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The Carsington Brothers #1
Miss Wonderful
Alistair Carsington really, really wishes he didn’t love women quite so much. To escape his worst impulses, he sets out for a place far from civilization: Derbyshire--in winter!--where he hopes to kill two birds with one stone: avoid all temptation, and repay the friend who saved his life on the fields of Waterloo. But this noble aim drops him straight into opposition with Miss Mirabel Oldridge, a woman every bit as intelligent, obstinate, and devious as he—and maddeningly irresistible.
Mirabel Oldridge already has her hands full keeping her brilliant and aggravatingly eccentric father out of trouble. The last thing she needs is a stunningly attractive, oversensitive and overbright aristocrat reminding her she has a heart--not to mention a body he claims is so unstylishly clothed that undressing her is practically a civic duty.
Could the situation be any worse? And why does something that seems so wrong feel so very wonderful?
Mirabel Oldridge already has her hands full keeping her brilliant and aggravatingly eccentric father out of trouble. The last thing she needs is a stunningly attractive, oversensitive and overbright aristocrat reminding her she has a heart--not to mention a body he claims is so unstylishly clothed that undressing her is practically a civic duty.
Could the situation be any worse? And why does something that seems so wrong feel so very wonderful?
12 pages, Audible Audio
First published March 2, 2004
445 people are currently reading
4395 people want to read
About the author
Loretta Chase
52 books3,662 followersLoretta Lynda Chekani was born in 1949, of Albanian ancestry. For her, the trouble started when she learned to write in first grade. Before then, she had been making up her own stories but now she knew how to write them down to share. In her teenage years, she continue to write letters, keep a journal, write poetry and even attempt the Great American Novel (still unfinished). She attended New England public schools, before she went off to college and earned an English degree from Clark University.
After graduation, she worked a variety of jobs at Clark including a part-time teaching post. She was also moonlighting as a video scriptwriter. It was there that she met a video producer who inspired her to write novels and marry him. Under her married name, Loretta Chase, has been publishing historical romance novels since 1987. Her books have won many awards, including the Romance Writers of America RITA.
After graduation, she worked a variety of jobs at Clark including a part-time teaching post. She was also moonlighting as a video scriptwriter. It was there that she met a video producer who inspired her to write novels and marry him. Under her married name, Loretta Chase, has been publishing historical romance novels since 1987. Her books have won many awards, including the Romance Writers of America RITA.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 616 reviews
January 21, 2016
4,5 "Delightfulness is in the Details" Stars
When Mr. Alistair Carsington brings, together with his impossibly handsome persona, a breath of London flair and a wave of Industrial Revolution to her peaceful corner of 1818 Derbyshire, Miss Mirabel Oldridge, spinster extraordinaire and local authority, is more than a little outraged. What business does the maddening toff have disrupting her land as she's always known it for monetary gain?
And what business does the maddening female have flaunting "fashion atrocities" under his stylish nose and scattering hairpins in her wake thus making his hands twitch with the desire to rearrange those red tresses, resolve dwindling just to see her smile at him again?
No other choice: time for a battle of wills of the first order. Preferably one that won't leave them both with a broken heart...
The very first Loretta Chase's book I've ever read, I found it just as memorable and lovely this second time round. A little bit slower than I recalled, the same charm and wit were still there. It's a romance that heavily relies on characterisation and the author deftly pulls this kind of potentially boring plot off by creating two unique and layered protagonists full of endearing vulnerabilities and unexpected strengths. So much that following their sparring and growing feelings is sheer Historical Romance joy.
For once stepping out of overused moulds, an amusing role reversal has our hero being the walking fashion-plate with a romantic streak, while the heroine is the practical no-nonsense soul, shrewd mind occupied only by estate management and piles of dusty ledgers. Though they are way more than that and, as a greatly executed case of opposites attract, they complement each other bringing out their respective best, so what starts as a confrontation between two people divided by contrasting interests and mutual distrust soon becomes the opportunity to explore their own pasts which have made them who they are in spite of themselves and, as they have to astonishingly admit, perfect for each other.
I especially loved Alistair. I loved all his quirks, his kindness, his irony, the way he uses vanity to conceal the desolation Waterloo has left inside him, physical and inner scars he still has to come to terms with. But Mirabel is his good match and their intelligence, sharp bantering and amusing self-deprecation infuse some extra bite and sensuality to what in truth is a very sweet and heart-warming love story.
Pervaded by gentle humour, with some light and occasional farcical touches too, it's one of the romances best showcasing Loretta Chase's unique and sophisticated take on the Regency sub-genre, where the sparkle and mood are to be found in the multiple folds of the narration and in the exquisite stylistic choices. Polished fluff with substance: wonderful.
May 27, 2011
Knowing that several readers think that this book is one of Ms. Chase's weakest releases, I didn't have high expectations when I started reading it and I admit I decided to read it only because I wanted to read the next books in this series and I'm OCD about reading series in order. Well, I owe my OCD a big thanks, because I really enjoyed reading this book.
The Right Honorable Edward Junius Carsington, Earl of Hargate, is worried about his 3rd son, 29-year-old Baffle to All Human Understanding, the Honorable Alistair Carsington. The "boy"'s Episodes of Stupidity have cost his lordship a small fortune over the years and it's time he put a stop to them. So Alistair is given an ultimatum: he must find a way to earn his own money to support his expensive way of life or his younger brothers will be "robbed" of their inheritances so their father can keep paying his bills. Of course, the Earl of Hargate's fortune isn't in any danger, he just wants his son to "reform". Faced with such ultimatum, Alistair decides to join his friend Lord Gordmor in business, hoping to become financially independent asrequested demanded by his father. That's how he finds himself in Derbyshire, to convince the landowners to approve the building of a canal in the area.
Miss Mirabel Oldridge, the 31-year-old spinster daughter of the largest landowner in Derbyshire, is strongly opposed to Lord Gordnor's canal - and she isn't shy to state her position when she meets Alistair. Even though she's "a mere woman" and has no vote in the matter, Alistair's sense of honor demands that he seek her approval because, due to her father's absentness, she is the actual manager of the Oldridge estate. Unfortunately, she refuses to explain why she's so set against Lord Gordnor's canal, telling him that that would give Alistair an unfair advantage in the negotiations, so he's given no other choice than to spend time with her in order to extract, understand and counteract her reasoning. And thus the battle of wills begins...
The title of this book should have been "Mr. Wonderful", not "Miss Wonderful". Alistair was charming, honorable, funny and oh-so-wonderful. (Sorry, but you knew this was coming, LOL.) He was definitely a dandy, but he wasn't shallow. It was clear that his obsession with clothes and fashion hid something deeper, something related to his war days and his almost death at the Battle of Waterloo. I loved him!
On the other hand, I had problems with Mirabel. She was capable, practical and smart, but she confused me. I finished the book without understanding why she was so opposed to the canal. Even after she finally told Alistair what allegedly bothered her and he made all the changes in the project to appease her worries, she kept protesting and fighting the whole deal. Why? Just to be contrary? Silly woman! I also didn't like all the tricks she used to thwart the building of the canal. One of them was particularly too ruthless and I don't know how Alistair forgave her that easily. He should have made her grovel... and grovel.
Given the premise of the book, I expected the confrontation between Alistair and Mirabel to be the primary focus of the story. Gladly, I was not disappointed. Even though I wasn't Mirabel's biggest fan, I enjoyed her interactions with Alistair, loved their easy banter and, especially, the way Alistair was driven to distraction by Mirabel's lack of fashion sense. She dressed dreadfully, her hair was constantly on the verge of falling down, and he went mad trying to control the urge to fix her. Funny stuff, LOL.
All things considered, this was a very good read. I loved Ms. Chase's writing, Alistair was great and the story was fun. Too bad Mirabel wasn't as wonderful as promised by the title.
The Right Honorable Edward Junius Carsington, Earl of Hargate, is worried about his 3rd son, 29-year-old Baffle to All Human Understanding, the Honorable Alistair Carsington. The "boy"'s Episodes of Stupidity have cost his lordship a small fortune over the years and it's time he put a stop to them. So Alistair is given an ultimatum: he must find a way to earn his own money to support his expensive way of life or his younger brothers will be "robbed" of their inheritances so their father can keep paying his bills. Of course, the Earl of Hargate's fortune isn't in any danger, he just wants his son to "reform". Faced with such ultimatum, Alistair decides to join his friend Lord Gordmor in business, hoping to become financially independent as
Miss Mirabel Oldridge, the 31-year-old spinster daughter of the largest landowner in Derbyshire, is strongly opposed to Lord Gordnor's canal - and she isn't shy to state her position when she meets Alistair. Even though she's "a mere woman" and has no vote in the matter, Alistair's sense of honor demands that he seek her approval because, due to her father's absentness, she is the actual manager of the Oldridge estate. Unfortunately, she refuses to explain why she's so set against Lord Gordnor's canal, telling him that that would give Alistair an unfair advantage in the negotiations, so he's given no other choice than to spend time with her in order to extract, understand and counteract her reasoning. And thus the battle of wills begins...
The title of this book should have been "Mr. Wonderful", not "Miss Wonderful". Alistair was charming, honorable, funny and oh-so-wonderful. (Sorry, but you knew this was coming, LOL.) He was definitely a dandy, but he wasn't shallow. It was clear that his obsession with clothes and fashion hid something deeper, something related to his war days and his almost death at the Battle of Waterloo. I loved him!
On the other hand, I had problems with Mirabel. She was capable, practical and smart, but she confused me. I finished the book without understanding why she was so opposed to the canal. Even after she finally told Alistair what allegedly bothered her and he made all the changes in the project to appease her worries, she kept protesting and fighting the whole deal. Why? Just to be contrary? Silly woman! I also didn't like all the tricks she used to thwart the building of the canal. One of them was particularly too ruthless and I don't know how Alistair forgave her that easily. He should have made her grovel... and grovel.
Given the premise of the book, I expected the confrontation between Alistair and Mirabel to be the primary focus of the story. Gladly, I was not disappointed. Even though I wasn't Mirabel's biggest fan, I enjoyed her interactions with Alistair, loved their easy banter and, especially, the way Alistair was driven to distraction by Mirabel's lack of fashion sense. She dressed dreadfully, her hair was constantly on the verge of falling down, and he went mad trying to control the urge to fix her. Funny stuff, LOL.
All things considered, this was a very good read. I loved Ms. Chase's writing, Alistair was great and the story was fun. Too bad Mirabel wasn't as wonderful as promised by the title.
May 16, 2015
4.5 stars
She began unbuttoning her pelisse. "I am one and thirty years old," she said. “I should like to gather my rosebuds before the petals shrivel up and fall off."
Really, this book ought to have been titled “MISTER Wonderful”, because its hero, Alastair Carsington is an absolute dreamboat. He’s handsome, witty and charming – of course – but beneath the surface veneer lurks the heart of a true romantic, a kind, generous man who is troubled by a past he can’t remember.
At twenty-nine, Alastair has cost his father, the Earl of Hargate, a small fortune over the years because of a number of “episodes of stupidity” (all of them because of his tendency to fall in love too easily), and has, ever since his return from Waterloo two years earlier, lived a highly extravagant lifestyle for which the earl has been footing the bill. But now Hargate has had enough, and gives his third son an ultimatum. He has six months in which to find a way to support himself or an heiress to marry. If he does not do either within the allotted time, the earl will be forced to sell the two properties he had set aside to provide an income for his two youngest sons in order to continue to support Alastair in the style to which he has become accustomed.
Alastair may be many things – extravagant, flippant, even odd – but he loves his family, and the thought of robbing his brothers of their inheritance is enough to finally spur him into action.
Shortly after receiving his father’s ultimatum, Alastair travels to rural Derbyshire on business. He and his closest friend, Lord Gordmor, are partners in a canal-building venture that has hit a snag in the form of Lord Oldridge, whose opposition to their scheme could see their plans come to naught and their finances ruined. Gordmor – Gordy – had planned to go himself, but is unwell, and sends Alastair to find out what is going on.
Mirabel Oldridge is thirty-one, opinionated, determined and, as Alastair is soon to discover, a formidable adversary. She is completely opposed to the building of the canal, and makes no bones about voicing that opposition. Given Alastair’s notoriety as a war hero and his status as a highly eligible bachelor and the son of an earl, all the other families of standing in the area (especially those with unmarried daughters!) have welcomed him with open arms, their previously voiced resistance now melting away. Yet Alastair isn’t willing to ride roughshod over Mirabel’s opposition even though, as a woman, she has no say in local affairs. His sense of honour demands that, as she is the de facto manager of her eccentric (and frequently absentee) father’s estate, she should have a voice, and he wants to know why she is opposed to a plan which will eventually bring many benefits to the local people.
There is much to love about this story, not least of which is the humour and wonderfully witty repartée that zings between the hero and heroine. Loretta Chase’s turn of phrase when it comes to the deadpan really is second-to-none, yet she’s as at home writing a deeply emotional character-enlightening or heartrending moment as she is with bringing the funny; in short, she can have you in tears one moment and laughing your head off the next, and that’s rare.
Mirabel is one of those heroines who takes care of everything and everyone around her, yet has never had a shoulder to lean on. Having experienced love when she was younger, but given it up in order to care for her father and his estate, she is more or less resigned to her spinsterish existence, until Alastair Carsington comes along and turns her world upside down. She can’t afford to be beguiled by a man – and especially not this man – and tries her damndest not to let him turn her head. But his kindness, his intelligence, his wit and his willingness to take her seriously very soon prove completely irresistible.
Knowing of his tendency to fall in love at the drop of a hat, Alastair isn’t especially surprised with himself when he’s attracted to the lovely yet atrociously dressed Miss Oldridge. His episodes of stupidity are all behind him and he reminds himself – repeatedly - that he can’t afford to fall for the woman with the potential to ruin him and by extension, his younger brothers. Yet, in spite – or perhaps because – of her terrible bonnets, out-moded dresses and untamable hair, she fascinates him more and more with each passing day.
Outwardly, Alastair is urbane and sophisticated, yet he lives with the knowledge that he hasn’t been quite right since Waterloo. He has big gaps in his memory and there is even talk that he’s not right in the head. His actions on the battlefield have earned him a reputation as a hero – but he can’t remember anything about that day, and feels like a fraud. But he pretends to remember, just as he pretends he hasn’t noticed the change in himself since his return. This vulnerability is one of the things that makes him such an attractive hero. He’s a man struggling to find his place in the world who knows it’s past time for him to grow up and stop relying on others to solve his problems.
Miss Wonderful is a terrific read, although it does have a few small flaws. Alastair and Mirabel make a great couple and their romance is sensual, tender and full of warmth and humour. But Mirabel is difficult to like at times because she’s so unwilling to consider another point of view and, in her desperation to thwart the canal scheme, she resorts to some pretty underhand tactics. And there’s a sub-plot introduced quite late on into the story concerning a disgruntled former employee which feels a bit “tacked on” and didn’t really hold my interest, because by then I was so taken up with rooting for Alastair and Mirabel to work things out that I got impatient with anything that took time away from the romance.
But that’s a minor point, because the book is a delight from start to finish, and one that’s definitely going on my keeper shelf.
She began unbuttoning her pelisse. "I am one and thirty years old," she said. “I should like to gather my rosebuds before the petals shrivel up and fall off."
Really, this book ought to have been titled “MISTER Wonderful”, because its hero, Alastair Carsington is an absolute dreamboat. He’s handsome, witty and charming – of course – but beneath the surface veneer lurks the heart of a true romantic, a kind, generous man who is troubled by a past he can’t remember.
At twenty-nine, Alastair has cost his father, the Earl of Hargate, a small fortune over the years because of a number of “episodes of stupidity” (all of them because of his tendency to fall in love too easily), and has, ever since his return from Waterloo two years earlier, lived a highly extravagant lifestyle for which the earl has been footing the bill. But now Hargate has had enough, and gives his third son an ultimatum. He has six months in which to find a way to support himself or an heiress to marry. If he does not do either within the allotted time, the earl will be forced to sell the two properties he had set aside to provide an income for his two youngest sons in order to continue to support Alastair in the style to which he has become accustomed.
Alastair may be many things – extravagant, flippant, even odd – but he loves his family, and the thought of robbing his brothers of their inheritance is enough to finally spur him into action.
Shortly after receiving his father’s ultimatum, Alastair travels to rural Derbyshire on business. He and his closest friend, Lord Gordmor, are partners in a canal-building venture that has hit a snag in the form of Lord Oldridge, whose opposition to their scheme could see their plans come to naught and their finances ruined. Gordmor – Gordy – had planned to go himself, but is unwell, and sends Alastair to find out what is going on.
Mirabel Oldridge is thirty-one, opinionated, determined and, as Alastair is soon to discover, a formidable adversary. She is completely opposed to the building of the canal, and makes no bones about voicing that opposition. Given Alastair’s notoriety as a war hero and his status as a highly eligible bachelor and the son of an earl, all the other families of standing in the area (especially those with unmarried daughters!) have welcomed him with open arms, their previously voiced resistance now melting away. Yet Alastair isn’t willing to ride roughshod over Mirabel’s opposition even though, as a woman, she has no say in local affairs. His sense of honour demands that, as she is the de facto manager of her eccentric (and frequently absentee) father’s estate, she should have a voice, and he wants to know why she is opposed to a plan which will eventually bring many benefits to the local people.
There is much to love about this story, not least of which is the humour and wonderfully witty repartée that zings between the hero and heroine. Loretta Chase’s turn of phrase when it comes to the deadpan really is second-to-none, yet she’s as at home writing a deeply emotional character-enlightening or heartrending moment as she is with bringing the funny; in short, she can have you in tears one moment and laughing your head off the next, and that’s rare.
Mirabel is one of those heroines who takes care of everything and everyone around her, yet has never had a shoulder to lean on. Having experienced love when she was younger, but given it up in order to care for her father and his estate, she is more or less resigned to her spinsterish existence, until Alastair Carsington comes along and turns her world upside down. She can’t afford to be beguiled by a man – and especially not this man – and tries her damndest not to let him turn her head. But his kindness, his intelligence, his wit and his willingness to take her seriously very soon prove completely irresistible.
Knowing of his tendency to fall in love at the drop of a hat, Alastair isn’t especially surprised with himself when he’s attracted to the lovely yet atrociously dressed Miss Oldridge. His episodes of stupidity are all behind him and he reminds himself – repeatedly - that he can’t afford to fall for the woman with the potential to ruin him and by extension, his younger brothers. Yet, in spite – or perhaps because – of her terrible bonnets, out-moded dresses and untamable hair, she fascinates him more and more with each passing day.
Outwardly, Alastair is urbane and sophisticated, yet he lives with the knowledge that he hasn’t been quite right since Waterloo. He has big gaps in his memory and there is even talk that he’s not right in the head. His actions on the battlefield have earned him a reputation as a hero – but he can’t remember anything about that day, and feels like a fraud. But he pretends to remember, just as he pretends he hasn’t noticed the change in himself since his return. This vulnerability is one of the things that makes him such an attractive hero. He’s a man struggling to find his place in the world who knows it’s past time for him to grow up and stop relying on others to solve his problems.
Miss Wonderful is a terrific read, although it does have a few small flaws. Alastair and Mirabel make a great couple and their romance is sensual, tender and full of warmth and humour. But Mirabel is difficult to like at times because she’s so unwilling to consider another point of view and, in her desperation to thwart the canal scheme, she resorts to some pretty underhand tactics. And there’s a sub-plot introduced quite late on into the story concerning a disgruntled former employee which feels a bit “tacked on” and didn’t really hold my interest, because by then I was so taken up with rooting for Alastair and Mirabel to work things out that I got impatient with anything that took time away from the romance.
But that’s a minor point, because the book is a delight from start to finish, and one that’s definitely going on my keeper shelf.
May 26, 2022
On Kindle sale for USD 1.99 26th May 2022
I am re-reading all my 5 star rated romance novels. There are 60 on my shelf. This is book 3.
(Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Dandy, Wounded War Hero / PTSD, Spinster, Forbidden Love, Starchy hero / heroine gets Unstarched)
This is how my 3rd re-read held up.
At first it dropped from 5 to 2.5/3, but after getting past a somewhat rocky start, I was invested so my final verdict is a 4.
************
- "You are beautiful," he said. "I would give anything in the world to have you. But I cannot, because I am not in a position to marry you."
"Of course we cannot marry," she said. "It is very likely you will build your horrid canal and destroy everything I hold dear, and I shall hate you for it. If you fail, it will be my doing, and you'll hate me for it. At this moment, we are in charity with each other, but it cannot last.”
Alistair is a dandy, a fop, waaay to concerned with his appearance.
And when I started this book I was not too taken with him and wondered how it ended up on my 5-star shelf in the first place. Well there is a lot more to him than his obsession with looking stylish….trust me.
Mirabel is not a dandy, and when she finds out how obsessed Alistair is with fashion, she deliberately antagonizes him.
- The grey gown was outmoded and graceless to begin with, but in case that wasn't enough, she'd persuaded Lucy to make a few adjustments, transforming it from merely dull and unflattering to hideous. The boring coronet needed only to be stepped on. But the crowning achievement was the coiffure Lucy had so unwillingly executed, declaring afterward that she'd never seen anything so frightful and would never outlive the disgrace.
Alistair, however, very quickly begins to suffer from nutsaboutthegirl-itis and keeping his head on the canal and the struggle with Mirabel is getting difficult.
- She bestowed upon him a brilliant smile, the one she'd favored him with the previous day, before she'd learnt his errand. Since she'd treated him to only a lesser and chillier variety of smiles since, he was caught unprepared, and his brain reacted as though she'd hit him in the head with a cricket bat.
The best part of course, is that Mirabel, despite trying, can’t seem to deny her own attraction.
- "You should have anticipated me and bolstered your cause when you had the opportunity after dinner. You cannot expect me to hold my tongue merely because you are amiable and charming."
His dark eyebrows arched. "You've found my behavior to you amiable and charming?"
Doesn’t mean they stop trying to thwart each other and have fun while doing it.
She looked at him full on, the great blue eyes wary. "You are humoring me."
"Miss Oldridge, the labor of humoring you far exceeds the bounds of my patience," he said. "When I am with you, I can barely remember my manners."
She smiled then, and his heart warmed as though it basked in summer sunshine. His brain, unfortunately, warmed as well, and commenced melting. He doubted he'd ever encountered a weapon more deadly than that smile.
"Your manners are otherwise very beautiful," she said. "Several parties last night remarked that you belonged in the diplomatic corps."
"How much more agreeable it would be for you," he said, "were I spending this day with the Tsar in St Petersburg."
"I was thinking of someplace warmer," she said.
"Hades?"
She laughed, and the light sound had the same whispery quality as her speaking voice. "I was thinking of Calcutta or Bombay."
"Of course. There I might die of any number of contagions, if the heatstroke didn't kill me first."
"I don't wish you dead," she said. "I wish you well and thriving—elsewhere."
The more they like each other, the more they realize they cannot be, while on opposing sides. So they make sure to stay well clear of each other and avoid any romantic entanglement.
- She had better leave. She had come only to look in on him. She would gain nothing by lingering. She had softened toward him too much already. If she did not have a care, she would become infatuated—absurd at her age, and dangerous to more than her virtue.
She rose.
"I vastly prefer your company," he said.
Mirabel sat down again.
- She leaned toward him and whispered, "I beg you will not place too much credence in what Papa says about my time in London. I cannot think where he comes by the notion that I am a femme fatale. Perhaps he has confused me with my Aunt Clothilde. She was a famous beauty. She is still, actually. Men are always falling in love with her."
Alistair leaned toward her. "Perhaps it runs in the family," he whispered back.
- "You accused me of seducing you," he said. "You seem to have forgotten who made the first move."
It had been she, and she couldn't pretend otherwise. Heat washed over her, not all of it from shame.
She remembered the feel of his mouth against her hand, and the way the world had gone away. She experienced again the spill of sensations she had no name for, and the sense of toppling off balance. She did not know how to come right, and wasn't sure she wanted to.
She looked up and saw his mouth curve a very little. It seemed like a taunt, daring her to contradict him. She didn't want to. All she wanted to do was lay her fingers over his mouth and feel those sensations again. She didn't want to talk or listen or think. She didn't want to be sensible. She was always sensible and thinking ahead. She was one and thirty years old. Why could she not be a fool this once?
"Well, if you must split hairs so fine," she said unsteadily.
"I certainly must," he said. "Furthermore, I am not cultivating your father. He has been kind and amiable to me, and altogether impossible to dislike, even for your sake. If anyone is being won over, it is I. This is why—"
He broke off with a gasp as she grabbed his lapels. "Miss Oldridge."
She looked up at him.
He looked down at her hands. "You're wrinkling my coat," he said in horrified tones.
Mirabel smiled, though her heart banged as loudly as a cannon volley.
His gaze went from her hands to her mouth, and the horrified look faded. His eyes darkened.
Her breath came and went too fast, and her knees wanted to buckle. She tipped her head back.
He bent toward her—then drew back. "No. There is too much at stake. I cannot be—"
Mirabel tugged on the lapels, pulling him to her, and kissed him, full on the lips.
- "Miss Oldridge, this is a very dangerous game," he said. "Someone might hear us."
"Then lower your voice," she said.
She leapt up onto the bed, and standing a hairsbreadth out of his reach, quickly shrugged out of the pelisse. She threw it at him, and it caught him in the face. He held it there for a moment, then crushed it against his chest.
"You must not," he said hoarsely. "It is wicked to do this to me. It holds…" He swallowed. "It holds your warmth, your scent."
There is much more to this book than some gazing and banter. Alistair has experienced some pretty horrible stuff while at war, and at times the issue of the canal that divides them seems unsolvable. But I’ll leave that for your reading enjoyment.
I am re-reading all my 5 star rated romance novels. There are 60 on my shelf. This is book 3.
(Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Dandy, Wounded War Hero / PTSD, Spinster, Forbidden Love, Starchy hero / heroine gets Unstarched)
This is how my 3rd re-read held up.
At first it dropped from 5 to 2.5/3, but after getting past a somewhat rocky start, I was invested so my final verdict is a 4.
************
- "You are beautiful," he said. "I would give anything in the world to have you. But I cannot, because I am not in a position to marry you."
"Of course we cannot marry," she said. "It is very likely you will build your horrid canal and destroy everything I hold dear, and I shall hate you for it. If you fail, it will be my doing, and you'll hate me for it. At this moment, we are in charity with each other, but it cannot last.”
Alistair is a dandy, a fop, waaay to concerned with his appearance.
And when I started this book I was not too taken with him and wondered how it ended up on my 5-star shelf in the first place. Well there is a lot more to him than his obsession with looking stylish….trust me.
Mirabel is not a dandy, and when she finds out how obsessed Alistair is with fashion, she deliberately antagonizes him.
- The grey gown was outmoded and graceless to begin with, but in case that wasn't enough, she'd persuaded Lucy to make a few adjustments, transforming it from merely dull and unflattering to hideous. The boring coronet needed only to be stepped on. But the crowning achievement was the coiffure Lucy had so unwillingly executed, declaring afterward that she'd never seen anything so frightful and would never outlive the disgrace.
Alistair, however, very quickly begins to suffer from nutsaboutthegirl-itis and keeping his head on the canal and the struggle with Mirabel is getting difficult.
- She bestowed upon him a brilliant smile, the one she'd favored him with the previous day, before she'd learnt his errand. Since she'd treated him to only a lesser and chillier variety of smiles since, he was caught unprepared, and his brain reacted as though she'd hit him in the head with a cricket bat.
The best part of course, is that Mirabel, despite trying, can’t seem to deny her own attraction.
- "You should have anticipated me and bolstered your cause when you had the opportunity after dinner. You cannot expect me to hold my tongue merely because you are amiable and charming."
His dark eyebrows arched. "You've found my behavior to you amiable and charming?"
Doesn’t mean they stop trying to thwart each other and have fun while doing it.
She looked at him full on, the great blue eyes wary. "You are humoring me."
"Miss Oldridge, the labor of humoring you far exceeds the bounds of my patience," he said. "When I am with you, I can barely remember my manners."
She smiled then, and his heart warmed as though it basked in summer sunshine. His brain, unfortunately, warmed as well, and commenced melting. He doubted he'd ever encountered a weapon more deadly than that smile.
"Your manners are otherwise very beautiful," she said. "Several parties last night remarked that you belonged in the diplomatic corps."
"How much more agreeable it would be for you," he said, "were I spending this day with the Tsar in St Petersburg."
"I was thinking of someplace warmer," she said.
"Hades?"
She laughed, and the light sound had the same whispery quality as her speaking voice. "I was thinking of Calcutta or Bombay."
"Of course. There I might die of any number of contagions, if the heatstroke didn't kill me first."
"I don't wish you dead," she said. "I wish you well and thriving—elsewhere."
The more they like each other, the more they realize they cannot be, while on opposing sides. So they make sure to stay well clear of each other and avoid any romantic entanglement.
- She had better leave. She had come only to look in on him. She would gain nothing by lingering. She had softened toward him too much already. If she did not have a care, she would become infatuated—absurd at her age, and dangerous to more than her virtue.
She rose.
"I vastly prefer your company," he said.
Mirabel sat down again.
- She leaned toward him and whispered, "I beg you will not place too much credence in what Papa says about my time in London. I cannot think where he comes by the notion that I am a femme fatale. Perhaps he has confused me with my Aunt Clothilde. She was a famous beauty. She is still, actually. Men are always falling in love with her."
Alistair leaned toward her. "Perhaps it runs in the family," he whispered back.
- "You accused me of seducing you," he said. "You seem to have forgotten who made the first move."
It had been she, and she couldn't pretend otherwise. Heat washed over her, not all of it from shame.
She remembered the feel of his mouth against her hand, and the way the world had gone away. She experienced again the spill of sensations she had no name for, and the sense of toppling off balance. She did not know how to come right, and wasn't sure she wanted to.
She looked up and saw his mouth curve a very little. It seemed like a taunt, daring her to contradict him. She didn't want to. All she wanted to do was lay her fingers over his mouth and feel those sensations again. She didn't want to talk or listen or think. She didn't want to be sensible. She was always sensible and thinking ahead. She was one and thirty years old. Why could she not be a fool this once?
"Well, if you must split hairs so fine," she said unsteadily.
"I certainly must," he said. "Furthermore, I am not cultivating your father. He has been kind and amiable to me, and altogether impossible to dislike, even for your sake. If anyone is being won over, it is I. This is why—"
He broke off with a gasp as she grabbed his lapels. "Miss Oldridge."
She looked up at him.
He looked down at her hands. "You're wrinkling my coat," he said in horrified tones.
Mirabel smiled, though her heart banged as loudly as a cannon volley.
His gaze went from her hands to her mouth, and the horrified look faded. His eyes darkened.
Her breath came and went too fast, and her knees wanted to buckle. She tipped her head back.
He bent toward her—then drew back. "No. There is too much at stake. I cannot be—"
Mirabel tugged on the lapels, pulling him to her, and kissed him, full on the lips.
- "Miss Oldridge, this is a very dangerous game," he said. "Someone might hear us."
"Then lower your voice," she said.
She leapt up onto the bed, and standing a hairsbreadth out of his reach, quickly shrugged out of the pelisse. She threw it at him, and it caught him in the face. He held it there for a moment, then crushed it against his chest.
"You must not," he said hoarsely. "It is wicked to do this to me. It holds…" He swallowed. "It holds your warmth, your scent."
There is much more to this book than some gazing and banter. Alistair has experienced some pretty horrible stuff while at war, and at times the issue of the canal that divides them seems unsolvable. But I’ll leave that for your reading enjoyment.
October 10, 2025
I completely enjoyed this book on this reread. The first time I read it, I struggled a bit to understand what was happening with the MMC, until it was eventually revealed I think I was caught up in the story, but didn't slow down enough to pick up on some of the clues Ms Chase provided along the way. But this time, I read more slowly, savouring the events and of course the lovely romance. And this time I noted the clues and hints, and fully enjoyed the whole book.
I really liked both MCs, Alastair, the 3rd Carsington son, hero of Waterloo, dandy (apparently ), and old friend of Gordy, who wanted to build a canal through the property of the lovely Mirabel Oldridge. Alastair and Mirabel were attracted straight away, but both had experienced previous disastrous relationships and were understandably cautious of getting involved.
The relationship developed beautifully, alongside Alastair's slow recovery of his mental health. The ending was very satisfying. I enjoyed all of the secondary characters, including the brief glimpses of Lord and Lady Carsington, likeable parents of the 5 sons the series is based around.
I plan to go on and reread the whole series :)
I really liked both MCs, Alastair, the 3rd Carsington son, hero of Waterloo, dandy (apparently ), and old friend of Gordy, who wanted to build a canal through the property of the lovely Mirabel Oldridge. Alastair and Mirabel were attracted straight away, but both had experienced previous disastrous relationships and were understandably cautious of getting involved.
The relationship developed beautifully, alongside Alastair's slow recovery of his mental health. The ending was very satisfying. I enjoyed all of the secondary characters, including the brief glimpses of Lord and Lady Carsington, likeable parents of the 5 sons the series is based around.
I plan to go on and reread the whole series :)
June 15, 2017
It's always nice to have a good experience as my first book of the new year. This is my first Chase novel, so I had few expectations (beyond somewhat mixed reviews from friends). I was delighted to find myself enjoying the book so much.
Mirabel was a lot of fun, and not least because she was so atypical of the genre. She's a lot older than usual, coming in at an over-the-hill 31 years of age. I liked that Chase made this feel natural and fit the time period by giving her plenty adequate reason for being in her situation and more or less content there. Indeed, I had a lot of sympathy for her, even though I don't normally respond to a nostalgia for nostalgia's sake argument against new ideas/technologies. I think that's because Mirabel isn't acting solely out of sentimentality and that her arguments don't flow from her personal sentimentality but rather from well reasoned objections based on the viewpoints and needs of others. And it doesn't hurt that she is so articulate and even-keeled (and not in a perfect author's pet kind of way, either).
And Alistair is just so sweet (in a completely masculine way) that I couldn't help rooting for him even when I didn't want him to succeed (in tearing up the countryside). Having him two years younger than Mirabel was a surprise (and completely atypical) but it worked and worked well. For one, they're clearly a good match. For another, at this point, life experience is more important than age to indicate maturity and compatibility. And Mirabel and Alistair are both mature and compatible in every important way.
And that's what I really liked. You could see that they had developed a real love for each other and that being on opposite (and irreconcilable) sides of a life- and countryside-changing dispute was tearing them apart emotionally, even as they were coming together so well in every other way.
Two reasons this didn't graduate to five stars. First, this story didn't really need a villain and adding one felt superfluous and tacky. It didn't help that the villain was such a psychopath and irrational to boot. And it really didn't help that we get sections (mercifully short) from his perspective.
Second, corsets. Okay, I had to look this one up because the prevalence of corsets threw me and just felt wrong for 1818 but I don't know the period so well that I could say they were out of place without verifying. And they are out of place. Yes, corsets are old "technology" even by this stage and yes, the Prince Regent was well-known for wearing a corset. But at this time, corsets were not a regular feature of women's costume, though a lighter version they called "stays" were common enough. Still, that high emperor waistline didn't lend itself to a need for corsetry and outright saying that they were common was, I can't help feeling, a mistake. Having Mirabel, whose outfits were chosen to be unshapely and unattractive, wear corsets was completely out of character and more than a little jarring.
And yes, I know I lost man-points for all that. a) I don't care and b) I have enough to spare.
Anyway, I liked the book and will be picking up the next...
A note about Steamy: Two explicit scenes of moderate length (though I can't help thinking there's a third that I've forgotten). So the middle of my typical range.
Mirabel was a lot of fun, and not least because she was so atypical of the genre. She's a lot older than usual, coming in at an over-the-hill 31 years of age. I liked that Chase made this feel natural and fit the time period by giving her plenty adequate reason for being in her situation and more or less content there. Indeed, I had a lot of sympathy for her, even though I don't normally respond to a nostalgia for nostalgia's sake argument against new ideas/technologies. I think that's because Mirabel isn't acting solely out of sentimentality and that her arguments don't flow from her personal sentimentality but rather from well reasoned objections based on the viewpoints and needs of others. And it doesn't hurt that she is so articulate and even-keeled (and not in a perfect author's pet kind of way, either).
And Alistair is just so sweet (in a completely masculine way) that I couldn't help rooting for him even when I didn't want him to succeed (in tearing up the countryside). Having him two years younger than Mirabel was a surprise (and completely atypical) but it worked and worked well. For one, they're clearly a good match. For another, at this point, life experience is more important than age to indicate maturity and compatibility. And Mirabel and Alistair are both mature and compatible in every important way.
And that's what I really liked. You could see that they had developed a real love for each other and that being on opposite (and irreconcilable) sides of a life- and countryside-changing dispute was tearing them apart emotionally, even as they were coming together so well in every other way.
Two reasons this didn't graduate to five stars. First, this story didn't really need a villain and adding one felt superfluous and tacky. It didn't help that the villain was such a psychopath and irrational to boot. And it really didn't help that we get sections (mercifully short) from his perspective.
Second, corsets. Okay, I had to look this one up because the prevalence of corsets threw me and just felt wrong for 1818 but I don't know the period so well that I could say they were out of place without verifying. And they are out of place. Yes, corsets are old "technology" even by this stage and yes, the Prince Regent was well-known for wearing a corset. But at this time, corsets were not a regular feature of women's costume, though a lighter version they called "stays" were common enough. Still, that high emperor waistline didn't lend itself to a need for corsetry and outright saying that they were common was, I can't help feeling, a mistake. Having Mirabel, whose outfits were chosen to be unshapely and unattractive, wear corsets was completely out of character and more than a little jarring.
And yes, I know I lost man-points for all that. a) I don't care and b) I have enough to spare.
Anyway, I liked the book and will be picking up the next...
A note about Steamy: Two explicit scenes of moderate length (though I can't help thinking there's a third that I've forgotten). So the middle of my typical range.
January 9, 2015
This one was only OK. Ending up skimming the last 20% which is not good.... not sure why it did not do it for me.
May 23, 2019
Tras leer Abandonada a tus caricias, que adoro, tenía las expectativas muy altas y eso han jugado en contra de un libro que no es malo pero tarda en arrancar. Sus protagonistas me gustan pero no me chiflan (el dandismo de Alistair me hace gracia pero no me pone nada) y aunque al final mejora, no es para nada una lectura inolvidable.
#RitaChase #RetoRita3
#RitaChase #RetoRita3
Read
October 22, 2017No rating, because I didn't even make it past the first 50 pages. I know I'm the odd one out here (yet again) in not loving this, but absolutely nothing that happened in the first chapters appealed to me:
- heroine came across as to prickly for my tastes, and while I'm sure she grows, I just wasn't in the mood to put up with her snobbishness
- hero had an absurd obsession with clothes that I'm sure is supposed to be funny, but creeped the hell out of me (seriously, every single time he looked at her he would analyze exactly why this particular dress of hers is unflattering; he prefers riding two hours in an icy downpour to spending the night at someone else's house without a change of clothes (because -the horror- he can't bear to be seen in mid-day clothes in the evening), and to top it all off, he got so offended by a stray lock of hair that he ran over to the heroine and began re-doing her hair!)
-the business of the canal, aka The Complication (hero wants to build a canal across her father's land to connect the backwater town to the rest of the world, and she insists on putting her desperate/obtuse need to preserve "her" land ahead of other people's needs without further discussion. I sense DRAMA ahead there, and I prefer avoiding that in books)
I know it's all just me though, because I've had similar issues with other books by this author.
- heroine came across as to prickly for my tastes, and while I'm sure she grows, I just wasn't in the mood to put up with her snobbishness
- hero had an absurd obsession with clothes that I'm sure is supposed to be funny, but creeped the hell out of me (seriously, every single time he looked at her he would analyze exactly why this particular dress of hers is unflattering; he prefers riding two hours in an icy downpour to spending the night at someone else's house without a change of clothes (because -the horror- he can't bear to be seen in mid-day clothes in the evening), and to top it all off, he got so offended by a stray lock of hair that he ran over to the heroine and began re-doing her hair!)
-the business of the canal, aka The Complication (hero wants to build a canal across her father's land to connect the backwater town to the rest of the world, and she insists on putting her desperate/obtuse need to preserve "her" land ahead of other people's needs without further discussion. I sense DRAMA ahead there, and I prefer avoiding that in books)
I know it's all just me though, because I've had similar issues with other books by this author.
July 9, 2023
4.5
Reseña completa: https://masromance.blogspot.com/2023/...
No recordaba la historia, solo lo mucho que le gustan a la autora las mujeres apoderadas, pero coherentes. Porque la modernidad en un personaje no es necesaria para hacer de una protagonista, que sea valiente, independiente, moderna y con un atractivo que atraiga a un hombre algo astiado.
Más de diez años desde que lo leí y lo mucho que lo he vuelto a disfrutar.
La pareja me ha encantando y me lo he pasado genial con sus conversaciones
Mirabel es una joven decidida e inteligente que en el pasado se vio en la tesitura de sacrificar su felicidad. Ahora vive en su finca, aislada pero rodeada de gente que la valora en su pequeño mundo. En él interrumpe un afamado héroe, herido de guerra, hijo, pero no heredero, de un conde y un dandy, para más información. Viene con un objetivo que será contrario a los deseo de la joven y es el punto de partida para una novela que resulta una delicia.
La pareja es el centro de la historia, el fortalecimiento de su relación, al mismo tiempo, el plan se pone en acción de forma paralela y culmina en una pequeña trama secundaria con ciertas aventuras.
Una lectura muy recomendable ♥
Reseña completa: https://masromance.blogspot.com/2023/...
No recordaba la historia, solo lo mucho que le gustan a la autora las mujeres apoderadas, pero coherentes. Porque la modernidad en un personaje no es necesaria para hacer de una protagonista, que sea valiente, independiente, moderna y con un atractivo que atraiga a un hombre algo astiado.
Más de diez años desde que lo leí y lo mucho que lo he vuelto a disfrutar.
La pareja me ha encantando y me lo he pasado genial con sus conversaciones
Mirabel es una joven decidida e inteligente que en el pasado se vio en la tesitura de sacrificar su felicidad. Ahora vive en su finca, aislada pero rodeada de gente que la valora en su pequeño mundo. En él interrumpe un afamado héroe, herido de guerra, hijo, pero no heredero, de un conde y un dandy, para más información. Viene con un objetivo que será contrario a los deseo de la joven y es el punto de partida para una novela que resulta una delicia.
La pareja es el centro de la historia, el fortalecimiento de su relación, al mismo tiempo, el plan se pone en acción de forma paralela y culmina en una pequeña trama secundaria con ciertas aventuras.
Una lectura muy recomendable ♥
September 28, 2021
Not sure about this Alistair character; he is described as a wastrel, loves clothes, and is considered a hero for something he has no recollection for. Qualities usually not given to lead male characters in books. And to boot our heroine is thirty-one, gasp! What have we here Watson? I'm intrigued.
Wow never read someone described so poetically "Her eyes were blue, twilight blue, and for a moment she seemed to be the beginning and end of everything, from the sunrise halo of hair to the dusky blue of her eyes." Uh, sigh. Sign me up to be waxed poetically over.
The author does an incredible job with her secondary characters, reminds me of Carla Kelly. Captain Hughes was awesome, I absolutely loved how he could turn anything into nautical terms.
Alistair's PTSD from the battle of Waterloo and the memories is very heartbreaking to read but the author somehow manages to keep things light and write Alistair's comments and feelings to keep the story from being weighed down in the ugliness of war. Alistair is not the typical scarred war hero, he has a calmness, lightheartedness, and unflappability to keep him from being dark.
Ok the canal business started to become tedious halfway through and I was grudgingly trying to understand its importance to the story.
Oh man the scene where Mirabel is stripping and Alistair tries to keep looking at his boots starts off funny and then shifts into "make your heart clench in your chest" when Alistair realizes Mirabel has felt ignored for so long and he final gives in and then says "I see you".
The last five or so chapters of the book were kind of boring for me. I was annoyed at how stubborn Mirabel was about the canal, which I again want to say took up way too much of the story and the Caleb Finch villain who kidnapped Mirabel's dad seemed like an unnecessary part to add. Mirabel and Alistair's relationship lost some of its spark and I just think the story could have wrapped up sooner. There are some great funny and heart clenching moments throughout but because of the canal and ending not a keeper.
B-
Wow never read someone described so poetically "Her eyes were blue, twilight blue, and for a moment she seemed to be the beginning and end of everything, from the sunrise halo of hair to the dusky blue of her eyes." Uh, sigh. Sign me up to be waxed poetically over.
The author does an incredible job with her secondary characters, reminds me of Carla Kelly. Captain Hughes was awesome, I absolutely loved how he could turn anything into nautical terms.
Alistair's PTSD from the battle of Waterloo and the memories is very heartbreaking to read but the author somehow manages to keep things light and write Alistair's comments and feelings to keep the story from being weighed down in the ugliness of war. Alistair is not the typical scarred war hero, he has a calmness, lightheartedness, and unflappability to keep him from being dark.
Ok the canal business started to become tedious halfway through and I was grudgingly trying to understand its importance to the story.
Oh man the scene where Mirabel is stripping and Alistair tries to keep looking at his boots starts off funny and then shifts into "make your heart clench in your chest" when Alistair realizes Mirabel has felt ignored for so long and he final gives in and then says "I see you".
The last five or so chapters of the book were kind of boring for me. I was annoyed at how stubborn Mirabel was about the canal, which I again want to say took up way too much of the story and the Caleb Finch villain who kidnapped Mirabel's dad seemed like an unnecessary part to add. Mirabel and Alistair's relationship lost some of its spark and I just think the story could have wrapped up sooner. There are some great funny and heart clenching moments throughout but because of the canal and ending not a keeper.
B-
June 19, 2009
Although even mediocre Loretta Chase is better than most authors, I found myself disappointed after reading this, for there had been a very long break in which Ms. Chase wasn't gracing her world with excellently written romances. It was just on the dry side. I had to try really hard to get involved with Carsington and Mirabel, although they both were perfectly nice people and I didn't dislike them. I guess I just have very high standards for the author who wrote my favorite book of all time. So I'd give it three stars. If anything, it was a sign that Ms. Chase had not retired from writing romances forever. As Chase is a favorite, it's still a keeper for me.
January 21, 2012
I thought this book was okay, but you know there are problems when you're more interested in seeing what happens with the (very marginal) secondary romance than you are with the main one. I'm not up for writing a long-winded review right now, so here are my impressions, in mostly single- or double-syllabic words:
Alistair Carsington - Overcame the dandy impression admirably to the point that I really liked him. I continued reading because I wanted to know more about him. I retained a bit of skepticism, though, because one of the first things we learn is that he falls in love fast and frequently. I guess all he was looking for was someone to reciprocate that love? This raised doubts as to the lasting power of his affections.
Mirabel Oldridge - First 25%, "a little prickly, but we'll see where this prickliness comes from." From 25-75%, "WHAT A BITCH!" Last 25%, okay...that was a big turnaround, but I guess it works? I guess? Could not relate to her. At. All.
Story - The writing was a little too flowery for my tastes. Lots of nice details of the setting, but I felt like the story really dragged. There were a lot of moving parts to the story (specifically when the outside forces/villains came into play), and, at the same time, there weren't. I mean, the canal was their big fighting point, but I kept wondering where our characters' priorities lay, .
Sexytimes - Too purple prose-y for me. I also thought that Mirabel's pro-active seduction came out of the blue and totally out of character. Very sweet and brimming with emotion, but I can do without similes to "drinking the nectar of the wildflowers blooming defiantly in the most forbidding moorland." I mean, whut? I no know what you is meaning, narrator.
Secondary characters - Served their purpose, and I quite liked Mirabel's eccentric pops. I REALLY liked the secondary sorta-romance between Mirabel's old governess, Mrs. Entwhistle, and Mirabel's neighbor, Captain Hughes. Wish we could have seen that curmudgeonly duo paired up officially.
Verdict - Eh...this one did redeem itself a bit at the end, and while 2 seems a bit low, I don't think it merits an "I liked it" 3 stars. So let's say 2+/2.5 or so. This was my first Loretta Chase, and let's just say it was not a promising start. *le sigh* Nevertheless, I've heard positive feedback on the later books, so I'll check them out since my library has them. I also have the much-beloved Lord of Scoundrels on my DTB TBR pile for me to try at some point. So, no, I have not given up hope.
Alistair Carsington - Overcame the dandy impression admirably to the point that I really liked him. I continued reading because I wanted to know more about him. I retained a bit of skepticism, though, because one of the first things we learn is that he falls in love fast and frequently. I guess all he was looking for was someone to reciprocate that love? This raised doubts as to the lasting power of his affections.
Mirabel Oldridge - First 25%, "a little prickly, but we'll see where this prickliness comes from." From 25-75%, "WHAT A BITCH!" Last 25%, okay...that was a big turnaround, but I guess it works? I guess? Could not relate to her. At. All.
Story - The writing was a little too flowery for my tastes. Lots of nice details of the setting, but I felt like the story really dragged. There were a lot of moving parts to the story (specifically when the outside forces/villains came into play), and, at the same time, there weren't. I mean, the canal was their big fighting point, but I kept wondering where our characters' priorities lay, .
Sexytimes - Too purple prose-y for me. I also thought that Mirabel's pro-active seduction came out of the blue and totally out of character. Very sweet and brimming with emotion, but I can do without similes to "drinking the nectar of the wildflowers blooming defiantly in the most forbidding moorland." I mean, whut? I no know what you is meaning, narrator.
Secondary characters - Served their purpose, and I quite liked Mirabel's eccentric pops. I REALLY liked the secondary sorta-romance between Mirabel's old governess, Mrs. Entwhistle, and Mirabel's neighbor, Captain Hughes. Wish we could have seen that curmudgeonly duo paired up officially.
Verdict - Eh...this one did redeem itself a bit at the end, and while 2 seems a bit low, I don't think it merits an "I liked it" 3 stars. So let's say 2+/2.5 or so. This was my first Loretta Chase, and let's just say it was not a promising start. *le sigh* Nevertheless, I've heard positive feedback on the later books, so I'll check them out since my library has them. I also have the much-beloved Lord of Scoundrels on my DTB TBR pile for me to try at some point. So, no, I have not given up hope.
October 29, 2021
I'm usually not a fan of the insta-love/lust trope but this one works. I loved the banters between the MCs. I find them to be very witty and humorous. The pacing was good and characterisations were great. However, the oomph factor is missing from this book that could have made me give this book 5 stars instead of 4. I couldn't quite put a finger to it. I almost reached for other books twice whilst reading this one. I just didn't have the urgency to continue this one. However, this was simply too well-written for me to abandon it. Anyway, this one is good if you're in for a light-hearted read.
December 16, 2020
There was hesitancy on my part in starting this book due to the “not so great reviews” here and there. However it wove along nicely and I was just in the mood for this type of story. Timing is everything, because I was in a place to appreciate this couple’s story their witty (sometimes sexy)banter, hang ups, wounds and all. I’m especially looking forward to the next brother’s story.. good reviews and all.
If you’re looking for nonstop excitement, save it for later. This story has a nice pace where nothing is rushed, but every detail matters. Eventually, it’s wrapped up nicely leaving a smile on your face and expectant for book 2.
If you’re looking for nonstop excitement, save it for later. This story has a nice pace where nothing is rushed, but every detail matters. Eventually, it’s wrapped up nicely leaving a smile on your face and expectant for book 2.
December 7, 2015
Loretta Chase fans have waited so many years for audio versions of her books, so how wonderful ("wonderful," heh) is it that Kate Reading is narrating her Carsington Brothers series? This one is zooming to the top of my TBL list.
March 3, 2020
The book started very promising. The first half was quiet entertaining and humorous. But the second half became long and tedious. It’s almost like two different stories. I was barely able to finish the story.
July 9, 2011
4.5 stars **Mildly spoilerish**
Believe it or not, I liked this one better than Lord of Scoundrels. (Well, except for the scene in LoS against the lamppost in the rain, but I can't have everything, can I?)
I loved the whole book -- loved Alistair and his "dandy-ish-ness", loved Mirabel and her penchant for jumping his bones whenever she could, got a charge out of the story, smiled at the secondary characters and all the references to Alistair's brain box being not quite right.
Loved how they spoke to each other,
AND
loved the things they were thinking,
I guess what it comes down to is that I love Loretta Chase's style. It keeps me hugely entertained. I love her characters, the sparring, the humour. I find myself sitting in my chair with a silly grin on my face occasionally snorting with laughter.
Light without being frothy, interesting storylines, terrifically amusing characters and a writing style that allows me to visualize the story in my head so it plays like a movie. Can't ask for much more from a book.
Believe it or not, I liked this one better than Lord of Scoundrels. (Well, except for the scene in LoS against the lamppost in the rain, but I can't have everything, can I?)
I loved the whole book -- loved Alistair and his "dandy-ish-ness", loved Mirabel and her penchant for jumping his bones whenever she could, got a charge out of the story, smiled at the secondary characters and all the references to Alistair's brain box being not quite right.
Loved how they spoke to each other,
She began unbuttoning her pelisse. "I am one and thirty years old," she said. I should like to gather my rosebuds before the petals shrivel up and fall off."
AND
Of course I'm vexed," he said. "You're alone, the ground is still slippery from last night's storm, and I know you hadn't much sleep. It is a dangerous combination."
"Have you come to look after me?" she said.
"I am your betrothed, not your nursemaid," he said.
loved the things they were thinking,
I guess what it comes down to is that I love Loretta Chase's style. It keeps me hugely entertained. I love her characters, the sparring, the humour. I find myself sitting in my chair with a silly grin on my face occasionally snorting with laughter.
"If I could have run, I'd have run away screaming, like a girl," Alistair said, his heart lightening.
"I would have been right behind you," Gordy said, "screaming louder and at much higher pitch. I have not your manly basso, you know."
Light without being frothy, interesting storylines, terrifically amusing characters and a writing style that allows me to visualize the story in my head so it plays like a movie. Can't ask for much more from a book.
May 13, 2016
I liked this one more than I thought I would. Though, the lack of communication got be to rather annoying. I still don't understand why Mirabel couldn't just talk to Alistair about her misgivings regarding the canal. Her reticence made zero sense considering she wanted to convince him to call off his plans. Thus, she struck me as a bit of a nincompoop. Ah, well, another HR going down in my books as less than it could have been merely due to an irrational, nonsensical heroine. Still, the writing is solid and the story (when it's not being needlessly evasive) is sweet. I didn't regret reading it, but I probably wouldn't pick it up again.
July 23, 2022
Coming back to a Loretta Chase novel after trying out a series of new authors was akin to a refreshingly crisp fall morning after an oppressive, tiring heat wave. The writing was sharp and witty, the characters fully realized and very appealing, and every time I thought my enjoyment of the story was about to be undermined by a cliche’d misunderstanding I was instead treated to characters who behaved with emotion and intelligence, who treated each other care and respect, who asked and listened instead of assuming and posturing. What a relief! I loved this…but shame on you, Gordmor!
January 23, 2021
This quote just sums up the delight of this book.
"My love, I am one and thirty," she said. "Did it not occur to you that my hymen might shriveled up and died-of despair, most likely."
"My love, I am one and thirty," she said. "Did it not occur to you that my hymen might shriveled up and died-of despair, most likely."
January 22, 2018
I am working my way through the Loretta Chase series narrated by the wonderful (!) Kate reading.
This is the first of the Carsington Brothers series, and it is terrific.
The story is fascinating, describing as it does the early days of industrialisation in England, with the advent of canals and the railways. The battle that our heroine wages to protect and conserve her beloved part of Derbyshire must surely have been a common one, and still is today. The tension between "progress" and the need to keep things the same is one we live through all the time. I really identified with this aspect of the story, and it was well-researched and surprisingly relevant.
The characterisation was terrific, too, with a fiercely intelligent heroine in Mirabel and a charming, complex hero in Alistair. What I enjoyed so much was the serious personal growth these two experienced in the course of the book. And I have always loved the way Ms Chase writes a sex scene- sensual and emotional. (Too often, the mechanics overpower everything else.)
While Mirabel started out bitterly unwilling- even unable, to compromise, she mellowed, opening up to new possibilities. She did not sell out for love or any such rubbish. She realised the other side had valid arguments and was prepared, in the end, to acknowledge them. She also learnt from the difficult decision she had made many years ago .
Alistair initially comes across as a fashion-obsessed, dandified (reluctant) Waterloo hero but we gradually see through the layers he uses to protect himself and find the deeply passionate, courageous and intelligent man he actually is. He is a darling!
The dialogue is witty and sparkling, with Kate Reading doing a marvellous job with the different voices and accents.
So much joy listening to this story!
This is the first of the Carsington Brothers series, and it is terrific.
The story is fascinating, describing as it does the early days of industrialisation in England, with the advent of canals and the railways. The battle that our heroine wages to protect and conserve her beloved part of Derbyshire must surely have been a common one, and still is today. The tension between "progress" and the need to keep things the same is one we live through all the time. I really identified with this aspect of the story, and it was well-researched and surprisingly relevant.
The characterisation was terrific, too, with a fiercely intelligent heroine in Mirabel and a charming, complex hero in Alistair. What I enjoyed so much was the serious personal growth these two experienced in the course of the book. And I have always loved the way Ms Chase writes a sex scene- sensual and emotional. (Too often, the mechanics overpower everything else.)
While Mirabel started out bitterly unwilling- even unable, to compromise, she mellowed, opening up to new possibilities. She did not sell out for love or any such rubbish. She realised the other side had valid arguments and was prepared, in the end, to acknowledge them. She also learnt from the difficult decision she had made many years ago .
Alistair initially comes across as a fashion-obsessed, dandified (reluctant) Waterloo hero but we gradually see through the layers he uses to protect himself and find the deeply passionate, courageous and intelligent man he actually is. He is a darling!
The dialogue is witty and sparkling, with Kate Reading doing a marvellous job with the different voices and accents.
So much joy listening to this story!
March 4, 2018
Confounded Canals and blasted botany lessons!
This book is agonizingly slow and boring. Recompense comes in the form of an exceptional H but even he couldn’t save the book.
After a promising start, titillating the reader with the H’s prodigious but chequered love life, there is chapter upon chapter of the most mind-numbing filler material. Even the occasional wit and quip from the H doesn’t alleviate it.
Anyways I don’t like stories where the conflict comes from the mcs being on opposing sides of a business project or venture. Too much rivalry and scheming, and too less romance. And if it’s about saving the environment and the poor h alone cares for the despoiling of the natural beauty and such, it becomes a farce. Also it’s a no-brainer who gets to win.
Oh, and nothing wonderful about this miss. I didn't like her for most of the book and trusted her even less. She's quite perfidious. At one point, after seducing him she coolly plots against him. That’s too underhand and in case of gender reversal would be unforgivable. The H, being overnice just smiles and shrugs it off.
Incredibly, the h rejects true love twice, ostensibly in name of duty. One should be so lucky!
This book is agonizingly slow and boring. Recompense comes in the form of an exceptional H but even he couldn’t save the book.
After a promising start, titillating the reader with the H’s prodigious but chequered love life, there is chapter upon chapter of the most mind-numbing filler material. Even the occasional wit and quip from the H doesn’t alleviate it.
Anyways I don’t like stories where the conflict comes from the mcs being on opposing sides of a business project or venture. Too much rivalry and scheming, and too less romance. And if it’s about saving the environment and the poor h alone cares for the despoiling of the natural beauty and such, it becomes a farce. Also it’s a no-brainer who gets to win.
Oh, and nothing wonderful about this miss. I didn't like her for most of the book and trusted her even less. She's quite perfidious. At one point, after seducing him she coolly plots against him. That’s too underhand and in case of gender reversal would be unforgivable. The H, being overnice just smiles and shrugs it off.
Incredibly, the h rejects true love twice, ostensibly in name of duty. One should be so lucky!
July 16, 2015
I'm SO glad that I read this book! My first Loretta Chase novel was Lord of Scoundrels, which I know is universally loved by the historical romance community, but which I had immense issues with. The book was actually quite good in some ways, but the problems I did have with the story were too aggravating to overlook.
Anyway, although I own other Chase books, I have stayed away from them up till now. I was so pleasantly surprised by Miss Wonderful, however! It was absolutely fabulous, Mirabel and Alistair were wonderful together, and Alistair ... well, have I mentioned how utterly wonderful and unbelievably dreamy he is? He is definitely going to the top of my "Favorite Heroes" list!
Looking forward to reading Mr. Impossible!!
(Written on August 18, 2010)
Anyway, although I own other Chase books, I have stayed away from them up till now. I was so pleasantly surprised by Miss Wonderful, however! It was absolutely fabulous, Mirabel and Alistair were wonderful together, and Alistair ... well, have I mentioned how utterly wonderful and unbelievably dreamy he is? He is definitely going to the top of my "Favorite Heroes" list!
Looking forward to reading Mr. Impossible!!
(Written on August 18, 2010)
July 12, 2012
*Buddy read with Stacia. You can read her thoughts here.*
Since I loved Silk Is For Seduction so much, I wanted to try out some of Chase's other series with the hope that they'd be at least enjoyable, if not epic.
To say Miss Wonderful was a disappointment would be inaccurate, because it wasn't quite that big of a let-down. At the same time, it wasn't even half as interesting as Silk Is For Seduction. Mostly, it was just boring.
The narration was tedious and the details dreary. I found myself skimming through large chucks of the narrations and even skipping entire pages at one point.
The characters are well-developed, no doubt, but the problem is that the story isn't exciting at all. A spinster living in the countryside, managing her father's large estate, a reckless aristocrat coming and disrupting her peaceful life, it's all been said and done before, and in a much more gripping manner. I kept waiting for Chase to transform these ordinary circumstances and characters into something captivating, but it never happened.
The beginning was very promising, but it only led to an unremarkable story I had to force myself to finish. I doubt I'll be continuing with the series.
For more reviews, visit my blog.
Since I loved Silk Is For Seduction so much, I wanted to try out some of Chase's other series with the hope that they'd be at least enjoyable, if not epic.
To say Miss Wonderful was a disappointment would be inaccurate, because it wasn't quite that big of a let-down. At the same time, it wasn't even half as interesting as Silk Is For Seduction. Mostly, it was just boring.
The narration was tedious and the details dreary. I found myself skimming through large chucks of the narrations and even skipping entire pages at one point.
The characters are well-developed, no doubt, but the problem is that the story isn't exciting at all. A spinster living in the countryside, managing her father's large estate, a reckless aristocrat coming and disrupting her peaceful life, it's all been said and done before, and in a much more gripping manner. I kept waiting for Chase to transform these ordinary circumstances and characters into something captivating, but it never happened.
The beginning was very promising, but it only led to an unremarkable story I had to force myself to finish. I doubt I'll be continuing with the series.
For more reviews, visit my blog.
July 19, 2023
“Miss Oldridge,” he said, his voice dropping so low that the two words sounded like “grrrr.”
😂
—-
Oh how I love Loretta Chase. How many authors have the ability to make you LOL while punching you in the gut the next instant? She’s just so good.
Our hero, 29yo Alastair Carsington, is such a massive romantic. He is also a fashionista, dressing to the nines while cringing over heroine Mirabel’s atrocious frock choices and dying to fix her hair. Yet he is carrying some deep trauma; PTSD from a brutal stint at Waterloo.
He has been tasked with convincing a Derbyshire hamlet to allow his friend to dig a canal through it. His opponent is 31yo Mirabel Oldridge, who does not want a canal. But when the two meet, they start to forge a bond that is sweet, funny and mature. They don’t dance around their feelings for each other, which I love. She is unapologetic about asking for what she wants, which is some of that sweet, sweet Carsington arse.
My one complaint is the villain plot line - it really didn’t feel necessary.
😂
—-
Oh how I love Loretta Chase. How many authors have the ability to make you LOL while punching you in the gut the next instant? She’s just so good.
Our hero, 29yo Alastair Carsington, is such a massive romantic. He is also a fashionista, dressing to the nines while cringing over heroine Mirabel’s atrocious frock choices and dying to fix her hair. Yet he is carrying some deep trauma; PTSD from a brutal stint at Waterloo.
He has been tasked with convincing a Derbyshire hamlet to allow his friend to dig a canal through it. His opponent is 31yo Mirabel Oldridge, who does not want a canal. But when the two meet, they start to forge a bond that is sweet, funny and mature. They don’t dance around their feelings for each other, which I love. She is unapologetic about asking for what she wants, which is some of that sweet, sweet Carsington arse.
My one complaint is the villain plot line - it really didn’t feel necessary.
January 4, 2022
"Miss Wonderful" is the story of Mirabel and Alistair.
Ooooh. Disappointing.
The hero is a famous war hero, who is also infamous for falling in love with various women like a fool, and emptying his father's pockets. He is obsessed with his clothes, and spends way too much money on them. His father decides to reform him by giving him an ultimatum- six months to get married.
Anyways, he decides to travel to the wilds of Derbyshire to convince his friend, Lord Gordmor's neighbors to support the nobleman's proposal to build a canal. It is there he meets the older heroine- who is opposed to the canal, and who is as oblivious to her bad sense of dressing as she is to his attention.
Now, someone described this book as "reforming of a starchy character" - which I adore as a plot. This was not it. The hero seemed like a peacock, something the heroine knew and called him "dandy" for. She also used it to distract him from her purpose.
They mere existed in each other's vicinities, and their was hardly any romance until 70%. The sex scenes were fade to black, the banter was bland, and their pasts were hardly explored. I have so many questions but the book abruptly ended!
Disappointed is an understatement.
Safe
1.5/5
Ooooh. Disappointing.
The hero is a famous war hero, who is also infamous for falling in love with various women like a fool, and emptying his father's pockets. He is obsessed with his clothes, and spends way too much money on them. His father decides to reform him by giving him an ultimatum- six months to get married.
Anyways, he decides to travel to the wilds of Derbyshire to convince his friend, Lord Gordmor's neighbors to support the nobleman's proposal to build a canal. It is there he meets the older heroine- who is opposed to the canal, and who is as oblivious to her bad sense of dressing as she is to his attention.
Now, someone described this book as "reforming of a starchy character" - which I adore as a plot. This was not it. The hero seemed like a peacock, something the heroine knew and called him "dandy" for. She also used it to distract him from her purpose.
They mere existed in each other's vicinities, and their was hardly any romance until 70%. The sex scenes were fade to black, the banter was bland, and their pasts were hardly explored. I have so many questions but the book abruptly ended!
Disappointed is an understatement.
Safe
1.5/5
June 28, 2020
It felt a bit long - and meandering. I think the end pulled a lot of it together, but I’m not sure that I’m of the current mindset to put in so much to get what I got in return.
I do think there were some deeper elements deftly handled, but, my goodness, we wandered a bit to get there.
Ps - yes, the hero was incredibly sweet.
I do think there were some deeper elements deftly handled, but, my goodness, we wandered a bit to get there.
Ps - yes, the hero was incredibly sweet.
October 9, 2021
DNF
Wow! Bored At 70%
I Don't Care Enough To Find Out If These Two Can Resolve This Issue.
Wow! Bored At 70%
I Don't Care Enough To Find Out If These Two Can Resolve This Issue.
June 24, 2025
There is nothing like starting a new Loretta Chase series. And one can't be on bookstagram at all without seeing posts for the Carsingtons. So far so very good, I loved this book. Even though it was written a decade later (I think, it's sometimes hard to tell pub dates) it felt very much like Lord of Scoundrels with the chemistry, banter and vibe, which is my highest compliment.
Alistair is the son of an earl, back from the war (and suffering from PTSD and what sounds like a TBI). His best friend and business partner "knew or at least suspected that something had gone awry with Alistair's brain box, but they never spoke of it." He's devoted his two years since the war to being a total dandy. There's a great scene early on at his panic at being in a situation without the proper clothes that hints at something that pays off near the end of the book. His father is fed up with his dandy-ing ways and sends him off to either make a success at business or marry an heiress. Por que no los dos Chase asks?
Anyway, he meets Mirabel Oldridge when he comes to convince her father about his canal project, and like a proper Chase hero he is immediately knocked on his tushie by her. "She seemed to be the beginning and end of everything, from the sunrise halo of hair to the dusky blue of her eyes." and "he withdrew to a safe distance [...] and told himself to calm down."
These two just come together like magnets the whole book. They can't resist it, they both felt thunderstruck, it's lovely. She actually talks to him about his injury and his war experience, unlike any other person in his life. The number of references throughout this book of his brain injury that has been ignored or politely overlooked per the code of the time is amazing. In addition to the brain injury and nightmares, Alistair has a leg injury that acts as a metonymy for his injured self. He hates the scar, and the more he ignores it the worse it hurts. "'Does your leg pain you?' 'Not in the least,' he said while a spasm shot through his hip." She sees the whole him, injuries and all. "He was not used, he realizes, to anyone's taking the trouble. No one else looked deeper, past the elegant appearance and charm." And she sees and accepts his scar (aka him) without wanting him to be the whole or different man he was before the war. "She reached back and stroked the scar. When it wasn't actively harassing him, the pain always hovered in the background. Yet it retreated under her gentle touch. She didn't mind touching it or looking at it, though it was hideous, the gnarled, shiny lumpish skin."
I'm focused on the brain(box) injury and scar-as-stand-in because I thought it was so unusual and interesting. And anyway, there's a lot of Early Romance Side Plot And Villain in this book, and I won't give away any of the reveals about the other characters. Let's just say Alistair isn't the only one hiding behind a safety armor, and there's a little side-romance plot, and lots of banter. This series is off to a delightful start.
Alistair is the son of an earl, back from the war (and suffering from PTSD and what sounds like a TBI). His best friend and business partner "knew or at least suspected that something had gone awry with Alistair's brain box, but they never spoke of it." He's devoted his two years since the war to being a total dandy. There's a great scene early on at his panic at being in a situation without the proper clothes that hints at something that pays off near the end of the book. His father is fed up with his dandy-ing ways and sends him off to either make a success at business or marry an heiress. Por que no los dos Chase asks?
Anyway, he meets Mirabel Oldridge when he comes to convince her father about his canal project, and like a proper Chase hero he is immediately knocked on his tushie by her. "She seemed to be the beginning and end of everything, from the sunrise halo of hair to the dusky blue of her eyes." and "he withdrew to a safe distance [...] and told himself to calm down."
These two just come together like magnets the whole book. They can't resist it, they both felt thunderstruck, it's lovely. She actually talks to him about his injury and his war experience, unlike any other person in his life. The number of references throughout this book of his brain injury that has been ignored or politely overlooked per the code of the time is amazing. In addition to the brain injury and nightmares, Alistair has a leg injury that acts as a metonymy for his injured self. He hates the scar, and the more he ignores it the worse it hurts. "'Does your leg pain you?' 'Not in the least,' he said while a spasm shot through his hip." She sees the whole him, injuries and all. "He was not used, he realizes, to anyone's taking the trouble. No one else looked deeper, past the elegant appearance and charm." And she sees and accepts his scar (aka him) without wanting him to be the whole or different man he was before the war. "She reached back and stroked the scar. When it wasn't actively harassing him, the pain always hovered in the background. Yet it retreated under her gentle touch. She didn't mind touching it or looking at it, though it was hideous, the gnarled, shiny lumpish skin."
I'm focused on the brain(box) injury and scar-as-stand-in because I thought it was so unusual and interesting. And anyway, there's a lot of Early Romance Side Plot And Villain in this book, and I won't give away any of the reveals about the other characters. Let's just say Alistair isn't the only one hiding behind a safety armor, and there's a little side-romance plot, and lots of banter. This series is off to a delightful start.
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