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Rewards Series #5
Folly's Reward
Escaping with her young charge, six-year-old Lord Dunraven, from the child's cruel guardian, Prudence Drake seeks refuge in a Scottish seaside cottage, but their safety is threatened by the arrival of an intriguing, shipwrecked stranger who has lost his memory. Original.
- GenresRomanceHistoricalRegency
219 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
did-not-finish
January 22, 2021Prudence is certainly aptly named - she is a prude. She is straitlaced to the point of repression, dour, completely humorless, and lacks imagination. "Intrepid"? Ha! Dumb is more like it. Her brilliant idea of escaping her charge's pursuers is to travel on public transport! 🙄
The washed up man has no name, so he decides to name himself 'Hal' while he struggles to remember who he is. Hal is too good to be true: beautiful, cultured, charming, naturally athletic, blessed with a knowledge of literature and the silver tongue to show it off. He immediately bonds with six-year-old Bobby, the orphaned Earl of Dunraven, and when he hears Prudence and Bobby leaving in the middle of the night, he follows them. If he hadn't inserted himself into their mission to get away, they would've been caught in two seconds flat, as this man is apparently the only one with the brains to realize that, oh hey, maybe we better drop off the face of the earth for awhile.
Prudence lusts after Hal and then berates herself for it, not understanding that hormones are a thing. She feels guilty and shameful that her body reacts to an attractive man, because of course that's never happened before! She is stunned when Hal declares himself in love with her halfway through the book, and frankly, so am I. What does he see in her?! She is resistant to everything: his friendship with Bobby, his quick-thinking to get them out of tough spots, his urge to her to "seize the day" and "let her hair down". She literally cries the first time he kisses her. What a drip!
While I enjoyed the metaphor of Hal as a silkie (a seal who comes ashore and sheds his fur in the guise of a human man, who enchants a woman but then leaves her when the night is over; the only way the woman can keep him is if she finds and burns his sealskin in a certain way, which locks him into the form of a human man; otherwise, he is destined to belong to the sea), something Bobby - who does possess an imagination - immediately believes him to be because of his dark blue eyes; the pursuit of Bobby by his merciless cousin the Black Marquess; and the mystery of Hal's identity, I only made it halfway before DNFing, because I was no longer willing to put up with Prudence the Prude dragging everybody down every chance she got.
Life's too short to spend it with characters you abhor. This is a definite miss for me.
The washed up man has no name, so he decides to name himself 'Hal' while he struggles to remember who he is. Hal is too good to be true: beautiful, cultured, charming, naturally athletic, blessed with a knowledge of literature and the silver tongue to show it off. He immediately bonds with six-year-old Bobby, the orphaned Earl of Dunraven, and when he hears Prudence and Bobby leaving in the middle of the night, he follows them. If he hadn't inserted himself into their mission to get away, they would've been caught in two seconds flat, as this man is apparently the only one with the brains to realize that, oh hey, maybe we better drop off the face of the earth for awhile.
Prudence lusts after Hal and then berates herself for it, not understanding that hormones are a thing. She feels guilty and shameful that her body reacts to an attractive man, because of course that's never happened before! She is stunned when Hal declares himself in love with her halfway through the book, and frankly, so am I. What does he see in her?! She is resistant to everything: his friendship with Bobby, his quick-thinking to get them out of tough spots, his urge to her to "seize the day" and "let her hair down". She literally cries the first time he kisses her. What a drip!
While I enjoyed the metaphor of Hal as a silkie (a seal who comes ashore and sheds his fur in the guise of a human man, who enchants a woman but then leaves her when the night is over; the only way the woman can keep him is if she finds and burns his sealskin in a certain way, which locks him into the form of a human man; otherwise, he is destined to belong to the sea), something Bobby - who does possess an imagination - immediately believes him to be because of his dark blue eyes; the pursuit of Bobby by his merciless cousin the Black Marquess; and the mystery of Hal's identity, I only made it halfway before DNFing, because I was no longer willing to put up with Prudence the Prude dragging everybody down every chance she got.
Life's too short to spend it with characters you abhor. This is a definite miss for me.
August 12, 2023
There might be spoilers. I can't be bothered to carefully disguise them, so caveat lector.
Prudence is a prude. Alright, so she's a Scottish governess and in charge of a little boy who's supposedly in danger from his guardian, and they're on the run, so it's pretty much sensible that she's a prude and doesn't trust the uber-sexy amnesiac guy who's washed up on the shore and attaches himself to her. But am I not supposed to like her and root for her? She has no qualities that make that happen, and while our hero falls in love with her, I fail to see why because other than some instinctive hormonal reaction to a kiss he pushes on her early on, she gives him no encouragement.
So maybe he's just a rake and the straitlaced, prim miss is a challenge. Wait, haven't we seen this guy before, forcing a kiss on an unsuspecting, unwilling woman? Yup, we have, at least those of us who've read the entire series. Sexy amnesiac is Harry Acton as "Hal", the name he decides on, even though when searching through names starting with H both Henry and Harry come up, which struck me as weird for the amnesia trope -- their own name is usually something fictional amnesiacs recognize. Being Harry naturally he has no respect for boundaries. I didn't like him much in Virtue's Reward, where he might conceivably be a villain (which I never bought; I just didn't like his behaviour). Here he's clearly not meant to be the villain; in fact he's near-perfect, except for eagerly discomfiting Prudence. But that's supposedly romantic; something I with my modern sensibilities can't really appreciate, even though good girls are also supposedly to always say no even when they feel yes, which might seem to call for a little pushiness. It's just that it's such a proto-rapey trope; I prefer gentlemen not go there.
If only Prudence had some qualities I'd see as positive. If she were smart, for example. But she's not; she's way too conventional to be a functional protector of the little boy in danger; without Harry she would have gotten caught immediately by the sinister man with the eyepatch. She has no sense of humour, no witty internal commentary on her own folly; just dour judgment of her own attraction. Furthermore, when she gets a chance, she promptly betrays Harry. Yeah, it makes sense, but it doesn't endear her to me; I wanted her to be on his side.
The intrigue of the book is something completely different from what it seems to be at the start, which I would have enjoyed a great deal, if only there had been some hints all along, and I might have done some sleuthing. But there is nothing; we know as little as the main characters, and so I felt quite removed from the outcome and wasn't very interested in the tragic, convoluted back story and the true villain. No doubt actually living in danger would provide plenty of thrill, but just idly consuming it without any notion of where it might be going was just not very entertaining. It's 2 stars only because Ewing is much better than most at conveying a sense of time and place for the Regency, and that at least provided some immersion; it just wasn't particularly pleasant but simply reminded me of how horribly repressive life back then was, primarily for women, but it wasn't all that great for men either. This generally works against me enjoying Regencies were it not for witty banter and creative circumvention of roles and rules. Of which there was really none here.
One thing I did appreciate: Harry feels shame for something he experienced, and that's a real thing which is rarely given to a male character in a romance. But it also makes his rake-like behaviour even a little more disquieting -- he ought to know how it feels, and yet, no, he hasn't made that connection. Or maybe Ewing hasn't. Probably too much to ask for a genre romance.
Prudence is a prude. Alright, so she's a Scottish governess and in charge of a little boy who's supposedly in danger from his guardian, and they're on the run, so it's pretty much sensible that she's a prude and doesn't trust the uber-sexy amnesiac guy who's washed up on the shore and attaches himself to her. But am I not supposed to like her and root for her? She has no qualities that make that happen, and while our hero falls in love with her, I fail to see why because other than some instinctive hormonal reaction to a kiss he pushes on her early on, she gives him no encouragement.
So maybe he's just a rake and the straitlaced, prim miss is a challenge. Wait, haven't we seen this guy before, forcing a kiss on an unsuspecting, unwilling woman? Yup, we have, at least those of us who've read the entire series. Sexy amnesiac is Harry Acton as "Hal", the name he decides on, even though when searching through names starting with H both Henry and Harry come up, which struck me as weird for the amnesia trope -- their own name is usually something fictional amnesiacs recognize. Being Harry naturally he has no respect for boundaries. I didn't like him much in Virtue's Reward, where he might conceivably be a villain (which I never bought; I just didn't like his behaviour). Here he's clearly not meant to be the villain; in fact he's near-perfect, except for eagerly discomfiting Prudence. But that's supposedly romantic; something I with my modern sensibilities can't really appreciate, even though good girls are also supposedly to always say no even when they feel yes, which might seem to call for a little pushiness. It's just that it's such a proto-rapey trope; I prefer gentlemen not go there.
If only Prudence had some qualities I'd see as positive. If she were smart, for example. But she's not; she's way too conventional to be a functional protector of the little boy in danger; without Harry she would have gotten caught immediately by the sinister man with the eyepatch. She has no sense of humour, no witty internal commentary on her own folly; just dour judgment of her own attraction. Furthermore, when she gets a chance, she promptly betrays Harry. Yeah, it makes sense, but it doesn't endear her to me; I wanted her to be on his side.
The intrigue of the book is something completely different from what it seems to be at the start, which I would have enjoyed a great deal, if only there had been some hints all along, and I might have done some sleuthing. But there is nothing; we know as little as the main characters, and so I felt quite removed from the outcome and wasn't very interested in the tragic, convoluted back story and the true villain. No doubt actually living in danger would provide plenty of thrill, but just idly consuming it without any notion of where it might be going was just not very entertaining. It's 2 stars only because Ewing is much better than most at conveying a sense of time and place for the Regency, and that at least provided some immersion; it just wasn't particularly pleasant but simply reminded me of how horribly repressive life back then was, primarily for women, but it wasn't all that great for men either. This generally works against me enjoying Regencies were it not for witty banter and creative circumvention of roles and rules. Of which there was really none here.
One thing I did appreciate: Harry feels shame for something he experienced, and that's a real thing which is rarely given to a male character in a romance. But it also makes his rake-like behaviour even a little more disquieting -- he ought to know how it feels, and yet, no, he hasn't made that connection. Or maybe Ewing hasn't. Probably too much to ask for a genre romance.
November 14, 2018
2+
Not sure what to make of this one is my takeaway. I could never get into the flow of the prose. The heroine was relentlessly stiff and judgmental. The hero uneven in tone.
But the runaway plot and all the twists that corkscrewed everything back to the very beginning were inventive and unexpected. That others compromised in their choices in the past, that not everyone immediately fell in with the unorthodox of the hero's would-be happy ending, that he made sacrifices in rank for his choice of a HEA -- these things you don't see as much in contemporary Regency and I appreciated.
I never got into their romance because I'm not sure it was ever really on the page. They interacted, they shared space, and then suddenly they're in love. I think the time on the canal was supposed to be their falling in love, time out of time, interlude. It almost worked (came across). But again for me with the prose, which felt jumpy and stilted.
I enjoyed the epilogue -- the /idea/ of it -- most of all.
Not sure what to make of this one is my takeaway. I could never get into the flow of the prose. The heroine was relentlessly stiff and judgmental. The hero uneven in tone.
But the runaway plot and all the twists that corkscrewed everything back to the very beginning were inventive and unexpected. That others compromised in their choices in the past, that not everyone immediately fell in with the unorthodox of the hero's would-be happy ending, that he made sacrifices in rank for his choice of a HEA -- these things you don't see as much in contemporary Regency and I appreciated.
I never got into their romance because I'm not sure it was ever really on the page. They interacted, they shared space, and then suddenly they're in love. I think the time on the canal was supposed to be their falling in love, time out of time, interlude. It almost worked (came across). But again for me with the prose, which felt jumpy and stilted.
I enjoyed the epilogue -- the /idea/ of it -- most of all.
May 30, 2020
This was one of the reward series. I kind of remembered the previous book which I read. This was a bit of mystery with a long chase all over Scotland and England. A young man washes up on the Scottish shire where he is found by a young woman who is governess to a young orphan who is also the Earl of Dunraven. After many misunderstanding and adventures, the mystery is resolved in the last ten pages leading to a happy ever after.
October 6, 2021
I really like the guy. He's so dreamy and romantic.
I don't like the heroine as much even though I understand why she did what she did and behaved the way. Given Hal's amnesia and her strenuous position as a governess, she can't really give in right away and start a liaison with him.
I just dont think they're the best fit romantically. I don't see how he could've fallen for her.
I don't like the heroine as much even though I understand why she did what she did and behaved the way. Given Hal's amnesia and her strenuous position as a governess, she can't really give in right away and start a liaison with him.
I just dont think they're the best fit romantically. I don't see how he could've fallen for her.
November 17, 2016
Ok but very fawed, def not as good as the rest of the series
I've enjoyed this series so far but this book felt like it was written by a different person than the others. The style felt forced , like a rookie trying too hard and just coming off overly descriptive and deep. It just ended up being really cheesy. The last book in the series also had vaguely sensual undertones which gave off a slightly odd vibe of the author going a different direction than the first three books (which were very clean and much in the style of Joan smith, etc) but this one changed drastically... Not only in both terrible flaws about the regency period and flaws in plot and actual lines, but it also went weird with a very different direction than the other part of the series. The entire book icluded a theme of this man struggling against himself to not seduce this woman, which I can deal with. But it had ridiculously cliche, cheesy and sleazy lines that seemed totally out of character. Truly felt like a different writer from the author of the first three books?!? Anyways it would say stuff like aching breasts and "her nipples hardened into nubs, jutting out against her sheer shift" what the heck??? Lol this is just not at all like the other books. These lines weren't repeated often throughout the book but enough to make me roll my eyes... a lot. Especially when he would quite often tell the gently bred, virgin governesses that was our heroine ' I want to bed you ,angel' or ' I want to take you in my bed and raise your Passion.' *gags* disappointing when I was expecting her nice, innocent (and true to period) style and thoughtful writing I had come go appreciate in the rest of the series. Good plot for the *most* part but annoying soooo many ways.
I've enjoyed this series so far but this book felt like it was written by a different person than the others. The style felt forced , like a rookie trying too hard and just coming off overly descriptive and deep. It just ended up being really cheesy. The last book in the series also had vaguely sensual undertones which gave off a slightly odd vibe of the author going a different direction than the first three books (which were very clean and much in the style of Joan smith, etc) but this one changed drastically... Not only in both terrible flaws about the regency period and flaws in plot and actual lines, but it also went weird with a very different direction than the other part of the series. The entire book icluded a theme of this man struggling against himself to not seduce this woman, which I can deal with. But it had ridiculously cliche, cheesy and sleazy lines that seemed totally out of character. Truly felt like a different writer from the author of the first three books?!? Anyways it would say stuff like aching breasts and "her nipples hardened into nubs, jutting out against her sheer shift" what the heck??? Lol this is just not at all like the other books. These lines weren't repeated often throughout the book but enough to make me roll my eyes... a lot. Especially when he would quite often tell the gently bred, virgin governesses that was our heroine ' I want to bed you ,angel' or ' I want to take you in my bed and raise your Passion.' *gags* disappointing when I was expecting her nice, innocent (and true to period) style and thoughtful writing I had come go appreciate in the rest of the series. Good plot for the *most* part but annoying soooo many ways.
June 27, 2008
"Miss Prudence Drake, sensible Scottish governess, is appalled to find a handsome stranger washed up on the beach-especially when she must flee to England to escape a child's wicked guardian. The silver-tongued rogue claims to have lost his identity, but he hasn't lost his charm. Is he a careless rake, a French spy, or someone quite different? When this nameless aristocrat helps her escape-pursued by dangerous enemies-Prudence will face a perilous adventure in more ways than one. Can she trust a dark-haired stranger not to claim her innocent heart?"
I thought this was an original story although in the beginning it may seem full of clichés: hero with amnesia, little boy on the run from evil guardian. In the end not all is what it seems and I thought the ending was quite surprising. Maybe not good enough to make me want to run and get all the others by the author but certainly a pleasant read. The book is part of a series but only at the end do recurring characters appear and it can be read as a stand alone.
Grade: C+
I thought this was an original story although in the beginning it may seem full of clichés: hero with amnesia, little boy on the run from evil guardian. In the end not all is what it seems and I thought the ending was quite surprising. Maybe not good enough to make me want to run and get all the others by the author but certainly a pleasant read. The book is part of a series but only at the end do recurring characters appear and it can be read as a stand alone.
Grade: C+
September 25, 2009
Regency
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