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Spinster #2
The Poor Relation
Improvised, Chloe Woodforde is a companion for her great aunt who is an eccentric tippler. They are invited to a house party, where, without London’s restrictions, Chloe walks her aunt’s Yorkshire terrier. She blunders into Viscount Camden during his clandestine activities. As circumstances throw them together, Chloe cannot deny her growing feelings for Camden, a renowned rake, but knows he is not for her.
Oliver Camden, an agent for the Crown, is recruited to discover a British traitor and French agents and prevent stolen documents from falling into the wrong hands. He rescues Chloe when she unwittingly encounters the French agents. Never one to dangle after an innocent, Camden, however, is drawn to Chloe’s beauty and integrity and finds himself seeking out her company.
Oliver Camden, an agent for the Crown, is recruited to discover a British traitor and French agents and prevent stolen documents from falling into the wrong hands. He rescues Chloe when she unwittingly encounters the French agents. Never one to dangle after an innocent, Camden, however, is drawn to Chloe’s beauty and integrity and finds himself seeking out her company.
144 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 20, 2013
91 people are currently reading
249 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Bennett
25 books52 followershttps://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00EOYL6A6
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http://margaretbennett.net/
I started writing Regency romance novels as a hobby and love writing about strong, resourceful women in an age where it was thought that women were incapable of taking care of themselves and often couldn't own property.
With each novel, I have made mistakes, but I have learned so much along the way. I enjoy reading my reviews and am thankful that my readers take the time to critique my novels. I am also a member of RWA.
I currently reside in beautiful Port Royal, SC, with my husband and our dog Sally, happily working away on my next novel.
https://www.facebook.com/MargaretBenn...
https://www.instagram.com/margaret.be...
http://margaretbennett.net/
I started writing Regency romance novels as a hobby and love writing about strong, resourceful women in an age where it was thought that women were incapable of taking care of themselves and often couldn't own property.
With each novel, I have made mistakes, but I have learned so much along the way. I enjoy reading my reviews and am thankful that my readers take the time to critique my novels. I am also a member of RWA.
I currently reside in beautiful Port Royal, SC, with my husband and our dog Sally, happily working away on my next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 27, 2020
Very Enjoyable 4 1/2 stars
This is the second book I've read by this author and, just like the previous one, I enjoyed it very much. The book is well written with an interesting plot and nicely developed characters. On the other hand, it does have a few problems, but nothing a good editor could not address, and nothing that took away from my enjoyment of the story.
The heroine, Chloe, is a young woman of 24 years. She is niece and companion to Lady Sophia Milbanke. Chloe is sweet, caring, and is utterly devoted to her aunt, who has a tendency to over imbibe. Chloe and her aunt are invited to a house party. On the way, while stopped at an inn, Chloe has an encounter with the hero, Oliver, Viscount Camden. Camden is a world weary rake who works as a spy for the crown. He and Chloe are both en-route to the same house party. Very early in the story, Chloe becomes aware that Camden is hiding something, though she has no idea what it could be. She agrees to keep his secret and from there the story develops. Camden is intrigued by the pretty young woman. He finds his thoughts consumed by her.
For her part, Chloe finds Camden fascinating. The plot of this story is chock full of intrigue with Camden working undercover trying to recover some lost/stolen government documents. He spends a lot of time lurking in the surrounding woods at night having clandestine rendezvous with his spy contact. Camden and Chloe oftentimes encounter each other while she is walking her aunt's little dog......an activity she is very fond of doing at night. Chloe's fascination for Camden develops and she eventually realizes that she has fallen in love with him. This newfound love for Camden is a source of despair for Chloe as she believes him to be a rake of the first order. To make matters worse, there is Camden's apparent love interest who is also a member of the house party, the lovely widow, Mrs. Palmer.
The romance between Camden and Chloe is more on the subtle side, by which I mean there aren't a lot of lovey dovey, tender moments between them (though they do manage to get in a few scorching kisses. LOL) But for all it's subtlety the romance is still very sweet, and I loved the ending where the they confess their love to each other. The only issue I had with the plot is that I found to be a bit silly the way Chloe kept going for nighttime walks when it was obvious there was some danger lurking about. But, for the most part, the author managed to save Chloe's conduct from the TSTL category. LOL Other than that one small weakness, I think this is a great book. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre and who likes their romances clean. Happy reading!
This is the second book I've read by this author and, just like the previous one, I enjoyed it very much. The book is well written with an interesting plot and nicely developed characters. On the other hand, it does have a few problems, but nothing a good editor could not address, and nothing that took away from my enjoyment of the story.
The heroine, Chloe, is a young woman of 24 years. She is niece and companion to Lady Sophia Milbanke. Chloe is sweet, caring, and is utterly devoted to her aunt, who has a tendency to over imbibe. Chloe and her aunt are invited to a house party. On the way, while stopped at an inn, Chloe has an encounter with the hero, Oliver, Viscount Camden. Camden is a world weary rake who works as a spy for the crown. He and Chloe are both en-route to the same house party. Very early in the story, Chloe becomes aware that Camden is hiding something, though she has no idea what it could be. She agrees to keep his secret and from there the story develops. Camden is intrigued by the pretty young woman. He finds his thoughts consumed by her.
For her part, Chloe finds Camden fascinating. The plot of this story is chock full of intrigue with Camden working undercover trying to recover some lost/stolen government documents. He spends a lot of time lurking in the surrounding woods at night having clandestine rendezvous with his spy contact. Camden and Chloe oftentimes encounter each other while she is walking her aunt's little dog......an activity she is very fond of doing at night. Chloe's fascination for Camden develops and she eventually realizes that she has fallen in love with him. This newfound love for Camden is a source of despair for Chloe as she believes him to be a rake of the first order. To make matters worse, there is Camden's apparent love interest who is also a member of the house party, the lovely widow, Mrs. Palmer.
The romance between Camden and Chloe is more on the subtle side, by which I mean there aren't a lot of lovey dovey, tender moments between them (though they do manage to get in a few scorching kisses. LOL) But for all it's subtlety the romance is still very sweet, and I loved the ending where the they confess their love to each other. The only issue I had with the plot is that I found to be a bit silly the way Chloe kept going for nighttime walks when it was obvious there was some danger lurking about. But, for the most part, the author managed to save Chloe's conduct from the TSTL category. LOL Other than that one small weakness, I think this is a great book. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre and who likes their romances clean. Happy reading!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2018
First of all let me state I won this book on Amazon from a sweepstakes I entered on Goodreads and am offering a voluntary and unbiased review of what I read.
I would rate The Poor Relation by Margaret Bennett a very decent 3 1/2 to 4 stars read. She is an author I was not familiar with and her book would be classified as a clean Regency period romance. There is some mildly passionate kissing and embracing between the H and h but no sexual relations if this makes a difference to the readers.
Our heroine, sweet and caring Lady Sophia Milbanke, is an on the shelf spinster who lives with and is devoted to her elderly aunt who likes to imbibe frequently whether at home or at society functions. Oliver, Viscount Camden, our hero, is a well-known rake in society but also happens to work as a spy for the crown at home and sometimes abroad.
The story I found to be entertaining, involving mystery, intrigue, withheld secrets, likable as well as questionable characters, and a sweet growing chemistry between the two lead characters. It was an easy read and wasn't put down until it was finished.
I would rate The Poor Relation by Margaret Bennett a very decent 3 1/2 to 4 stars read. She is an author I was not familiar with and her book would be classified as a clean Regency period romance. There is some mildly passionate kissing and embracing between the H and h but no sexual relations if this makes a difference to the readers.
Our heroine, sweet and caring Lady Sophia Milbanke, is an on the shelf spinster who lives with and is devoted to her elderly aunt who likes to imbibe frequently whether at home or at society functions. Oliver, Viscount Camden, our hero, is a well-known rake in society but also happens to work as a spy for the crown at home and sometimes abroad.
The story I found to be entertaining, involving mystery, intrigue, withheld secrets, likable as well as questionable characters, and a sweet growing chemistry between the two lead characters. It was an easy read and wasn't put down until it was finished.
June 3, 2018
I received a copy of the ebook edition of this in a Goodreads giveaway. It was an enjoyable quick read. However, there were a frustrating number of editing errors (perhaps only in the ebook?) and also issues with historical accuracy and the use of period idiom that were distracting. As the commitment to minimal sensuality limited the nature of the main characters' interactions, an espionage subplot was used to create a lot of the situations that threw the characters together. However, after involving the reader in a good deal of the details of that subplot along the way, that whole storyline is wrapped up "off stage" leaving the reader wondering. I enjoyed the subplot and the need for it to flesh out the book and give the main characters some reason to be involved with each other, which otherwise would not exist. However, once the author felt their romance to be established, that plot was tossed aside, which leaves the reader questioning whether so much detail on a plot to be abandoned was needed. However, the supporting characters are charming and overall the book is a fun read.
May 22, 2021
A light and enjoyable story.
I enjoyed this bookThe heroine, Chloe, is sweet, naive, and loyal. The hero, Viscount Camden, is a bit hardened and a rake, but changes for the better. He is trying to keep Chloe safer from the intrigue happening at the house party; however, it seems that his attitude toward her while doing so is a bit harsh at times. I liked this book better than the first in the series, An Independent Lady. I’ve read other of her books that I liked even more: The Earl and the Merchant’s Daughter; and A Lady’s Dilemma. For both, the humor and character development were better.
There were some typos and occasional grammatical that need to be addressed. Two or three times, phrases were used that most likely would not have been used by the gentry, or possibly anyone at that time. Example: “She would stop acting like a schoolroom miss with a crush....”. I don’t think the word crush was used in that way at the time. However, they do not detract from the overall enjoyment of the story.
I enjoyed this bookThe heroine, Chloe, is sweet, naive, and loyal. The hero, Viscount Camden, is a bit hardened and a rake, but changes for the better. He is trying to keep Chloe safer from the intrigue happening at the house party; however, it seems that his attitude toward her while doing so is a bit harsh at times. I liked this book better than the first in the series, An Independent Lady. I’ve read other of her books that I liked even more: The Earl and the Merchant’s Daughter; and A Lady’s Dilemma. For both, the humor and character development were better.
There were some typos and occasional grammatical that need to be addressed. Two or three times, phrases were used that most likely would not have been used by the gentry, or possibly anyone at that time. Example: “She would stop acting like a schoolroom miss with a crush....”. I don’t think the word crush was used in that way at the time. However, they do not detract from the overall enjoyment of the story.
August 3, 2017
I enjoyed the book in spite of its short comings, but I am not generally a picky person with fiction. This book was a nice quick read and is great for anyone who has a few hours to kill, or a late night and can’t sleep, and is looking for a simple story. This book is not filled with a bunch of filler and drama. It is just a simple clean Regency romance novella.
Longer and more in depth review at https://paperrosy.wordpress.com/
Longer and more in depth review at https://paperrosy.wordpress.com/
January 5, 2014
Decent, but errors
I liked this book except for some glaring errors. Misspellings, misuse of Regency idioms and the use of discrete for discreet were quite annoying. I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't wanted to pull out my red pen from teaching days.
I liked this book except for some glaring errors. Misspellings, misuse of Regency idioms and the use of discrete for discreet were quite annoying. I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't wanted to pull out my red pen from teaching days.
May 19, 2013
Like all the books I have read by Ms. Bennett, this book could have used more editing, but was otherwise a well done.
June 11, 2013
very predictable
April 29, 2016
The Poor Relation
I have just discovered Margaret Bennett and can't wait to read more of her books. She blends mystery and romance delightfully.
I have just discovered Margaret Bennett and can't wait to read more of her books. She blends mystery and romance delightfully.
May 2, 2017
Could be much better
I enjoyed this book, but felt that it could have been much better. My main issue is the number of typos and inappropriate wording. There are two fairly big ones on the first page.
I enjoyed this book, but felt that it could have been much better. My main issue is the number of typos and inappropriate wording. There are two fairly big ones on the first page.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews