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Marietta Danver Trilogy #3
When Love Commands
The New York Times–bestselling third book in Jennifer Wilde’s acclaimed trilogy takes Marietta Danver to the dazzling palaces of imperial Russia, on a dangerous quest for passion, redemption, and love
Marietta Danver is on her way to London to reunite with the man she loves when her coach crashes. She awakens ten days later in a village inn under the care of Lucie Orlov and her uncle. Tall, mesmerizingly handsome Count Gregory Orlov was Catherine the Great’s uncrowned emperor and one of the most powerful men in the realm—until the possessive, wildly jealous empress banished her lover from the court.
Marietta too has been betrayed. Jeremy Bond has left the city—with another woman and all of Marietta’s money. Heartbroken, with nowhere else to turn, she takes the position of companion to Lucie and travels with the Orlovs back to Russia. At their lavish country estate in St. Petersburg, she becomes trapped in a different kind of prison. Caught up in the dangerous intrigues of the imperial court, she fights for her freedom and her life—and a love she’ll move heaven and earth to claim.
The Marietta Danver Trilogy also includes Love’s Tender Fury and Love Me, Marietta.
Marietta Danver is on her way to London to reunite with the man she loves when her coach crashes. She awakens ten days later in a village inn under the care of Lucie Orlov and her uncle. Tall, mesmerizingly handsome Count Gregory Orlov was Catherine the Great’s uncrowned emperor and one of the most powerful men in the realm—until the possessive, wildly jealous empress banished her lover from the court.
Marietta too has been betrayed. Jeremy Bond has left the city—with another woman and all of Marietta’s money. Heartbroken, with nowhere else to turn, she takes the position of companion to Lucie and travels with the Orlovs back to Russia. At their lavish country estate in St. Petersburg, she becomes trapped in a different kind of prison. Caught up in the dangerous intrigues of the imperial court, she fights for her freedom and her life—and a love she’ll move heaven and earth to claim.
The Marietta Danver Trilogy also includes Love’s Tender Fury and Love Me, Marietta.
608 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1984
24 people are currently reading
292 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Wilde
47 books94 followersJennifer Wilde is a pseudonym of T. E. Huff (Thomas Elmer Huff). He also wrote under the names Edwina Marlow and Beatrice Parker.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 30, 2018
Book About Nothing
Seriously. It's a book about absolutely nothing. Relationships are built with people to absolutely no purpose. The hero is only in the last 11% of the book.
Oh, and the hero sleeps with another woman and she's only mildly annoyed.
It was a deep disappointment. Skip it. It's not worth it!.
Seriously. It's a book about absolutely nothing. Relationships are built with people to absolutely no purpose. The hero is only in the last 11% of the book.
Oh, and the hero sleeps with another woman and she's only mildly annoyed.
It was a deep disappointment. Skip it. It's not worth it!.
September 27, 2014
This is the 3rd in the Marietta trilogy. I reviewed the second, Love Me Marietta, and found it to be a really different romance. Likely it is because Jennifer Wilde is actually Tom Huff in real life and his views of women come through in his writing.
The story, like the others, takes place in the 1770s, this one mostly in Russia and London. It takes off from the end of the second book when Marietta has just figured out that Derek, the man she thought she loved, is actually the cad we all knew him to be and realizes she is in love with Jeremy Bond, the handsome rogue who told her he loved her the first night they met (which was a bit unbelievable, frankly).
In this one, through a mistake and misunderstanding, Marietta believes Jeremy has forsaken and betrayed her, so she accepts the offer from the handsome Russian Count Gregory Orlov to accompany him and his niece to St. Petersburg where he is a legend in the court of Empress Catherine. Trying to get over Jeremy, she is seduced by the sexual prowess of the great Orlov, but that only makes her realize she really still loves Jeremy so she plans to leave and join her friend Em in Texas. (I know, I know, it's all a bit confusing.)
The author can certainly write well, and tells a good story, though his descriptions of the women's clothes and the scenes are a bit long and I found myself skipping some (how much satin and lace does one really need to read about?). It is written from the first person so the only head you'll be in is Marietta's, and I wasn't sure I liked that. I have grown accustomed to the romances where more than one perspective is being given.
The characters are well developed, however at times, they seem to act inconsistently (Orlov's treatment of his niece when she was 13 was out of character, as was Jeremy's act at the end). The action is good and the story will hold your interest (though there are a few slow parts in the middle, the same in book 2). Huff/Wilde comes closer in this one to giving us a happy ending, but then ruins it at the end with Jeremy's action. [Spoiler alert] I'm sorry, but what guy having come half way around the world to save the woman he loves, sleeps with a fat aging empress just because she asked him to?
I'm giving it 4 stars because I thought it was better than book 2. The writing is good and it will hold your interest, but I'm not giving it more because I was disappointed in some of the characters' inconsistent actions and Jeremy's action at the end was a downer. How could she ever trust him?
The story, like the others, takes place in the 1770s, this one mostly in Russia and London. It takes off from the end of the second book when Marietta has just figured out that Derek, the man she thought she loved, is actually the cad we all knew him to be and realizes she is in love with Jeremy Bond, the handsome rogue who told her he loved her the first night they met (which was a bit unbelievable, frankly).
In this one, through a mistake and misunderstanding, Marietta believes Jeremy has forsaken and betrayed her, so she accepts the offer from the handsome Russian Count Gregory Orlov to accompany him and his niece to St. Petersburg where he is a legend in the court of Empress Catherine. Trying to get over Jeremy, she is seduced by the sexual prowess of the great Orlov, but that only makes her realize she really still loves Jeremy so she plans to leave and join her friend Em in Texas. (I know, I know, it's all a bit confusing.)
The author can certainly write well, and tells a good story, though his descriptions of the women's clothes and the scenes are a bit long and I found myself skipping some (how much satin and lace does one really need to read about?). It is written from the first person so the only head you'll be in is Marietta's, and I wasn't sure I liked that. I have grown accustomed to the romances where more than one perspective is being given.
The characters are well developed, however at times, they seem to act inconsistently (Orlov's treatment of his niece when she was 13 was out of character, as was Jeremy's act at the end). The action is good and the story will hold your interest (though there are a few slow parts in the middle, the same in book 2). Huff/Wilde comes closer in this one to giving us a happy ending, but then ruins it at the end with Jeremy's action. [Spoiler alert] I'm sorry, but what guy having come half way around the world to save the woman he loves, sleeps with a fat aging empress just because she asked him to?
I'm giving it 4 stars because I thought it was better than book 2. The writing is good and it will hold your interest, but I'm not giving it more because I was disappointed in some of the characters' inconsistent actions and Jeremy's action at the end was a downer. How could she ever trust him?
April 27, 2013
this was more crude than the other two, but really good to.
i was so sad when i finish it- in the good way, and i think i was book-hangover for almost a month.
i was fascinated with the scenery description, you could almost feel the freezing cold of rusia.
awesome characters,- great couple :)
i was so sad when i finish it- in the good way, and i think i was book-hangover for almost a month.
i was fascinated with the scenery description, you could almost feel the freezing cold of rusia.
awesome characters,- great couple :)
December 1, 2024
I was enthralled with this book until I got to the end. That's when it fell apart. I'll get to that in a minute.
The story picks up where the previous book left off. I did think Marietta was a fool when it came to Derek Hawke and I was not wrong. How she could entertain a life with him was beyond my comprehension. Her awakening was rude and even predictable, but it sent her in another direction when she met Count Gregory Orlov of Russia.
I liked him at first. As a matter of fact, I liked him for the majority of the story. He was suave, debonair, egotistical which endeared rather than annoyed, but he had another ugly side to him. He was a master manipulator, had a wicked temper, was cruel at times, and was delusional. He wasn't exactly banned by the Empress Catherine, but he was on a two year vacation with his niece that had taken him to England. Like every other man that ever laid on eyes on Marietta Danver, he thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on, was smitten, and wanted to bed her. I'm rolling my eye as I type that. Every single man she came in contact with had that same idea and while pining her long lost love, Jeremy Bond, she fed that beast. After her doing it for three very long books, it got old. I wish there had been one man who hadn't been sucked in by her coppery-red tresses. There I go again, rolling my eye. I don't think I've ever read such a vain heroine and Orlov was just as pathetic as the rest of the men in the books.
I digress. I apologize.
Marietta was to be the paid companion to Orlov's niece as they traveled back to Russia from England to settle in St. Petersburg. She was to stay with the insolent teen for three months after reaching the city then she would be compensated and sent back to Texas. It was all good in theory, but a lot happened that prevented that; Orlov is wined, dined, and exiled, the niece runs away, Marietta tries to escape as the Count borders on madness...it did make for an action-packed, edge-of-your-seat read with tension that was off the charts. It was exciting and made me catch my breath a few times.
So, why the four stars?
This was a great book for the most part. I just hated the ending..
I do recommend reading the books in order:
1. Love's Tender Fury
2. Love Me, Marietta
3. When Love Commands
The story picks up where the previous book left off. I did think Marietta was a fool when it came to Derek Hawke and I was not wrong. How she could entertain a life with him was beyond my comprehension. Her awakening was rude and even predictable, but it sent her in another direction when she met Count Gregory Orlov of Russia.
I liked him at first. As a matter of fact, I liked him for the majority of the story. He was suave, debonair, egotistical which endeared rather than annoyed, but he had another ugly side to him. He was a master manipulator, had a wicked temper, was cruel at times, and was delusional. He wasn't exactly banned by the Empress Catherine, but he was on a two year vacation with his niece that had taken him to England. Like every other man that ever laid on eyes on Marietta Danver, he thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on, was smitten, and wanted to bed her. I'm rolling my eye as I type that. Every single man she came in contact with had that same idea and while pining her long lost love, Jeremy Bond, she fed that beast. After her doing it for three very long books, it got old. I wish there had been one man who hadn't been sucked in by her coppery-red tresses. There I go again, rolling my eye. I don't think I've ever read such a vain heroine and Orlov was just as pathetic as the rest of the men in the books.
I digress. I apologize.
Marietta was to be the paid companion to Orlov's niece as they traveled back to Russia from England to settle in St. Petersburg. She was to stay with the insolent teen for three months after reaching the city then she would be compensated and sent back to Texas. It was all good in theory, but a lot happened that prevented that; Orlov is wined, dined, and exiled, the niece runs away, Marietta tries to escape as the Count borders on madness...it did make for an action-packed, edge-of-your-seat read with tension that was off the charts. It was exciting and made me catch my breath a few times.
So, why the four stars?
This was a great book for the most part. I just hated the ending..
I do recommend reading the books in order:
1. Love's Tender Fury
2. Love Me, Marietta
3. When Love Commands
January 19, 2019
A fabulous story to finish this series. However, I agree with other reviewers that the middle dragged a bit, there was often way too much description, and WTF was with the ending??!! As in, the second to last page, ‘oh by the way I did this horrendous thing’, ‘oh well, I’m mildly annoyed but actually, it’s fine, let’s have a great life together’. W.T.F.? It was just so unnecessary, I cannot understand why it was ended like that. Deducted a star because of it. So cross about it. How could she ever trust him again?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2013
Not as good as the first 2 . 3/4 of this book is spent on traveling from 1 place to the next and was is really necessary for me to know every detail about what everyone wore and what furniture was where , I skipped all of details like that .
Didn't like that Jeremy cheated and he didn't even have to grovel but i guess it's the almost the same as Marietta sleeping with the Count and not telling Jeremy the truth .
Didn't like that Jeremy cheated and he didn't even have to grovel but i guess it's the almost the same as Marietta sleeping with the Count and not telling Jeremy the truth .
April 26, 2020
This one was a bit better than the second book in only that the pace was quicker and we finally get the resolution of what happens to all the characters we encountered throughout the book series. Also it was interesting to read about the peasant revolution in Russia. That is not something I’ve come across before in the books I read. Now that I am finished with this series I only think of how sad that jeff died and I think he was the one who was most worthy of Marietta’s. I could see the development of their relationship, and I just cannot help from feeling that the romantic development of Marietta and Jeremy was not as deep and the experiences were not as profound. So I think it’s tragic. However I am glad Marietta finally came to her senses and moved on with her life without Derek, he didn’t love her,
Not really. I have to remind myself a male wrote this book not a female and it really shows how a male thinks of women. I’m glad this series is finished I am also glad I read it in its entirety. Marietta will be a character I will never forget and will remember her long after I have finished this book series. The first book in the series is a book you should make an effort to read before you die. Same with Adora by Beatrice Small. Books like that simply are not written anymore.
Not really. I have to remind myself a male wrote this book not a female and it really shows how a male thinks of women. I’m glad this series is finished I am also glad I read it in its entirety. Marietta will be a character I will never forget and will remember her long after I have finished this book series. The first book in the series is a book you should make an effort to read before you die. Same with Adora by Beatrice Small. Books like that simply are not written anymore.
March 8, 2022
I don’t even know where to start with this series. I loved every second of reading these books.
The randomness of this woman’s adventures are just insane. Marietta goes from being an English governess (a very sexy one as she makes sure to tell us) to some how ending up in RUSSIA? Seriously, this entire series is just one big wild ride, so buckle up.
Honestly most offensive part of these books is they perpetrate the very scary and real idea that men seem to believe that women can *complete* with just a few boob squeezes and penetration 😂. Seriously though, at one point the dude starts tossing ROSE petals on her she’s “writhing in anticipation” as they “caress her body”.
While it’s annoying how Marietta’s beauty is discussed ad nauseam, it does bring up a real discussion about how back then (and in many ways still to this day) a women being beautiful is both a curse and a blessing. Marietta depends on her beauty to survive in many cases, but it also ends up getting her into trouble several times as well. She is often set up as having been “asking for trouble” but the real problem is that men see her beauty and want to posses it.
Also I’m glad she ended up with Jeremy, as while I still think he’s a questionable male lead, he at least has a goddamn personality. I really hated Hawke. I think love me marrietta was my favorite of the series.
Are these books misogynistic? Yes. Were they written by an old white man? Yes. Do this books often use POC, particularly Native folks as either collateral for Marietta’s white savior aspect of her character or as scary forest boogie man? Yes.
However. You may be shocked, offended, etc. but you will be entertained regardless. However if you do decide to check this out, be aware that in this whole series there is a LOT of SA, and just really horrible things in general that happen to the men and women in these books.
The randomness of this woman’s adventures are just insane. Marietta goes from being an English governess (a very sexy one as she makes sure to tell us) to some how ending up in RUSSIA? Seriously, this entire series is just one big wild ride, so buckle up.
Honestly most offensive part of these books is they perpetrate the very scary and real idea that men seem to believe that women can *complete* with just a few boob squeezes and penetration 😂. Seriously though, at one point the dude starts tossing ROSE petals on her she’s “writhing in anticipation” as they “caress her body”.
While it’s annoying how Marietta’s beauty is discussed ad nauseam, it does bring up a real discussion about how back then (and in many ways still to this day) a women being beautiful is both a curse and a blessing. Marietta depends on her beauty to survive in many cases, but it also ends up getting her into trouble several times as well. She is often set up as having been “asking for trouble” but the real problem is that men see her beauty and want to posses it.
Also I’m glad she ended up with Jeremy, as while I still think he’s a questionable male lead, he at least has a goddamn personality. I really hated Hawke. I think love me marrietta was my favorite of the series.
Are these books misogynistic? Yes. Were they written by an old white man? Yes. Do this books often use POC, particularly Native folks as either collateral for Marietta’s white savior aspect of her character or as scary forest boogie man? Yes.
However. You may be shocked, offended, etc. but you will be entertained regardless. However if you do decide to check this out, be aware that in this whole series there is a LOT of SA, and just really horrible things in general that happen to the men and women in these books.
October 15, 2024
Disappointing to say the least. I really enjoyed the first two in the series, especially Love Me Marietta when Jeremy Bond was first introduced. I couldn’t stand Derek Hawk so Jeremy was a welcome addition to the story. So I was not all happy when he didn’t even make an appearance in this book until page 509! The entire Russian story line did nothing for me, especially Count Orlov. He was almost laughable.
Then to make matters worse, Jeremy sleeps with Catherine. It was totally unnecessary.
Also, I believe the author made a mistake. In the beginning of the book, Marietta is feeling bad about Olgivy’s death and is concerned about his widow and his children. Yet in the previous book, Olgivy expressed his interest in Tibby at the White Hart and how he wanted to call on her. Seems like rookie mistake.
Then to make matters worse, Jeremy sleeps with Catherine. It was totally unnecessary.
Also, I believe the author made a mistake. In the beginning of the book, Marietta is feeling bad about Olgivy’s death and is concerned about his widow and his children. Yet in the previous book, Olgivy expressed his interest in Tibby at the White Hart and how he wanted to call on her. Seems like rookie mistake.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 26, 2019
Tantos años conociendo estos libros y al fin pude lograr terminar esta historia.
Y oficialmente es el último libro que leo este año.
Y oficialmente es el último libro que leo este año.
June 21, 2023
The entire series is worth the effort to find the harder to locate second and third books in the series. Fast, paced, daring and adventurous historical romance is sure to keep the pages turning..
not-for-me
July 10, 2025Continuation of a ‘no thanks book’.
August 22, 2016
Catherine the Great's court was a good setting for the final volume in the Marietta Danver trilogy. All the monologues the Orlovs and company delivered about the tortured Russian soul were entertainingly goofy and I always enjoy courtly intrigue. I would say this book has less crazypants drama than the first two, which meant it drags at times. We get it Wilde/Huff, Marietta wears pretty clothes and is drop dead gorgeous, every single outfit doesn't need a full paragraph (this elaborate over description is in all three books, it just rankles here the way it doesn't in books 1 and 2). Also, by volume three some repetition has set in in terms of character interactions and tropes used which lessens their impact.
So I enjoyed the new setting and the new characters but was a bit frustrated at what I thought was a greater amount of filler and reduced amount of sleaze and nutso plot twists. Trashy books like this need to always keep upping the ante and this one didn't really. Still a fun read but not at the same level as Love's Tender Fury and Love Me, Marietta.
So I enjoyed the new setting and the new characters but was a bit frustrated at what I thought was a greater amount of filler and reduced amount of sleaze and nutso plot twists. Trashy books like this need to always keep upping the ante and this one didn't really. Still a fun read but not at the same level as Love's Tender Fury and Love Me, Marietta.
August 8, 2010
Romance novel
July 31, 2011
Found myself disappointed with the end.
January 10, 2013
I was expecting to be as good as the other two but even though I liked it, I felt it was a different story. Not part of the series but hey maybe is just me.
February 15, 2013
Great book
March 27, 2018
Loved this book! not as good as Loves Tender fury and Love me Marietta, but still absolutely worth the read!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews