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Sweet Bargain
Resigned to a marriage of convenience, tomboy Bel Shaw nevertheless entertains a flirtation with a handsome man by the river-an encounter that could lead to scandal, ruin, and true love.
AN OUTRAGEOUS PROPOSAL
Poor Bel Shaw. Her carefree days of family fun and fishing must come to an end. It is her duty to assure the future prosperity of her large and close-knit family by making a good marriage. To add to her gloom, she is chased from her favorite spot on the river by the handsome and high-handed Nicholas Seymour, who apparently thinks he can buy the beautiful Bel Shaw as well as property. The outrageous bargain he proposes is a dozen kisses for the fish the Shaws have "stolen" from his land.
But claiming the first kiss has staggering consequences--for Nick, who cannot resist another--and for Bel, whose passionate response will lead to discovery, scandal, ruin ... and the sweetest bargain of all.
AN OUTRAGEOUS PROPOSAL
Poor Bel Shaw. Her carefree days of family fun and fishing must come to an end. It is her duty to assure the future prosperity of her large and close-knit family by making a good marriage. To add to her gloom, she is chased from her favorite spot on the river by the handsome and high-handed Nicholas Seymour, who apparently thinks he can buy the beautiful Bel Shaw as well as property. The outrageous bargain he proposes is a dozen kisses for the fish the Shaws have "stolen" from his land.
But claiming the first kiss has staggering consequences--for Nick, who cannot resist another--and for Bel, whose passionate response will lead to discovery, scandal, ruin ... and the sweetest bargain of all.
224 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1993
6 people are currently reading
171 people want to read
About the author
Kate Moore
27 books136 followersKate Moore writes stand alone and series romances set in contemporary California and Regency England for readers who want to fall in love again standing up, mostly fully clothed, surrounded by family. In Kate's stories, kind, quick-witted women find love with hot billionaires, lofty lords, and sexy spies; longing is leavened with humor; and readers say the blend of sparks and spice is "just right sexy." When life happens, let a Kate Moore romance lift your spirits. To connect with Kate and find the right romance for you, visit her website at https://www.katemoore.com or sign up for her newsletter at https://www.katemoore.com.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 8, 2017
++SPOILERS++
1.5 stars Didn't care for it, but I finished. Skimmed alot. There is nothing "Sweet" in this book, especially the "Bargain"
Most importantly....I didn't care for the writing style. Too flowery, pompus with run on sentences that felt to me that the writer was writing to impress. I was not impressed.
I also didn't care for the heroine. Her family was WRONG period, yet she blames the hero for being arrogant. They were tresspassing, the river was NOT theirs, and the hero had every right to bring her and her brothers up on legal charges, but did not. I did not think the hero was shitty to her, I thought the heroine was an ass who thinks she and her family are owed rights or are above the law because her dady is a magistrate. At least this is how I saw it. I'm sure there are many who would disagree with my view. But that's ok. This is just my take on it. No offense.
There was no one in the heroine's family who was remotely likable to me and therefore I am on the side of the hero for trashing her family to begin with.
I never felt the hero's "trauma" or pain. All I remember is that it has something to do with clocks and a widow.
I felt all the letters the heroine wrote to "Tom" didn't expand on anything the reader hadn't already been told in the previous chapter. Then all of a sudden at 85% this mysterious and high and mighty "Tom" finally comes into the story as some holy authority figure. pfft. I'm sorry this was lame lame lame.
Oh and Darlington gets off without any punishment for all the deeds he did. Lame.
Flat, boring characters, little conflict, too much angst, and I skimmed.
The ending was rushed and didn't resolve a whole hell of a lot.
Didn't like it, it was painful to get through. I would not recommend nor will I read more by this author.
Safety-I would say this is 100% safe. No sex, no cursing, no violence, ILY's come at the very end.
1.5 stars Didn't care for it, but I finished. Skimmed alot. There is nothing "Sweet" in this book, especially the "Bargain"
Most importantly....I didn't care for the writing style. Too flowery, pompus with run on sentences that felt to me that the writer was writing to impress. I was not impressed.
I also didn't care for the heroine. Her family was WRONG period, yet she blames the hero for being arrogant. They were tresspassing, the river was NOT theirs, and the hero had every right to bring her and her brothers up on legal charges, but did not. I did not think the hero was shitty to her, I thought the heroine was an ass who thinks she and her family are owed rights or are above the law because her dady is a magistrate. At least this is how I saw it. I'm sure there are many who would disagree with my view. But that's ok. This is just my take on it. No offense.
There was no one in the heroine's family who was remotely likable to me and therefore I am on the side of the hero for trashing her family to begin with.
I never felt the hero's "trauma" or pain. All I remember is that it has something to do with clocks and a widow.
I felt all the letters the heroine wrote to "Tom" didn't expand on anything the reader hadn't already been told in the previous chapter. Then all of a sudden at 85% this mysterious and high and mighty "Tom" finally comes into the story as some holy authority figure. pfft. I'm sorry this was lame lame lame.
Oh and Darlington gets off without any punishment for all the deeds he did. Lame.
Flat, boring characters, little conflict, too much angst, and I skimmed.
The ending was rushed and didn't resolve a whole hell of a lot.
Didn't like it, it was painful to get through. I would not recommend nor will I read more by this author.
Safety-I would say this is 100% safe. No sex, no cursing, no violence, ILY's come at the very end.
July 11, 2017
SWEET BARGAIN was the second published romance by Kate Moore and first came out in 1993. It involves a young man that had an objectionable upbringing. His parents treated him as an excuse rather than a child. When they passed away his single uncle took over and he was sheltered. So by the ripe age of 'eight and twenty' he had very little actual experience with women. When Nicolas Seymour, Earl of I-Do-Not-Remember, meets Bel Shaw for the first time he manages to make a muddle of things. Then they meet again and he still screws up. The poor guy, we want him to succeed!
The first third of the book was very enjoyable watching this young couple do their best with their unexpected attraction to each other. Then a wager is made because of something Bel's young brothers have done; the wager involves kissing. And some words are uttered that push Nicolas into offering marriage. Nothing runs smoothly and friction between the two flourishes. In the end they learn who is behind some evil deeds before they finally earn their HEA.
The first third of the book was very enjoyable watching this young couple do their best with their unexpected attraction to each other. Then a wager is made because of something Bel's young brothers have done; the wager involves kissing. And some words are uttered that push Nicolas into offering marriage. Nothing runs smoothly and friction between the two flourishes. In the end they learn who is behind some evil deeds before they finally earn their HEA.
October 6, 2013
I liked the way this is written. The style is very subtle, nothing going on much but we get a good picture and feeling of rural Britian. Reminds me a bit of austen, especially with the hauty H and prideful h, always at odds but secretly longing for the other yet unable to reach out and clear the air.
I adore the H. He is totally besotted with the h, so much so that he just froze whenever she is around. He also came from a hermit life and had no idea how to go about winning the h over. It is sweet to see him talking about this with his only friend and family member of the heart, and see him try and ration the sweet time he can have with her. Though he definitely desires her, one doesn't get the feeling that it is just sexual relief he is looking for but also a meaningful loving relationship as well.
The h is a bit exasperating at times with her childish pranks and refusal to see the H as anything other than an arrogant peer. She has herself I think an inferior complex, though proud of her family, she felt at times ashamed of them when she compared her circumstance with what the she imagined of the H's. She is fiercely loyal to her family and after a while, she finally begins to see and understand what lies behind the H's mask.
Though this is a clean romance, there is a sweet poignancy when the characters interact. Though only kisses were mentioned, there is a good bit of tension in the air to make this a very enjoyable read.
This is my first book with this author but I am interested to get my hands now on more of hers.
I adore the H. He is totally besotted with the h, so much so that he just froze whenever she is around. He also came from a hermit life and had no idea how to go about winning the h over. It is sweet to see him talking about this with his only friend and family member of the heart, and see him try and ration the sweet time he can have with her. Though he definitely desires her, one doesn't get the feeling that it is just sexual relief he is looking for but also a meaningful loving relationship as well.
The h is a bit exasperating at times with her childish pranks and refusal to see the H as anything other than an arrogant peer. She has herself I think an inferior complex, though proud of her family, she felt at times ashamed of them when she compared her circumstance with what the she imagined of the H's. She is fiercely loyal to her family and after a while, she finally begins to see and understand what lies behind the H's mask.
Though this is a clean romance, there is a sweet poignancy when the characters interact. Though only kisses were mentioned, there is a good bit of tension in the air to make this a very enjoyable read.
This is my first book with this author but I am interested to get my hands now on more of hers.
January 1, 2017
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
November 22, 2013
This is fun. And delightfully edgy. This is sexual tension at its best. Nick steals the most wonderful kisses from Bel. Their attraction is written beautifully. There are many authors who claim their characters are irresistible, but I feel that Ms. Moore really captures that between Nick and Bel.
Bel comes from a big family of cousins, aunts, uncles and siblings. She has a lot of pride in the family name. Her father is the magistrate and he's instilled in her some good solid values. But Bel has a temper. Some of the pranks that she gets up to had me giggling for the first half of the book.
In this pastoral setting not all is as peaceful as you might assume. The amount of threats and revenge that is going on is almost comical.
I love Nick. He is adorable and kickass with enough screwed up history to make him interesting. Nick is an orphan. His parents were always having some kind of adulterous liaison leaving Nick sorely neglected. Nick's father was determined to stamp out any personality that his son had and it seems he would've succeeded if not for his untimely drowning. Nick's afraid of turning out like his unruly parents.
Farre is Nick's father figure and servant/bestie. He's a wise old man and taught Nick everything he knows.
The author writes fluidly with a good mixture of feeling and humour. She doesn't take herself or her characters too seriously.
Nick - "My family is dead."
Bel - "Forgive me—I never thought, I ..."
"How could you? You have an inexhaustible supply of family."
Bel comes from a big family of cousins, aunts, uncles and siblings. She has a lot of pride in the family name. Her father is the magistrate and he's instilled in her some good solid values. But Bel has a temper. Some of the pranks that she gets up to had me giggling for the first half of the book.
In this pastoral setting not all is as peaceful as you might assume. The amount of threats and revenge that is going on is almost comical.
I love Nick. He is adorable and kickass with enough screwed up history to make him interesting. Nick is an orphan. His parents were always having some kind of adulterous liaison leaving Nick sorely neglected. Nick's father was determined to stamp out any personality that his son had and it seems he would've succeeded if not for his untimely drowning. Nick's afraid of turning out like his unruly parents.
Farre is Nick's father figure and servant/bestie. He's a wise old man and taught Nick everything he knows.
The author writes fluidly with a good mixture of feeling and humour. She doesn't take herself or her characters too seriously.
Nick - "My family is dead."
Bel - "Forgive me—I never thought, I ..."
"How could you? You have an inexhaustible supply of family."
June 13, 2013
If you love to read traditional (sweet) regencies, you should find and read this one.
Bel Shaw is a strong heroine who still has room to grow. The hero, Nicholas Seymour, is a lonely man with responsibilities and a difficult past. Their conflict is believable and in a charming setting (the country instead of the usual London hothouse)
Bel Shaw is a strong heroine who still has room to grow. The hero, Nicholas Seymour, is a lonely man with responsibilities and a difficult past. Their conflict is believable and in a charming setting (the country instead of the usual London hothouse)
December 15, 2015
The imagery of the place, light, and the river are beautiful. The longing of the hero builds an increasing tension. Maybe I just like tormented heroes : )
September 25, 2018
I loved this cute story of Bel and Nick and their adventure. Nick is the Earl who buys the Ashe a section of his land that Bel and the rest of the Shaw family like to fish in the river. When rumors are started they enter into a marriage of convenience. The characters and story is well written and developed. Will be looking for more from this author.
September 11, 2021
Really good clean Regency romance. I could hardly put it down. Funny with a host of supporting characters, mostly the girl's family. Also some nice fly fishing scenes(the book starts with a quote from Izaak Walton). You really don't want to mikss this one.
September 15, 2021
This is a sweet read about how Bel, in time, realizes how much she misjudged Nick. To come to this reality she needs to address her own flaws and attitudes. I was not a huge fan of Bel but I did like the character of Nick
December 26, 2019
A broken man and the woman who could put him back together.
But does she want to?
A delectable historical that is clean and sweet.
Well written with good characterization
But does she want to?
A delectable historical that is clean and sweet.
Well written with good characterization
December 23, 2013
3.5
Review to come.
Content: Pretty clean, PG13
Review to come.
Content: Pretty clean, PG13
October 5, 2016
I greatly enjoyed the build up of the plot in this book, but the ending was a major let down.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews