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South Landers #1
Starling
An aspiring dressmaker, orphaned Starling Smith is accustomed to fighting for her own survival. But when she’s offered a year’s wages to temporarily pose as a wealthy man’s bride, she suspects ulterior motives. She can’t lose the chance to open her own shop, but she won’t be any man’s lover, not even handsome, infuriating Alisdair Seymour’s…
To prevent his visiting sister from parading potential brides in front of him, Alisdair has decided to present a fake wife. He lost his heart once, and had it broken—he doesn’t intend to do it again. But stubborn, spirited Starling is more alluring than he bargained for, and Alisdair will risk everything he has to prove his love is true…
Set against the sweeping backdrop of 1866 South Australia, Starling is a novel of cherished dreams and powerful desires, and the young woman bold enough to claim them both…
To prevent his visiting sister from parading potential brides in front of him, Alisdair has decided to present a fake wife. He lost his heart once, and had it broken—he doesn’t intend to do it again. But stubborn, spirited Starling is more alluring than he bargained for, and Alisdair will risk everything he has to prove his love is true…
Set against the sweeping backdrop of 1866 South Australia, Starling is a novel of cherished dreams and powerful desires, and the young woman bold enough to claim them both…
206 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 14, 2015
247 people are currently reading
300 people want to read
About the author
Virginia Taylor
22 books92 followersVirginia is a full time writer who used to be a nurse/midwife, a scenic painter and designer, a renovator of heritage houses, and still is an avid gardener. She is also a bad driver, an unenthusiastic cook and a reader of all things bookish.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
June 27, 2017
Alisdair "Dare" Seymour is the owner of Seymour's Emporium. Starling Smith is a seamstress who works in the Ladies Department. Dare offers Starling a fee to pose as his wife during his sister's two-weeks visit. Starling can open her own seamstress shop and employ her orphan sisters with the money. During the pretend marriage, Dare and Starling's feelings for each other grow. What will they decide to do after the two weeks is over? Is there a happily-ever-after for them?
The main characters feel like friends you want to help, sometimes with a knock on the side of the head. The secondary characters are more than placeholders, especially Ellen and Maggie. Lavender is the antagonist. She is spoiled or desperate. It could be both. The author uses Lavender's name to describe her. The tone is set by the plot, while the atmosphere is built by the description. Setting is Australia, late nineteenth century. I will gladly read more of Ms. Taylor's books. This novel contains steamy love scenes.
The main characters feel like friends you want to help, sometimes with a knock on the side of the head. The secondary characters are more than placeholders, especially Ellen and Maggie. Lavender is the antagonist. She is spoiled or desperate. It could be both. The author uses Lavender's name to describe her. The tone is set by the plot, while the atmosphere is built by the description. Setting is Australia, late nineteenth century. I will gladly read more of Ms. Taylor's books. This novel contains steamy love scenes.
June 22, 2017
Really well-done romance. Starling was an admirable woman, the ex-lover was beautiful and empty, the supporting cast was entertaining - A most satisfying read.
June 23, 2017
This was absolutely one of the most disgusting books I've read so far in the year. Let me list why.
1) The constant slut shaming. I literally can't go a page without the word whore being read, which might be acceptable if this was a story written about a woman in a brothel, but that is not what is happening. Instead whore is used here to refer to women who are not virgins. Rarely is a man blamed here for his sexual indiscretions while the woman is criticized relentlessly. For example, when a maid discovers her bf is screwing said whore, the woman is painted as the unforgivable one while the man is ultimately forgiven by his gf and becomes betrothed to her. Furthermore, all the women in the novel fall into three categories, virgin innocents (who of course are seen as "noble" and "good"), "whores" (which are evil threats to the protagonist's love life and thus unworthy of character development), and women who are in relationships (and as they pose no threat to the protagonist, are able to also be seen as "good"). Furthermore, the actual sex workers (aka whores) are so looked down upon you'd think they're dirt. You know what I would like to see in a book? A woman not being shamed for being poor and working the streets, and not making light of what a difficult experience it is.
2) Starling. She is a fucking wet rag of modesty. It's so annoying that at times I wanted to just scream at her to do something that is human. Her character can be summed up as being the ultimate martyr (or as I would say, a girl who never fucking stands up for herself). For example, for 95% of the novel the male lead is under the impression that she was at one point an actual whore. Despite Starling knowing he thought this, she never attempts to actually correct him, her excuse being that "if he know I was a virgin he wouldn't hire me". Bitch please that is a weak-ass excuse. Or when the male lead is under the impression that she is "cheating" (they're not actually in a committed relationship yet) on him with a gardener. Starling knows she is innocent and that someone else is sleeping with the gardener (the girl the male lead wants to marry) , but refuses to tell him.
The conversation went like this.
GUY: why are u sleeping w/ him, whore
GIRL:ur wrong
GUY: I know u are !! (*said angrily and with yelling)
GIRL:ok I'm am (*said with a self sacrificing tone)
GUY: why u so mean and sleep w/ him but not me
GIRL: idk. I ain't gonna sleep w/ you.
GUY: ... (*starts to be moody and walks away)
And this scenario where the guys mistakenly yells at her and she just takes it happens so many fucking times. I can understand this happening to a degree, but not so bloody often. Anyway, the whole point is that she is a 2D character with no spine whose existence is defined as being 'nice'.
3) The male lead. He is a fucking piece of elephant shit. I mean the first time they have sex and he realizes that this is her first time, does he apologize for all the times he called/thought of her as a whore? Or even after figuring out she didn't "cheat" on him? No he takes her virginity and offers to let her be his mistress. Like bitch sit the fuck down. Furthermore he mistreats Starling horribly, always assuming the worst of her despite seeing how she is a bucket of Mary Sue and so obviously wouldn't do the things he thinks she did. Not to mention the entire time he seduced her he had plans to marry another woman that he "loved". Excuse me if I don't find that to be sexy.
Anyway, I did not like this book. And maybe I wouldn't be so mad if I didn't see this exact thing happen over and over.
0.5/5. That 0.5 is for having a historical romance that is not in UK or America.
1) The constant slut shaming. I literally can't go a page without the word whore being read, which might be acceptable if this was a story written about a woman in a brothel, but that is not what is happening. Instead whore is used here to refer to women who are not virgins. Rarely is a man blamed here for his sexual indiscretions while the woman is criticized relentlessly. For example, when a maid discovers her bf is screwing said whore, the woman is painted as the unforgivable one while the man is ultimately forgiven by his gf and becomes betrothed to her. Furthermore, all the women in the novel fall into three categories, virgin innocents (who of course are seen as "noble" and "good"), "whores" (which are evil threats to the protagonist's love life and thus unworthy of character development), and women who are in relationships (and as they pose no threat to the protagonist, are able to also be seen as "good"). Furthermore, the actual sex workers (aka whores) are so looked down upon you'd think they're dirt. You know what I would like to see in a book? A woman not being shamed for being poor and working the streets, and not making light of what a difficult experience it is.
2) Starling. She is a fucking wet rag of modesty. It's so annoying that at times I wanted to just scream at her to do something that is human. Her character can be summed up as being the ultimate martyr (or as I would say, a girl who never fucking stands up for herself). For example, for 95% of the novel the male lead is under the impression that she was at one point an actual whore. Despite Starling knowing he thought this, she never attempts to actually correct him, her excuse being that "if he know I was a virgin he wouldn't hire me". Bitch please that is a weak-ass excuse. Or when the male lead is under the impression that she is "cheating" (they're not actually in a committed relationship yet) on him with a gardener. Starling knows she is innocent and that someone else is sleeping with the gardener (the girl the male lead wants to marry) , but refuses to tell him.
The conversation went like this.
GUY: why are u sleeping w/ him, whore
GIRL:ur wrong
GUY: I know u are !! (*said angrily and with yelling)
GIRL:ok I'm am (*said with a self sacrificing tone)
GUY: why u so mean and sleep w/ him but not me
GIRL: idk. I ain't gonna sleep w/ you.
GUY: ... (*starts to be moody and walks away)
And this scenario where the guys mistakenly yells at her and she just takes it happens so many fucking times. I can understand this happening to a degree, but not so bloody often. Anyway, the whole point is that she is a 2D character with no spine whose existence is defined as being 'nice'.
3) The male lead. He is a fucking piece of elephant shit. I mean the first time they have sex and he realizes that this is her first time, does he apologize for all the times he called/thought of her as a whore? Or even after figuring out she didn't "cheat" on him? No he takes her virginity and offers to let her be his mistress. Like bitch sit the fuck down. Furthermore he mistreats Starling horribly, always assuming the worst of her despite seeing how she is a bucket of Mary Sue and so obviously wouldn't do the things he thinks she did. Not to mention the entire time he seduced her he had plans to marry another woman that he "loved". Excuse me if I don't find that to be sexy.
Anyway, I did not like this book. And maybe I wouldn't be so mad if I didn't see this exact thing happen over and over.
0.5/5. That 0.5 is for having a historical romance that is not in UK or America.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2015
Feeding into my love of historic romance, I’m always looking for the new and unusual to find books set in places other than England or the Americas, or even set in Regency / Late Regency period. Virginia Taylor brings a story set in the Adelaide area of South Australia in the mid-19th century in this, the first in her South Landers series, Starling.
Starling is an orphan, an aspiring seamstress with an eye for appropriate fit and a dream to open her own business where she can then afford to offer other orphans a chance at a trade. To finance her dream, she has obtained a position in the Ladies Department in an upscale shop, Seymour’s Emporium. Amidst the fabrics and trims, she is noted as a solid worker with a determined and very vocal sense of what works, and that doesn’t always mean she is flattering the ladies for a sale. Noticed discouraging more costly (thus profitable) options more than once, she is fired from her position, but offered one rather unusual proposition.
Alasdair is the owner of Seymour’s Emporium and a bit of an uptight and rigid man. With his sister’s imminent arrival, dragging along his ex-fiancé for a dash of matchmaking, Alasdair is unwilling to appear ‘in need’ in front of the faithless and feckless Lavender. Offering Starling the princely sum of 40 pounds to pose as his wife, in name only, for the duration of his sister’s visit, this scandalous offer seems plausible as Starling was the laundress for a house of ill repute, and he believes her experienced.
Taylor has created these characters with skill and presented their backgrounds in such a way as to make the premise of a marriage of show plausible and possible, while giving the characters personalities that are solid and convincing. Starling is a lovely woman with a solid belief in right and wrong, her own sense of style and her determination to make something of herself. Alasdair needed to pull the very splintery fence post out of his rear, but once he started behaving like a man and not a spoilt and bossy child, it was easy to see how he and Starling were more alike in their hopes for the future than not. The secondary characters presented disparate agendas and dramas, and only helped to illustrate the good qualities of both Starling and Alasdair. A subtle romance that grows incrementally with each interaction, both characters and setting are clearly presented and leave you wanting more.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Starling is an orphan, an aspiring seamstress with an eye for appropriate fit and a dream to open her own business where she can then afford to offer other orphans a chance at a trade. To finance her dream, she has obtained a position in the Ladies Department in an upscale shop, Seymour’s Emporium. Amidst the fabrics and trims, she is noted as a solid worker with a determined and very vocal sense of what works, and that doesn’t always mean she is flattering the ladies for a sale. Noticed discouraging more costly (thus profitable) options more than once, she is fired from her position, but offered one rather unusual proposition.
Alasdair is the owner of Seymour’s Emporium and a bit of an uptight and rigid man. With his sister’s imminent arrival, dragging along his ex-fiancé for a dash of matchmaking, Alasdair is unwilling to appear ‘in need’ in front of the faithless and feckless Lavender. Offering Starling the princely sum of 40 pounds to pose as his wife, in name only, for the duration of his sister’s visit, this scandalous offer seems plausible as Starling was the laundress for a house of ill repute, and he believes her experienced.
Taylor has created these characters with skill and presented their backgrounds in such a way as to make the premise of a marriage of show plausible and possible, while giving the characters personalities that are solid and convincing. Starling is a lovely woman with a solid belief in right and wrong, her own sense of style and her determination to make something of herself. Alasdair needed to pull the very splintery fence post out of his rear, but once he started behaving like a man and not a spoilt and bossy child, it was easy to see how he and Starling were more alike in their hopes for the future than not. The secondary characters presented disparate agendas and dramas, and only helped to illustrate the good qualities of both Starling and Alasdair. A subtle romance that grows incrementally with each interaction, both characters and setting are clearly presented and leave you wanting more.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
June 30, 2017
Thank you all for reading, rating, and reviewing this book. My historical stories are my second love. My first is writing about my own country which people know little about. I hope you enjoy my research and my embellishments of the history of South Australia. If you sign up on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AuthorVirgin... you will be led to my website http://virginia-taylor.com where you can add your email address to obtain my newsletter.
May 26, 2015
Starling by Virginia Taylor is loaded with sizzling, sensual tension! This is one hot read you don't want to miss!
June 17, 2017
Wonderful story
Starling South Landers by Virginia Taylor is a wonderful story. I like the characters, they seem real to me. This is a page turner. A must read. Thanks
Starling South Landers by Virginia Taylor is a wonderful story. I like the characters, they seem real to me. This is a page turner. A must read. Thanks
October 9, 2017
Wonderful book
I enjoyed all the characters in this book especially Starling and Alasdair. This is a story about a young woman and a wealthy gentleman who meet and pose as a married couple each for their own reasons in life. They begin as a business deal, but over time, they come to realize that money and deception cannot replace true love.
I enjoyed all the characters in this book especially Starling and Alasdair. This is a story about a young woman and a wealthy gentleman who meet and pose as a married couple each for their own reasons in life. They begin as a business deal, but over time, they come to realize that money and deception cannot replace true love.
September 19, 2017
This empowering romance, set in the days when specific roles governed each gender in their respective positions, is punctuated with touching and tender arousal scenes. I was swept into the plot by the author’s masterful writing. I couldn’t wait to see how a naïve young woman could handle the thrusts and parries of social life, and blend into her sham role of the new wife to a wealthy husband.
Virginia Taylor balanced the emotional and practical needs of both collaborators by showing how love conquers all when partners are equal in every way bar one, namely: social standing. The plot kept me engrossed to the satisfying conclusion.
Virginia Taylor balanced the emotional and practical needs of both collaborators by showing how love conquers all when partners are equal in every way bar one, namely: social standing. The plot kept me engrossed to the satisfying conclusion.
December 17, 2017
4.5 stars
A well written Australian historical romance. Starling is hired by her boss to pretend she is his wife for week. Many misunderstandings abound including that Starling is a prostitute. I enjoyed reading this book because I learned more about my own hometown and state, and the characters were raw and real (even if I wanted to throttle Alasdair on more than one occasion). Will definitely continue reading this series about the orphan girls with the names of birds.
Disclaimer: While I know the author personally, this doesn't affect the star rating.
A well written Australian historical romance. Starling is hired by her boss to pretend she is his wife for week. Many misunderstandings abound including that Starling is a prostitute. I enjoyed reading this book because I learned more about my own hometown and state, and the characters were raw and real (even if I wanted to throttle Alasdair on more than one occasion). Will definitely continue reading this series about the orphan girls with the names of birds.
Disclaimer: While I know the author personally, this doesn't affect the star rating.
August 2, 2017
Once again, another strong female character that doesn't lack femininity and vulnerability. I love the research and details that Virginia adds to give it authenticity. Her style is a delight to read and I look forward to the next one!
February 10, 2016
I liked this one. It was different from a lot of the "fake relationship" books I've read in the past, but did have some predictable elements. It is, after all, a pretty specific trope. The hero was pretty stuck in his own world but was a pretty likable guy for all his problems. Starling was "practically perfect in every way", but not annoying about it. The only real problem I had was the
I would usually have an issue with the serious lack of productive communication between the H and h of a book, but in this case it actually works for the circumstance. There was a lot of that kind of precarious balance in this book, but Ms. Taylor did a great job of keeping the elements from getting too campy or too annoying.
Overall, I will read more from Ms. Taylor in the future, and I suggest you will probably enjoy this book,
I would usually have an issue with the serious lack of productive communication between the H and h of a book, but in this case it actually works for the circumstance. There was a lot of that kind of precarious balance in this book, but Ms. Taylor did a great job of keeping the elements from getting too campy or too annoying.
Overall, I will read more from Ms. Taylor in the future, and I suggest you will probably enjoy this book,
March 18, 2018
The first thing the hero of this story does is fire the heroine, who is his employee, in order to force her to accept his offer to pose as his wife. She will be homeless and destitute if she refuses, so she is manipulated into a situation she doesn't want but he promises her he won't touch her so she accepts. Then he forces her to sleep in the same bed as him and starts trying to coerce her for sex. Meanwhile, he is still planning to propose to a second woman who is a guest at his house. At one point when Starling won't sleep with him he fantasizes about strangling her and also about humiliating her by throwing her out of the house naked.
Halfway through I wrote: "I keep hoping the hero will suddenly learn not to be such a horrible sexist misogynist and stop trying to coerce the heroine to have sex with him but so far he's gone from bad to worse. So slimy. And the heroine is such a perfect naive innocent who takes the blame for everyone and never stands up for herself. It's incredibly frustrating."
It did not get better. If anything, it went from worse to worser. The hero never learns anything or apologizes, but they magically fall in love and therefore all is fine. NOPE NOPE NOPE.
Coercion is not seduction. Coercion is not seduction. Coercion is not seduction.
Halfway through I wrote: "I keep hoping the hero will suddenly learn not to be such a horrible sexist misogynist and stop trying to coerce the heroine to have sex with him but so far he's gone from bad to worse. So slimy. And the heroine is such a perfect naive innocent who takes the blame for everyone and never stands up for herself. It's incredibly frustrating."
It did not get better. If anything, it went from worse to worser. The hero never learns anything or apologizes, but they magically fall in love and therefore all is fine. NOPE NOPE NOPE.
Coercion is not seduction. Coercion is not seduction. Coercion is not seduction.
March 17, 2015
Delightful, delicious, warm and witty – these are some of the words that come to mind after reading Ms Taylor’s book, Starling. There were twists and turns within a well plotted well considered story that includes a cast of characters that were all fun except for one. And, there always must be at least one villain in a love story, right?
Alasdair made assumptions about Starling when he hired her to pose as his wife for two weeks and his assumptions manage to cause trouble throughout the novel – trouble for both Starling and himself. He has provided plenty of money, a cushy place to stay and almost all that a poor woman might wish to have but it may not prove to be enough. When the “love of his life” shows up to throw a wrench into his plans the game changes from what he thought it would be to something else entirely.
If you like a well written historical romance with attractive characters filled with strength of will and along with a cast of supporting characters that add depth to the story then this is a book I can highly recommend.
Thank you to Kensington Books for giving me this book through NetGalley to read and review.
Alasdair made assumptions about Starling when he hired her to pose as his wife for two weeks and his assumptions manage to cause trouble throughout the novel – trouble for both Starling and himself. He has provided plenty of money, a cushy place to stay and almost all that a poor woman might wish to have but it may not prove to be enough. When the “love of his life” shows up to throw a wrench into his plans the game changes from what he thought it would be to something else entirely.
If you like a well written historical romance with attractive characters filled with strength of will and along with a cast of supporting characters that add depth to the story then this is a book I can highly recommend.
Thank you to Kensington Books for giving me this book through NetGalley to read and review.
September 28, 2015
Australian Historical Romance
No fancy Lords in this one. And it is a very nice change, with a rich, handsome department store owner who is obsessed with a well borne Lady. A lady who turned him down to marry a rich banker, because he lacked money and birth at that time. He hires Starling a orphan, who he assumes is a whore because she had worked in a house of ill repute as a laundress. She's to act as his wife while his sister visits. His shock is intense when his original Lady love accompanies his sister. Quite a interesting mix.
Interesting hero, who's fixation leads him into trouble. Does eventually redeem himself but the heroine is honest, caring, industrious, intelligent and a virgin of course. One truly roots for her all the way through the book.
No fancy Lords in this one. And it is a very nice change, with a rich, handsome department store owner who is obsessed with a well borne Lady. A lady who turned him down to marry a rich banker, because he lacked money and birth at that time. He hires Starling a orphan, who he assumes is a whore because she had worked in a house of ill repute as a laundress. She's to act as his wife while his sister visits. His shock is intense when his original Lady love accompanies his sister. Quite a interesting mix.
Interesting hero, who's fixation leads him into trouble. Does eventually redeem himself but the heroine is honest, caring, industrious, intelligent and a virgin of course. One truly roots for her all the way through the book.
December 23, 2018
I really enjoyed STARLING! The author did such a wonderful job of drawing me into Alisdair and Starling's story, and keeping me hooked right until the end. I also loved that it was set in Australia. I will certainly be eagerly reading the rest of the author's books that have been patiently waiting on my kindle!! Thoroughly enjoyed this read and can certainly recommend!!
September 15, 2016
This story was simply and beautifully told. I love the interaction between Alisdair and Starling. Quite often I did wish she would slap him, but her calm acceptance and thoughtfulness inspired me.
July 17, 2019
An aspiring dressmaker, Starling Smith is offered enough money to start her own business by posing as Alasdair Seymour's wife for two weeks to fend off his sister's attempts at matchmaking.
I'm finding it hard to rate this book. On the one hand, though it started well enough and had an intriguing premise set in Adelaide, Australia in 1866, towards the end I got a bit restless and impatient as the author put her characters through some contrived situations in order to maintain the sexual tension and keep them ignorant of each other's motives and secrets. And yet, despite the use of tropes that made me roll my eyes a few times, I can't deny I enjoyed both the story and the characters. So my rating is 3.5, but for the length of time that she strung her characters along, I will have to round down.
I'm finding it hard to rate this book. On the one hand, though it started well enough and had an intriguing premise set in Adelaide, Australia in 1866, towards the end I got a bit restless and impatient as the author put her characters through some contrived situations in order to maintain the sexual tension and keep them ignorant of each other's motives and secrets. And yet, despite the use of tropes that made me roll my eyes a few times, I can't deny I enjoyed both the story and the characters. So my rating is 3.5, but for the length of time that she strung her characters along, I will have to round down.
January 28, 2018
I hated the hero. He wanted to be praised for listening to the heroine's no by having her say yes, and this happened more times than I could count on the book. I loved the setting, but couldn't root for the couple.
October 26, 2017
The premise of this story held promise. Alas, to no avail. There's this rich, self-made department store owner, Alisdair Seymour, in 1866 Australia, whose sister keeps trying to match him up with women. Tired of this, he hires Starling Smith, one of his store employees, to pretend to be his newly-wed wife during the next visit of sister and the latest woman she wants him to marry. He and Starling will have to share the same bedroom but he promises to keep his hands and other body parts to himself.
Well, let's set aside the fact that all he'd really have to do is say to the sister, "Enough with the matchmaking already!" and be done with it. Instead, let's go with the idea of the pretend marriage. It could be cute. The H and h thrown together day and night will eventually build up a beautiful relationship and fall in love. It could work. There would even be some humorous sexual tension while they try to keep it platonic in the bed at night.
Unfortunately, the author has muddied up the story by having Alisdair's first and only love, who dumped him many years ago to marry someone richer (he was poor at that time) but is now a widow, be the woman coming to visit with his sister. Well, maybe even that could have worked if she had made Alisdair have half a real brain and not just think with his Little Alisdair all the time.
His old love Lavender is a prime piece of work, a horrible person, but she's so very, very beautiful. He's got the hots for her all over again. But he also discovers that sleeping in the same bed with Starling gets him hot and bothered too. This guy's a creep. He keeps coming on to Starling in private, often is boorish and impolite and unkind to her in private and public, and gives one the impression he'd be happy to boink both women, even at the same time if they'd be OK with it.
The H is a sleazy, self-centered, selfish, immature, unkind douchey jerk with the morals of a skunk. He improves slightly at the 95% mark of the book, even though he doesn't grovel enough to suit me. And, oh, I almost forgot. The heroine could have been an excellent one. Again, the author misses the boat by making her suffer somewhat from multiple-personality disorder and also by not having her defend herself from false accusations by sleazy hero and b*tchy other woman.
This story was not romantic. It was exasperating.
Well, let's set aside the fact that all he'd really have to do is say to the sister, "Enough with the matchmaking already!" and be done with it. Instead, let's go with the idea of the pretend marriage. It could be cute. The H and h thrown together day and night will eventually build up a beautiful relationship and fall in love. It could work. There would even be some humorous sexual tension while they try to keep it platonic in the bed at night.
Unfortunately, the author has muddied up the story by having Alisdair's first and only love, who dumped him many years ago to marry someone richer (he was poor at that time) but is now a widow, be the woman coming to visit with his sister. Well, maybe even that could have worked if she had made Alisdair have half a real brain and not just think with his Little Alisdair all the time.
His old love Lavender is a prime piece of work, a horrible person, but she's so very, very beautiful. He's got the hots for her all over again. But he also discovers that sleeping in the same bed with Starling gets him hot and bothered too. This guy's a creep. He keeps coming on to Starling in private, often is boorish and impolite and unkind to her in private and public, and gives one the impression he'd be happy to boink both women, even at the same time if they'd be OK with it.
The H is a sleazy, self-centered, selfish, immature, unkind douchey jerk with the morals of a skunk. He improves slightly at the 95% mark of the book, even though he doesn't grovel enough to suit me. And, oh, I almost forgot. The heroine could have been an excellent one. Again, the author misses the boat by making her suffer somewhat from multiple-personality disorder and also by not having her defend herself from false accusations by sleazy hero and b*tchy other woman.
This story was not romantic. It was exasperating.
June 23, 2017
Read like a bad romance novel with too much sex and not enough meat in this very predictable novel
April 14, 2015
This book was not at all what I was expecting. Virginia wrote a book that sucks you right into it. She has a very busy story line and if not for the spoilers then there are the twists and turns. Starling was a very smart person. She was a founding and took herself out into the business world. She is taken into Seymour' s Emporium in the Ladies section. Alasdair is in trouble. His matchmaking sister is coming to visit so he hires Starling to pretend to be his just married wife. Spoiler. Then he finds out that his 1st love is here too. What a snobby witch she is. Lavendar is open to everyone except Alasdair who is still sure she is perfect. Spoilers. There is so much going on here that you really should just read the book yourselves. This story just got better the farther I read it. Please don't pass this book over. It is a wonderful book. Enjoy reading it! I have this book for an honest review for NetGalley.
July 29, 2017
This book may be considered a romance, but it came very close to encouraging rape culture with a male main character that has a hard time accepting "no" as an answer and more than once considers forcing himself on the main female character (Starling). In addition, he refuses to accept that she isn't a "whore because at one time she worked for six weeks at an inn known for prostitution. I'm sorely disappointed that this is the best the author could come up with in terms of creating drama in the story.
Overall: Easy to read with predictable plot and disappointing subplots.
Overall: Easy to read with predictable plot and disappointing subplots.
January 23, 2018
Historical romance set in Australia in 1866 with a rich self-made-man looking for a fake wife to deflect his sister's tries to marry him off to a society lady when things get complicated because he falls in love with his fake wife while his first love tries to win him back after being widowed.
Starling Smith is in the job of her dreams selling fabrics in a reputable company and is surprised when the owner, Alisdair Seymour calls her into his office to propose a fake marriage for a few weeks. So after some negotiations, she moves in with Mr. Seymour and the comedy farce begins.
I won't spoil the story, but there is a nice HEA, but not without lots of miscommunication, secrets and misleading eavesdropping before everything is resolved. Lavender is really terrible, but she isn't evil, in fact this was a good read because no one is 'evil', just trying to survive and find love. Maybe I need to give this another star?
208 pages and kindle freebie
3 stars
Starling Smith is in the job of her dreams selling fabrics in a reputable company and is surprised when the owner, Alisdair Seymour calls her into his office to propose a fake marriage for a few weeks. So after some negotiations, she moves in with Mr. Seymour and the comedy farce begins.
I won't spoil the story, but there is a nice HEA, but not without lots of miscommunication, secrets and misleading eavesdropping before everything is resolved. Lavender is really terrible, but she isn't evil, in fact this was a good read because no one is 'evil', just trying to survive and find love. Maybe I need to give this another star?
208 pages and kindle freebie
3 stars
July 3, 2017
Alistair hires a wife
Alisdair's sister and husband are coming for a visit with a female friend. Alisdair is positive that she's playing matchmaker again, do he hires Starling who works for him to be his wife for two weeks for 40 pounds. She agrees. When his sisterhood up the mystery woman is Lavender who he had loved years ago and never got over. She is now a widow and h e is determined to marry her. Starling continues to play the role of his wife but tensions build between her and Alisdair. He believes she was a prostitute and when he makes advanced on her she err keeps p pushing him away. When he learns that one of the servants boyfriends has been dallying with a female he assumes that it's Starling. This is a very good story that Lavendar plays an important role in. I believe you will enjoy it.
Alisdair's sister and husband are coming for a visit with a female friend. Alisdair is positive that she's playing matchmaker again, do he hires Starling who works for him to be his wife for two weeks for 40 pounds. She agrees. When his sisterhood up the mystery woman is Lavender who he had loved years ago and never got over. She is now a widow and h e is determined to marry her. Starling continues to play the role of his wife but tensions build between her and Alisdair. He believes she was a prostitute and when he makes advanced on her she err keeps p pushing him away. When he learns that one of the servants boyfriends has been dallying with a female he assumes that it's Starling. This is a very good story that Lavendar plays an important role in. I believe you will enjoy it.
January 28, 2018
There is so much not to like about this story.
Stupid hero. He says he can take no for an answer but keeps at it and at it. He can't see Lavender for what she is.
Of course he thinks Starling is/was a whore (as if that was the worst thing possible.)
I can forgive Starling much more. She really was a virgin and did not know about the pleasure of sex or about men. She kept her eye on the prize. The cake scene at the picnic was the best but this came far too late.
And then the whole thing rushed to the usual 'happy ever after' ending.
Stupid hero. He says he can take no for an answer but keeps at it and at it. He can't see Lavender for what she is.
Of course he thinks Starling is/was a whore (as if that was the worst thing possible.)
I can forgive Starling much more. She really was a virgin and did not know about the pleasure of sex or about men. She kept her eye on the prize. The cake scene at the picnic was the best but this came far too late.
And then the whole thing rushed to the usual 'happy ever after' ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2018
This had more depth than the usual romances that routinely show up every month on bookshelves. Starling is a very admirable heroine. She is smart and independent and furthermore she she does not need a man to define her. She also showed Alisdair that love is not love if it is not given freely~without strings or conditions. Aside from the F*** word, which I do not really like in my romances, I thought this book was well~written, relatable and very credible. A Good Read.
February 5, 2018
Oh, I wanted to like this, so badly and so much. It was a great catnip - frontier Adelaide, Australia, sham marriage, rags to riches,... but oh. It was just painful. I spent so much time wanting to fling a drop bear at the "hero" of the story that all I could do was root for the heroine to get away, get away, get away - and sadly, that's not what happens in books like these.
Too bad. I would have likely given it a 5, if indeed Starling had set up her new life and never seen Seymour again.
Too bad. I would have likely given it a 5, if indeed Starling had set up her new life and never seen Seymour again.
August 6, 2018
Entertaining
Good story line but two glaring weaknesses - the double standard between men and women was pushed to extreme with this stupid man and his bad communication. Second, I only knew it was set in Australia because of a few references - it would have been nice if some of the color and culture of Australia could have been included. Otherwise this story could have taken place anywhere.
Good story line but two glaring weaknesses - the double standard between men and women was pushed to extreme with this stupid man and his bad communication. Second, I only knew it was set in Australia because of a few references - it would have been nice if some of the color and culture of Australia could have been included. Otherwise this story could have taken place anywhere.
June 22, 2017
Loved it!
I used to live historical romance but became bored with them. However, reading the previous reviews I became intrigued, and gave this one a chance. I'm so glad I did! I loved the relationship and quick quips between the two main characters, and I couldn't stop reading until I got my fix! You know the happy ever after will come, but boy! What angst to get there.
I used to live historical romance but became bored with them. However, reading the previous reviews I became intrigued, and gave this one a chance. I'm so glad I did! I loved the relationship and quick quips between the two main characters, and I couldn't stop reading until I got my fix! You know the happy ever after will come, but boy! What angst to get there.
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