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Sanguinet Saga #7
Married Past Redemption
Jilted by Tristan Leith, the beautiful Lisette Van Lindsay finds herself involved with a host of suitors, in a tale set against the background of Regency England
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
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99 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Veryan
75 books99 followersPatricia Valeria Bannister was born in London. After World War II, she married Allan Louis Berg and moved to the United States; she lived on the West Coast and was the author of many historical novels from 1978 until 2002, using the pen names Patricia Veryan and Gwyneth Moore.
At the time of her death, she was living in Bellevue, Washington, USA.
At the time of her death, she was living in Bellevue, Washington, USA.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 12, 2022
It wasn't a typical part of the series.
There were the same characters, two (four to be precise) of them got HEA. And Sanguinet made an appearance for a moment.
But, this book was "only" a love story in the convention of a marriage of convenience. It lacked a thrill of the mystery. Yes, there was a twist or two, and a few fights. But it was only in the last part of the book.
Apart from the fact it deviated from the series, it was a charming romance. Nothing new, sometimes almost a little annoying (how many misunderstandings one can accept?), yet - for a fan of a genre it was a pleasure to read. And there were a few totally hilarious and delicious scenes, e.g. a few with Brutus, and the one after the duel when Jeremy's friends forced him to use his injury to win his lady.
[3.5 stars]
There were the same characters, two (four to be precise) of them got HEA. And Sanguinet made an appearance for a moment.
But, this book was "only" a love story in the convention of a marriage of convenience. It lacked a thrill of the mystery. Yes, there was a twist or two, and a few fights. But it was only in the last part of the book.
Apart from the fact it deviated from the series, it was a charming romance. Nothing new, sometimes almost a little annoying (how many misunderstandings one can accept?), yet - for a fan of a genre it was a pleasure to read. And there were a few totally hilarious and delicious scenes, e.g. a few with Brutus, and the one after the duel when Jeremy's friends forced him to use his injury to win his lady.
[3.5 stars]
September 20, 2015
There is a disturbing scene in which the hero beats his wife, and another in which an older female character reminisces about her husband beating her. The author makes light of these incidents and implies that this is a husband's right. This is unlike Veryan.
June 2, 2015
I read this one out of order in the series because it had better reviews and I was hoping it wouldn't matter, but it was, in fact, hard to understand some of the backstory without the backstory- imagine that! It was a very nice little novel, though, with an endearing hero and a feisty heroine.
November 25, 2024
I think I liked this book. The writing style took a bit to get used to. The formatting in the ebook makes for chunky swaths of exposition and meandering.
The depiction of the time period felt authentic (although I am not a historian and less than qualified to back up that statement). I found that I was comparing the character and plot arcs to historical romances written in the past ten years, and found the similarities and differences to be apparent. The bones are there, but the fleshing out is remarkably different.
The character depictions felt a bit removed via the writing style (I rescinded the statement a tiny bit when it comes to Bolster). It felt as if I was reading a play with the pendulum swinging quickly from severity to comic relief (ie; Brutus the bulldog), which could be disorienting and silly at times.
I found the dynamic of the main hero and heroine to be quite messy and hinge in the trope of miscommunication. The patriarchy is strong in this story and seems to paint ladies in a silly light, so that was a bit annoying. Yet, reading historical with an abundance of heroines who are modern in their behaviors and ideas can get tiresome as well- authors just can’t win.
Overall, I liked this story and would give this author another try if the mood strikes me in the distant future.
SPOILER and perhaps a content warning for some:
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Is there a scene where the hero spanks the heroine with her brush through her skirts? Yes. He does come to regret this action when information comes to light. I don’t believe he was savoring that action he took out of anger at any point (disclaimer that she raked nails across his face prior to the spanking…not to excuse, but give full disclosure). She mentions that she barely feels it at the start, but after a few, she does mention it hurt and was sore riding a horse the next day. While he feels terrible, the heroine’s grandmother says what a hoyden she was until her own husband gave her a spanking early on in their marriage; she came to admire him for getting her in line essentially. This is clearly a strong example of how the patriarchy rears its head in this story.
There is a conniving sister and a former beau of the heroine who has nefarious intentions as well, so you will not be bored with the underhanded villains in this story.
The depiction of the time period felt authentic (although I am not a historian and less than qualified to back up that statement). I found that I was comparing the character and plot arcs to historical romances written in the past ten years, and found the similarities and differences to be apparent. The bones are there, but the fleshing out is remarkably different.
The character depictions felt a bit removed via the writing style (I rescinded the statement a tiny bit when it comes to Bolster). It felt as if I was reading a play with the pendulum swinging quickly from severity to comic relief (ie; Brutus the bulldog), which could be disorienting and silly at times.
I found the dynamic of the main hero and heroine to be quite messy and hinge in the trope of miscommunication. The patriarchy is strong in this story and seems to paint ladies in a silly light, so that was a bit annoying. Yet, reading historical with an abundance of heroines who are modern in their behaviors and ideas can get tiresome as well- authors just can’t win.
Overall, I liked this story and would give this author another try if the mood strikes me in the distant future.
SPOILER and perhaps a content warning for some:
*
*
*
*
*
*
Is there a scene where the hero spanks the heroine with her brush through her skirts? Yes. He does come to regret this action when information comes to light. I don’t believe he was savoring that action he took out of anger at any point (disclaimer that she raked nails across his face prior to the spanking…not to excuse, but give full disclosure). She mentions that she barely feels it at the start, but after a few, she does mention it hurt and was sore riding a horse the next day. While he feels terrible, the heroine’s grandmother says what a hoyden she was until her own husband gave her a spanking early on in their marriage; she came to admire him for getting her in line essentially. This is clearly a strong example of how the patriarchy rears its head in this story.
There is a conniving sister and a former beau of the heroine who has nefarious intentions as well, so you will not be bored with the underhanded villains in this story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2017
I liked this much more than I thought I would. I didn't think I was going to like a marriage of convienece in the middle of an adventurous Patricia Veryan, but it actually reminded me of Ethel M. Dell and I think it went well.
Yes, there are misunderstandings. No they don't talk like they should. but overall I'm pleased with How it went and I liked the characters more than I thought I would.
The adventure/suspense wasn't high in this book, I'm hoping that the last three in the series have more of that, as its what I love most with this author.
I left too long between the dust books and the middle ones, I'm scratching my head over quite a few names and cameo appearances. :(
PG, fighting and nasty accusations.
Yes, there are misunderstandings. No they don't talk like they should. but overall I'm pleased with How it went and I liked the characters more than I thought I would.
The adventure/suspense wasn't high in this book, I'm hoping that the last three in the series have more of that, as its what I love most with this author.
I left too long between the dust books and the middle ones, I'm scratching my head over quite a few names and cameo appearances. :(
PG, fighting and nasty accusations.
July 12, 2008
Okay, get past the stupid cover!!!!!! It makes it look like those stupid romance novels that are sickly sweet with love and sex. SO NOT TRUE!! Story similar to a Austin or Gaskell novel, same time era, liked the story. Easy read, would never have picked up off the shelf with a cover like this, but friend recommended it and gave me the book in a neat blue hardcover, so much more appealing to my brain and what I was getting into
May 17, 2012
I did not expect to like this book very much, but it was the next in the series, so I read it. Very, very pleasantly surprised. It is probably one of my fave's by Veryan. (and favorites in general) I couldn't really explain why, except it was just well written, the characters were great and believable and... well, I just loved it. This isn't really a great review (well written, I mean)and is solely personal opinion, but I suggest that you read it if you love a good love story.
October 12, 2013
“I liked this - she has more complex plots, plus characters in one book can appear in others. However - Strand the male lead, had an awfully quick and bad and irrational temper -- could be a bit annoying!”
November 12, 2009
Great read! I agree with Shirlyn. I know it's a romance, but there's more going on here, and the cover should reflect more of the tension invovled.
July 28, 2024
Dopo più di cinque anni – e dopo una serie di 'incontri ravvicinati' con autrici di dubbio valore – ho pensato di affidarmi, ancora una volta, a Patricia Veryan, che mi aveva molto divertito con 'The Wagered Widow' e poi deluso con due libri della serie 'The Golden Chronicles'. Questo libro è riuscito ad avvincermi e a divertirmi insieme, ed ho deciso di affrontare qualche ulteriore episodio di "The Sanguinet Saga". Speriamo bene!
January 9, 2023
The heroine was horrible. She was proud, vain, and unkind. He fell in love with her face and her figure, and I figure he got everything he deserved. I had no sympathy for either one of them. I also saw no purpose to this book. It did not add any thing to the series. It was full of pining, longing, soul-searching, and worshiping with his eyes. Dated and boring. I am plowing on through the series.
January 7, 2017
One of my favorites to read over and over
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews