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Lord Trent #1
Love's Promise
New York Times bestselling author, CHERYL HOLT, will sweep readers away with the first novel in her new and breathtaking ‘Lord Trent’ trilogy…
With the death of his older brother, Michael Wainwright, Viscount Henley, has become heir to his father, Duke of Clarendon. The Wainwright men are renowned cads, and as his brother’s will is read, it’s discovered that he sired an illegitimate son and has left the eight-year-old boy his entire fortune. Michael decides to bring the boy to London so he can be showered with all the wealth and status guaranteed by his inheritance. But first, he has to gain custody from the boy’s aunt, who is determined to keep her nephew away from Michael’s dissolute family.
Frances “Fanny” Carrington has always lived in a small village in the country. As a newborn, she was left in a basket on the church steps and raised by the vicar and his wife. But they’ve died, and Fanny is in dire straits, struggling to raise her nephew, to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. When she begins to receive correspondence from Michael, asking for custody, she can’t help but be suspicious. For years, the Wainwrights have refused to claim her nephew or provide financial assistance to him. She’s alarmed by their sudden interest. What can it mean?
As Michael finally meets Fanny, their attraction is swift, blatant, and dangerous. He can’t fight the need to have her at any cost, and gradually, he lures her into his decadent life of affluence and privilege. But she’s never possessed the callous nature required to thrive in the cut-throat world of the aristocracy, so she can never understand the peril she faces from those who would do anything to keep them apart…
With the death of his older brother, Michael Wainwright, Viscount Henley, has become heir to his father, Duke of Clarendon. The Wainwright men are renowned cads, and as his brother’s will is read, it’s discovered that he sired an illegitimate son and has left the eight-year-old boy his entire fortune. Michael decides to bring the boy to London so he can be showered with all the wealth and status guaranteed by his inheritance. But first, he has to gain custody from the boy’s aunt, who is determined to keep her nephew away from Michael’s dissolute family.
Frances “Fanny” Carrington has always lived in a small village in the country. As a newborn, she was left in a basket on the church steps and raised by the vicar and his wife. But they’ve died, and Fanny is in dire straits, struggling to raise her nephew, to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. When she begins to receive correspondence from Michael, asking for custody, she can’t help but be suspicious. For years, the Wainwrights have refused to claim her nephew or provide financial assistance to him. She’s alarmed by their sudden interest. What can it mean?
As Michael finally meets Fanny, their attraction is swift, blatant, and dangerous. He can’t fight the need to have her at any cost, and gradually, he lures her into his decadent life of affluence and privilege. But she’s never possessed the callous nature required to thrive in the cut-throat world of the aristocracy, so she can never understand the peril she faces from those who would do anything to keep them apart…
284 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2013
94 people are currently reading
253 people want to read
About the author
Cheryl Holt
92 books396 followersCHERYL HOLT is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon “Top 100” bestselling author who has published seventy novels.
She’s also a lawyer and mom, and at age forty, with two babies at home, she started a new career as a commercial fiction writer. She’d hoped to be a suspense novelist, but couldn’t sell any of her manuscripts, so she ended up taking a detour into romance where she was stunned to discover that she has a knack for writing some of the world’s greatest love stories.
Her books have been released to wide acclaim, and she has won or been nominated for many national awards. She is considered to be one of the masters of the romance genre. For many years, she was hailed as “The Queen of Erotic Romance”, and she’s also revered as “The International Queen of Villains.” She is particularly proud to have been named “Best Storyteller of the Year” by the trade magazine Romantic Times BOOK Reviews.
She lives and writes in Hollywood, California, and she loves to hear from fans. Visit her website at www.cherylholt.com.
She’s also a lawyer and mom, and at age forty, with two babies at home, she started a new career as a commercial fiction writer. She’d hoped to be a suspense novelist, but couldn’t sell any of her manuscripts, so she ended up taking a detour into romance where she was stunned to discover that she has a knack for writing some of the world’s greatest love stories.
Her books have been released to wide acclaim, and she has won or been nominated for many national awards. She is considered to be one of the masters of the romance genre. For many years, she was hailed as “The Queen of Erotic Romance”, and she’s also revered as “The International Queen of Villains.” She is particularly proud to have been named “Best Storyteller of the Year” by the trade magazine Romantic Times BOOK Reviews.
She lives and writes in Hollywood, California, and she loves to hear from fans. Visit her website at www.cherylholt.com.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 29, 2016
Easy read, no chores trying to read the book.
As much as a cad that Michael was, I didn't really dislike him. I imagine he is a difficult hero to like, lying to Fanny and treating her like a mistress while he carried on his betrothal plan to the evil Rebecca. I actually thought his relationship with Fanny rather endearing, that is, aside from the lying and dishonorable intentions. He was a far cry from being honorable toward Fanny. Selfish but in love that he was.
But in the last 30% I thought come on Michael isn't it high time you proposed to Fanny already?? He didn't! He knew Fanny was pregnant and ended his unfortunate betrothal to Rebecca, stood up to his father and still, no proposal! I was thinking you ass what is stopping you? You know you love her, she is pregnant with your child, you are no longer under false sense of responsibility to marry Rebecca to save your father, where is that blasted belated proposal to Fanny???
So yeah I have to agree, Michael is not a great hero.
As much as a cad that Michael was, I didn't really dislike him. I imagine he is a difficult hero to like, lying to Fanny and treating her like a mistress while he carried on his betrothal plan to the evil Rebecca. I actually thought his relationship with Fanny rather endearing, that is, aside from the lying and dishonorable intentions. He was a far cry from being honorable toward Fanny. Selfish but in love that he was.
But in the last 30% I thought come on Michael isn't it high time you proposed to Fanny already?? He didn't! He knew Fanny was pregnant and ended his unfortunate betrothal to Rebecca, stood up to his father and still, no proposal! I was thinking you ass what is stopping you? You know you love her, she is pregnant with your child, you are no longer under false sense of responsibility to marry Rebecca to save your father, where is that blasted belated proposal to Fanny???
So yeah I have to agree, Michael is not a great hero.
August 19, 2013
I can't give this book more than 2.5 stars, because of the near-rape in it, and how Fanny is forced into a life of being a mistress, when she obviously doesn't want that life. But after she slept with the "hero", Fanny didn't have a choice. Especially when her horrid "sister" threw her to the wolves. While Fanny desired our hero and she did enjoy her first time experience with him, the episode started out with him forcing himself upon her. That's not good. EVER.
This is the first book in the Lord Trent series, which didn't make a lick of sense until a good way into the book, because our "hero", Michael Wainwright is Viscount Henley. His friend is Lord Trent, but the bastard only son of a titled, rich member of the ton who's known to have 'spread his seed' all over England. That Lord Trent is always on the lookout for his siblings, mostly sisters, to better their lives and bring them back into the family.
Fanny is the adopted daughter of a dead cleric and his wife in rural England. Her sister (the natural child of the cleric and his wife) had an affair with Michael's eldest brother and heir to the dukedom, she bears his son. But she's not deemed duchess material, even though she's a grasping woman. She tries to hold up the duke (the grandfather) for money, but it's not until Michael becomes the new Viscount Henley and his brother's will is read that he or his sister know about their 8 year old nephew living with his distant, cruel mother and his aunt Fanny. The boy has inherited an estate and a substantial amount of money from his father's will.
But the duke is in substantial debt. He's been ruining his own son and daughter's inheritance and borrowing vast sums. He's even raided his daughter's dowry, which is why she's in her mid-twenties and not married; not because, as the duke asserts, no one is good enough for his daughter. Michael learns all of this when he takes the reigns of his family and tries to find a way to keep them from utter shame and ruin. Michael MUST marry a rich woman as soon as possible. His brother's fiancee seems to be the solution.
Except then Michael meets Fanny, when he takes a trip to see his nephew and try to take him to Town. The attraction and chemistry are immediate. Michael thinks he'll simply dally with Fanny or take her as a mistress; but he soon finds himself addicted to her, so he tricks her into thinking he's someone else. By the time Fanny learns who he is, Michael's made a deal with her sister to take her nephew permanently away. And Michael's already ruined Fanny. So when he tries to get her sister to give some money to Fanny, the sister lies... and simply leaves Fanny without a single cent to her name, nowhere to live, and nothing to do. Because of the lies her sister spread about Fanny being "fast", none in their little village will help her.
==================
It's a sad, sad tale. It seems that Fanny can't win for losing. At every turn, it seems her Fate is to be thrust into an unwanted and pitiful state. So she ends up as Michael's mistress, to have a home and food and because Michael tells her she can see her nephew. But Michael's family and fiancee aren't happy with the arrangement, especially since Michael spends all his time with Fanny and the boy in the country and ignores all the parties in honor of his engagement.
When his fiancee and father team up, they manage to separate Fanny from Michael and her nephew, making life miserable for both Fanny and the boy. While Michael does discover their perfidy and make things better, it's too little too late, IMO.
There's a sort of HEA. Except I find it tough to believe that Fanny would really fall in love with Michael after all his lies and deception. He's the one responsible for her woes. How can she fall for the man who ruined her entire life? For him to see his errors and try to redeem himself happens very late. Can he ever really make it up to Fanny?
All the while, there's the question of whether Fanny could be related to Lord Trent. And the most frustrating parts are when she and Lord Trent are so close to discovering this, only to find Fanny thrown out again to suffer on her own.
Very tough book. If I hadn't bought the trilogy as part of a bargain ebook deal, I wouldn't bother reading any more of this series, even though I've read other books by Cheryl Holt and enjoyed them.
This is the first book in the Lord Trent series, which didn't make a lick of sense until a good way into the book, because our "hero", Michael Wainwright is Viscount Henley. His friend is Lord Trent, but the bastard only son of a titled, rich member of the ton who's known to have 'spread his seed' all over England. That Lord Trent is always on the lookout for his siblings, mostly sisters, to better their lives and bring them back into the family.
Fanny is the adopted daughter of a dead cleric and his wife in rural England. Her sister (the natural child of the cleric and his wife) had an affair with Michael's eldest brother and heir to the dukedom, she bears his son. But she's not deemed duchess material, even though she's a grasping woman. She tries to hold up the duke (the grandfather) for money, but it's not until Michael becomes the new Viscount Henley and his brother's will is read that he or his sister know about their 8 year old nephew living with his distant, cruel mother and his aunt Fanny. The boy has inherited an estate and a substantial amount of money from his father's will.
But the duke is in substantial debt. He's been ruining his own son and daughter's inheritance and borrowing vast sums. He's even raided his daughter's dowry, which is why she's in her mid-twenties and not married; not because, as the duke asserts, no one is good enough for his daughter. Michael learns all of this when he takes the reigns of his family and tries to find a way to keep them from utter shame and ruin. Michael MUST marry a rich woman as soon as possible. His brother's fiancee seems to be the solution.
Except then Michael meets Fanny, when he takes a trip to see his nephew and try to take him to Town. The attraction and chemistry are immediate. Michael thinks he'll simply dally with Fanny or take her as a mistress; but he soon finds himself addicted to her, so he tricks her into thinking he's someone else. By the time Fanny learns who he is, Michael's made a deal with her sister to take her nephew permanently away. And Michael's already ruined Fanny. So when he tries to get her sister to give some money to Fanny, the sister lies... and simply leaves Fanny without a single cent to her name, nowhere to live, and nothing to do. Because of the lies her sister spread about Fanny being "fast", none in their little village will help her.
==================
It's a sad, sad tale. It seems that Fanny can't win for losing. At every turn, it seems her Fate is to be thrust into an unwanted and pitiful state. So she ends up as Michael's mistress, to have a home and food and because Michael tells her she can see her nephew. But Michael's family and fiancee aren't happy with the arrangement, especially since Michael spends all his time with Fanny and the boy in the country and ignores all the parties in honor of his engagement.
When his fiancee and father team up, they manage to separate Fanny from Michael and her nephew, making life miserable for both Fanny and the boy. While Michael does discover their perfidy and make things better, it's too little too late, IMO.
There's a sort of HEA. Except I find it tough to believe that Fanny would really fall in love with Michael after all his lies and deception. He's the one responsible for her woes. How can she fall for the man who ruined her entire life? For him to see his errors and try to redeem himself happens very late. Can he ever really make it up to Fanny?
All the while, there's the question of whether Fanny could be related to Lord Trent. And the most frustrating parts are when she and Lord Trent are so close to discovering this, only to find Fanny thrown out again to suffer on her own.
Very tough book. If I hadn't bought the trilogy as part of a bargain ebook deal, I wouldn't bother reading any more of this series, even though I've read other books by Cheryl Holt and enjoyed them.
September 17, 2020
OTT story with the WORST selfish lying Duke’s son hero and a poor vicar’s daughter heroine who was good but very misused and has her heart broken again and again.
There is so much that is wrong but I don’t know where to start. Should be 3 stars but it was entertaining and angsty. Weird modern language.
There is so much that is wrong but I don’t know where to start. Should be 3 stars but it was entertaining and angsty. Weird modern language.
June 10, 2017
Absolutely terrible. Would give it 0 stars if I could. There was nothing good about this book. I hated all of the characters, not one of them had one redeeming quality. I wish I hadn't wasted my money on this book, I would love a refund.
May 16, 2017
A heart pounding romance
The story of Fanny and William is a love story. It will keep you wondering will they ever figure out how to be together.
The story of Fanny and William is a love story. It will keep you wondering will they ever figure out how to be together.
July 20, 2014
This book was very different to the reviews that I had noted before reading it. That is not necessarily a bad thing as the reviews were confusing and not overly positive. However I did enjoy the story if a little frustratingly predictable in places. Never the less, I found myself interested in the welfare of the characters and I have now started the next book of the trilogy.
October 23, 2014
It was a hard book to really get into reading. I almost quit and posted a really bad review. I decided to give it another chance. I deleted my review and went back to reading it. It was not one of my favorites,but it did turn out to be a good book. The thing I did not like, was the plot was a little confusing. A lot of jumping around.
July 12, 2013
Helpful hint: If you want me to buy your woman-falls-in-love-with-her-rapist story, you should give the rapist some redeeming qualities. If you have him wind up adopting seventeen orphans and my response is "Too little, too late," you have failed in the most epic way possible.
March 10, 2014
It's more 3.75 stars... It has a lot of potential with the storyline. Some of it just seems so dastardly. For the price I don't think you can be disappointed. The book seems to grow towards the end so I'll take the chance & read the next one.
July 18, 2013
Romance is not my usual genre, but my friend Cheryl's books are good for the beach and airplane. This is a 3 part trilogy.
September 11, 2013
started off loving this but just couldn't warm back to him after what he did! bloody men!! ;o)
November 8, 2013
An excellent historical romance.
July 1, 2014
I really enjoyed this book and all the obstacles the characters had to endure. However, it was a good read! On to the next book...
August 24, 2015
Rated 3.5
December 2, 2015
Good
Michael was the worst, sort of shit to flush away. Fanny deserve much better than him. But she was young and in love. So it all worked out for the best.
Michael was the worst, sort of shit to flush away. Fanny deserve much better than him. But she was young and in love. So it all worked out for the best.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews