A forty-year-old mystery may bring two lonely people together or tear them apart, forever.
When the Earl of Wraysbury rescues a young woman from a carriage accident, he can't resist her laughing eyes and wry sense of humor, even though their families have been locked in a feud for generations.
Anemone may be achingly lonely but she's loyal to her family. When she wakes up after an accident in the strong arms of a handsome stranger, she's immediately drawn to him, and appalled when she discovers he's her family's sworn enemy, the Earl of Wraysbury.
Neither Anemone nor the earl is prepared for the flaring attraction they feel, or for the escalation of the war between their families when a 40-year-old mystery triggers accusations of murder. Loyalty and the threat of a dangerous duel are destined to tear the lonely lovers apart unless they are willing to defy their families and take a chance on love.
Amy Corwin is a charter member of the Romance Writers of America and recently joined Mystery Writers of America. She has been writing for the last ten years and managing a career as an enterprise systems administrator in the computer industry. She writes Regencies/historicals, mysteries, and contemporary paranormals. To be truthful, most of her books include a bit of murder and mayhem since she discovered that killing off at least one character is a highly effective way to make the remaining ones toe the plot line. Amy’s books include the two Regency romances, SMUGGLED ROSE, and LOVE, THE CRITIC; three Regency romantic mysteries, I BID ONE AMERICAN, THE BRICKLAYER’S HELPER, and THE NECKLACE; and her first paranormal, VAMPIRE PROTECTOR. WHACKED!, a contemporary mystery from Five Star, will be out in 2012, and her most current historical mysteries include THE VITAL PRINCIPLE--a Second Sons Mystery.
I think this is my favorite so far. John Archer and Lady Vee again make an appearance, but Archer shows his more cunning rather than ornery side, a development I enjoyed.
Anemone is the eldest of her sisters and the only one unwed. Her friends have started having babies and it makes Anemone feel the ache of being on the shelf most strongly. She flees to her aunt and uncle’s house, where things are uncomfortable in a different way. Her uncle is feuding with Frederick Archer, the son of the man responsible for winning Comstock Hall in a game of poker, leaving her aunt and uncle with very little. AND the man keeps trying to steal her uncle’s flower. This makes Comstock frequently livid, with Anemone and her aunt frequently trying to quell his ire.
Lord Wraysbury has come to visit his cousin, Frederick, with the mission of mending the rift with the black sheep of the family. He is finding it difficult since he finds he doesn’t like Frederick very much. Something about him feels off, like he’s hiding something. He meets Anemone after church, when he saves her from being trampled. And so the romance is begun.
Like ‘A Lady in Hiding,’ there is a mystery to be solved: is the 40-year-old mystery about the wager true? John Archer finds the story fishy, especially with both men disappearing after the wager, abandoning their families when they fled.
For me, the mystery was better than ‘ALIH’ in that when the answer to the mystery is revealed, it wasn’t whom I expected. I often have a strong inkling of the culprit, but this time I was surprised :) Thinking back, there were some subtle clues, but they only became clues in hindsight.
Hopefully we will see this pair in subsequent books :) Overall, a solidly enjoyable reading experience.
A very light historical romance / mystery that's really well paced, and just intriguing enough to have me overlook the many things I don't like about this genre typically! (That pretty much sums up the series for me, actually!)
I think this installment of the Archer Family series is a little weaker than #3 - the characters (especially the older male characters) are all a bit caricature-ish, and the plot is a little thin. The dialogue leaned heavily towards an idea of what people back then sounded like and thought, rather than seeming realistic. And the romance again was a little underdeveloped - it felt as though it was just assumed that the two main characters would fall in love and be together, rather than showing us how they might be attracted to each other, and giving us real stakes.
As always though, these are nitpicks from me, a person who doesn't usually read this type of book (unless it's LGBT - then I'm all over it, man!). Obviously there's something about the writing style that keeps me coming back, as I've read 4 of these now... So I'd say if this author / series can keep me reading, an actual fan of this genre would certainly enjoy these books.
I liked the mystery aspect of this story. Two men are gambling one night and they both vanish, abandoning their families. Someone searches the rooms of one of the men and find the IOU for the home and land of the other man from the card game. So the house and estate go to the first man's son. The only one to stand to gain anything from the disappearance of these men. But that is too obvious. So I kept watching for hints at who it might be. I liked that it did not turn out to be the obvious person. Who likes an obvious and straight forward mystery?
I liked the Earl, who seemed easy going with a sense of humor, and Anemone is a young woman of her time but also with a little bit of spirit and spunk. She doesn't jump to a lot of wrong conclusions so much as her aunt helps her come to wrong conclusions in order to 'help' her to avoid a broken heart.
This fourth book in the Archer series is the perfect blend of mystery and romance. Anemone considers herself well on the way to spinsterhood. She has had three proposals of marriage but even the youngest of the gentlemen is old enough to be her grandfather. Her parents send her to the country to stay for a while with Aunt Marigold and Uncle Albert Comstock. She finds herself embroiled in a 40 year old feud with the next door neighbor, Frederick Archer. When her life is saved by a handsome Earl, she is discouraged to find out that he is an Archer, cousin to her hated neighbor. These books are delightful, witty, and well written with great characters, both good and bad. I look forward to the last book in this series!
I didn't realise this was the fourth book in a series until I started reading it. The story began in the middle of a conversation and I had to go back to the start to make sure some pages weren't missing. As a teenager, I loved books set in Regent times, Georgette Heyer and Barbara Cartland being my favourite authors at the time, but from the start A Stolen Rose never appealed to me.
I loathed Albert Comstock with his hot, pigheaded temper and Anemone's name grated on me. The romance between her and the Earl of Wraybury happened far too quickly and was too under-developed to be believable. Suffice to say, I won't be bothering with any other books by this author.
I enjoyed this light mystery in the Archer family series. They really don't have to be read in any order--each book features a different member of the extended Archer family. In this one, the olive branch is extended to the black sheep of the family. Unfortunately it isn't well received. Add a stolen rose bush, gambled manor house, decades old skeletons found by accident & you have the right recipe for an entertaining read.
I continue to be charmed and entertained by the Archer Family Series. This one, of course, also contains a mystery involving two families and it has a bit of a Hatfields and McCoys storyline. In spite of this 40 year old feud, Enemene is drawn to one of the Archer family, Lord Wrayford who seems to often be looking at her with a twinkle in his eye. A sweet romance without any saccharine. Definitely recommended.
A Stolen Rose (The Archer Family Regency Romances Book 4)
The love story of Wraybury and Anemone. Anemone is visiting her Aunt Marigolds and uncle Albert at the Dower House. Comstock family move to the Dower House 40 years ago when his father lost the Comstock Hall to Frederick Archers' father and then disappeared. Can Wraybury solve a 40 years old mystery?
The English seems to get a perverse joy in slaughtering other languages. The narrator for this book is no exception. Never once pronounce Anemone correctly. Always sounded like AN EN-oh-mee. Horribly distracting to an otherwise great story.
The really interesting book. Some things are predictable but they didn't bother me and there was one thing where I was at able to predict closer to the end which took me by surprise and I really enjoyed it.
This book has a lot of flaws for me. The characters were poorly developed and one dimensional. The romance wasn’t really developed. Too many feelings too little substance. The mystery was almost fun but a tad too obvious. There were moments that were overly descriptive and others that were severely lacking in detail. There were problems with continuity and consistency. Often times people would be described in a completely different way than they had been described previously in the story. Like the uncle being deemed as having a cheery disposition in the latter part of the book when up until that point I had been under the impression that he was a fairly angry person with ruddy features, which is kinda the opposite is it not? Overall I wanted to just kick back and enjoy a fluff story that required no brain power and this book almost fit the bill. The glaring imperfections were distracting and disappointing however.
I love the little mystery involved with the Regency Romance sprinkled with humor. This is number 4 and I can't wait to read the rest of this author's talent!
A Stolen Rose by Amy Corwin Archer Family Series Book Four Harnet Archer, Earl of Wraysbury had been sent to his cousin's home. A cousin whose family has been considered black sheep of the Archer family. Things definitely look as they may not be as they seem. A forty-year-old mystery becomes even more mysterious.
Anemone Comstock is going to be a spinster. She has nothing to entice a man. She is plain, has freckles, and red hair. Not to forget her lack of any title holding relatives and no dowry. So when she meets the handsome earl, she tries to tell herself to keep away. Only it seems her heart isn't listening very well.
I just love this Archer Series. Romance with a serving of mystery on the side. John Archer is first introduced in the prequel; The Necklace. He seems to get himself in the lives of all his younger...single...relatives. **Mild language http://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com/...
This story is about two families with a 40 year old on-going feud. I did not see the outcome of the story coming. I was so focused on other details. Of course, there is the love story. It is well written and mentions the other series the author has written. I found that a little amusing. I like how some characters are intertwined from other books. I'm reading this series- but out of order. So far I'm alright as reading them as stand alones but do not know if reading them in order would be better or not?
The h in this installment irritated the shit out of me. For the first half of her interactions with the H she comes across as an idiot, or an asshole. Not sure why he liked her. She was cool to everyone else, but not so much him. It was a little odd. My least favorite in the series, but still worth reading.
Each book by Amy Corwin is a delight. I am enjoying the continuity of characters in common and also enjoying new characters and decidedly different circumstances.
A very pleasant way to while away some time. Well written, with a delight hero. The heroine was somehow lacking but the secondary characters are mostly well drawn and there is a twist at the end.