This book is one of a series, so there are many references to other people in other books. The heroine is a widow who is part of a group of woman who This book is one of a series, so there are many references to other people in other books. The heroine is a widow who is part of a group of woman who like to solve mysteries. They have their own name. The hero and heroine met before she was married when they were both young. He has loved her since the moment he met her and it has grown more over the last 10 years. She does not know how he feels and thinks he is pushing her into marriage or an affair. She had a very controlling husband and therefore refuses to get married again. Then the story gets a little muddy. It is as if the story is forced. The flow of the story is slower. The interaction between the hero and heroine is stilted. What starts out as a wonderful story was slowing changing. By the time the end came, it was just hard not the be done. The ending was so far past the climax. It needed to be more concise. The grammar and spelling were correct, but the lack of cohesiveness causes me to give the story 3 stars. I wished that I had liked it more, but there seemed to be a disconnect.
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This book is one of a series, so there are many references to other people in other books. The heroine is a widow who is part of a group of woman who like to solve mysteries. They have their own name. The hero and heroine met before she was married when they were both young. He has loved her since the moment he met her and it has grown more over the last 10 years. She does not know how he feels and thinks he is pushing her into marriage or an affair. She had a very controlling husband and therefore refuses to get married again. Then the story gets a little muddy. It is as if the story is forced. The flow of the story is slower. The interaction between the hero and heroine is stilted. What starts out as a wonderful story was slowing changing. By the time the end came, it was just hard not the be done. The ending was so far past the climax. It needed to be more concise. The grammar and spelling were correct, but the lack of cohesiveness causes me to give the story 3 stars. I wished that I had liked it more, but there seemed to be a disconnect....more
I must say that I truly enjoyed this book. 5 stars. It reminded me so much of the Regency stories of Diana Campbell that I read as a teenager. *Sigh! I must say that I truly enjoyed this book. 5 stars. It reminded me so much of the Regency stories of Diana Campbell that I read as a teenager. *Sigh! She will always be my favorite author. Anyway, this story starts out as the hero is recovering from a battle wound and his mother is sending him updates on his wards, who are his brother's children. His brother and his sister-in-law had recently passed away and his mother was complaining about the heroine, the children's maternal aunt, was not doing as his mother wanted. In other words, the aunt was there for the children and his mother had moved back in for the power of running the estate left to the children. What a miserly grandmother! She didn't care about the children at all. The aunt is a 27 year old spinster who write political articles about how the government always turns it's back on the ones who work the most and need the most. The hero states that he will be home when he is healed and will take care of it. The hero hasn't met the heroine because even though his brother has been married for over 15 years, he was always away when the heroine was visiting or vice versa. This was a 5 star read from start to finish. This book is definitely for the keeper shelf. This author knows what she is doing. She creates engaging characters, life-like scenes and a smooth reading story. There are no convenient plot twists or trite, stale scripts. This is truly an amazing story. I give this book 5 stars for meeting all of my requirements in a Regency romance. But there is a sensual scene for those of you who prefer sweet stories. You can just skip it and the story will read just fine. 5 stars. Read this book. I heartily recommend reading it!
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I must say that I truly enjoyed this book. 5 stars. It reminded me so much of the Regency stories of Diana Campbell that I read as a teenager. *Sigh! She will always be my favorite author. Anyway, this story starts out as the hero is recovering from a battle wound and his mother is sending him updates on his wards, who are his brother's children. His brother and his sister-in-law had recently passed away and his mother was complaining about the heroine, the children's maternal aunt, was not doing as his mother wanted. In other words, the aunt was there for the children and his mother had moved back in for the power of running the estate left to the children. What a miserly grandmother! She didn't care about the children at all. The aunt is a 27 year old spinster who write political articles about how the government always turns it's back on the ones who work the most and need the most. The hero states that he will be home when he is healed and will take care of it. The hero hasn't met the heroine because even though his brother has been married for over 15 years, he was always away when the heroine was visiting or vice versa. This was a 5 star read from start to finish. This book is definitely for the keeper shelf. This author knows what she is doing. She creates engaging characters, life-like scenes and a smooth reading story. There are no convenient plot twists or trite, stale scripts. This is truly an amazing story. I give this book 5 stars for meeting all of my requirements in a Regency romance. But there is a sensual scene for those of you who prefer sweet stories. You can just skip it and the story will read just fine. 5 stars. Read this book. I heartily recommend reading it!...more
This book had such promise with it's description on the back cover. The hero is seeking a rich, young wife because his father wants more money. The heThis book had such promise with it's description on the back cover. The hero is seeking a rich, young wife because his father wants more money. The heroine is a woman rights advocate who swears never to marry, but the family coffers are empty. The hero decides to take the heroine home to try to persuade his father that this is who he is courting. But it doesn't make sense. Why would you court a poor lady when you need a wealthy bride? Why drag her home to meet the family when she is causing dissention in society? The hero comes across as a lecher and the heroine comes across as a prim woman who advocates for women to feel desire. This book was such a jumbled mess. I was expecting quick and witty repartee and when the characters would have a conversation, a comment would be made and then a page and a half later a response was made that didn't even pertain to the previous comment. This book was such a s-l-o-w read. There was too much discussion of what the characters were feeling and too much back story that didn't pertain to what was going on. The heroine was having a conversation with her maid and there was a 3 page dissertation about how the maid was a distant relative. A dissertation that wasn't needed. I do not like stories where I have to dig through unnecessary discourse to find the story. I was so disappointed. I stopped trying to read about a third of the way home when the hero was still trying to get into the heroines oanties. I decided that these two people were never going to spark a partnership that would make sense. This was a DNF, did not finish. I couldn't waste any more of my time trying to figure out what the story was. I do not recommend this book to anyone. Zero stars.
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This book had such promise with it's description on the back cover. The hero is seeking a rich, young wife because his father wants more money. The heroine is a woman rights advocate who swears never to marry, but the family coffers are empty. The hero decides to take the heroine home to try to persuade his father that this is who he is courting. But it doesn't make sense. Why would you court a poor lady when you need a wealthy bride? Why drag her home to meet the family when she is causing dissention in society? The hero comes across as a lecher and the heroine comes across as a prim woman who advocates for women to feel desire. This book was such a jumbled mess. I was expecting quick and witty repartee and when the characters would have a conversation, a comment would be made and then a page and a half later a response was made that didn't even pertain to the previous comment. This book was such a s-l-o-w read. There was too much discussion of what the characters were feeling and too much back story that didn't pertain to what was going on. The heroine was having a conversation with her maid and there was a 3 page dissertation about how the maid was a distant relative. A dissertation that wasn't needed. I do not like stories where I have to dig through unnecessary discourse to find the story. I was so disappointed. I stopped trying to read about a third of the way home when the hero was still trying to get into the heroines oanties. I decided that these two people were never going to spark a partnership that would make sense. This was a DNF, did not finish. I couldn't waste any more of my time trying to figure out what the story was. I do not recommend this book to anyone. Zero stars....more
When I started reading this series, I did not know this author and I am upset that I didn't. She is an excellent author! This is thAnother great story
When I started reading this series, I did not know this author and I am upset that I didn't. She is an excellent author! This is the second book and it is better than the first, becuse it had a well rounded ending and we know that we are going to read Vi's story next. I heartily recommend this story if you are a Celeste Bradley fan. These books are very similar to hers.
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Another great story
When I started reading this series, I did not know this author and I am upset that I didn't. She is an excellent author! This is the second book and it is better than the first, becuse it had a well rounded ending and we know that we are going to read Vi's story next. I heartily recommend this story if you are a Celeste Bradley fan. These books are very similar to hers....more
This story was part of a multi series with a sweet story line. All of these stories do stand alone. The main premise in each one is that the PinkertonThis story was part of a multi series with a sweet story line. All of these stories do stand alone. The main premise in each one is that the Pinkertons are expanding into lady agents. If you are accepted into the program you will have to enter a marriage of convenience while in training. You can annull after every case, but if you want a new case, you must marry. The draw to these books is the amount of cases and variety of situations that each couple faces. In this case, the female decides to interview with her sister. They meet and marry their agents. Then Dixie and Alexi travle.one way while her sisters travels another. Dixie and Alexi travel to a spa to crack jewelry theives. This story had romance and action and adventure. The heroine is resilient a d inventive. The hero broods a little. Very enjoyable light read. I recommend and give 5 stars to each one. There is a comete story with no danglers.
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This story was part of a multi series with a sweet story line. All of these stories do stand alone. The main premise in each one is that the Pinkertons are expanding into lady agents. If you are accepted into the program you will have to enter a marriage of convenience while in training. You can annull after every case, but if you want a new case, you must marry. The draw to these books is the amount of cases and variety of situations that each couple faces. In this case, the female decides to interview with her sister. They meet and marry their agents. Then Dixie and Alexi travle.one way while her sisters travels another. Dixie and Alexi travel to a spa to crack jewelry theives. This story had romance and action and adventure. The heroine is resilient a d inventive. The hero broods a little. Very enjoyable light read. I recommend and give 5 stars to each one. There is a comete story with no danglers....more
What a sweet short story! Contains spoilers This book was very good. It was short and could have been longer, but it was perfect to read after supper orWhat a sweet short story! Contains spoilers This book was very good. It was short and could have been longer, but it was perfect to read after supper or before bed. The heroine is a widow after being married for 16 years to an overbearing, abusive man. She spent the majority of her marriage in a dull country estate protecting her step son from his father. Neither mourned his death, they were just relieved to be free. The man had been horrible to his son, who was a creative and sensitive soul. Once he realized his younger wife was not going to give him any children, he just agreed for her to go to the country estate. The library was not well stocked, nor was she able to do much to increase her comfort, but she was able.to nurture her step son. Her step son is fully grown and has taken on the title of his father. He has worked hard to increase the wealth and stability of the estates and everyone is happier for it. He has also written a book about domestic problem and answers for women who are challenged in this area. If it was discovered that Lord Mainwaring had written such a book, he would be ostracized from society. Instead, when his character "Mrs. Goode" is asked to do some rennovations to the nursery at Lord Stalbridge's estate for his neice and nephew, the heroine agrees to act as Mrs. Goode and her step son will be her assistant. The act works for all of 5 minutes after meeting Lord Stalbridge, for he is the son of her father's steward, her dearest friend growing up! Lord Stalbridge received his inheritance about 4 years ago. He has an estate that needed immediate attention to all of the properties. He had been working hard and ignoring his housekeeper's comments about getting married. Over 20 years before, he had given his heart to his childhood friend. But her father wanted her to marry a title. So for 20 years, he had wished nothing but happiness for her, yet did not look for another person to share his life. Both are shocked to realize who the other is and sweet feelings are given hope. But is it too late and are there too many secrets to allow them to develop a relationship? This book was excellent from start to finish. It had everything needed to be a full story. I wish there were some other parts to it, but I give it 5 stars as is. It is definitely a story that I would like to read again and again. I recommend reading this book.
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What a sweet short story! Contains spoilers This book was very good. It was short and could have been longer, but it was perfect to read after supper or before bed. The heroine is a widow after being married for 16 years to an overbearing, abusive man. She spent the majority of her marriage in a dull country estate protecting her step son from his father. Neither mourned his death, they were just relieved to be free. The man had been horrible to his son, who was a creative and sensitive soul. Once he realized his younger wife was not going to give him any children, he just agreed for her to go to the country estate. The library was not well stocked, nor was she able to do much to increase her comfort, but she was able.to nurture her step son. Her step son is fully grown and has taken on the title of his father. He has worked hard to increase the wealth and stability of the estates and everyone is happier for it. He has also written a book about domestic problem and answers for women who are challenged in this area. If it was discovered that Lord Mainwaring had written such a book, he would be ostracized from society. Instead, when his character "Mrs. Goode" is asked to do some rennovations to the nursery at Lord Stalbridge's estate for his neice and nephew, the heroine agrees to act as Mrs. Goode and her step son will be her assistant. The act works for all of 5 minutes after meeting Lord Stalbridge, for he is the son of her father's steward, her dearest friend growing up! Lord Stalbridge received his inheritance about 4 years ago. He has an estate that needed immediate attention to all of the properties. He had been working hard and ignoring his housekeeper's comments about getting married. Over 20 years before, he had given his heart to his childhood friend. But her father wanted her to marry a title. So for 20 years, he had wished nothing but happiness for her, yet did not look for another person to share his life. Both are shocked to realize who the other is and sweet feelings are given hope. But is it too late and are there too many secrets to allow them to develop a relationship? This book was excellent from start to finish. It had everything needed to be a full story. I wish there were some other parts to it, but I give it 5 stars as is. It is definitely a story that I would like to read again and again. I recommend reading this book....more
This intertwined series of stories is featuring Mercedes Heath and Wesley Renshaw, Earl.of Castlewick. The heroine is a member of a group of girls whoThis intertwined series of stories is featuring Mercedes Heath and Wesley Renshaw, Earl.of Castlewick. The heroine is a member of a group of girls who went to finishing school, but found themselves unpopular and the butt of many jokes and rumors amongst the popular girls. The girls always found themselves against the wall and embraced the name wallflowers as a badge of honor. They liked to solve mysteries and each story has featured one, but each story is definitely a stand alone story. Mercy, as she is known, feels that she is the true wallflower of the group. She is tall, wears glasses, likes to create and play music and has various mishaps. Her most recent is that she receives the attention of the Earl.of Castlewick and dances with him. During the dance, she stumbles and destroys her glasses. Her aunt, who has raised her since her parents passed, is happy and encourages her to increase the acquaintance. But Mercy feels that he is giving her sympathy and resists. One of her fellow wallflowers, Aurora, is a widow who has opened her home to the wallflowers. Due to her first marriage, she refuses to get married again, but her mother insists that she try to get the attention of, duh-duh-duh, the Earl if Castlewick. Mercy has told no one of her infatuation and feels that she will not interfere. But Aurora makes it quite clear she has no interest and if she knew Mercy was interested would probably do anything to facilitate a relationship for Mercy and Wesley. But miscommunications causes missed opportunities. And poor Wesley. If he would just have been honest with Aurora and Mercy, a lot of confusion would have been avoided. Wesley is under the command of his predecessor who stated in the will that Wesley had to get a certain property from Aurora and return it to the family. So in order to fulfill the order from the will, Wesley forces himself to try and court Aurora when it is Mercy he wants. And there are also some very bad mannered people who need to be vanquished. I am enjoying this series because even though some characters bounce around the background, they seem just as alive and realistic as the main characters. I feel that I am an un-named wallflower as the story weaves around. This was a well written story with no spelling or grammatical errors. The story in continuous with a well.defined beginning and end. I recommend this book with 5 stars.
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This intertwined series of stories is featuring Mercedes Heath and Wesley Renshaw, Earl.of Castlewick. The heroine is a member of a group of girls who went to finishing school, but found themselves unpopular and the butt of many jokes and rumors amongst the popular girls. The girls always found themselves against the wall and embraced the name wallflowers as a badge of honor. They liked to solve mysteries and each story has featured one, but each story is definitely a stand alone story. Mercy, as she is known, feels that she is the true wallflower of the group. She is tall, wears glasses, likes to create and play music and has various mishaps. Her most recent is that she receives the attention of the Earl.of Castlewick and dances with him. During the dance, she stumbles and destroys her glasses. Her aunt, who has raised her since her parents passed, is happy and encourages her to increase the acquaintance. But Mercy feels that he is giving her sympathy and resists. One of her fellow wallflowers, Aurora, is a widow who has opened her home to the wallflowers. Due to her first marriage, she refuses to get married again, but her mother insists that she try to get the attention of, duh-duh-duh, the Earl if Castlewick. Mercy has told no one of her infatuation and feels that she will not interfere. But Aurora makes it quite clear she has no interest and if she knew Mercy was interested would probably do anything to facilitate a relationship for Mercy and Wesley. But miscommunications causes missed opportunities. And poor Wesley. If he would just have been honest with Aurora and Mercy, a lot of confusion would have been avoided. Wesley is under the command of his predecessor who stated in the will that Wesley had to get a certain property from Aurora and return it to the family. So in order to fulfill the order from the will, Wesley forces himself to try and court Aurora when it is Mercy he wants. And there are also some very bad mannered people who need to be vanquished. I am enjoying this series because even though some characters bounce around the background, they seem just as alive and realistic as the main characters. I feel that I am an un-named wallflower as the story weaves around. This was a well written story with no spelling or grammatical errors. The story in continuous with a well.defined beginning and end. I recommend this book with 5 stars....more
This was a partial book. An excerpt or a sample. A tease. I enjoy Grace burrowes style.of writing. She has a womderful.comand of the English language This was a partial book. An excerpt or a sample. A tease. I enjoy Grace burrowes style.of writing. She has a womderful.comand of the English language and rarely has any errors. I enjoy her characters and this book has a few that are wonderful. I wish it was the full book, but with the sample I read, I will definitely Italy be purchasing this book
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This was a partial book. An excerpt or a sample. A tease. I enjoy Grace burrowes style.of writing. She has a womderful.comand of the English language and rarely has any errors. I enjoy her characters and this book has a few that are wonderful. I wish it was the full book, but with the sample I read, I will definitely Italy be purchasing this book...more
Okay, now this was a story about how an older man romance should be written. What I enjoyed most about this author was that the angst each character hOkay, now this was a story about how an older man romance should be written. What I enjoyed most about this author was that the angst each character had wasn't written so overly dramatic that the character wallowed in it. Some authors just drag things out too far. This story was about a young woman who had seen something so horrific it stole her resolve to speak and then she endured a decade of imprisonment, by her own family!! The hero was older than her by about 13 years and his wife and child had died years before of a plague on the village. He always felt his heart died with them and refused to marry and have a woman suffer from his lack of love. But, this is the Highlands and dynastic marriages are the norm. So his wife is dragged out of her inprisonment, washed and dressed in rags and plunked before the hero for a wedding, even though her speech had literally been scared out of her. They fuddle and muddle along and when the heroine's real parentage is discovered, the marriage is annulled. But is that going to stop this HEA? You will have to read. I liked this story because of the well written story and continuity.this was one of a series, but it didn't depend on the previous stories or following stories. There were no grammatical or spelling errors to confuse the reader. I give this story 5 stars with a recommendation to read.
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Okay, now this was a story about how an older man romance should be written. What I enjoyed most about this author was that the angst each character had wasn't written so overly dramatic that the character wallowed in it. Some authors just drag things out too far. This story was about a young woman who had seen something so horrific it stole her resolve to speak and then she endured a decade of imprisonment, by her own family!! The hero was older than her by about 13 years and his wife and child had died years before of a plague on the village. He always felt his heart died with them and refused to marry and have a woman suffer from his lack of love. But, this is the Highlands and dynastic marriages are the norm. So his wife is dragged out of her inprisonment, washed and dressed in rags and plunked before the hero for a wedding, even though her speech had literally been scared out of her. They fuddle and muddle along and when the heroine's real parentage is discovered, the marriage is annulled. But is that going to stop this HEA? You will have to read. I liked this story because of the well written story and continuity.this was one of a series, but it didn't depend on the previous stories or following stories. There were no grammatical or spelling errors to confuse the reader. I give this story 5 stars with a recommendation to read....more
This book was a bit different from most Scottish books. It was set in Scotland, but it didn't start with a battle like most of them do. The hero, a chThis book was a bit different from most Scottish books. It was set in Scotland, but it didn't start with a battle like most of them do. The hero, a chieftain, his brother and a retainer are attending a Beltane celebration about a week away from their home. They are looking for a wife for the chieftain, one that can break a curse. The heroine, the oldest of four girls, is hiding in a tree from 2 local men who want her. The hero sees a shoe just lying under a tree, sees her, but directs the men another way. The heroine will be one of the village girls who are going to be married. The hero steps in and marries her before the two men who are fighting about her realize what is happening. They are married and begin to travel home and that is when the reader is given inferences that there is more to the curse that is mentioned at the beginning of the story. The heroine is happy to go where she can start a family and not have to cook and clean for a large family. To her surprise when they arrive at the castle, it is derelict, dirty and she has many brothers in law to feed. Not an auspicious beginning to the marriage. And she has to give birth to a daughter based on the witch's curse. This book was well written, but the whole 'fake-priest-so-the-island-came-be-used-by-the-French' is a bit contrived. As to the fake priest, now any children will be illegitimate and not break the curse. It was an entertaining story, some spelling errors, not exactly cohesive, so I give it 3 stars. I would give a guarded recommendation to read.
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This book was a bit different from most Scottish books. It was set in Scotland, but it didn't start with a battle like most of them do. The hero, a chieftain, his brother and a retainer are attending a Beltane celebration about a week away from their home. They are looking for a wife for the chieftain, one that can break a curse. The heroine, the oldest of four girls, is hiding in a tree from 2 local men who want her. The hero sees a shoe just lying under a tree, sees her, but directs the men another way. The heroine will be one of the village girls who are going to be married. The hero steps in and marries her before the two men who are fighting about her realize what is happening. They are married and begin to travel home and that is when the reader is given inferences that there is more to the curse that is mentioned at the beginning of the story. The heroine is happy to go where she can start a family and not have to cook and clean for a large family. To her surprise when they arrive at the castle, it is derelict, dirty and she has many brothers in law to feed. Not an auspicious beginning to the marriage. And she has to give birth to a daughter based on the witch's curse. This book was well written, but the whole 'fake-priest-so-the-island-came-be-used-by-the-French' is a bit contrived. As to the fake priest, now any children will be illegitimate and not break the curse. It was an entertaining story, some spelling errors, not exactly cohesive, so I give it 3 stars. I would give a guarded recommendation to read....more
This story was such a nice short story, but it was able to reach the deeper emotion that you can only find in the longer novels.Such a lovely romance!
This story was such a nice short story, but it was able to reach the deeper emotion that you can only find in the longer novels. I felt each emotion of the main characters and was able to understand without it being said how everyone felt. What a story! I will remember this one for a long time. Cheers to the author!!...more
I enjoyed this book, but the series is off kilter. This author tried to stay with the plot, but it seemed a little forced. I realized that not all theI enjoyed this book, but the series is off kilter. This author tried to stay with the plot, but it seemed a little forced. I realized that not all the books were written by the same person. I have read all so far and this was my second favorite. I liked the storyline and it. The heroine was so in love with her childhood hero. The description of the surroundings saved this story from being insipid. They met when their fathers were stationed in India. And the descriptions were as if I was there. Then they moved to England and the descriptions were very ton related. I felt that the hero had some missed opportunities and I don't know if this is because the author was writing to keep the story a certain length, but it wasn't right that the hero kept his almost death experience from the heroine. I didnt understand that part of the book and I think it needs to be revisited. In my opinion, if the hero was willing to send an expensive gift to a woman who was not his betrothed, which was absolutely forbidden at the time, why didnt he tell her about his injuries and why he had been out of contact for so long? And for him to go home, forbid his mother from sharing that he returned was just as bad. Once he took over the estate and was making decisions and meeting with stewards and solicitors, there was no need to keep it secret. He wasn't that far away from London, based on his travelling times. So, I give this book a solid 4 stars with a recommend to read.
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I enjoyed this book, but the series is off kilter. This author tried to stay with the plot, but it seemed a little forced. I realized that not all the books were written by the same person. I have read all so far and this was my second favorite. I liked the storyline and it. The heroine was so in love with her childhood hero. The description of the surroundings saved this story from being insipid. They met when their fathers were stationed in India. And the descriptions were as if I was there. Then they moved to England and the descriptions were very ton related. I felt that the hero had some missed opportunities and I don't know if this is because the author was writing to keep the story a certain length, but it wasn't right that the hero kept his almost death experience from the heroine. I didnt understand that part of the book and I think it needs to be revisited. In my opinion, if the hero was willing to send an expensive gift to a woman who was not his betrothed, which was absolutely forbidden at the time, why didnt he tell her about his injuries and why he had been out of contact for so long? And for him to go home, forbid his mother from sharing that he returned was just as bad. Once he took over the estate and was making decisions and meeting with stewards and solicitors, there was no need to keep it secret. He wasn't that far away from London, based on his travelling times. So, I give this book a solid 4 stars with a recommend to read....more
This story was so forced and manipulated. It did not feel spontaneous or natural in any way. I had only read the first few chapters and I had to many This story was so forced and manipulated. It did not feel spontaneous or natural in any way. I had only read the first few chapters and I had to many red flags written down. This review may contain spoilers. The story opens with a duke, the hero, waiting in a magistrate's house to speak with him. Well, first of all, the hero is a DUKE, and should never wait on anyone. I did not like the way the duke was treated by people under him. They should have been acquiescent and subservient and they treated the hero as if he was a child. How are we to believe that the hero is a duke when the people who should be bowing and scraping before him are treating him like yesterday's news? And the story continued in the same vein. The heroine is a woman from a good family that had fallen on hard times.she and her siblings have had to eke out an existence on the periphery of society. She can't take a job or earn a wage because she is a lady, so she transcribes music for a fee. The heroine had a normal name, "Anne", and a nickname, "Nancy", that her family used. This is fine, but pick one. That author used the names interchangeably for the first half of the book, the used the family name the rest of the book. Which was very confusing, because she had been introduced as "Anne" in the beginning, so I always looked for that name as I read. (And how is "Nancy" a nick name for "Anne" anyway? And she answers to both. Is she a spy?) Part of this story is how the duke wants to bring a gang of thieves to justice. We do not find out why until near the end of the story, but all through the story, when he thinks of his reason, he suffers an emotional attack, similar to PTSD. But the reader does not find out why until close to the end, and then we are lead to believe that the heroine spontaneously cures his PTSD by her love for him. The story continues when the hero has received secret information twice, from whom we never learn, of the future plans of the gang. It tells him they will attack the Dover Mail Coach. He arrives at the inn to realize that the Coach is leaving while he is arriving. He is talking to himself that everyone on board is doomed and he stumbles over a lady. She hears him and climbs into his carriage because she has a "valuable possession" on board. So we are to believe, that a lady climbs into an unknown man's carriage in order to chase the coach that just left. And then she never tells him what the "possession" is. If she doesn't trust him enough to tell him what is is, then why would she trust him enough to climb into his carriage and refuse to leave it and force herself in him? This story does not make sense. The author has the characters talking and then each one would repeat the conversation in their heads. This happens again and again throughout the book. I have not seen this before and I do not need to have a conversation that I just read and is not pivotal repeated two more times. I have other red flags that came up, but I will say that this story does not read very well, it has a very shallow and weak premise, the main characters relationship feels forced and unnatural, and the plot is very formulamatic. I give this book 1 star and do not recommend reading....more
This was a great story about renewed love. This review may contain spoilers. This book was a shorter length story, like a novella. It is about a woman This was a great story about renewed love. This review may contain spoilers. This book was a shorter length story, like a novella. It is about a woman who is widowed. She grew up in a village outside of London. Her parents were of the minor nobility. They were killed when she was young and she spent most of her time in the stables. She was raised by tutors, governesses and the household servants. The stable master was also a sucessful farrier and taught her the trade along with two of his sons. She was always more concerned with the stablea than ballrooms and in her first Seasin, she married one of her suitors. It was not a happy marriage. She stayed for a time at her husbands estates, but moved back when her husband died during a hunt. He only married her for her dowry and they did not have any children. She always suspected her husband was more interested with men, because he did not have any rumors of being a womanizer and they only had marital relations three times a year. The heroine was a widow and the member of a group of widows who appreciated their freedoms. The hero was raised on a neighboring estate. He was about 4 years younger than the hero. He fell in love with the heroine when he was ten years old and never grew out of it. He is a twin, but the younger twin and his older twin is the Duke. They also have a younger brother who is one year younger. They look so close that they would switch places all the times. They also had to take the same classes in order for them not to play tricks on the teachers. The hero was in the Napoleonic wars. He signed up shortly after blowing up a laboratory at Oxford. And he blew up the laboratory by accident shortly after he learned the heroine had gotten married. The hero was known as a proficient lover with many satisfied women. He never made a connection with anyone since he was 15 and tried to kiss the heroine. The hero returns to the village when his horse turns up lame. The heroine sees him and doesnt recognize him at first. But she does notice how handsome he is and when she finds out who he is she thinks very erotic thoughts. The hero is returning to the village to oversee some repairs to the ducal estate. One night, the heroine is surprised to find her servants have brought boody and injured man to her home. He suffered a fall from his horse and is unconscious. She immediately recognizes him as the second son and is attracted to him again This story was short, but all the important parts are covered. The characters have a good rapport. Their back story is told in spurts. I can't tell anymore about the story because I have already given most of the spoilers. But there is still plenty of story left. I enjoyed reading this book. I give it 5 stars and recommend reading....more
This book was interesting because of the hero's hobby; he was a botanist and he was experimenting with plant grafting in order to produce medicinal plThis book was interesting because of the hero's hobby; he was a botanist and he was experimenting with plant grafting in order to produce medicinal plants that could be propagated and produce higher concentrations of medicine. This review may contain spoilers. The hero became a duke about a year before when his older brother died in an accident. His brother had been groomed to be the next duke all his life and was one of the better dukes around, according to the hero. The hero is a botanist who is trying to increase the efficacy and propagation of medicinal plants using grafting methods. He and his partner have been working on this for over 10 years. His partner is works in the archives of a college and looks for obscure references to grafting methods, so the hero is usually the first to get the information. That summer, the hero has to present their project to the Royal Society. He also has the other responsibilities of being a duke. The most important one is that he has to marry one of his father's friends daughters. It was his brother's problem, but now it is his. And with all three of his father's friend's daighters out in society, he has to get married soon. He only has to pick one of the daughters. But he doesnt go about in society and has only seen the oldest sisiter and he was intimidated by her. She was bred to be a duchess, a perfect duchess. He was attending the wedding of his cousin and he promised his mother to dance with the daughters at the wedding ball. And he promised his mother to make a decision soon. His mother went to help the mother of the bride who was a relative and he looked for a place to sit that was hidden. He saw a column with a seat next to a woman who was reading. He went over and was surprised at how pretty she was. And they were able to converse and he was comfortable with her. Her sister came to get her and the duke recognized her as one if his potential choices for bride. Then he realized that the woman he was talking to, might be another choice. The hero went to the heroine's family ball the next day and found out she was one of the choices. He found her sitting in a window seat and asked her to walk in the gardens. As they walked around, the hero felt more comfortable and asked her questions and talked about his research. He also explained that he felt comfortable talking to her and would she please be his bride. And the heroine, the middle sister, looked over child, sat next to the plants at every ball, said yes. Boy, was that a change in dynamics I enjoyed this book because even though, neither party was trying to help the suffering of the world, they did work on the hero's research. It was not a book just about two society figures with nothing but fashion, balls and gossip to fill.thwir times. Both of them actually worked to some degree, the hero with research and grafting and the heroine with running the various mansions and manor houses that the made up the ducal estates. I am going to take one star away because the title is "4 Weddings and a Duke" and I only recall 3 weddings. The hero's cousin's wedding at the beginning, the wedding of the hero and the heroine, and the parlor wedding of the older sister. If there was a 4th wedding, it was not memorable to recall. So I will give this book 4 stars and a recommendation to read....more
This was not my favorite story because I thought it could have been told better. This review may contain spoilers. This story is about a lady who was thThis was not my favorite story because I thought it could have been told better. This review may contain spoilers. This story is about a lady who was the daughter of an earl. Her mother was his second wife and so her and her sisters are his second family. His first family do not recognize them as legitimate family members, but her father's first wife did raise her and her two sisters. We find at the very end of the book that there were 6 sisters and the youngers ones were split up and adopted out to different families. There is no mention at any time that the heroine has more sisters. With all.thw angst and stress caused by her horrible upbringing, I find it disingenuous that she did not remember them or that they never crossed her mind until she spoke to her sisters that she is estranged from. There was a scene in the book when she is in the house that she was raised in and is having flashbacks to some of the punishments she received and she never thought of her younger sisters. And this is the problem I have with the book. The heroine is one of 3 (6) daughters born to an English earl and an Indian woman. They live India until her father dies and they are sent to England to be raised by her father's wife. The heroine's mother has passed at some point. The heroine's half brother turned the sisters against each other to the point that they do not talk. She meets with them to invite them to her wedding and they do not seem to care. Each one has had to find their own way of supporting themselves. The heroine is a hostess of salons, so I am assuming she charges a fee for the people who come to her home for libations and entertainment. I do not fully understand how the whole hostess thing worked; for example, how did she get the home she lives in? She says she rents it, but where did she get the money to rent a house in a good neighborhood? And the author keeps alluding to different things and sending the story spinning in different directions The heroine saw the half brother with his hand on her middle sister's thigh, so is she saying that incest was going on? And the story revolves around a maid's daughter. The young girl played with the heroine and her mother was also a maid and found with a jewelry box and hung and her daughter was thrown out of the house. This happened when the heroine was a young girl herself, but she was able to get a carriage to watch the hanging. The main problem with the story is that the author wanted to write about India natives in Regency England and how bigotry was. But then the author diverts into all of these unfulfilled story lines about other kinds of bigotry and drama, and who framed the maid and why was the young girl, who is now 17 years old and pregnant, and the drama filled plots keep coming with no resolution. I think if the story stayed on the main path and did not go in so many confusing and contrived directions, it would have been a better story. As it is now, I give 2 stars and so not recommend reading...more
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