Pagrobta širdis

Lost Heirs #1

by Candace Camp, Emilija Grigulaitė (Translator)

Naujoji lordo Torpo verslo partnerė visai ne tokia, kokios jis tikėjosi. Juodaplaukė skaisčiaveidė Aleksandra Vord yra stulbinamai graži, įžūliai tiesmuka... ir be galo panaši į vieną seniai mirusią aukštuomenės damą.

Atvykusi iš Amerikos Aleksandra įsitikina, kad Londonas pilnas pavojų. Jos pasirodymas pokylyje su lordu Torpu už parankės sukrečia aukštuomenę ir sukelia šnabždesių bangą: ar ji intrigantė, besigviešianti svetimų turtų, ar naivuolė, atsidūrusi jai nesuprantamų įvykių sūkuryje?

Vienas žmogus žino tiesą, bet nenori, kad Aleksandra sužinotų. Jai gresia pavojus. Tik lordas Torpas gali padėti amerikietei... jeigu pats atsikratys įtarimų.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Regency Romance

380 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Candace Camp is the New York Times bestselling author of over sixty books.

Her first novel, *Bonds of Love*, was published by Jove Publishing in 1978, under the pseudonym Lisa Gregory. Two pseudonyms (Kristin James and Sharon Stephens)and many books later, Candace writes under her own name Candace Camp and still loves creating stories.

Candace lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and is the mother of Young Adult author Anastasia Hopcus.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an ending!

During the French Terror, a mother frantically whisked her children to a woman (who is not identified to the reader) for safety.

20 years later, an American heiress comes to London for business. There Alexandra meets the elusive Lord Troupe. When he takes her to a ball she meets a Countess who faints after the meeting. Apparently she looks identical to the woman's dead daughter in law. Not soon after someone starts to try to kill Alexandra and her mother.

So what happen to the three children? This story had a nice mystery that kept me reading. At first the mystery is obvious. I was frustrated bc the h's paranoid/crazy adopted mother had the answers. I wanted to slap her and say, "spit it out already ". I kept reading cause I HAD to know what happen to the two eldest children. This is where the author was clever. I thought the mystery was pretty predictable. Boy was I wrong! There is a player in this game I didn't see coming. That's all I'll say.

The romance was good as well. The h is strong and bold. I loved her. The H was untrusting yet interesting. I enjoyed how their relationship developed. So if you don't like the mystery, you'll enjoy the romance.

I Have to read the next book.

[Jultri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average fare from Camp, who can write so much better. I read book 3 first in the series which wasn't much better than this, book 1. I doubt, I'll get to book 2 any time soon. My main gripe with this is the inappropriate conduct of the protagonists, so incongruous with the time. American heroine and English lord hero go off together to a ball without a chaperone within a few hours of them meeting, without her aunt or mother objecting to the improper nature of such. Then they have a prolonged exchange of saliva at the ball, but I get, that it happens from time to time in romance world. Sometimes, they can't wait till page 100 to share bodily fluid. Then she runs to him and throws herself into his arms to seek comfort after being assaulted post-said ball, again mere 8-12 hours after their meeting, by now, they are on first name basis and acted like they have known each others for months/years. This OTT greeting of a virtual stranger is immediately followed by more bodily fluid exchanges and further physical intimacies - with her aunt right next door. Then he moves in with her and her aunt and mother, all in the name of providing protection. If that's not bad enough, while living under her relatives' roof, he keeps wanting to hump her and in doing so disrespecting her aunt and mother. What happened to at least pretending to be the noble lord that he is, and try to fight his impulses while living with her relatives? Other gentlemen might not necessarily succeed in controlling their libido, but they at least put up a token resistance to preserve the heroine's reputation and decency. And it gets to me, that no one, not the hero, the heroine and all the relatives around them, balks as such conduct. Maybe my feathers are more sensitive than others, but hey, I read HR, because I like the old-fashioned values of such.

[MANTĖ || mantes.istorijos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prisipažinsiu, dėl to, kad nėriau į „Dingusių paveldėtojų“ seriją, labiausiai kalti yra... arkliai! 😁 Taip, visiškai užkibau ant be proto gražių viršelių, nors ir ne visai logiškų (panele su geliniais nagučiais, aš tave matau 🧐). Bet nesvarbu, faktas neginčytinas – pastaraisiais metais @svajoniu_knygos kepa pačius gražiausius ir skoningiausius istorinių meilės romanų viršelius, kurie šviesmečiais lenkia užsienietiškus! 👏

Tai va, užsikabinau aš dėl vaizdo, o dabar apie turinį. Visiškai nesidomėjau, apie ką ši serija, bet daugmaž apie tą patį kaip ir visi tokio tipo romanai 😄

„Pagrobta širdis“ mane įtraukė nuo pirmų puslapių – labiausiai žavėjo pagrindinė veikėja, amerikietė verslininkė Aleksandra, kuri į britų aristokratus ir jų keistas taisykles, kas dera ar nedera damai, žiūrėjo labai skeptiškai. Deja, tačiau knygai įpusėjus Aleksandra taip įsitraukė į Londono aukštuomenės intrigas, kad verslininkė iš jos ėmė ir „pradingo“ – tai tikrai atėmė dalį stipraus personažo žavesio 🫣

Ir jei ne Aleksandros pagrobimas, knygą būčiau vertinusi daug geriau: visos iš to išplaukusios scenos, ypač intymios, buvo absurdiškos 🫣

Bet mane tikrai suintrigavo trijų per tragediją dingusių ir mirusiais laikytų kilmingų vaikų likimai, ir tikrai ketinu tęsti seriją apie kitą dingusią sesę bei brolį (turiu įtarimą, kad jį jau sutikau pirmoj knygoj, ir oi kaip man jis patiko 🤭😍).

Apskritai Candace Camp priskirčiau prie grynai tradicinių istorinių meilės romanų rašytojų – jei tokius mėgstat, turėtų patikt ir jos knygos. Bet čia ne „Bridžertonai“ ir ne Tessa Dare, tad kam patinka humoras ir šiuolaikiškumo cinkelis istoriniuose romanuose, to pas Camp nerasite. Tačiau ji labai mėgsta įterpti visokio plauko kriminalų ir detektyvinių linijų – bus smagu bandyt įspėti kaltininką.

[🦉Maggie Whitworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋
I enjoyed this book .

Both Sebastian and Alexandra have secrets , they are really great characters that I loved seeing how they fit together.

It’s a beautiful romance,
A story full of intrigue and adventure, with characters that pull you into their lives , you get lost in the plot.

Candace always writes great situations and throws her characters in at the deep end , wonderful.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

[Fátima Filipa (Mimodoslivros) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neste romance de época conhecemos Alexandra, a protagonista principal desta história ,uma rapariga recém chegada a Londres que conhece o Lorde Sebastian Thorn e sente logo empatia desde o primeiro momento embora não demonstre bem assim sendo um pouco teimosa e independente .
Alexandra logo que é apresentada pelo lorde à sociedade londrina sofre ataques contra a sua própria vida e não percebe o porque de não ser bem-vinda aquele país e é aí que vai descobrir que a mãe que conheceu toda a vida poderá ter escondido outra verdade.
Claro que o Lorde Thorn irá achar Alexandra , a sua parceira de negócios uma vigarista que quer aproveitar-se da condensa e a relação de ambos sofrerá vários abalos.
Mas será o amor de ambos capaz de superar tudo? Que passado Alexandra desconhece?
Este livro fala de várias traições e escândalos na sociedade londrina .

[Be · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to re-read something familiar that I loved, been trying new authors which can be a hit or miss type of thing.

[Marina Rico Medina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5
Me ha encantado volver a esta historia. Candace Camp fue de las primeras autoras que comencé a leer y que hizo que me enganchara al romance.

Desde el inicio esta presente ese toque de misterio en el que te preguntas ¿ Que paso después? La química que se da entre Sebastian y Alexandra desde el primer instante a mi me encantó, y luego esos choques constantes de personalidad me tenían con la curiosidad a todo.
Definitivamente necesito el siguiente YA!!!

[*ೃnaziba ˘͈ᵕ˘͈ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stop I’ve been putting off finishing this for a while and was stuck at 12% before I got back into it today…. The rest of the 88% FLEW BY I am so enamored by this story. (Candace da flexed her vernacular bc the amount of words I was looking up while reading was insane ty babes)

Okay so at first I didn’t know what to feel and wasn’t really digging the fmc or even the mmc 😭😭 and I was lowkey hate-reading it for the shits n giggles BUT GUYS 34% of the way in I was LOCKED IN babes. It reminded me of the buccaneers show on Apple TV solely because of the whole American visiting England thing, not really in terms of story. Speaking of, the plot absolutely cleaaared…. This is one of those books that have really good plot with the smut coming secondary, like sometimes I felt like the seggsy was not really needed (coming from ME - that’s wild, anyway…)

One thing I will say is that the fmc Alexandra went through some really (what should be) traumatic shit but came out of it completely mentally unscathed. This was definitely a sunshine x grumpy, but she was literally a goldfish. And I don’t even mean that in a bad bad way, she was super sweet and gave golden retriever energy but I just feel like it might have added a bit more depth to her character had she been a bit more emotionally tortured by her circumstances and didn’t just let it slide. (LIKE NANCY, i totally get where she was coming from, if I was deliberately hit in the head 2 times within a week and a half you bet ur ass I’d be complaining about wanting to go back home tf 😭) and what weirded me out about Sebastian (the mmc) was the fact that his priorities were always a bit tilted… for lack of a better term - towards Alexandra. What do you mean you’re gonna drop everything and come to my aid while the guy who did this to me is running away?!? GET HIS ASS! We need him for information!!! maybe I’m just a little pragmatic for thinking that way lmfao

I’ve never read a book with this concept before so maybe that’s why I liked it so much, but I have read the whole “long lost family member” spiel but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one being executed this way. I actually really loved the mystery aspect and usually I can see the twists coming BUT OMFG I was not expecting MOST of the drama omg. there was a part where I literally paused, sat up, yelled WHATT, and then went back and the next line was literally my reaction but on paper I was weak 😭 AND THE END!,!! I WASNT EXPECTING THAT?.???

you can check out the notes and highlights for the tea, but for now I’m gonna get the next book in the series, EVEN THOUGH I can’t wait for the brothers story I already know who he is and just based on the 3 pages we had him for istg I know he’s gonna be my favorite

Literally another 5/5 stars, it had so many memorable scenes (hot air balloon/carriage ride 😉 etc)I would definitely reread it

I had a playlist loop these songs for like 6 hours but I think it really sets the vibe:
BABY IM HOME - odetari
Gods Game - dove cameron
Make You Mine - Madison Beer
Prayer1 - April27
Computer Love - Balenescu Quartet
I LOVE YOU HOE - odetari
The Buccaneers - AVAWAVES

[Lori D · Rating 5 out of 5]

The past comes forward to the future in this satisfying story of filled with secrets, contrivance and a journey that pulls two characters together. Alexandra a wealthy woman who runs a Tea business in America, travels to London to conduct business there. She finagles her way into Sebastian, Lord Thorpe's home so see his artifacts from India. But that is not all she sees! She meets Sebastian where this is an instant spark and she goes with him to a ball.
But as I said the past comes foward when she meets the Countess of Exmoor, who thinks she is her mother Simone, who forced her and her siblings to flee when they were young from France and the mobs. Could she really be that person and trying to swindle some money out of the Countess?
Candace Camp brings this story alive in an intriguing tale of suspense, unexpected feelings, lies, danger and even humor that will keep you turning the pages. Truly loved it!

[Marina Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy reading anything by this author. This book was first published in 2000, a lot of years and a lot have changed in the way authors write historical romance. This book didn't disappoint me. I do need to read the others in this series.

[Skaistė Girtienė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lengvai įtraukianti, pavojų, paslapčių ir įtampos kupina meilės istorija, vykstanti XIX amžiaus pradžios Anglijoje. Nekantrauju imtis antros dalies.

[Vilija|Knygų Puslapiuose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Candace Camp "Pagrobta širdis"

"Svajonių knygos" leidykla kiekvieną kartą stengiasi atrasti vis geresnių ir įdomesnių istorinių meilės romanų rašytojų. Niekam ne paslaptis, jog aš didelė tokių romanų gerbėja ir su nekantrumu laukiu kiekvienos naujos tokio žanro istorijos. O Candace Camp kviečia susipažinti su "Dingusiais paveldėtojais"

Juodaplaukė amerikietė Aleksandra Vord yra tikra gražuolė. Ir ji pati tai gerai suvokia ir kartais tuo pasinaudoja. Tačiau lordas Torpas lieka be amo, kai naujoji jo verslo partnerė prisistato į jo namus nekviesta. Merginos ryžtas, maksimalizmas bei įžulumas abejingų nepalieka. O tada viskas užsisuka: jausmai, senos paslaptys ir tik spėk sekti veiksmą :)

Man tai buvo pirmoji pažintis su C. Camp, kuri tikrai nenuvylė. Skaitant buvo ir pakikenta ir papykta ir net šiek tiek akių pavartyta :) Tačiau labai sudomino pasirinktas laikotarpis, įdomūs ir puikų humoro jausmą turintys herojai. Nesinori visko atskleisti, tačiau galiu drąsiai išduoti, kad visus veikėjus sutiksime ir kitose serijos knygose. Labai smagu buvo skaityti ir prieš savo akis matyti, kad meilės nereikia ieškoti toli. Kartais ji visai šalia. O kuir dar šeimos likimas, tarpusavio santykiai ir kriminalinis prieskonis.

Galiu drąsiai teigti, jog tikrai patiks visiems istorinių meilės romanų gerbėjams ir gerbėjoms. Kažkiek kitaip nei Bridžertojai ar Lisa Kleypas, tačiau tikrai laukiu kada susipažinsiu su kita Dingusių paveldėtojų heroja.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly delightful story that starts the prologue 20 years prior to the main story. We see Lady Chilton, Simone, packing up her three small children along with a locket for each of her daughters and for her son, the family ring of the Earls of Exmoor which belongs to the children's father. Simone's plan is to bring the children to her trusted un-named friend so she can get them safely out of Paris in the middle of the Revolution.

We meet Alexandra Ward, a wealthy American who runs the family Tea business, who arrives from America to London on business. She forced Sebastian, Lord Thorpe's man of business to bring her to his house so she can meet him and ogle his artifacts from India. Sparks fly between the two and he invites her to a ball. There she meets the Countess of Exmoor, who when she saw Alexandra, exclaimed "Simone" then dropped into a faint.
From there, we find that the Countess believes that Alexandria might be her Granddaughter even though they all believed the children died in the Paris mobs. This leads to many attempts at Alexanders life as well as her "mothers". Her "mother" meanwhile is suffering from some type of mental illness, dementia or something and is talking of strange things. The Countess' daughter convinces Lord Thorpe that Alexandra is a fake who is out to cheat the countess from her money. He is trying to ignore the intense feelings he is developing for our h, and it all becomes quite intense when she is kidnapped and taken to a brothel. Whenever Alexandra and Sebastian Thorpe are together, it can get quite steamy and the passion between them is quite intense. I don't want to spoil the story, so I will refrain from giving away any more of the plot. I will say this story was quite different from the hundreds of historical romances I have read and I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Lena Papanikolaou · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,8

[Rasa-Skaitau ir keliauju · Rating 4 out of 5]

Šį mėnesį Knygų klube skaitome pasirinktinai savo nuožiūra meilės romanus apie lordus, grafus, bajoraites, karalaites ir princeses. Aš visiškai atsitiktinai pasirinkau “Pavogta širdis”, nes labai senai buvau skaičiusi leidyklos “Svajonių knygos” knygas.
Apie ką knyga?
Atvykusi iš Amerikos Aleksandra įsitikina, kad Londonas pilnas pavojų. Jos pasirodymas pokylyje su lordu Torpu už parankės sukrečia aukštuomenę ir sukelia šnabždesių bangą: ar ji intrigantė, besigviešianti svetimų turtų, ar naivuolė, atsidūrusi jai nesuprantamų įvykių sūkuryje? Vienas žmogus žino tiesą, bet nenori, kad Aleksandra sužinotų. Jai gresia pavojus. Tik lordas Torpas gali padėti amerikietei... jeigu pats atsikratys įtarimų.

Turiu pasakyti, kad knyga man patiko ir skaitėsi labai gerai. Gavau meilės, dramos, ir intrigų, buvo apstu paslapčių ir įtampos. Siužeto linija apie paveldėtojų dingimą ir juos lydinčias paslaptis, man patiko labiau nei, kad Aleksandros meilės istorija. Bet visumoje, puiki knyga ir norėtųsi jau skaityti antrąją dalį.

[iread · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Stolen Heart is a fascinating story with romance and mystery. Camp does a great job of building depth to each character. Alexandra Ward is an independent American woman who is visiting London on business. When she unexpectedly visits a business associate, her life suddenly becomes very dangerous. Lord Sebastian Thorpe is extremely guarded and wary of Alexandra. Is she who she says she is or is she an imposter? I enjoyed this book. There are several steamy sex scenes. Sometimes the storyline seems a bit far fetched. But overall a very good read. I was given a copy of this book.

[Brenda Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another romantic tale written by a master storyteller. I have read several of Candace’s books and jumped at the chance to read this one. It did not disappoint. Alexandra is an American businesswoman in London on business. Lord Thorpe, Sebastian, is a business associate who lives in London. He is somewhat of a recluse whereas she is an outspoken, forward young woman. Oil and water. Candace has a way of giving her characters such depth and reality that they begin to burrow into your heart from the first page. My emotions were all over the place. This was a wonderfully written Regency romance. It had plenty of romance plus danger, suspense, humor and intrigue. I kept saying, just one more chapter until after 1 a.m.. I will be looking forward to reading more in this series. Thank you Candace Camp for another delightful book. I highly recommend this book. I was gifted this book and am voluntarily reviewing. My opinions are my own.

[Virginpat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moins bien que les 2 autres

[Mel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've been binging on Candace Camp's back list and for the most part (besides consistent editorial mistakes) they are pretty good. A Stolen Heart however is an excellent example of everything that is wrong in romance, boy I hated this book. The male protagonist is a hateful abusive jackass and the female protagonist is an idiot! There is nothing heroic about either of them. I'm not enamored with American heroines in a Regency anyway, especially when they are rich business owners who are bossy know-it-alls who are totally ignorant of the English culture they are entering. The whole idea of four women traveling by themselves from Boston to London in the early 1800's is highly unusual, so that really bugged me. And I HATE HATE HATE "insta lust" and then the dude has a hard-on the whole time for the gal even though he despises her, it's so vulgar. I never understand why anyone thinks "predator lust" is romantic, I mean it's one thing to think "Wow I'm instantly attracted to this woman and that's crazy" and go on from there, but to have the "I want to strip her naked and hump her now" thoughts immediately is very off putting yet historical are authors still doing it. There's also lost heir stuff, a brothel kidnapping (naturally) and a balloon mishap that ends up landing the couple with a very courteous highwayman (whom I imagine is actually someone important to the female protagonist). BTW the balloon and the highwayman were straight out of Georgette Heyer! Thank goodness for public libraries, I would've been pissed to have spent any money on this book.

[D.W. Nichols]

Aburrida y falta de emoción son dos adjetivos fácilmente utilizables para designar esta novela. Una prosa lineal que se limita a narrarnos los hechos con cadencia monótona sin sumergirse prácticamente en ningún momento en la sicología o los sentimientos de los personajes, reina a sus anchas en cada página. Ni siquiera el argumento, que promete al principio momentos de intriga con un misterio interesante por resolver, consigue sacarnos del sopor de su narrativa.


Poco más voy a decir, excepto que el comportamiento de la supuesta mujer de negocios, adulta y madura, es absolutamente infantil e irritante en casi cada momento. Aunque al principio la franqueza de la que hace gala en el momento de conocer a lord Thorpe es refrescante y augura momentos divertidos, en seguida se torna en estupidez balbuceante cuando empieza a caer en las redes del seductor lord ingles.

La animadversión que nace entre ellos a raíz de un malentendido le da un poco de vidilla y las aventuras que le siguen podrían ser apasionantes si no transcurrieran tan rápidamente que te dejan perpleja y un poco mareada.

Una novela narrada demasiado deprisa, sin que la autora se moleste en profundizar en los personajes, convierte una historia que podría ser apasionante en algo anodino y sin sustancia, como un sustitutivo dietético para adelgazar. Puaj.

[Lucimar · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5
Sem muita pretensão, a história é leve e com toques de mistérios, situada inicialmente durante a Revolução Francesa, quando Lady Chilton, casa com um nobre inglês, decide enviar seus filhos para a América aos cuidados de uma família americana para salvá-los de uma execução.
22 anos depois, uma herdeira americana comandando os negócios da família, chega à Inglaterra. Alexandra contata Lorde Thorpe, Sebastian para conhecer sua coleção particular indiana e apesar de sua recusa vai até a mansão, onde um homem desiludido, cínico e atormentado pelo passado a recebe e se encanta por ela.
Alexandra, é uma jovem decidida, a frente de seu tempo e porque não dizer, atrevida, (que cuida da mãe adoentada e dos assuntos de família), também se sente atraída e não esconde isso dele.
Um convite dele para ir ao baile, a leva a um complô que começou a muito tempo antes... Mistérios e perigos cruzam sua vida e de sua mãe, a partir deste momento em diante. E uma pergunta: - Que mistério existe por trás de seu nascimento?
Na opinião de alguns leitores, o romance deixa a desejar, mas eu particularmente gostei, é verdade que tem algumas falhas, porém, a história me prendeu e me agradou, embora não seja uma das melhores escritas dela.

[Jessica]

DNF I made it about 25%. "Hero" invites and escorts the unrelated, unmarried "Heroine" to a ball the day they meet UNCHAPERONED? /sigh Alright, I can overlook a little anachronism. But after she is attacked...when she decides to walk home after he (admittedly, temporarily) leaves her at the ball alone...and he can barely keep his dick in his pants at the sight if her torn dress and then gives her a "well, what do expect walking alone at night?" lecture. Nah, I'm out, thanks.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book and the characters until the brothel. I just couldn't handle that bit because it made Alexandra, a very willful and physically strong woman, into nothing more than a plot device for man pain. I really enjoyed the overall Anastasia feel, though. There was a lot of doubt and a good use of the French Revolution, considering the marriages between European aristocracy at the time.

As a character, Alexandra was nearly the perfect heroine for me. Loyal, quick-witted against men's opinions, able to handle difficult situations, and loving of family who did the right things for the wrong reasons. When her mother started to go off the rails, to fall into fits of distemper, Alexandra simply accepted daughter duties...even when doubts crept in. She still loved Rhea. And I enjoyed the relationship between Alexandra and Aunt Hortense as well. These were women who respected each other and counted on as family. Warmed my heart.

I didn't feel that charitable about Lord Thorpe, who thought the worst of Alexandra, no matter what she did. He was way too broody and stuck in the past. Like most Regency heroes, honestly. He also had a tendency to not listen, like in the case of the balloon weights. His need to think the worst, to listen to toxic Ursula, and not his instincts. The Lady Pencross love in the past felt too pasted on as well. He should have been filled out more, given more characteristics, to be worthy of Alexandra.

The past and the conflict with her past seemed pretty well defined and somewhat answered. Not entirely, to set up the next book in the series, while making sure Alexandra handled the stress without removing the core of who she was. If it wasn't for the brothel and Thorpe's high-handedness, I would have rated it far higher. The stars are basically centered entirely around Alexandra and her family.

[Amana Shahid Ullah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read other Candace Camp books previously, but this is the first series I'm reading.

Alexandra and Sébastian were both strong characters, both have secrets and both are extremely stubborn.

The Backstory about the mystery surrounding Alexandra and the Exmoor heirs was well written and by the end I almost had the villain pinned but wasn't sure.

Although I liked the book well enough, the one thing that really nagged at me was the lack of conduct and decorum. I mean, where in the history was it allowed to let a young women of marriagable age go off to a ball with a man she just met, unchaparoned? Then letting that same man move into a house filled with women without any relations or engagement or anything? The lack of propriety and sense of proper behavior really put me off, it felt more like a modern day book rather than a historical.

Other than that, I liked it.

I can't wait to read the next books and find out about the other siblings.
Ps, is it only me or does anyone feel that Jack the highwayman is actually Alexandra's brother??

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

See review for Promise Me Tomorrow

As with the first book in the series, I liked this book but dropped two stars because the men, despite their proclamations of Trying To Be Gentlemen, simply “cannot help themselves” and make advances on the heroines when they are 1) drugged and 2) injured. I know the women respond and that is supposed to make it consensual, but please, these are women who yes, are attracted to the men, but yes, also not in their right minds at those points and the “heroes” should have kept hands and other body parts to themselves. Part of being a gentleman _is_ controlling yourself. If it weren’t for those scenes, I would have given each book 4 ⭐️. I am heading into the 3rd book with trepidation. I think the author is a good one, and I really wish those scenes had been edited out. In _both_ books! How incredibly disappointing!

[Amy Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness such an amazing read! This book starts off in the past with a mother trying to get her children out of the midst of a Revolution and giving each daughter a locket and her son the the family ring of the Earl of Exmoor which belonged to their father.
Fast forward 20 years and we meet an American who is running her family's tea business. Alexandra has come to England with another objective in mind and that is to meet Lord Thorpe, who she has been doing business with but she also wishes to see the artifacts that he has collected from India. From there the sparks fly between Alexandra and Sebastian add to that a mystery, a kidnapping and a brothel. I can't tell you how enjoyable of a read this was and can't wait to read the next in the series!! I was gifted this book and was so happy to leave this review.

[Martha Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms.Camp has been one of my favorites since the late 90's before Amazon/Kindle days! I have loved her plots (still do) and enjoyed her hero's acts of bravery!
THE ONLY thing I do NOT enjoy is all the detailed sexual parts! I do not want or need the details of their sex life, it has nothing to do with the plot. Less details (in another book I read) made it more sensual!
This book makes you "hungry" for a sequel about the missing sister. Hope to see it soon!
This is a read with humor--anyone who knows about the old silent movie "Perils of Pauline" will laugh. All the things that happen to this heroine--from being kidnapped, to ending up with the hero in a hot air balloon while knowing nothing about it! Just made me laugh out loud!
The hero could never go back to his boring normal life!! Lol! Enjoy!

[Etana · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book annoyed me. I have been on historical romance kick this days and I have already read a couple of books by Candace Camp which I liked but this one was a Meh for me. I won't spoil anything but lets just say that the whole plot is sooooo predictable it actually is painful. The author make so mane amateurish mistakes with the plot and characters that I wandered if perhaps this was Ms. Camp first book. Is it the worst book I have read far from it. It isn't even the worst historical romance but I expected more and it left me with the feeling that sometimes authors write books just so there is something to be published next month.

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Part of the story is heart-wrenching and shows what guilt can do to a person. Alexandra's view of the English aristocracy was hilarious and made me laugh out loud more than once. I admired her a lot until she forgave Sebastian too easily for all the things he accused her of and all the names he called her. Personally, I would have given him the cut direct. All in all this book is worth reading and rereading.

[Barbara Bland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful series!

I cannot stress enough how good this book is! This was the first book of Mrs. Camps that I read and I have no qualms telling you that I will go back again and again for one of her books! She is an awesome writer ( one of my favorites). I loved everything about this book and can not wait till I read the other two in this series.