the best attempts on making work a relationship of two people who have just met and have to share their lives. The hero, Anthony Earheart, Marques of Staunton, heir to a dukedom, a young man who 8 years ago chose to leave his home and family because he couldn’t live any longer in his father’s house, makes an advertisement in the papers that he looks for a governess. His real reason for it is to choose a very insipid, plain and boring wife from the list of “to be governesses” in order to spite his father who, finally, has summoned him home. He is the typical arrogant, cold, cynical *don’t believe in love*romance hero. The heroine, Charity Duncan, comes from a large, impoverished family, she chooses to work in order to help her brother to pay for the family’s needs. She is also very used to managing her brothers and sisters lives, to speak her own mind and also to care for the people around her. So, as destiny would have it (or just the author :)), she applies to the hero’s ad for a governess, is chosen because of her *brown mouse* appearance and accepts to be his temporary wife for a few weeks, in exchange for financial security. Together they go to the hero’s home, where he can flaunt, in front of his father, his lower born wife.<br /><br />And now the magic begins…<br /><br />We enter the world of a very unhappy family, caught at a very difficult moment and we meet His grace, the duke of Willingsby, the most cold, arrogant, toplofty duke from Balogh’s ever-growing list, and by far, the most interesting character of this book. Maybe because he remains almost an enigma throughout the book, maybe because he first appeared as the villain who caused the hero’s pain, or just that the human nature will always have more shades of gray instead of the simple black and white of good or bad characters, the Duke impressed me a lot. <br /><br />The hero is another interesting character, after 8 years he returns home and has to deal with serious problems, some of them caused by youth folly, some by immaturity, some by miscommunication, and all that is added to the fact that he falls in love with his heroine, a process that is quite visible throughout… Another interesting thing about the hero is the fact that, although 28 and quite independent from his family, he still has a lot to grow up, especially emotionally and in terms of accepting his family ties and his heritage.<br /><br />And now the heroine… I usually don’t like main female characters, they are either too stupid for their own good, or too sassy, or they try to appear independent, or are portrayed as wounded souls, etc., etc. But in this case, Charity is a charming person, very level-headed, decided, correct, taking everything that happens at it’s face-value, but most of all, she is a very nice character, who’s impossible not to love.<br /><br />No matter how much or how little I say about this book, I will never make it justice… This book just has to be read, especially if you like good family stories, great characters, a wonderful love story and why not, drama and hurt made well until the end.<br /><br />Grade 5 / 5Ioanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054825702749068660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1818402967111458099.post-3331090370903178522010-04-06T08:04:00.002+01:002010-04-06T08:04:51.632+01:00The Notorious Rake - Mary Balogh~<br />
<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGyq84VKhaqBWS0CkrWOrKlBRvKNUIptaRILcUWYvervCeVOLKO8duN2L-16yjsSgC8wJTFg9i9DqArqc5Z76OaThiy6Gb4zo8PpaOjgQ-qCBYjieFsMA3cBjNDNlqDmGH5l5Rd0gC18/s1600/n93418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGyq84VKhaqBWS0CkrWOrKlBRvKNUIptaRILcUWYvervCeVOLKO8duN2L-16yjsSgC8wJTFg9i9DqArqc5Z76OaThiy6Gb4zo8PpaOjgQ-qCBYjieFsMA3cBjNDNlqDmGH5l5Rd0gC18/s200/n93418.jpg" width="116" /></a></div>The Lady and the Libertine<br />
<br />
<br />
Lord Edmund Waite was everything that Lady Mary Gregg despised in a man. He was lewd, lascivious, mocking---the most notorious and successful rake in the realm. Happily, Mary had nothing to fear from this lord of libertines. A bluestocking like her could never tempt a man whose taste ran to pretty playthings for his pleasures. <br />
<br />
How startled Mary was to find herself the object of Lord Waite's determined desires. But even more surprising was her reaction to his shocking advances. How could she remain a lady with this man who knew so well how to make her feel like a woman.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">After meeting Lord Edmond Waite in The Trysting Place and Lady Mornington in The Counterfeit Betrothal I couldn't wait to get to their book. I was hoping to find a winner and I wasn't disappointed, this was my favourite book in the trilogy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lord Edmond is a rake with a really bad reputation, he is lucky that he is still received by the ton. Lady Mornington is a learned lady who likes to organise literary salons at her home and to spend time with like minded friends to discuss literature and politics. When they are paired up during a visit to Vauxhall Gardens none of them is very entusiastic about the company. Not only that but when they are caught by a thunderstorm that leaves Mary terrified, Edmond finds that the best way to calm her down is though sex. I thought Balogh wrote a powerful and violent scene and for a moment I worried where she was going with this story... They end up spending the night together and on the next day Lord Edmond is determined to make Mary his mistress, while she is quite determined to forget him... and so starts the pursuit. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mary, a widow, as decided to remarry, she acknowledges she spent a pleasant time in Edmond's arms but she wants a husband not a lover and besides she doesn't think they would suit. They meet at the same events and Edmond even makes an appearance at one of Mary's salons much to the annoyance of her new beau but their relationship is difficult at best.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Edmond finds himself more and more captivated but he doesn't always conform to society rules and when people think the worst of him he can't help but behave according to those expectations. One of the things he has been accused of is the death of his brother and his mother and he acknowledges to Mary that he was indeed responsible. He tries to show her his good side on a one day visit to his aunt and while Mary can't help but feeling that the real Edmond is hidden and might be a lot more honourable and interesting that he lets on she still decides not to accept him. But they do meet again at a house party for his aunt's birthday (that Mary attends with her new fiancé) and when Edmond is confronted with his estranged family it is to Mary that he turns as a friend.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I really loved this story and the fact that both characters start with an idea of the other one that soon will change. Edmond thought Mary was plain and common but after spending time with her he sees her in a whole new light and can't stop thinking about her. Even when he decides not to pursue her anymore to obey her wishes he still thinks about her and decides to change his rakish ways as they give him no more pleasure. Mary thinks he is cold and unfeeling but throughout their relationship sees glimpses of the man behind the mask. Since there are so many mixed signals she takes longer to realise who he is and how she loves him. I also liked that Edmond had a real reason for his self destruction, 15 years seems a long time to be that way but I could accept that it was so. I liked Edmond more than Mary maybe because he seems more human, more fragile, despite his bad behaviour than her, who seemed at times a bit too perfect. Because of whom they are, and how unlikely it seems at times that they will get their happy ending, this was an angsty and poignant story, my favourite kind!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grade: 5/5</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0