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Available
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Publication
Harlequin (2009), Kindle Edition, 304 pages
Description
Fiction. Romance. HTML: DOWNTRODDEN SERVANT OR GRACIOUS LADY? When Max, Earl Blakehurst, meets Verity he sees a downtrodden servant. He doesn't recognize her as the daughter of a colonel under whom he used to serve, the girl he'd once helped years before. The life Verity's now living is untenable. So he proposes a shocking solution�he will set her up as his mistress. It's only once that Verity's finally agreed, once Max is beginning to lose his heart to her, that he discovers her true identity. Max is taken aback; he would never have suggested this lady become his mistress. Now, to avoid scandal, they'll have to marry!.
User reviews
LibraryThing member AJRyan6of7
Horrible. One of those books that makes me wonder how it got published. How did any publisher in their right mind read this and think it was ok to publish? Not only is the writing itself bad, and much of the dialogue completely out of character for the time period, the storyline, if you can call it
If I hadn't downloaded this eBook for free, I'd ask for my money back. A complete waste of my time.
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that, is idiotic, and the characters are completely unlikeable throughout. I hate books that are one stupid misunderstanding after another for hundreds of pages until the very end when the characters finally manage to find some brains somewhere and go, "Oh, we were just misunderstanding each other! Nevermind!" The hero says one stupid thing after another then apologizes then does it again over and over and over. The heroine cries then walks around depressed, then says something completely shrew-like, then cries then walks around depressed...If I hadn't downloaded this eBook for free, I'd ask for my money back. A complete waste of my time.
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LibraryThing member keristars
Prior to this novel, I had never read a regency historical romance. When I saw it available as part of the Harlequin Celebrates free ebook offer, I figured it'd be a good chance to try out the genre and see how I like it.
My short review is that this is a mediocre book. It's not blindingly
Now, I'm not unfamiliar with conventions of romance novels, and I had a vague idea of what to expect with a regency romance, but since the regency historical conventions are new to me, it may very well be that the things I disliked about this book are simply part of the genre. Therefore, when writing this review, I have tried to take into consideration that things I find problematic are simply because I'm new to the genre.
There are a few problems that aren't simply due to the genre, though. Like I said, the book is astoundingly mediocre, especially in the quality of the writing. (Perhaps this is simply because it's from a pigeon-holed Harlequin series? Yet I'd think that when trying to entice new readers, Harlequin would use their better quality works.)
I'm not entirely sure where to begin explaining how poor the writing was, so I may as well start at the beginning. The prologue, which sets up a little of the backstory necessary for the primary plot, uses archaic language to help the reader remember that the setting is the early 19th century and not modern no way no how. However, in trying to be old-fashioned, the language is anachronistic and more of a modern stereotype than anything I've read in actual novels from the period represented. Further, once the main story begins, all those old-fashioned words fly out the window, never to be seen again. It was rather disconcerting to finally get used to the weird use of language, only for it to disappear.
It wasn't only the language usage in the prologue that was anachronistic and strange, though: though the year seemed to have been sometime around 1820 when the story takes place, it didn't seem to me that the author actually cared about making sure they matched the stated year. In fact, I was so confused at one point that I had to go back and do the math to figure out when exactly the story was set. It made me think that the author and readers didn't actually care about whether or not it was a "regency" story, but rather simply wanted it to be "old-fashioned" or vaguely historical. But maybe I'm just picky because, as I've mentioned, I have read novels originally written during this time period.
The plot itself was nothing special. The heroine is, of course, a virgin and, naturally, gets pregnant the very first time she has sex (which is wonderful), which is a usual romance trope, I've found. There's all sorts of misunderstandings and hurt feelings, and if the heroine and hero had just spoken frankly, none of the trouble would have occurred. Oddly, though the story seems to tie itself up nicely with the hero and heroine resolving their miscommunication problems about 80% of the way through the book, there are chapters after that with the only purpose of including physical danger to the heroine. It was superfluous and, I felt, completely out of the blue - if a physical danger was necessary for the heroine and hero to have their happily ever after, there had been several other chances to provide it, or at least to make the danger less bizarre.
Probably the worst thing about the book, and the one that I can't forgive is the actual sentence structure the author uses. There are sentence fragments all over the place, and the dialogue seems to be straight out of a modern soap opera. I kept wanting to print out the book and mark it up with red in an effort to make the paragraphs read more smoothly. I don't mind sentence fragments as embellishment or to show emphasis, but the author used them so often that it felt more like laziness and poor writing. The constantly shifting points of view (even within the same paragraph at a few points, if I'm remembering it correctly!) made the fragments and modern sentence structure even more grating.
But, again, I didn't hate this book. Unlike other novels, I didn't stop reading halfway through because of being too frustrated with it - I definitely wanted to see how the characters solved their problems, even if it was mostly out of a sort of morbid curiosity. It's simply an okay book that satisfied my craving for something easy and light to read. I probably won't read it again, but I also wouldn't warn people away from it, unless I know their reading tastes run similarly to mine.
My short review is that this is a mediocre book. It's not blindingly
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unreadable, but I'm very glad that I got it for free, because I would have regretted paying for it. If this is the quality to expect from all of the Harlequin regency historicals, I shan't bother to try any others.Now, I'm not unfamiliar with conventions of romance novels, and I had a vague idea of what to expect with a regency romance, but since the regency historical conventions are new to me, it may very well be that the things I disliked about this book are simply part of the genre. Therefore, when writing this review, I have tried to take into consideration that things I find problematic are simply because I'm new to the genre.
There are a few problems that aren't simply due to the genre, though. Like I said, the book is astoundingly mediocre, especially in the quality of the writing. (Perhaps this is simply because it's from a pigeon-holed Harlequin series? Yet I'd think that when trying to entice new readers, Harlequin would use their better quality works.)
I'm not entirely sure where to begin explaining how poor the writing was, so I may as well start at the beginning. The prologue, which sets up a little of the backstory necessary for the primary plot, uses archaic language to help the reader remember that the setting is the early 19th century and not modern no way no how. However, in trying to be old-fashioned, the language is anachronistic and more of a modern stereotype than anything I've read in actual novels from the period represented. Further, once the main story begins, all those old-fashioned words fly out the window, never to be seen again. It was rather disconcerting to finally get used to the weird use of language, only for it to disappear.
It wasn't only the language usage in the prologue that was anachronistic and strange, though: though the year seemed to have been sometime around 1820 when the story takes place, it didn't seem to me that the author actually cared about making sure they matched the stated year. In fact, I was so confused at one point that I had to go back and do the math to figure out when exactly the story was set. It made me think that the author and readers didn't actually care about whether or not it was a "regency" story, but rather simply wanted it to be "old-fashioned" or vaguely historical. But maybe I'm just picky because, as I've mentioned, I have read novels originally written during this time period.
The plot itself was nothing special. The heroine is, of course, a virgin and, naturally, gets pregnant the very first time she has sex (which is wonderful), which is a usual romance trope, I've found. There's all sorts of misunderstandings and hurt feelings, and if the heroine and hero had just spoken frankly, none of the trouble would have occurred. Oddly, though the story seems to tie itself up nicely with the hero and heroine resolving their miscommunication problems about 80% of the way through the book, there are chapters after that with the only purpose of including physical danger to the heroine. It was superfluous and, I felt, completely out of the blue - if a physical danger was necessary for the heroine and hero to have their happily ever after, there had been several other chances to provide it, or at least to make the danger less bizarre.
Probably the worst thing about the book, and the one that I can't forgive is the actual sentence structure the author uses. There are sentence fragments all over the place, and the dialogue seems to be straight out of a modern soap opera. I kept wanting to print out the book and mark it up with red in an effort to make the paragraphs read more smoothly. I don't mind sentence fragments as embellishment or to show emphasis, but the author used them so often that it felt more like laziness and poor writing. The constantly shifting points of view (even within the same paragraph at a few points, if I'm remembering it correctly!) made the fragments and modern sentence structure even more grating.
But, again, I didn't hate this book. Unlike other novels, I didn't stop reading halfway through because of being too frustrated with it - I definitely wanted to see how the characters solved their problems, even if it was mostly out of a sort of morbid curiosity. It's simply an okay book that satisfied my craving for something easy and light to read. I probably won't read it again, but I also wouldn't warn people away from it, unless I know their reading tastes run similarly to mine.
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LibraryThing member BellaFoxx
Typical Harlequin. She disguises who she is, he seduces her, finds out who she is, believes she is a scheming lying female. They go back and forth till the end of the book and everything is resolved.
What I don't understand is these men, they know the women are helpless, Max keeps saying how Verity
What I don't understand is these men, they know the women are helpless, Max keeps saying how Verity
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needs his protection. Then he gets angry when she 'schemes' to stay in his protections. Like he doesn't know that is the only way she can survive. Show Less
LibraryThing member jasmyn9
Verity Scott has lost everything...literally. Her mother died years ago and now her father has committed suicide, which means all his worldly goods are forfeit and he will be buried in an unmarked grave. As Verity is mourning and trying to figure out what to do Max Blakehurst, an old friend of her
A couple years later and Verity no longer exists. Her uncle's family has changed her name and taken her in, not as a relative but a very poorly treated servant. When Max shows up to visit the family he doesn't recognize her but is instantly fascinated by her. He decides to "help" her by offering to set her up as his Mistress. Once her true identity comes to light and scandal is about to set in, he decides he must to the right and proper thing by marrying her.
I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed Verity. Many times in Harlequin Historicals the leading lady is a bit washed out, ready to fall into the arms of whatever man is nice to her. Not Verity. She insists on certain things being her way and when it all seems to be falling apart, she's not afraid to up and leave Max in London.
Max, on the other hand, drove me INSANE. He was very wishy-washy, constantly changing his mind about whether or not he loved Verity, trusted Verity, wanted Verity, would treat Verity with respect. He seemed to be apologizing for something every chapter. If I had been Verity I think I would have had enough long before the end of the book. Some of the things he said to her were positively awful.
If Max had been slightly more compassionate and likeable, this book would have been great. He was too much the villain at times for me to ever like him, which significantly lowered my enjoyment of the book.
2/5
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father's, comes as assists her in honoring his grave in what little ways they can. The young Verity instantly associates this man with safety, security, and love. But he is gone in the morning and she is sent to her Uncle's to live.A couple years later and Verity no longer exists. Her uncle's family has changed her name and taken her in, not as a relative but a very poorly treated servant. When Max shows up to visit the family he doesn't recognize her but is instantly fascinated by her. He decides to "help" her by offering to set her up as his Mistress. Once her true identity comes to light and scandal is about to set in, he decides he must to the right and proper thing by marrying her.
I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed Verity. Many times in Harlequin Historicals the leading lady is a bit washed out, ready to fall into the arms of whatever man is nice to her. Not Verity. She insists on certain things being her way and when it all seems to be falling apart, she's not afraid to up and leave Max in London.
Max, on the other hand, drove me INSANE. He was very wishy-washy, constantly changing his mind about whether or not he loved Verity, trusted Verity, wanted Verity, would treat Verity with respect. He seemed to be apologizing for something every chapter. If I had been Verity I think I would have had enough long before the end of the book. Some of the things he said to her were positively awful.
If Max had been slightly more compassionate and likeable, this book would have been great. He was too much the villain at times for me to ever like him, which significantly lowered my enjoyment of the book.
2/5
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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Amazingly good romance - made me cry.
LibraryThing member MoriahJovan
I liked it. It made me bawl almost all the way through. Firstly, I like Big Misunderstandings and Martyr Heroines. Secondly, I like Unrelenting Angst. It's probably natural I liked this book, then.2012-01-26 UPDATE: Downgrading because even while looking at the keywords I can't remember what this
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story was about, and I only read it two weeks ago. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dotland101
I don't often run into a male protagonist in a romance novel that I wanted to slap him upside the head at least a dozen times!! And his stuck-up 'beeitch' of an aunt?!?!! I would soooooo love to sic a couple of Pitbulls instead of a pair of spaniels at her (too bad Pitbull or Doberman weren't
A great historical romance y'all. You can't help but want to protect Varity.
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around back then). Not to mention her retched relatives and cousins from hell.A great historical romance y'all. You can't help but want to protect Varity.
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LibraryThing member kybunnies
I really enjoyed this book. the plot was easy to understand and I especially liked the part of the husband never trusting the wife.
Language
Physical description
304 p.; 6.5 inches
ISBN
0373293720 / 9780373293728