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Richard and Rose #8
Lisbon
They can escape winter’s cold, but their nemesis has a long, icy reach.
Richard and Rose, Book 8
On a ship bound for Portugal with her children and the man she loves, Rose should be blissfully happy. Except Richard treats her like she’s made of porcelain. She’s recovered from the childbed fever that nearly killed her, yet he won’t share her bed and it’s driving her mad.
To win him back body and soul, she resolves to use every wicked, seductive trick he’s taught her. Until a possible attempted murder on board puts them both on alert for the trouble that seems to dog their every move.
Richard is almost relieved to have something to investigate. He loves Rose too much to risk losing her—which is exactly what could happen if he gets her pregnant again. When it becomes clear a series of accidents is no such thing, they realize an old enemy has caught up with them.
It’s imperative for Richard and Rose to work together to defeat this foe, but their new distance could prove their undoing. Especially when Mother Nature conspires to make them endure one last, desperate test of their love…
Warning: The earth is moving for Richard and Rose, but this time it’s not entirely their fault.
Richard and Rose, Book 8
On a ship bound for Portugal with her children and the man she loves, Rose should be blissfully happy. Except Richard treats her like she’s made of porcelain. She’s recovered from the childbed fever that nearly killed her, yet he won’t share her bed and it’s driving her mad.
To win him back body and soul, she resolves to use every wicked, seductive trick he’s taught her. Until a possible attempted murder on board puts them both on alert for the trouble that seems to dog their every move.
Richard is almost relieved to have something to investigate. He loves Rose too much to risk losing her—which is exactly what could happen if he gets her pregnant again. When it becomes clear a series of accidents is no such thing, they realize an old enemy has caught up with them.
It’s imperative for Richard and Rose to work together to defeat this foe, but their new distance could prove their undoing. Especially when Mother Nature conspires to make them endure one last, desperate test of their love…
Warning: The earth is moving for Richard and Rose, but this time it’s not entirely their fault.
264 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 5, 2012
2 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Connolly
130 books312 followersI was born in Leicester, England, and lived in our cobbler’s shop with my parents and sister. It was an old house and most definitely haunted, but I didn’t find out until I left that my great uncle had hung himself in the living room! But I think our ghost might have been older than that. It was built on the site of the old Roman cemetery, and the land had been constantly inhabited, being in the centre of town. Then, when the council bought the house from us to build a road, my grandfather retired and my father went and worked for the Post Office. My mother was a sample machinist; that is, she worked with designers on the prototypes (models or samples) of garments. So I was very well dressed! We bought a relatively modern house in the country, and my mother was blissfully happy. It’s all very well living in a large old house, but it’s a dreadful task to keep it clean and warm!
My mother's side of the family are Romany gypsies, although sadly we haven't any of the old trailers that are so astonishingly beautiful. I was taught to read the Tarot cards, and I usually use two packs; the Rider pack for simple readings and the Crowley Thoth pack for the complex stuff.
I've always had an interest in the paranormal and it's been a delight to be able to put some of this into my novels.
My mother's side of the family are Romany gypsies, although sadly we haven't any of the old trailers that are so astonishingly beautiful. I was taught to read the Tarot cards, and I usually use two packs; the Rider pack for simple readings and the Crowley Thoth pack for the complex stuff.
I've always had an interest in the paranormal and it's been a delight to be able to put some of this into my novels.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 8, 2012
Adieu Richard & Rose.
If I had to rate this book on it's own merits, it would be more along he lines of a solid 3-star book. However I finally settled on rating this final(*) book in the Richard and Rose series as more a total series rating rather than just the one for this single book. That is because this book really doesn't stand alone. So much of what we know, understand and expect from these characters has been established already so the reading of this book is richer for that knowledge.
In the earlier books we've had R&R meet, fall in love, solve mysteries, have kids and most of all fend off some fairly vicious enemies. Even though this book still works through those same plot lines, it is mostly about their marriage and feelings for each other.
In this installment, R&R are on a yacht bound for Lisbon to visit Rose's younger sister, Lizzie. Lizzie is married to a handsome Portuguese Marques and she and Rose have not seen each other for ages. However all is not well at the outset. Rose is still recovering from a serious bout of child-bed fever she suffered from after the birth of triplet sons. It is clear that she almost died and Richard was beside himself with the possibility of her loss. This has caused incredible strain in their marriage.
In earlier books it was clearly established that Public Richard and Private Richard are two very different people. Public Richard is a cold, hard-as-diamonds bad-ass. Private Richard, who is still pretty spectacular in the kicking ass and taking names area, is incredibly emotionally invested in his wife. So in an effort to protect her and himself, he starts to wall himself away from her. He's afraid to lose her and will do anything he needs to keep her safe including stopping conjugal relations. This was actually a reprise of his reaction after the birth of their first child. But it is so much worse this time. Rose is beside herself trying to figure out how to repair the minute, yet serious rips in their marriage.
Added to this is the fact that mysterious accidents are happening around them. Although they have pretty much neutralized their enemies, there is still the uncertainty that their most recent nemesis may have a longer reach than they expect.
This book has a much more contemplative air about it than any of the previous books. A lot of it is Rose trying to reconnect with Richard and Richard being very anguished. This is very much an intimate look inside a marriage. At first I was dismayed, I didn't want the book to simply be a series of scenes where Rose and Richard were always angsting over their love. I wanted Action-Richard back; the guy who would shoot a villain in cold blood, without a blink, and pose the scene so that it looked like a suicide. Luckily the navel-gazing doesn't last too long. Events begin to over-take them with mysterious poisonings and other assorted mishaps and danger begins to coalesce around them. Richard begins to realize that you can't be afraid of what might happen, you have to love in the moment.
Once again R&R are a united front against a largely unseen enemy and their marriage begins to repair. I liked the moments of utter faith that they both have in each other. This is after all a romance novel and the triumph of love that we all read romances for is definitely here. But that doesn't mean we can't still have a bit of action too. The last several chapters are full of eventful happenings and it is especially gratifying to see Rose taking some decisive action and rescuing Richard for once.
(*)Although this is ostensibly the last Richard and Rose book, I do like the fact that in the Author's note, Ms. Connolly has left the door open for possible future sightings or R&R. They may wander into other books or we might even yet get to visit them again as star players. This is good to know. I have a real soft spot in my heart for this series and even though I have been completely fine with it ending (I really dislike when a series is past it's sell-by date), it is nice to know they might pop up unexpectedly somewhere.
If I had to rate this book on it's own merits, it would be more along he lines of a solid 3-star book. However I finally settled on rating this final(*) book in the Richard and Rose series as more a total series rating rather than just the one for this single book. That is because this book really doesn't stand alone. So much of what we know, understand and expect from these characters has been established already so the reading of this book is richer for that knowledge.
In the earlier books we've had R&R meet, fall in love, solve mysteries, have kids and most of all fend off some fairly vicious enemies. Even though this book still works through those same plot lines, it is mostly about their marriage and feelings for each other.
In this installment, R&R are on a yacht bound for Lisbon to visit Rose's younger sister, Lizzie. Lizzie is married to a handsome Portuguese Marques and she and Rose have not seen each other for ages. However all is not well at the outset. Rose is still recovering from a serious bout of child-bed fever she suffered from after the birth of triplet sons. It is clear that she almost died and Richard was beside himself with the possibility of her loss. This has caused incredible strain in their marriage.
In earlier books it was clearly established that Public Richard and Private Richard are two very different people. Public Richard is a cold, hard-as-diamonds bad-ass. Private Richard, who is still pretty spectacular in the kicking ass and taking names area, is incredibly emotionally invested in his wife. So in an effort to protect her and himself, he starts to wall himself away from her. He's afraid to lose her and will do anything he needs to keep her safe including stopping conjugal relations. This was actually a reprise of his reaction after the birth of their first child. But it is so much worse this time. Rose is beside herself trying to figure out how to repair the minute, yet serious rips in their marriage.
Added to this is the fact that mysterious accidents are happening around them. Although they have pretty much neutralized their enemies, there is still the uncertainty that their most recent nemesis may have a longer reach than they expect.
This book has a much more contemplative air about it than any of the previous books. A lot of it is Rose trying to reconnect with Richard and Richard being very anguished. This is very much an intimate look inside a marriage. At first I was dismayed, I didn't want the book to simply be a series of scenes where Rose and Richard were always angsting over their love. I wanted Action-Richard back; the guy who would shoot a villain in cold blood, without a blink, and pose the scene so that it looked like a suicide. Luckily the navel-gazing doesn't last too long. Events begin to over-take them with mysterious poisonings and other assorted mishaps and danger begins to coalesce around them. Richard begins to realize that you can't be afraid of what might happen, you have to love in the moment.
Once again R&R are a united front against a largely unseen enemy and their marriage begins to repair. I liked the moments of utter faith that they both have in each other. This is after all a romance novel and the triumph of love that we all read romances for is definitely here. But that doesn't mean we can't still have a bit of action too. The last several chapters are full of eventful happenings and it is especially gratifying to see Rose taking some decisive action and rescuing Richard for once.
(*)Although this is ostensibly the last Richard and Rose book, I do like the fact that in the Author's note, Ms. Connolly has left the door open for possible future sightings or R&R. They may wander into other books or we might even yet get to visit them again as star players. This is good to know. I have a real soft spot in my heart for this series and even though I have been completely fine with it ending (I really dislike when a series is past it's sell-by date), it is nice to know they might pop up unexpectedly somewhere.
June 30, 2013
I wanted to love this book, and I do so love the series as a whole. The historical details were great, as always, the weaving in of a major real event worked very well, and Richard and Rose had believable developments in their relationship. However, I really felt the lack of Gervase as a physical presence in the story, and never really connected with Lizzy and her family as a substitute secondary relationship. Also it felt to me that the book was heavier on relationships and lighter on the mystery/adventure plots than others in the series. I'm still sad to see the end of them all as major characters, of course.
March 20, 2018
*happy sigh* A heart-wrenching end to the Richard and Rose series. (*sob* about this being the end!)
The beginning is heartbreaking, with the distance that has developed between Richard and Rose. The rest contains mystery, suspicious characters, lemon cream and rats. Also relationship issues, danger and Mother Nature. And eventually a happy ending, after a lot of nail-biting-worthy OMG-this-isn't-happening stuff. (It's a romance, of course there's a happy ending!!!)
I think I need to reread the whole series soon… <3 <3 <3!
The beginning is heartbreaking, with the distance that has developed between Richard and Rose. The rest contains mystery, suspicious characters, lemon cream and rats. Also relationship issues, danger and Mother Nature. And eventually a happy ending, after a lot of nail-biting-worthy OMG-this-isn't-happening stuff. (It's a romance, of course there's a happy ending!!!)
I think I need to reread the whole series soon… <3 <3 <3!
December 18, 2025
Reread.
April 8, 2025
At last the story is complete. And, take note authors, I started it with a free e-book from Amazon and finished by buying the whole of the rest of the series.
I already had the other Georgian books by the author, but somehow I had the impression that this series was set in the Victorian era, not my favourite. Because it was free I got Yorkshire anyway and was hooked. I liked being able to follow the same characters for several years through the development of their relationship within their marriage. The thriller/whodunnit aspect of it meant that the tension was more in outside circumstances, so there didn't have to be too much stress inside the relationship, which would have been a bit sad. And the culmination in Lisbon with everything coming together was breathholding. Apparently Richard and Rose appear in other books briefly, so I now have to go back and re-read them too.
I already had the other Georgian books by the author, but somehow I had the impression that this series was set in the Victorian era, not my favourite. Because it was free I got Yorkshire anyway and was hooked. I liked being able to follow the same characters for several years through the development of their relationship within their marriage. The thriller/whodunnit aspect of it meant that the tension was more in outside circumstances, so there didn't have to be too much stress inside the relationship, which would have been a bit sad. And the culmination in Lisbon with everything coming together was breathholding. Apparently Richard and Rose appear in other books briefly, so I now have to go back and re-read them too.
November 16, 2013
I initially planned on re-reading the Richard & Rose series, but I could barely bring myself to finish the last instalment, number 7. Had it been one of the first books in the series, I would have enjoyed it very much, but as I already mentioned in my review of the last book, I don't want to read about Richard and Rose being in danger and being threatened for the umpteenth time anymore. I don't care if my wishes are logical or not, or if in the 18th century it was normal for members of the aristocracy to be constantly jeopardised. For this reader this is old news as I read all seven books now and in each and every novel there was a potential threat to either Richard or Rose or both of them, and thanks to some magic wand both always survive. I usually don't wish for my characters to die, but apparently those two have more luck and superpowers together than Superman. D
June 6, 2012
So much has happened to Richard and Rose over the years and this was a fantastic ending to the series. It remains on my keeper shelf and I love to go back and reread these books when I can't decide what else to read. I look forward to reading the next set of Georgian historicals from Ms. Connolly.
Read
November 10, 2013Enjoyable series.
November 13, 2014
2.5 stars
September 13, 2013
Good story.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews