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Dashing Widows #3
Winning Lord West
All rakes are the same! Except when they’re not…
Spirited Helena, Countess of Crewe, knows all about profligate rakes; she was married to one for nine years and still bears the scars. Now this Dashing Widow plans a life of glorious freedom where she does just what she wishes – and nobody will ever hurt her again. So what is she to do when that handsome scoundrel Lord West sets out to make her his wife? Say no, of course. Which is fine, until West focuses all his sensual skills on changing her mind. And West’s sensual skills are renowned far and wide as utterly irresistible…
Passionate persuasion!
Vernon Grange, Lord West, has long been estranged from his headstrong first love, Helena Nash, but he’s always regretted that he didn’t step in to prevent her disastrous marriage. Now Helena is free, and this time, come hell or high water, West won’t let her escape him again. His weapon of choice is seduction, and in this particular game, he’s an acknowledged master. Now that he and Helena are under one roof at the year’s most glamorous house party, he intends to counter her every argument with breathtaking pleasure. Could it be that Lady Crewe’s dashing days are numbered?
Spirited Helena, Countess of Crewe, knows all about profligate rakes; she was married to one for nine years and still bears the scars. Now this Dashing Widow plans a life of glorious freedom where she does just what she wishes – and nobody will ever hurt her again. So what is she to do when that handsome scoundrel Lord West sets out to make her his wife? Say no, of course. Which is fine, until West focuses all his sensual skills on changing her mind. And West’s sensual skills are renowned far and wide as utterly irresistible…
Passionate persuasion!
Vernon Grange, Lord West, has long been estranged from his headstrong first love, Helena Nash, but he’s always regretted that he didn’t step in to prevent her disastrous marriage. Now Helena is free, and this time, come hell or high water, West won’t let her escape him again. His weapon of choice is seduction, and in this particular game, he’s an acknowledged master. Now that he and Helena are under one roof at the year’s most glamorous house party, he intends to counter her every argument with breathtaking pleasure. Could it be that Lady Crewe’s dashing days are numbered?
161 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 30, 2016
326 people are currently reading
388 people want to read
About the author
Anna Campbell
91 books1,574 followersI've written 53 bestselling historical romances: 11 multi-award winning books for Hachette Grand Central Publishing and Avon HarperCollins, and more than 40 as an independently published author, These include my popular series The Sons of Sin (6 books), The Dashing Widows (7 books), The Lairds Most Likely (10 books), A Scandal in Mayfair (4 books), and Scoundrels of Mayfair (4 books). My new series, Cinderellas of Mayfair, launched with Sir Hugo Seeks a Wife in 2025.
When I'm not touring the world seeking inspiration for my passionate stories, I live on the beautiful east coast of Australia.
I've always been a voracious reader and I delve into many different genres, as you'll see if you check out my books list. Favorite authors include Dorothy Dunnett, Elly Griffiths, K.J. Charles, and Loretta Chase.
My website is http://www.annacampbell.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annacampbell...
Twitter: AnnaCampbellOz
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Campbell/...
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/anna-...
I love to hear from readers and you can contact me on AnnaCampbellOz@hotmail.com
When I'm not touring the world seeking inspiration for my passionate stories, I live on the beautiful east coast of Australia.
I've always been a voracious reader and I delve into many different genres, as you'll see if you check out my books list. Favorite authors include Dorothy Dunnett, Elly Griffiths, K.J. Charles, and Loretta Chase.
My website is http://www.annacampbell.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annacampbell...
Twitter: AnnaCampbellOz
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Campbell/...
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/anna-...
I love to hear from readers and you can contact me on AnnaCampbellOz@hotmail.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
May 2, 2016
Here's a late news announcement...Speaking to Anna Campbell recently, I've found out that what I assumed was the last in the Dashing Widows series, is actually not. I am happy to say there will be more. Looks like I got what I wanted after all.
Helena can certainly hold a grudge.
Dash it!! Darn it!! DAMN!! I hate it when a series you love comes to an end. Finishing Winning Lord West meant that the Dashing Widows were all darn well HAPPY. How dare they? I wanted more.
Helena’s dead husband was a douchewaffle. He married Helena for her dowry and didn’t even wait until after the wedding trip to break his vows. Helena spent many years being faithful to a wastrel and a rake. It was not easy for Helena seeing people look at her with sympathy or contempt. When Crewe, the skuzzbucket, eventually dies in a hunting accident, Helena is relieved. Unfortunately, she is left with emotional scars, a need to keep men away and no desire to remarry.
Lord West is Helena’s brother, Silas', best friend and had been for many years. West and Helena had a very brief love affair…well, more of a kissing connection when Helena was sixteen and West eighteen. He knew he was too young to commit and so the “relationship” ended. One time on a visit with Silas, he brought a friend from Oxford for a visit. That friend was Crewe and West regrets the introduction as Helena blames him for her years in hell. Funny thing is, West realises that if he can’t manage to talk her into forgiving him, he may never find a happy and fulfilling marriage…especially seeing as he's convinced he loves her.
West returns from a diplomatic trip, but unfortunately, he is unwell. This doesn’t stop him from putting his plans in place to make Helena forgive him and hopefully marry him. Fighting a sickness that comes and goes makes his wooing a little hard to manage. Helena finally agrees to an affair but only if he stops going on about marrying her.
Winning Lord West was a very steamy read with a love story that spans decades. Helena found young love with West, then thought she found mature love in Crewe. Her years of marriage soon made her think that love was for fools…or anyone else besides herself. Crewe never satisfied her in the marriage bed and he made her think it was all her fault. West takes up the challenge of proving that Crewe was an idiot, and soon their heated encounters bring out feeling neither can deny.
The Dashing Widows has been a great series. The three widows all lead very different lives and had very different marriages. None of them were especially looking for love but ended up having it fall practically in their laps. Winning Lord West was not my favourite in the series, but I think that was because Helena comes across as a very brittle woman who uses sarcasm as a barrier to keep unwanted emotion away.
I’m hoping Anna Campbell is planning another series like this. I loved that they were short, affordable, interesting and steamy. I can read one of these novellas in a couple of hours and get the historical romance hit I love.
To buy Winning Lord West for $0.99 from Amazon - http://amzn.to/1NKZbqS
I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -
May 13, 2016
Helena Wade, Countess Crewe, the last of the original Dashing Widows, is losing the battle waged by Lord West to win her affection. She hasn't forgiven him for introducing and seemingly endorsing the horrible man she ended up marrying. They have a wonderful past, however, stemming from when they grew up together. But, he's slowly but certainly melting those barriers.
Helena is spirited, feisty, intellectual and incredibly interesting, as is Lord West. They're perfectly matched and their witty repartee was fun to read. She's bitterly damaged by her philandering former husband and West's dismantling of those crusty layers was clever and seductive. And, these two brought the steam.
I loved these two and thought the story created for them was outstanding. Helena's resistance was realistic and well founded. West's resilience was in tandem with his nature and we didn't have to suffer a protracted dance for long. It was also nice to have the earlier secondary characters be major factors in the story. This is a wonderful series! 4.5 stars
(I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review)
Helena is spirited, feisty, intellectual and incredibly interesting, as is Lord West. They're perfectly matched and their witty repartee was fun to read. She's bitterly damaged by her philandering former husband and West's dismantling of those crusty layers was clever and seductive. And, these two brought the steam.
I loved these two and thought the story created for them was outstanding. Helena's resistance was realistic and well founded. West's resilience was in tandem with his nature and we didn't have to suffer a protracted dance for long. It was also nice to have the earlier secondary characters be major factors in the story. This is a wonderful series! 4.5 stars
(I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review)
November 4, 2016
“…why don’t we all leave our old, sad days behind? Why don’t we all become dashing widows?”
Anna Campbell’s charming Dashing Widows series features three, young, widowed friends – Caroline, Lady Beaumont, Fenella, Lady Deerham and Helena, Countess of Crewe – who decide they need a little adventure in their lives and this is Helena’s story.
I like how the novella is divided into three parts – The Challenge, Letters and The Wooing – each representing a stage in the developing romance between Helena and West.
The Challenge
To persuade Helena that he truly loves her and that he is nothing like her late degenerate rake of a husband – this is the challenge facing West. Not an easy task since he is the last person Helena would ever consider marrying!
Long ago she’d placed Vernon Grange in a box marked “hazardous.” And that was where she wanted him to stay.
As young sweethearts, Helena had imagined herself in love with West, until he went off to Oxford and promptly forgot her.
On a trip to visit his friend Silas, Helena’s brother, West brings an old school chum, Lord Crewe, whom Helena falls for and marries. But she soon discovers that her husband is a self-centred, deceitful rake and her nine miserable years of marriage leave her emotionally scarred. Helena blames her years of unhappiness on West for introducing her to Lord Crewe.
Helen sees West as another philandering rake just like her late husband.
I have lot of sympathy for Helena. West was her first love and it hurt when he went away without any explanation. I think she unfairly blamed him for all the years of unhappiness because she was unwilling to admit that she had been foolish and naive enough to be taken in by a blackguard’s wiles.
To be fair to West, at eighteen, he knew he was too young to commit to Helena and needed time to see the world and when he finally realised that Helena was the woman for him, it was too late. He has regretted it ever since, especially knowing just what Helena’s life with Crewe was like.
Before he can put his plans to win Helena over into action, he is sent on a diplomatic mission to Russia.
Letters
I LOVE the letters that West and Helena exchange while he is in Russia. They are hilariously funny! Here are a couple of snippets:
…I also wish you were here because I find myself missing you and all your prickles. I’ll think of you as my dear little hedgehog. There, does that not melt your heart?
Tomorrow the ambassador presents me to his Imperial Majesty, the Tsar. I’m sure you’ll want to hear about that, so I hope you won’t tear up the letter the moment arrives.
With my dearest wishes.
West
My lord,
Kindly desist from writing to me. As I consign any correspondence from you to the drawing room fire, all you’re doing is supplying me with exotic kindling. Your activities are of no interest and I’d prefer that we returned to being polite strangers. That relationship has served us well since we both grew up. At least I grew up. Nothing I’ve seen indicates that you have.
Not yours.
Helena, Lady Crewe
The Wooing
Having returned from Russia, West and Helena are thrown together when they both attend Silas’s wedding to Caroline. It’s the perfect opportunity for West to woo Helena in earnest and I love the to and fro between them.
By God, she was a delight. Despite his maneuvering, she wasn’t near defeated. The dance would go on, and if he didn’t concentrate on every step, he’d stumble in a heap.
I adore West. He cares so much for Helena and wants to cherish and protect her and would give his right arm to see her experience real happiness, something she hasn’t known for such a long time. There is a very emotional scene where Helena reveals much about the physical side of her marriage and West’s reactions and words make her realise how much she has misjudged him; he is not at all like her husband. She decides that, although she has no intention of marrying, she wants to experience the sexual pleasure denied to her during her marriage and West is more than willing to oblige. At first, she’s afraid but comes to the realisation that she’s safe with him. I loved seeing a bolder, more confident Helena testing her wiles on West and I enjoyed their delightful repartee. Ms Campbell always writes love scenes that are both emotional and sensual.
Helena’s continued refusal to consider marriage puts their happy ever after in jeopardy and it takes a life threatening situation to make her see how much West means to her.
But only now, when she battled alone against this enemy, did she understand that she might lose him.
Suddenly that seemed the worst blow fate could deal her. Crueler by far than an unhappy marriage. How precious he was. How precious he’d always been.
Just when I thought everything in the garden was rosy, Ms Campbell puts another stumbling block in their path but, as with all good romances, everything is resolved in a most satisfactory way with the added pleasure of reading a very enjoyable Epilogue.
I was pleased to see that there are to be further books in this series.
MY VERDICT: An absolutely delightful novella and definitely my favourite in the series so far.
REVIEW RATING: 5/5 STARS
Dashing Widows series so far (click on book covers for more details):
**My sincere thanks to Anna Campbell for sending me a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.**
This review is also posted om my Rakes and Rascals Blog:
https://rakesandrascals.wordpress.com...
Anna Campbell’s charming Dashing Widows series features three, young, widowed friends – Caroline, Lady Beaumont, Fenella, Lady Deerham and Helena, Countess of Crewe – who decide they need a little adventure in their lives and this is Helena’s story.
I like how the novella is divided into three parts – The Challenge, Letters and The Wooing – each representing a stage in the developing romance between Helena and West.
The Challenge
To persuade Helena that he truly loves her and that he is nothing like her late degenerate rake of a husband – this is the challenge facing West. Not an easy task since he is the last person Helena would ever consider marrying!
Long ago she’d placed Vernon Grange in a box marked “hazardous.” And that was where she wanted him to stay.
As young sweethearts, Helena had imagined herself in love with West, until he went off to Oxford and promptly forgot her.
On a trip to visit his friend Silas, Helena’s brother, West brings an old school chum, Lord Crewe, whom Helena falls for and marries. But she soon discovers that her husband is a self-centred, deceitful rake and her nine miserable years of marriage leave her emotionally scarred. Helena blames her years of unhappiness on West for introducing her to Lord Crewe.
Helen sees West as another philandering rake just like her late husband.
I have lot of sympathy for Helena. West was her first love and it hurt when he went away without any explanation. I think she unfairly blamed him for all the years of unhappiness because she was unwilling to admit that she had been foolish and naive enough to be taken in by a blackguard’s wiles.
To be fair to West, at eighteen, he knew he was too young to commit to Helena and needed time to see the world and when he finally realised that Helena was the woman for him, it was too late. He has regretted it ever since, especially knowing just what Helena’s life with Crewe was like.
Before he can put his plans to win Helena over into action, he is sent on a diplomatic mission to Russia.
Letters
I LOVE the letters that West and Helena exchange while he is in Russia. They are hilariously funny! Here are a couple of snippets:
…I also wish you were here because I find myself missing you and all your prickles. I’ll think of you as my dear little hedgehog. There, does that not melt your heart?
Tomorrow the ambassador presents me to his Imperial Majesty, the Tsar. I’m sure you’ll want to hear about that, so I hope you won’t tear up the letter the moment arrives.
With my dearest wishes.
West
My lord,
Kindly desist from writing to me. As I consign any correspondence from you to the drawing room fire, all you’re doing is supplying me with exotic kindling. Your activities are of no interest and I’d prefer that we returned to being polite strangers. That relationship has served us well since we both grew up. At least I grew up. Nothing I’ve seen indicates that you have.
Not yours.
Helena, Lady Crewe
The Wooing
Having returned from Russia, West and Helena are thrown together when they both attend Silas’s wedding to Caroline. It’s the perfect opportunity for West to woo Helena in earnest and I love the to and fro between them.
By God, she was a delight. Despite his maneuvering, she wasn’t near defeated. The dance would go on, and if he didn’t concentrate on every step, he’d stumble in a heap.
I adore West. He cares so much for Helena and wants to cherish and protect her and would give his right arm to see her experience real happiness, something she hasn’t known for such a long time. There is a very emotional scene where Helena reveals much about the physical side of her marriage and West’s reactions and words make her realise how much she has misjudged him; he is not at all like her husband. She decides that, although she has no intention of marrying, she wants to experience the sexual pleasure denied to her during her marriage and West is more than willing to oblige. At first, she’s afraid but comes to the realisation that she’s safe with him. I loved seeing a bolder, more confident Helena testing her wiles on West and I enjoyed their delightful repartee. Ms Campbell always writes love scenes that are both emotional and sensual.
Helena’s continued refusal to consider marriage puts their happy ever after in jeopardy and it takes a life threatening situation to make her see how much West means to her.
But only now, when she battled alone against this enemy, did she understand that she might lose him.
Suddenly that seemed the worst blow fate could deal her. Crueler by far than an unhappy marriage. How precious he was. How precious he’d always been.
Just when I thought everything in the garden was rosy, Ms Campbell puts another stumbling block in their path but, as with all good romances, everything is resolved in a most satisfactory way with the added pleasure of reading a very enjoyable Epilogue.
I was pleased to see that there are to be further books in this series.
MY VERDICT: An absolutely delightful novella and definitely my favourite in the series so far.
REVIEW RATING: 5/5 STARS
Dashing Widows series so far (click on book covers for more details):
**My sincere thanks to Anna Campbell for sending me a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.**
This review is also posted om my Rakes and Rascals Blog:
https://rakesandrascals.wordpress.com...
May 23, 2022
Another absolutely wonderful regency romance yarn penned by the fabulous Anna Campbell. Oh yes, a rakish and ripping read, indeed!
The author has given the reader warm and striking characters in the Dashing Widows series. They are fun and full of life it would be a blast to live in their world, even for just a day.
The letters Helena and Lord West wrote to each other had me breaking into hoots of laughter. Deliciously facetious.
Helena is one stubborn heroine and Lord West is the dashing, unrelenting hero, and something of a rake… pursuing and wooing Helena until he falls ill which alters his plans.
Loved the epilogue it finished off the story very nicely, however, that’s not the end of the Dashing Widows there are 4 more books in this fetching series, 7 books all up. Yay!
The author has given the reader warm and striking characters in the Dashing Widows series. They are fun and full of life it would be a blast to live in their world, even for just a day.
The letters Helena and Lord West wrote to each other had me breaking into hoots of laughter. Deliciously facetious.
Helena is one stubborn heroine and Lord West is the dashing, unrelenting hero, and something of a rake… pursuing and wooing Helena until he falls ill which alters his plans.
Loved the epilogue it finished off the story very nicely, however, that’s not the end of the Dashing Widows there are 4 more books in this fetching series, 7 books all up. Yay!
January 21, 2019
Solid 3.5/5 stars.
A sweet, sensual and well plotted novella about second chances between a heartbroken and jaded Widow and the rake she'd loved as a young girl. Despite being a novella the book felt complete to me, and I wasn't left thinking it was just too short. The romance and connection between the characters was truly well done, and you feel their emotional connect almost as much as you would in a full flegded novel.
My only complaints are how the book starts straight to the point, without giving is literally no introduction to the cast of characters. It's quite shocking when you've not read the previous books and struggle for the first chapter to make sense of all the relations and plot points. Eventually of course it became clear, and the author did spend most of the time on the main couple. I still feel it's important for authors to allow a book to be a stand-alone as well.
The love scenes are explicit and well written so that was a surprise. I do think they were a little rushed, but the author does a good job of setting up their attraction to each other.
I've not rated it too high simply because I feel the writing could be a little better. Not that it's bad, but considering the emotions I should have felt at the insecurities the heroine carried, I didn't feel it as much. I can only imagine how explosive that angst would have been in the hands of a Caroline Linden or an Elizabeth Hoyt.
A sweet, sensual and well plotted novella about second chances between a heartbroken and jaded Widow and the rake she'd loved as a young girl. Despite being a novella the book felt complete to me, and I wasn't left thinking it was just too short. The romance and connection between the characters was truly well done, and you feel their emotional connect almost as much as you would in a full flegded novel.
My only complaints are how the book starts straight to the point, without giving is literally no introduction to the cast of characters. It's quite shocking when you've not read the previous books and struggle for the first chapter to make sense of all the relations and plot points. Eventually of course it became clear, and the author did spend most of the time on the main couple. I still feel it's important for authors to allow a book to be a stand-alone as well.
The love scenes are explicit and well written so that was a surprise. I do think they were a little rushed, but the author does a good job of setting up their attraction to each other.
I've not rated it too high simply because I feel the writing could be a little better. Not that it's bad, but considering the emotions I should have felt at the insecurities the heroine carried, I didn't feel it as much. I can only imagine how explosive that angst would have been in the hands of a Caroline Linden or an Elizabeth Hoyt.
February 14, 2022
One of the best second chance romances I’ve read in a long time. This story grabbed hold of my heart and squeezed!
September 13, 2019
This was another decent read and probably my fave from this series so far. Still, I won't be reading the next installments, at least for the time being. Maybe it's due to the novella format but I'm just not getting the things I usually love in historical romance from these ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
September 1, 2020
Re-read update: I'm leaving the rating as is. It is 3.5. I found Helena to be harder to like the second time around. Though I found other exchanges between the friends to have more impact now that I'd read all the stories. In that regard, I enjoyed the richness. And the epilogue was really nice :)
Original review:
Winning Lord West is the third novella in Anna Campbell's Dashing Widows mini-series and the first one I've tried. I have since gone back to get the first one and am also awaiting the release of the fourth.
This short story is about Helena, a widow who was married to a man who slept around and humiliated her, and Lord West, a rakish man who has since settled down after missing his chance to claim Helena. Now that she is a widow, he isn't going to let her slip through his fingers again. I will be honest, I enjoy the trope of "I've loved you forever" and the guy pursues the woman. With that said, I liked how Anna Campbell delivered here.
This was a steamy little story with Helena slowly succumbing to Lord West's charms (I am going to keep calling him West because his given name is Vernon which is....not sexy to my ears). West was awesome. He was patient, direct, and charming and I adored him from the beginning. Helena was harder to like, but when it came down to the wire and West was ill, she really pulled through and her transformation made her extremely compelling and won me over at the end.
Overall, this was a fun read and one I'd recommend for a short piece of fluff, especially for the price of $0.99!
Thank you to Andrea for the short buddy read company! I think we finally found a winner!
Original review:
Winning Lord West is the third novella in Anna Campbell's Dashing Widows mini-series and the first one I've tried. I have since gone back to get the first one and am also awaiting the release of the fourth.
This short story is about Helena, a widow who was married to a man who slept around and humiliated her, and Lord West, a rakish man who has since settled down after missing his chance to claim Helena. Now that she is a widow, he isn't going to let her slip through his fingers again. I will be honest, I enjoy the trope of "I've loved you forever" and the guy pursues the woman. With that said, I liked how Anna Campbell delivered here.
This was a steamy little story with Helena slowly succumbing to Lord West's charms (I am going to keep calling him West because his given name is Vernon which is....not sexy to my ears). West was awesome. He was patient, direct, and charming and I adored him from the beginning. Helena was harder to like, but when it came down to the wire and West was ill, she really pulled through and her transformation made her extremely compelling and won me over at the end.
Overall, this was a fun read and one I'd recommend for a short piece of fluff, especially for the price of $0.99!
Thank you to Andrea for the short buddy read company! I think we finally found a winner!
May 7, 2016
Anna Campbell's books evoke really satisfying emotions in her readers. Speaking strictly as a fan girl of Anna's books, she is one of my top five favorite writers which says alot, since I have been reading Historical Romance novels for 25 years. I have never been disappointed after reading one of her books. And this novella speaks for itself. This is the third book in the Dashing Widows series. I loved all three equally.
Helena is the most stubborn of the three widows. Her dead husband was a real low life who made her life miserable. She will never remarry and especially not Vernon Grange who was her first sweetheart and was the one who introduced her to her husband.
Vernon Grange, Lord West is in love with Helena and wants nothing more than to give her the fulfilling happy life she deserves. Helena wants nothing to do with Lord West and she unfairly blames him for bringing her low life husband into her life. Will she forgive him and let him back into her life or will she reject him without giving him a chance?
You also get to catch up with the other Widows and how happy they are in their marriages.
Anna made me cry happy tears for Helena and Vernon and I highly recommend that you read this and the first two in the series...You can get them on Amazon for only 99 cents each. Believe me when I tell you that is one of the best bargains ever!!!
Helena is the most stubborn of the three widows. Her dead husband was a real low life who made her life miserable. She will never remarry and especially not Vernon Grange who was her first sweetheart and was the one who introduced her to her husband.
Vernon Grange, Lord West is in love with Helena and wants nothing more than to give her the fulfilling happy life she deserves. Helena wants nothing to do with Lord West and she unfairly blames him for bringing her low life husband into her life. Will she forgive him and let him back into her life or will she reject him without giving him a chance?
You also get to catch up with the other Widows and how happy they are in their marriages.
Anna made me cry happy tears for Helena and Vernon and I highly recommend that you read this and the first two in the series...You can get them on Amazon for only 99 cents each. Believe me when I tell you that is one of the best bargains ever!!!
May 22, 2016
It is solely the gift of a talented author, to engage the readers' emotions so fully into a tried-and-tested plot.
There is absolutely nothing new here, including the age-old trope of . But as it is with Anna Campbell, I was hooked onto West & Helena's journey to find happiness together.
And this wraps up the trilogy - parts of which bear strong resemblance to some of my favorite novels.
Book #1 had shades of In the Thrill of the Night and here, there is more than a passing resemblance to
There is absolutely nothing new here, including the age-old trope of . But as it is with Anna Campbell, I was hooked onto West & Helena's journey to find happiness together.
And this wraps up the trilogy - parts of which bear strong resemblance to some of my favorite novels.
Book #1 had shades of In the Thrill of the Night and here, there is more than a passing resemblance to
May 2, 2016
I love these little short stories, although I do miss the big twisting books. Helena and West are lovely, a sweet friends to lovers tale via enemies. It's full of Fen and Caro, so a beautiful story for the third Dashing Widow.
May 11, 2016
I think this was my favorite of the three!
September 14, 2016
Another absolutely wonderful novella!
I loved this book, it was incredibly entertaining and yet poignant at the same time.
Helena has given up on finding love, after a horrible marriage to a faithless rake, she no longer believes that love is worth the pain of betrayal.
Vernon, Baron West has long wanted Helena as his own. Now that she is finally out of mourning, he is ready to make his move. However, Helena has known West since childhood and he was her first love, but she blames him for introducing her to her scapegrace husband and wants nothing to do with him.
Slowly West woos Helena, first with letters while he is in Russia and later in person when he comes back for Silas & Caro's wedding.
Helena for her part tries her best to resist West, but eventually he corners her and they have it out. Finally Helena accepts that West is not the cause of her misery and agrees to explore the passion between them.
West wants Helena for his wife - but she is dead set against marriage - especially to a rake like West.
He has a devil of a time convincing Helena that he only wants her and will not treat her like her late husband. When he finally gets her where he wants her, things change and he decides that marriage is not best for them and tries to end their affair.
I loved watching these two together - theirs was probably my favorite story in the series. The writing is excellent, the love scenes HOT, the story flowed perfectly, there was humor and the epilogue was sigh worthy!
I highly recommend this series and I am glad to see that Ms. Campbell is extending this series! I can't wait for more Dashing Widows!
I loved this book, it was incredibly entertaining and yet poignant at the same time.
Helena has given up on finding love, after a horrible marriage to a faithless rake, she no longer believes that love is worth the pain of betrayal.
Vernon, Baron West has long wanted Helena as his own. Now that she is finally out of mourning, he is ready to make his move. However, Helena has known West since childhood and he was her first love, but she blames him for introducing her to her scapegrace husband and wants nothing to do with him.
Slowly West woos Helena, first with letters while he is in Russia and later in person when he comes back for Silas & Caro's wedding.
Helena for her part tries her best to resist West, but eventually he corners her and they have it out. Finally Helena accepts that West is not the cause of her misery and agrees to explore the passion between them.
West wants Helena for his wife - but she is dead set against marriage - especially to a rake like West.
He has a devil of a time convincing Helena that he only wants her and will not treat her like her late husband. When he finally gets her where he wants her, things change and he decides that marriage is not best for them and tries to end their affair.
I loved watching these two together - theirs was probably my favorite story in the series. The writing is excellent, the love scenes HOT, the story flowed perfectly, there was humor and the epilogue was sigh worthy!
I highly recommend this series and I am glad to see that Ms. Campbell is extending this series! I can't wait for more Dashing Widows!
April 29, 2018
Decent novella with sharply delineated characters and a serviceable plot. Anna Campbell is always a cut above other RegRom writers - she often comes at standard tropes in a sideways manner, and her heroines have a bit of backbone to them.
August 9, 2016
While I'm given to understand Winning Lord West isn't the last book in the Dashing Widows series, Helena is the last of the dashing widows introduced in the first book, The Seduction of Lord Stone.
This book takes a bit of a different format to the last two. It opens up with a scene from The Seduction of Lord Stone but told from Helena's perspective. Next comes a series of letters between Helena and Lord West after he is sent to Russia on a diplomatic mission. Finally, the meat of the story is told in the more conventional format. It would have been possible to tell the story without the letters but I'm glad they were included. They really set up the personality of both characters and the mismatch in communication style is very entertaining. Lord West remains determinedly charming, while Helena acerbically rebuffs him at every opportunity. However, despite Helena's unfriendliness, her fondness for West leaks out whenever she drops her guard. Their friendship predates her violent marriage and it's nice to see evidence of that creeping back in.
But there's definitely more here than friendship and the tension between them is delicious. Yet, the mixture of innocence and sensuality didn't quite work for me--it felt a bit like trying to have it both ways, despite there being a plausible reason. Also, there's one or two grey areas in relation to consent, in a similar manner to Tempting Mr Townsend.
One of the things I've liked about the series is the very different personalities of the widows. Caroline is reckless and impulsive, Fenella is demure but strong, and Helena is prickly and intelligent. One thing I liked less is how Helena loses a bit of this intelligence on falling in love. While it is nice to see love undo her, it felt to me like she became quite a different person and lost some of what made her interesting.
Another disappointment was the passing references to her work in mathematics. She's supposed to be engaged in some good work in that particular field, but we never get to see it in the story--not even obliquely. While I understand this may have been due to length constraints, I feel it would have been better to lose this entirely and leave the focus on her passion for horses.
Overall, I found Winning Lord West was predictable but made for nice, light reading. I believe there will be at least another three books in the series and I was sufficiently entertained to keep an eye out for them towards the end of the year.
This book takes a bit of a different format to the last two. It opens up with a scene from The Seduction of Lord Stone but told from Helena's perspective. Next comes a series of letters between Helena and Lord West after he is sent to Russia on a diplomatic mission. Finally, the meat of the story is told in the more conventional format. It would have been possible to tell the story without the letters but I'm glad they were included. They really set up the personality of both characters and the mismatch in communication style is very entertaining. Lord West remains determinedly charming, while Helena acerbically rebuffs him at every opportunity. However, despite Helena's unfriendliness, her fondness for West leaks out whenever she drops her guard. Their friendship predates her violent marriage and it's nice to see evidence of that creeping back in.
But there's definitely more here than friendship and the tension between them is delicious. Yet, the mixture of innocence and sensuality didn't quite work for me--it felt a bit like trying to have it both ways, despite there being a plausible reason. Also, there's one or two grey areas in relation to consent, in a similar manner to Tempting Mr Townsend.
One of the things I've liked about the series is the very different personalities of the widows. Caroline is reckless and impulsive, Fenella is demure but strong, and Helena is prickly and intelligent. One thing I liked less is how Helena loses a bit of this intelligence on falling in love. While it is nice to see love undo her, it felt to me like she became quite a different person and lost some of what made her interesting.
Another disappointment was the passing references to her work in mathematics. She's supposed to be engaged in some good work in that particular field, but we never get to see it in the story--not even obliquely. While I understand this may have been due to length constraints, I feel it would have been better to lose this entirely and leave the focus on her passion for horses.
Overall, I found Winning Lord West was predictable but made for nice, light reading. I believe there will be at least another three books in the series and I was sufficiently entertained to keep an eye out for them towards the end of the year.
May 2, 2016
What can I say MS Campbell just has such a way with words that brings characters and events to life on the pages her stories are beauties to read sensual sizzling thrilling and just not put down-able. This was one I was really looking forward to the third in The Dashing Widows series and yes I adored it I loved Helena and West's story from start to finish.
Helena, Countess of Crewe has been through a dreadful marriage she has been widowed for a couple of years now and is determined not to re-marry her and her two friends also widows have decided it is time to hit town again and throw the widows clothes away but Caro and Fen have met their matches are preparing to marry hence we meet Lord West Vernon Grange whom was Helena first love but West introduced a very young Helena to the man she would marry and regret. It is time now for West to step back into Helena's life and very determined.
West has every intention of making Helena his again and he is nothing if not persistent when he invites Helena and her brother Silas to picnic and presents her with a fabulous gift and here starts a very seductive titillating journey to a HEA that has a few ups and downs.
This is a story that I highly recommend the banter between West and Helena is just fabulous the wit and strength that is shown from both of them will have you turning the pages and cheering them both on you will be smiling with joy as they reach the pinnacle of their cognizance at finding true love. It was also so good catching up with the other widows and their partners and what can I say about the epilogue loved it so thank you once again MS Campbell for another awesome story that will stay with me for a long time to come.
Helena, Countess of Crewe has been through a dreadful marriage she has been widowed for a couple of years now and is determined not to re-marry her and her two friends also widows have decided it is time to hit town again and throw the widows clothes away but Caro and Fen have met their matches are preparing to marry hence we meet Lord West Vernon Grange whom was Helena first love but West introduced a very young Helena to the man she would marry and regret. It is time now for West to step back into Helena's life and very determined.
West has every intention of making Helena his again and he is nothing if not persistent when he invites Helena and her brother Silas to picnic and presents her with a fabulous gift and here starts a very seductive titillating journey to a HEA that has a few ups and downs.
This is a story that I highly recommend the banter between West and Helena is just fabulous the wit and strength that is shown from both of them will have you turning the pages and cheering them both on you will be smiling with joy as they reach the pinnacle of their cognizance at finding true love. It was also so good catching up with the other widows and their partners and what can I say about the epilogue loved it so thank you once again MS Campbell for another awesome story that will stay with me for a long time to come.
September 21, 2016
The last of Campbell's Dashing Widows to get hitched, Helena is a much harder sell than her friends... After a disastrously unhappy marriage to a wastrel husband, the Countess of Crewe is not looking to get married again. EVER! So when her childhood crush Vernon Grange declares his decision to marry her she is not having any of it. She doesn't do love or romance anymore, she tried that already and it was a disaster. And she is not about to get hooked up with another rake, especially as she holds this particular rake partially responsible for her first disastrous marriage. Lord West though is made of sterner stuff than Helena thinks, he adores her fire and spirit, her sharp tongue and he's prepared to do whatever he has to to win her... Which basically involves lots of hot seductive games during a weekend house party. Vernon though has a problem, because while he's seducing Helena into doing his bidding he finds himself falling deeper and deeper under her spell and this isn't just a game anymore. Vernon also has a secret, the recurrent fevers he has brought back from his latest diplomatic mission in the Crimea (I assumed this was malaria)... I enjoyed this book, Helena is a fabulously feisty and no-nonsense heroine and West is a typically dashing rake and with Campbell's trademark love scenes to help things along it's a scorchingly hot read. A lot of the conflict here is external, to do with Helena's previous marriage and Vernon's illness, making the road to love a series of hurdles to overcome rather than a genuinely compelling journey, but thanks to appealing characters and those hot love scenes, not to mention lots of sparky banter between Helena and West, it's still a rollickingly good read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2025
Winning Lord West is the third book in the Dashing Widows series by Anna Campbell. This series is based on three young widows just out of mourning who decide to have some fun...
Helena, Countess of Crewe is the sister of the hero in The Seduction of Lord Stone, Silas. She spent nine turbulent years married to a philandering rake which left her bitter and withdrawn. With her two friends now embarking on new lives, she needs a fresh purpose as she's feeling somewhat left behind, still mired in the past.
Vernon Grange, Baron West is best friends since childhood with Silas, Helena's brother. It's been obvious since book one that there was something long ago between West and Helena...
I've truly loved all the books so far in this series, but this one has to be my absolute favorite to date! As I mentioned above, there's been hints that West and Helena had some type of relationship when they were younger and this story reveals all. I loved how Anna Campbell divided the book into three parts, The Challenge, Letters & The Wooing. The letters were hilarious and truly made a great story even better! I absolutely loved Helena and West's story and highly recommend the entire series!
Helena, Countess of Crewe is the sister of the hero in The Seduction of Lord Stone, Silas. She spent nine turbulent years married to a philandering rake which left her bitter and withdrawn. With her two friends now embarking on new lives, she needs a fresh purpose as she's feeling somewhat left behind, still mired in the past.
Vernon Grange, Baron West is best friends since childhood with Silas, Helena's brother. It's been obvious since book one that there was something long ago between West and Helena...
I've truly loved all the books so far in this series, but this one has to be my absolute favorite to date! As I mentioned above, there's been hints that West and Helena had some type of relationship when they were younger and this story reveals all. I loved how Anna Campbell divided the book into three parts, The Challenge, Letters & The Wooing. The letters were hilarious and truly made a great story even better! I absolutely loved Helena and West's story and highly recommend the entire series!
May 4, 2016
I love second chance stories, especially when they involve one's first love. Lord West has loved Helena since they were young and shared sweet kisses in the garden house. And he plans to woo and win her this time, by whatever means necessary. Helena's first husband was a dissipated rake and she refuses to be mistress to another. But when West returns from delicate negotiations in Russia, fever-wracked and pale, Helena allows her youthful feelings for him to resurface. During the week leading to the wedding of her brother, Silas, to dashing widow and close friend, Caro, how can Helena escape West's concerted skills when every time she looks around, there he is.
The dashing widows and the men who dare love them are delicious novellas, perfect for when you need your historical 'fix' and only have a short time to enjoy them. Love Anna Campbell's stories, and I'm delighted to learn this is not the last of the dashing widows series.
The dashing widows and the men who dare love them are delicious novellas, perfect for when you need your historical 'fix' and only have a short time to enjoy them. Love Anna Campbell's stories, and I'm delighted to learn this is not the last of the dashing widows series.
May 4, 2016
Winning Lord West is a winner!
Helena, Lady Crewe, feels somewhat like a fifth wheel now that her dear friends Caroline and Fenella have found love and set their lives on a new course. She does not want to marry again, not after the years of misery she can't forget.
But perhaps a little passion might be in order. Vernon Grange, Baron West, was her friend and neighbor before she made the biggest mistake of her life and married Lord Crewe. Now he's back in her life, but he's not looking for a mistress; he wants marriage.
West woos Helena most beautifully. Theirs is a courtship any woman would envy. Then he falls ill and it has a devastating effect on their plans.
No one can write sensual romance like Ms. Campbell. I never want to miss one of her books.
Helena, Lady Crewe, feels somewhat like a fifth wheel now that her dear friends Caroline and Fenella have found love and set their lives on a new course. She does not want to marry again, not after the years of misery she can't forget.
But perhaps a little passion might be in order. Vernon Grange, Baron West, was her friend and neighbor before she made the biggest mistake of her life and married Lord Crewe. Now he's back in her life, but he's not looking for a mistress; he wants marriage.
West woos Helena most beautifully. Theirs is a courtship any woman would envy. Then he falls ill and it has a devastating effect on their plans.
No one can write sensual romance like Ms. Campbell. I never want to miss one of her books.
May 11, 2016
Anna Campbell saved the best for last with Helena's story that also includes Fenella & Anthony and Caroline & Silas. Helena fell in love with Vernon Grange, her older brother's best friend and a neighbor at a very early age. As her brother's friend, he didn't do more than kiss her before he left for Oxford. She then fell for Crewe and insisted on marrying him despite her family's hesitance. She had the worst marriage of the three Dashing Widows and does not want to marry again.
But Vernon never stopped loving her and is determined to win her. He knows her and how to tempt her. I won't ruin the love story that unfolds with all of the couples gathered at her childhood home for her brother's wedding. Novellas are too short for plot spoilers. I can easily recommend this one!
But Vernon never stopped loving her and is determined to win her. He knows her and how to tempt her. I won't ruin the love story that unfolds with all of the couples gathered at her childhood home for her brother's wedding. Novellas are too short for plot spoilers. I can easily recommend this one!
May 2, 2016
Intensely emotional, sensual and satisfying, the third in Anna Campbell's 'Dashing Widows' series does what all books in a series should do - leaves you yearning for more. And there are enough new characters in "Winning Lord West" to give me hope there'll be more very soon. Anna Campbell's characters transcend their always-authentic Regency setting and circumstances and present as contemporary people I really wish I could invite over for a lazy Sunday lunch. Sparkling banter, beautifully-nuanced characters, some interesting insights into the sociopolitical issues of the times all wrapped up in a second-chance love story make "Winning Lord West" an immensely satisfying read.
May 8, 2016
I won this in an online contest. It's a sweet little novella. Anna Campbell has been hit or miss for me lately, and I've often been disappointed by her novellas (which is true, quite frankly for most authors. It's hard to do a good novella, it has different requirements than a novel, and most don't pull it off well). I was quite pleased to find that I really enjoyed this little gem.
May 21, 2016
A favorite troupe of mine. Friends turning into lovers.
West and Helena knew each other all of their lives but she had married another man. Now a widow Helena finds that West still interests her. He has never forgotten Helena and sees an opportunity.
I have not read the other books but that was not a problem for this nice novella.
West and Helena knew each other all of their lives but she had married another man. Now a widow Helena finds that West still interests her. He has never forgotten Helena and sees an opportunity.
I have not read the other books but that was not a problem for this nice novella.
July 11, 2017
This book is more like a novella. It's VERY short and sweet with little to no character development, no plot or storyline, no real drama, and no substance or full closure. Why does West keep getting the fevers and illnesses? And these MCs are so bland that I don't really care to know more about them anyway.
May 6, 2016
A winner
I just didn't want to finish it, it was romantic, sweet, sad, happy. I wanted to be Helena and find that love that consumes you and makes you whole. I sincerely love Anna's writing.
I just didn't want to finish it, it was romantic, sweet, sad, happy. I wanted to be Helena and find that love that consumes you and makes you whole. I sincerely love Anna's writing.
May 3, 2016
Another great story from this author.
May 23, 2016
Another five-star rating for Anna Campbell.
May 21, 2016
Fabulous-- review to follow!!
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