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Lily Mine
When Lily wends her way down the country lane to Lilyvale Manor, she hopes the coincidence of names bodes well, for she is in dire straits. She’s been disowned by her London family and finds herself desperately in need of a job. Lord Ashbourne is equally at ends, his fiancée having jilted him for a commoner and run off to the Continent. Her powerful society family is determined to delay the breaking scandal in order to save the younger sister's prospects. When a servant leads Lily to his parlor, James is astonished to discover how closely she resembles the missing lady of the manor.He hatches a plan, convincing Lily to play his absent “wife” to keep the gossips at bay. He reassures her it will be in name only, but soon enough, playacting turns to real attraction, and friendship to aching, mounting desire. The strictures of society and unforeseen tragedy combine to test the pair's forbidden love, even as they are driven ever closer into one another's arms…This novel contains spanking, light bondage, and light BDSM elements.
166 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2011
122 people are currently reading
977 people want to read
About the author
Annabel Joseph
70 books2,216 followersAnnabel Joseph is a NYT and USA Today bestselling BDSM erotic romance author. She writes mainly contemporary romance, although she has been known to dabble in the medieval and Regency eras. She is recognized for writing emotionally intense BDSM storylines, and strives to create characters that seem real--even flawed--so readers are better able to relate to them.
Annabel also writes non-BDSM erotic romance under the name Molly Joseph. You can sign up to receive Annabel's newsletter here: http://wordpress.us7.list-manage.com/...
Some of Annabel's favorite authors are Laura Kinsale, Judith McNaught, Jo Beverley, Flannery O'Connor, Molly Weatherfield, and Anneke Jacob.
Annabel Joseph loves to hear from her readers at annabeljosephnovels(@)gmail.com.
Annabel also writes non-BDSM erotic romance under the name Molly Joseph. You can sign up to receive Annabel's newsletter here: http://wordpress.us7.list-manage.com/...
Some of Annabel's favorite authors are Laura Kinsale, Judith McNaught, Jo Beverley, Flannery O'Connor, Molly Weatherfield, and Anneke Jacob.
Annabel Joseph loves to hear from her readers at annabeljosephnovels(@)gmail.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
July 6, 2011
I read a lot of romance. Historical isn't typically my thang at all. It's the rare book that stands up and captures my interest, setting itself apart as something unique and intriguing.
Lily Mine by Annabel Joseph does just that.
Lily disgraced her family and had been cast out. She'd run out of money and strength to walk when she saw a sign. Literally. A sign.... for Lilyvale Manor.
Okay. If I was out of money, had walked farther than my legs were actually capable of carrying me and I saw a sign that said "Michelle's Manor," you'd bet I'd see it as a sign from the heavens above. I'd drag myself down that path if I had to.
When Lord Ashbourne steps into his parlor to meet the female looking for a job, he is stunned to find his wife's doppelganger. This would be the same wife that married him and ran away leaving her family and husband to cover for her absence in order to prevent widespread disgrace. With opportunity presenting itself, Ashbourne makes quite the proposal to Lily. Act like my wife until we find her.
Let's see. Out of money? Check. Can't move another muscle to even leave? Check. Being offered money to be pampered like high society? Check. Who in their right mind would turn him down? Not me. Not Lily either.
Of course he finds in Lily the looks that attracted him to his own short term wife, but he finds the fiery personality he'd expected to marry as well. The attraction between the two boils hot. The forbidden attraction compels them to cross the line society has drawn between their two classes.
And to cap it all off, there is a twist of an ending to explain everything that will leave you mouthing, "No Way! How did I not see that coming?"
Oh and let me not forget to add for all my alpha loving friends out there who like a bit of bondage and spanking, Annabel will not let you down. James doesn't identify himself as a Dom. He isn't a member of any Dommy organization or even clue into what he is doing. It's just part of him. Just the way he likes to make love with her. And she certainly responds positively to having her wrists pinned to the bed while he drives her crazy. It's all pretty light and on the side, so big time BDSM fans, don't go expecting a Lifestyle read. The play seemed exactly right for the times, and gentle enough for historical fans to still enjoy the ride.
Enjoy!
Lily Mine by Annabel Joseph does just that.
Lily disgraced her family and had been cast out. She'd run out of money and strength to walk when she saw a sign. Literally. A sign.... for Lilyvale Manor.
Okay. If I was out of money, had walked farther than my legs were actually capable of carrying me and I saw a sign that said "Michelle's Manor," you'd bet I'd see it as a sign from the heavens above. I'd drag myself down that path if I had to.
When Lord Ashbourne steps into his parlor to meet the female looking for a job, he is stunned to find his wife's doppelganger. This would be the same wife that married him and ran away leaving her family and husband to cover for her absence in order to prevent widespread disgrace. With opportunity presenting itself, Ashbourne makes quite the proposal to Lily. Act like my wife until we find her.
Let's see. Out of money? Check. Can't move another muscle to even leave? Check. Being offered money to be pampered like high society? Check. Who in their right mind would turn him down? Not me. Not Lily either.
Of course he finds in Lily the looks that attracted him to his own short term wife, but he finds the fiery personality he'd expected to marry as well. The attraction between the two boils hot. The forbidden attraction compels them to cross the line society has drawn between their two classes.
And to cap it all off, there is a twist of an ending to explain everything that will leave you mouthing, "No Way! How did I not see that coming?"
Oh and let me not forget to add for all my alpha loving friends out there who like a bit of bondage and spanking, Annabel will not let you down. James doesn't identify himself as a Dom. He isn't a member of any Dommy organization or even clue into what he is doing. It's just part of him. Just the way he likes to make love with her. And she certainly responds positively to having her wrists pinned to the bed while he drives her crazy. It's all pretty light and on the side, so big time BDSM fans, don't go expecting a Lifestyle read. The play seemed exactly right for the times, and gentle enough for historical fans to still enjoy the ride.
Enjoy!
July 23, 2011
I'm not a huge fan of historical erotic romances. This one is by an author I do like, Ms. Joseph. I think this is my favourite book of hers that I have read so far to date. I really liked BOTH characters. Lily was so sweet and innocent. She worked against all odds and never really gave up. I liked that about her. She wasn't super strong or even super intelligent. She did have perseverance which I admire.
James is nice and dreamy, just how I like my historical heroes. He's much sweeter than I anticipated. He also collects dirty novels, so I have to like him, right? He's kinky in bed and knows how to wield a riding crop. Yowza. Nice! I enjoyed the sweet sex between James and Lily. I liked how he slowly educated her in the subject of carnal knowledge. Hands on experience was a plus.
The way James and Lily were thrown together is a nice change from the usual damsel in distress in historical novels. The conflict was anticipated and I enjoyed how Ms. Joseph played it out. I liked how she resolved all the lose ends. For the happily ever after to take a bit longer was a nice touch.
The kinky sex was pretty sweet and mild so I categorized it as sugarkink. James was also not sadistic which is another point towards surgarkink. Ms. Joseph does a lovely job on this one. It's a deviation from what I'm used to from her. I recommend this book to those who love historical romances with an added kinky sex.
James is nice and dreamy, just how I like my historical heroes. He's much sweeter than I anticipated. He also collects dirty novels, so I have to like him, right? He's kinky in bed and knows how to wield a riding crop. Yowza. Nice! I enjoyed the sweet sex between James and Lily. I liked how he slowly educated her in the subject of carnal knowledge. Hands on experience was a plus.
The way James and Lily were thrown together is a nice change from the usual damsel in distress in historical novels. The conflict was anticipated and I enjoyed how Ms. Joseph played it out. I liked how she resolved all the lose ends. For the happily ever after to take a bit longer was a nice touch.
The kinky sex was pretty sweet and mild so I categorized it as sugarkink. James was also not sadistic which is another point towards surgarkink. Ms. Joseph does a lovely job on this one. It's a deviation from what I'm used to from her. I recommend this book to those who love historical romances with an added kinky sex.
March 8, 2021
I chose this book to read off my to-read shelf because I wanted to read some erotica since my past reads have been lacking in that regard. However, even though this is tagged as erotica, I didn't really feel it was. The sex wasn't so steamy, and neither was the spanking so tilliating. It also seemed to be a while before they had sex that I was checking the tags to see if it was truly marked as an erotic book lol.
Lily had been raped by the lord's son her family worked for, causing her father to lose his job as gardener. Her father cast her out and she made her way from London, looking for employment. Luckily, she was directed to Lilyvale Manor, where the lord just happened to have a bride who had run off to be with another man, and Lily looked disturbingly like her. Thus, Lily poses as Lord Ashbourne's wife.
I would have liked to know how old Lily was. I was thinking 18 at first, but Ashbourne thought that Lily looked older than Lillian, his wife who ran off, so she probably was a little older. I would have also liked an Epilogue/info if she continued gardening, ever ran a shop, or just spent the rest of her days being a lord's wife? It was never mentioned at the end.
I did appreciate some of the plot twists. For instance,
Lily had been raped by the lord's son her family worked for, causing her father to lose his job as gardener. Her father cast her out and she made her way from London, looking for employment. Luckily, she was directed to Lilyvale Manor, where the lord just happened to have a bride who had run off to be with another man, and Lily looked disturbingly like her. Thus, Lily poses as Lord Ashbourne's wife.
I would have liked to know how old Lily was. I was thinking 18 at first, but Ashbourne thought that Lily looked older than Lillian, his wife who ran off, so she probably was a little older. I would have also liked an Epilogue/info if she continued gardening, ever ran a shop, or just spent the rest of her days being a lord's wife? It was never mentioned at the end.
I did appreciate some of the plot twists. For instance,
October 10, 2019
Okay so I actually adored this one! Fallen woman Lily needs a fresh start & finds it at Lilyvale Manor. This was a fast paced, sweet tale of what it meant to be a woman in the early 19th century.
February 19, 2018
Pues 3 estrellas porque esta bien escrito. La trama tiene su gracia hasta que llegas al final, que no voy a destripar, pero que me fastidió por cliché. Romance, chica pobre + aristócrata que gusta del BDSM, vence el amor. Del conde me ha hecho gracia cierto sentido del humor y me ha puesto de los nervios con las convenciones y el que dirán. Tropecientas escenas de sexo, repetitivas.
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November 19, 2011
My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...
My 1st Annabel Joseph book but it left me conflicted about the rating. It was a pretty uneven read for me. There were some scenes I really loved, love scenes I found intense and real but there were some other things, I found, were either unbelievable or just plain boring. One was the dialogue between the H/h of this book; I had a lot of problem with those. They were too sweet, sugary sweet... Just sappy to TBH. I didn’t really like it. I mean it’s lovely to hear endearments but how many times of ‘dearest’ you can take? But, I did love James a lot and how crazy he was about Lily. I also had some troubles with Lily and her immature behaviors. No, I wasn’t annoyed with her and yet, not very impressed either.
Lily’s family just abandoned her for a ‘crime’ she didn’t even commit. Her father, who was a head gardener to a Lord’s family, has just been robbed off his job because of Lily’s ‘questionable moral behavior’. Lily is the oldest of 5 sisters, all of whom are named after some flowers, goes to show their parents’ love for flowers. Her mother died giving birth to the youngest one and Lily has been taking care of her sisters as well as accompanying her father to work in that Lord something’s garden. But, a few days ago, one of the sons rapes her in a secluded area of the garden. Lily didn’t even know she was being raped because she thought even though she didn’t want it, she agreed to something when she went with him. I didn’t know what to think of it. She kinda blamed herself for this and hoped no one would know. Though she’s beautiful, at 21 and being a daughter of the commoner, Lily knew she had no real prospect of marriage to speak of. But somehow the words leaked, Lily’s father got fired. Then, in a rage, the coward threw her out of the house, telling her to earn her keep ‘on her back’. Lord but that made me sooo angry! Lily didn’t know what to do. The only trade she knew was of gardening, something she loved as well. So she tried to get a job somewhere far away from London. She scraped whatever little money she had with her and moved. This day, she was trying to sell her pots with seedlings but to no avail. She was tired, hungry and on the verge of tear when one woman showed her the manor house of a reclusive Earl, called ‘Lilyvale’. The name struck her and she was hoping that this little co-incidence would bring some positive results. When she knocked, the butler kind of went wide eyed seeing her and took her immediately to the Earl, though Lily kept saying it’d be ok to talk to the housekeeper only. The Earl isn’t anything she was hoping for or imagined. He’s young, maybe in his late twenties, very good-looking, kind and exceptionally polite to her. Lily felt some tensions arising when he gazed upon her but his face give nothing away. He not only bought her pots for an exuberant price but also asked after her and appointed her as his gardener. When Lily came out, she decided she had to save money so she detoured to the Earl’s stable, thinking to spend the night there.
James couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Lily. She looked like a twin of his erstwhile wife Lilliana, only Lilliana had no twins and her family is a noble one and not a commoner. He’s in a fix at the moment because his new wife jilted him for her lover and ran away. James doesn’t like scandal but he was also thinking of Lilliana’s younger sister Chloe, who is a very nice girl and not yet out for a season, doesn’t deserve what would befell them once this scandal is out. So, James was now living the life of a recluse, ‘showing’ the Ton that he’s enjoying his new life with his wife. He let go most of his servants except for the very trustworthy ones such as his longtime butler Hanover and his almost demented mother, Mrs. Gertrude, the cook. His life is boring, staid, he doesn’t like it but as I’ve mentioned before, James is the nicest guy on the block. He was never the rakish type, has always been the responsible son and wanted to be a responsible and loving husband as well. Lilliana was his choice; he thought he was in love with her, only to be slapped back with rejection. Oh, that was quite sad; I mean I totally thought Lilliana was a fool. Now, he’s quite shocked to see Lily but not sure how it’s possible that they look so alike! Then, a plan comes to James; a plan of deception, only for the time of Chloe’s season and the discovery of Lilliana’s whereabouts in the Continent. Lily would play Lilliana and in return, he’d recompense her nicely with the flower store she so wants to set up once she has enough money. Then Hanover informs him that she was sleeping in the stables. James brought Lily in and comes forth with his proposal. Lily was pretty confused and a bit suspicious of James at first (she was thinking was ‘ruined’ written on her face?) but soon, she knew that he’s harmless and agreed to this scheme. She was given a room but James asks her to move into the Countess’s room once he hires new servants so that no one gossips.
Like this, their new life starts. It was more of a narration of what they did than conversations, which is why I couldn’t believe it much when they started feeling something for each-other. I mean, you have to read some conversations between the two to understand where their new found friendship stands, rather than have it narrated. I got it that it was very pleasant. Lily was angry at Lilliana on James’s behalf because the woman did come off as vain, self-centered and an arrogant twit. What did James found in her in the 1st place I have no idea. But, now as he compared Lily to her, he saw his mistakes. Soon James felt he was falling for Lily. Lily was also very fond of James so they give into their mutual desire. It also helped that in Lilyvale, everyone except Hanover thinks they are married. James taught her to read and to write, among other things. I wasn’t much impressed with the 1st love scene. Lily wasn’t surprised when James wanted to bind her hands. Oh, huh? After what happened to her? And James was very happy with Lily and their sex life (his musings tell us that his taste made his earlier endeavors with his past lovers rather uncomfortable) that he’d do anything for her now. He was one insane SOB and couldn’t get enough of her. Lily reciprocated wholeheartedly. Their time was passing so nicely that I was bored soon. Er, well, sorry about that. I was hoping for much exciting stuff and that might’ve made my expectations high.
Then, throughout the book, I was very confused about the state of James and Lilliana’s marriage. The blurb said she was the fiancée. But in the book, I got that they got married and stayed for a very short while after which she ran away with her lover to the continent and married (?) him there. Then, in one scene, James reveals that the marriage was annulled afterwards. So was it consummated because I know a consummated marriage can’t be annulled? How long was she there before she ran away? If the marriage is annulled then why throughout the book James kept waiting for Lilliana to come back and ‘take’ her place (as his wife)? HOW? WHY? I understood his reason for the deception but I didn’t like it much because I knew it’s gonna make trouble, they both would end up hurting. Then again, the book was based on this deception thing and how his and Lily’s relationship grew in between. I already talked about the dialogue which annoyed me a lot, marred my fun, mostly after I got to learn of James’s taste for BDSM. It felt so out of place. Maybe it’s just me but it did. I was also amazed at how Lily had no problem with sex, given the fact that she was raped. It was James who made her understand that she was raped and it wasn’t her fault. I know James has been nice to her, except for in bed with some of those BDSM plays. I was pretty surprised that Lily never freaked out by James’s choices and bed plays. She just evolved into this siren (oh, puhleez!) who was doing anything and everything that James asked for! I gotta give you that the BDSM was rather tame by the measure of some other books out there but I couldn’t believe Lily just fit herself into James’s choices so easily. Lily did felt immature at times, when I compared her with James’s experience and with her thoughts and actions as well. Even when they had misunderstandings, I thought Lily was being immature. It was mainly because when I started the book, somehow I expected her to be a mature and level headed heroine. Another thing that bugged me was, Lily was illiterate when she first came to Lilyvale but in about 2/3 months, James taught her so well that she was reading Erotic books! Sorry but had me rolling my eyes more than once.
Their idyllic existence (or rather an existence based on falsehood) came to a halt when the season was upon them and they had to go to London. Lily didn’t know how she’s going to face Lilliana’s parents. When she finally did, it was embarrassing to say the least. They knew about James’s plans and what their daughter did, yet that didn’t stop Lilliana’s mother to try to humiliate Lily by insinuating that she’s greedy and whoring herself for money and position. Yes, both Lord and Lady Holt got the level of their intimacy from their looks and touches. James fought on Lily’s side but he hurt Lily nevertheless when he kept on inquiring about Lilliana. I mean this is what I thought immature. She knew the terms, she went to his bed knowing the consequences, yet she’s feeling mad and jealous, getting hurt, wanting that Lilliana would never return (she even said that to James once) etc. etc. James also felt vulnerable when Lily wanted to know about her own family, of how they’re faring. So, as nice as he was, James hired a detective to look after her family and bring news, secretly of course knowing that Lily’s father disowned her. The stress of London was taking a toll too. They have a fight over Lilliana and their impossible situation once. This is the part I thought was a bit exciting, as in something was happening finally! James’s words on how their relationship would go on after Lilliana’s return suggested that he wants to keep Lily as his mistress, which hurts her. Of course Lily wants marriage and she angrily tells him she won’t let it happen. Trust me, I believed in James’s feelings for her. I knew it was genuine because the way he begged her not to leave her no matter what did tug at my heart. I felt his desperation, which made me wanna hold him tight. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to break the society’s tradition. Then, after a week or so Lily decided WTH and they were together again and having sex. Well, whatever! These two never really had any kind of real conflict. It should’ve been great but considering their quite impossible situation, I found it hard to believe that they could be so lost in each-other.
Anyway, it was soon proven that the shy and apparently reserved Lily can’t match Lilliana’s vivacity, not to mention her so-called sophistication. After much confusions, thoughts and hurts, James finally decides that after Christmas they’d retire to Lilyvale once more and marry Lily ASAP, society be damned. James can’t think about Chloe or the Holts’ situation anymore. Lily knew nothing of his plans BTW. So on the Christmas day, they pay one last visit to the Holts when disasters, one after another, strike. First it was the singing. Lilliana was a great singer, while Lily can’t sing at all. This makes trouble for them when Lilliana’s grandmother pressures Lily to sing for them. And then, after that debacle, it had to be Lilliana to create the next piece of catastrophe by returning at the same moment. Now it was all out in the open because she didn’t care that her extended family members were present in the room when she burst in and start whining away about her ‘husband’ and all the misadventures in the Continent. James sent Lily home before he took care of this mess. Lily misunderstood James’s words, thinking later on he’d only to send her away. So she did the stupidest thing possible and left, just leaving a note. At the Holt’s place, the investigator who was looking into Lily’s family, comes to see James and gives him a very bad news that there was a fire and all of Lily’s family perished in one night. WOW! I was shocked and really saddened by this. Lily, when she left, at first goes to see her family and learns of tragedy. Since she had no communication with them and was living outside London, she never heard of the news. How she really coped with it afterwards was very conveniently left off or at least that’s how I felt. But later on, Lily surprised me with her reaction.
After taking care of the mess that is Lilliana, James comes back home to find his Lily gone. He takes the investigator with him and runs out to search for her. It takes more than a month for him to find her out but it was just a happenstance because James, beforehand, couldn’t trace Lily at all and went back to Lilyvale thinking he’ll never see her again. Lily, meanwhile, was still in London, working in a seedy area of the big city. But the inn she was working at was not that bad and the proprietress let her earn her food and stay. Anyway, you can guess James found her out, yada yada yada and all the misunderstandings were sorted out. But what surprised me the most was how cool Lily was about the fact that her whole family has perished. From her part, I saw no grief of that proportion and when she saw James, they had sex that very night... I mean I don’t know, 5 people of your family died at once in a horrible fire while you were having fun (no matter the circumstances). She may have learned of it 2 months after it happened but wasn’t it supposed to have the same horrible impact? Wasn’t she supposed to grieve a little? I felt NOTHING of the sort from her. She seemed so ‘ok’ with it all! I mean, you may have had trouble with your father but God, 4 of your sisters died too- the youngest being, I don’t know, 10 or something? This was so unbelievable that I was astonished! I didn’t care for the other more scintillating discovery on Lily’s birthright. I kept on thinking how easily she moved on even as I finished the book.
Even James thought (before she left) that she would be so distraught and because of it, he won’t propose to her right away, giving her time to grieve.
Simply unbelievable! 3.75 stars.
My 1st Annabel Joseph book but it left me conflicted about the rating. It was a pretty uneven read for me. There were some scenes I really loved, love scenes I found intense and real but there were some other things, I found, were either unbelievable or just plain boring. One was the dialogue between the H/h of this book; I had a lot of problem with those. They were too sweet, sugary sweet... Just sappy to TBH. I didn’t really like it. I mean it’s lovely to hear endearments but how many times of ‘dearest’ you can take? But, I did love James a lot and how crazy he was about Lily. I also had some troubles with Lily and her immature behaviors. No, I wasn’t annoyed with her and yet, not very impressed either.
Lily’s family just abandoned her for a ‘crime’ she didn’t even commit. Her father, who was a head gardener to a Lord’s family, has just been robbed off his job because of Lily’s ‘questionable moral behavior’. Lily is the oldest of 5 sisters, all of whom are named after some flowers, goes to show their parents’ love for flowers. Her mother died giving birth to the youngest one and Lily has been taking care of her sisters as well as accompanying her father to work in that Lord something’s garden. But, a few days ago, one of the sons rapes her in a secluded area of the garden. Lily didn’t even know she was being raped because she thought even though she didn’t want it, she agreed to something when she went with him. I didn’t know what to think of it. She kinda blamed herself for this and hoped no one would know. Though she’s beautiful, at 21 and being a daughter of the commoner, Lily knew she had no real prospect of marriage to speak of. But somehow the words leaked, Lily’s father got fired. Then, in a rage, the coward threw her out of the house, telling her to earn her keep ‘on her back’. Lord but that made me sooo angry! Lily didn’t know what to do. The only trade she knew was of gardening, something she loved as well. So she tried to get a job somewhere far away from London. She scraped whatever little money she had with her and moved. This day, she was trying to sell her pots with seedlings but to no avail. She was tired, hungry and on the verge of tear when one woman showed her the manor house of a reclusive Earl, called ‘Lilyvale’. The name struck her and she was hoping that this little co-incidence would bring some positive results. When she knocked, the butler kind of went wide eyed seeing her and took her immediately to the Earl, though Lily kept saying it’d be ok to talk to the housekeeper only. The Earl isn’t anything she was hoping for or imagined. He’s young, maybe in his late twenties, very good-looking, kind and exceptionally polite to her. Lily felt some tensions arising when he gazed upon her but his face give nothing away. He not only bought her pots for an exuberant price but also asked after her and appointed her as his gardener. When Lily came out, she decided she had to save money so she detoured to the Earl’s stable, thinking to spend the night there.
James couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Lily. She looked like a twin of his erstwhile wife Lilliana, only Lilliana had no twins and her family is a noble one and not a commoner. He’s in a fix at the moment because his new wife jilted him for her lover and ran away. James doesn’t like scandal but he was also thinking of Lilliana’s younger sister Chloe, who is a very nice girl and not yet out for a season, doesn’t deserve what would befell them once this scandal is out. So, James was now living the life of a recluse, ‘showing’ the Ton that he’s enjoying his new life with his wife. He let go most of his servants except for the very trustworthy ones such as his longtime butler Hanover and his almost demented mother, Mrs. Gertrude, the cook. His life is boring, staid, he doesn’t like it but as I’ve mentioned before, James is the nicest guy on the block. He was never the rakish type, has always been the responsible son and wanted to be a responsible and loving husband as well. Lilliana was his choice; he thought he was in love with her, only to be slapped back with rejection. Oh, that was quite sad; I mean I totally thought Lilliana was a fool. Now, he’s quite shocked to see Lily but not sure how it’s possible that they look so alike! Then, a plan comes to James; a plan of deception, only for the time of Chloe’s season and the discovery of Lilliana’s whereabouts in the Continent. Lily would play Lilliana and in return, he’d recompense her nicely with the flower store she so wants to set up once she has enough money. Then Hanover informs him that she was sleeping in the stables. James brought Lily in and comes forth with his proposal. Lily was pretty confused and a bit suspicious of James at first (she was thinking was ‘ruined’ written on her face?) but soon, she knew that he’s harmless and agreed to this scheme. She was given a room but James asks her to move into the Countess’s room once he hires new servants so that no one gossips.
Like this, their new life starts. It was more of a narration of what they did than conversations, which is why I couldn’t believe it much when they started feeling something for each-other. I mean, you have to read some conversations between the two to understand where their new found friendship stands, rather than have it narrated. I got it that it was very pleasant. Lily was angry at Lilliana on James’s behalf because the woman did come off as vain, self-centered and an arrogant twit. What did James found in her in the 1st place I have no idea. But, now as he compared Lily to her, he saw his mistakes. Soon James felt he was falling for Lily. Lily was also very fond of James so they give into their mutual desire. It also helped that in Lilyvale, everyone except Hanover thinks they are married. James taught her to read and to write, among other things. I wasn’t much impressed with the 1st love scene. Lily wasn’t surprised when James wanted to bind her hands. Oh, huh? After what happened to her? And James was very happy with Lily and their sex life (his musings tell us that his taste made his earlier endeavors with his past lovers rather uncomfortable) that he’d do anything for her now. He was one insane SOB and couldn’t get enough of her. Lily reciprocated wholeheartedly. Their time was passing so nicely that I was bored soon. Er, well, sorry about that. I was hoping for much exciting stuff and that might’ve made my expectations high.
Then, throughout the book, I was very confused about the state of James and Lilliana’s marriage. The blurb said she was the fiancée. But in the book, I got that they got married and stayed for a very short while after which she ran away with her lover to the continent and married (?) him there. Then, in one scene, James reveals that the marriage was annulled afterwards. So was it consummated because I know a consummated marriage can’t be annulled? How long was she there before she ran away? If the marriage is annulled then why throughout the book James kept waiting for Lilliana to come back and ‘take’ her place (as his wife)? HOW? WHY? I understood his reason for the deception but I didn’t like it much because I knew it’s gonna make trouble, they both would end up hurting. Then again, the book was based on this deception thing and how his and Lily’s relationship grew in between. I already talked about the dialogue which annoyed me a lot, marred my fun, mostly after I got to learn of James’s taste for BDSM. It felt so out of place. Maybe it’s just me but it did. I was also amazed at how Lily had no problem with sex, given the fact that she was raped. It was James who made her understand that she was raped and it wasn’t her fault. I know James has been nice to her, except for in bed with some of those BDSM plays. I was pretty surprised that Lily never freaked out by James’s choices and bed plays. She just evolved into this siren (oh, puhleez!) who was doing anything and everything that James asked for! I gotta give you that the BDSM was rather tame by the measure of some other books out there but I couldn’t believe Lily just fit herself into James’s choices so easily. Lily did felt immature at times, when I compared her with James’s experience and with her thoughts and actions as well. Even when they had misunderstandings, I thought Lily was being immature. It was mainly because when I started the book, somehow I expected her to be a mature and level headed heroine. Another thing that bugged me was, Lily was illiterate when she first came to Lilyvale but in about 2/3 months, James taught her so well that she was reading Erotic books! Sorry but had me rolling my eyes more than once.
Their idyllic existence (or rather an existence based on falsehood) came to a halt when the season was upon them and they had to go to London. Lily didn’t know how she’s going to face Lilliana’s parents. When she finally did, it was embarrassing to say the least. They knew about James’s plans and what their daughter did, yet that didn’t stop Lilliana’s mother to try to humiliate Lily by insinuating that she’s greedy and whoring herself for money and position. Yes, both Lord and Lady Holt got the level of their intimacy from their looks and touches. James fought on Lily’s side but he hurt Lily nevertheless when he kept on inquiring about Lilliana. I mean this is what I thought immature. She knew the terms, she went to his bed knowing the consequences, yet she’s feeling mad and jealous, getting hurt, wanting that Lilliana would never return (she even said that to James once) etc. etc. James also felt vulnerable when Lily wanted to know about her own family, of how they’re faring. So, as nice as he was, James hired a detective to look after her family and bring news, secretly of course knowing that Lily’s father disowned her. The stress of London was taking a toll too. They have a fight over Lilliana and their impossible situation once. This is the part I thought was a bit exciting, as in something was happening finally! James’s words on how their relationship would go on after Lilliana’s return suggested that he wants to keep Lily as his mistress, which hurts her. Of course Lily wants marriage and she angrily tells him she won’t let it happen. Trust me, I believed in James’s feelings for her. I knew it was genuine because the way he begged her not to leave her no matter what did tug at my heart. I felt his desperation, which made me wanna hold him tight. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to break the society’s tradition. Then, after a week or so Lily decided WTH and they were together again and having sex. Well, whatever! These two never really had any kind of real conflict. It should’ve been great but considering their quite impossible situation, I found it hard to believe that they could be so lost in each-other.
Anyway, it was soon proven that the shy and apparently reserved Lily can’t match Lilliana’s vivacity, not to mention her so-called sophistication. After much confusions, thoughts and hurts, James finally decides that after Christmas they’d retire to Lilyvale once more and marry Lily ASAP, society be damned. James can’t think about Chloe or the Holts’ situation anymore. Lily knew nothing of his plans BTW. So on the Christmas day, they pay one last visit to the Holts when disasters, one after another, strike. First it was the singing. Lilliana was a great singer, while Lily can’t sing at all. This makes trouble for them when Lilliana’s grandmother pressures Lily to sing for them. And then, after that debacle, it had to be Lilliana to create the next piece of catastrophe by returning at the same moment. Now it was all out in the open because she didn’t care that her extended family members were present in the room when she burst in and start whining away about her ‘husband’ and all the misadventures in the Continent. James sent Lily home before he took care of this mess. Lily misunderstood James’s words, thinking later on he’d only to send her away. So she did the stupidest thing possible and left, just leaving a note. At the Holt’s place, the investigator who was looking into Lily’s family, comes to see James and gives him a very bad news that there was a fire and all of Lily’s family perished in one night. WOW! I was shocked and really saddened by this. Lily, when she left, at first goes to see her family and learns of tragedy. Since she had no communication with them and was living outside London, she never heard of the news. How she really coped with it afterwards was very conveniently left off or at least that’s how I felt. But later on, Lily surprised me with her reaction.
After taking care of the mess that is Lilliana, James comes back home to find his Lily gone. He takes the investigator with him and runs out to search for her. It takes more than a month for him to find her out but it was just a happenstance because James, beforehand, couldn’t trace Lily at all and went back to Lilyvale thinking he’ll never see her again. Lily, meanwhile, was still in London, working in a seedy area of the big city. But the inn she was working at was not that bad and the proprietress let her earn her food and stay. Anyway, you can guess James found her out, yada yada yada and all the misunderstandings were sorted out. But what surprised me the most was how cool Lily was about the fact that her whole family has perished. From her part, I saw no grief of that proportion and when she saw James, they had sex that very night... I mean I don’t know, 5 people of your family died at once in a horrible fire while you were having fun (no matter the circumstances). She may have learned of it 2 months after it happened but wasn’t it supposed to have the same horrible impact? Wasn’t she supposed to grieve a little? I felt NOTHING of the sort from her. She seemed so ‘ok’ with it all! I mean, you may have had trouble with your father but God, 4 of your sisters died too- the youngest being, I don’t know, 10 or something? This was so unbelievable that I was astonished! I didn’t care for the other more scintillating discovery on Lily’s birthright. I kept on thinking how easily she moved on even as I finished the book.
Even James thought (before she left) that she would be so distraught and because of it, he won’t propose to her right away, giving her time to grieve.
Simply unbelievable! 3.75 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2019
Compared to Annabel Joseph's Properly Spanked series or even to Joseph's other stand-alone stories such as Disciplining the Duchess, Lily Mine felt a bit phoned in. I don't believe regencies have to be 450 pages to be full of depth but I believe a story can be going through the motions, whether it starts and ends in 250 pages or 600 pages. Cute plot but the conflict was not there.
Lily is a gardener down on her luck. She decides to offer her gardening services to a country estate, only to find herself propositioned to stand in for the lord's runaway bride. Although James, Lord Ashbourne, doesn't want to marry his runaway bride, he has promised her family to keep up appearances in order to ensure their younger daughter can still make a good match, while detectives try to find her and bring her home. Not very memorable.
Lily is a gardener down on her luck. She decides to offer her gardening services to a country estate, only to find herself propositioned to stand in for the lord's runaway bride. Although James, Lord Ashbourne, doesn't want to marry his runaway bride, he has promised her family to keep up appearances in order to ensure their younger daughter can still make a good match, while detectives try to find her and bring her home. Not very memorable.
October 19, 2013
After reading Disciplining the Duchess and actually finding it good despite the...ermm well ya know. I thought I would give another one of the authors books a chance.
But it was pretty much a mess.Maybe DtD had some slight weakness in its historical scenario aspect but the relationship between the H and h made up for it.
But this one actually wants to sell me the idea of a woman applying for a typical male occupation (in the regency era nevertheless) as its no big deal.
Suspension of belief failed.
Also lust at first meeting. Goodbye buildiup to relationship and characacteriaton.
But it was pretty much a mess.Maybe DtD had some slight weakness in its historical scenario aspect but the relationship between the H and h made up for it.
But this one actually wants to sell me the idea of a woman applying for a typical male occupation (in the regency era nevertheless) as its no big deal.
Suspension of belief failed.
Also lust at first meeting. Goodbye buildiup to relationship and characacteriaton.
March 20, 2021
A good read, with a stretch with H sharing his kink with the h, and she loves it. She's not of his class but he's been badly hurt by his ex-wife and he prefers honesty to society. The wife plot felt clumsy to me, was she is wife or was the marriage annulled? It was immediately clear. The h looked his his ex, but her character was very different and this was an interesting part of the plot. I liked them both and thought the kink fit with their dynamic.
Read
July 19, 2018After spending years assisting her father as a gardener, Lily is kicked out of her home and away from her family for having the misfortune of being raped by the son of her family's employer. She trudges through the countryside, alone and desperate, searching for gardening work, until she's drawn by the name Lilyvale Manor. Its owner, Lord Ashbourne, is the one left gobsmacked, however, because it turns out this humble young woman looking for work bears more than a striking resemblance to his wife. The wife he recently married. The wife who actually had already secretly married her secret lover and just absconded off to the continent with said secret lover. Or husband. Real husband. At any rate, James wants to avoid too much scandal, seeing that his wife's younger sister is trying to have a successful season, and he thinks that hiring Lily to impersonate his wife might be a way out of this scandal. Of course, this being a romance, neither Lily nor James counted on falling in love...
There was a lot I liked about this novel. The writing is smooth and professional, with nice details and some lovely thematic aspects. (Having trudged through too many self-pubbed books, this is not exactly a frequent occurrence, and so while it kind of sounds condescending to point to a book and say, "This one, unlike many others, is professionally done!"...I'm doing exactly that.) Lily and James were both very likeable, and their relationship was believable. Both were competent and genuinely nice people caught in unpleasant circumstances. I enjoyed that there was nothing melodramatic or overwrought about the BDSM quotient to their relationship; it was just something they both liked, something that they both liked in each other, something that worked for them and their relationship. (And, really, the BDSM is pretty mild, and more sweet than spicy.)
However, compared to the down-to-earth-ness of the characters, the plot was a bit high-drama and heavy-handed for my tastes. The contrast was just too much. The whole impersonation plot is ridiculous, but I can buy desperate people going for it. It just sometimes got in the way and added angst that didn't work too well for me. I never had a "How in the world are they going to pull off this romance?" moment reading this book, so all that angst and the high-drama plot felt unwelcome amid the low-key characters. The climax of the book relies on a stupid assumption/misunderstanding, which I didn't appreciate. Also, I was jarred at something small in the content, jarred enough to say "WTF?"
Other than the BDSM-lite aspect, there wasn't much exciting or new to this book (like, if you've ever read a commoner/aristocracy historical romance, I bet you can guess the ~BIG TWIST~ that comes near the end of the book, and I called the connected smaller twist based on an obvious, unsubtle, shoehorned hint near the beginning of the book), but I quite liked the characters, and they made the book a pleasurable, though not groundbreaking, one for me. And I'm a sucker for romances where the heroine learns to read. (I like my romances to be empowerment stories, and including the empowerment of literacy makes it even better.)
There was a lot I liked about this novel. The writing is smooth and professional, with nice details and some lovely thematic aspects. (Having trudged through too many self-pubbed books, this is not exactly a frequent occurrence, and so while it kind of sounds condescending to point to a book and say, "This one, unlike many others, is professionally done!"...I'm doing exactly that.) Lily and James were both very likeable, and their relationship was believable. Both were competent and genuinely nice people caught in unpleasant circumstances. I enjoyed that there was nothing melodramatic or overwrought about the BDSM quotient to their relationship; it was just something they both liked, something that they both liked in each other, something that worked for them and their relationship. (And, really, the BDSM is pretty mild, and more sweet than spicy.)
However, compared to the down-to-earth-ness of the characters, the plot was a bit high-drama and heavy-handed for my tastes. The contrast was just too much. The whole impersonation plot is ridiculous, but I can buy desperate people going for it. It just sometimes got in the way and added angst that didn't work too well for me. I never had a "How in the world are they going to pull off this romance?" moment reading this book, so all that angst and the high-drama plot felt unwelcome amid the low-key characters. The climax of the book relies on a stupid assumption/misunderstanding, which I didn't appreciate. Also, I was jarred at something small in the content, jarred enough to say "WTF?"
Other than the BDSM-lite aspect, there wasn't much exciting or new to this book (like, if you've ever read a commoner/aristocracy historical romance, I bet you can guess the ~BIG TWIST~ that comes near the end of the book, and I called the connected smaller twist based on an obvious, unsubtle, shoehorned hint near the beginning of the book), but I quite liked the characters, and they made the book a pleasurable, though not groundbreaking, one for me. And I'm a sucker for romances where the heroine learns to read. (I like my romances to be empowerment stories, and including the empowerment of literacy makes it even better.)
October 27, 2016
LOL. this book was so bad it made me laugh. the author couldn't even keep track of whether or not the (H)ero was abandoned by his fiancee or his wife. first, the woman ran away weeks BEFORE the actual wedding. then, there was an actual marriage that got annulled (which seems to imply the secret dissolution of the marriage is no longer a secret). she's referred to as "Lady Ashbourne" by the servants and there are constant reminders that she might return at any minute to take her place as his wife. and if she did run away before the wedding, how could anyone keep that quiet? the guy's an earl. i assume there were guests invited to a wedding and would have shown up on said wedding day and might have noticed if it didn't actually take place because there was no bride. Ms. Joseph, which is it? married or not?
it's pretty clear the author has no clue about the rules of society during the time period she's writing in. the H assures the (h)eroine that if the truth comes out about the deception, he'll take all the blame and she'd come out just fine. uh...single woman living in the house of a single man without a proper chaperone? yeah, no. that's not going to turn out fine for her.
as for the bdsm aspect - well, aside from the suspension of disbelief you'll have to exert to accept that the h, a RAPE VICTIM, totally goes along with everything without having to work up to it...let's just say describing the end of a crop as a "whippy tip" is totally not sexy and should be avoided during the sexy-time portions of any book.
i hit my threshold for hilarity at 61%.
it's pretty clear the author has no clue about the rules of society during the time period she's writing in. the H assures the (h)eroine that if the truth comes out about the deception, he'll take all the blame and she'd come out just fine. uh...single woman living in the house of a single man without a proper chaperone? yeah, no. that's not going to turn out fine for her.
as for the bdsm aspect - well, aside from the suspension of disbelief you'll have to exert to accept that the h, a RAPE VICTIM, totally goes along with everything without having to work up to it...let's just say describing the end of a crop as a "whippy tip" is totally not sexy and should be avoided during the sexy-time portions of any book.
i hit my threshold for hilarity at 61%.
August 9, 2012
Raised as a gardeners daughter, Lily was thrown out of her family when the families son took liberties she had not wished upon herself but had no choice in the matter. Finding herself on the road to Lilyvale Manor, Lily is hoping to find a position as a gardener with goals in mind to live her life proudly instead of a less desirable path.
Lord Ashbourne is not sure what to think of the woman before him, her uncanny resemblance to the woman who was supposed to be his wife disturbs him, but their is a genuine quality to her that has him asking for her help. In order to protect the sister of his fiancee who had already married a commoner before wedding him, he has to pull of the charade of them nestled at home getting used to the idea of being married until she comes back. With Lily in his home, he could stave off rumors until the matter is settled. However, with each day she pretends to be his wife he finds himself questioning his loyalties and Lily is falling in love with the one man she cannot have.
I thought this was a wonderful story, liked Lily a lot. She is inquisitive and although in the beginning worried about the deception of pretending to be his wife, Lord Ashbourne is always the gentleman with her, never asking for anything more than she can give. I liked that they took their time and Lily still stayed true to who she was.
Lord Ashbourne is not sure what to think of the woman before him, her uncanny resemblance to the woman who was supposed to be his wife disturbs him, but their is a genuine quality to her that has him asking for her help. In order to protect the sister of his fiancee who had already married a commoner before wedding him, he has to pull of the charade of them nestled at home getting used to the idea of being married until she comes back. With Lily in his home, he could stave off rumors until the matter is settled. However, with each day she pretends to be his wife he finds himself questioning his loyalties and Lily is falling in love with the one man she cannot have.
I thought this was a wonderful story, liked Lily a lot. She is inquisitive and although in the beginning worried about the deception of pretending to be his wife, Lord Ashbourne is always the gentleman with her, never asking for anything more than she can give. I liked that they took their time and Lily still stayed true to who she was.
July 18, 2019
This was nice and sweet...rather too nice and sweet, from what I've come to expect of Annabel Joseph. Her more recent historicals are much better, far more angsty and depraved, but this one was just meh for me. Not much of a plot, and not steamy enough to make up for it, and I didn't care about the characters. Skip this one and pick up the Properly Spanked series instead, unless you are very into nice and sweet.
April 13, 2013
I'm a fan of historical erotic romances, and this one was a very good surprise. It has my favorite topics in erotic books: kinky sex, BDSM and love... The spankings and the kinky sex were very hot and exciting. James leads Lily for his erotic world, educating her in BDSM in a sweet and tender way. I really enjoy this book...
May 7, 2013
I really liked this BDSM historical story.
The hero was a little bit of a sadist but for the most part, he was a very kind, caring man.
This couple was perfect together however, this story was unrealistic and far fetched. I was able to overlook that and enjoy the book.
The hero was a little bit of a sadist but for the most part, he was a very kind, caring man.
This couple was perfect together however, this story was unrealistic and far fetched. I was able to overlook that and enjoy the book.
October 17, 2022
3.5 stars
While this was a fairly short book, it seemed to take a long time for me to read for whatever reason. But I did enjoy it. I liked the main characters and I enjoyed the plot of the story. I didn't realize this was erotica when I picked it up, but that's okay because I needed to read it for a book challenge anyways. As this being very heavy with the spice, there were parts that just didn't seem to add up.
Slight spoilers here:
Lily, the main female character, was raped; however, she had no issue being tied up and bound by James, the main mail character. This just seemed a little out of character. I feel like someone who was raped wouldn't want to lose all control while they are having sex. And this is really what bothered me the most throughout the entire book.
What's in this book/Trigger Warnings:
- Fake Marriage
- Cheating
- Sexual Abuse
- Historical Romance
- Death
While this was a fairly short book, it seemed to take a long time for me to read for whatever reason. But I did enjoy it. I liked the main characters and I enjoyed the plot of the story. I didn't realize this was erotica when I picked it up, but that's okay because I needed to read it for a book challenge anyways. As this being very heavy with the spice, there were parts that just didn't seem to add up.
Slight spoilers here:
Lily, the main female character, was raped; however, she had no issue being tied up and bound by James, the main mail character. This just seemed a little out of character. I feel like someone who was raped wouldn't want to lose all control while they are having sex. And this is really what bothered me the most throughout the entire book.
What's in this book/Trigger Warnings:
- Fake Marriage
- Cheating
- Sexual Abuse
- Historical Romance
- Death
May 30, 2018
4,5 stars
Read
May 24, 2023DNF
The heroine was raped, but it’s weirdly glossed over?? She had absolutely no trauma from being violated or banished from her family. How?
The heroine was raped, but it’s weirdly glossed over?? She had absolutely no trauma from being violated or banished from her family. How?
March 29, 2020
My entire family just died in a freak accident but I don’t care because i’M GETTIN THAT DICK, HUNNY
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2019
3.5 stars - enjoyed it more than I expected to!
July 19, 2011
Annabel Joseph’s latest novel, Lily Mine is a historical fantasy that takes place in England during the mid 1820’s. Twenty-one year old, Lily Kendall has just been disowned by her father for an indiscretion that has caused him to lose his job. Lily makes her way from London to the English countryside to seek employment as a gardener. Her dream is to one day have her own greenhouse and flower shop. After turning down several offers of housekeeping work she is directed deeper into the countryside towards Lilyvale Manor to inquire about gardening work.
After asking to speak with the head gardener or mistress of the house she finds herself in the main parlor being introduced to James Atherton, Earl of Ashebourne. Lily feels an immediate attraction and James feels shocked at the uncanny resemblance to his wife that has been lost to him. James hires Lily to be his gardener, but after she leaves he decides to make another bolder proposal. As a doppelganger to his wife, Lilliana, he decides to ask Lily to act as his wife either until she returns or until the next year. In exchange he will set her up with her own greenhouse and flower shop. She agrees to this name only arrangement but soon the sexual tension between them becomes too great to ignore and James and Lily give in to their primal urges. There are scenes of bondage, spanking and cropping.
I really liked Lily’s honesty when she was able to articulate her feelings. And I really loved James’ quiet, calm but dominant personality. I thought he paced himself well. He wasn’t overpowering and didn’t push Lily beyond her comfort zone which surprisingly went further than he thought. The mind games were absent from this novel which was refreshing. But there were some external conflicts that had the potential to derail their love affair. And James taught Lily how to read and write which made me love him more. Once she learned how to read she would sneak up into the attic to read his “porn” collection. She was such a naughty girl.
Lily Mine was a really sweet love story with very light BDSM elements. I didn’t really like James at first because he seemed a little cold and calculating in the beginning. But as he opened up to Lily I saw him in a better light. I was rooting for Lily to get her happily ever after because she was such a deserving person. There was a nice twist of fate at the end of the book that really made this an enjoyable read. Lily Mine was a great historical romance that would appeal to any erotica romance junkie.
After asking to speak with the head gardener or mistress of the house she finds herself in the main parlor being introduced to James Atherton, Earl of Ashebourne. Lily feels an immediate attraction and James feels shocked at the uncanny resemblance to his wife that has been lost to him. James hires Lily to be his gardener, but after she leaves he decides to make another bolder proposal. As a doppelganger to his wife, Lilliana, he decides to ask Lily to act as his wife either until she returns or until the next year. In exchange he will set her up with her own greenhouse and flower shop. She agrees to this name only arrangement but soon the sexual tension between them becomes too great to ignore and James and Lily give in to their primal urges. There are scenes of bondage, spanking and cropping.
I really liked Lily’s honesty when she was able to articulate her feelings. And I really loved James’ quiet, calm but dominant personality. I thought he paced himself well. He wasn’t overpowering and didn’t push Lily beyond her comfort zone which surprisingly went further than he thought. The mind games were absent from this novel which was refreshing. But there were some external conflicts that had the potential to derail their love affair. And James taught Lily how to read and write which made me love him more. Once she learned how to read she would sneak up into the attic to read his “porn” collection. She was such a naughty girl.
Lily Mine was a really sweet love story with very light BDSM elements. I didn’t really like James at first because he seemed a little cold and calculating in the beginning. But as he opened up to Lily I saw him in a better light. I was rooting for Lily to get her happily ever after because she was such a deserving person. There was a nice twist of fate at the end of the book that really made this an enjoyable read. Lily Mine was a great historical romance that would appeal to any erotica romance junkie.
November 12, 2021
DNF'd pretty early on. This reads like bad fan fiction from a very young writer. Everything moves at warp speed to the point of ridiculousness and there's zero historical accuracy. More importantly and distressingly, the heroine is raped prior to the events of the book - like very very recently prior. It's glossed so very over and essentially written as "oh well, things happen." There's absolutely no realistic consideration of trauma response. It simply doesn't exist in this world that the author has created. Then the heroine agrees easily to pretending to be his wife and they both spiral into "burning" for one another by the 26% point of the book. All of the tropes are there and a tripe isn't inherently bad, but can be badly written and that's what happens here. A new chapter/day and immediate, brief conversations where the heroine and hero (who conveniently happens to be very considerate and hip to doing emotional labor) readily agree to a forced together trope like sharing a room and the plot barrels on. By the time they sleep together, which is 32% of the way into the book, the lightspeed, super convenient unfolding of this relationship *right after* she was raped as her first sexual experience is weird in and of itself but then you have the hero engaging in domming, telling her to obey, and tying her up? I went into this looking for a bdsm historical so that's not the issue, but the lack of consideration for trauma by the author is. If you're going to write sexual assault I to your plot and tack bdsm into it too, then you better be able to handle the gravity of it or just don't write about it at all.
June 22, 2012
I've put this on my historicals shelf even though, in all honesty, it shouldn't sit there. I've read quite a few wallpaper-historicals in my time, but this isn't even wallpaper; it's stick-a-piece-of-scotch-tape-over-that-giant-hole-in-the-wall-and-hope-nobody-notices-historical, but that's too long for a shelf name. Not even dress descriptions give an idea of the period, the modes of thinking, behaviour and address are so off-mark my daughter would have got more stuff right just by accident, and the whole story is about as convincing as a green elephant covered in purple polka dots balancing a crystal bowl with a singing goldfish while standing on his ears. Or maybe the goldfish's ears.
The plot aside (and, to be honest, romances often start with ridiculous premises), characters are badly drawn, all women except for the heroine and one motherly figure are total bitches, and the ending is so saccharine it should come with a diabetes warning. I'd heard good things about Annabel Joseph, but not about this book. Now I know why. Unless you're interested in facepalming all throughout the book, stay away.
The plot aside (and, to be honest, romances often start with ridiculous premises), characters are badly drawn, all women except for the heroine and one motherly figure are total bitches, and the ending is so saccharine it should come with a diabetes warning. I'd heard good things about Annabel Joseph, but not about this book. Now I know why. Unless you're interested in facepalming all throughout the book, stay away.
October 9, 2011
This is one of the best books I've read in a while. After reading it, I immediately bought a few more titles by this author, that's how much I liked it. Lily Mine held my interest from the first page to the very last. I've never read a historical romance with BDSM in it before, and I must say, I really liked how it was portrayed in such a loving way. Lily and James are thrown together into convienent but challenging circumstances and must fight the immediate attraction they feel towards one another. Society says they cannot be together in the traditional sense, so it seems the love they share cannot last. Lily runs away, believing there is no future for her and James, not knowing the full depth of James' feelings and the recent conclusion he'd arrived at concerning their relationship. Their is a major twist at the end that I really didn't see coming, and it's just perfect. If you like historical romance and don't mind soft but loving elements of BDSM, then you'll probably enjoy Lily Mine.
November 19, 2011
[3.5 STARS]
The idea of the storyline is intriguing, but:
1) The length of the story is too short. There's not enough room to lead one event to the next. And definitely not enough room for any character development.
2) I had a hard time imaging the two characters, Lily and James, to fall in love since there were too much explaining instead of showing. I couldn't get into their characters and appreciate what could have been there.
3) The intimacies between Lily and James just didn't do it for me. Too much spanking, hitting, and S&M, hmmm.
Overall, this story had so much potential but the author didn't bring forth that potential. It was a good read, not great. It could have been better.
The idea of the storyline is intriguing, but:
1) The length of the story is too short. There's not enough room to lead one event to the next. And definitely not enough room for any character development.
2) I had a hard time imaging the two characters, Lily and James, to fall in love since there were too much explaining instead of showing. I couldn't get into their characters and appreciate what could have been there.
3) The intimacies between Lily and James just didn't do it for me. Too much spanking, hitting, and S&M, hmmm.
Overall, this story had so much potential but the author didn't bring forth that potential. It was a good read, not great. It could have been better.
Read
June 29, 2016Well that escalated quickly. The story starts out normal then a few chapters in bam change. It was like a different author came in and took over. The btsm didn't really fit in this story. The characters felt like they wanted to be more but where less then what the author would let them be. I did like the answer for why the heroine looked like another woman. The heroine's reaction to trama didn't make any sort of sense to me.
August 1, 2020
It Could Have Been Good
Seriously, less spanking more plot.
I've never been fond of spanking books, they're pretty lame, but this could have been so good! It had identity swapping, dark brooding Lord and a selfish ex bride. Instead, it was all spankings and whipped thighs. How droll. The ending was thrown together and the only tension in the whole book was a few insults.
Sad.
Seriously, less spanking more plot.
I've never been fond of spanking books, they're pretty lame, but this could have been so good! It had identity swapping, dark brooding Lord and a selfish ex bride. Instead, it was all spankings and whipped thighs. How droll. The ending was thrown together and the only tension in the whole book was a few insults.
Sad.
January 10, 2022
This might just be the worst historical romance I have ever read. The story is poorly edited and framed (the author loses track and changes the order and occurrence of events) and is full of anachronisms that are difficult to overlook. A problematic and unnecessary inclusion of rape makes this book even weirder. It was free on kindle unlimited, which is why I gave it 1 star.
May 21, 2012
Annabel Joseph writes a historical romance. The hero and heroine were both way too passive, and the heroine to clueless. It dragged, and I didn't care about either of them. Didn't get very far, perhaps it improves later on.
August 2, 2021
I could certainly tell this was one of Annabel Joseph’s earliest books. It lacks the polish that her Properly Spanked series has. The start is, frankly, awkward, but then it becomes a very sweet story with amazing sex and characters you really root for.
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