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Lady Windermere's Lover
Hell hath no fury . . .
Damian, Earl of Windermere, rues the day he drunkenly gambled away his family's estate and was forced into marriage to reclaim it. Now, after hiding out from his new bride for a year, Damian is finally called home, only to discover that his modest bride has become an alluring beauty—and rumor has it that she's taken a lover. Damian vows to keep his wife from straying again, but to do so he must seduce her—and protect his heart from falling for the wife he never knew he wanted.
Lady Cynthia never aspired to be the subject of scandal.
Lady Cynthia never aspired to be the subject of scandal. But with her husband off gallivanting across Persia, what was a lady to do? Flirting shamelessly with his former best friend seemed like the perfect revenge . . . except no matter how little Damian deserves her loyalty, Cynthia can't bring herself to be unfaithful. But now that the scoundrel has returned home, Cynthia isn't about to forgive his absence so easily—even if his presence stirs something in her she'd long thought dead and buried. He might win her heart . . . if he can earn her forgiveness!
Damian, Earl of Windermere, rues the day he drunkenly gambled away his family's estate and was forced into marriage to reclaim it. Now, after hiding out from his new bride for a year, Damian is finally called home, only to discover that his modest bride has become an alluring beauty—and rumor has it that she's taken a lover. Damian vows to keep his wife from straying again, but to do so he must seduce her—and protect his heart from falling for the wife he never knew he wanted.
Lady Cynthia never aspired to be the subject of scandal.
Lady Cynthia never aspired to be the subject of scandal. But with her husband off gallivanting across Persia, what was a lady to do? Flirting shamelessly with his former best friend seemed like the perfect revenge . . . except no matter how little Damian deserves her loyalty, Cynthia can't bring herself to be unfaithful. But now that the scoundrel has returned home, Cynthia isn't about to forgive his absence so easily—even if his presence stirs something in her she'd long thought dead and buried. He might win her heart . . . if he can earn her forgiveness!
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published June 24, 2014
45 people are currently reading
958 people want to read
About the author
Miranda Neville
27 books515 followersMiranda Neville grew up in England, loving the books of Georgette Heyer and other Regency romances. She lived in Vermont with her daughter and an immensely talented cat, who made a book trailer for her novel, The Importance of Being Wicked. Her historical romances published by Avon include the popular Burgundy Club series, about Regency book collectors, and The Wild Quartet.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
March 30, 2022
Damian, Earl of Windermere, marries Cynthia in order to reclaim the estate left to him by his mother that he lost in a hand of cards. Shortly after the marriage, he fucks off to Persia for a year and comes home to discover that she's FLIRTING with his FORMER BFF OMFG and also there's some bullshit about some "pictures".
1. The whole "diplomatic performance" aspect is absolutely ridiculous, but whatever. It doesn't matter.
2. Damian's kind of a dick? Like, he had some friends then HE fucked up and cut them out of his life, then he does some shady shit to at least one of them (Julian) and then he treats his wife like absolute shit IMMEDIATELY after marrying her because???
3. Cynthia's "transformation" is whatever because it happens before the story begins and our only descriptions of her "before" are from Damian's super suspect point of view. I thought that her temptation was decently handled, although I ultimately think she should have dumped the husband to get with the goth-ass duke next door. Just saying.
4. At one point, Damian gets Cynthia high in order to fuck. They don't fuck, but his intention is there, so: yet another reason this hero is PRETTY TERRIBLE.
5. There's a whole thing where Cynthia buys ugly ass furniture to embezzle funds to help unwed mothers???
6. And who gives an actual fuck about them French pictures tho, I ask you.
1. The whole "diplomatic performance" aspect is absolutely ridiculous, but whatever. It doesn't matter.
2. Damian's kind of a dick? Like, he had some friends then HE fucked up and cut them out of his life, then he does some shady shit to at least one of them (Julian) and then he treats his wife like absolute shit IMMEDIATELY after marrying her because???
3. Cynthia's "transformation" is whatever because it happens before the story begins and our only descriptions of her "before" are from Damian's super suspect point of view. I thought that her temptation was decently handled, although I ultimately think she should have dumped the husband to get with the goth-ass duke next door. Just saying.
4. At one point, Damian gets Cynthia high in order to fuck. They don't fuck, but his intention is there, so: yet another reason this hero is PRETTY TERRIBLE.
5. There's a whole thing where Cynthia buys ugly ass furniture to embezzle funds to help unwed mothers???
6. And who gives an actual fuck about them French pictures tho, I ask you.
June 24, 2014
I had some issues with this book. OK, one issue primarily. I didn't like the hero. That's a pretty big obstacle to overcome. In fact, I found myself rooting for "the other guy" to win the heroine. This, even though she was already married and I hate adultery storylines. I didn't dislike the entire book, but I just couldn't get excited about the romance.
Damien, the Earl of Windermere, only married Cynthia because of a bad game of cards. He got drunk on his 21st birthday and lost his mother's ancestral home. He actually lost it to a friend, but that friend was just as loaded and lost it to a third party. He never got over it and he never forgave Julian, the friend who carted his unconscious butt away from the card game before securing the property. Over the years, Damien has tried to buy back the home, but the new owner refused, until now. Damien can get the property back when he marries the owner's niece.
Cynthia had no idea about the machinations behind her match. But it was clear very quickly that her new husband was not enthused about the wedding. He was unkind to her in the early days of their marriage. He was impatient. He was insulting. He was flat out rude. He bedded her without so much as a kiss. And then he left on a diplomatic mission for his job.
He stayed gone for a year. In his absence she realized she was pregnant, she lost the baby, and she had to grieve alone. He barely wrote her. He seemed completely on interested in her as a wife or even as a person. So when his former friend Julian began paying attention to her, it was hard to ignore. Yet she stayed virtuous, short of one stolen kiss.
Now Damien is back. And his job requires him to get close to Julian again. He barely recognizes Cynthia as the wife he left behind. But he quickly catches on that there is something between his wife and his former buddy. Only then does he seem interested in kindling the spark of his marriage.
I won't get into the particulars of how it all plays out. The bottom line is I thought Damien's treatment of Cynthia was abominable... Both before he left her and afterward. He had no faith in her. He accused her of things she didn't do. He took no stock in her intelligence. He insulted her and yet because he wanted to get in her pants, we are supposed to think this is a romance to root for? At least Julian recognized that she was a woman of worth. It took Damien way too long to reach the same very obvious conclusion. For much of the book it felt like the only reason Damien wanted to keep her was because he wanted to sleep with her and simply because he did not want Julian to have her. That is pathetic. On top of that, I felt like his animosity towards Julian was based on a very flimsy premise. Julian wasn't the one responsible for his stupid behavior as a young man. Julian just carted his drunk ass home. That is not a reason to start their ridiculous vendetta.
I did like Cynthia. She managed to transform herself by picking herself up by the bootstraps. And she managed to make a difference in the lives of others who were worse off than she was. I also have to give her kudos for staying faithful given what she had to deal with.
I thought the love scenes were good. And the resolution played out fairly well. But overall, this wasn't one of Miranda Neville's more satisfying reads.
Rating: C/C-
*ARC Provided by Avon
Damien, the Earl of Windermere, only married Cynthia because of a bad game of cards. He got drunk on his 21st birthday and lost his mother's ancestral home. He actually lost it to a friend, but that friend was just as loaded and lost it to a third party. He never got over it and he never forgave Julian, the friend who carted his unconscious butt away from the card game before securing the property. Over the years, Damien has tried to buy back the home, but the new owner refused, until now. Damien can get the property back when he marries the owner's niece.
Cynthia had no idea about the machinations behind her match. But it was clear very quickly that her new husband was not enthused about the wedding. He was unkind to her in the early days of their marriage. He was impatient. He was insulting. He was flat out rude. He bedded her without so much as a kiss. And then he left on a diplomatic mission for his job.
He stayed gone for a year. In his absence she realized she was pregnant, she lost the baby, and she had to grieve alone. He barely wrote her. He seemed completely on interested in her as a wife or even as a person. So when his former friend Julian began paying attention to her, it was hard to ignore. Yet she stayed virtuous, short of one stolen kiss.
Now Damien is back. And his job requires him to get close to Julian again. He barely recognizes Cynthia as the wife he left behind. But he quickly catches on that there is something between his wife and his former buddy. Only then does he seem interested in kindling the spark of his marriage.
I won't get into the particulars of how it all plays out. The bottom line is I thought Damien's treatment of Cynthia was abominable... Both before he left her and afterward. He had no faith in her. He accused her of things she didn't do. He took no stock in her intelligence. He insulted her and yet because he wanted to get in her pants, we are supposed to think this is a romance to root for? At least Julian recognized that she was a woman of worth. It took Damien way too long to reach the same very obvious conclusion. For much of the book it felt like the only reason Damien wanted to keep her was because he wanted to sleep with her and simply because he did not want Julian to have her. That is pathetic. On top of that, I felt like his animosity towards Julian was based on a very flimsy premise. Julian wasn't the one responsible for his stupid behavior as a young man. Julian just carted his drunk ass home. That is not a reason to start their ridiculous vendetta.
I did like Cynthia. She managed to transform herself by picking herself up by the bootstraps. And she managed to make a difference in the lives of others who were worse off than she was. I also have to give her kudos for staying faithful given what she had to deal with.
I thought the love scenes were good. And the resolution played out fairly well. But overall, this wasn't one of Miranda Neville's more satisfying reads.
Rating: C/C-
*ARC Provided by Avon
August 12, 2018
Hero was a Complete ASS. Hated him!!
Heroine was the only positive thing in this story. The ending felt rushed and the mystery of the villain was never solved.
Heroine was the only positive thing in this story. The ending felt rushed and the mystery of the villain was never solved.
October 30, 2025
second chances with a self righteous grump. I would’ve taken Duke Julian up on his offer and forget about the jerk husband with a bunch of harem lady nudies stashed in his carriage. consummation and redemption took way too long, by the time it happened. I no longer cared. this quote. about sums it up Lord hee hawww Damian the 🫏🫏🙄
“My lord,” she replied. “I am happy to see you have recovered from your attack of stupidity. It should be of considerable relief to the Foreign Office.” Trembling, she brushed the hair back from his noble forehead. His beautiful eyes bored into her, inciting a rush of desire. “How can we make sure I don’t relapse into idiocy and endanger the future of the country?” She arched into him shamelessly. “Do you have an idea?” Beneath her skirts..
“My lord,” she replied. “I am happy to see you have recovered from your attack of stupidity. It should be of considerable relief to the Foreign Office.” Trembling, she brushed the hair back from his noble forehead. His beautiful eyes bored into her, inciting a rush of desire. “How can we make sure I don’t relapse into idiocy and endanger the future of the country?” She arched into him shamelessly. “Do you have an idea?” Beneath her skirts..
August 11, 2016
I've given this a B- at AAR, so 3.5 stars.
I knew in advance that the plotline of this book revolved around that least favourite of romance tropes – the Big Misunderstanding. But I also knew that it contained some of my favourite plot devices: A marriage made in less than auspicious circumstances, a hero who is in desperate need of a wake-up call, and a second chance for the hero and heroine to make something of their situation, so I decided to accept the Big Mis and see how things turned out.
Damian, Viscount Kendal, is celebrating his twenty-first birthday with his closest friends in the manner of young men – by getting plastered and wagering the family silver. The whoring would probably have come later were it not for the fact that the birthday boy, much the worse for drink, wagers Beaulieu, the estate he has just inherited from his late and beloved mother, and, after losing it, passes out and has to be carried home.
Seven years later, Damian – now the Earl of Windermere – is on the verge of being able to re-purchase Beaulieu. His plans are thwarted at the last minute when the property is sold to a wealthy merchant who will only return it when Damian marries his rather gauche daughter, Cynthia. Furious and full of resentment, Damian agrees to the proposition; the marriage is hastily performed and consummated, and two weeks later, he leaves England on a diplomatic mission to Persia.
During his absence, Cynthia – whose brief experience of being married was not at all a happy one – has taken to heart his comments about her needing to learn to be the wife of a diplomat. She has taken great trouble to improve her French (the language of diplomacy back then), her deportment, and her appearance and makes such a successful transformation that, on his return to England a year later, her husband fails to recognise her!
So far, so good. But then the Big Misunderstanding raises its ugly head. Damian arrives in London expecting Cynthia to be safely ensconced at Beaulieu, and is therefore surprised to find his London house inhabited. He is even more surprised to espy his wife in the arms of another man, who can be no other than his neighbour and former great friend, Julian Fortescue, now the Duke of Densford. Damian immediately jumps to the conclusion that Cynthia is having an affair with him.
The close friendship between Damian and Densford was more or less obliterated on the night the former lost Beaulieu, but now Damian must try to repair the rift between them in order to carry out the mission with which he has been charged by his superiors at the Foreign Office. Densford is an art dealer, and is believed to have acquired an important collection in France after the Revolution. Damian’s boss wants him to get confirmation that Densford has the collectionand negotiate its acquisition by the British government.
Damian is furious at his wife’s betrayal with a man he now regards as his enemy, but keeps that under wraps, admitting to himself that his behaviour towards her had been inconsiderate and that he needs to make amends in some way. He is, however, determined to put a stop to the affair and to make sure that Cynthia is so in thrall to his amazing skills in the shagging department that she will never want anyone else ever again.
The fact that Damian realises how selfishly he has behaved towards Cynthia is a point in his favour, and I enjoyed the way the author has him begin to woo her by making overtures of friendship rather than embarking upon a seduction. The fact that he doesn’t want to have sex with her until he’s sure she isn’t pregnant by someone else is perhaps less laudable, but it does seem perfectly in character for a man of that time and of Damian’s ilk.
Fortunately, Ms Neville doesn’t allow the Mis to go unchallenged for too long, even though Damian’s reaction leaves much to be desired. But eventually, the ice between the couple begins to thaw, even though Densford’s continued attentions to Cynthia keep Damian’s suspicions alive.
There’s an interesting subplot concerning the conditions and treatment of the women working in the silk factories in the East End of London. Cynthia discovers that a number of young women employed at her uncle’s factory have been raped by his factory manager. When confronted, neither the manager or her uncle give a damn about the issue, so she determines to do what she can to help, and sets up a home where the victims of these assaults and their children can live safely. There is also mention of the Spitalfields Acts, which were designed to regulate the pay of the silk workers and some indication of the political manoeuverings surrounding them which added some informative historical colour.
In spite of my dislike of the set-up, I did enjoy the book and read it in more or less one sitting. The leads have chemistry and I enjoyed the friendship that develops between them. But the romance feels under-developed and we are asked to believe that Damian goes from angry and resentful bridegroom to a man panting after his wife after little more than one glimpse of her and simply because she’s dressing better and has a nicer hairstyle. His behaviour towards Cynthia is inconsistent and his stubborn belief in her infidelity manifests itself in immature fits of the sulks during which he treats her poorly. In fact, there were times I was rooting more for Densford as he seemed to genuinely care for Cynthia, and certainly was able to see her true worth long before her husband did.
The ending is on the silly side and is actually superfluous to requirements, as it serves principally to set up the next book which will be Densford’s story.
If you’ve been following this series, then I think you’ll enjoy this latest addition provided you can accept the premise and the fact that the hero is an arsehole at times. I admit that I didn’t care much for book one (The Importance of Being Wicked), but Lady Windermere’s Lover has restored my faith somewhat, so I will likely be reading the final book in Ms Neville’s Wild Quartet when it appears.
I knew in advance that the plotline of this book revolved around that least favourite of romance tropes – the Big Misunderstanding. But I also knew that it contained some of my favourite plot devices: A marriage made in less than auspicious circumstances, a hero who is in desperate need of a wake-up call, and a second chance for the hero and heroine to make something of their situation, so I decided to accept the Big Mis and see how things turned out.
Damian, Viscount Kendal, is celebrating his twenty-first birthday with his closest friends in the manner of young men – by getting plastered and wagering the family silver. The whoring would probably have come later were it not for the fact that the birthday boy, much the worse for drink, wagers Beaulieu, the estate he has just inherited from his late and beloved mother, and, after losing it, passes out and has to be carried home.
Seven years later, Damian – now the Earl of Windermere – is on the verge of being able to re-purchase Beaulieu. His plans are thwarted at the last minute when the property is sold to a wealthy merchant who will only return it when Damian marries his rather gauche daughter, Cynthia. Furious and full of resentment, Damian agrees to the proposition; the marriage is hastily performed and consummated, and two weeks later, he leaves England on a diplomatic mission to Persia.
During his absence, Cynthia – whose brief experience of being married was not at all a happy one – has taken to heart his comments about her needing to learn to be the wife of a diplomat. She has taken great trouble to improve her French (the language of diplomacy back then), her deportment, and her appearance and makes such a successful transformation that, on his return to England a year later, her husband fails to recognise her!
So far, so good. But then the Big Misunderstanding raises its ugly head. Damian arrives in London expecting Cynthia to be safely ensconced at Beaulieu, and is therefore surprised to find his London house inhabited. He is even more surprised to espy his wife in the arms of another man, who can be no other than his neighbour and former great friend, Julian Fortescue, now the Duke of Densford. Damian immediately jumps to the conclusion that Cynthia is having an affair with him.
The close friendship between Damian and Densford was more or less obliterated on the night the former lost Beaulieu, but now Damian must try to repair the rift between them in order to carry out the mission with which he has been charged by his superiors at the Foreign Office. Densford is an art dealer, and is believed to have acquired an important collection in France after the Revolution. Damian’s boss wants him to get confirmation that Densford has the collectionand negotiate its acquisition by the British government.
Damian is furious at his wife’s betrayal with a man he now regards as his enemy, but keeps that under wraps, admitting to himself that his behaviour towards her had been inconsiderate and that he needs to make amends in some way. He is, however, determined to put a stop to the affair and to make sure that Cynthia is so in thrall to his amazing skills in the shagging department that she will never want anyone else ever again.
The fact that Damian realises how selfishly he has behaved towards Cynthia is a point in his favour, and I enjoyed the way the author has him begin to woo her by making overtures of friendship rather than embarking upon a seduction. The fact that he doesn’t want to have sex with her until he’s sure she isn’t pregnant by someone else is perhaps less laudable, but it does seem perfectly in character for a man of that time and of Damian’s ilk.
Fortunately, Ms Neville doesn’t allow the Mis to go unchallenged for too long, even though Damian’s reaction leaves much to be desired. But eventually, the ice between the couple begins to thaw, even though Densford’s continued attentions to Cynthia keep Damian’s suspicions alive.
There’s an interesting subplot concerning the conditions and treatment of the women working in the silk factories in the East End of London. Cynthia discovers that a number of young women employed at her uncle’s factory have been raped by his factory manager. When confronted, neither the manager or her uncle give a damn about the issue, so she determines to do what she can to help, and sets up a home where the victims of these assaults and their children can live safely. There is also mention of the Spitalfields Acts, which were designed to regulate the pay of the silk workers and some indication of the political manoeuverings surrounding them which added some informative historical colour.
In spite of my dislike of the set-up, I did enjoy the book and read it in more or less one sitting. The leads have chemistry and I enjoyed the friendship that develops between them. But the romance feels under-developed and we are asked to believe that Damian goes from angry and resentful bridegroom to a man panting after his wife after little more than one glimpse of her and simply because she’s dressing better and has a nicer hairstyle. His behaviour towards Cynthia is inconsistent and his stubborn belief in her infidelity manifests itself in immature fits of the sulks during which he treats her poorly. In fact, there were times I was rooting more for Densford as he seemed to genuinely care for Cynthia, and certainly was able to see her true worth long before her husband did.
The ending is on the silly side and is actually superfluous to requirements, as it serves principally to set up the next book which will be Densford’s story.
If you’ve been following this series, then I think you’ll enjoy this latest addition provided you can accept the premise and the fact that the hero is an arsehole at times. I admit that I didn’t care much for book one (The Importance of Being Wicked), but Lady Windermere’s Lover has restored my faith somewhat, so I will likely be reading the final book in Ms Neville’s Wild Quartet when it appears.
June 24, 2014
Review posted at: Swept Away By Romance
Story Rating ~ 3 Stars
Hero Rating ~ 3.5 Stars
Heroine Rating ~ 4.5 Stars
Romance Rating ~ 3.5 Stars
Heat Level ~ 2.75 Stars
Ending ~ 2 Stars
Overall Rating ~ 3 Stars
This book started out really good but then in certain spots I became somewhat bored. I was invested enough to keep reading and the story did pick up nicely after that.
The heroine Cynthia was my favorite character from this read. I thought she was a well done character and I became emotional reading about some of the things she went through.
I had some major issues with the hero Damian. I could NOT stand the way he treated Cynthia at times. I do believe however that his behavior was exactly what it should have been during that time period. As the story moved along, his behavior did change, and by the end of the book he redeemed himself.
I enjoy a STEAMY read and this one missed that mark for me. There were a few love scenes, but I was wishing that they would have been drawn out and that they would have been a bit more descriptive. I did not downgrade any rating except the heat level, because this is MY preference.
While I did like this book, there were some major problems for me that had to do with the villains in this read. I looked forward to reading how they would be caught and only one of them got caught and his punishment was never mentioned. Also the big offender was NEVER revealed, even though I had a good idea who it was. For me this messed up the ending even though Damian and Cynthia's ending was a good one. I also wished there would have been an epilogue. I can’t stress enough that an epilogue goes a long way in concluding a story for readers.
All and all I did like this book. I think the author did a wonderful job on the characters. Miranda Neville has a very enjoyable writing style and she did an excellent job on researching certain aspects that popped up during this read. I just wished the ending would have had a better conclusion.
*A copy of the book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
Story Rating ~ 3 Stars
Hero Rating ~ 3.5 Stars
Heroine Rating ~ 4.5 Stars
Romance Rating ~ 3.5 Stars
Heat Level ~ 2.75 Stars
Ending ~ 2 Stars
Overall Rating ~ 3 Stars
This book started out really good but then in certain spots I became somewhat bored. I was invested enough to keep reading and the story did pick up nicely after that.
The heroine Cynthia was my favorite character from this read. I thought she was a well done character and I became emotional reading about some of the things she went through.
I had some major issues with the hero Damian. I could NOT stand the way he treated Cynthia at times. I do believe however that his behavior was exactly what it should have been during that time period. As the story moved along, his behavior did change, and by the end of the book he redeemed himself.
I enjoy a STEAMY read and this one missed that mark for me. There were a few love scenes, but I was wishing that they would have been drawn out and that they would have been a bit more descriptive. I did not downgrade any rating except the heat level, because this is MY preference.
While I did like this book, there were some major problems for me that had to do with the villains in this read. I looked forward to reading how they would be caught and only one of them got caught and his punishment was never mentioned. Also the big offender was NEVER revealed, even though I had a good idea who it was. For me this messed up the ending even though Damian and Cynthia's ending was a good one. I also wished there would have been an epilogue. I can’t stress enough that an epilogue goes a long way in concluding a story for readers.
All and all I did like this book. I think the author did a wonderful job on the characters. Miranda Neville has a very enjoyable writing style and she did an excellent job on researching certain aspects that popped up during this read. I just wished the ending would have had a better conclusion.
*A copy of the book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
June 12, 2014
Originally reviewed for Bodice Rippers, Femme Fatales and Fantasy.
Lady Windermere's Lover is book Three in Miranda Neville's The Wild Quartet Series and my first. A love story that started as an arrangement and turned into a love of the ages.
Lady Cynthia was a bartered bride. Sure that's not what everyone called it but she was married because her husband had gambled away the family farm and he needed money to get it back. She is a sweet dutiful girl and was willing to do as she was told. Of course her cad of a husband, unwilling to accept the blame for his actions, resented her. Blamed her.. and actually couldn't face her. So after a dreadful wedding night he left. Left her alone and totally unprepared to handle anything. But Cynthia was made of stronger stuff. She learned.. while he was off gallivanting around the world, Cynthia learned how to deal with the ton. And deciding to have her vengeance. Flirting with hubby dearest's former best friend seemed like the perfect revenge. Never quite taking it too far. It seems Cynthia has scruples. Something totally unexpected from a rejected bride.
Off carousing with his best buds, Damian, Earl of Windermere his dared to bet it all. It was a game of cards amongst friends and he knew even if he lost, he could pay the IOU and retrieve it the next day. Except he gambled with a drunk who proceeded to continue on in the night and gamble it away again. So when Damian woke the next day, all he had was a sore head and no home. Unable to blame himself and for some reason he is unable to blame the drunk.. he blames his best friend. Ending the friendship forever. But that still left him homeless and without the money to buy it back. Finally he discovers who holds the land and is able to purchase it back.. well purchase it as long as he married a wealthy commoner with a family that wanted ties to the aristocracy. Assuming his bride is in it for the wealth and title, he leaves her alone at his estate. Uncaring about her until he has to return to London and discovers that his wife is a beauty and she is in London NOT at his country estate where he left her. He also is furious to discover that she is having an affair with his former best friend. The man he blames for all of the trouble.
Even though Damian was an idiot face.. I enjoyed this book. Cynthia has a strength of character that charms while I wanted to clobber Damian. This was not a man who accepted the fault for anything. And his lack of respect for the woman he married was awful. But Cynthia saves the day!! She doesn't back down, she shows her spine and her mettle and slowly turns him around.
Personally I would have smacked him upside the head and been done with him. But Ms Neville redeems him. Makes him realize that he was acting like a jerk and he didn't deserve Cynthia. If he wanted her, he was going to have to work for it.
As their chaos calmed Cynthia and Damian became a couple worth knowing. Excellent job!!
Shauni
This review is based on the ARC of Lady Windermere's Lover provided by edelweiss and scheduled for release on June 24, 2014
Lady Windermere's Lover is book Three in Miranda Neville's The Wild Quartet Series and my first. A love story that started as an arrangement and turned into a love of the ages.
Lady Cynthia was a bartered bride. Sure that's not what everyone called it but she was married because her husband had gambled away the family farm and he needed money to get it back. She is a sweet dutiful girl and was willing to do as she was told. Of course her cad of a husband, unwilling to accept the blame for his actions, resented her. Blamed her.. and actually couldn't face her. So after a dreadful wedding night he left. Left her alone and totally unprepared to handle anything. But Cynthia was made of stronger stuff. She learned.. while he was off gallivanting around the world, Cynthia learned how to deal with the ton. And deciding to have her vengeance. Flirting with hubby dearest's former best friend seemed like the perfect revenge. Never quite taking it too far. It seems Cynthia has scruples. Something totally unexpected from a rejected bride.
Off carousing with his best buds, Damian, Earl of Windermere his dared to bet it all. It was a game of cards amongst friends and he knew even if he lost, he could pay the IOU and retrieve it the next day. Except he gambled with a drunk who proceeded to continue on in the night and gamble it away again. So when Damian woke the next day, all he had was a sore head and no home. Unable to blame himself and for some reason he is unable to blame the drunk.. he blames his best friend. Ending the friendship forever. But that still left him homeless and without the money to buy it back. Finally he discovers who holds the land and is able to purchase it back.. well purchase it as long as he married a wealthy commoner with a family that wanted ties to the aristocracy. Assuming his bride is in it for the wealth and title, he leaves her alone at his estate. Uncaring about her until he has to return to London and discovers that his wife is a beauty and she is in London NOT at his country estate where he left her. He also is furious to discover that she is having an affair with his former best friend. The man he blames for all of the trouble.
Even though Damian was an idiot face.. I enjoyed this book. Cynthia has a strength of character that charms while I wanted to clobber Damian. This was not a man who accepted the fault for anything. And his lack of respect for the woman he married was awful. But Cynthia saves the day!! She doesn't back down, she shows her spine and her mettle and slowly turns him around.
Personally I would have smacked him upside the head and been done with him. But Ms Neville redeems him. Makes him realize that he was acting like a jerk and he didn't deserve Cynthia. If he wanted her, he was going to have to work for it.
As their chaos calmed Cynthia and Damian became a couple worth knowing. Excellent job!!
Shauni
This review is based on the ARC of Lady Windermere's Lover provided by edelweiss and scheduled for release on June 24, 2014
September 18, 2015
What a pitiful way to start a new year's reading. Sigh. A very silly book about very silly people. As evidence, may I offer this quote:
" In a hidden place of my heart, that spark of love remained."
"It's a miracle it wasn't crushed by my indifference. "
"A rescued kitten, a whiff of bhang, many small kindnesses, and the ability to send me to heaven with a look and a touch. Each of these fanned that little spark into a flame."
Nothing says "I love you" like small livestock and weed.
One good thing. .. my choice of reading matter must, by default, only go up after this.
" In a hidden place of my heart, that spark of love remained."
"It's a miracle it wasn't crushed by my indifference. "
"A rescued kitten, a whiff of bhang, many small kindnesses, and the ability to send me to heaven with a look and a touch. Each of these fanned that little spark into a flame."
Nothing says "I love you" like small livestock and weed.
One good thing. .. my choice of reading matter must, by default, only go up after this.
September 10, 2016
This is book 3 in the Wild Quartet.
Lady Windermere, Cynthia, has lived the last year without her husband. Shortly after their marriage, Lord Windermere took a government assignment out of the country. Since then, she has been hanging out with her friends and basically living her life as she wants with no husband to answer to.
Damian, Lord Windermere, didn’t want to get married but found it was the only way that he could get the deed to his mother’s home from the owner. He lost the deed to his mother’s home during a card game with one of his best friends. Unfortunately, that friend lost it to someone else later that night. The owner would only give it back to Damian if he married the owner’s niece.
During their time apart, Cynthia has spent a lot of time with Damian's former best friend. Now that Damian is back, he forbids Cynthia from spending time with him. Even though Damian believes she has been unfaithful to him, Cynthia just couldn't bring herself to have an affair.
Even though Damian never wanted this marriage he finds himself falling for his wife. Can he make this a real marriage after that way he had treated his wife?
I really enjoyed this story. Cynthia has been a secondary character in the previous stories and what little information we were given about her, had me on pins and needles waiting for her story. She has had an on-going flirtation with the Duke of Danford, who use to be one of her husband’s best friends. I also wanted to know why Damian married Cynthia and then soon abandoned her. Neville did not disappoint me!
We see Damian come back into his wife’s life and demanding that she end her affair with Danford. She is not willing to do so (even though it never got physical). Damian was not around for her and Danford was. She is not willing to give up her friendship. I really liked that she stood up for herself and didn't let Damian run all over her. The story also included the dynamics of Damian's relationship with his former friends. Cynthia had become friends with them and had one type of relationship with them and then Damian had to re-establish his relationships. This added another level to the plot development.
Neville's next story in the series is the Duke of Danford's. I can't wait to read it!!
Thanks go to Avon via Edelweiss for a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.
Lady Windermere, Cynthia, has lived the last year without her husband. Shortly after their marriage, Lord Windermere took a government assignment out of the country. Since then, she has been hanging out with her friends and basically living her life as she wants with no husband to answer to.
Damian, Lord Windermere, didn’t want to get married but found it was the only way that he could get the deed to his mother’s home from the owner. He lost the deed to his mother’s home during a card game with one of his best friends. Unfortunately, that friend lost it to someone else later that night. The owner would only give it back to Damian if he married the owner’s niece.
During their time apart, Cynthia has spent a lot of time with Damian's former best friend. Now that Damian is back, he forbids Cynthia from spending time with him. Even though Damian believes she has been unfaithful to him, Cynthia just couldn't bring herself to have an affair.
Even though Damian never wanted this marriage he finds himself falling for his wife. Can he make this a real marriage after that way he had treated his wife?
I really enjoyed this story. Cynthia has been a secondary character in the previous stories and what little information we were given about her, had me on pins and needles waiting for her story. She has had an on-going flirtation with the Duke of Danford, who use to be one of her husband’s best friends. I also wanted to know why Damian married Cynthia and then soon abandoned her. Neville did not disappoint me!
We see Damian come back into his wife’s life and demanding that she end her affair with Danford. She is not willing to do so (even though it never got physical). Damian was not around for her and Danford was. She is not willing to give up her friendship. I really liked that she stood up for herself and didn't let Damian run all over her. The story also included the dynamics of Damian's relationship with his former friends. Cynthia had become friends with them and had one type of relationship with them and then Damian had to re-establish his relationships. This added another level to the plot development.
Neville's next story in the series is the Duke of Danford's. I can't wait to read it!!
Thanks go to Avon via Edelweiss for a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.
June 12, 2014
Originally Posted On Addicted To Romance
Damian, in his early twenties, while drunk on his birthday with his friends, gambles a important piece of property, a property that was special to his mother. So he marries Lady Cynthia in order to get that land back. Damian works for the foreign office for seven years. After a year of marriage, he returns for a mission and at the same time get his wife back. Cynthia even though married, hasn't seen her husband in quite some time, and doesn't seem any harm in flirting with her neighbor, but she is determined never to betray her vows. But when her husband unexpectedly returns, they start to live with each other once again, and Cynthia starts to slowly learn who her husband really is, and discovers a passionate and sensual man who is dedicated to duty and honor. Will Damian and Cynthia be able to learn to love after separation and mistrusts.
Lady Windermere's Lover is the third book in the wild quartet series and in the past I have learned to really enjoy this author. I found this book to be very enjoyable and fun and easy to love. There wasn't any big issues that I had with this story, I did feel like it wasn't the type of story I could fully get into though. I did have a fun time with it, and it was one of those stories you can relax into but not get fully immersed in the story. It had the feel of a good cup of tea on a quiet evening. Lately I have been reading very gripping stories, so it was nice to relax into a book and not be at the edge of my seat the whole time. (Not saying I don't like books like that, but it is nice at times to take a breather and read a story a bit more softer). Although I will say I wish there was more romance in the story. I felt like this couple were more friends than married turning into lovers. I didn't feel much sensuality in the story or much of a romantic theme. There were moments of course, but I didn't get the feeling that I usually do with this author. So I was slightly disappointed, but it was a comfortable and easy read, so I had no trouble reading it. I just had higher hopes for it. However having said that, I do want to touch base on a few things I really did enjoy.
I really love the characters involved in the story both main and side characters. Damian and Cynthia are a solid match. Damian is a mix of beta and alpha personality. Damian is willing to admit when he is wrong, willing to fight for what is his, and is a protector. He has a admirable sense of loyalty and I really liked him. Cynthia is your average heroine, but has some qualities that makes her above average. As you read further in the story you start to see more into Cynthia and I really loved her personality and she has that endearing quality to her. Some of my favorite characters were the side characters, and this neighbor rake trying to seduce Cynthia...well I liked his bad boy personality. He was just too likable not to love.
Overall a enjoyable story with witty humor, unique characters, and full of scenes to make you have that "feel good" feel. A PLEASURE TO READ!
Damian, in his early twenties, while drunk on his birthday with his friends, gambles a important piece of property, a property that was special to his mother. So he marries Lady Cynthia in order to get that land back. Damian works for the foreign office for seven years. After a year of marriage, he returns for a mission and at the same time get his wife back. Cynthia even though married, hasn't seen her husband in quite some time, and doesn't seem any harm in flirting with her neighbor, but she is determined never to betray her vows. But when her husband unexpectedly returns, they start to live with each other once again, and Cynthia starts to slowly learn who her husband really is, and discovers a passionate and sensual man who is dedicated to duty and honor. Will Damian and Cynthia be able to learn to love after separation and mistrusts.
Lady Windermere's Lover is the third book in the wild quartet series and in the past I have learned to really enjoy this author. I found this book to be very enjoyable and fun and easy to love. There wasn't any big issues that I had with this story, I did feel like it wasn't the type of story I could fully get into though. I did have a fun time with it, and it was one of those stories you can relax into but not get fully immersed in the story. It had the feel of a good cup of tea on a quiet evening. Lately I have been reading very gripping stories, so it was nice to relax into a book and not be at the edge of my seat the whole time. (Not saying I don't like books like that, but it is nice at times to take a breather and read a story a bit more softer). Although I will say I wish there was more romance in the story. I felt like this couple were more friends than married turning into lovers. I didn't feel much sensuality in the story or much of a romantic theme. There were moments of course, but I didn't get the feeling that I usually do with this author. So I was slightly disappointed, but it was a comfortable and easy read, so I had no trouble reading it. I just had higher hopes for it. However having said that, I do want to touch base on a few things I really did enjoy.
I really love the characters involved in the story both main and side characters. Damian and Cynthia are a solid match. Damian is a mix of beta and alpha personality. Damian is willing to admit when he is wrong, willing to fight for what is his, and is a protector. He has a admirable sense of loyalty and I really liked him. Cynthia is your average heroine, but has some qualities that makes her above average. As you read further in the story you start to see more into Cynthia and I really loved her personality and she has that endearing quality to her. Some of my favorite characters were the side characters, and this neighbor rake trying to seduce Cynthia...well I liked his bad boy personality. He was just too likable not to love.
Overall a enjoyable story with witty humor, unique characters, and full of scenes to make you have that "feel good" feel. A PLEASURE TO READ!
November 18, 2015
I loved Damian and Cynthia. From the moment Damian arrives back in town, the chemistry between these two characters flew off the pages and drew me in, calling for me to finish the book. I willingly admit that I finished it in a day, between hours of editing and I am so glad I took the time for it. My favorite scene was Cynthia and Damian visiting her house for women and children, and watching as Damian really started to see Cynthia for who she was. Definitely a book to be read again.
July 8, 2016
Nice enjoyable story.
3.5* (rounded up to 4*)
3.5* (rounded up to 4*)
September 16, 2024
Meh... the ending was a mess and leaves you hanging. I started to lose interest about halfway through. Wasn't buying the romance.
August 27, 2014
Say, kiddoes, what time is it?
It's Bone Head Hero Time.
It's Bone Head Hero Time.
...
Let's give a rousing cheer,
'Cause Bone Head Hero is here... (sung to the tune of Howdy Doody)
In case you might not have guessed, Lady Windermere's Lover has one of the biggest Bone Head Heroes I've come across in a long time, and on top of that he's supposedly in Intelligence or something. Not only is he a Bone Head Hero, he is also a Bone Head Friend.
Let's start with Damien, our bone head. On his 21st birthday, he and his friends, Julian, Marcus, and Robert, get drunk... very very drunk. They enter into a card game at which time Damien loses his mother's ancestral home. Damien passes out and his drunken friend Julian packs Damien's incoherent behind into a carriage and makes sure he gets home safety. In the meantime, the remaining drunk friends proceed to lose ye' ole family estate to someone else. And, what does Damien do? Well, of course he blames his friends, especially Julian. For years and years he holds a grudge against Julian because he's a spoiled rotten idiot who blames everyone else for his problems. Years pass and this whiny guy is forced to marry Cynthia, a mill owner's niece.
Of course, she's not good enough for him; she's frumpy, she's dumpy, and OMG, she doesn't know French... Oh no, not that!!! You see, the perfect woman must know French, especially if her husband is in the diplomatic service. (What this diplomatic service entails is never really made clear to me. I do know he brings dirty pictures back from Persia when he returns.) Anyway, Damien resents that he is forced to marry Cynthia and treats her abominably in the two weeks they are together before he high-tails it to a foreign country. He shows no kindness to her, he talks over her, he treats her as if she's an idiot, he beds her without any finesse and then he's off. Unbeknownst to him, Cynthia becomes pregnant from their brief horrible encounter and then she loses the child. She writes him, but the letter never gets to him. So, he never knows she was carrying his child or that she lost it.
Now, for some reason Cynthia accepted all the crap Damien did to her for those two weeks. The reason we are given is that she fell head over heels for the buffoon... he's soooooo handsome, like a Greek God. Argh!!! However, his callus reaction to the loss of the baby wakes her up. Of course, she doesn't know he didn't get the letter and the letter he did get was about her having a cold and he did send her a letter in response to the "indisposition" he thought she had. So, we have a really big misunderstanding on Cynthia's part to get over because she thinks he knows and he doesn't. Surprisingly, this was one time I understood them not talking to each other about this particular misunderstanding. I was actually interested in how the author would resolve that problem. I just wish it had been sooner in the book.
Mostly I liked Cynthia. I thought she was too good for Damien. She is a kind person, always taking in needful downtrodden women, orphans, and kittens. In her husband’s absence, she has shed her dumpy appearance and now is a beauty, which kind of bothered me because that would mean she was a beauty all along. She has also taken to padding the redecorating bills so she can support the poor downtrodden women and children. See, she is kind. She also has taken to hanging with Damien's once upon a time friends, especially Julian. She has a plan to use Julian to irritate Damien and Julian has a plan to irritate Damien by using Cynthia. There's a lot going on in this book.
Anyway, after a year in foreign parts being a diplomat Damien is back and immediately jumps to the conclusion that Cynthia is having an affair with Julian. You see, Damien sees them kiss, so all the rumors must be true. And even after Cynthia tells him the truth he doesn't believe her. That doesn't stop him from trying to seduce her, though. You see, she is no longer frumpy but has turned into a "pocket Venus," so his manly urges are out of control. They are so out of control he puts hashish in an incense burner to lower her resistance to him. What a nice guy! Nothing like drugging a woman to get her to respond to him. So, while his wife is becoming mellow from hash, he's talking dirty French to her... nothing turns him on faster than spouting smutty French. Arrgh. I. Did. Not. Like. Damien.
Damien wasn't the only thing in the book that I stumbled over. Normally, I like flashbacks but the ones in this story jolted me out of the narrative flow. There was also some kind of intrigue going on with works of art that I lost track of and I wasn't quite sure in the end if the loose ends of that particular thread had been tied. But, the main problem I had with this book was Damien. He was an infantile, obnoxious, insufferable, condescending clod who didn't deserve any of his true friends and definitely not Cynthia. It took him forever to believe Cynthia and that was only because Julian told him they'd never had an affair. And, then she's kidnapped.
I had issues with this book! The hero was horrible and there wasn't enough grovel time for him to redeem himself. And, what happened to the downtrodden women, kids, and kitten? Don't know. What about the villain? Don't know. Those loose ends need to be tied or there should be a hint that they are going to be tied in a future book. The fourth book in the series concerns Julian. I haven't decided whether I will read that one or not.
KaysBlog
It's Bone Head Hero Time.
It's Bone Head Hero Time.
...
Let's give a rousing cheer,
'Cause Bone Head Hero is here... (sung to the tune of Howdy Doody)
In case you might not have guessed, Lady Windermere's Lover has one of the biggest Bone Head Heroes I've come across in a long time, and on top of that he's supposedly in Intelligence or something. Not only is he a Bone Head Hero, he is also a Bone Head Friend.
Let's start with Damien, our bone head. On his 21st birthday, he and his friends, Julian, Marcus, and Robert, get drunk... very very drunk. They enter into a card game at which time Damien loses his mother's ancestral home. Damien passes out and his drunken friend Julian packs Damien's incoherent behind into a carriage and makes sure he gets home safety. In the meantime, the remaining drunk friends proceed to lose ye' ole family estate to someone else. And, what does Damien do? Well, of course he blames his friends, especially Julian. For years and years he holds a grudge against Julian because he's a spoiled rotten idiot who blames everyone else for his problems. Years pass and this whiny guy is forced to marry Cynthia, a mill owner's niece.
Of course, she's not good enough for him; she's frumpy, she's dumpy, and OMG, she doesn't know French... Oh no, not that!!! You see, the perfect woman must know French, especially if her husband is in the diplomatic service. (What this diplomatic service entails is never really made clear to me. I do know he brings dirty pictures back from Persia when he returns.) Anyway, Damien resents that he is forced to marry Cynthia and treats her abominably in the two weeks they are together before he high-tails it to a foreign country. He shows no kindness to her, he talks over her, he treats her as if she's an idiot, he beds her without any finesse and then he's off. Unbeknownst to him, Cynthia becomes pregnant from their brief horrible encounter and then she loses the child. She writes him, but the letter never gets to him. So, he never knows she was carrying his child or that she lost it.
Now, for some reason Cynthia accepted all the crap Damien did to her for those two weeks. The reason we are given is that she fell head over heels for the buffoon... he's soooooo handsome, like a Greek God. Argh!!! However, his callus reaction to the loss of the baby wakes her up. Of course, she doesn't know he didn't get the letter and the letter he did get was about her having a cold and he did send her a letter in response to the "indisposition" he thought she had. So, we have a really big misunderstanding on Cynthia's part to get over because she thinks he knows and he doesn't. Surprisingly, this was one time I understood them not talking to each other about this particular misunderstanding. I was actually interested in how the author would resolve that problem. I just wish it had been sooner in the book.
Mostly I liked Cynthia. I thought she was too good for Damien. She is a kind person, always taking in needful downtrodden women, orphans, and kittens. In her husband’s absence, she has shed her dumpy appearance and now is a beauty, which kind of bothered me because that would mean she was a beauty all along. She has also taken to padding the redecorating bills so she can support the poor downtrodden women and children. See, she is kind. She also has taken to hanging with Damien's once upon a time friends, especially Julian. She has a plan to use Julian to irritate Damien and Julian has a plan to irritate Damien by using Cynthia. There's a lot going on in this book.
Anyway, after a year in foreign parts being a diplomat Damien is back and immediately jumps to the conclusion that Cynthia is having an affair with Julian. You see, Damien sees them kiss, so all the rumors must be true. And even after Cynthia tells him the truth he doesn't believe her. That doesn't stop him from trying to seduce her, though. You see, she is no longer frumpy but has turned into a "pocket Venus," so his manly urges are out of control. They are so out of control he puts hashish in an incense burner to lower her resistance to him. What a nice guy! Nothing like drugging a woman to get her to respond to him. So, while his wife is becoming mellow from hash, he's talking dirty French to her... nothing turns him on faster than spouting smutty French. Arrgh. I. Did. Not. Like. Damien.
Damien wasn't the only thing in the book that I stumbled over. Normally, I like flashbacks but the ones in this story jolted me out of the narrative flow. There was also some kind of intrigue going on with works of art that I lost track of and I wasn't quite sure in the end if the loose ends of that particular thread had been tied. But, the main problem I had with this book was Damien. He was an infantile, obnoxious, insufferable, condescending clod who didn't deserve any of his true friends and definitely not Cynthia. It took him forever to believe Cynthia and that was only because Julian told him they'd never had an affair. And, then she's kidnapped.
I had issues with this book! The hero was horrible and there wasn't enough grovel time for him to redeem himself. And, what happened to the downtrodden women, kids, and kitten? Don't know. What about the villain? Don't know. Those loose ends need to be tied or there should be a hint that they are going to be tied in a future book. The fourth book in the series concerns Julian. I haven't decided whether I will read that one or not.
KaysBlog
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2021
This.
Dude.
Is.
Such.
An.
ASSHOLE!!!!
And seriously, their feelings for each other make zero sense. Frankly, I hated them both by the end of the book, him for being such a disgusting loser (with his shitty judgment, how the hell did he have a job for the State to begin with???), and her for being stubbornly stupid with zero imagination and not a lick of sense. So, like, we're expected to believe she's held some kind of love for him All This Fucking Time based on 1. he's dreamy hot walking down the aisle, and 2....? No, wait, that's it. Meanwhile, he treated her horribly before leaving, only talking to her in a language he knows she doesn't fully understand, and shame-fucking her every single night like it was somehow his own penance, the poor whiny baby. Because really, why even keep doing it after the wedding night consummation? He made it clear by the end of the book that he didn't need the extra money for her getting knocked up and that, at the time, babies were the furthest thing from his mind. So by continuing to have 30 seconds of awkward missionary sex with her every night in which he had no thought for her pleasure, knowing she's only doing it because she's been brainwashed into thinking its her "duty", I don't know if it qualifies as sexual assault but it feels like it should be. Like, he could have made it plain as custard from day one this was a convenience marriage, what he expected, etc. but BE NICE ABOUT IT. Do the wedding night cha-cha to seal the deal and then go their separate ways or whatever. But no, he lets her believe there's something more there and that they can have a real marriage. He plays petulant mind games on her based off of his own hurt pride due to machinations of other dudes around him and his own stupid folly. I hate this dude.
So then, what? He sees she's all pretty a year later once she got glam-squadded (after literally not even recognizing her face. RUDE!), and suddenly like OHMYGOSH SHE'S MY WIFE AND NOBODY GETS TO HAVE HER BUT ME which turns to looooooove somehow? He stomps around the entire book like a prissy dumbfuck pony who thinks he's a majestic thoroughbred, blames other people for all his own stupid fucking mistakes, doesn't listen to the woman he married or even ask her anything about herself, just tells himself everything in marriage-land will be tops once he TOPS HER on the regular. Because that's how marriage works, clearly. Screwing fixes all.
And of course that's exactly what happens. EW. They're both gross, her wanna-be boyfriend (who frankly seems like a blowhard dramaqueen goth fuckboi anyway) is gross for literally offering hubby a deal to divorce her so he can marry her instead WITHOUT EVEN ASKING IF SHE WANTED THAT (after not taking her "no" for an answer for months, hoping to finally nice-guy himself into her vagina).
This book is gross. The main characters are gross, dudes especially. YUCK.
Rating: PENALTY BOX BAD
Dude.
Is.
Such.
An.
ASSHOLE!!!!
And seriously, their feelings for each other make zero sense. Frankly, I hated them both by the end of the book, him for being such a disgusting loser (with his shitty judgment, how the hell did he have a job for the State to begin with???), and her for being stubbornly stupid with zero imagination and not a lick of sense. So, like, we're expected to believe she's held some kind of love for him All This Fucking Time based on 1. he's dreamy hot walking down the aisle, and 2....? No, wait, that's it. Meanwhile, he treated her horribly before leaving, only talking to her in a language he knows she doesn't fully understand, and shame-fucking her every single night like it was somehow his own penance, the poor whiny baby. Because really, why even keep doing it after the wedding night consummation? He made it clear by the end of the book that he didn't need the extra money for her getting knocked up and that, at the time, babies were the furthest thing from his mind. So by continuing to have 30 seconds of awkward missionary sex with her every night in which he had no thought for her pleasure, knowing she's only doing it because she's been brainwashed into thinking its her "duty", I don't know if it qualifies as sexual assault but it feels like it should be. Like, he could have made it plain as custard from day one this was a convenience marriage, what he expected, etc. but BE NICE ABOUT IT. Do the wedding night cha-cha to seal the deal and then go their separate ways or whatever. But no, he lets her believe there's something more there and that they can have a real marriage. He plays petulant mind games on her based off of his own hurt pride due to machinations of other dudes around him and his own stupid folly. I hate this dude.
So then, what? He sees she's all pretty a year later once she got glam-squadded (after literally not even recognizing her face. RUDE!), and suddenly like OHMYGOSH SHE'S MY WIFE AND NOBODY GETS TO HAVE HER BUT ME which turns to looooooove somehow? He stomps around the entire book like a prissy dumbfuck pony who thinks he's a majestic thoroughbred, blames other people for all his own stupid fucking mistakes, doesn't listen to the woman he married or even ask her anything about herself, just tells himself everything in marriage-land will be tops once he TOPS HER on the regular. Because that's how marriage works, clearly. Screwing fixes all.
And of course that's exactly what happens. EW. They're both gross, her wanna-be boyfriend (who frankly seems like a blowhard dramaqueen goth fuckboi anyway) is gross for literally offering hubby a deal to divorce her so he can marry her instead WITHOUT EVEN ASKING IF SHE WANTED THAT (after not taking her "no" for an answer for months, hoping to finally nice-guy himself into her vagina).
This book is gross. The main characters are gross, dudes especially. YUCK.
Rating: PENALTY BOX BAD
June 14, 2014
London 1793. Damian, Viscount Kendal, is celebrating is 21st birthday with several of his friends. Against his better judgement, he drinks way too much and gambles heavily. When goaded by his friend, Julian Fortesque, the Duke of Denford, he gambles and loses his estate, Beaulieu. He was sure he could win it back, but that was not the case. The estate was left to him by his beloved and deceased mother. In his shame and at the suggestion of his father, the Fourth Earl of Windermere, he decides to join the British Foreign Office.
London 1800. Cynthia Windermere has been married to Damian for one year. He is now the Fifth Earl of Windermere. Shortly after their marriage, he left her to attend to Foreign Office affairs in Persia. She was to await him at Windermere House, but decides to go to London where she could enjoy some of the entertainments of the city. Damian's old friend, Julian, has stepped forward to escort her on some of her outings. Not knowing his wife was in London, Damian decides to stay in a hotel and have dinner with friends. Afterward, he escorts his friend's wife to the theater only to see Julian has escorted his wife as well!
When they finally meet up again, it is with anger at one another. Cynthia knows that the woman Damian escorted used to be his lover. In addition, Damian dislikes Julian for his part in helping Damian to lose Beaulieu. So, distrust and anger abounds. The niece of a harsh, crude but rich man, Damian agreed to marry Cynthia to get Beaulieu back.
Cynthia finds that many young women working at the Spitalfields lace making factories are raped by the bosses ending up pregnant and needing help. She has used some of her money to find a home for them and their children so they can continue to work and support their families.
Julian continues to press his admiration for Cynthia which appalls her and enrages Damian. This jealously makes Damian treat Cynthia badly. Will they ever be able to resolve their differences and make a success of their marriage?
I found this to be a nice novel but became a bit weary with the constant jealousy and misunderstandings between Damian and Cynthia. Had they just sat down and talked, so many of these problems would have been resolved right away. Of course, then there wouldn't be a story, right?
Copy provided by NetGalley
London 1800. Cynthia Windermere has been married to Damian for one year. He is now the Fifth Earl of Windermere. Shortly after their marriage, he left her to attend to Foreign Office affairs in Persia. She was to await him at Windermere House, but decides to go to London where she could enjoy some of the entertainments of the city. Damian's old friend, Julian, has stepped forward to escort her on some of her outings. Not knowing his wife was in London, Damian decides to stay in a hotel and have dinner with friends. Afterward, he escorts his friend's wife to the theater only to see Julian has escorted his wife as well!
When they finally meet up again, it is with anger at one another. Cynthia knows that the woman Damian escorted used to be his lover. In addition, Damian dislikes Julian for his part in helping Damian to lose Beaulieu. So, distrust and anger abounds. The niece of a harsh, crude but rich man, Damian agreed to marry Cynthia to get Beaulieu back.
Cynthia finds that many young women working at the Spitalfields lace making factories are raped by the bosses ending up pregnant and needing help. She has used some of her money to find a home for them and their children so they can continue to work and support their families.
Julian continues to press his admiration for Cynthia which appalls her and enrages Damian. This jealously makes Damian treat Cynthia badly. Will they ever be able to resolve their differences and make a success of their marriage?
I found this to be a nice novel but became a bit weary with the constant jealousy and misunderstandings between Damian and Cynthia. Had they just sat down and talked, so many of these problems would have been resolved right away. Of course, then there wouldn't be a story, right?
Copy provided by NetGalley
April 11, 2015
Neville spins a great tale but doesn't quite stick the landing. This book is the third book in a four-book series and it feels that way. If I had read it as a stand-alone I would be giving it three stars and verging on a 2.5. The ending is rushed and leaves a number of threads loose, much more so than the first two novels did. These plot threads deal with the HEA couple and several of them feel like they should have been tied off in this novel rather than left to continue to the next one.
Things I liked: the flashback structure, giving us more history of the various characters in the book (with appearances from characters we've grown to know over the first two books). I would have liked a few more, actually, to give us some more depth. I also liked the heroine, Cynthia, a lot; we saw how she grew and struggled as a character.
I was less enamored with Damian, the hero. He also grows and changes over the novel but I think I needed one more scene at the end regarding his inner growth to decide that he was worthy of Cynthia. There is a specific issue important to Cynthia on which he changes his mind, but we never see the thought process that leads to him changing his mind - it's just two sentences shoved into the penultimate chapter.
The biggest challenge I had with this was that there were two main plotlines in addition to the romance. One dealt with paintings, the other dealt with a social project Cynthia was working on. One felt like an A plot - it affected every element of the story - and the other felt very much like a B plot in that it just came in a few times. But the ending revolved around the B plot and left the A plot with no conclusion. The mystery of the A plot was not resolved but felt abruptly dropped; the main characters suddenly lost interest once they'd declared their love for each other. Had there been just another couple of paragraphs in which the characters had commented on the mystery and noted they were going to dig into it more in the future, I would have appreciated the book more.
Things I liked: the flashback structure, giving us more history of the various characters in the book (with appearances from characters we've grown to know over the first two books). I would have liked a few more, actually, to give us some more depth. I also liked the heroine, Cynthia, a lot; we saw how she grew and struggled as a character.
I was less enamored with Damian, the hero. He also grows and changes over the novel but I think I needed one more scene at the end regarding his inner growth to decide that he was worthy of Cynthia. There is a specific issue important to Cynthia on which he changes his mind, but we never see the thought process that leads to him changing his mind - it's just two sentences shoved into the penultimate chapter.
The biggest challenge I had with this was that there were two main plotlines in addition to the romance. One dealt with paintings, the other dealt with a social project Cynthia was working on. One felt like an A plot - it affected every element of the story - and the other felt very much like a B plot in that it just came in a few times. But the ending revolved around the B plot and left the A plot with no conclusion. The mystery of the A plot was not resolved but felt abruptly dropped; the main characters suddenly lost interest once they'd declared their love for each other. Had there been just another couple of paragraphs in which the characters had commented on the mystery and noted they were going to dig into it more in the future, I would have appreciated the book more.
April 3, 2014
Take two people each brought together in a reluctant union, then an absent husband, misunderstandings, deceit, an amorous suitor and a little wanton lust and you have what is the beautiful concoction that is Lady Windermere's Lover by Miranda Neville.
After a year apart the reunion of Lord Damian and Lady Cynthia, makes for an intriguing tale. Damian is surprised at the changes he sees in his Cynthia. Gone is the mousy country girl and in her place is a beautiful elegant lady. Damian decides it might be worth giving this marriage a real shot, but in order to do that he has to come to terms with what may or may not be going on between his wife and his former best friend Julian, The Duke of Denford.
Lady Windermere's Lover is Book #3 in Miranda Neville's The Wild Quartet series. This book can be read as part of the series or as a standalone as well. Ms. Neville does a great job of intricately laying out the back story and makes this book enjoyable from the first page.
Damian was not on my favorite hero list at the beginning of this story. The way he treated Cynthia by abandoning her had me fuming and I was delighted that she found a friend in the Duke of Denford. I quickly became wrapped up in the story and by the end of the book I was rooting for Damian and Cynthia's happily ever after. I loved the art mystery that ties this story together and Cynthia's charitable exploits add to the building plot and it makes for a lovely escape. I gave Lady Windermere's lover 4 stars. I read this book in one evening and think that fans of this series, like myself, will enjoy Damien and Cynthia's story. I am really intrigued and may have a tiny book crush on Julian, The Duke of Denford. It seems Julian's story will be the fourth book in this series and it will be added to my TBR list immediately.
After a year apart the reunion of Lord Damian and Lady Cynthia, makes for an intriguing tale. Damian is surprised at the changes he sees in his Cynthia. Gone is the mousy country girl and in her place is a beautiful elegant lady. Damian decides it might be worth giving this marriage a real shot, but in order to do that he has to come to terms with what may or may not be going on between his wife and his former best friend Julian, The Duke of Denford.
Lady Windermere's Lover is Book #3 in Miranda Neville's The Wild Quartet series. This book can be read as part of the series or as a standalone as well. Ms. Neville does a great job of intricately laying out the back story and makes this book enjoyable from the first page.
Damian was not on my favorite hero list at the beginning of this story. The way he treated Cynthia by abandoning her had me fuming and I was delighted that she found a friend in the Duke of Denford. I quickly became wrapped up in the story and by the end of the book I was rooting for Damian and Cynthia's happily ever after. I loved the art mystery that ties this story together and Cynthia's charitable exploits add to the building plot and it makes for a lovely escape. I gave Lady Windermere's lover 4 stars. I read this book in one evening and think that fans of this series, like myself, will enjoy Damien and Cynthia's story. I am really intrigued and may have a tiny book crush on Julian, The Duke of Denford. It seems Julian's story will be the fourth book in this series and it will be added to my TBR list immediately.
May 27, 2017
The better version of this book is Eloisa James's This Duchess of Mine. Exact same idea -- rushed arranged marriage, husband leaves the country to go do whatever absent husbands do, bored wife goes to London and gets her scandal on, husband comes home for reproductive purposes, and then together they have to figure out if they like each other, if the rumors are true, whether their marriage is real, and if any of that matters.
Lady Windermere's Lover was not as nearly as fun. In truth, I didn't like Damian, the diplomat earl, very much. He was callous and cold, and by the time he got around to actually falling in love with his wife, it felt like too little too late. Cynthia also unfolds her secrets slowly, so much of the first half of the book is just the sort of generic conflict caused by not being able to have a conversation.
As with all of the Wild Quartet books, there's a heisty bit involving art, and various other little intrigues. And Julian and Damian get into a fistfight in the library, so some very good fun there.
Lady Windermere's Lover was not as nearly as fun. In truth, I didn't like Damian, the diplomat earl, very much. He was callous and cold, and by the time he got around to actually falling in love with his wife, it felt like too little too late. Cynthia also unfolds her secrets slowly, so much of the first half of the book is just the sort of generic conflict caused by not being able to have a conversation.
As with all of the Wild Quartet books, there's a heisty bit involving art, and various other little intrigues. And Julian and Damian get into a fistfight in the library, so some very good fun there.
February 8, 2017
I didn't remember but I have actually read the first book in this quartet.
Judging by that fact, the fact I don't remember anything about it and the short review I wrote, I can say with certainty I didn't enjoy it very much.
'Lady Windermere's Lover' was actually enoyable enough and easy to read, even though the excessive and, may I say, unnecessary drama made it frustrating at times.
Also, that ending sucked. I did not like there were a lot of unfinished business, mainly between Damian and Julian, Damian and Radcliffe, Julian and Cynthia and the identity of the true villains.
More important than that, after all those misunderstandings we didn't even get to see a proper HEA between Cynthia and Damian.
The least the author could have done, particularly after all the drama surrounding the lost baby, would have been to bring up a second chance for them to be parents.
No luck there. One moment things were all messy and unstable between the couple, the next they were professing undying love and that was it.
A bit disappointing but good if you're looking for something light to pass the time.
Judging by that fact, the fact I don't remember anything about it and the short review I wrote, I can say with certainty I didn't enjoy it very much.
'Lady Windermere's Lover' was actually enoyable enough and easy to read, even though the excessive and, may I say, unnecessary drama made it frustrating at times.
Also, that ending sucked. I did not like there were a lot of unfinished business, mainly between Damian and Julian, Damian and Radcliffe, Julian and Cynthia and the identity of the true villains.
More important than that, after all those misunderstandings we didn't even get to see a proper HEA between Cynthia and Damian.
The least the author could have done, particularly after all the drama surrounding the lost baby, would have been to bring up a second chance for them to be parents.
No luck there. One moment things were all messy and unstable between the couple, the next they were professing undying love and that was it.
A bit disappointing but good if you're looking for something light to pass the time.
September 14, 2017
I hate when authors use another language incorrectly. I don't know how it can even pass the editing stage - surely someone can translate from English to French and write it properly? Couldn't they freaking pay someone to make sure the sentences make sense and are properly written? Meh. Big pet peeve of mine.
The book is okay enough at first but then it becomes painfully boring. I read Lithgows story and the idea I got of Cynthia in the other book was far from how she is portrayed in this one.
The book is okay enough at first but then it becomes painfully boring. I read Lithgows story and the idea I got of Cynthia in the other book was far from how she is portrayed in this one.
August 13, 2015
I couldn't put this book down, hence the reason it took me a day to read! I loved the discovery of the main characters of each other. This was a sweet love story; oh and steamy sexy too!
January 2, 2015
Ummm..I was a bit bored by the book. Skipped through a lot of the pages. I hope the next one will be better. Fingers crossed!
January 3, 2016
<3.5 stars
On his twenty-first birthday, Damian, Viscount Kendal, drunkenly follows the advice of his friend Robert Townsend and gambles away Beaulieu, the estate he has inherited from his beloved departed mother, then he passes out dead drunk. Unfortunately, Townsend had even more of a drinking and gambling problem than Damian and promptly lost the property to someone else. Damian is forced to return to his father, hanging his head in shame, promising to do whatever it takes to reform and help re-purchase the property. He cuts off all contact with his dissolute school friends and throws himself into a career in the diplomatic corps.
Seven years later, having inherited his father's title as Earl of Windermere, Damian has tracked down the man currently holding the deed to Beaulieu. The merchant in question doesn't want mere money to relinquish it, however, he demands that Damian marry his niece, Cynthia, a young and awkward woman who Damian just assumes is as grasping and social climbing as her uncle. He makes absolutely no attempt to actually get to know his shy, inelegant wife, demands that she speak to him in French whenever they actually do spend some time together (she only learned French at Finishing School, so isn't exactly fluent). He resentfully consummates the marriage, but leaves on a diplomatic mission to Persia after only a few weeks. He leaves orders that Cynthia stay at Beaulieu and have it refurbished for when he returns.
So imagine his surprise when he arrives back in London, nearly a year later, having barely corresponded with his wife in the time apart, to discover that she's not following orders and languishing away in the countryside. She is no longer retiring, plain and socially awkward. She is an elegant and ravishing society beauty and currently spending an awful lot of time with his former best friend, Julian Fortescue, the Duke of Denford, whose town house is right next door to his. There are a lot of choice rumours, all of them suggesting that Lady Windermere has taken a lover while her husband was off serving his country. All signs point to Denford being said lover.
Damian's current orders force him to put aside his enmity with Denford and try to rekindle the friendship they once shared, as the a Prussian Prince wants his hands on an art collection Denford is said to be in possession of, and diplomatic negotiations demand that the Prince stay happy. While Damian is unwilling to risk his career, he is not at all happy with the amount of attention Denford is lavishing on Cynthia and becomes determined to win his wife back. He quickly discovers that he knew absolutely nothing about the woman he married and didn't care to find anything out before he abandoned her. She is rightfully deeply hurt by his treatment of her, and has no intention of giving up the company of friends she made while he abandoned her for the best end of a year. Can Damian grovel enough to ever gain his wife's forgiveness?
I have rated this book 4 stars, despite the fact that for most of the book, I wanted to punch Damian, erstwhile Viscount Kendal, now Earl of Windermere hard in the face, and then kick him in the balls. He is a complete d*ckbag, who takes his disappointment and resentment from fixing a mistake he himself made out on the innocent woman who is saddled with him in matrimony. Instead of giving his mother's property up as lost when he himself drunkenly gambles it away, with no care for the consequences, he instead not only cuts all ties to his best friend, Julian, who he blames for not being persuasive enough to drag him away from the gambling table before he lost his mother's estate in a drunken stupor. It also turns out he used his father's influence to sabotage a lucrative art transaction that could have been the making of Julian, to make really make sure their status as friends was well and truly over. For so much of the book, Damian is a self-centred idiot, completely incapable of taking responsibility for his many weaselly actions.
So how is it that I haven't rated the book lower, I hear you asking? Well, because Lady Windermere herself and the man she pretends to have an affair with, Julian Fortescue are both delightful and I liked all their interactions with each other, or others. Poor Cynthia was so infatuated with the handsome man her uncle wanted her to marry, and while she didn't have any of the greed or social aspirations that Damian imagined, the other alternative for a husband her uncle had suggested, the rapey manager of his many factories, was just not an option anyone in their right mind would pick. Her illusions about her handsome husband are shattered pretty quickly, with him treating her at best callously and at its worst abominably, but once he leaves for his diplomatic mission, Cynthia quickly realises that she can turn her status as a Countess into something good.
As her husband ordered her to redecorate Beaulieu, she reasons that she can't very well do that from the country and travels to London to find inspiration. Caro Townsend, from The Importance of Being Wicked hears that she is in town and quickly befriends her, telling her stories about what Damian was once like, when he was friends with Townsend, Lithgow and Fortescue. She also helps Cynthia find a decent dressmaker, and Cynthia begins to turn herself into the ultimate diplomat's wife, taking French lessons and striving to learn all the things her Finishing school didn't already teach her. As time passes and she spends more time with her new friends, Cynthia also grows a backbone and realises that she doesn't deserve the sort of treatment she's received.
She likes the idea of making Damian jealous, and what better way than to start flirting outrageously with his former best friend? She's fully aware that Julian has his own reasons to keep trying to seduce her, probably some kind of revenge for the slights he's experienced from Windermere. Of course, except one kiss, that makes her feel intensely uncomfortable, Cynthia never actually does anything with Julian. She just makes her husband think that she does. She also fills his town house full of atrociously ugly furniture and artwork, which she is purposefully overcharged for by a clever tradesman. The money she embezzles goes to fund a safe house for young women who've been abused by her uncle's foreman. Pregnant or with young children, they have nowhere to turn, and Cynthia has made it her mission to keep them safe.
It takes the best end of the book before Cynthia even deigns to consider her cad of a husband. I think she should have made him suffer a lot more, and grovel more comprehensively, but it is established that she is a deeply kind-hearted and generous woman, so it was probably never in her nature to be cruel to him in return. Miranda Neville's writing is good enough that I really liked this book despite the horrible hero. If there is ever a "years later" sequel written, I would not be unhappy if it turns out that Lord Windermere died in some sort of painful and horrible way. Cynthia may have forgiven him by the end of the book, but I haven't.
On his twenty-first birthday, Damian, Viscount Kendal, drunkenly follows the advice of his friend Robert Townsend and gambles away Beaulieu, the estate he has inherited from his beloved departed mother, then he passes out dead drunk. Unfortunately, Townsend had even more of a drinking and gambling problem than Damian and promptly lost the property to someone else. Damian is forced to return to his father, hanging his head in shame, promising to do whatever it takes to reform and help re-purchase the property. He cuts off all contact with his dissolute school friends and throws himself into a career in the diplomatic corps.
Seven years later, having inherited his father's title as Earl of Windermere, Damian has tracked down the man currently holding the deed to Beaulieu. The merchant in question doesn't want mere money to relinquish it, however, he demands that Damian marry his niece, Cynthia, a young and awkward woman who Damian just assumes is as grasping and social climbing as her uncle. He makes absolutely no attempt to actually get to know his shy, inelegant wife, demands that she speak to him in French whenever they actually do spend some time together (she only learned French at Finishing School, so isn't exactly fluent). He resentfully consummates the marriage, but leaves on a diplomatic mission to Persia after only a few weeks. He leaves orders that Cynthia stay at Beaulieu and have it refurbished for when he returns.
So imagine his surprise when he arrives back in London, nearly a year later, having barely corresponded with his wife in the time apart, to discover that she's not following orders and languishing away in the countryside. She is no longer retiring, plain and socially awkward. She is an elegant and ravishing society beauty and currently spending an awful lot of time with his former best friend, Julian Fortescue, the Duke of Denford, whose town house is right next door to his. There are a lot of choice rumours, all of them suggesting that Lady Windermere has taken a lover while her husband was off serving his country. All signs point to Denford being said lover.
Damian's current orders force him to put aside his enmity with Denford and try to rekindle the friendship they once shared, as the a Prussian Prince wants his hands on an art collection Denford is said to be in possession of, and diplomatic negotiations demand that the Prince stay happy. While Damian is unwilling to risk his career, he is not at all happy with the amount of attention Denford is lavishing on Cynthia and becomes determined to win his wife back. He quickly discovers that he knew absolutely nothing about the woman he married and didn't care to find anything out before he abandoned her. She is rightfully deeply hurt by his treatment of her, and has no intention of giving up the company of friends she made while he abandoned her for the best end of a year. Can Damian grovel enough to ever gain his wife's forgiveness?
I have rated this book 4 stars, despite the fact that for most of the book, I wanted to punch Damian, erstwhile Viscount Kendal, now Earl of Windermere hard in the face, and then kick him in the balls. He is a complete d*ckbag, who takes his disappointment and resentment from fixing a mistake he himself made out on the innocent woman who is saddled with him in matrimony. Instead of giving his mother's property up as lost when he himself drunkenly gambles it away, with no care for the consequences, he instead not only cuts all ties to his best friend, Julian, who he blames for not being persuasive enough to drag him away from the gambling table before he lost his mother's estate in a drunken stupor. It also turns out he used his father's influence to sabotage a lucrative art transaction that could have been the making of Julian, to make really make sure their status as friends was well and truly over. For so much of the book, Damian is a self-centred idiot, completely incapable of taking responsibility for his many weaselly actions.
So how is it that I haven't rated the book lower, I hear you asking? Well, because Lady Windermere herself and the man she pretends to have an affair with, Julian Fortescue are both delightful and I liked all their interactions with each other, or others. Poor Cynthia was so infatuated with the handsome man her uncle wanted her to marry, and while she didn't have any of the greed or social aspirations that Damian imagined, the other alternative for a husband her uncle had suggested, the rapey manager of his many factories, was just not an option anyone in their right mind would pick. Her illusions about her handsome husband are shattered pretty quickly, with him treating her at best callously and at its worst abominably, but once he leaves for his diplomatic mission, Cynthia quickly realises that she can turn her status as a Countess into something good.
As her husband ordered her to redecorate Beaulieu, she reasons that she can't very well do that from the country and travels to London to find inspiration. Caro Townsend, from The Importance of Being Wicked hears that she is in town and quickly befriends her, telling her stories about what Damian was once like, when he was friends with Townsend, Lithgow and Fortescue. She also helps Cynthia find a decent dressmaker, and Cynthia begins to turn herself into the ultimate diplomat's wife, taking French lessons and striving to learn all the things her Finishing school didn't already teach her. As time passes and she spends more time with her new friends, Cynthia also grows a backbone and realises that she doesn't deserve the sort of treatment she's received.
She likes the idea of making Damian jealous, and what better way than to start flirting outrageously with his former best friend? She's fully aware that Julian has his own reasons to keep trying to seduce her, probably some kind of revenge for the slights he's experienced from Windermere. Of course, except one kiss, that makes her feel intensely uncomfortable, Cynthia never actually does anything with Julian. She just makes her husband think that she does. She also fills his town house full of atrociously ugly furniture and artwork, which she is purposefully overcharged for by a clever tradesman. The money she embezzles goes to fund a safe house for young women who've been abused by her uncle's foreman. Pregnant or with young children, they have nowhere to turn, and Cynthia has made it her mission to keep them safe.
It takes the best end of the book before Cynthia even deigns to consider her cad of a husband. I think she should have made him suffer a lot more, and grovel more comprehensively, but it is established that she is a deeply kind-hearted and generous woman, so it was probably never in her nature to be cruel to him in return. Miranda Neville's writing is good enough that I really liked this book despite the horrible hero. If there is ever a "years later" sequel written, I would not be unhappy if it turns out that Lord Windermere died in some sort of painful and horrible way. Cynthia may have forgiven him by the end of the book, but I haven't.
September 5, 2025
Tropes: second chance romance; Big Misunderstanding(s)
Steam level: 2
2.5 stars squeaked up. I barely made it through this. MMC Damian is a dunderheaded jerk who I didn't find the least bit sexy. MFC Cynthia acts like she might be growing a backbone but reverts back to being a Mary Sue once the Biggest Misunderstanding is cleared up around the 80% mark. This is actually one of the least romantic second chance HR's I've ever read; the hero seems to be almost entirely in love with his estranged wife because she's given herself a makeover over the course of a year and has learned better French.
To give you an example of how unromantic this book is: Damian plops his naked bod in Cynthia's bed not to make out with her, but to make sure she's not sneaking out to sleep with his friend Julian and getting herself pregnant. They make some casual conversation but there's none of the crackling "sharing one bed" sexual tension I was hoping for. Instead, around the 50% mark MMC gets MFC higher than a kite (yes, that's problematic and unnecessary), she starts giggling like a maniac, they go at it...and the steam is glossed over in a paragraph. Seriously. All that build up, for what?
Damian goes around making Cynthia paranoid, basically gaslighting her, and there's some silliness about paintings, with Damian amazed that Julian would actually give up the artwork for the sake of his wife (at this point Damian actually has realized he loves Cynthia, although the reader is more confused than he is about how that came about).
Why the three stars, then? Well, the first 30% is promising. The writing style is pretty solid, and the world building is good. Plus Julian is worth rooting for. The whole book, in fact, I wanted Damian to take off on one more diplomatic mission and get run over by a carriage or something, and for Cynthia and Julian to take off together.
C'est la vie.
Steam level: 2
2.5 stars squeaked up. I barely made it through this. MMC Damian is a dunderheaded jerk who I didn't find the least bit sexy. MFC Cynthia acts like she might be growing a backbone but reverts back to being a Mary Sue once the Biggest Misunderstanding is cleared up around the 80% mark. This is actually one of the least romantic second chance HR's I've ever read; the hero seems to be almost entirely in love with his estranged wife because she's given herself a makeover over the course of a year and has learned better French.
To give you an example of how unromantic this book is: Damian plops his naked bod in Cynthia's bed not to make out with her, but to make sure she's not sneaking out to sleep with his friend Julian and getting herself pregnant. They make some casual conversation but there's none of the crackling "sharing one bed" sexual tension I was hoping for. Instead, around the 50% mark MMC gets MFC higher than a kite (yes, that's problematic and unnecessary), she starts giggling like a maniac, they go at it...and the steam is glossed over in a paragraph. Seriously. All that build up, for what?
Damian goes around making Cynthia paranoid, basically gaslighting her, and there's some silliness about paintings, with Damian amazed that Julian would actually give up the artwork for the sake of his wife (at this point Damian actually has realized he loves Cynthia, although the reader is more confused than he is about how that came about).
Why the three stars, then? Well, the first 30% is promising. The writing style is pretty solid, and the world building is good. Plus Julian is worth rooting for. The whole book, in fact, I wanted Damian to take off on one more diplomatic mission and get run over by a carriage or something, and for Cynthia and Julian to take off together.
C'est la vie.
May 28, 2025
Very abrupt ending
This was ok but the last part got weird and then just ends. I can't even explain why I didn't enjoy it more since I liked the MCs (even if Damian was a first class jerk to Cynthia at first) but everything seemed resolved a little too easily for me. For an arranged marriage and wronged bride, I felt an opportunity was missed here.
This was ok but the last part got weird and then just ends. I can't even explain why I didn't enjoy it more since I liked the MCs (even if Damian was a first class jerk to Cynthia at first) but everything seemed resolved a little too easily for me. For an arranged marriage and wronged bride, I felt an opportunity was missed here.
August 31, 2025
H is a ass. got drunk, gambled away is estate, blames everyone else. Married the h in order to get the property back, blames her, treated her like shit for the 2 weeks he was around, then left for over a year.
skimmed the last half to get to the next book.
skimmed the last half to get to the next book.
March 28, 2025
"He'd anticipated his bride grateful for his arrival in the wilds of Oxfordshire. By moving to London without permission, she demonstrated an unpleasing independence."
Very misogynic. Didn't like the main male lead at the beginning and didn't like him at the end. For me to like a book, I have to like the characters.
There is a scene where he burns hemp to get her to relax and then spend bedtime with her. To me, it read as drugging her as she did not consent to him burning the weed. She didn't even know what it was. Read to me like preying on her innocence and trust to drug her and essentially r*pe her. Because someone who is drugged can't consent. Literally the next day she didn't even remember what happened.
"Once he had cleared the air with Cynthia, laid down the law, kindly but firmly, about her future behavior, then they could move on."
The male lead just peeved me. The ML completely broke his marriage vows. The FL lead had only kissed someone. Guess whose betrayal was held over their head? Misogyny as its finest. He spent the whole book deciding what they think and feel. Not listening to her when she talks to him, than not being vulnerable and talking to her.
I just really didn't like or understand the male lead. He makes a comment about how it is good that females stay in the domestic realm but at the same time he wants his wife to help him with his diplomacy. ??? He was also so hypocritical telling the FL that her opinion on a government bill was sentimental since she wanted to protect weavers, but at the same time, he is going to vote in favor of the bill because his uncle told him to who he doesn't want to disappoint.
Didn't like this book the male lead spends the whole book blaming other people-his wife and friends. No accountability for his actions. No redeemable qualities. Kept waiting for some type of character growth but nope.
Very misogynic. Didn't like the main male lead at the beginning and didn't like him at the end. For me to like a book, I have to like the characters.
There is a scene where he burns hemp to get her to relax and then spend bedtime with her. To me, it read as drugging her as she did not consent to him burning the weed. She didn't even know what it was. Read to me like preying on her innocence and trust to drug her and essentially r*pe her. Because someone who is drugged can't consent. Literally the next day she didn't even remember what happened.
"Once he had cleared the air with Cynthia, laid down the law, kindly but firmly, about her future behavior, then they could move on."
The male lead just peeved me. The ML completely broke his marriage vows. The FL lead had only kissed someone. Guess whose betrayal was held over their head? Misogyny as its finest. He spent the whole book deciding what they think and feel. Not listening to her when she talks to him, than not being vulnerable and talking to her.
I just really didn't like or understand the male lead. He makes a comment about how it is good that females stay in the domestic realm but at the same time he wants his wife to help him with his diplomacy. ??? He was also so hypocritical telling the FL that her opinion on a government bill was sentimental since she wanted to protect weavers, but at the same time, he is going to vote in favor of the bill because his uncle told him to who he doesn't want to disappoint.
Didn't like this book the male lead spends the whole book blaming other people-his wife and friends. No accountability for his actions. No redeemable qualities. Kept waiting for some type of character growth but nope.
July 14, 2014
Originally posted on Adria's Romance Reviews
I’ve never read Miranda Neville’s books before so I was excited and more than a little nervous about reading Lady Windermere’s Lover since I’ve been suffering a bit of a HR burnout lately. Plus, it’s the second book in a series and I’m a little OCD about starting a series from anywhere but the beginning. So what did I think of it?
Well, as far as historical romances go, Lady Windermere’s Lover is an exceptional read. It was like finding a small treasure in a sandbox you’ve been to a hundred times.
Damian, Lord Windermere has finally come home to England, only to find the mousy, unsophisticated wife he abandoned so hastily a year ago has transformed into a graceful, educated woman. Having only married Cynthia for her dowry, an estate he foolishly gambled away when he was younger, Damian is unprepared for the feelings of jealousy brought on by his wife’s constant companion, Julian, the Duke of Denford, Damian’s former friend and current enemy.
As rumors swirl that the Duke is Cynthia’s lover, Damian sets out to win his wife’s affection, but Cynthia is unwilling to forgive her neglectful husband so easily. With so many misunderstandings and a determined Duke in the way, Damian has his work cut out for him!
Sure, there are tons of marriage of convenience romances out there and I do have my favorites but what made Lady Windermere’s Lover stand out for me was mostly Cynthia. It was difficult to put my finger on just what made her stick in my mind, then it hit me: Cynthia has just enough of a modern emancipated woman in her to make her different to the women of her time, but not too much to where she seemed more like a time traveler.
She was flawed and prone to female dramatics but that’s what kept her from being boring or having men walk all over her. There isn’t much about the early days of her marriage but there was enough to show how lost and alone she felt when her brand new husband walked away from her and ignored her for the better part of a year. She had a right to her anger and a right to her plan for revenge. She isn’t so far gone as to be unfaithful (though I wouldn’t have blamed her if she had been), but she shows an incredibly realistic side to her when she admits that she was and is tempted to take the Duke of Denford up on his offer of an affair. She’s a lonely woman who had her hopes crushed and I understood where she was coming from. In those times a marriage was definitely forever and more often than not, made the woman miserable.
Now Damian I had a little trouble with at the beginning. He was just so full of himself, so pompous and arrogant that he couldn’t even conceive of a scenario where everything he believed about his wife was wrong. I had a hard time liking the cold, unfeeling personality that he wore as a cloak. I even caught myself hoping he’d lose Cynthia to Julian. When Damian finally did start to win me over I found myself anticipating the moment when he realized just how wrong he was about his wife. It was a very satisfying moment to see him so humbled by the knowledge that his wife wasn’t what he thought she was.
As much as Lady Windermere’s Lover is about Damian and Cynthia’s road to redemption and forgiveness, I have to admit it was the dashing and mysterious Julian that caught my eye. At first glance he seems like he’s only using Cynthia to get back at Damian, but it soon becomes clear that he truly cares for her, enough to make Damian an outrageous proposition for that time period. Author Miranda Neville doesn’t reveal much about Julian except that he was once Damian’s best friend and how that friendship came to a bitter end, but the bits and pieces she does reveal have me halfway in love with the lonely Duke. Enough to ask, can I have Julian for my own?
There’s no real resolution between Damian and Julian, which is something I would like to see happen since it’s obvious the two men miss their former friendship. Hopefully that will happen in Julian’s book (Yay!).
Final Verdict: Lady Windermere’s Lover was a good time for me. Good enough in fact, that I had to buy the first book in the series and hopefully I’ll get caught up with Miranda Neville’s books soon!
I’ve never read Miranda Neville’s books before so I was excited and more than a little nervous about reading Lady Windermere’s Lover since I’ve been suffering a bit of a HR burnout lately. Plus, it’s the second book in a series and I’m a little OCD about starting a series from anywhere but the beginning. So what did I think of it?
Well, as far as historical romances go, Lady Windermere’s Lover is an exceptional read. It was like finding a small treasure in a sandbox you’ve been to a hundred times.
Damian, Lord Windermere has finally come home to England, only to find the mousy, unsophisticated wife he abandoned so hastily a year ago has transformed into a graceful, educated woman. Having only married Cynthia for her dowry, an estate he foolishly gambled away when he was younger, Damian is unprepared for the feelings of jealousy brought on by his wife’s constant companion, Julian, the Duke of Denford, Damian’s former friend and current enemy.
As rumors swirl that the Duke is Cynthia’s lover, Damian sets out to win his wife’s affection, but Cynthia is unwilling to forgive her neglectful husband so easily. With so many misunderstandings and a determined Duke in the way, Damian has his work cut out for him!
Sure, there are tons of marriage of convenience romances out there and I do have my favorites but what made Lady Windermere’s Lover stand out for me was mostly Cynthia. It was difficult to put my finger on just what made her stick in my mind, then it hit me: Cynthia has just enough of a modern emancipated woman in her to make her different to the women of her time, but not too much to where she seemed more like a time traveler.
She was flawed and prone to female dramatics but that’s what kept her from being boring or having men walk all over her. There isn’t much about the early days of her marriage but there was enough to show how lost and alone she felt when her brand new husband walked away from her and ignored her for the better part of a year. She had a right to her anger and a right to her plan for revenge. She isn’t so far gone as to be unfaithful (though I wouldn’t have blamed her if she had been), but she shows an incredibly realistic side to her when she admits that she was and is tempted to take the Duke of Denford up on his offer of an affair. She’s a lonely woman who had her hopes crushed and I understood where she was coming from. In those times a marriage was definitely forever and more often than not, made the woman miserable.
Now Damian I had a little trouble with at the beginning. He was just so full of himself, so pompous and arrogant that he couldn’t even conceive of a scenario where everything he believed about his wife was wrong. I had a hard time liking the cold, unfeeling personality that he wore as a cloak. I even caught myself hoping he’d lose Cynthia to Julian. When Damian finally did start to win me over I found myself anticipating the moment when he realized just how wrong he was about his wife. It was a very satisfying moment to see him so humbled by the knowledge that his wife wasn’t what he thought she was.
As much as Lady Windermere’s Lover is about Damian and Cynthia’s road to redemption and forgiveness, I have to admit it was the dashing and mysterious Julian that caught my eye. At first glance he seems like he’s only using Cynthia to get back at Damian, but it soon becomes clear that he truly cares for her, enough to make Damian an outrageous proposition for that time period. Author Miranda Neville doesn’t reveal much about Julian except that he was once Damian’s best friend and how that friendship came to a bitter end, but the bits and pieces she does reveal have me halfway in love with the lonely Duke. Enough to ask, can I have Julian for my own?
There’s no real resolution between Damian and Julian, which is something I would like to see happen since it’s obvious the two men miss their former friendship. Hopefully that will happen in Julian’s book (Yay!).
Final Verdict: Lady Windermere’s Lover was a good time for me. Good enough in fact, that I had to buy the first book in the series and hopefully I’ll get caught up with Miranda Neville’s books soon!
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