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Pennyroyal Green #6
How the Marquess Was Won
The Scandal Sheets call him Lord Ice.
Ruthless, cold, precise, Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, tolerates only the finest—in clothes, in horseflesh, in mistresses. And now he’s found the perfect bride, the one whose dowry will restore his family’s shattered legacy and bring him peace at last: the exquisite heiress Lisbeth Redmond.
She’s about to play with fire...
But one unforgettable encounter with Lisbeth’s paid companion, Phoebe Vale, and the Marquess is undone. This quiet girl with the wicked smile and a wit to match is the first person to see through the icy facade to the fiery man beneath. But their irresistible attraction is a torment as sweet as it is dangerous, for surrendering to their desire could mean losing everything else they ever wanted.
Ruthless, cold, precise, Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, tolerates only the finest—in clothes, in horseflesh, in mistresses. And now he’s found the perfect bride, the one whose dowry will restore his family’s shattered legacy and bring him peace at last: the exquisite heiress Lisbeth Redmond.
She’s about to play with fire...
But one unforgettable encounter with Lisbeth’s paid companion, Phoebe Vale, and the Marquess is undone. This quiet girl with the wicked smile and a wit to match is the first person to see through the icy facade to the fiery man beneath. But their irresistible attraction is a torment as sweet as it is dangerous, for surrendering to their desire could mean losing everything else they ever wanted.
389 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 27, 2011
304 people are currently reading
4923 people want to read
About the author
Julie Anne Long
38 books2,957 followersWell, where should I start? I've lived in San Francisco for more than a decade, usually with at least one cat. I won the school spelling bee when I was in 7th grade; the word that clinched it was 'ukulele.' I originally set out to be a rock star when I grew up (I had a Bono fixation, but who didn't?), and I have the guitars and the questionable wardrobe stuffed in the back of my closet to prove it.
But writing was always my first love.
I was editor of my elementary school paper (believe it or not, Mrs. Little's fifth grade class at Glenmoor Elementary did have one); my high school paper (along with my best high school bud, Cindy Jorgenson); and my college paper, where our long-suffering typesetter finally forced me to learn how to typeset because my articles were usually late (and thus I probably have him to thank for all the desktop publishing jobs that ensued over the years).
Won a couple of random awards along the way: the Bank of America English Award in High School (which basically just amounted to a fancy plaque saying that I was really, really good at English); and an award for best Sports Feature article in a College Newspaper (and anyone who knows me well understands how deeply ironic that is). I began my academic career as a Journalism major; I switched to Creative Writing, which was a more comfortable fit for my freewheeling imagination and overdeveloped sense of whimsy. I dreamed of being a novelist.
But most of us, I think, tend to take for granted the things that come easily to us. I loved writing and all indications were that I was pretty good at it, but I, thank you very much, wanted to be a rock star. Which turned out to be ever-so-slightly harder to do than writing. A lot more equipment was involved, that's for sure. Heavy things, with knobs. It also involved late nights, fetid, graffiti-sprayed practice rooms, gorgeous flakey boys, bizarre gigs, in-fighting—what's not to love?
But my dream of being a published writer never faded. When the charm (ahem) of playing to four people in a tiny club at midnight on a Wednesday finally wore thin, however, I realized I could incorporate all the best things about being in a band — namely, drama, passion, and men with unruly hair — into novels, while at the same time indulging my love of history and research.
So I wrote The Runaway Duke, sent it to a literary agent (see the story here), who sold it to Warner Books a few months after that...which made 2003 one of the most extraordinary, head-spinning years I've ever had.
Why romance? Well, like most people, I read across many genres, but I've been an avid romance reader since I got in trouble for sneaking a Rosemary Rogers novel out of my mom's nightstand drawer (I think it was Sweet Savage Love). Rosemary Rogers, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Laurie McBain...I cut my romance teeth on those ladies. And in general, I take a visceral sort of pleasure in creating a hero and a heroine, putting them through their emotional paces, and watching their relationship develop on the page. And of course, there's much to be said for the happy ending. :)
And why Regency Historicals? Well, for starters, I think we can blame Jane Austen. Her inimitable wit, compassion and vision brought the Regency vividly to life for generations of readers. If Jane Austen had written romances about Incas, for instance, I think, we'd have racks and racks of Inca romances in bookstores all over the country, and Warner Forever would be the Inca Romance line.
But I'm a history FREAK, in general. I read more history, to be perfectly honest, than fiction (when I have time to read!) these days. When we were little, my sister and I used to play "Littl
But writing was always my first love.
I was editor of my elementary school paper (believe it or not, Mrs. Little's fifth grade class at Glenmoor Elementary did have one); my high school paper (along with my best high school bud, Cindy Jorgenson); and my college paper, where our long-suffering typesetter finally forced me to learn how to typeset because my articles were usually late (and thus I probably have him to thank for all the desktop publishing jobs that ensued over the years).
Won a couple of random awards along the way: the Bank of America English Award in High School (which basically just amounted to a fancy plaque saying that I was really, really good at English); and an award for best Sports Feature article in a College Newspaper (and anyone who knows me well understands how deeply ironic that is). I began my academic career as a Journalism major; I switched to Creative Writing, which was a more comfortable fit for my freewheeling imagination and overdeveloped sense of whimsy. I dreamed of being a novelist.
But most of us, I think, tend to take for granted the things that come easily to us. I loved writing and all indications were that I was pretty good at it, but I, thank you very much, wanted to be a rock star. Which turned out to be ever-so-slightly harder to do than writing. A lot more equipment was involved, that's for sure. Heavy things, with knobs. It also involved late nights, fetid, graffiti-sprayed practice rooms, gorgeous flakey boys, bizarre gigs, in-fighting—what's not to love?
But my dream of being a published writer never faded. When the charm (ahem) of playing to four people in a tiny club at midnight on a Wednesday finally wore thin, however, I realized I could incorporate all the best things about being in a band — namely, drama, passion, and men with unruly hair — into novels, while at the same time indulging my love of history and research.
So I wrote The Runaway Duke, sent it to a literary agent (see the story here), who sold it to Warner Books a few months after that...which made 2003 one of the most extraordinary, head-spinning years I've ever had.
Why romance? Well, like most people, I read across many genres, but I've been an avid romance reader since I got in trouble for sneaking a Rosemary Rogers novel out of my mom's nightstand drawer (I think it was Sweet Savage Love). Rosemary Rogers, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Laurie McBain...I cut my romance teeth on those ladies. And in general, I take a visceral sort of pleasure in creating a hero and a heroine, putting them through their emotional paces, and watching their relationship develop on the page. And of course, there's much to be said for the happy ending. :)
And why Regency Historicals? Well, for starters, I think we can blame Jane Austen. Her inimitable wit, compassion and vision brought the Regency vividly to life for generations of readers. If Jane Austen had written romances about Incas, for instance, I think, we'd have racks and racks of Inca romances in bookstores all over the country, and Warner Forever would be the Inca Romance line.
But I'm a history FREAK, in general. I read more history, to be perfectly honest, than fiction (when I have time to read!) these days. When we were little, my sister and I used to play "Littl
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 868 reviews
February 15, 2017
The craziest thing happened when I read this book: I fell in love with a cat. That's right, me - the dog-lover who thinks all cats are evil spawns of the devil - met the kitteh of my dreams..... well, because he's an evil spawn of the devil. See? I knew I was right!!
His name is Charybdis, who in mythology is a nymph-turned-sea monster who gulped down ships. He was well named. See, he's a very cute cat, with a fluffy belly that begs to be petted. And, that's how he traps you!
He extended a hand and - how could he resist? He succumbed to temptation: he sank his hand gently into that soft fur....
The cat's limbs snapped closed over his arm like a bear trap and it sunk its teeth into his hand, ears flattened evilly.
Jules screamed like a woman.
The cat seemed to like this. It clung harder. It kicked him like a rabbit with its hind legs....
Inevitably, the wagering began.
"I've got a fiver on the guv!"
"My blunt's on the wee puss!"
Yes! That is my kind of cat!
And, not only was the cat hilarious, but there were tons of times when this book had me laughing out loud. The author has really hit her stride in this series.
So, the story is of a Marquess who is planning on marrying the "it girl" of the season. She is beautiful, comes from a good family, and ... well, that's about it. She hires a schoolteacher to be her paid companion during a house party. It just so happens that the paid companion may not be the most beautiful, or come from a good family, but is smart and witty.
Yay, smart! Right, girls? We all know that smart chicks rule!
The Marquess learns quickly that a pretty girl with no personality may be nice to look at, but it's the smart and witty girl who is actually fun to be around. This causes problems...
It was easy to like the couple in this book. Although you want to smash the guy over the head occasionally, it's hard to stay mad at a man who will wrangle an evil cat in order to make sure our heroine didn't lose her beloved pet. Also, this guy gets pretty beat-up over time because of his feelings for our girl. He is practically dead by the end. And, yes, he deserved everything he got. Some guys just take a lot of thumps on the head to get some sense knocked into them. In the end, I'm glad he survived. Barely.
His name is Charybdis, who in mythology is a nymph-turned-sea monster who gulped down ships. He was well named. See, he's a very cute cat, with a fluffy belly that begs to be petted. And, that's how he traps you!
He extended a hand and - how could he resist? He succumbed to temptation: he sank his hand gently into that soft fur....
The cat's limbs snapped closed over his arm like a bear trap and it sunk its teeth into his hand, ears flattened evilly.
Jules screamed like a woman.
The cat seemed to like this. It clung harder. It kicked him like a rabbit with its hind legs....
Inevitably, the wagering began.
"I've got a fiver on the guv!"
"My blunt's on the wee puss!"
Yes! That is my kind of cat!
And, not only was the cat hilarious, but there were tons of times when this book had me laughing out loud. The author has really hit her stride in this series.
So, the story is of a Marquess who is planning on marrying the "it girl" of the season. She is beautiful, comes from a good family, and ... well, that's about it. She hires a schoolteacher to be her paid companion during a house party. It just so happens that the paid companion may not be the most beautiful, or come from a good family, but is smart and witty.
Yay, smart! Right, girls? We all know that smart chicks rule!
The Marquess learns quickly that a pretty girl with no personality may be nice to look at, but it's the smart and witty girl who is actually fun to be around. This causes problems...
It was easy to like the couple in this book. Although you want to smash the guy over the head occasionally, it's hard to stay mad at a man who will wrangle an evil cat in order to make sure our heroine didn't lose her beloved pet. Also, this guy gets pretty beat-up over time because of his feelings for our girl. He is practically dead by the end. And, yes, he deserved everything he got. Some guys just take a lot of thumps on the head to get some sense knocked into them. In the end, I'm glad he survived. Barely.
October 10, 2022
I have nine Goodreads friends in total who have read this book, and all nine of them have rated this book 4 or 5 stars. This is not a coincidence, the book really is that good. It's got witty conversations, funny moments, smexy times, and a slightly evil cat. What more could you ask for? If you like this genre, you should probably add this one to your list!
10/10/22 - reread
I probably would drop this down to 3.5 stars now but it’s still pretty good.
10/10/22 - reread
I probably would drop this down to 3.5 stars now but it’s still pretty good.
January 29, 2024
I have a problem. I read a Julie Anne Long book, fall in love, declare it my favorite...only to pick up the next one and someone how love it more.
HOW DOES SHE DO THIS TO ME?!?
Okay, bear with me. Something JAL does *expertly* is deftly yank class tensions to the fore of her love interests' conflict. Once again, Phoebe is on the fringes of the aristocracy: respectable, chaste, intelligent. She's a schoolteacher with a squeaky clean reputation but a flair for wit, sarcasm, and a fierce though often concealed need to be loved and to belong. She hides her vulnerability behind her work and propriety, that is, until she meets Julian, Marquess Dryden, who has spent his whole adult life cleaning up his reprobate entitled father's mess. He is the portrait of duty and restraint and his cool aplomb has turned him into the It Guy. Everyone wants to be Dryden and fears Dryden. And nobody actually knows the real him. He's made sure of it. Until Phoebe shows up and brings out the fiery, passionate, playful side of this otherwise perfectly composed man. Their attraction is undeniable but Julian has sworn to marry strategically to secure the last piece of his family’s restoration after his father nearly ruined them, and Phoebe refuses to settle for anything less than total belonging and a family of her own. She won’t be his mistress and he can’t stop tripping over himself (literally) for her as he falls in love while trying to stay the course of duty...whatever will happen?
These two were fated mates, an OTP that I will never forget. They turned each other inside out, made each other laugh, inspired each other, challenged each other, and they longed for each other with such tortured, sarcastic, sharp restraint I was in agonies. Agonies, I tell you! Their connection was written brilliantly, intelligently, and it was so damn sexy. This was a slowwww burn, but baby, it burned. I loved it. I will be buying this book, rereading this book, never ever forgetting this book. It was tender and smart, just the right pitch of angsty yet dappled with hilarious comedic moments that lightened it up. It was sensual and powerful and original—everything I love in a historical romance. I know already it will be an all time favorite.
HOW DOES SHE DO THIS TO ME?!?
Okay, bear with me. Something JAL does *expertly* is deftly yank class tensions to the fore of her love interests' conflict. Once again, Phoebe is on the fringes of the aristocracy: respectable, chaste, intelligent. She's a schoolteacher with a squeaky clean reputation but a flair for wit, sarcasm, and a fierce though often concealed need to be loved and to belong. She hides her vulnerability behind her work and propriety, that is, until she meets Julian, Marquess Dryden, who has spent his whole adult life cleaning up his reprobate entitled father's mess. He is the portrait of duty and restraint and his cool aplomb has turned him into the It Guy. Everyone wants to be Dryden and fears Dryden. And nobody actually knows the real him. He's made sure of it. Until Phoebe shows up and brings out the fiery, passionate, playful side of this otherwise perfectly composed man. Their attraction is undeniable but Julian has sworn to marry strategically to secure the last piece of his family’s restoration after his father nearly ruined them, and Phoebe refuses to settle for anything less than total belonging and a family of her own. She won’t be his mistress and he can’t stop tripping over himself (literally) for her as he falls in love while trying to stay the course of duty...whatever will happen?
These two were fated mates, an OTP that I will never forget. They turned each other inside out, made each other laugh, inspired each other, challenged each other, and they longed for each other with such tortured, sarcastic, sharp restraint I was in agonies. Agonies, I tell you! Their connection was written brilliantly, intelligently, and it was so damn sexy. This was a slowwww burn, but baby, it burned. I loved it. I will be buying this book, rereading this book, never ever forgetting this book. It was tender and smart, just the right pitch of angsty yet dappled with hilarious comedic moments that lightened it up. It was sensual and powerful and original—everything I love in a historical romance. I know already it will be an all time favorite.
November 27, 2018
Update: Sigh... I am sooooooo in love with Lord Ice! Love the heroine too! so realistic yet romantic!!
I've actually read this book many more than just 2 times. I read it whenever I'm in a book slump and need a historical romance fix. Julie Anne Long is one of my favorite historical rom authors! I love that she focuses on the subtle interactions, the banter, the wit, the little things that bring love to life. I absolutely love the heroine and Hero of this novel, my favorite of the Pennyroyal Green series, along with another one.
Here's the cast of characters:
The plucky, snarky, independent heroine.
From the start, with her love affair of the hat in the shop window, I liked her and wanted her to be my friend!
The cool, immaculate, gorgeous Hero with a dry sense of humor.
(tho slightly more clothed)
The scene with the hat in the grassy clearing and his subsequent wound and forelock episode is to die for!
The evil twin sisters and their sidekicks.
Who absolutely get their comeuppance in the end in the most hillarious way!
Best of all, Charybdis.
Anyone who's read this book will know exactly why I picked this particular cat in this particular pose! That scene tho! Made me spew my drink I laughed so hard!!
Anyone who loves historical romance should definitely try Julie Anne Long. You'll become a die-hard fan just like me, I promise!!
I've actually read this book many more than just 2 times. I read it whenever I'm in a book slump and need a historical romance fix. Julie Anne Long is one of my favorite historical rom authors! I love that she focuses on the subtle interactions, the banter, the wit, the little things that bring love to life. I absolutely love the heroine and Hero of this novel, my favorite of the Pennyroyal Green series, along with another one.
Here's the cast of characters:
The plucky, snarky, independent heroine.
From the start, with her love affair of the hat in the shop window, I liked her and wanted her to be my friend!
The cool, immaculate, gorgeous Hero with a dry sense of humor.
(tho slightly more clothed)
The scene with the hat in the grassy clearing and his subsequent wound and forelock episode is to die for!
The evil twin sisters and their sidekicks.
Who absolutely get their comeuppance in the end in the most hillarious way!
Best of all, Charybdis.
Anyone who's read this book will know exactly why I picked this particular cat in this particular pose! That scene tho! Made me spew my drink I laughed so hard!!
Anyone who loves historical romance should definitely try Julie Anne Long. You'll become a die-hard fan just like me, I promise!!
September 14, 2023
On Kindle sale 14th of Sep 2023 for USD 1.99
I am re-reading all my 5 star rated romance novels. There are 60 on my shelf. This is book 34.
(Tropes: Class Difference, Opposites Attract, Spinster, Forbidden Love)
This is how my 34th re-read held up.
This is one of my favorites of the series, but on my second read the rivalry and animosity between Phoebe and Lisbeth did not sit well with me. Women fighting over a man, trying to tear each other down while doing it, has gotten real old in romance books.
Downgraded to 4.25 stars
*****
‘He’s meant for me’.
The thought emerged from nowhere, fresh as a slap and seemed as true as it was dumbfounding. She stared at him, bewildered. She’d never had a thought like that in her entire life. An ache started up, a barbed, hopeless longing. It was as though she knew him, had always known him, all his foibles and flaws and passions, in moments quiet and playful.
*****
Plot (from the authors website as it’s missing on Goodreads): Ruthless, cold, precise, Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, tolerates only the finest—in clothes, in horseflesh, in mistresses. And now he’s found the perfect bride, the one whose dowry will restore his family’s shattered legacy and bring him peace at last: the exquisite heiress Lisbeth Redmond. But one unforgettable encounter with Lisbeth’s paid companion, Phoebe Vale, and the Marquess is undone: this quiet girl with the wicked smile and a wit to match is the first person to see through the icy façade to the fiery man beneath. But their irresistible attraction is a torment as sweet as it is dangerous: for surrendering to their desire could mean losing everything else they ever wanted.
- “Have you been kissed before?” He for some reason needed to know.
“Why? Are you worried you’ll pale in comparison should you kiss me?”
- “Magnanimous of you.”
His mouth twitched. “Mmm. Use more words like that, please. Schoolmistress words. Long, impressive ones.” He’d made the last three words sound like an innuendo.
“Will incorrigible do?”
“Odd, but it sounds like flattery when you say it.”
“I assure you, it wasn’t meant to be.”
- Flirting was an excellent way to dodge a question. Then again, he brought it out of her. The way rain brought out the flowers. Or heightened the stench in St. Giles, for that matter.
- The space between them, both the distance and the nearness, just shy of inappropriate, was suddenly fraught with meaning. It seemed ridiculous, when really, by right of natural law, she ought to be in his arms.
- “I don’t know,” he said irritably. “Is it meant to improve you?” She swiveled toward him, eyes wide with shock. “Because nothing could,” he added. “No! God . . . that is to say . . . nothing is necessary to improve you. Nothing could possibly make you better . . . than you already are.”
It was a staggering compliment, both in its clumsiness and magnitude and its sheer honesty.
- When their eyes met her social smile faltered. Because as usual she didn’t see him so much as feel him, like a hand brushed over the fine hairs on the back of her neck. The parts of her he’d touched seemed to tingle with the memory of it, and the parts he hadn’t touched ached at the oversight.
- “What I like best about you, Miss Vale, is how you remind me of all of my finest hours.”
She tried not to smile, and failed. “I was there for them.”
“Perhaps because you were the cause of them.” Another statement that contained many layers of meaning.
- “It feels very wrong to stand here and not touch you.” His voice was a low fervent rush.
“Don’t.” She closed her eyes, shook her head roughly. “Please don’t.
“Jules,” she whispered his name like a prayer of thanksgiving. She laid a hand softly against his cheek before she even knew what she was doing. Tentatively, almost experimentally, he turned his face into her hand. And raised his hand to cover hers. And then he sighed.
I am re-reading all my 5 star rated romance novels. There are 60 on my shelf. This is book 34.
(Tropes: Class Difference, Opposites Attract, Spinster, Forbidden Love)
This is how my 34th re-read held up.
This is one of my favorites of the series, but on my second read the rivalry and animosity between Phoebe and Lisbeth did not sit well with me. Women fighting over a man, trying to tear each other down while doing it, has gotten real old in romance books.
Downgraded to 4.25 stars
*****
‘He’s meant for me’.
The thought emerged from nowhere, fresh as a slap and seemed as true as it was dumbfounding. She stared at him, bewildered. She’d never had a thought like that in her entire life. An ache started up, a barbed, hopeless longing. It was as though she knew him, had always known him, all his foibles and flaws and passions, in moments quiet and playful.
*****
Plot (from the authors website as it’s missing on Goodreads): Ruthless, cold, precise, Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, tolerates only the finest—in clothes, in horseflesh, in mistresses. And now he’s found the perfect bride, the one whose dowry will restore his family’s shattered legacy and bring him peace at last: the exquisite heiress Lisbeth Redmond. But one unforgettable encounter with Lisbeth’s paid companion, Phoebe Vale, and the Marquess is undone: this quiet girl with the wicked smile and a wit to match is the first person to see through the icy façade to the fiery man beneath. But their irresistible attraction is a torment as sweet as it is dangerous: for surrendering to their desire could mean losing everything else they ever wanted.
- “Have you been kissed before?” He for some reason needed to know.
“Why? Are you worried you’ll pale in comparison should you kiss me?”
- “Magnanimous of you.”
His mouth twitched. “Mmm. Use more words like that, please. Schoolmistress words. Long, impressive ones.” He’d made the last three words sound like an innuendo.
“Will incorrigible do?”
“Odd, but it sounds like flattery when you say it.”
“I assure you, it wasn’t meant to be.”
- Flirting was an excellent way to dodge a question. Then again, he brought it out of her. The way rain brought out the flowers. Or heightened the stench in St. Giles, for that matter.
- The space between them, both the distance and the nearness, just shy of inappropriate, was suddenly fraught with meaning. It seemed ridiculous, when really, by right of natural law, she ought to be in his arms.
- “I don’t know,” he said irritably. “Is it meant to improve you?” She swiveled toward him, eyes wide with shock. “Because nothing could,” he added. “No! God . . . that is to say . . . nothing is necessary to improve you. Nothing could possibly make you better . . . than you already are.”
It was a staggering compliment, both in its clumsiness and magnitude and its sheer honesty.
- When their eyes met her social smile faltered. Because as usual she didn’t see him so much as feel him, like a hand brushed over the fine hairs on the back of her neck. The parts of her he’d touched seemed to tingle with the memory of it, and the parts he hadn’t touched ached at the oversight.
- “What I like best about you, Miss Vale, is how you remind me of all of my finest hours.”
She tried not to smile, and failed. “I was there for them.”
“Perhaps because you were the cause of them.” Another statement that contained many layers of meaning.
- “It feels very wrong to stand here and not touch you.” His voice was a low fervent rush.
“Don’t.” She closed her eyes, shook her head roughly. “Please don’t.
“Jules,” she whispered his name like a prayer of thanksgiving. She laid a hand softly against his cheek before she even knew what she was doing. Tentatively, almost experimentally, he turned his face into her hand. And raised his hand to cover hers. And then he sighed.
May 20, 2024
Note: Some of my goodreads shelves can be spoilers
Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: Yes
Perspective: Third person from hero and heroine and a small amount in the beginning of the book from Chase
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slower to medium
When mains are first on page together: not too long – the end of chapter 2
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: No
Format: listened to the audiobook from my library (Hoopla)
(Descriptions found at end of my review)
“You’ll forget you’ve ever been kissed before once I’ve kissed you.”
Should I read in order?
Ideally yes because you will get the whole family dynamic. But that said, I think this one is pretty readable alone I think!
Basic plot:
A house party makes Julian doubt his initial betrothal prospect...
Give this a try if you want:
- Regency
- class difference
- Marquess hero / companion heroine
- house party
- moonlit dances
- slow burn
- hero gives gifts
- 2 steam (with some great partials)
Ages:
- Heroine is 22, didn’t catch hero
First line:
It wasn’t unusual to see a man stagger into or out of the Pig and Thistle, Pennyroyal Green’s pub.
My thoughts:
I really loved this novel! I was a bit worried nothing would live up to joy I had reading book 5, What I Did for a Duke. But I really loved this one as well (though maybe a hair less…)
This one had such great build up for me. Long just has such a talent of weaving subtle tension and longing within scenes. You can spend a whole chapter in a brief touch in a garden and just be -dying- over it. I am really falling in love with her writing.
Her humor is lovely too. I just adore those scenes spread throughout the book – the banter is lovely, yes, but scenes like the marquess diving into the flower bed and being beaned in the head with his hat the heroine chucks – it’s just perfection. Perfection!
I usually am not a fan of someone kind of ‘involved’ with someone else throughout most of the book but it worked for me here. The longing was so strong. The awareness of the heroine and other woman was acknowledged. The angst of an impossible relationship was felt. And it just worked so well for me.
This one is a slower burn but the tension is so delicious. The partials are so hot. It’s a 2 steam, and most of it towards the end, but I found the payoff so worth it.
This makes me more eager to read all of Longs books!
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs
Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: Yes
Perspective: Third person from hero and heroine and a small amount in the beginning of the book from Chase
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slower to medium
When mains are first on page together: not too long – the end of chapter 2
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: No
Format: listened to the audiobook from my library (Hoopla)
(Descriptions found at end of my review)
“You’ll forget you’ve ever been kissed before once I’ve kissed you.”
Should I read in order?
Ideally yes because you will get the whole family dynamic. But that said, I think this one is pretty readable alone I think!
Basic plot:
A house party makes Julian doubt his initial betrothal prospect...
Give this a try if you want:
- Regency
- class difference
- Marquess hero / companion heroine
- house party
- moonlit dances
- slow burn
- hero gives gifts
- 2 steam (with some great partials)
Ages:
- Heroine is 22, didn’t catch hero
First line:
It wasn’t unusual to see a man stagger into or out of the Pig and Thistle, Pennyroyal Green’s pub.
My thoughts:
I really loved this novel! I was a bit worried nothing would live up to joy I had reading book 5, What I Did for a Duke. But I really loved this one as well (though maybe a hair less…)
This one had such great build up for me. Long just has such a talent of weaving subtle tension and longing within scenes. You can spend a whole chapter in a brief touch in a garden and just be -dying- over it. I am really falling in love with her writing.
Her humor is lovely too. I just adore those scenes spread throughout the book – the banter is lovely, yes, but scenes like the marquess diving into the flower bed and being beaned in the head with his hat the heroine chucks – it’s just perfection. Perfection!
I usually am not a fan of someone kind of ‘involved’ with someone else throughout most of the book but it worked for me here. The longing was so strong. The awareness of the heroine and other woman was acknowledged. The angst of an impossible relationship was felt. And it just worked so well for me.
This one is a slower burn but the tension is so delicious. The partials are so hot. It’s a 2 steam, and most of it towards the end, but I found the payoff so worth it.
This makes me more eager to read all of Longs books!
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs
January 18, 2012
This book was saved by the great banter between two very interesting leads, but the story itself wasn't quite as dazzling. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed this book. Maybe its that I've just had my fill of historicals set among London balls and house parties, complete with vapid and shallow guests in attendance. But what I haven't had my fill of are heroes and heroines like Marquess Dryden and Phoebe Vale. They were pure fun to read.
Phoebe is one of my favorite kind of female heroines in a historical romance; a clever lass who may very well be the smarter one between the hero and herself. She plays with her hero to the point of distraction, and wins her hero by seducing him oh-so-slowly with her words. And Phoebe nails this role just perfectly. She is a school teacher and chaperone to Lisbeth Redmond, and also mother to the most ornery kitty cat in fiction. She dreams of a life traveling to Africa, and longs for a person to get to know her, the real her, and not just the person they assume she must be since she is just a teacher.
Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, is a man on a mission; restore his families wealth, including obtaining a piece of land that once belonged to his mother before his father’s reckless ways lost nearly everything. The land is attached to the dowry of one young, naive but stunningly beautiful Lisbeth Redmond.
Julian finds the task of courting Lisbeth as nothing more than a necessary business transaction, and he's happy to do it. But when Phoebe is near, he finds himself more and more drawn to her. He wants to see what large words will come out of her mouth, what clever retort she might have about him, and what humorous comment she might make. The need to be near Phoebe grows, as does his own desire to have her as his own.
This really was a fun read, and I recommend it to fans of this series and anyone who enjoys historical romances. While I grew a bit bored reading about the mundane activities at the balls and house parties (gambling, shooting, waltzing), and a bit tired of the vapid secondary characters plotting away, I never lost interest in the romance between Jules and Phoebe. They were the star of this book, hands down.
Phoebe is one of my favorite kind of female heroines in a historical romance; a clever lass who may very well be the smarter one between the hero and herself. She plays with her hero to the point of distraction, and wins her hero by seducing him oh-so-slowly with her words. And Phoebe nails this role just perfectly. She is a school teacher and chaperone to Lisbeth Redmond, and also mother to the most ornery kitty cat in fiction. She dreams of a life traveling to Africa, and longs for a person to get to know her, the real her, and not just the person they assume she must be since she is just a teacher.
Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, is a man on a mission; restore his families wealth, including obtaining a piece of land that once belonged to his mother before his father’s reckless ways lost nearly everything. The land is attached to the dowry of one young, naive but stunningly beautiful Lisbeth Redmond.
Julian finds the task of courting Lisbeth as nothing more than a necessary business transaction, and he's happy to do it. But when Phoebe is near, he finds himself more and more drawn to her. He wants to see what large words will come out of her mouth, what clever retort she might have about him, and what humorous comment she might make. The need to be near Phoebe grows, as does his own desire to have her as his own.
This really was a fun read, and I recommend it to fans of this series and anyone who enjoys historical romances. While I grew a bit bored reading about the mundane activities at the balls and house parties (gambling, shooting, waltzing), and a bit tired of the vapid secondary characters plotting away, I never lost interest in the romance between Jules and Phoebe. They were the star of this book, hands down.
February 20, 2021
2/2021 The second time, this went a lot better. I'm upgrading to a 4, could've been 5, but I'm still unforgiving about the piece in my spoiler. That said, this has such incredible chemistry, romance, and romantic acts that I feel like I was a bit hard on it the first time despite everything it is.
5/2019 review: I loved the central romance here, although it was painful, it was done in JAL's romantic and breezy style. The dialogue, as per usual, was to die for.
My hangups unfortunately, involve spoiling.
That really stole the enjoyment out of it for me overall, though I suspected that's where it'd end, I was hoping for a better outcome.
5/2019 review: I loved the central romance here, although it was painful, it was done in JAL's romantic and breezy style. The dialogue, as per usual, was to die for.
My hangups unfortunately, involve spoiling.
That really stole the enjoyment out of it for me overall, though I suspected that's where it'd end, I was hoping for a better outcome.
June 4, 2024
He tasted dark and sweet as ever; kissing him was like falling through time, endlessly, blissfully. There was only him.
After my reread of this book, I can honestly say that I loved it even more than I did the first time. Absolutely brilliant and perfectly imperfect, and I loved every single word written. Jules and Phoebe were giving me Darcy and Elizabeth vibes in their banter and the impossibility of their courtship, and I LIVED for their every interaction. This novel now resides on my shelf of absolute favorite historical romances of all-time🖤
Tropes: forbidden love, secret relationship, grumpy/sunshine, brooding hero, fish-out-of-water heroine, she falls first/he falls harder, opposites attract, 'touch her and die' vibes, class difference, P&P vibes, witty banter, STEAMY🔥
**************************************
5+ stars
Oh. My. Word.
This book rocked my literal world. I almost didn't read it because the first novel I read by Julie Anne Long, What I Did For a Duke, was such a boring disappointment that I was very very VERY hesitant to read anything else by her. But for some reason, this title kept calling my name, so I decided to give it a try. If I disliked it as much as I did the previous one, I could just DNF and be on with my life, right??
Well, that did not happen. This book pulled me in from the very beginning and had me absolutely hooked. I didn't, couldn't stop reading and was even sorta glad that I had a flat tire in the morning that prevented me from going to work so I could spend some more time reading. How twisted is that? ;)
This novel really encompassed what I love about this genre so well. The heroine was strong, different, and ultimately not afraid to be herself and put the hero in his place. The hero seemed stoic and controlled, but we ultimately see that he is caring, protective, and willing to make a fool of himself for the heroine's (and his) happiness. There were side characters and situations that unknowingly threw the MCs together repeatedly, which resulted in seriously hilarious and sometimes tragically sad situations that I truly felt a part of.
There really wasn't a "villain" for the MCs to overcome, save for the judgement of Phoebe's working class status and the severe scrutiny of Jules' every move. Phoebe was such a strong and likable character, and I loved following her. Jules seemed so unreachable, but Phoebe is able to pull out his humor, his recklessness and ultimately his love. I laughed out loud, sighed in fangirl pleasure, tried to convince myself that my eyes were watery because there was...dirt...in them and not because this novel made me emotional, clutched my tablet to my chest in sheer pleasure and extreme anxiety numerous times--and I loved every single second of it.
I highlighted so many passages in this novel that were simply amazingly written. I am SO GLAD that subconscious me decided to give Long one more chance as this novel is one of my favorite historicals of all time, right up there with most of Tessa Dare's lovely books. I absolutely cannot recommend this novel enough, so definitely give it a read!!
My lovely, reckless Julian Spenser, Lord Dryden, with his hair mussed up in the front :)
October 24, 2017
I have very few 5 star reviews or favourites. I thought I had read all the books in this series and with the last one fresh in my mind (I did not enjoy it) I felt the series was done and dusted. I had really loved some, but not all of them. But some GR friends were talking about the series and I realised this was one I hadn't read. I am a bit obsessive about finishing a series, so I gave it a shot.
This book.
I was not expecting the depth. I was not expecting the fluent, articulate even erudite style of writing. The word-play is witty and often wickedly amusing. The description of the shallow, fashion-crazy ton is often hilarious (who would have thought an awkward stumble, fall to the knees and then an accidental flinging of your waltz partner across the room would turn into a dance-craze?) I was not expecting the many-layered character development, nor the insightful actions and conversations of the MCs. Even the nasty people- and they were truly horrible, à la Mean Girls - had layers. Fascinating.
When two people from very different walks of life and with very different expectations and life-goals meet, sparks fly and the air sizzles. The connection was palpable. The sexual tension seemed to shimmer off the page for me.
Julian is a very self-disciplined, organised aristocrat. He witnessed the near-ruin of his estates by a profligate father, spent years building everything up again and thus made himself into the person simply everyone in his family depended upon. There was no room for spontaneity, no possibility of deviation from the path he had set himself. He is, to quote Phoebe, very contained. Then he meets her.
Phoebe is an amazing character. The fierce intellect and courage of this young woman, who lived in St Giles until she was ten, just blew me away. She is no beauty, although she is very attractive because of her sparking personality, but sensibly JAL does not go on and on about her being plain. Phoebe could never be plain because she is so much more than the sum of her parts.
Julian is very reluctantly made aware of all this, and we feel that reluctance in Chapter 1, where we meet Julian, a bullet in his shoulder, slightly tipsy, saying:
She's not even pretty.
Then: Beautiful, though...... Damn her eyes.
He continues: Don't want to close my eyes. She's all I see.
And the clincher: "She doesn't love me" he said softly, finally.
The next chapter starts at a time six weeks earlier, so we realise all the action we are about to experience will lead us back to this point. A great way to start, and I was hooked:)
JAL has written a lovely story of how a man grows and changes because of his love for a woman. A woman who challenges him, stimulates him, attracts him and actually knows who he is. Not the impeccable, perfect man of fashion, not the powerful, wealthy Marquess, but the lonely, even exhausted man who is there for everyone else but has nobody there for him, nobody who will comfort him or upon whom he can depend, no shoulder on which to lay his head and simply be held. JAL describes so beautifully the vulnerable man beneath the facade. I was angry with him, because he initially could not think outside the box into which he had shoe-horned his life. He needed a massive wake-up call. And Phoebe was the one to give it to him!
Phoebe. She is truly my heroine. What a girl. I loved that she spouted Marcus Aurelius and named her cat Charybdis, that she spoke 5 languages and used words like carapace (and I giggled when she made jokes about using words with lots of syllables). She refused to dumb herself down, she refused to accept second-best and she refused to show her devastation and humiliation to the ton that so cruelly mocked her in the end. When she finally sleeps with the marquess it is on her terms and for her and she retains her dignity, self-respect and independence.
For me, very few HR novels have managed to achieve this balance of strength and tenderness, courage and vulnerability, in both the hero and the heroine. Usually one compromises all for love. (Often, it is the heroine. The reason I don't like the mistress trope is because I cannot rid myself of the feeling that the woman was satisfied with second-best. It is not a moral issue. It is about personal integrity and a belief that you deserve to be first in your chosen man's eyes. If you are not, then he does not love you enough. End of discussion for me.) JAL has delivered this balance perfectly for me. I think this will be a book I will return to again and again, for the writing, the characters and for the author's passionate statement that, yes, love is enough to conquer ALL.
This book.
I was not expecting the depth. I was not expecting the fluent, articulate even erudite style of writing. The word-play is witty and often wickedly amusing. The description of the shallow, fashion-crazy ton is often hilarious (who would have thought an awkward stumble, fall to the knees and then an accidental flinging of your waltz partner across the room would turn into a dance-craze?) I was not expecting the many-layered character development, nor the insightful actions and conversations of the MCs. Even the nasty people- and they were truly horrible, à la Mean Girls - had layers. Fascinating.
When two people from very different walks of life and with very different expectations and life-goals meet, sparks fly and the air sizzles. The connection was palpable. The sexual tension seemed to shimmer off the page for me.
Julian is a very self-disciplined, organised aristocrat. He witnessed the near-ruin of his estates by a profligate father, spent years building everything up again and thus made himself into the person simply everyone in his family depended upon. There was no room for spontaneity, no possibility of deviation from the path he had set himself. He is, to quote Phoebe, very contained. Then he meets her.
Phoebe is an amazing character. The fierce intellect and courage of this young woman, who lived in St Giles until she was ten, just blew me away. She is no beauty, although she is very attractive because of her sparking personality, but sensibly JAL does not go on and on about her being plain. Phoebe could never be plain because she is so much more than the sum of her parts.
Julian is very reluctantly made aware of all this, and we feel that reluctance in Chapter 1, where we meet Julian, a bullet in his shoulder, slightly tipsy, saying:
She's not even pretty.
Then: Beautiful, though...... Damn her eyes.
He continues: Don't want to close my eyes. She's all I see.
And the clincher: "She doesn't love me" he said softly, finally.
The next chapter starts at a time six weeks earlier, so we realise all the action we are about to experience will lead us back to this point. A great way to start, and I was hooked:)
JAL has written a lovely story of how a man grows and changes because of his love for a woman. A woman who challenges him, stimulates him, attracts him and actually knows who he is. Not the impeccable, perfect man of fashion, not the powerful, wealthy Marquess, but the lonely, even exhausted man who is there for everyone else but has nobody there for him, nobody who will comfort him or upon whom he can depend, no shoulder on which to lay his head and simply be held. JAL describes so beautifully the vulnerable man beneath the facade. I was angry with him, because he initially could not think outside the box into which he had shoe-horned his life. He needed a massive wake-up call. And Phoebe was the one to give it to him!
Phoebe. She is truly my heroine. What a girl. I loved that she spouted Marcus Aurelius and named her cat Charybdis, that she spoke 5 languages and used words like carapace (and I giggled when she made jokes about using words with lots of syllables). She refused to dumb herself down, she refused to accept second-best and she refused to show her devastation and humiliation to the ton that so cruelly mocked her in the end. When she finally sleeps with the marquess it is on her terms and for her and she retains her dignity, self-respect and independence.
For me, very few HR novels have managed to achieve this balance of strength and tenderness, courage and vulnerability, in both the hero and the heroine. Usually one compromises all for love. (Often, it is the heroine. The reason I don't like the mistress trope is because I cannot rid myself of the feeling that the woman was satisfied with second-best. It is not a moral issue. It is about personal integrity and a belief that you deserve to be first in your chosen man's eyes. If you are not, then he does not love you enough. End of discussion for me.) JAL has delivered this balance perfectly for me. I think this will be a book I will return to again and again, for the writing, the characters and for the author's passionate statement that, yes, love is enough to conquer ALL.
December 11, 2025
Reread: December 10, 2025. Still as good as the first time! 🥰
First read: April 15, 2022.
What is this?! Can it be true? Did I just rate a book 4 stars out of 5? Why, yes! Yes, I did!
After a disappointing start to the series (books 1, 2, 3, & 5), I am so happy that this book did not end up being a disappointment. In fact, this is one of the few times since 2019 that I have rated a book 4 stars. (It has nothing to do with the pandemic).
There was no mystery to be solved in this book. Thank goodness! The hero and heroine (Julian, Marquess of Dryden and Phoebe Vale, school teacher) spent a lot of time alone together (which I luuuuvved!!!) exchanging witty dialogue and getting to know each other. The writing was excellent because before I knew it, I was halfway through the audiobook. I switched to reading the ebook because the audiobook wasn't fast enough for me. 😅 Phoebe is such a strong, intelligent heroine. She is all on her own (no family and no true friends except for her cat) but she is a survivor, which is what I love about her. Julian is a dutiful son, who typically plans things in advance. Their attraction toward one another felt very natural and I wanted nothing more than for the two of them to have their happily ever after together. There were a few times I compared the longing looks and brooding to Anthony and Kate's relationship in the second season of Bridgerton. I would have loved to see more of Julian and Phoebe's married life in the epilogue. I couldn't get enough of these two!
Ugh! I can't do this book justice. Why is it that when I don't enjoy a book, I have plenty to say about it in my reviews? But barely anything to express how much I enjoyed a book?
Every man wanted to be Lord Dryden.
This is my first time reading about a hero who unconsciously sets the trend for the ton, particularly for the young chaps to emulate. It was amusing to read how If you're a cat lover, then you'll love Phoebe's cat. I do wish that the hero was referred to by his full name Julian instead of Jules throughout the book because my mind would process it as a woman's nickname for Julie before recognizing that it is the hero's name. So that was a little distracting.
The mysterious Lyon Redmond
Although the Redmonds and Everseas are mainly side characters in this book, Phoebe did have a . Jonathan explained a little bit towards the end, but I wasn't completely convinced that this reference to Lyon really added anything to this book. Who knows, maybe the will be mentioned again later in the series. We'll see.
First read: April 15, 2022.
What is this?! Can it be true? Did I just rate a book 4 stars out of 5? Why, yes! Yes, I did!
After a disappointing start to the series (books 1, 2, 3, & 5), I am so happy that this book did not end up being a disappointment. In fact, this is one of the few times since 2019 that I have rated a book 4 stars. (It has nothing to do with the pandemic).
There was no mystery to be solved in this book. Thank goodness! The hero and heroine (Julian, Marquess of Dryden and Phoebe Vale, school teacher) spent a lot of time alone together (which I luuuuvved!!!) exchanging witty dialogue and getting to know each other. The writing was excellent because before I knew it, I was halfway through the audiobook. I switched to reading the ebook because the audiobook wasn't fast enough for me. 😅 Phoebe is such a strong, intelligent heroine. She is all on her own (no family and no true friends except for her cat) but she is a survivor, which is what I love about her. Julian is a dutiful son, who typically plans things in advance. Their attraction toward one another felt very natural and I wanted nothing more than for the two of them to have their happily ever after together. There were a few times I compared the longing looks and brooding to Anthony and Kate's relationship in the second season of Bridgerton. I would have loved to see more of Julian and Phoebe's married life in the epilogue. I couldn't get enough of these two!
Ugh! I can't do this book justice. Why is it that when I don't enjoy a book, I have plenty to say about it in my reviews? But barely anything to express how much I enjoyed a book?
Every man wanted to be Lord Dryden.
This is my first time reading about a hero who unconsciously sets the trend for the ton, particularly for the young chaps to emulate. It was amusing to read how If you're a cat lover, then you'll love Phoebe's cat. I do wish that the hero was referred to by his full name Julian instead of Jules throughout the book because my mind would process it as a woman's nickname for Julie before recognizing that it is the hero's name. So that was a little distracting.
The mysterious Lyon Redmond
Although the Redmonds and Everseas are mainly side characters in this book, Phoebe did have a . Jonathan explained a little bit towards the end, but I wasn't completely convinced that this reference to Lyon really added anything to this book. Who knows, maybe the will be mentioned again later in the series. We'll see.
April 17, 2022
I was not a fan of What I Did for a Duke and so I steered clear of Julie Anne Long, that was my mistake. I loved every moment of this and stayed up until 3am because I could not put it down. The banter was great, the MCs actually got to know one another, and the tension build up was perfect. I'm a sucker for cross class romance with a plain but feisty heroine and How the Marquess Was Won was a perfect book for me. Per usual I'm reading this series out of order but it was easy to figure out what was happening/happened in he previous books. I plan on reading this series but if anyone has other books similar to this please send them my way!
December 14, 2021
“He’s meant for me. The thought emerged from nowhere, fresh as a slap and seemed as true as it was dumbfounding. She stared at him, bewildered. She’d never had a thought like that in her entire life. An ache started up, a barbed, hopeless longing. It was as though she knew him, had always known him, all his foibles and flaws and passions, in moments quiet and playful.” Julian Spenser is only one step away from regaining a piece of land that had been gambled away by his father many years ago. All he has to do is marry Lisbeth Redmond for the land is attached to her dowry. He had always considered himself an intelligent man, not one to make any mistake - why then is he so attracted to Lisbeth's paid companion, Phoebe Vale? Being attracted to the schoolmistress who has no family, no wealth, and is not even a great beauty might just be his very first mistake...
How the Marquess was won is the 6th book from Julie Anne Long's historical romance series, Pennyroyal Green. This book had the most interesting blurb so I've read it first. Although after this one, I might just read more from the series. This book is about Julian Spenser and Phoebe Vale. It can stand alone but it is indeed confusing at first especially because the other characters - the Everseas and Redmonds appeared in this book more than a few times.
Meet Phoebe Vale: She is a school teacher. She is intelligent and witty. She grew up in St. Giles. With no parents to care for her, Phoebe is mysteriously installed to Ms. Endicott's academy. She plans to go to Africa after some time. But of course, her quiet life would be disturbed once she meets Marquess Dryden. She knew him from the broadsheets she religiously read and she was quite fascinated with him.
Meet Julian Spenser: When his father was killed in a duel, he inherited the title and every debt that came with it. Now that he has restored his family's wealth and added more, what he desires is a piece of land attached to a certain dowry. He is a marquess and he tolerates only the best may it be in a mistress and now a potential wife. He is said to have some considerable influence on the ton: they follow and copy his every move.
This book started very interestingly. The readers see a glimpse of the present when the Marquess was shot and was talking about how some woman did not even love him. After that, the next chapters were the events that occurred six weeks prior. Julian and Phoebe met at Postlethwaite's shop and then again when she was assigned to show him a classroom at the academy where she teaches. Previously, she overheard one lord challenging the marquess to kiss her but the latter said it was child's play. So when they had the chance to talk while she gave him the tour, their conversation was so funny and their humor matched each other. From that moment on, Jules was delighted, though unsure if it was with her or the conversation they had. They meet again when Phoebe decided to accept Lisbeth's invitation to stay at the Redmond house. Although Jules knows that he must marry Lisbeth, he feels attracted to Phoebe who was not dull and excelled at conversation, and they seem to understand each other very much. And of course, a conflict here and there, and a HEA after all the hardship.
I loved the heroine! She was sensible and very witty. She's just my type of heroine. She knows her worth and she did not let the hero walk all over her. Unlike in most books where the heroine had to settle as being the second-best while the hero makes up his mind, Phoebe did not settle for that. I do feel sorry for her circumstances: she wanted to belong somewhere and was desperate for it that she did not realize that all she was to the people she thought were her friends was a game. It reminded me of the movie "She's all that" where she succeeded to be popular all because someone was behind it.
As for the hero, he was okay. Like every other hero who can't marry the heroine (Just yet), he offers to make her his mistress to which she of course declined. He was most definitely an ass but I have to admit he was funny. And he was perfect for the heroine. I love how he saw her for who she is and adored her. He was likable enough for me to root for him. He intrigued me even from the start when he said things like, "She was not even pretty..." or somewhere along those lines, like sure, and yet he loved her. Although I feel like it took him a long time to decide that he loved Phoebe and it would be okay to marry her, he redeemed himself when he challenged a certain someone in a duel.
In this book, we have the aristocrat-commoner trope. Although it would be very unrealistic for a high-born marquess to marry a low-born god knows where she grew up heroine, it was enjoyable. And it's a romance book so we make some allowances. With the class difference, a union between them seems very unlikely but of course, it would all work out in the end. The readers all know that they would eventually end up with each other, but every book has to have a conflict. This is definitely on the slow-burn side. The build-up of their chemistry is sure to make the readers get giddy when they finally act on their attraction to one another. It was a fairly long book (at least to me) so when they got their HEA it was rewarding.
I loved the main characters together. They just seem to fit each other perfectly. Their humor matched each other and their conversation was anything but dull. I also loved the part where Phoebe realized that being with Jules, in the long run, means that she would get to see the other unromantic side but one that she would cherish such as the buttoning of shirts, shaving, and all the less erotic things. It is the way simple things are intimate without being sexual and I just adored it. And this is the case where the readers see that the main characters see each other for who they are and that the relationship they built is not just based on lust and physical appearance, it was beyond that.
And of course, we have the mean girls and lords. Lisbeth Redmond is a childish character and I must admit I would be interested to read her book (if she gets one), I'd like to know if she would ever mature or she would just stay the way she is, a spoiled brat. I must admit that I guessed that the ladies Marie and Antoinette were not being genuine, but I was nonetheless sad for Phoebe. Also, Lord Waterburn was an interesting character, I'd love to see him get his book. He was a mean boy of course, perhaps he and Lisbeth are a match made in heaven. "Waterburn Giveth and Waterburn Taketh away" is what sealed the deal for me. I'd like to see who could bring him to his knees. Perhaps I have a thing for reading about rotten aristocrats who improve for the better once they meet their match. Perhaps, I idealized him too much. If he enlisted, where is he now? He was an interesting character.
I loved the epilogue! It was so funny how Dryden got retribution for how the mean girls and boys treated his wife. It was so cute. And well before the epilogue, I loved the part where he challenged Waterburn to a duel. He might have been a tad bit stupid but he made up for it and he won me when it came to that part. I just loved him and the heroine. HEA well deserved.
Overall, I enjoyed Julie Anne Long's style. She is a new to me author and as I did not want to be disappointed, I started with what seems to be her most interesting book and heavily liked based on the reviews. It is more than likely for me to read other books from this series. I was satisfied and finished the book with the biggest smile on my face.
Some quotes:
“She knew it the way she knew the color of her own eyes, or the freckle next to her mouth, or that the sun would rise again. Because he’s meant for me.”
“What I like best about you, Miss Vale, is how you remind me of all of my finest hours.” She tried not to smile, and failed. “I was there for them.” “Perhaps because you were the cause of them.”
“And he was, in truth, the only person in the world to whom she could confide her wonder. Who would share it and understand it.”
“It occurred to her that if she’d been able to spend her life with him she would see this sort of thing all the time. The buttoning of shirts. Shaving. All the less erotic things, nonetheless cherished. The acts of intimacy that knit lives together. She wanted to soothe his wounds and share his burdens and make his life easier, more spontaneous, more passionate.”
“I love you so much I can hardly tell my own heart from yours anymore, and I’ve never said it to another woman in my life as it’s never until now been true. It’s clear I cannot live without you. There’s naught I can do about it. I can’t put it in a box, and clearly I’ll never behave normally again, or be free of bodily injury, until you’re mine, only mine, forever. I surrender.”
How the Marquess was won is the 6th book from Julie Anne Long's historical romance series, Pennyroyal Green. This book had the most interesting blurb so I've read it first. Although after this one, I might just read more from the series. This book is about Julian Spenser and Phoebe Vale. It can stand alone but it is indeed confusing at first especially because the other characters - the Everseas and Redmonds appeared in this book more than a few times.
Meet Phoebe Vale: She is a school teacher. She is intelligent and witty. She grew up in St. Giles. With no parents to care for her, Phoebe is mysteriously installed to Ms. Endicott's academy. She plans to go to Africa after some time. But of course, her quiet life would be disturbed once she meets Marquess Dryden. She knew him from the broadsheets she religiously read and she was quite fascinated with him.
Meet Julian Spenser: When his father was killed in a duel, he inherited the title and every debt that came with it. Now that he has restored his family's wealth and added more, what he desires is a piece of land attached to a certain dowry. He is a marquess and he tolerates only the best may it be in a mistress and now a potential wife. He is said to have some considerable influence on the ton: they follow and copy his every move.
This book started very interestingly. The readers see a glimpse of the present when the Marquess was shot and was talking about how some woman did not even love him. After that, the next chapters were the events that occurred six weeks prior. Julian and Phoebe met at Postlethwaite's shop and then again when she was assigned to show him a classroom at the academy where she teaches. Previously, she overheard one lord challenging the marquess to kiss her but the latter said it was child's play. So when they had the chance to talk while she gave him the tour, their conversation was so funny and their humor matched each other. From that moment on, Jules was delighted, though unsure if it was with her or the conversation they had. They meet again when Phoebe decided to accept Lisbeth's invitation to stay at the Redmond house. Although Jules knows that he must marry Lisbeth, he feels attracted to Phoebe who was not dull and excelled at conversation, and they seem to understand each other very much. And of course, a conflict here and there, and a HEA after all the hardship.
I loved the heroine! She was sensible and very witty. She's just my type of heroine. She knows her worth and she did not let the hero walk all over her. Unlike in most books where the heroine had to settle as being the second-best while the hero makes up his mind, Phoebe did not settle for that. I do feel sorry for her circumstances: she wanted to belong somewhere and was desperate for it that she did not realize that all she was to the people she thought were her friends was a game. It reminded me of the movie "She's all that" where she succeeded to be popular all because someone was behind it.
As for the hero, he was okay. Like every other hero who can't marry the heroine (Just yet), he offers to make her his mistress to which she of course declined. He was most definitely an ass but I have to admit he was funny. And he was perfect for the heroine. I love how he saw her for who she is and adored her. He was likable enough for me to root for him. He intrigued me even from the start when he said things like, "She was not even pretty..." or somewhere along those lines, like sure, and yet he loved her. Although I feel like it took him a long time to decide that he loved Phoebe and it would be okay to marry her, he redeemed himself when he challenged a certain someone in a duel.
In this book, we have the aristocrat-commoner trope. Although it would be very unrealistic for a high-born marquess to marry a low-born god knows where she grew up heroine, it was enjoyable. And it's a romance book so we make some allowances. With the class difference, a union between them seems very unlikely but of course, it would all work out in the end. The readers all know that they would eventually end up with each other, but every book has to have a conflict. This is definitely on the slow-burn side. The build-up of their chemistry is sure to make the readers get giddy when they finally act on their attraction to one another. It was a fairly long book (at least to me) so when they got their HEA it was rewarding.
I loved the main characters together. They just seem to fit each other perfectly. Their humor matched each other and their conversation was anything but dull. I also loved the part where Phoebe realized that being with Jules, in the long run, means that she would get to see the other unromantic side but one that she would cherish such as the buttoning of shirts, shaving, and all the less erotic things. It is the way simple things are intimate without being sexual and I just adored it. And this is the case where the readers see that the main characters see each other for who they are and that the relationship they built is not just based on lust and physical appearance, it was beyond that.
And of course, we have the mean girls and lords. Lisbeth Redmond is a childish character and I must admit I would be interested to read her book (if she gets one), I'd like to know if she would ever mature or she would just stay the way she is, a spoiled brat. I must admit that I guessed that the ladies Marie and Antoinette were not being genuine, but I was nonetheless sad for Phoebe. Also, Lord Waterburn was an interesting character, I'd love to see him get his book. He was a mean boy of course, perhaps he and Lisbeth are a match made in heaven. "Waterburn Giveth and Waterburn Taketh away" is what sealed the deal for me. I'd like to see who could bring him to his knees. Perhaps I have a thing for reading about rotten aristocrats who improve for the better once they meet their match. Perhaps, I idealized him too much. If he enlisted, where is he now? He was an interesting character.
I loved the epilogue! It was so funny how Dryden got retribution for how the mean girls and boys treated his wife. It was so cute. And well before the epilogue, I loved the part where he challenged Waterburn to a duel. He might have been a tad bit stupid but he made up for it and he won me when it came to that part. I just loved him and the heroine. HEA well deserved.
Overall, I enjoyed Julie Anne Long's style. She is a new to me author and as I did not want to be disappointed, I started with what seems to be her most interesting book and heavily liked based on the reviews. It is more than likely for me to read other books from this series. I was satisfied and finished the book with the biggest smile on my face.
Some quotes:
“She knew it the way she knew the color of her own eyes, or the freckle next to her mouth, or that the sun would rise again. Because he’s meant for me.”
“What I like best about you, Miss Vale, is how you remind me of all of my finest hours.” She tried not to smile, and failed. “I was there for them.” “Perhaps because you were the cause of them.”
“And he was, in truth, the only person in the world to whom she could confide her wonder. Who would share it and understand it.”
“It occurred to her that if she’d been able to spend her life with him she would see this sort of thing all the time. The buttoning of shirts. Shaving. All the less erotic things, nonetheless cherished. The acts of intimacy that knit lives together. She wanted to soothe his wounds and share his burdens and make his life easier, more spontaneous, more passionate.”
“I love you so much I can hardly tell my own heart from yours anymore, and I’ve never said it to another woman in my life as it’s never until now been true. It’s clear I cannot live without you. There’s naught I can do about it. I can’t put it in a box, and clearly I’ll never behave normally again, or be free of bodily injury, until you’re mine, only mine, forever. I surrender.”
November 30, 2021
Oh, this one was so good as well! It was hilarious and filled with witty banters between the MCs. A bit of angst as well right at the end. Ms. Long is becoming one of my favourite authors. I do have to agree with the other reviewers, though - the side characters were a bit flat hence, 4.5 stars. And the cat bits were so good. If you have a cat, you would know that Ms. Long's gave an accurate description on cat behaviour (because mine's the same too).
April 9, 2021
I so loved this book! I've only discovered Julie Anne Long recently but already am quite taken with her historical romances and her wonderful writing. I'm already on the hunt for my next fix so this review shan't take long, I'm afraid.
The witty dialogues, the angst, the pining, the yearning, the steam and the incredible swoon of it all, I swear you're in for a treat and will have trouble putting the book down or even let go of the characters in the event you've been greedy—like me— and finished the book much too quickly.
Heartfelt and endearing characters (and a cat!) made of this romance an all stars winner. Do read it!
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
The witty dialogues, the angst, the pining, the yearning, the steam and the incredible swoon of it all, I swear you're in for a treat and will have trouble putting the book down or even let go of the characters in the event you've been greedy—like me— and finished the book much too quickly.
Heartfelt and endearing characters (and a cat!) made of this romance an all stars winner. Do read it!
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
April 6, 2021
OMG! I have SO MANY FEELINGS for this book!!! SO. FLIPPING. MANY! It was incredible! I cried and laughed and swooned and cried some more!!!!! The heroine (Phoebe) was utterly charming and sweet and wrecked me and the hero (Jule's - Jullian) made me fall in love. I ADORED this couple. Their angst kept me tethered to my kindle. What a dreamy read. I was absolutely romanced by it. This is only my second Julie Anne Long book, but man! I. AM. OBSESSED. Really have to thank Alleskelle for recommending What I Did for a Duke!! Through her I found this author and I've fallen in love. Soooooooo good.
December 28, 2011
*sighs*
Very nice historical romance. I liked both leads, the tension of the various situations (not just sexual) was apparent and accessible, and the ending was satisfying.
This series is about two families that hate each other: the Everseas and the Redmonds. They both live in Pennyroyal Green but they don't interact at all if they can help it. The books switch off as to which family is featured. For some reason the Redmonds always seem to come off negatively (although I liked Miles Redmond's book quite a bit). There's some small bit of redemption at the end for one of the characters and a good comeuppance for another, but still I feel the Everseas are portrayed much more positively.
This actually isn't really even a "Redmond" book. The female lead is a short-term paid companion to a member of the Redmond family. This family member shows up throughout the book, but the connection is really tangential.
So I guess we can't really say we know what's going to happen next in any Pennyroyal Green novel, can we?
I did love this book, though. It was poignant, romantic and laugh-out-loud funny at several points. Nice Christmas gift for me. :)
Very nice historical romance. I liked both leads, the tension of the various situations (not just sexual) was apparent and accessible, and the ending was satisfying.
This series is about two families that hate each other: the Everseas and the Redmonds. They both live in Pennyroyal Green but they don't interact at all if they can help it. The books switch off as to which family is featured. For some reason the Redmonds always seem to come off negatively (although I liked Miles Redmond's book quite a bit). There's some small bit of redemption at the end for one of the characters and a good comeuppance for another, but still I feel the Everseas are portrayed much more positively.
This actually isn't really even a "Redmond" book. The female lead is a short-term paid companion to a member of the Redmond family. This family member shows up throughout the book, but the connection is really tangential.
So I guess we can't really say we know what's going to happen next in any Pennyroyal Green novel, can we?
I did love this book, though. It was poignant, romantic and laugh-out-loud funny at several points. Nice Christmas gift for me. :)
February 8, 2021
I liked both H and h, loved the banter between them. It was a funny and sad read.
March 29, 2025
3.5⭐️ I might have been in the wrong mood or not born with the JAL gene, but the story never swept me under its spell. When I think back, I see words printed on a Kindle page.
The half star is a nod to Ms Long’s undeniably beautiful prose. Then again, the first roadblock encountered were the MCs’ inner monologues analyzing whether a comment was deliberately flirtatious or contained innuendo. It was probably supposed to be piquant and witty, but it came off flat. If a label is needed, then something isn’t working. Again, it could have been my mood.
The story picked up toward the middle, but with the exceptions of Phoebe and Dryden, the more I learned about the secondary characters, the more uneasy I felt. Even Phoebe’s cherished Charybdis, while amusing, didn’t earn my affection.
The half star is a nod to Ms Long’s undeniably beautiful prose. Then again, the first roadblock encountered were the MCs’ inner monologues analyzing whether a comment was deliberately flirtatious or contained innuendo. It was probably supposed to be piquant and witty, but it came off flat. If a label is needed, then something isn’t working. Again, it could have been my mood.
The story picked up toward the middle, but with the exceptions of Phoebe and Dryden, the more I learned about the secondary characters, the more uneasy I felt. Even Phoebe’s cherished Charybdis, while amusing, didn’t earn my affection.
January 4, 2023
Loved the cat and steel boned h!
March 10, 2025
The banter! Truly sublime and some of the best I’ve ever read. Maybe the best? I could write an entire review about their banter.
The chemistry! Oh, it was blazing hot and incredibly delicious.
He turned her palm up. He wished he could be certain she was the one who was trembling, for one of them was. Her hand was achingly soft, too vulnerable. It was cold, which struck him as poignant. He wanted to warm her. He needed to warm her. And so he brought her palm to his mouth. He softly opened his mouth against her skin, touched his tongue there, burned her with a kiss that was at once chaste and perhaps the most carnal he’d ever given. Her head tipped back hard; her eyelids shuddered closed. She made a soft sound, a gasp of shock and pure sensual pleasure. Mother of God.
The way they yearned for each other and the explosive scene when they finally came together took my breath away.
But it wasn’t just physical chemistry. It was very emotional and had a partners-in-crime sense of mischief that made me smile.
Lisbeth invited me. I once tutored her when she was younger, and we became friends after a fashion. And now I suspect my job is to protect her from the likes of you.” He liked that. His eyes brightened. “Ah. Are you a decoy? Like a wooden duck set free on a pond during hunting season?” “Are you suggesting that you’re drawn to me, Lord Dryden?” He smiled slowly. She smiled slowly. The two of them together . . . well, really. They spurred each other on, and it was surprising, and delightful, and very dangerous, really, how quickly it ignited.
###
Their eyes reflected deviltry back to each other.
When Phoebe glanced back at the marquess he swiftly lifted that rogue lock of hair, pointed at his forehead and mouthed: Good aim. She clapped a hand over her mouth. Dear God, he was sporting a bruise! So that’s where she’d clocked him with his hat! And this explained the forelock. He grinned, swiftly, just like a boy. Oh, God. That grin might as well have been a lariat looped around her heart.
I fell in love with both MCs; gah they were perfect for one another and I loved them both so much.
And there was a spoiled, arrogant, vapid little “villainess” I loved to hate. (How’s the convent treating you, Lisbeth? 😈)
Also a cat who cracked me up on a regular basis. (Warning, don’t rub his belly 😂)
Ah, I loved this treasure of a book!
He’s meant for me. The thought emerged from nowhere, fresh as a slap and seemed as true as it was dumbfounding. She stared at him, bewildered. She’d never had a thought like that in her entire life. An ache started up, a barbed, hopeless longing.
###
“What I like best about you, Miss Vale, is how you remind me of all of my finest hours.” She tried not to smile, and failed. “I was there for them.” “Perhaps because you were the cause of them.”
Six stars. At least.
The chemistry! Oh, it was blazing hot and incredibly delicious.
He turned her palm up. He wished he could be certain she was the one who was trembling, for one of them was. Her hand was achingly soft, too vulnerable. It was cold, which struck him as poignant. He wanted to warm her. He needed to warm her. And so he brought her palm to his mouth. He softly opened his mouth against her skin, touched his tongue there, burned her with a kiss that was at once chaste and perhaps the most carnal he’d ever given. Her head tipped back hard; her eyelids shuddered closed. She made a soft sound, a gasp of shock and pure sensual pleasure. Mother of God.
The way they yearned for each other and the explosive scene when they finally came together took my breath away.
But it wasn’t just physical chemistry. It was very emotional and had a partners-in-crime sense of mischief that made me smile.
Lisbeth invited me. I once tutored her when she was younger, and we became friends after a fashion. And now I suspect my job is to protect her from the likes of you.” He liked that. His eyes brightened. “Ah. Are you a decoy? Like a wooden duck set free on a pond during hunting season?” “Are you suggesting that you’re drawn to me, Lord Dryden?” He smiled slowly. She smiled slowly. The two of them together . . . well, really. They spurred each other on, and it was surprising, and delightful, and very dangerous, really, how quickly it ignited.
###
Their eyes reflected deviltry back to each other.
When Phoebe glanced back at the marquess he swiftly lifted that rogue lock of hair, pointed at his forehead and mouthed: Good aim. She clapped a hand over her mouth. Dear God, he was sporting a bruise! So that’s where she’d clocked him with his hat! And this explained the forelock. He grinned, swiftly, just like a boy. Oh, God. That grin might as well have been a lariat looped around her heart.
I fell in love with both MCs; gah they were perfect for one another and I loved them both so much.
And there was a spoiled, arrogant, vapid little “villainess” I loved to hate. (How’s the convent treating you, Lisbeth? 😈)
Also a cat who cracked me up on a regular basis. (Warning, don’t rub his belly 😂)
Ah, I loved this treasure of a book!
He’s meant for me. The thought emerged from nowhere, fresh as a slap and seemed as true as it was dumbfounding. She stared at him, bewildered. She’d never had a thought like that in her entire life. An ache started up, a barbed, hopeless longing.
###
“What I like best about you, Miss Vale, is how you remind me of all of my finest hours.” She tried not to smile, and failed. “I was there for them.” “Perhaps because you were the cause of them.”
Six stars. At least.
July 28, 2019
3 to 3.5 stars. A pleasant read with some funny moments. Not my fav trope, though. A marquess falls in love with and marries a lowly teacher who grew up in London's slums. This kind of story always seems way too far-fetched for me, and I struggle to 'suspend my disbelief'.
The growth of their love was quite nicely done, though, and as a reader you do feel that the MCs really 'see' each other. The silliness and occasional nastiness of London society was depicted quite humorously. But overall, the book didn't fully draw me in or totally satisfy me as a reader. I also wasn't really convinced during the big sex scene. A Regency-era virgin eagerly getting it on with fellatio? Hmmm. It didn't feel convincing to me.
I have been reading this series as part of the Mad About Series Challenge with the Historical Romance Book Club. Interestingly, the characters from the other books in this series, the Everseas and the Redmonds, are just side characters in this one.
I also read this book as a buddy read with the same group.
The growth of their love was quite nicely done, though, and as a reader you do feel that the MCs really 'see' each other. The silliness and occasional nastiness of London society was depicted quite humorously. But overall, the book didn't fully draw me in or totally satisfy me as a reader. I also wasn't really convinced during the big sex scene. A Regency-era virgin eagerly getting it on with fellatio? Hmmm. It didn't feel convincing to me.
I have been reading this series as part of the Mad About Series Challenge with the Historical Romance Book Club. Interestingly, the characters from the other books in this series, the Everseas and the Redmonds, are just side characters in this one.
I also read this book as a buddy read with the same group.
April 23, 2023
⭐
1 star.
➕ What I liked :
A tiny bit of the beginning of the story was somewhat interesting.
The cat.
➖ What I disliked:
Over the top plot.
(Almost like a really bad high school movie from the 80’s and 90’s, but set in a historical romance setting and with "adults")
Over the top side characters.
(Mean Girls vibe and other ridiculousness.)
Believability issues.
(That more or less the entire “Ton” was in on the bet/trick/prank and the things they do just to fulfill it/participate in it is beyond ridiculous and farcical.)
Way too much emphasis/focus on class differences.
Unconvincing and forced/rushed romantic build up and chemistry.
Naive and dumb heroine.
(She does not see the prank/trick/bet coming from a mile away… and trusts people way too easily especially considering her background and profession etc.)
So much cringe.
The heroines weird obsession with the hero before even meeting him in person and the continued obsession she has with him.
Anachronistic.
Nonsensical.
Immature characters (main characters and side characters.)
Annoying main characters.
Verbose.
Boring.
1 star.
➕ What I liked :
A tiny bit of the beginning of the story was somewhat interesting.
The cat.
➖ What I disliked:
Over the top plot.
(Almost like a really bad high school movie from the 80’s and 90’s, but set in a historical romance setting and with "adults")
Over the top side characters.
(Mean Girls vibe and other ridiculousness.)
Believability issues.
(That more or less the entire “Ton” was in on the bet/trick/prank and the things they do just to fulfill it/participate in it is beyond ridiculous and farcical.)
Way too much emphasis/focus on class differences.
Unconvincing and forced/rushed romantic build up and chemistry.
Naive and dumb heroine.
(She does not see the prank/trick/bet coming from a mile away… and trusts people way too easily especially considering her background and profession etc.)
So much cringe.
The heroines weird obsession with the hero before even meeting him in person and the continued obsession she has with him.
Anachronistic.
Nonsensical.
Immature characters (main characters and side characters.)
Annoying main characters.
Verbose.
Boring.
April 20, 2018
One of my all time fav historical romances! Read it more than 3 times. The dialogue and wit are unsurpassed. And Charybdis! I want one! That scene made me laugh so hard I spewed my juice. Meow...
January 5, 2018
This book was such a dilemma.
FIRST PART (the first 55% of the book).
This is the moment our hero the Marquess Dryden or Julian Spenser meet our heroine, the schoolmistress Phoebe Vale. This part was great. Totally great. Julie Anne Long knows exactly how to built a very intense romance and put it into words with enough power to evoke reader's emotion.
Take a glimpse at this moment:
I was captivated from that moment and the romance hadn't even started yet. I thought 'Oh boy, this couldn't be better than What I Did For a Duke, could it?'
Marquess Dryden has gained his family fortune that once lost by his father. But there's one thing his money can't buy, his mother's property which is now belongs to the Redmonds. He needs it. It's the reason he's courting Lisbeth Redmond when he meets Phoebe.
I felt the strong physical, mind, and feeling chemistry between Julian and Phoebe everytime they met. Their relationship has grown slowly but deadly. Phoebe is the only person who sees Dryden beyond the figure of a wealthy and ruthless marquess. She sees him as a man with enormous burden and responsibility. And Dryden knows what she has always wanted, a man to care and protect her. He wants to be that man. However, Dryden is an aristocrat and Phoebe isn't. They believe they can't be together so they control them selves very well, for a while. I was so excited with the waiting and wondering when they will finally kiss and who will surrender first.
There's also this gifts exchange between Dryden and Phoebe. When one shares his/her secret, the other one should appreciate it with a gift. His gift for her was so incredibly sweet. It wasn't about the gift, but how he knew it's the gift she wanted. The sweetest thing indeed.
Unfortunately, this amazing part of the book ended for me the moment
SECOND PART (the last 45% of the book).
From that moment through the ending. This part was like a whirlwind. So many things happened because everyone, and I mean EVERYONE in this book did something very wrong. The result was a chain of chaos.
You see, Dryden is a trendsetter. It was clear from the beginning of the story. He's very popular. Everyone wants to be like him, they imitate him. His hairstyle, his horses, his outfits, his taste, everything. I thought that was cool. When I finally knew the plot had everything to do with the 'trendsetter thing', it wasn't cool anymore. It was clearly a disaster.
And I was completely lost, still wondering what on earth just happened with the lovely story and characters?
So, the first part of the book worth 5 stars while the second part worth.. I'm still not sure.
Overall, 3.5 stars.
I wouldn't recommend this book as the first read from Julie Anne Long, and definitely not as the first read of HR.
For her fans? worth trying.
FIRST PART (the first 55% of the book).
This is the moment our hero the Marquess Dryden or Julian Spenser meet our heroine, the schoolmistress Phoebe Vale. This part was great. Totally great. Julie Anne Long knows exactly how to built a very intense romance and put it into words with enough power to evoke reader's emotion.
Take a glimpse at this moment:
She held her body very gingerly when she turned, because if she was dreaming, she didn’t want to accidentally jar herself awake.
She saw him, and the air in the room became thinner, headier, as though she’d been jerked up high and deposited on a mountaintop.
He seemed taller than... anyone.
And suddenly all the hats and ribbons and buttons and gloves seemed like gaudy props arranged on a stage, awaiting just his arrival all these years.
He swept the shop with a glance, taking in ribbons, gloves, Phoebe, hats, watches, her students, reticules, shawls and Postlethwaite, in that order and with equal dispassion.
His coat and boots were black.
His shirt and cravat were white.
And his voice, a baritone edged with smoke, was exactly how she’d imagined it.
“Dryden,” he said.
As if it was the answer to all of life’s most important questions.
I was captivated from that moment and the romance hadn't even started yet. I thought 'Oh boy, this couldn't be better than What I Did For a Duke, could it?'
Marquess Dryden has gained his family fortune that once lost by his father. But there's one thing his money can't buy, his mother's property which is now belongs to the Redmonds. He needs it. It's the reason he's courting Lisbeth Redmond when he meets Phoebe.
I felt the strong physical, mind, and feeling chemistry between Julian and Phoebe everytime they met. Their relationship has grown slowly but deadly. Phoebe is the only person who sees Dryden beyond the figure of a wealthy and ruthless marquess. She sees him as a man with enormous burden and responsibility. And Dryden knows what she has always wanted, a man to care and protect her. He wants to be that man. However, Dryden is an aristocrat and Phoebe isn't. They believe they can't be together so they control them selves very well, for a while. I was so excited with the waiting and wondering when they will finally kiss and who will surrender first.
There's also this gifts exchange between Dryden and Phoebe. When one shares his/her secret, the other one should appreciate it with a gift. His gift for her was so incredibly sweet. It wasn't about the gift, but how he knew it's the gift she wanted. The sweetest thing indeed.
Unfortunately, this amazing part of the book ended for me the moment
SECOND PART (the last 45% of the book).
From that moment through the ending. This part was like a whirlwind. So many things happened because everyone, and I mean EVERYONE in this book did something very wrong. The result was a chain of chaos.
You see, Dryden is a trendsetter. It was clear from the beginning of the story. He's very popular. Everyone wants to be like him, they imitate him. His hairstyle, his horses, his outfits, his taste, everything. I thought that was cool. When I finally knew the plot had everything to do with the 'trendsetter thing', it wasn't cool anymore. It was clearly a disaster.
And I was completely lost, still wondering what on earth just happened with the lovely story and characters?
So, the first part of the book worth 5 stars while the second part worth.. I'm still not sure.
Overall, 3.5 stars.
I wouldn't recommend this book as the first read from Julie Anne Long, and definitely not as the first read of HR.
For her fans? worth trying.
December 13, 2011
Phoebe Vale, teacher and broadsheet lover, has no clue her life is going to change when she goes into a shop to admire a bonnet and get the latest gossip. When she hears the latest scandals of Lord Ice, Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, she is rather amused but she is quickly startled because who just happens into this shop? None other that Julian in all his black and white glory. With just a cursory glance about the shop, Julian asks to see the fans and purchases the best one as everything is the best for Julian. Everything is neat and tidy and has its place in life and he is on the hunt for a wife and not just any wife, oh no. He is courting the perfect, beautiful heiress Lisbeth Redmond. And Lisbeth is the last piece of his future he needs to finally clear up his fathers gambling mess as Lisbeth will bring the lands that were lost in a card game. But even though Phoebe feels like she was not even noticed in the shop, Phoebe is on his mind but he has to dismiss her as she does not fit in with his plans.
When Phoebe receives an offer to be Lisbeths companion for a few days she initially hesitates but then decides to go and earn some more money for her future plans to travel to Africa. It just happens to have the added bonus of running into Julian again... who had stopped by her school to inquire about his sister attending and a tour of the school with just the two of them leads to quite a few sparks! The sparks, the attraction, the desire all continue to grow especially as Julian lets down some walls and lets Phoebe see the real him, not the Marquess that all of society loves and tries to emulate. Stolen kisses and heated embraces that are almost caught lead to some absolutely delightful situations for our pair to try to overcome! But when the ton starts to take serious notice of Phoebe, only then does the story start to take a shaky path that leads to heartbreak but Julian takes strides to right the wrongs all while possibly endangering the perfect future he had mapped out.
Overall, this was an absolutely delightful book! I really adored Julian! When Phoebe hits him in the head and it leaves a bruise on his forehead, he is forced to have a forelock to cover it and all of society copies him. The results, hilarious. But beneath the perfect facade is just a man who wants to be loved for him and seen past his fathers failures and Phoebe is just the woman who sees him. I will admit I feel in love with Julian when Phoebes cat, Charybdis (funniest cat ever I swear!), goes missing and Julian flies off to find him immediately. Sigh, yeah, I was in love with him then and I knew how deep his love was for Phoebe. And Phoebe was a true delight as well. She is smart and witty and fought her way from the slums to become a teacher of girls who have the impulses and desires as she did at their younger age. Together, these two are near perfection and it is only that little shaky bit near the end I disliked. I just personally do not like that type of storyline but I have to say, I was very proud of the way Phoebe stood up for herself and Julians eventual resolution of the situation. Overall, if you enjoy an instant attraction story with some great laugh-out-loud moments this is a perfect story for you. I am sorry to say I have only read the first book in this series and I know I have to read the previous book, What I Did For a Duke, like yesterday and I know I can not wait. Julie Anne Long has made it onto my auto buy list for all future books with this delicious, sparkling, witty book . 4 1/2 stars
I received this ebook from Avon via netgalley.com
When Phoebe receives an offer to be Lisbeths companion for a few days she initially hesitates but then decides to go and earn some more money for her future plans to travel to Africa. It just happens to have the added bonus of running into Julian again... who had stopped by her school to inquire about his sister attending and a tour of the school with just the two of them leads to quite a few sparks! The sparks, the attraction, the desire all continue to grow especially as Julian lets down some walls and lets Phoebe see the real him, not the Marquess that all of society loves and tries to emulate. Stolen kisses and heated embraces that are almost caught lead to some absolutely delightful situations for our pair to try to overcome! But when the ton starts to take serious notice of Phoebe, only then does the story start to take a shaky path that leads to heartbreak but Julian takes strides to right the wrongs all while possibly endangering the perfect future he had mapped out.
Overall, this was an absolutely delightful book! I really adored Julian! When Phoebe hits him in the head and it leaves a bruise on his forehead, he is forced to have a forelock to cover it and all of society copies him. The results, hilarious. But beneath the perfect facade is just a man who wants to be loved for him and seen past his fathers failures and Phoebe is just the woman who sees him. I will admit I feel in love with Julian when Phoebes cat, Charybdis (funniest cat ever I swear!), goes missing and Julian flies off to find him immediately. Sigh, yeah, I was in love with him then and I knew how deep his love was for Phoebe. And Phoebe was a true delight as well. She is smart and witty and fought her way from the slums to become a teacher of girls who have the impulses and desires as she did at their younger age. Together, these two are near perfection and it is only that little shaky bit near the end I disliked. I just personally do not like that type of storyline but I have to say, I was very proud of the way Phoebe stood up for herself and Julians eventual resolution of the situation. Overall, if you enjoy an instant attraction story with some great laugh-out-loud moments this is a perfect story for you. I am sorry to say I have only read the first book in this series and I know I have to read the previous book, What I Did For a Duke, like yesterday and I know I can not wait. Julie Anne Long has made it onto my auto buy list for all future books with this delicious, sparkling, witty book . 4 1/2 stars
I received this ebook from Avon via netgalley.com
May 21, 2018
Seems like Julie Anne Long’s writing and I no longer agree.
Cute love story, but burdened by several factors:
+ Why is this so unnecessarily long
+ Use of the word “Gypsy” to describe the Roma (way to fall into SUPER stereotyped descriptions of them too)
+ Every other page we are reminded that the heroine is a schoolmistress. Class difference is a common trope in historical romances but this time, it’s the pulling factor to much of the plot and deception. I... no. I’m just not here for it.
+ The dialogue goes for pages on end. It’s one thing to have adorkable convo, it’s another to flirt so much without direction for so long the reader starts to snooze. I didn’t buy it for one page.
+ IT WAS SO LONG AND WENT ON FOREVER
+ Bleh at the mention of other couples in next books. Absolute bleh. It’s a pet peeve of mine for HR’s.
+ Julian, known as Jules *snickers* was not very swoony. He was so AVERAGE for an HR hero. So very average. Wealthy, handsome, titled. Enjoys flirting. BLlejfjsjxn I’ve read this 3883283 times already
+ Y’all dome dirty on Lisbeth by making her character so acidic. Had a good opportunity for a beautiful girl friendship in the book but nah. Gotta have that cattiness I guess.
+ Speaking of cats, the cat was cute. That’s all.
Hope future me sees this as a reminder not to take a chance on the rest of the book in this series bc the author’s writing and I did NOT click at all. Save yourself the time with other books dude.
Cute love story, but burdened by several factors:
+ Why is this so unnecessarily long
+ Use of the word “Gypsy” to describe the Roma (way to fall into SUPER stereotyped descriptions of them too)
+ Every other page we are reminded that the heroine is a schoolmistress. Class difference is a common trope in historical romances but this time, it’s the pulling factor to much of the plot and deception. I... no. I’m just not here for it.
+ The dialogue goes for pages on end. It’s one thing to have adorkable convo, it’s another to flirt so much without direction for so long the reader starts to snooze. I didn’t buy it for one page.
+ IT WAS SO LONG AND WENT ON FOREVER
+ Bleh at the mention of other couples in next books. Absolute bleh. It’s a pet peeve of mine for HR’s.
+ Julian, known as Jules *snickers* was not very swoony. He was so AVERAGE for an HR hero. So very average. Wealthy, handsome, titled. Enjoys flirting. BLlejfjsjxn I’ve read this 3883283 times already
+ Y’all dome dirty on Lisbeth by making her character so acidic. Had a good opportunity for a beautiful girl friendship in the book but nah. Gotta have that cattiness I guess.
+ Speaking of cats, the cat was cute. That’s all.
Hope future me sees this as a reminder not to take a chance on the rest of the book in this series bc the author’s writing and I did NOT click at all. Save yourself the time with other books dude.
April 6, 2025
he put as much effort into getting her cat to like him as he did into wooing her (with mediocre effects) (not a euphemism)
in kalyani we trust!!
Read my review
in kalyani we trust!!
Read my review
February 6, 2016
I was really tempted to give the book 2 stars, because I did not like the story.
But to pay respect to the fine writer that Julie Anne Long is, I gave the book 1 more star.
It took me more than 3 months to read the book, that alone says a lot about how I felt about the book. JAL's Pennyroyal Green series has been of uneven caliber in my eyes. While all well-written, some of the stories appeal less to me. How the Marquess was won is one of those less-appealing.
Strictly speaking I don't think this could qualify as a Redmond/Eversea story. Neither Jules or Phoebe is in the Redmond/Eversea clans. They are somehow related, yeah. But I think the connection rather forced. Jules was pursuing a Redmond heiress, Lisbeth, to regain control over his mother's dowry land, which now was part of Lisbeth's dowry. Phoebe was a schoolteacher who appeared in the same social circle as Jules only because she had been asked to be Lisbeth's companion for the duration of that particular house party. Apparently Phoebe had some kind of a connection to Lyon Redmond, by way of a pair of gloves, which was originally a gift from Lyon to Olivia. Phoebe ended up with the pair of gloves because Olivia refused Lyon's gift. I must say I do not get the point of this little ruse. If it was to set up a future scene for Lyon and Olivia, I get it. But I don't know what it did for Phoebe and Jules.
My biggest problem with the book was I did not feel Jules and Phoebe's attraction. It is naturally a personal view. They both liked each other and their only conflict was that Jules wanted to marry Lisbeth so he could regain his mother's lost dowry and that left Phoebe with the position of his mistress. If that isn't a forced scenario I don't know what is. Phoebe refused Jules' proposition outright, good girl, I say. I wouldn't have minded if she accepted either as long as she did not harbor false hopes about her liaison with Jules. But that is irrelevant, she flat out refused him. So the entire book, we are presented this farce that for a piece of land, Jules must marry Lisbeth and could not marry Phoebe. In between we are gifted with a kiss here and a kiss there, all rather forced in my eyes because I never could feel the attraction between them. And the big conflict when the real reason for Phoebe's "false" popularity in ton came out......I really lost it then. Seriously? This WAS the big letdown of the century? That painted Phoebe such a superficial ninny in my eyes, I couldn't tolerate that.
In short I found Jules' passions ungrounded, his reason for not marrying Phoebe idiotic, I am not so offended by his "proposition", I am not that much a prude. But I had expected a more significant reason for offering to make the woman you love your mistress. I found Phoebe shallow. Wasn't she supposed to be level-headed? But she rejoiced at her popularity in ton, secretly taking great pleasure in believing that men actually showed her interests. I don't know what is worse: the fact that she was this shallow, or the fact that her reaction showed how emotionally deprived and desperately in need of some male attention she was as a woman. I found Jules and Phoebe's relationship rather passionless, despite JAL's efforts in instilling passion in their relationship. My favorite thing about the book is the dress on the cover. Again, if it was not written by JAL, this book would have gotten a 2 stars rating from me.
But to pay respect to the fine writer that Julie Anne Long is, I gave the book 1 more star.
It took me more than 3 months to read the book, that alone says a lot about how I felt about the book. JAL's Pennyroyal Green series has been of uneven caliber in my eyes. While all well-written, some of the stories appeal less to me. How the Marquess was won is one of those less-appealing.
Strictly speaking I don't think this could qualify as a Redmond/Eversea story. Neither Jules or Phoebe is in the Redmond/Eversea clans. They are somehow related, yeah. But I think the connection rather forced. Jules was pursuing a Redmond heiress, Lisbeth, to regain control over his mother's dowry land, which now was part of Lisbeth's dowry. Phoebe was a schoolteacher who appeared in the same social circle as Jules only because she had been asked to be Lisbeth's companion for the duration of that particular house party. Apparently Phoebe had some kind of a connection to Lyon Redmond, by way of a pair of gloves, which was originally a gift from Lyon to Olivia. Phoebe ended up with the pair of gloves because Olivia refused Lyon's gift. I must say I do not get the point of this little ruse. If it was to set up a future scene for Lyon and Olivia, I get it. But I don't know what it did for Phoebe and Jules.
My biggest problem with the book was I did not feel Jules and Phoebe's attraction. It is naturally a personal view. They both liked each other and their only conflict was that Jules wanted to marry Lisbeth so he could regain his mother's lost dowry and that left Phoebe with the position of his mistress. If that isn't a forced scenario I don't know what is. Phoebe refused Jules' proposition outright, good girl, I say. I wouldn't have minded if she accepted either as long as she did not harbor false hopes about her liaison with Jules. But that is irrelevant, she flat out refused him. So the entire book, we are presented this farce that for a piece of land, Jules must marry Lisbeth and could not marry Phoebe. In between we are gifted with a kiss here and a kiss there, all rather forced in my eyes because I never could feel the attraction between them. And the big conflict when the real reason for Phoebe's "false" popularity in ton came out......I really lost it then. Seriously? This WAS the big letdown of the century? That painted Phoebe such a superficial ninny in my eyes, I couldn't tolerate that.
In short I found Jules' passions ungrounded, his reason for not marrying Phoebe idiotic, I am not so offended by his "proposition", I am not that much a prude. But I had expected a more significant reason for offering to make the woman you love your mistress. I found Phoebe shallow. Wasn't she supposed to be level-headed? But she rejoiced at her popularity in ton, secretly taking great pleasure in believing that men actually showed her interests. I don't know what is worse: the fact that she was this shallow, or the fact that her reaction showed how emotionally deprived and desperately in need of some male attention she was as a woman. I found Jules and Phoebe's relationship rather passionless, despite JAL's efforts in instilling passion in their relationship. My favorite thing about the book is the dress on the cover. Again, if it was not written by JAL, this book would have gotten a 2 stars rating from me.
April 25, 2023
2nd Read - Still a fantastic story! My heart broke for Phoebe. Not sure if it was my mood, or the fact that I listened to it and the emotion Justine Eyre put into it was superb. I loved it!
1 st read_This was amazing! Watching Jules and Phoebe fall in love was magical. And tense cause you just knew they were going to fight it or ignore it cause society deemed to keep them apart, not to mention Jules's desire to plan all of his life the way he thinks it should go. Thankfully, the end up together :)
I'll reread this book at some point. It was that good :)
1 st read_This was amazing! Watching Jules and Phoebe fall in love was magical. And tense cause you just knew they were going to fight it or ignore it cause society deemed to keep them apart, not to mention Jules's desire to plan all of his life the way he thinks it should go. Thankfully, the end up together :)
I'll reread this book at some point. It was that good :)
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