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C Series #4
The Chance
A brave nobleman who'd successfully fought Napoleon's toughest soldiers, Raphael Dalton was no stranger to treachery and warfare. Yet nothing this modest hero has experienced can prepare him for the famous beauty Annabelle, the toast of the London
With his unruly red hair and solid, honest face, Rafe doesn't think he has a chance with the flirtatious beauty who seems not to notice him. And when scandal threatens to ruin the reputation of a friend's sister, Breanna, Rafe's hopes may be dashed for good. To stop malicious tongue-wagging, Rafe offers to marry the exotic, raven-haired beauty. It isn't only honor, though, that sparks the proposal, for a smodering attraction draws him to this spirited woman as well.
Little does Rafe know, however, that Annabelle still wants him for her own. While he's a master at outwitting opponents on the battlefield, the painfully shy soldier is defenseless when it comes to the fairer sexand Annabelle will use every weapon she can, while Breanna hopes for his attention too. Now Rafe has the chance to find true love -- but only if he doesn't lose his head...
With his unruly red hair and solid, honest face, Rafe doesn't think he has a chance with the flirtatious beauty who seems not to notice him. And when scandal threatens to ruin the reputation of a friend's sister, Breanna, Rafe's hopes may be dashed for good. To stop malicious tongue-wagging, Rafe offers to marry the exotic, raven-haired beauty. It isn't only honor, though, that sparks the proposal, for a smodering attraction draws him to this spirited woman as well.
Little does Rafe know, however, that Annabelle still wants him for her own. While he's a master at outwitting opponents on the battlefield, the painfully shy soldier is defenseless when it comes to the fairer sexand Annabelle will use every weapon she can, while Breanna hopes for his attention too. Now Rafe has the chance to find true love -- but only if he doesn't lose his head...
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
About the author
Edith Layton
78 books104 followersEdith Layton wrote her first novel when she was ten. She bought a marbleized notebook and set out to write a story that would fit between its covers. Now, an award-winning author with more than thirty novels and numerous novellas to her credit, her criteria have changed. The story has to fit the reader as well as between the covers.
Graduating from Hunter College in New York City with a degree in creative writing and theater, Edith worked for various media, including a radio station and a major motion picture company. She married and went to suburbia, where she was fruitful and multiplied to the tune of three children. Her eldest, Michael, is a social worker and artist in NYC. Adam is a writer and performer on NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Daughter Susie is a professional writer, comedian and performer who works in television.
Publishers Weekly called Edith Layton "one of romance's most gifted writers." Layton has enthralled readers and critics with books that capture the spirit of historically distant places and peoples. "What I've found," she says, "is that life was very different in every era, but that love and love of life is always the same."
Layton won an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement award for the Historical genre in 2003 and a Reviewers' Choice award for her book The Conquest in 2001. Amazon.com's top reviewer called Layton's Alas, My Love (April 2005, Avon Books), "a wonderful historical." And her recent release, Bride Enchanted, is a Romantic Times 2007 Reviewers' Choice Award Nominee.
Edith Layton lived on Long Island where she devoted time as a volunteer for the North Shore Animal League , the world's largest no-kill pet rescue and adoption organization. Her dog Daisy --adopted herself from a shelter-- is just one member of Layton's household menagerie.
Edith Layton passed away on June 1, 2009 from ovarian cancer.
Graduating from Hunter College in New York City with a degree in creative writing and theater, Edith worked for various media, including a radio station and a major motion picture company. She married and went to suburbia, where she was fruitful and multiplied to the tune of three children. Her eldest, Michael, is a social worker and artist in NYC. Adam is a writer and performer on NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Daughter Susie is a professional writer, comedian and performer who works in television.
Publishers Weekly called Edith Layton "one of romance's most gifted writers." Layton has enthralled readers and critics with books that capture the spirit of historically distant places and peoples. "What I've found," she says, "is that life was very different in every era, but that love and love of life is always the same."
Layton won an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement award for the Historical genre in 2003 and a Reviewers' Choice award for her book The Conquest in 2001. Amazon.com's top reviewer called Layton's Alas, My Love (April 2005, Avon Books), "a wonderful historical." And her recent release, Bride Enchanted, is a Romantic Times 2007 Reviewers' Choice Award Nominee.
Edith Layton lived on Long Island where she devoted time as a volunteer for the North Shore Animal League , the world's largest no-kill pet rescue and adoption organization. Her dog Daisy --adopted herself from a shelter-- is just one member of Layton's household menagerie.
Edith Layton passed away on June 1, 2009 from ovarian cancer.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 25, 2011
When Edith Layton died, many people mentioned how much they had enjoyed her books and so, I put her name on a mental list of authors I wanted to try. I came across this book a few months later and have finally gotten around to reading it. I am glad I did.
This is the story of a good, honorable man who is in the early stages of courting a beautiful and much sought after young woman, when circumstances and honor require that he marry another woman, the sister of a good friend.
My only problems with the book were the circumstance that caused the scandal and that Rafe never seemed to realize who started the rumor. I think the author could have added a little more information to make it more reasonable for Brenna to have been in a position to open the door in that state of dress. Like maybe her sick brother needed something and she threw on the robe and was ducking down to kitchen to get it when she heard someone at the door.
The author more than makes up for that with the way she handles the emotions of both Rafe and Brenna as they deal with their need to marry and with the marriage itself, and with Rafe's family, and with Rafe's feelings for Annabelle, the woman he had been courting.
I hope to read the rest of this series and more from Edith Layton.
This is the story of a good, honorable man who is in the early stages of courting a beautiful and much sought after young woman, when circumstances and honor require that he marry another woman, the sister of a good friend.
My only problems with the book were the circumstance that caused the scandal and that Rafe never seemed to realize who started the rumor. I think the author could have added a little more information to make it more reasonable for Brenna to have been in a position to open the door in that state of dress. Like maybe her sick brother needed something and she threw on the robe and was ducking down to kitchen to get it when she heard someone at the door.
The author more than makes up for that with the way she handles the emotions of both Rafe and Brenna as they deal with their need to marry and with the marriage itself, and with Rafe's family, and with Rafe's feelings for Annabelle, the woman he had been courting.
I hope to read the rest of this series and more from Edith Layton.
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April 12, 2014How wonderful to discover a new author with a long backlist! But then, how sad to learn she'd died relatively young. Edith Layton was clearly a very talented author, whose writing reminds me of Mary Balogh's. I'm delighted to have discovered her.
June 4, 2012
In comparison with wallpaper romances I've read recently, this book may seem a bit outdated / old-fashioned. However this comparison also points up some real strength of the book :
1. the heroine's behaviour flirts with what's acceptable, having travelled the world to go pick up her brother sick in India. However she never really looks way ahead of her times.
2. the writing is nice and witty; some dialogues are deliciously wry. I smiled regularly over the bons mots.
Even though both hero and heroine are sickenly unsure of themselves and their possible charms to others, they are really likable, partly because they really seem to care.
I also liked the personality of Annabelle, the scheming coquette, who indeed suffers from never having been said no before the man she intented for herself chose someone else.
1. the heroine's behaviour flirts with what's acceptable, having travelled the world to go pick up her brother sick in India. However she never really looks way ahead of her times.
2. the writing is nice and witty; some dialogues are deliciously wry. I smiled regularly over the bons mots.
Even though both hero and heroine are sickenly unsure of themselves and their possible charms to others, they are really likable, partly because they really seem to care.
I also liked the personality of Annabelle, the scheming coquette, who indeed suffers from never having been said no before the man she intented for herself chose someone else.
June 2, 2015
A good marriage of acquaintances tale. Little too much pining by the man at times. But it was well executed. All the secondary characters came to life and you could even feel the bile coming off the page in the scenes featuring his family which was actually quite amazing.
It was a change too to have the man be the one with the self esteem issues. It hurts my heart sometimes when a man beats up on himself about minor aspects of his looks. When he was musing on getting his eyebrows shaved because of their colour I went all puppy dog "aww" and felt terrible for him and whoever made him so ashamed of himself. Both leads were mellow, kind personalities who you felt could easily go on to live a life of comfort and calm together.
It was a change too to have the man be the one with the self esteem issues. It hurts my heart sometimes when a man beats up on himself about minor aspects of his looks. When he was musing on getting his eyebrows shaved because of their colour I went all puppy dog "aww" and felt terrible for him and whoever made him so ashamed of himself. Both leads were mellow, kind personalities who you felt could easily go on to live a life of comfort and calm together.
February 19, 2023
I still think the heroine behaved stupidly when she opened the door in H’s house. The other possibility is that at some subconscious level she wanted to be compromised. I felt a bit sorry for the OW but only a little.
September 12, 2010
Totally contrived and unbelievable plot, idiotic heroine.
June 26, 2012
3.5 - 4 stars
February 3, 2014
Very enjoyable book about not traditionally handsome, redhead hero with flaws and insecurities and a woman who loved him for his integrity, kindness and unconventional beauty.
May 8, 2021
Rafe is a man's man with few social graces. Of course, he falls for Annabelle, the Toast of the Town, who requires much flattery and attention. I have to admit that Brenna is a relief after Annabelle, although it seems sometimes as if Annabelle is simply misguided, not evil.. Sometimes I wonder how a lie can be taken to heart by so many. It seems dreadfully easy to do and reminded me of Shakespeare's Iago, the villain I love to hate. It should not be so easy to manipulate others. Horrifying.
October 4, 2021
I really loved both Rafe and Brenna as characters. I would have liked an epilogue because the ending seemed a bit abrupt but overall I enjoyed the story.
Summary: Rafe loves Annabelle because he can see that she's hurting after losing the man she loved to another woman. As Rafe courts her, his sick friend Eric and his sister, Brenna, arrive at his townhouse. When Annabelle and her mother visit Rafe's townhouse and find Brenna fresh from a bath in a bathrobe, Rafe has no choice but to marry Brenna to stop the gossip and love ensues.
Summary: Rafe loves Annabelle because he can see that she's hurting after losing the man she loved to another woman. As Rafe courts her, his sick friend Eric and his sister, Brenna, arrive at his townhouse. When Annabelle and her mother visit Rafe's townhouse and find Brenna fresh from a bath in a bathrobe, Rafe has no choice but to marry Brenna to stop the gossip and love ensues.
September 26, 2024
Absolutely implausible major plot device: Absolutely zero people in the early 19th century of any class in any household above the poorest would EVER answer the door dripping wet in a "robe" and barefoot for any reason whatsoever.
Never. Not ever. I assume this unutterably anachronistic out of character for the entire historical period, plot device is what the rest of the story hinges upon. Poorly done imo.
Never. Not ever. I assume this unutterably anachronistic out of character for the entire historical period, plot device is what the rest of the story hinges upon. Poorly done imo.
August 22, 2020
I haven't read the other books in the series, but I loved this one. Previous Layton novels haven't worked as well for me, but I thought the story between Bren and Rafe was very realistic to the time, while also opening up to themes that still resonated in a modern context. It was lovely to see the couple work past their insecurities, even though the end dragged a bit.
August 28, 2024
In one word - boring. The main characters were dull and lacked chemistry, the supporting characters were either terrible people or sickly sweet. In fact the only interesting character was Lord Drummond. I couldn’t wait to finish this book to put myself out of this misery.
January 23, 2019
Ironically, same plot as The Rake's Rainbow, but hero is a better person.
May 26, 2023
I'm actually very surprised with how much I enjoyed this book
September 30, 2009
Compared to the previous Romance book I read, this was heaven! Well-rounded characters, warm yet passionnate relationship and a good story.
I did find the sex scenes a bit too bland though. But meh, that's not the main reason I read romance books :P it's the new love, and THAT this book has in spades.
I did find the sex scenes a bit too bland though. But meh, that's not the main reason I read romance books :P it's the new love, and THAT this book has in spades.
January 20, 2014
Gossip - when the woman Rafe is pursuing and her mama see Brenna in her dressing gown in his house, they spread spiteful gossip about her, and when that isn't enough they make sure it follows her even to her home in the country. What's a gentleman to do?
We met the gossipy Annabelle in a previous book, and here she is, still pursuing somebody she can't have.
We met the gossipy Annabelle in a previous book, and here she is, still pursuing somebody she can't have.
August 10, 2012
This is the third in the series and now I'm frustrated I don't have the fourth in hand. Enjoyed this... would have been nice to relish the comeuppance of Annabelle a bit more, but perhaps that's yet to come. I do like Layton's books!
January 18, 2013
A really great read! Plenty of drama to keep the story interesting. Very well paced and nice narrative. A really sweet story at points and at other parts gut wrenching. Can't wait for more of the series!
June 25, 2011
Not Layton's best, but not her worst either.
May 6, 2013
A sweet book that had me rooting for the heroine to please, please box the ears of the evil other woman ;)
January 16, 2016
Beautifully written..hero was a bit too non communicative but the story was poignant
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews