Chaperon Bride

Tallants #2

by Nicola Cornick

Lady Annis Wycherley may be feisty, but she is a chaperon to society misses and her reputation is first class. For her, rakes and romance are strictly off limits--most especially irresistible rogues like the handsome Lord Adam Ashwick! Gossip and scandal could destroy Annis, unless Adam can convince her to become his chaperon bride...

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Regency, Harlequin, Ebooks, Harlequin Historical

Hardcover

First published March 7, 2003

About the author

International bestselling author Nicola Cornick writes dual-time historical mysteries that draw on her love for genealogy and local history. She studied History at London and Oxford and worked in academia for a number of years before becoming a full time author. Nicola acts as a guide and researcher at the stunning 17th century hunting lodge, Ashdown House and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Friends of Lydiard Park in Swindon. She gives talks and tours on a variety of historical topics.

Nicola lives near Oxford and loves reading, writing, history, music, wildlife, travel and walking her dog. She also loves hearing from her readers and chatting to them. She can also be found on Facebook, Twitter @NicolaCornick and Instagram.

Reviews

[MisskTarsis · Rating 5 out of 5]

#BookLove2018: Adam Ashwick

Ella es conocida por poder conseguirle esposo incluso a la joven menos agraciada, cuando vuelve a su ciudad natal como acompañante de dos incivilizadas pero con mucho dinero. Dinero que ella necesita para vivir y mantenerse. Pero ésta temporada le toca ser la cortejada... y ella no sabe como reaccionar a eso. Annis se casó joven y tuvo un matrimonio completamente difícil, lo que la ha orillado a renegar de ese compromiso desde que enviudó hace ocho años; por su parte, Adam gozó de un matrimonio feliz pero corto, al enfermar su esposa y morir. Pero conserva gratos recuerdos a su lado y había jurado no volver a casarse, resolución que se le olvidó por completo en el momento que le presentaron a esa inusual acompañante que se empeña en esconder su propia belleza en pro de sus protegidas.

Nicola Cornick tiene una forma de escribir que simplemente me mata. He leído dos libros de ella y en ambos he quedado gratamente sorprendida. Son romances lentos que incluyen de todo, amor, desamor, contiendas, intrigas, todo en un mismo libro. Hace que te centres en la pareja pero a su vez tiene otros personajes excelentes, como por ejemplo la intervención de Charles y Della en la historia, me sorprendió gratamente.

¡Ha sido espectacular! :3

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this author's books a lot. This is an old favorite. I hadn't read it in quite a while so it was like a new read.
This time Annis, the heroine, annoyed me a bit. I thought she took the whole independence, not wanting to marry again thing a bit too far.
Adam started off like any regency rake but changed rather quickly. However, once they got all this out of the way, I enjoyed the historical side of it. The troubles with Ingram were done well and I liked the outcome.

[Missy]

From the blurb: But that proved nearly impossible when Adam made his daughter's chaperon the subject of his relentless seduction.

So this part is false! The hero is a widow but he does not have a daughter. But then again I didn't finish the book (64%), so maybe the daughter showed up later? Although I find that hard to believe since this mysterious daughter was never mentioned by him nor his family members.

[Frances · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even the cover wasn't that great.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this book is kind of a tough start. It's very much a period piece with characters acting in the period and honestly...they're kinda boring. Not much happens initially as the characters meet one another, flirt a little bit and the underlying plot problem is established. It isn't until we realize that the big bully landowner is willing to destroy Annis's reputation in order to get her to sell her land (and that her cousin is complicit in the deal) that things get a bit more interesting. Because then you have the hero stepping up his efforts to win Annis over as well.

I vaguely remembered that our hero, Adam, Lord Ashwick, was touted as some sort of degenerate rake in the first book of this series, but pleasantly we get a solid, respectable guy who really isn't a rake at all. He meets the heroine, Lady Annis and is instantly smitten, but she gives him the runaround but good. For Annis, it's partly because she's a chaperon, and her job very much depends on her reputation, which a relationship of any kind with Adam would put at risk. Additionally, Annis is widowed and her first marriage seriously hampered her freedom, which she is definitely trying to avoid...and so another marriage is out of the question. Adam is actually pretty good at taking Annis's repeated rejections - never getting angry, just throwing out rueful smiles and coming back even more determined the next time. I solidly liked him until he chooses to take advantage of a compromising situation to manipulate Annis into marriage, even though she's clearly not willing. The fact that he feels not so much regret at doing this to her, and the fact that he never really admits that was a though in his mind, bugged me and made me question his integrity. And at that point, I wanted Annis to put up a serious fight and make him suffer...perhaps to make him realize that he shouldn't manipulate things like that. He only minorly suffers as he can't get Annis to admit what her reservations are for, but it was kind of unsatisfying. But then the solving of the suspense plot and thwarting of the villain takes precedence and she just decides she's happy to trust him in marriage and rush off to her HEA.

[Mandygirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️

[Jennifer Saint-preux · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of talking

The beginning and middle were slow. There was a lot of talking between the characters. A lot. It eventually picked up towards the end but I found heroines reticence towards marriage and her difficulty in explaining it to the Hero a bit trying. I understand she was traumatized but for a woman to be so smart her logic was fairly flawed throughout . Few a fitting mistakes as well.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chaperone named Annis might be a little too Heyer for comfort, but the rest is not derivative. I really enjoyed Adam's directness and learned a little bit about tenant farms, riots, and why you don't store your banknotes in the basement (hint: they are tasty).

[Leonora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Nicola Cornick books so I want to be clear that the 3 stars here really does mean I "liked it". I found it a rather pleasant book with some hitches that were annoying.

Adam, our ML, was once happily married but lost his wife after five years of marriage. He was married very young the couple was very in love and he hasn't been looking to replace that, but when he comes across Annis who works as a professional chaperon and matchmaker for young ladies he immediately identifies something about her he fancies behind the dowdy look she puts forth. Unlike Adam, Annis had a very dire marriage to a controlling man and would rather eke out a living where she has her independence than be potentially under the thumb of a husband.

Adam is _very_ serious about Annis and much of the book is about his mechanizations which are semi-devious in a romance novel smirky way. Annis really does need to get pulled along, as she is understandably very determined to get in her own way which is a bit vexing. There's also a bit of a rolleyes twist at the end of the book that felt unnecessary.

While the romance is going on, there is another story going on around a local landowner who is the typical rich non-gentry bully you find in these stories. He's putting up tollbooths and enclosing commons making life hard for Adam, for Annis' family (cousins), and the common people who live in the area. So there's a bit of adventure and intrigue tied in that helps introduce and use characters outside of the main couple.

I thought about using my "Bath not London" tag as a smirk since it happens in another "medicinal waters town" (Harrogate), but it's worth noting the setting is uncommon for this type of novel and important/used.

[Nightwitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant regency read; I don't think it was a category romance but it kind of read like one. Well-drawn historical background (enclosures by a local landowner play a part in sparking unrest), unusual setting (Harrogate), well-drawn pleasant characters (the heroine is fiercely protective of her independence for realistic reasons, and furthermore does not have it dramatically threatened in some giant life-changing way - it's a much quieter sort of book than that; the hero was in love with his late first wife and had an undramatically happy but is ready to move on).

[Sussy_lwp · Rating 4 out of 5]

1ro para el #noviembredulce de @Neus_sinlibrosnosoynada

💕💞Una historia muy tierna, que se cose a fuego lento. El que los personajes principales sean viudos y ya mayores me ha encantado. La premisa que mueve a Annis, me ha gustado mucho, especialmente la forma como lo han planteado, pues es algo totalmente normal para la época, en general se pasa como delargo y aquí se argumenta y se toma la importante que era para las mujeres.


Spoiler
&
&
&
&
&
&


🤔Para haber leído tanta novela RH nunca había leído sobre disturbios y problemas con los "Hacendados "

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some slow starts in the beginning but a good read and enjoyable characters

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lady Annis Wycherley may be feisty, but she is a chaperon to society misses and her reputation is first class. For her, rakes and romance are strictly off limits--most especially irresistible rogues like the handsome Lord Adam Ashwick! Gossip and scandal could destroy Annis, unless Adam can convince her to become his chaperon bride...

This was the first book I found interesting that was available for download through the library onto my Kindle. I wanted to try this method and realized that there is a long line waiting for the few ebooks they have.

I enjoyed the first part of the book, but towards the end it got way off track and the characters did not remain true to themselves or the conventions of the day. It was annoying and a little too explicit. Rather disappointing in the end.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one from start to finish, Annis and Adam have both been married. Annis to a much older man who treated her like a possession and monitored her every move. Adam married his first love when both were barely considered young adults only to lose her to illness a few years later.

Annis makes her living now by chaperoning young ladies. It helps her pay the bills including an estate her father left her. Adam is taken with her from the start and puts himself in her path at every turn. Until a turn that unwittingly compromises her and forces them to stand together against society and another menacing circumstance of unrest in the countryside.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually a library copy of this book. Can you believe how far I've fallen, after swearing to never read romance, I now actually go out of my way to buy/hire them? Crazy.

Anyway, the book itself was a delight, gem of it's genre. The characters were great, the subplots refreshing and interesting. The love was believable, and the love making (when it finally happened) was great too. Another regency tale down, and I don't think I'm sick of them yet. Watch this space for more reviews!

[Joycee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a sweet story - the pace kept moving & the events didn't seem outlandish. Adam is a pleasant enough hero without being milksoppy & Annis cherished her independence almost too much but relented @ the end to sharing her life.

I was a bit confused about the references to her activities as a 17-year-old in Bermuda - I thought she might have been "deflowerered" then.

I wonder how the other stories in the series are? Do the couples mentioned @ the end of this book end up together?

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good story. Cornick's early books tend to A) be relatively clean for the genre, generally with one rather tame intimate scene towards the end, and B) draw on the intricacies of the relationship and the social conventions of the Regency era to create the drama of the story. These are Regencies, through and through.

[Christy English · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful. I love Nicola Cornick.

[Titinha Scaeiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5* Gostei da históriazinha! ^_^

[Seema · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet romance

[Alisha]

3.65

[Jasey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tallant's 2nd of 4

[Christina Pikas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine

[Carla · Rating 2 out of 5]

a este libro le sobran, por lo menos 100 páginas...