My Pleasure

The Rose Hunters Trilogy #2

by Connie Brockway

Connie Brockway "draws readers into the breathtaking love story of a dashing Scotsman who is duty bound to protect the one woman who incites in him a wild passion. How exactly can he save her from himself?"

By day, celebrated beauty Helena Nash works as a proper companion to one of London's most disagreeable ladies. By night she acts as an illicit messenger between two separated lovers. Masked and disguised, she falls into the path of a shadowy stalker. Fearing for her safety but unwilling to halt her nocturnal forays, Helena seeks out Ramsey Munro -- one of three men who pledged years earlier to serve her family in times of need. Handsome and elusive, the notorious Scotsman is London's most accomplished swordsman and represents everything Helena wants but can't have -- freedom, adventure, and passion. Now she demands that he teach her his formidable skills, a commission that may prove cool, collected Helena's undoing. For Ramsey has seen through her disguise...and soon vows to teach her both the way of the sword and the deliciously wicked pleasures of the flesh.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Mystery

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 28, 2004

About the author

New York Times and USAToday best selling author Connie Brockway has twice won the Romance Writers of America's Rita award for best historical romance as well as being an eight time finalist. After receiving a double major in art history and English from Macalester College, Connie entered grad school with an eye to acquiring her MFA in creative writing. Soon enough she jettisoned the idea of writing serious literature for what she considered (and still considers) the best gig in the world, writing romance.

Connie has received numerous starred reviews for her romances in Publisher's Weekly and Library Journal. Library Journal also named her Her 2004 romance, My Seduction, one of the year's top ten romances.

In November of 2011, THE OTHER GUY'S BRIDE (a sequel to the perennially popular AS YOU DESIRE) was Amazon's Montlake Publishing's launch title. Here next book, NO PLACE FOR A DAME will be published September, 2013. A regency set romance, it is also the sequel to ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT.Today Connie lives in Minnesota with her husband David, a family physician, and two spoiled mutts.

Reviews

[FlordeCereza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia donde el amor de Helena y Ramsey vencerá toda clase de peligros.

Placer de Connie Brockway nos llevará a las oscuras calles de Londres donde un hombre y una mujer se reencontrarán después de años de separación, un romance que llevará a Helena y a Ramsey a vivir una de las mayores aventuras donde el amor y la pasión los hará descubrir placeres inigualables, pero también los unirá de tal forma que ninguno de los dos podrá obviar que su destino es estar juntos y que nada ni nadie los podrá separar jamás.

Link de la reseña completa: http://florecilladecereza.blogspot.co...

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is fantastic. Strong characters and great writing. Ramsey is such a charmer. He is distinct, dark, sexy, dangerous. I loved Helena and her chemistry with Ramsey. I enjoyed both the hero and heroine very much.

I enjoyed the story very much. Sadly, there weren't a lot of juicy scenes in this book, but I found myself sucked into the plot anyway (or maybe because of it). There was a lot of hot sexual tension between the hero and heroine, however.

Rakes/bad boys are so fun to read! And to have a prim and proper lady thrown into the mix with a dashing, handsome rogue is perfect!

This is a beautiful, satisfying romance.

[kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helena Nash is layered, like pie. Beyond her criminally pretty face is a woman who is sassy and stuff. Ramsey Munro is straightforward, like a sword. He is comprised of playboy good looks, a shadowy past, and boat-loads of honor. He runs into her in disguise while she's on a mission for her employer's daughter and they strike up a flirtation. Meanwhile, she approaches him as her real self in order to learn fencing and LOVE IS THE AIR, ALONG WITH RIDGES OF AROUSAL and silly MISUNDERSTANDINGS. Obvs, the reason Helena is not confessing she's both the disguised woman from the park is because she only wants Ram as a low-down lover. And obvs the reason Ram wants to marry her is because oaths, duty, honor.

1. This was enjoyable palatable for me, even though I have mean things to say. Helena's struggle to discover herself under the mask she wears as a paid companion was fun, as was her banter with Ramsey. Ram's understanding of his position in society, and how that would impact Helena's acceptance of him, was nuanced without being bludgeon-y.

Yes, if they would have used an ounce of brainpower, things would have been a mite easier for both of them, but the ride was so enjoyable that I didn't even mind it.

2. The plot to determine who betrayed the boys is still afoot, although pushed mostly into the background. It does not rule Ramsey's life in the way it ruled Kit's (from My Seduction), but it does have presence and repercussions in the text. I did, however, call the twist reveal far too early, and I honestly am curious if Douglas is really dead. TOO SOON?

3. So. Much. Fencing. Terminology.

4. Ultimately, I thought the actual relationship development fell far short of the ideal: there's flirting and mentions of Ramsey watching Helena for years to fully understand her, but there's nothing on the page to trace that plummet from mutual I'd-Bang-You feelings to Love-You-Tender-Always-&-Forever. It was patchy and left me feeling a bit morose, especially because I did like both of those blockheads. I wanted more!

[LuvBug · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an okay read. I enjoyed the first half of the book the most, but it wasn't able to hold me all the way through. This is another book that has great reviews. I think what captures readers more than anything else is the interesting storyline of a sexy sword fighter trying to slay dragons for the heroine. I think it just needed a little more uniqueness when it came to the romance between the hero and heroine.... He's protects her from a far and fell in love??? She's in love with him but doesn't want to marry him, so she tries to be his mistress instead??? Yea, those kind of scenes will lose me every time. I will admit that I am a very picky reader though. For a book to be a 4 or 5 star read, the stars has to be aligned,lol.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ho-hum. After starting this one, I realized I should have just skipped to the 3rd one in the series to find out who betrayed the 4 men in France, but I was already 1/2 through it so I stuck it out. Not as good as the first one, but not terrible either. There was a little "twist" at the end as far as who the villain had disguised himself as, although there was an inkling earlier in the book.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should've been so much better than it was. Helena was an empty shell of a character, which was evident through Brockway's writing, who didn't seem to really care about her own main character, as she spent thrice as much time giving Ramsey his backstory and flashbacks, and quite literally no time was spent fleshing out Helena, the protagonist of the story.

Their chemistry started fun but went downhill quickly, and Helena's infuriating doormat behavior toward Flora and Oswald was unthinkably silly as a plot device to create unneeded miscommunication. I also found the whole subplot with the crappy grandfather who suddenly wanted to make Ramsey his heir and Ramsey (understandably!) fighting it for years and then suddenly and inexplicably giving in super weak. I wish Ramsey would've told that man to fuck off eternally, thanks. And the overly-detailed info dump session wherein a random Prussian woman (wife of a loose friend of Ramsey's, so why would she even know this much detail?) shoveled in loads of intricate details about Ramsey's entire life story and current feelings (that he never even voices aloud himself) was odd and felt forced.

And of course, the villain(s) felt very mustache-twirly, which is never something I enjoy.

[Charity Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Pleasure by Connie Brockway was a Pleasure to Read!


I am fast becoming enamored with the characters in Ms. Brockway's stories.


I liked both Ramsey Munro, the "H", and Helena Nash, the "h".


Pros: The story line was sweat, and the couple did receive their Happily Ever After.


Cons: I would have liked the writing to have included a Scottish accent, since Ramsey was supposed to have been of Scottish decent; However, that was not the case.


Without the accent, Ramsey could be any character, in any story.

[Margeline · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly my last attempt at reading one of Connie Brockway's work because even though I love her writing, her characters, and their dynamic. After 7 books I can say that FOR ME the plot always falls short and she has a tendency to drag the slow burn with no progress in any aspect of the story before the last two chapters or so and then rush the end.

[Jina · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the story, I was rather put out by the factual error that occurred in one scene. A marquis is just the French word for a marquess and a marquess outranks an earl not the other way around.

[Larissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Klappentext:
Ramsey Munro, wagemutiger Spion der englischen Krone, hat geschworen, Helena Nash vor allen Gefahren mit Leib und Leben zu schützen. Nicht ganz uneigennützig, denn er hat sich leidenschaftlich in die schöne junge Frau verliebt. Obwohl Helena seine Gefühle zu erwidern scheint, entzieht sie sich ihm immer wieder.
Teibt sie bloß ein Spiel mit ihm? Da überrascht er Helena eines Nachts auf dem berüchtigten Lovers Walk - in Männerkleidung!
Und nur sein Kuss kann sie aus einer äußerst peinlichen Situation retten. Doch Helena verblüfft ihn mit der Behauptung, ihn nicht zu kennen ...

Meine Meinung:
"Spion meines Herzens" ist der zweite Band einer historischen Reihe von Connie Brockway. Leider ist das auch der erste Teil den ich gelesen habe. Es geht um vier Spione der englischen Krone, die in Frankreich verraten und gefoltert wurden. Im zweiten Band geht es um Ramsey Munro, ein uneheliches Kind adligen Eltern. Doch deren Hochzeit nie anerkannt wurde. Als seine Eltern starben, wurde er in ein Arbeitshaus gesteckt und das mit neun Jahren. Ihm wurde die ganze Zeit über vorgehalten, dass er ein Bastard sei und keinen Wert besitzt. Eines Tages wird er von einem Abt aus dem Arbeitshaus geholt um in einem schottischen Kloster aufzuwachsen. Dort lernt er drei andere Jungen kennen und freundet sich mit ihnen an. Diese vier Kinder bekamen von nun an ständig Fechtunterricht und wurden zu Spionen ausgebildet um Napoleon auszuspionieren. Doch in Frankreich verrät einer der Ihren die Gruppe und sie werden festgenommen, in ein Gefängnis gesteckt und gefoltert. Jeder von ihnen bekam eine Brandmarkung im Form einer Rose verpasst.
Ein britischer Offizier names Colonel Nash, tauschte sein Leben gegen das der Gefolterten ein und so wurden sie befreit. Aus Dankbarkeit für diese Tat, schworen die Männer der Familie des Colonels ihre Treue und ihren Schutz.
Die Tochter des Colonels, Helena Nash, arbeitet als Gesellschafterin bei Lady Tilpot. Deren Nichte Flora ist heimlich in einen verheirateten Mann verliebt und will ein Leben mit ihm führen. Da aber noch keiner von dieser verbotenen Verbindung wissen darf, muss Helena als Brieftaube arbeiten. Deshalb begibt sie sich eines Nachts, als Junge verkleidet, in die Vauxhall Gardens zum berüchtigten Lovers Walk um Oswald, den Geliebten Floras, zu treffen und ihm einen Brief von Flora zu überreichen. Doch dort wird sie von einer Gruppe junger Männer belästigt, doch Ramsey rettet sie aus der Situation mithilfe eines Kusses. Helena kennt ihren Retter, doch sie will nicht, dass er erfährt wer sie ist. Denn jeder kennt sie als ruhig und ohne Gefühlsregungen, doch jetzt spürt sie plötzlich eine Sehnsucht nach Ramsey, die ihr Angst einjagt.
In ihrer Verkleidung hingegen kann sie sein wie sie möchte und muss sich nicht verstellen. Helena hasst es dem gesellschaftlichen Bild der Frau entsprechen zu müssen: nicht selbst denken, Männer als ihre Vormünder, brav sitzen und gut aussehen, nicht widersprechen, keine eigene Meinung haben ... Sie will von einem Mann als Gleichgestellte gesehen werden und nicht als Eigentum.
Doch sie hat einen heimlichen Stalker, der genau das in ihr sieht, sein Eigentum. Er lauert ihr überall auf, verfolgt sie und bedroht sie, denn keiner außer ihm, darf sie anfassen. Er glaubt, dass Helena ihn verführen will und sieht überall angebliche Zeichen ihrer Zuneigung für ihn ...
Um sich gegen ihn wehren zu können, beschließt sie bei Ramsey, ein sehr guter Fechter, Unterricht zu nehmen. Doch sie weiß nicht, dass er schon lange in sie verliebt ist. Bis sie sich selbst in ihn verliebt. Doch das kann der Stalker nicht dulden!
Es gibt innerhalb der Geschichte immer wieder Einschübe aus Ramseys Vergangenheit, die zeigen, wie er zu dem Mensch geworden ist, der er jetzt ist.
Leider habe ich erst im Nachhinein erfahren, dass ich zuerst den zweiten Band gelesen habe, was blöd ist, denn das Paar, um das es im ersten Band geht, auch einen Platz im zweiten hat. Aber ansonsten ist es nicht so schlimm, denn es sind jedes Mal eigene Geschichten, die äußere Handlung ist zwar fortlaufend, nimmt aber keinen so großen Raum ein. Die Charaktere waren gut ausgearbeitet, die kühle Helena, die für ihre Freundin Flora alles tut, der misstrauische Fechtmeister und Spion Ramsey, der gefoltert wurde. Auch die Nebenfiguren sind ausgearbeitet und wirken authentisch.
Es gibt am Anfang jedes Kapitels ein Wort aus der Fechtkunst das erklärt wird, z.B.:Fechtgruß: zeremonielle Begrüßung des Gegners. Das bringt einen noch näher an die Materie des Fechtens, die in der Handlung eine große Rolle spielt.
Das Buch insgesamt war zwar unterhaltsam und gut geschrieben, aber es hat mich nicht vollkommen überzeugt. Es ist einfach ein Buch für Zwischendurch, bei dem man schon am Anfang das Ende kennt, aber das haben viele andere Bücher auch. Es gibt ein paar Überraschungen im Laufe der Handlungen, die zur Spannung beitragen.

Mein Fazit:
Lesenswert, aber kein Pageturner. Gute Charaktere und gut durchdachte Handlung, aber nichts herausragendes.

[Tkmla · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Wie widersteht man einem Schotten?“ von Connie Brockway ist der zweite Band ihrer spannenden Regency Scots Reihe.
Nach dem Tod ihrer Eltern und dem Verlust ihres Vermögens verdient sich die schöne Helena Nash ihren Lebensunterhalt als Gesellschafterin einer unausstehlichen älteren Lady. Stoisch erträgt Helena alle Demütigungen und niemand ahnt, welche heftigen Gefühle hinter ihrer eiskalten Maske schlummern. So spielt Helena heimlich für die Nichte ihrer Arbeitgeberin Liebesbotin, was sie zunehmend in gefährliche Situationen bringt. Aus einer dieser Gefahren rettet sie eines Nachts der attraktive Fechtmeister Ramsey Munro, der sie trotz Verkleidung sofort erkennt. Munro schwor Helena und ihren Schwestern seine Treue, da ihr Vater einst sein Leben rettete. Schon immer fühlt er sich zu Helena hingezogen und auch sie kann ihre Gefühle für Munro nicht lange unter Kontrolle halten.

Da die Bände dieser Reihe von einer zusammenhängenden Rahmenhandlung durchzogen sind, würde ich empfehlen, die Teile in ihrer vorgesehenen Reihenfolge zu lesen. Obwohl die abenteuerliche Lovestory von Helena und Ramsey auch unabhängig davon Spaß macht.
Helena ist wunderschön und bewahrt selbst ihrer Familie gegenüber eine unnahbare und unerschütterliche Aura. Ihre gesellschaftliche Stellung ist ihr wohl bewusst und so hat sie sich mit ihrer zugeteilten Rolle im Moment abgefunden. Es ist jedoch aufregend, wenn Helena ihre Schutzmauern fallen lässt und einfach ist wie sie wirklich ist. Das geschieht überraschenderweise nur in Gegenwart von Ramsey, der sich deswegen noch stärker in sie verliebt.
Ramsey und seine dunkle Vergangenheit stehen im Fokus der Handlung und sorgen für gefährliche Verwicklungen. Immer wieder gibt es unerwartete Twists, mit denen ich gar nicht gerechnet hätte. Die Funken zwischen Helena und Ramsey sind unübersehbar und die Liebe der beiden ist herzzerreißend und zuckersüß zugleich. Das Gesamtpaket passt perfekt und mir hat dieser zweite Teil sogar noch einen Tick besser als der Auftaktband gefallen.

Mein Fazit:
Ich gebe sehr gern eine Leseempfehlung!

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers.

I was so frustrated with this?

I thought the who problem could've been avoided if she had gotten the money that her sister had put aside for her, bought a house, and brought Fiona with her. How was this not an option? Is it just recent heroine's who know that running away is an option?

Also, this who pride bullshit? Like really? So you won't have a decent conversation because you're pride is in the way?

And I get being honor-bound with keeping secrets, but you're life is in danger. Don't you think that promises can be somewhat broken, to explain why you need to leave the house and have protection from an obsessive psycho who killed his ex-obsession?

And can we stop with the contradictions? One page he wants to marry, and then three pages later he's freaking out because he loves her? Isn't that why you get married? And then she decides that the only way to be with him without getting hurt is to be his lover, but gets insulted and hurt at the idea of being his mistress for that same reason two pages later? HOW DOES THIS EVEN MAKE SENSE?!!?

And wth with the exposition? Some random Prussian woman knows his WHOLE life story because her husband survived with Ramsey at the French prison? She knows exactly how Ramsey thinks and feels, when Ramsey doesn't even speak his feelings allowed, and even states in one of his memories that NO ONE is to talk about his past. It's just so uncharacteristic of Ramsey to suddenly tell all to this woman, his friend's wife, just because they're "friends."

This just felt too forced.

[Sophie (slovenianbookworm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT, very well written :)

[Gerrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book teetered between 2.5 and 3 stars for me for a good part of the story. The author is an excellent writer, but I just don't like a plot where the heroine keeps a secret from the hero for most of the book, even if her reasons are well justified (as they were here). However, the ending (the last part before the epilogue) was so wonderful, that it made this book a very solid three stars for me.

Further, the author began an interesting mystery in book one (My Seduction), and added more information and intrigue surrounding it in this second book in the series. Four men (three of them the respective heros in this trilogy) undertake a spy mission in France, and are betrayed and captured. Someone close to them betrayed their mission to the French, and they spend the three books of the trilogy trying to find out who he is. I look forward to the final book in the trilogy, both for the romance, as well as for the resolution of this excellent mystery.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this to fulfill the "Classic Romance" item in my PopSugar reading challenge for 2015. I figured that "classic romance" didn't mean a romance in the medieval sense, but a modern, stereotypical one. I kind of selected it at random, though the Scottish element was something that was appealing. This was well-written, there was a twist, the hero was strong, and the heroine was stronger than she seemed at first. However, many of the problems could have been solved if people had just told the truth every once in a while, or at least tried to do so. It was fine, but I'm not particularly interested in reading the rest of the series (this happens to be the 2nd of a trilogy, though I didn't know that when I started it).

[Lynne Tull · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book of the series has the most contradictory story line. It will leave you wondering about the hero, the heroine, their motives, their actions. None of it made any sense as to why the H/H made the choices they made. Not one to spoil it for you...just saying I didn't buy into any of the above. Maybe you can figure out why they did what they did when they did it? Actually, it read more like a textbook-"All You Need to Know About Fencing and were afraid to ask". I really never wanted to ask. I am not sure why Ms. Brockway chose fencing as a vehicle for her story, but I found it overpowering. Somewhere between parries there is a story...I promise. See what you think!

[Trewen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm....
round up to 3 1/2
I liked this book. but something fell flat.
I LOVE Connie Brockway. I think her voice is beautiful.
So, maybe my expectations were too high?
I really liked the H/h. They're both my favorite types of characters but they weren't fleshed out as well as I like.
Mostly, the plot is where I had my issues. I just couldn't buy into the story-line behind Helena.

This is the second of The Rose Hunters series.
I enjoyed the first of this series and will definitely read the last.

[Cary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found that I liked this one even more than the first and that could have been because of the characters, the plot or whatever. No matter the reason any book that has me wanting to read it late into the night when I know I have to get up and work the following day is a good one. (I actually did go to bed instead of finishing but I read before work to stay in the story!) There was some heat but it was subtle and that is how I like it depicted. Can Book 3 of the trilogy live up to this? We shall see...

[Abrown Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 of the Rose Hunters Trilogy--the myster continues. . .

This is Ramsey & Helena's story. I didn't feel the emotion between the two characters like I did in Book 1 (My Seduction) with Kit & Kate but it was very enjoyable and I am looking forward to starting the last book of the series (My Surrender).

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well... I figured out who the bad guy was,practically right off, because the red herring was pretty in your face. This fact didn't detract from the book, however, because the story was pretty good otherwise. I read this before the first book, and nothing was confusing or anything, so it can be read as a stand-alone, I think.

[Nanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love her characters in the entire series. I particularly like this hero and heroine, perhaps because he's a fencer and beautiful but they find their good looks more of an encumbrance than a boon. all the heroes are wonderfully restrained but she writes them so that you feel their turmoil without gushing, etc.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the characters but wished they could have had more interaction as their true selves. Once they finally sleep together, they immediately fight and are emotionally apart until the HEA. I thought the plot rationale for why the heroine kept her identity secret (protecting Flora's secret) was flimsy and frustrating.

[Debby]

Impoverished Helena Nash is a very self contained acclaimed beauty. After her father died in exchange for three young men in France, Helena is unknowingly being watched over by Ramsey Munro, one of the three. Ramsey and Helena finally work through their issues, but the unknown traitor escapes again for the 3rd book. Mostly clean, good 2nd story in the trilogy.

[chanceofbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was a lot of fun, and I really like Brockway's engaging voice. It was lovely to see a break from noble heroines and heroes, and I look forward to reading the sisters' books. I probably would have enjoyed this a bit more had I read the first book in the series first.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written. Only one scene with explicit detail which I appreciated. The story line was very well written and there were clues as to who the bad person was, but they were still hidden. The hints were twisted and turned until you didn't know who was the antagonist. I really enjoyed that.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent historical romance, but it didn't feel as standalone as I wanted it to be (having picked it up at a bargain price and not reading book 1 first). Granted, it stood well enough without book one, but I think the story might have been more poignant had I read the first one.

3/5 stars

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plotline was easy to follow despite the fact that I skimmed/skipped sections. I was working a ton of overtime when I picked this up to read and wanted something I didn't have to think too hard about. This fit the bill.

[Claire Hadleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn't love a swashbuckling swordsman? I eeked this story out as long as I could because I truly enjoyed the two main characters, but also the storyline was intriguing. And Brockway's descriptions of the sword fights were excellent! Look forward to another read of Brockway!

[Oyceter · Rating 1 out of 5]

http://oyceter.livejournal.com/220193...

[Jenny Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was the first of Connie Brockway's and I instantly fell in love with the characters.