Ask Me No Questions

The Tales of the Jewelled Men #3

by Patricia Veryan

While restoring an ancient mural at the estate of Sir Brian Chandler, Ruth Allington must deal with the master's arrogant--and devilishly handsome--son, the enigmatic Sir Gordon Chandler. Reprint.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, Georgian, Georgian Romance

328 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Patricia Valeria Bannister was born in London. After World War II, she married Allan Louis Berg and moved to the United States; she lived on the West Coast and was the author of many historical novels from 1978 until 2002, using the pen names Patricia Veryan and Gwyneth Moore.

At the time of her death, she was living in Bellevue, Washington, USA.

Reviews

[Misfit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this was good, even though a bit slow to build up to the final finish. Love this series and waiting to get my hands on the next one. Nice blend of romance, history derring-do and a truly evil batch of baddies conspiring to topple - well, we don't quite know yet what it is they're trying to accomplish.

[Tweety · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book three down! This is not a series to read out of order or with big lapses in-between, as each one builds on the next. So far, book one felt the most with the league of the jeweled men, book two had the best heroine, and this one wins the best little heroes. Twins! However in all of the books, my favorite characters have been Falcon and Morris, it's because of them and wanting to see what happens next that I move on to the next book in the series. Later I may do a proper review.

[Christa Schönmann Abbühl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gordon Chandler is a favorite of mine. He outshines his brother Quentin in Practice to Deceive, and proves himself the best of friends when he is loyal to Tony Farrar in Love Alters Not. He is loyal and steadfast, less flamboyant than some of the other heroes in Veryan‘s books, but in a way that makes his story even more romantic.

It makes sense that the women he falls in love with is on the quiet side, too. And that he forgives her again and again for the (understandable) deceptions.

The lady he is promised to is quite the villainess. Veryan uses her to show the superiority of our heroine, who even through all her lies is of course a pure and angelic person. Luckily even the perfect Ruth does have some flaws, or she would be a total bore.

But back to the villainess: Veryan probably meant it as a sign of the lady‘s base nature that she was so obviously titillated by Gordon‘s highhanded treatment of her in the last part of the book. I was amused by those scenes, as in a modern romance this could have lead to some amazing sexy times ;-)

Once again we have some cute animals, engaging children, loyal retainers, and interesting father-son dynamics. Also: Falcon and Morris to the rescue.

[Mela · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun! Patricia Veryan was a great storyteller. I just couldn't take my eyes away. Really. They started to hurt. I was so gripped that I didn't notice when I read dozens of pages.

The romance was full of obstacles and misunderstandings. The mystery was well intertwined with the whole series. Great main and supporting characters (even such as Mr. Aymer). I have the feeling that Veryan (like G. Heyer) first created characters then the story. Thanks to this, all is such consistent.

The twins - how good they fitted to the story.

And of course: Morris and Falcon! The scene when they talked and fight in the chapel... Oh my... A masterpiece of comedy.

At the end, I just wanted so much to hug the book. But I was reading it online on Open Library and I was, unluckily, alone home at that time. Only my cat slept nearby. So, I hugged him ;-) He was a little surprised but fortunately, he is accustomed to my sometimes odd behavior.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bumped this up a star since my first read. Reading these in order has really added to my appreciation the all of the novels, for the most part. I save my 3 star ratings for Veryans that really were not up to snuff. And this was quite good. I remember thinking Gordon was a bit of a stick in the mud, but this was not my impression this time around. Ruth was still a little mild and fairly unremarkable despite the fact that she had an unusual background and an actual profession. But I liked her. I liked the progression of the Jewelled Man mystery and the appearances of our continuing characters: August Falcon, Jamie, Gwen, and Katrina. This was not as humorous as some of the entries, and the adventure and danger didn’t seem quite as urgent or threatening. But frankly this was a relief. Veryan can really put her characters (and her readers) through the mill. Gordon’s entanglement with the evil Nadia was fairly short lived, thanks to August Falcon setting her up to show her true colors. After she snared him again, she let him go again with scarcely a fight. Although this might be counted as a flaw by some, after some of the nail-bitingly painful relationship problems some of our previous heroes had to go through, this was a plus for me. The set up to the next in the series, my personal sentimental favorite and my first Veryan, A Shadow’s Bliss, has me strongly anticipating it. I am pretty sure it will live up to my memories.

[Marian.brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. It was fun to have the story told more from the perspective of the female character, even though the main plot is based on the male character. I enjoyed the story - and there were twins in it!!!

[Saadia Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruth Arlington's family are victims of the League's scheming and now left alone in the world with 5 year old twin nephews and a tainted family reputation, Ruth must hide her identity to secure their future. With the help of our beloved dynamic duo Morris and Falcon (without Falcon's knowledge) she secures a position at the Chandler's estate to the disapproval of many, including Gordon Chandler, because she is a woman in a "mans post".

With the mischief from the twins, the hatred between Ruth and Gordon (which eventually turns to love), a scheming fiancé, plus our usual favourite characters from the previous instalments, there's always something happening. Not to mention the famous Farrier making his appearance.

I was pleasantly surprised by this third instalment of the series. This book definitely focuses more on the romance narrative with just enough of the "League of Jewelled Men" to keep it in accord with the rest of the series. So far, this is definitely my favourite of the three I've read.

[Lady Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have re-read this more than some of the others.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

While actually being a Georgian setting rather than a Regency setting, I don't want to add another shelf because they are rather similar reading.

[SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one with a lot of action in the end.
Romance was sweet.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have not read books 1 or 2 and so quite a bit of this story held no interest for me. Also I got pretty sick of "duty" in this book.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was a nail-biter at times. The best story and Mcs so far in the series.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do not read these books out of order. It is difficult to keep all of the characters sorted even if the books are read in order. There are so many strong personalities in and out of these books with references constantly to books that were read five and six installments back. This is a continuation of the golden series and that one needs to be read before this one. Taking all of this into consideration, it is a very readable series. I would like to just keep the books I gave four and five stars to, this will be impossible because of all the references between the two series and the many installments. I’m going to put all the books into a box and label it and put it under my bed and pull it out in about five years and enjoy it once more.

Just as good the second time through.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps because I started in the middle of the series (I couldn't figure out which one was the beginning), I couldn't get into this book. At the beginning I couldn't keep all the characters straight. The characters seemed like they were brought in from Central Casting and there was no wit or edge to their personalities. Also, I felt that the setting and period details weren't thoroughly drawn in. I kept wanting to superimpose a Regency backdrop and had to keep reminding myself--this is the mid-1700s. It has the general feel of a Jane-Austen read-alike, but came off more as a Harlequin historical with more verbal density. Not awful, but not a lot of fun.

[Brainorgan]

Ask Me No Questions by Patricia Veryan (1994)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this series is finally starting to pick up a little. I enjoyed this one a little more than the others.

[Han · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing...

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haven't picked up Veryan for a looong time. Glowering heroes and independent ladies and snappy dialogue.

Beach read!