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The Brethren #1
The Spy Who Seduced Her
In this spellbinding new Regency series by Christi Caldwell, The Heart of a Duke meets the Brethren of the Lords. The stakes are high and passions flare hot in Regency England!
A widow with a past… The last thing Victoria Barrett, the Viscountess Waters, has any interest in is romance. When the only man she’s ever loved was killed she endured an arranged marriage to a cruel man in order to survive. Now widowed, her only focus is on clearing her son’s name from the charge of murder. That is until the love of her life returns from the grave.
A leader of a once great agency… Nathaniel Archer, the Earl of Exeter head of the Crown’s elite organization, The Brethren, is back on British soil. Captured and tortured 20 years ago, he clung to memories of his first love until he could escape. Discovering she has married whilst he was captive, Nathaniel sets aside the distractions of love...until an unexpected case is thrust upon him-- to solve the murder of the Viscount Waters. There is just one complication: the prime suspect's mother is none other than Victoria, the woman he once loved with his very soul.
Secrets will be uncovered and passions rekindled. Victoria and Nathaniel must trust one another if they hope to start anew—in love and life. But will duty destroy their last chance?
A widow with a past… The last thing Victoria Barrett, the Viscountess Waters, has any interest in is romance. When the only man she’s ever loved was killed she endured an arranged marriage to a cruel man in order to survive. Now widowed, her only focus is on clearing her son’s name from the charge of murder. That is until the love of her life returns from the grave.
A leader of a once great agency… Nathaniel Archer, the Earl of Exeter head of the Crown’s elite organization, The Brethren, is back on British soil. Captured and tortured 20 years ago, he clung to memories of his first love until he could escape. Discovering she has married whilst he was captive, Nathaniel sets aside the distractions of love...until an unexpected case is thrust upon him-- to solve the murder of the Viscount Waters. There is just one complication: the prime suspect's mother is none other than Victoria, the woman he once loved with his very soul.
Secrets will be uncovered and passions rekindled. Victoria and Nathaniel must trust one another if they hope to start anew—in love and life. But will duty destroy their last chance?
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2017
2004 people are currently reading
986 people want to read
About the author
Christi Caldwell
136 books2,558 followersUSA TODAY Bestselling author CHRISTI CALDWELL blames Judith McNaught's "Whitney, My Love!" for luring her into the world of historical romance. While sitting in her graduate school apartment at the University of Connecticut, Christi decided to set aside her notes and pick up her laptop to try her hand at romance. She believes the most perfect heroes and heroines have imperfections, and she rather enjoys torturing them before crafting them a well deserved happily ever after!
Christi makes her home in Charlotte, North Carolina where she spends her time writing her own enchanting historical romances, and baking surprisingly good cakes (almost 2 years in lockdown will do that) with her courageous son and twin daughters, each who with their daily antics provides limitless source material.
Christi makes her home in Charlotte, North Carolina where she spends her time writing her own enchanting historical romances, and baking surprisingly good cakes (almost 2 years in lockdown will do that) with her courageous son and twin daughters, each who with their daily antics provides limitless source material.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews
September 6, 2017
Book Review For: 'The Spy Who Seduced Her' by Christi Caldwell 'The Spy Who Seduced Her' by Christi Caldwell is the First Book in the New Series called "The Brethren" series. This is the story of Victoria Barrett and Nathaniel Archer, the Earl of Exeter . Victoria and Nathaniel who feel in love about 23 years ago but when Nathaniel had to go on assignment as a spy was captured and torched for years before he got away. When he did he heard that Victoria was married with children. So Nathaniel went on with dedicating his life to the elite spying organization. Victoria had no choice but to marry after Nathaniel didn't come back. Sadly she married a man who abused her but now he is dead. Victoria's husband was a gambler, cheat and womanizer and ended up murdered. But the prime suspect is Victoria's son. Nathaniel sees the case and takes it upon himself to look into what actually happened. Victoria had thought that Nathaniel was dead and to her surprise she finds out he is alive and now looking into her son's case. Victoria goes into Mother Protection Mode and tries to fight her feelings for Nathaniel. When you read Ms. Caldwell's book be prepared to got through allot of emotions! I think she is the Queen of bring people into the stories of her characters and making you feel what they are going through. Love her writing and books!*A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team Selection*https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2H... https://twitter.com/soapsrus68 https://www.facebook.com/RomanceBookR... http://booklikes.com/bloghttps://roma... https://www.tumblr.com/blog/romancebo...
December 7, 2024
⭐💫
1½ stars.
➕ What I liked :
Older/mature couple.👍👏👏👏👏
(Both main characters are 40+…. which is very good because so so many books in the historical romance genre are about younger main characters and especially younger heroines (18-25)…. So to have older main characters is really good and inclusive.
Second chance romance.
Some parts of the mystery was interesting.
➖ What I disliked:
Believability/plausibility issues.
(That the heroine did not know that the hero was alive… he was given a title twenty years earlier for acts of bravery and heroism… Such things are celebrated and written about etc.
How could the heroine have missed that?
The main characters lived in the same city for years and years but still never ran into each other or anything? Etc.)
The heroine already had 3 adult children and is 40+…. So adding what happened at the end of the book was unnecessary and formulaic… It is not impossible and happens rather often in modern times and did back then as well…. But at the same time kind of unlikely and rather unnecessary/formulaic and redundant…. Because of the result of their relationship when younger.
Some inconsistency in the ages of some side characters and with the timeline of the story etc.
Problematic.
Stereotyped and clichéd bad character. (The heroines late husband.)
(Was described as a bad/despicable character...which he was…. But he was also described as fat and fleshy in one way or another and like the two things had a correlation or link.... which is bad on all levels ) 👎 🙅🏽
Yes, the heroines late husband was a awful and horrible man and husband…. But there is NO correlation or link between peoples body size/shape and their character/morality.
Bad and despicable people come in all shapes and sizes etc.
People of all shapes and sizes can be reprobates,adulterers, drunks, heartless, ruthless, witless etc. all the things the heroine said about her late husband which was true… but those words were also in conjunction with/coupled with the words fat and fleshy in one way or another.
Even if it is “just a book” it is a very unnecessary way of writing about characters not to mention problematic.
Repetitive.
(Especially the word belly and the repeating of the back story over and over.)
OTT internal dialogue.
The miscommunication/misunderstanding issues was OTT and dragged out too long.
The end is somewhat rushed and everything falls a little too easy into place…issues and problems were fixed too quickly and too easily.
The romantic build-up and chemistry was rather lacking.
Underwhelming.
Formulaic.
Dragged in some places of the story.
Formulaic in the character description/visual appearance/character choice of both main characters.
(Hero= Very tall, big and muscular, handsome…. Heroine= slender etc.)
The villain (the real murderer) was half-witted and everything around this character was also kind of nonsensical … how could this person not see or be aware of that the late Viscount Waters was married etc.?
1½ stars.
➕ What I liked :
Older/mature couple.👍👏👏👏👏
(Both main characters are 40+…. which is very good because so so many books in the historical romance genre are about younger main characters and especially younger heroines (18-25)…. So to have older main characters is really good and inclusive.
Second chance romance.
Some parts of the mystery was interesting.
➖ What I disliked:
Believability/plausibility issues.
(That the heroine did not know that the hero was alive… he was given a title twenty years earlier for acts of bravery and heroism… Such things are celebrated and written about etc.
How could the heroine have missed that?
The main characters lived in the same city for years and years but still never ran into each other or anything? Etc.)
The heroine already had 3 adult children and is 40+…. So adding what happened at the end of the book was unnecessary and formulaic… It is not impossible and happens rather often in modern times and did back then as well…. But at the same time kind of unlikely and rather unnecessary/formulaic and redundant…. Because of the result of their relationship when younger.
Some inconsistency in the ages of some side characters and with the timeline of the story etc.
Problematic.
Stereotyped and clichéd bad character. (The heroines late husband.)
(Was described as a bad/despicable character...which he was…. But he was also described as fat and fleshy in one way or another and like the two things had a correlation or link.... which is bad on all levels ) 👎 🙅🏽
Yes, the heroines late husband was a awful and horrible man and husband…. But there is NO correlation or link between peoples body size/shape and their character/morality.
Bad and despicable people come in all shapes and sizes etc.
People of all shapes and sizes can be reprobates,adulterers, drunks, heartless, ruthless, witless etc. all the things the heroine said about her late husband which was true… but those words were also in conjunction with/coupled with the words fat and fleshy in one way or another.
Even if it is “just a book” it is a very unnecessary way of writing about characters not to mention problematic.
Repetitive.
(Especially the word belly and the repeating of the back story over and over.)
OTT internal dialogue.
The miscommunication/misunderstanding issues was OTT and dragged out too long.
The end is somewhat rushed and everything falls a little too easy into place…issues and problems were fixed too quickly and too easily.
The romantic build-up and chemistry was rather lacking.
Underwhelming.
Formulaic.
Dragged in some places of the story.
Formulaic in the character description/visual appearance/character choice of both main characters.
(Hero= Very tall, big and muscular, handsome…. Heroine= slender etc.)
The villain (the real murderer) was half-witted and everything around this character was also kind of nonsensical … how could this person not see or be aware of that the late Viscount Waters was married etc.?
August 27, 2017
It seems like in most romances the couples are very young, yet the average romance reader is in their 40s. As I become more “mature”, it’s refreshing to read a romance with more mature characters. They’re definitely more relatable for me. Those characters have lived long enough to have hopes and fears that younger characters just don’t have. It opens up amazing backstory possibilities. Those life experiences deepen and enrich the characters and the story. Romance becomes more than sex. More complex, mature, and sensual. Just because you need reading glasses and have some new aches and pains doesn’t mean you can’t still experience the thrill, excitement, passion, and all those feelings that come with romance. In Christi Caldwell’s The Spy Who Seduced Her, our characters find it’s never too late to find love.
Nathaniel Archer, Earl of Exeter had been part of the Brethren, the crown’s secret elite organization. He “had made but one misstep in his career. It had been a careless one, only a rash man of 20, drunk with his own self-confidence and sense of prowess could make. And that misstep had cost him everything.” He had been captured and tortured for 2 years. He escaped only to find the woman he loved had married. “He’d faced death many times, but the heartbreak was greater than any blades and bullets he’d taken.” She had been the dream he’d clung to through his horrible imprisonment yet she’d given her heart to another. Nathaniel fled to the continent, taking up missions on the other side of the world to escape her. Deliberately avoiding mention of her or the man she’d married. In the following years, he’d devoted himself to the Brethren as their leader and lost himself in his work, thus forcing down all memories of her. But when an unexpected case falls into his lap, those memories come flooding back. The murder of Viscount Waters. The prime suspect is the viscount’s son. And the mother of the suspect? Victoria Barrett, the only woman Nathaniel had ever loved.
Victoria had been a spirited young woman completely in love and dreaming of her future with Nathaniel. He had stolen her heart.” But with his absence and ultimate death, he had promptly shattered it.” She’d been left desperate and pregnant. To hide the scandal his daughter would have brought down on the family, her father had made a formal arrangement with Chester Barrett, Viscount Waters, a faithless, drunken, and cruel man. “Her marriage had been a cold, empty, ruthless one.” Only her children had sustained her and given her purpose through the misery of her marriage. Thinking of Nathaniel was something she’d refrained from, pushing those memories back that still had the power to gut her. Now her wastrel husband was dead. Murdered. Though she was relieved to be rid of him, her own son was now the prime suspect in the murder. His perceived guilt was all Polite Society talked about. And though he seemed determined to follow his father’s footsteps, Victoria knew the goodness of his heart and was certain of his innocence.
When Nathaniel arrived to interview the family, Victoria was certain she was seeing a ghost. “It couldn’t be that she’d spent years mourning a man who’d been very much alive but who’d simply failed to return.” She’d tortured herself thinking of how he might have suffered, so sure nothing would have kept him from her. But he’d abandoned her. She hated him and loved him at the same time. Nathaniel had felt bitter that he’d lost his future and yet Victoria had gone on with her life. But in taking the case, he was given a glimpse into Victoria’s marriage, family, and her life as it had existed without him. He learned the truth of what kind of man her husband had been. “He’d wanted to carry out the investigation with the greatest integrity and accuracy. Had fooled himself in thinking the sight of her wouldn’t rekindle all those old feelings.” Victoria had told herself she was content with her life. She had her children and needed nothing more. Then Nathaniel returned. And the feelings between them had returned even stronger. They’d thought the passion from long ago had been buried with their memories, but they’d been wrong. But Nathaniel’s absence and her son’s investigation were still between them. Even now, after all these years, Nathaniel couldn’t separate himself from the Brethren. Would they be reunited again only to find that duty would still keep them apart? Or could this be a new beginning?
What a beautiful story of a second chance at love. If anyone ever deserved a happily ever after, it was Nathaniel and Victoria. They’d both made mistakes and had been imprisoned as a result. Nathaniel when he’d been captured and tortured, and then in the life he’d devoted himself to. And Victoria’s choices had led to a marriage that had become a prison. Never getting to experience the life she’d dreamed of. Memories of each other had sustained them. As I read this story, the song Days In The Sun kept playing through my mind. “All those days in the sun. What I’d give to relive just one. Undo what’s done. And bring back the light. Days in the sun will return. We must believe as lovers do that days in the sun will come shining through.” With memories from the past interwoven into the present, Christi Caldwell weaves a story that is nothing short of magical. This fast-paced, sensual, emotionally charged romance draws you in till you almost become the characters. The road to true love isn’t easy but it ends up being these characters’ salvation. A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team Selection.
Nathaniel Archer, Earl of Exeter had been part of the Brethren, the crown’s secret elite organization. He “had made but one misstep in his career. It had been a careless one, only a rash man of 20, drunk with his own self-confidence and sense of prowess could make. And that misstep had cost him everything.” He had been captured and tortured for 2 years. He escaped only to find the woman he loved had married. “He’d faced death many times, but the heartbreak was greater than any blades and bullets he’d taken.” She had been the dream he’d clung to through his horrible imprisonment yet she’d given her heart to another. Nathaniel fled to the continent, taking up missions on the other side of the world to escape her. Deliberately avoiding mention of her or the man she’d married. In the following years, he’d devoted himself to the Brethren as their leader and lost himself in his work, thus forcing down all memories of her. But when an unexpected case falls into his lap, those memories come flooding back. The murder of Viscount Waters. The prime suspect is the viscount’s son. And the mother of the suspect? Victoria Barrett, the only woman Nathaniel had ever loved.
Victoria had been a spirited young woman completely in love and dreaming of her future with Nathaniel. He had stolen her heart.” But with his absence and ultimate death, he had promptly shattered it.” She’d been left desperate and pregnant. To hide the scandal his daughter would have brought down on the family, her father had made a formal arrangement with Chester Barrett, Viscount Waters, a faithless, drunken, and cruel man. “Her marriage had been a cold, empty, ruthless one.” Only her children had sustained her and given her purpose through the misery of her marriage. Thinking of Nathaniel was something she’d refrained from, pushing those memories back that still had the power to gut her. Now her wastrel husband was dead. Murdered. Though she was relieved to be rid of him, her own son was now the prime suspect in the murder. His perceived guilt was all Polite Society talked about. And though he seemed determined to follow his father’s footsteps, Victoria knew the goodness of his heart and was certain of his innocence.
When Nathaniel arrived to interview the family, Victoria was certain she was seeing a ghost. “It couldn’t be that she’d spent years mourning a man who’d been very much alive but who’d simply failed to return.” She’d tortured herself thinking of how he might have suffered, so sure nothing would have kept him from her. But he’d abandoned her. She hated him and loved him at the same time. Nathaniel had felt bitter that he’d lost his future and yet Victoria had gone on with her life. But in taking the case, he was given a glimpse into Victoria’s marriage, family, and her life as it had existed without him. He learned the truth of what kind of man her husband had been. “He’d wanted to carry out the investigation with the greatest integrity and accuracy. Had fooled himself in thinking the sight of her wouldn’t rekindle all those old feelings.” Victoria had told herself she was content with her life. She had her children and needed nothing more. Then Nathaniel returned. And the feelings between them had returned even stronger. They’d thought the passion from long ago had been buried with their memories, but they’d been wrong. But Nathaniel’s absence and her son’s investigation were still between them. Even now, after all these years, Nathaniel couldn’t separate himself from the Brethren. Would they be reunited again only to find that duty would still keep them apart? Or could this be a new beginning?
What a beautiful story of a second chance at love. If anyone ever deserved a happily ever after, it was Nathaniel and Victoria. They’d both made mistakes and had been imprisoned as a result. Nathaniel when he’d been captured and tortured, and then in the life he’d devoted himself to. And Victoria’s choices had led to a marriage that had become a prison. Never getting to experience the life she’d dreamed of. Memories of each other had sustained them. As I read this story, the song Days In The Sun kept playing through my mind. “All those days in the sun. What I’d give to relive just one. Undo what’s done. And bring back the light. Days in the sun will return. We must believe as lovers do that days in the sun will come shining through.” With memories from the past interwoven into the present, Christi Caldwell weaves a story that is nothing short of magical. This fast-paced, sensual, emotionally charged romance draws you in till you almost become the characters. The road to true love isn’t easy but it ends up being these characters’ salvation. A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team Selection.
August 27, 2017
Author Christi Caldwell never fails to immerse this reader in her carefully woven web of tales. This time however, Ms. Caldwell slays me with this book. This book is SUPERB! Be prepared to cry! A wonderful first in an exciting series, I cannot wait for more of The Brethren!
Nathaniel Archer has been an essential part of The Brethren for decades. The spy turned leader has lost so much in his 45 years, that the only thing he has is his work and the memories of the one and only love he lost. When after 20 years a case comes up involving his lost love, Nathaniel tosses caution aside to solve the mystery and reconnect with his past, good or bad.
Victoria Barret, the Viscountess Waters has not had an easy life. Married to a cruel reprobate in order to give her baby a name, Victoria has suffered much in her life. Someone has murdered the Viscount and now Victoria's son, Andrew is the prime suspect. While mourning Viscount Waters isn't one of this family's priorities, saving Andrew from himself is paramount. Enter Nathaniel Archer, Earl of Exeter, whom Victoria believed dead. For both Victoria and Nathaniel, facing their pasts is gut-wrenching. Both believe the other moved on without second thoughts, but the reality of it is that the struggle to carry on caused such deep seeded heartache that it inexorably transforms both parties.
Nothing is more important to Victoria than her children's happiness, but maybe it's time for her to actually live, maybe it's time for her to grasp onto the one person who can give her that happiness. Nathaniel has been with the Brethren so long that one wonders if he can put it behind him to take on the spitfire named Victoria. Find out by reading the fabulous, THE SPY WHO SEDUCED HER by the indomitable Christi Caldwell...
October 17, 2017
This was an 8 hour long audible book that seemed like it was 15 hours. The miscommunication between these two seemed to drag out forever. The internal dialogue was becoming annoying. Just freaking talk to each other already! It really seems like Christy Calwell books are all like that. Full of internal dialogue.
The story line and plot was decent. I liked that the ages of the main characters Victoria and Malcolm were older, she was 43 he was 45. I liked the murder mystery portion. It did get better when they finally told each other the truth and got it together. I like spy books, and this one could have been better, IMO.
As for the narration Time Campbell does a good job narrating just about ALL CC's books. He does really well making the women sound like women. A total plus there. He has a nice reading voice and the men sound sexy.
The story line and plot was decent. I liked that the ages of the main characters Victoria and Malcolm were older, she was 43 he was 45. I liked the murder mystery portion. It did get better when they finally told each other the truth and got it together. I like spy books, and this one could have been better, IMO.
As for the narration Time Campbell does a good job narrating just about ALL CC's books. He does really well making the women sound like women. A total plus there. He has a nice reading voice and the men sound sexy.
August 27, 2017
When Nathaniel Archer assaulted Adam Markham over his desertion of Georgina, that was the day I fell in love with him. That was the day I knew that I wanted a story for him. If my Kindle could display a well thumbed page, it would certainly be that carriage ride in the end! Little did I know then, that my wish would be granted and we would get not only a backstory on him, but a current story and also a bit of his future story.
And what a story!
Christi Caldwell has once again excelled with this ‘adult’ romance that has a little bit of mystery, a gruesome murder (oooo that was excellent!), an investigation, characters with grey hair, stretch marks, loads of heartbreak and tears and of course another unputdownable ‘Happily Ever After’.
Back when he was a dashing spy for the Home Office Nathaniel Archer went and got himself captured thus deserting Lady Victoria Tremaine heartbroken and at the verge of a scandal. Those of us involved in Christi’s Universe would know her as Viscountess Barrett, the lovely wife of disgusting Chester Waters. We always wanted her to have more, find happiness more than just with her three children. I for one, am very partial to the Barretts … they are my favourite family.
Not only did this book give me Nathaniel Archer, it gave a love story to Victoria Barrett. It was like a family reunion. All our previously loved characters came back to add so much more to Nathaniel and Victoria’s story. Edmund looking rumpled and carrying baby Garrick, Nicky holding Justina’s hand all through the interrogation, Adam with his greying hair and Georgina with her loving nature … all were just so heart touching .. I could go on and on about them … Did I mention Edmund rasping ‘Nathaniel’ in the epilogue … I have to say that Edmund Deering’s presence on just a single page is enough to get me into swoons. His power comes through just with his entrance into the story … just shows how he is a character that has been perfected by Christi.
This story marries the two series (Heart of a Duke and The Brethren of the Lords) effortlessly. Unites two lovers after twenty odd years, children and grandchildren. It makes you believe in happily ever afters and of course it leaves you with wanting more and more.
Erm … Can we have a bonus of Edmund and his father in law, please *goes down on knees*?
And what a story!
Christi Caldwell has once again excelled with this ‘adult’ romance that has a little bit of mystery, a gruesome murder (oooo that was excellent!), an investigation, characters with grey hair, stretch marks, loads of heartbreak and tears and of course another unputdownable ‘Happily Ever After’.
Back when he was a dashing spy for the Home Office Nathaniel Archer went and got himself captured thus deserting Lady Victoria Tremaine heartbroken and at the verge of a scandal. Those of us involved in Christi’s Universe would know her as Viscountess Barrett, the lovely wife of disgusting Chester Waters. We always wanted her to have more, find happiness more than just with her three children. I for one, am very partial to the Barretts … they are my favourite family.
Not only did this book give me Nathaniel Archer, it gave a love story to Victoria Barrett. It was like a family reunion. All our previously loved characters came back to add so much more to Nathaniel and Victoria’s story. Edmund looking rumpled and carrying baby Garrick, Nicky holding Justina’s hand all through the interrogation, Adam with his greying hair and Georgina with her loving nature … all were just so heart touching .. I could go on and on about them … Did I mention Edmund rasping ‘Nathaniel’ in the epilogue … I have to say that Edmund Deering’s presence on just a single page is enough to get me into swoons. His power comes through just with his entrance into the story … just shows how he is a character that has been perfected by Christi.
This story marries the two series (Heart of a Duke and The Brethren of the Lords) effortlessly. Unites two lovers after twenty odd years, children and grandchildren. It makes you believe in happily ever afters and of course it leaves you with wanting more and more.
Erm … Can we have a bonus of Edmund and his father in law, please *goes down on knees*?
October 15, 2017
This started off good but then it got so repetitive. Nathaniel told the story of his capture and torture to three different people and when he told Victoria most of what really happened to him, why he didn’t come back to her, and she told him about Phoebe both confessions were just so loooong and depressing. I know the author wanted make them sad and meaningful but it just went on and on and on. I think this would have been better as a novella.
Then, the book picked up some as Nathaniel got closer to who murdered Victoria’s horrible, nasty, brutal, disgusting husband. AND when he did find out who arranged for it to happen you wished he would let the man go free. Not only did Chester deserve to die but the one who arranged it was such a sweet man only looking out for his daughter.
It turned out to be a decent story, with the exception of garden scene where all the truths came out.
And there was sex in this book. Not an ounce of desire or want or lust or anything that even resembled those feelings BUT there was a graphic sex scene, which I skipped over. With no sexual tension the sex is just boring.
August 29, 2017
Another favorite! Another amazing tale of love lost then found. Tears and laughter. Anger and Joy. so many emotions expressed as well as felt in this story. a breath of fresh air from the every day romance story. Christi Caldwell writes of an older couple who fell in love 23 years ago. He was a spy and she, the daughter of a gambler and reprobate. He was captured, tortured, rescued, and healed. By the time he returned it was too late. She was left alone and felt abandoned. She made a choice to marry because circumstances required it and she thought he was dead. 23 years later, he has arisen from the ashes to investigate her son for the murder of her husband. The main characters are emotionally and physically wounded. They have endured hell and more but have survived and thrived. The secondary characters are well know from previous books and are just delightful now as they were then. The plot is unique and not one you find often especially with the main characters being in their early 40's.
I wasn't sure if I would be able to get into this story. I had my doubts because they are an older couple but I was entranced from beginning to end. I could not put it down. I cried tears of anger and Joy. I laughed with utter delight and steamed with complete disgust. The perfect mix of emotions for a perfectly written story
Can they reclaim their lost love or has too much time passed? Will he find the evidence to convict her son or set him free? Will their secrets bring them together or tear them apart? So many questions to ask, to find answers to. You will only find them by reading the story. It's totally worth it
I wasn't sure if I would be able to get into this story. I had my doubts because they are an older couple but I was entranced from beginning to end. I could not put it down. I cried tears of anger and Joy. I laughed with utter delight and steamed with complete disgust. The perfect mix of emotions for a perfectly written story
Can they reclaim their lost love or has too much time passed? Will he find the evidence to convict her son or set him free? Will their secrets bring them together or tear them apart? So many questions to ask, to find answers to. You will only find them by reading the story. It's totally worth it
September 8, 2017
A Brilliant Smile that Hides the Pain
Victoria Cadence Tremaine Barrett, the Viscountess Waters has kept a SCANDALOUS tantalizing secret from Christi Caldwell's dedicated fan base. That paragon of womanly virtue and long suffering super mom extraordinaire is quite a different woman than we imagined.
We've watched her suffer at the hands of a callous, lecherous, lascivious troll of a spouse whilst never allowing her cheerful smile to slip as she supported her children emotionally from the slings and arrows attendant in such a barren and painful union.
A Man of Ice and Mystery
Nathaniel Archer, Earl of Exeter, master spy and Sovereign of the elite spy organization, The Brethren is BACK! We've waited a lifetime for our beloved Nathaniel's story and it did not disappoint.
When we first met Nathaniel Archer in "My Lady of Deception," he was a younger man who had suffered unheard of tortures at the hands of the sadistic Fox and Hunter (they broke him body and spirit). However, he was a master spy who exhibited such blatant hero material/characteristics that for years hardcore Caldwell fans have clamored for his HEA.
A Love that Never Died
What a lovely pairing. Here we encounter adult love ❤️ at its finest. Caldwell takes us on a mission of rediscovery as this wonderful pair who met and loved as impetuous youths come together over 20 years later to discover that their love burns just as brightly and magnificently as it did when they were youths. Yes, we older lasses swooned at the hotness. We may have stretch marks and love handles and drip and droop in areas that used to be called perky, however, we love an HEA that reflects that reality. Buxom is the new perky! I am definitely here for that!
A Mystery Wrapped Up in a Conundrum
Chester the Molester Barrett, the Viscount Waters is finally dead. May he rot. Nobody cares, including and especially his long suffering and put upon wife. However, needs must, the mystery must be solved. The case must be cleared before our dear couple can hie off to their long delayed HEA. We've wished #deathbydoxy on this fool since "The Heart of a Scoundrel." He doubled down on his heinousness in "To Enchant a Wicked Duke." Quite frankly, it was time for a few merry choruses of "Ding Dong the Prick is Dead." Caldwell did not skimp on it. Our bloodthirsty souls were quenched.
Christi Caldwell - Master Storyteller
As Caldwell continues to weave her broken universe into ever more connected stories, she has taken characters from her older Brethren of the Lords world and melded them seamlessly into the Heart of a Duke world. Each character maintains his or her unique characteristics that identify them without a doubt.
Now go ahead and make me a liar about Lord Tennyson. That is my tongue in cheek challenge to Caldwell. He has been the third most hated and vile character in her universe. Archibald Hamilton is the worst. Viscount Waters was a close second. Lord Tennyson was third and I have hated him with the heat of a thousand suns. I cannot wait for that redemption story. Bring it on!
Victoria Cadence Tremaine Barrett, the Viscountess Waters has kept a SCANDALOUS tantalizing secret from Christi Caldwell's dedicated fan base. That paragon of womanly virtue and long suffering super mom extraordinaire is quite a different woman than we imagined.
We've watched her suffer at the hands of a callous, lecherous, lascivious troll of a spouse whilst never allowing her cheerful smile to slip as she supported her children emotionally from the slings and arrows attendant in such a barren and painful union.
A Man of Ice and Mystery
Nathaniel Archer, Earl of Exeter, master spy and Sovereign of the elite spy organization, The Brethren is BACK! We've waited a lifetime for our beloved Nathaniel's story and it did not disappoint.
When we first met Nathaniel Archer in "My Lady of Deception," he was a younger man who had suffered unheard of tortures at the hands of the sadistic Fox and Hunter (they broke him body and spirit). However, he was a master spy who exhibited such blatant hero material/characteristics that for years hardcore Caldwell fans have clamored for his HEA.
A Love that Never Died
What a lovely pairing. Here we encounter adult love ❤️ at its finest. Caldwell takes us on a mission of rediscovery as this wonderful pair who met and loved as impetuous youths come together over 20 years later to discover that their love burns just as brightly and magnificently as it did when they were youths. Yes, we older lasses swooned at the hotness. We may have stretch marks and love handles and drip and droop in areas that used to be called perky, however, we love an HEA that reflects that reality. Buxom is the new perky! I am definitely here for that!
A Mystery Wrapped Up in a Conundrum
Chester the Molester Barrett, the Viscount Waters is finally dead. May he rot. Nobody cares, including and especially his long suffering and put upon wife. However, needs must, the mystery must be solved. The case must be cleared before our dear couple can hie off to their long delayed HEA. We've wished #deathbydoxy on this fool since "The Heart of a Scoundrel." He doubled down on his heinousness in "To Enchant a Wicked Duke." Quite frankly, it was time for a few merry choruses of "Ding Dong the Prick is Dead." Caldwell did not skimp on it. Our bloodthirsty souls were quenched.
Christi Caldwell - Master Storyteller
As Caldwell continues to weave her broken universe into ever more connected stories, she has taken characters from her older Brethren of the Lords world and melded them seamlessly into the Heart of a Duke world. Each character maintains his or her unique characteristics that identify them without a doubt.
Now go ahead and make me a liar about Lord Tennyson. That is my tongue in cheek challenge to Caldwell. He has been the third most hated and vile character in her universe. Archibald Hamilton is the worst. Viscount Waters was a close second. Lord Tennyson was third and I have hated him with the heat of a thousand suns. I cannot wait for that redemption story. Bring it on!
August 27, 2017
Christi Caldwell is hands down at her best in her tales of wounded warriors. Have I said that before? I KNOW I’ve said that before. I intend to keep on saying it. The Brethren of the Lords has long been a group that fascinated me, and I cannot help but be thrilled with this new series. The Brethren have their day at last! Not a moment too soon, I say!
I fell in love with Nathaniel Archer forever ago. He was absolutely wonderful in Adam and Georgie’s book, and he was no less wonderful in his own. This guy! *sigh* What an amazing hero. He is strong, he is patient, he is determined and compassionate. Nathaniel is everything a man ought to be.
This book, like all by Christi, reaches far beyond the traditional norms of the Regency genre. Instead of an eighteen year old in the first blush of youth, our heroine is a mature woman in her 40s. She has suffered through a terrible marriage for twenty some years, and is now a widow, grandmother, and still the amazing woman we’ve come to love through the books about her daughters. Phoebe and Justina’s books each gave us enough insight into Victoria’s character to hope she would get her happily ever after. We’ve loved her every bit as much as we’ve hated the Viscount Waters. (Who, by the way, got EXACTLY the end deserved).
Our devotion was (as ever) completely justified. Victoria Barrett is a stronger woman than even I gave her credit for. She is the ultimate example of making the best of a terrible situation. She raised three wonderful children, protecting them from the cruelties of society and their father. She is the hero of her story. She had me in tears, she had me cheering for her, she had me wishing I could hug her more times than I can express.
These are some of Christi’s absolute best characters, and that is saying quite a lot as all of Christi’s characters are phenomenal. This book had so many cameos that made me happy. We catch up with Adam and Georgie, get a peek at Phoebe and Edmund’s life, check in with Justina and Nicky (As we die hard fans have come to call him), and best of all, get some major insight into Andrew’s character. I cannot even put in words how excited I am for Andrew’s book. (Squeal).
This book is amazing. It truly has everything. Sexy spy, brokenhearted widow, love lost and regained, overprotective offspring, intrigue, seduction, I could go on forever, but I will refrain. You will definitely be missing the best book of 2017 if you do not get your hands on The Spy Who Seduced Her.
I fell in love with Nathaniel Archer forever ago. He was absolutely wonderful in Adam and Georgie’s book, and he was no less wonderful in his own. This guy! *sigh* What an amazing hero. He is strong, he is patient, he is determined and compassionate. Nathaniel is everything a man ought to be.
This book, like all by Christi, reaches far beyond the traditional norms of the Regency genre. Instead of an eighteen year old in the first blush of youth, our heroine is a mature woman in her 40s. She has suffered through a terrible marriage for twenty some years, and is now a widow, grandmother, and still the amazing woman we’ve come to love through the books about her daughters. Phoebe and Justina’s books each gave us enough insight into Victoria’s character to hope she would get her happily ever after. We’ve loved her every bit as much as we’ve hated the Viscount Waters. (Who, by the way, got EXACTLY the end deserved).
Our devotion was (as ever) completely justified. Victoria Barrett is a stronger woman than even I gave her credit for. She is the ultimate example of making the best of a terrible situation. She raised three wonderful children, protecting them from the cruelties of society and their father. She is the hero of her story. She had me in tears, she had me cheering for her, she had me wishing I could hug her more times than I can express.
These are some of Christi’s absolute best characters, and that is saying quite a lot as all of Christi’s characters are phenomenal. This book had so many cameos that made me happy. We catch up with Adam and Georgie, get a peek at Phoebe and Edmund’s life, check in with Justina and Nicky (As we die hard fans have come to call him), and best of all, get some major insight into Andrew’s character. I cannot even put in words how excited I am for Andrew’s book. (Squeal).
This book is amazing. It truly has everything. Sexy spy, brokenhearted widow, love lost and regained, overprotective offspring, intrigue, seduction, I could go on forever, but I will refrain. You will definitely be missing the best book of 2017 if you do not get your hands on The Spy Who Seduced Her.
August 27, 2017
This story is book one in Christi Caldwell's newest series, The Brethren. If you've read any of her Heart of a Duke series or Lady of Deception, then the characters in this story are familiar friends.
Nathaniel Archer has spent the last 24 years working as a spy for the Crown, more specifically, the secret group called the Brethren. When he was a young man of 20, he found himself in love with a young lady he vowed to marry. He had a mission to complete first. He was captured and tortured for two years, with the thoughts of the woman he loves keeping him alive. When he finally returned, he found her married. Heart broken he dedicated his life to the only thing he has left, the Brethren. Now, at 45, the leader of the organization he loves, he finds himself investigating the murder of a nobleman. That just happens to be the husband of the only woman he had ever loved. Now he must try to find the person who killed the Viscount and exonerate Victoria 's son in the process.
Lady Victoria, the Viscountess Waters, has spent the last 24 years in a loveless marriage to an evil and abusive reprobate. Circumstances forced her to marry the Viscount Waters to give her unborn baby a name. The father of her baby, a spy for the Crown, left her never to return. Now she finds herself a widow at 43, her vial husband murdered and her son accused of killing him.
Christi Caldwell writes a magical story of two lovers reunited after losing each other many years ago. Each wounded by the lives they have been forced to live. I truly loved how she brought these two people back together and allowed them to find love again under trying circumstances. Sometimes life gets in the way of true love but Christi reminds us that you are never to old to start anew. There are many other twists and turns in this adventure that are not revealed in this review. While I received a copy of this book to review, my opinions are my own. I have pre ordered this book and you will not be sorry if you do too! I highly recommend this book!
Nathaniel Archer has spent the last 24 years working as a spy for the Crown, more specifically, the secret group called the Brethren. When he was a young man of 20, he found himself in love with a young lady he vowed to marry. He had a mission to complete first. He was captured and tortured for two years, with the thoughts of the woman he loves keeping him alive. When he finally returned, he found her married. Heart broken he dedicated his life to the only thing he has left, the Brethren. Now, at 45, the leader of the organization he loves, he finds himself investigating the murder of a nobleman. That just happens to be the husband of the only woman he had ever loved. Now he must try to find the person who killed the Viscount and exonerate Victoria 's son in the process.
Lady Victoria, the Viscountess Waters, has spent the last 24 years in a loveless marriage to an evil and abusive reprobate. Circumstances forced her to marry the Viscount Waters to give her unborn baby a name. The father of her baby, a spy for the Crown, left her never to return. Now she finds herself a widow at 43, her vial husband murdered and her son accused of killing him.
Christi Caldwell writes a magical story of two lovers reunited after losing each other many years ago. Each wounded by the lives they have been forced to live. I truly loved how she brought these two people back together and allowed them to find love again under trying circumstances. Sometimes life gets in the way of true love but Christi reminds us that you are never to old to start anew. There are many other twists and turns in this adventure that are not revealed in this review. While I received a copy of this book to review, my opinions are my own. I have pre ordered this book and you will not be sorry if you do too! I highly recommend this book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2017
It feels like a long ,long wait to find out what happened to the Brethren Lords , but Christi has outdone herself in this wonderful , moving and emotional book .
The first in a brand new series , with characters from the original Brethren book and HOAD Series , she has excelled in bringing the two together in a harmonious storyline, to give us a fantastic start to a whole new world .
Nathaniel was ,and is ,such a charismatic gent , who is still with the Brethren, but now in charge . He takes on the roll Of investigating the death of his once loves husband , and striving to clear her sons name .
Victoria is really the most courageous woman I think I've ever had the pleasure to read about , she's been mistreated her whole marriage, and still greaves for the love she lost . When her son is suspected, at least by society, of her husbands murder , she is shocked when the man she gave her heart to ,and thought dead, returns to find the killer .
Will he? won't he ?
That would be telling
Just read it . I promise , it won't disappoint .
The first in a brand new series , with characters from the original Brethren book and HOAD Series , she has excelled in bringing the two together in a harmonious storyline, to give us a fantastic start to a whole new world .
Nathaniel was ,and is ,such a charismatic gent , who is still with the Brethren, but now in charge . He takes on the roll Of investigating the death of his once loves husband , and striving to clear her sons name .
Victoria is really the most courageous woman I think I've ever had the pleasure to read about , she's been mistreated her whole marriage, and still greaves for the love she lost . When her son is suspected, at least by society, of her husbands murder , she is shocked when the man she gave her heart to ,and thought dead, returns to find the killer .
Will he? won't he ?
That would be telling
Just read it . I promise , it won't disappoint .
July 5, 2018
Can a widow in her forties rekindle a long-lost love or is she destined to a life of living only for her children? Can a man forgive his lover’s ultimate betrayal and put his tortuous past to find love again? Or will years of separation and misunderstandings be too much for them to overcome?
A beautifully written story by Christi Caldwell that shows anyone can find love at any age and second chances are sometimes worth taking. As always, Ms. Caldwell has written a tale that will pull at every emotion and leave you with a smile. BRAVO!
A beautifully written story by Christi Caldwell that shows anyone can find love at any age and second chances are sometimes worth taking. As always, Ms. Caldwell has written a tale that will pull at every emotion and leave you with a smile. BRAVO!
August 27, 2017
A new favourite Caldwell tale!
I am a huge fan of Christi Caldwell's works. However even a writer as prolific who lines up frequent releases she wasn't able to top The Heart Of A Scoundrel (at least for me...)... Until now!!!
This tale is a perfect ying to Edmund and Phoebe's yang. While SCOUNDREL was a tale of two broken by life people falling in love SPY is a story of two people in love broken by life.
A lifetime of loss.
While he endured unimaginable torture at the hand of his captors her memory sustained him. The desire to be back into her arms kept him going in face of unspeakable horrors. Only when he returned, she was gone. Married to someone else.
How cruel was her life? She found her perfect love and it was snatched away from her so soon. Dead and gone at such a young age. And she had no choice but to bind herself to a cruel wastrel.
But there is more to life than what one sees.
He's back from the dead. And while the last time he broke her heart and left her life in shatters this time he can be far more dangerous. For he will see her only son hanged if he gets his way!!!
And there begins a tale of second chances, lost lives and a man's ultimate sacrifice for the sake of his country.
Christi weaves magic in this tale of two mature adults. She's a grandmother. He's the hero of the home office. But they are humans first. Lovers even before that. And deserving of their own HEA FOREVER.
While this tale is a standalone read in itself, Caldwell regulars will find some AHA bits that connect previous stories and answers a few questions therein...
- Why does the rotten viscount have such loyal servants?
- Phoebe and her love for Captain Cook
- How was Victoria so optimistic and caring inspite of marrying a cruel man?
These little hidden Easter eggs made for a very very satisfying read.
Christi with her tales of broken battered people continues to weave in magic tale after tale.
THIS IS A MUST READ. The best one yet!
I am a huge fan of Christi Caldwell's works. However even a writer as prolific who lines up frequent releases she wasn't able to top The Heart Of A Scoundrel (at least for me...)... Until now!!!
This tale is a perfect ying to Edmund and Phoebe's yang. While SCOUNDREL was a tale of two broken by life people falling in love SPY is a story of two people in love broken by life.
A lifetime of loss.
While he endured unimaginable torture at the hand of his captors her memory sustained him. The desire to be back into her arms kept him going in face of unspeakable horrors. Only when he returned, she was gone. Married to someone else.
How cruel was her life? She found her perfect love and it was snatched away from her so soon. Dead and gone at such a young age. And she had no choice but to bind herself to a cruel wastrel.
But there is more to life than what one sees.
He's back from the dead. And while the last time he broke her heart and left her life in shatters this time he can be far more dangerous. For he will see her only son hanged if he gets his way!!!
And there begins a tale of second chances, lost lives and a man's ultimate sacrifice for the sake of his country.
Christi weaves magic in this tale of two mature adults. She's a grandmother. He's the hero of the home office. But they are humans first. Lovers even before that. And deserving of their own HEA FOREVER.
While this tale is a standalone read in itself, Caldwell regulars will find some AHA bits that connect previous stories and answers a few questions therein...
- Why does the rotten viscount have such loyal servants?
- Phoebe and her love for Captain Cook
- How was Victoria so optimistic and caring inspite of marrying a cruel man?
These little hidden Easter eggs made for a very very satisfying read.
Christi with her tales of broken battered people continues to weave in magic tale after tale.
THIS IS A MUST READ. The best one yet!
August 29, 2017
I love love love this book!!! Christi Caldwell has written a amazing second chance love story that filled me with such happiness at the end. Nathaniel and Victoria were young lovers with such hope for the future. Nathaniel always promised to return from his work with the Brethren until the one day he did not. Unknown to Victoria he's taken captive. Months later and with nowhere else to turn she's married off to save her from scandal. Two years later Nathaniel returned to find his only savor married with children and all is lost. Nathaniel leads a solitary life and dedicates his soul to the Brethren. Then the worst happens and Victoria's husband is murdered and the implications land on her family. Nathaniel will not allow anyone but him to find the one responsible and save Victoria.
The years that have passed have not deadened the love they have for each other but misunderstanding and suspicion of the past and future could destroy it all.
This book,is full of twists and turns, longing for time lost and hope for what can be.
I can not wait to read the next book, I want Andrew to have a HEA!
The years that have passed have not deadened the love they have for each other but misunderstanding and suspicion of the past and future could destroy it all.
This book,is full of twists and turns, longing for time lost and hope for what can be.
I can not wait to read the next book, I want Andrew to have a HEA!
August 27, 2017
I loved this book
Christi Caldwell has DONE it again
Loved Victoria and Nathaniel
This book was just so good,
it had all the elements,a strong heroine and a lovable hero and secondary characters that were just amazing.
The HOAD world meets the Brethren world and the way it collides just EPIC
CAN'T FOR MORE FROM THIS SERIES
I got an ARC for an honest review of this book
Christi Caldwell has DONE it again
Loved Victoria and Nathaniel
This book was just so good,
it had all the elements,a strong heroine and a lovable hero and secondary characters that were just amazing.
The HOAD world meets the Brethren world and the way it collides just EPIC
CAN'T FOR MORE FROM THIS SERIES
I got an ARC for an honest review of this book
May 1, 2018
It is rare to come across a story where the main characters are middle-aged. The H/h are both level-headed, likable brooders. A story of healing and a love match strong enough to withstand time and adversities.
For me, the book goes on my favorite list. The story was wholly immersive. I could relate to the complex issues. Plus, I liked the author's characterization of Victoria. A woman of courage. Nathaniel, a dependable, methodical character.
If you like spy stories with disturbing, and intricate storylines, then I recommend this book. The pace starts off slow, but the momentum builds around chapter four. The plot contains well-written twists. I enjoyed the funny scenes and memorable scenes of affection. Although, one scene I found questionable.
WHY A STAR BETWEEN 4.0 AND 4.5?
1. The story nicely weaves a romance with a crime component. The mystery aspect was expository in its style with a straightforward investigation. But after solving the case, I wanted more family healing and acceptance. A story this gripping needs to have such dimensions.
2. Although minor, the author's writing style mainly consists of internal monologue. I admit inner monologue provides a better understanding of her characters. What I guess, for myself, the writing style is an acquired taste.
3. Prepositional placement. Again, another personal grammar preference.
I sincerely hope the author continues to write middle age love stories. And I look forward to reading more of Christi Caldwell's imaginary world.
FYI:
Here are some related pre-stories. They are not necessary, but they may serve helpful or entertaining:
1. My Lady of Deception published 6/2015 -- Relates to the hero, Nathaniel's backstory.
2. The Heart of a Scroundel - published 10/2015 -- Victoria's eldest daughter.
3. To Enchant a Wicked Duke - published 1/2017 -- Victoria's baby girl.
4. No book as of date for Andrew Barret -- Victoria's son. Maybe the author will add more family interaction within Andrew's story.
For me, the book goes on my favorite list. The story was wholly immersive. I could relate to the complex issues. Plus, I liked the author's characterization of Victoria. A woman of courage. Nathaniel, a dependable, methodical character.
If you like spy stories with disturbing, and intricate storylines, then I recommend this book. The pace starts off slow, but the momentum builds around chapter four. The plot contains well-written twists. I enjoyed the funny scenes and memorable scenes of affection. Although, one scene I found questionable.
WHY A STAR BETWEEN 4.0 AND 4.5?
1. The story nicely weaves a romance with a crime component. The mystery aspect was expository in its style with a straightforward investigation. But after solving the case, I wanted more family healing and acceptance. A story this gripping needs to have such dimensions.
2. Although minor, the author's writing style mainly consists of internal monologue. I admit inner monologue provides a better understanding of her characters. What I guess, for myself, the writing style is an acquired taste.
3. Prepositional placement. Again, another personal grammar preference.
I sincerely hope the author continues to write middle age love stories. And I look forward to reading more of Christi Caldwell's imaginary world.
FYI:
Here are some related pre-stories. They are not necessary, but they may serve helpful or entertaining:
1. My Lady of Deception published 6/2015 -- Relates to the hero, Nathaniel's backstory.
2. The Heart of a Scroundel - published 10/2015 -- Victoria's eldest daughter.
3. To Enchant a Wicked Duke - published 1/2017 -- Victoria's baby girl.
4. No book as of date for Andrew Barret -- Victoria's son. Maybe the author will add more family interaction within Andrew's story.
March 2, 2018
I loved the Sinful Brides series by Christi Caldwell but this book just didn't live up to those. I got fed up with the internal dialogue and there didn't seem to be much else to the story. The only reason I finished it was to find out who murdered her husband.
May 18, 2020
3.5 stars
Their story is heartbreaking: they met and fell in love when they were 18 (Victoria) and 20 (Nathaniel), but have been separated for 24 years(!!!) because of horrible circumstances and timing, and your heart aches for them and what they've been through since. And wow, have they been put through the ringer—Nathaniel underwent two years of captivity and torture, and Victoria married an abusive whoremonger and drunkard. When Nathaniel left on a mission and didn't come back, she thought he had died, and when he returned after captivity and found her married, he decided not to disabuse her of the notion.
Now they have been reunited as foes, with Nathaniel having to investigate her husband's recent death and whether her son committed the murder. Yeah, not the best way to get in a woman's good graces. They are both full of resentment, heartbreak, and so many questions: Nathaniel wants to know why she didn't wait for him and why she married the viscount, Victoria wants to know what kept him away for so long and why he never revealed to her that he was alive.
Both of them are very complex, interesting, and lovable characters. They are both full of doubt and regret, feeling so alone despite the deep connections that do exist in their lives. Nathaniel was SUCH a sweetheart; I loved his tenderness and care for Victoria, and how he never denied to himself or to her what she meant to him. He's a very tragic and lonely figure when we first meet him.
RANDOM NOTES.
— Super rare and a nice change was that both of the leading characters were in their 40s—::gasp:: I know!! Could probably count on one hand the number of historical romances that have a 40-year-old couple.
— This is the first in a series, but like all of Caldwell's books, there are crossover characters from her other series. The only way to be fully up to date is to read every single book she's written in order of publication ... but yeah, how often does that happen? In some ways it's cool, because she has truly created a whole world and society, but it can also be annoying.
— I didn't like the Epilogue. :-(
“Everything was real, Victoria Cadence.” Nathaniel stroked his thumb over her lower lip, aching to again familiarize himself with that flesh. “Every stolen meeting, every pledge I made you, every word of love were the only real things in my life,” he whispered, when his career with the Brethren had made his existence one of lies. “I would have you know that.”This was an enjoyable read and while it won't be a reread for me, I definitely recommend it. People who like 2nd chance romances will ADORE this book, and both leading characters were fantastic.
Their story is heartbreaking: they met and fell in love when they were 18 (Victoria) and 20 (Nathaniel), but have been separated for 24 years(!!!) because of horrible circumstances and timing, and your heart aches for them and what they've been through since. And wow, have they been put through the ringer—Nathaniel underwent two years of captivity and torture, and Victoria married an abusive whoremonger and drunkard. When Nathaniel left on a mission and didn't come back, she thought he had died, and when he returned after captivity and found her married, he decided not to disabuse her of the notion.
Now they have been reunited as foes, with Nathaniel having to investigate her husband's recent death and whether her son committed the murder. Yeah, not the best way to get in a woman's good graces. They are both full of resentment, heartbreak, and so many questions: Nathaniel wants to know why she didn't wait for him and why she married the viscount, Victoria wants to know what kept him away for so long and why he never revealed to her that he was alive.
Both of them are very complex, interesting, and lovable characters. They are both full of doubt and regret, feeling so alone despite the deep connections that do exist in their lives. Nathaniel was SUCH a sweetheart; I loved his tenderness and care for Victoria, and how he never denied to himself or to her what she meant to him. He's a very tragic and lonely figure when we first meet him.
Nathaniel Archer, the Earl of Exeter, had gone from a once battered, beaten, and bruised spy captured by an Irish radical to leader of the Brethren of the Lords. Shaped by his imprisonment and two years of torture, he’d become a man who’d no time for anything or anyone outside the Brethren. His work filled his days and nights, and had become the family he’d never had nor would ever have.Victoria's feelings are very vividly portrayed and I had such sympathy for her. She loves her children and can never regret her marriage, because it gave her them, but she had had such dreams when she was younger, and wanted to do so much more. Both of them feel like life has slipped past them.
She’d blinked and her life had passed in a blur of tedious ton functions and creditors calling to pay for the debts racked up by her husband. Time had marched on, erasing the blush of youthful splendor. She’d lived solely for her son and daughters. Now, what remained were three grown children; two of whom were married and another who’d little interest in her, or the idea of family. She’d told herself that her children were enough, only to find she could admit the truth—she’d wanted more. And she hated that she was forced to confront all she’d lost and all she’d desperately wanted for her life. She’d wanted a partner at her side; someone who would have loved her and their children, who’d have gardened with her and, in their advancing years, journey to places she’d always longed to go to, but never would have dared to go as long as there had been young children.
RANDOM NOTES.
— Super rare and a nice change was that both of the leading characters were in their 40s—::gasp:: I know!! Could probably count on one hand the number of historical romances that have a 40-year-old couple.
— This is the first in a series, but like all of Caldwell's books, there are crossover characters from her other series. The only way to be fully up to date is to read every single book she's written in order of publication ... but yeah, how often does that happen? In some ways it's cool, because she has truly created a whole world and society, but it can also be annoying.
— I didn't like the Epilogue. :-(
August 27, 2017
Another great story by Christi Caldwell. Nathaniel believing he lost the woman he loved 24 years ago had thrown his Life into his work until one fateful day a case falls. into his lap...
Victoria believing her love to be dead makes a life changing decision. She marries another man. 24 years later that man is dead and her life in thrown into chaos. with the slip if a cracked window, she encounters the ghost of her past.
Together they work to solve a mystery.
This book is filled with twists, turns, and makes you want to keep reading until the very end. Not only do you want to watch a couple work past old pain and rediscover, you also want the mystery to be solved.
This book is amazing. I waited for years for this book.
Victoria believing her love to be dead makes a life changing decision. She marries another man. 24 years later that man is dead and her life in thrown into chaos. with the slip if a cracked window, she encounters the ghost of her past.
Together they work to solve a mystery.
This book is filled with twists, turns, and makes you want to keep reading until the very end. Not only do you want to watch a couple work past old pain and rediscover, you also want the mystery to be solved.
This book is amazing. I waited for years for this book.
Read
August 28, 2017Once I started reading this book, at somewhere between midnight and 1am in the morning I couldn't put it down. Just had to finish it. So I pulled an all nighter. It was well worth it. This book takes you through all the emotions. Christi weaves her wonderful magic from her heart and tells a wonderful story of lost loves finding each other again. It is heart breaking, gut wrenching, but full of passion, love, forgiveness but most of all a HAPPY ENDING.
I just loved this beautiful story, it is definitely a must read. Thanks Christi Caldwell
I just loved this beautiful story, it is definitely a must read. Thanks Christi Caldwell
November 3, 2019
I loved this book, and every surprising twist and turn it took. Nathaniel had my heart from the very beginning, whereas Victoria took longer, but eventually I fell in love with her too, as they learn to try to let go of the past and move forward - if they can get figure out this nasty murder business.
August 27, 2017
message 1: by Glenna - rated it 5 stars
44 minutes ago
This is the start of a new exciting series that is a spin off The Heart of a Duke. It is a story about never giving up for your forever, no matter what age you may be! Two young lovers making future plans & dreams then being forced apart due to unfortunate life events that destroys all that they dreamed. Lady Victoria Barrett, Visountess Waters had thought she had already been thru all she could endure with a loveless, terrible marriage until her husband is found murdered and her son is the prime suspect. That is until the one true love of her life shows up back into her life, Nathaniel Archer, whom she thought had died 24 years ago. For that could only be the answer to why he never came back as promised. Christi Caldwell once again pulls you in to the emotions of each character whereas you feel their every pain, joy & heartbreak that they go through. You will cry & laugh and won't want to put this book down then be left with wanting more. I highly recommend reading this story which can be read alone but I suggest if you haven't read the connected series The Heart of a Duke, you should include it also. You will not be disappointed!
44 minutes ago
This is the start of a new exciting series that is a spin off The Heart of a Duke. It is a story about never giving up for your forever, no matter what age you may be! Two young lovers making future plans & dreams then being forced apart due to unfortunate life events that destroys all that they dreamed. Lady Victoria Barrett, Visountess Waters had thought she had already been thru all she could endure with a loveless, terrible marriage until her husband is found murdered and her son is the prime suspect. That is until the one true love of her life shows up back into her life, Nathaniel Archer, whom she thought had died 24 years ago. For that could only be the answer to why he never came back as promised. Christi Caldwell once again pulls you in to the emotions of each character whereas you feel their every pain, joy & heartbreak that they go through. You will cry & laugh and won't want to put this book down then be left with wanting more. I highly recommend reading this story which can be read alone but I suggest if you haven't read the connected series The Heart of a Duke, you should include it also. You will not be disappointed!
May 14, 2019
This novel was a let down. When I first read the synopsis, I was kind of excited because I rarely encounter second chance romance especially when the leading characters are in their 40s. I had a feeling that I will rate this 4 stars, however, while reading the story, my excitement kept on sliding downwards. There were a lot things that annoyed me.
1. I find every emotional description overdramatic.
2. So much repititions that it gave me a headache.
3. Aplenty of mathematical errors.
4. Too many idiocities as well.
5. Other else
1. I find every emotional description overdramatic.
2. So much repititions that it gave me a headache.
3. Aplenty of mathematical errors.
(a) Chapter 3: If Victoria was three and forty at present, eight and ten the last time she saw Nathaniel, then it should had been five and twenty years, not four and twenty.
(b) Chapter 4: If this book started in 1820 and Adam Markham's captivity happened in 1802 (My Lady of Deception), then Adam and Georgina should be only married for 18 years, not more than two decades.
(c) It was also mentioned in My Lady of Deception that Georgina Markham (née Wilcox), Adam's wife, that Georgina had been helping the Brethren for four years. It means that Georgina had been aiding the organization since 1798 (1802 minus 4). Assuming that Nathaniel was taken captive on Georgina's first year (1798), then he won't be gone for 24 nor 25 years but only 22 years.
(d) Chapter 17: In chapter 11, it was revealed that Phoebe was three and twenty years old, but in this chapter, it was alluded that she was four and twenty. Victoria was three and forty, it was mentioned that Phoebe was 19 years younger than her. 43 minus 19 is 24. So what was really Phoebe's age?
* Writing a story isn't all about proper grammars, consistency and correct math are also important.
4. Too many idiocities as well.
(a) Chapter 5: If Nathaniel was titled twenty years earlier for acts of bravery and heroism, how could have Victoria missed that? I'm pretty sure that news was big and celebrated especially it was about ferreting out Napoleon's battlefield plans.
(b) Chapter 11: I find Victoria's respond daft.Nathaniel: “I should have made you my wife before I left.”
Victoria: “Then I would have never had Justina and Andrew.”
Nathaniel was only gone for 2 years and when he comes back, they could have their own Justina and Andrew and possibly more passel of children. Or if Nathaniel really died, she could remarry and have more kids.
Seriously, if a woman has a loving nature and maternal instinct, whomever impregnated her whether accidentally or intentionally, she will see the child as a blessing and will love the child no matter what.
(c) Was Mr. Donaldson, the real murderer, that idiotic that he didn't even know that Chester (the erstwhile Viscount Waters), Victoria's late husband, a peer, a peer (for crying out loud!) was married?! And it took him many years to discover that?? He seemed like a savvy businessman based on the description, so he definitely had wide connections. There would at least 2 or 3 would know that Chester was unavailable as it was widely known that there was a Viscountess Waters; their marriage wasn't a secret. It wasn't as if the Donaldsons were living and doing business in another country that that vital information eluded them. Luton was only 34.2 miles (55.04 KM) from London.
5. Other else
(a) Chapter 7: It was ironic that Phoebe said she'd not tolerate someone speaking for her. As such, she'll not speak for her sister, however, she spoke for her brother.
(b) Here I thought that Andrew had matured after To Enchant a Wicked Duke. Apparently, he was still wearing his little boys panties.
(c) How would a gently-bred lady know how to click a gun and bandage a stab-on-the-chest wound? (Chapter 14 and 16) I don't think handling a gun and advanced first-aid was one of the ladies lessons.
(d) The case was easily solved after all the heavy drama. Simply because a vindictive asshole, the Marquess of Tennyson, who had been so focused on his own individual absolution, that he had put the important detail before the organization. Yet, Tennyson wasn't dismissed for his selfish negligence.
(e) I suppose it would be complete if there was a tear-jerking father and daughter reunion scene.
October 15, 2019
Rating: R for sex
Sex: 1 scene, 1 petting
Language: 0 F words, 41+ Lord's name in vain, 1 S words
Violence: dead body was gruesomely marked, mugging
HEA or Cliffhanger: HEA
Do I need to read books before this one: no. I saw a references to previous stories, but it didn't influence my ability to enjoy this book
Would I read more of the series: no
The first part of this book dragged. Over and over, the main characters are thinking about their loss, their pain, their regrets. It got rather tiresome. But then the plot picked up. It got interesting and romantic and suspenseful. I ended happy with the story, but man! That first part needed more dialogue.
----SPOILERS----
1820 London. Nathaniel Archer, Earl of Exeter, Sovereign of the Brethren of the Lords, an organization that keeps England and its people safe, is reviewing recommendations for an open position. The Brethren is a secret organization known only to the king, the Home Office, and its members. Lionel Bennett is his assistant, son of a Brother, 20 years Nathaniel's junior. The Duke of Quimbly's son has applied 4 times for the Home Office. Bennett would like to see him hired somewhere; they were friends at Eton. The last file, Colin Lockhart, is not a recommendation of the king; he's a Bow Street Runner. He's spent the last two years restructuring and remodeling the organization to be modern, getting rid of lackadaisical agents, etc. He's the first within the ranks to not have been born into a title; his was awarded because of heroism.
MacLeod arrives for his meeting. Nathaniel meets with young agents to ensure they don't make the same mistakes he did. He got too confident and spent 2 years tortured by Irishmen, which cost him the love of his life: Lady Victoria Barrett nee Tremaine. He struggles to come back from memories. MacLeod's new assignment is the 2mo murder of Victoria's husband. Andrew Barrett, now Viscount Waters, is the lead suspect. Carved on the body were the words whoremonger, drunk, adulterer, reprobate. Nathaniel takes the case. Sovereigns don't do that.
Victoria hated her husband. They married because she was pregnant with Nathaniel's baby and the viscount needed money. She believes Nathaniel dead. She doesn't feel one whit of grief for her husband, but will fulfill society's demands for the sake of her children and grandchildren. Phoebe finds her, Victoria sings to her grandson. Phoebe doesn't grieve him, either. Phoebe's husband, Edmund, comes in; he'd woken because Phoebe was missing. Victoria is jealous. They leave Victoria. She sees the window open 2", the signal she and Nathaniel shared. She closes the window, turns around, and there's a man. He quiets her, releases her, and she can't believe it's Nathaniel. She weeps in his arms, starts asking questions, but Andrew comes in. Nathaniel slips out. After Andrew goes to bed, she thinks about Nathaniel. She’d given him her virtue and heart on nothing more than a promise of more when he returned. For those gifts, he’d left her with a babe in her belly, never to return. Why, he hadn’t bothered with so much as a visit or hasty explanation. What if he'd had a family, and she was the mistress?
Adam Markham visits Nathaniel. His wife, Georgina, rescued Nathaniel years ago. Markham wants to know why he's picked this case. Nathaniel tells him of long gone dreams.
She's eating breakfast when Manfred, her butler, brings her the morning papers. They slander her name. She sees Nathaniel is investigating. She demands her carriage. She believes everything he told her was a lie. Andrew joins her. He believes he is like his father because they share blood.
She storms into Nathaniel's office. She slaps him, is horrified at what she did. She begs him to drop the case, he can't. “After I gave you my virtue and you pledged to marry me, you left, never to return.” He winced. “You let me believe you were dead, then return all these years later, and just expect I should trust you with my son’s fate?” She forced a laugh. “If you believe that, you are either mad, or stupid, or both, Nath—my lord.” “It was never my intention to hurt you.” “Go to hell, Nathaniel. ” “I was there long, long ago,” he said in hushed tones. “I rather doubt I’ve ever left.”
He goes to interview Phoebe. Victoria is there. “That damned organization always meant more to you than,” me, “anything or anyone.” “Not everyone. Every stolen meeting, every pledge I made you, every word of love were the only real things in my life.” Phoebe and Edmund come in. He sees in Phoebe the daughter he could've had. He wants to interview her alone; neither Victoria nor Edmund will allow it. Phoebe unknowingly paints a picture of the years he's missed of Victoria. Also of a terrible man: “My father normalized shameful behaviors. His drinking and whoring and wagering crippled our family’s finances and brought struggle to each of us.” Nathaniel is shattered.
He goes to Adam's and Georgina's ball, only because they're his only friends. He reveals all to Georgina, who encourages him to pursue Victoria and leave the Brethren.
The next morning, Phoebe and Justina invite Victoria to Captain Cook's exhibit. Nathaniel had taken her, promised they'd travel. Phoebe talks her into an hour. While she's there, Nathaniel talks to her. He'd been following Phoebe. They go into an island exhibit. He's seen the real places. He kisses her, and she feels desire, something she thought her husband had squelched. Light petting. Daughters interrupt. She's no longer angry, just confused.
The next day, he visits Justina and the Duke of Huntly. Victoria arrives. Her father had intended to marry her to the Marquess of Tennyson (a Brethren). Andrew had no relationship with father, either, though he adopted his ways. “When my father learned of my husband’s intention to call in his markers, he took exception with my marriage. He went partially mad. Went into a rage. Turned violent. [Parents] were arguing. He was shouting vile, hateful words about her for encouraging us to believe in love. I heard glass breaking and wanted to leave. Instead, I entered the room. He had her by the wrist. Her cheek was red, though we never spoke on it, I saw it. I knew he’d turned violent. [Andrew] said if my father touched either one of us again, he would see him dead.” Nathaniel wants to toss his head back and rail like an angry beast. Wants to drag the jerk she’d called husband from the grave and kill him all over again with his bare hands. He talks to Tennyson, who doesn't think his murder could've been politically motivated.
Victoria's gardening at night. He comes, asks her why she married. She married 86 days after he left. He was captured, 100 miles away, for 2 years. "And she, who’d long believed herself incapable of inflicting harm upon another, wanted to hunt his captors down and bury a blade inside their black hearts." He apologizes for not returning. She was gone when he crept into her old room. "She was gone to you the moment you chose the Brethren over her." Why did you marry him? Pregnant. With Phoebe. "
And not only had he left Victoria to suffer, but he’d brought misery to his own child. “All I ever wanted was you and a family together. I wanted a daughter just like her mother and all these years, I had her and never—” He sobbed, his body shaking. "I was going to marry you. I would have you know that."
Andrew's interview. He tells the story of when he was five, he heard screams, saw father raping Victoria, took up a poker and stabbed him in the butt. Next time father hurt Victoria, he put the poker through his throat. He'd not touched her again until Justina got married. Andrew leaves, Nathaniel holds Victoria without words. He's not guilty. I know. Let's find the real killer.
They look through the study for secret documents. He asks if their love had to be lost, if he can give up the Brethren. She's not sure of his commitment. He tells her he's had no woman since. He admires that her children are bright and believe in love, that's a credit to her. They find a coded message referring to a den of criminality. She wants to investigate with him.
That night, she dresses as a man and walks to where the carriage is waiting. A man comes to her, she knees him, and before she can attack again, Nathaniel identifies himself. She teaches him he deserves happiness, doesn't need to atone for bad decisions forever. He treats her as an equal.
At the hell, the waitress hits on them both. The second waitress gives them information on Donaldson and on Tennyson. Nathaniel's going to have Bennett interview the second waitress to be an agent. They leave, are attacked, Nathaniel thrashes the first assailant, Victoria aims her pistol at the second until he leaves, threatening them to not ask about Donaldson. She tends to Nathaniel's wound in the carriage. No one has cared before. She says I love you. "After all he’d done, after the shame and pain he’d left her to face alone, she should love him still?" He kisses her. He takes her to one of his secret offices. She is aghast at how easily he could've died. One day he will falter, and she'll lose him again. She hates the Brethren. She takes off his shirt and sees so many scars, mostly from his captors. She tends his wound. They make love.
When they wake, he has to get her home without anyone seeing them together. He wants a marriage with her. She sneaks into her home, expecting no one, but Manfred and Phoebe are there. She and Phoebe go to her room. Victoria shows her the original Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, jewel-encrusted, in Farsi. Nathaniel got it for her, and she kept it hidden under the floorboards under her bed these 24 years. She tells Phoebe who her father is.
Nathaniel interviews Tennyson. “It is my opinion the Cato Street Conspiracy is more than a scheme concocted by commoners and merchants. It is someone from within the peerage.” The recent attempt to assassinate the British cabinet ministers and prime minister had been thwarted because of the Brethren. “Waters continued to show up at the Coaxing Tom. He sometimes sat down to cards and drinks with Ings and Brunt.” Two members of the conspiracy who’d been hanged for treason. “Waters had an entire family with Donaldson’s daughter. Lived a separate life, with a wife and three more children.” Donaldson knew.
Nathaniel and two others go to Donaldson's house. They meet Freddy and Miss Donaldson. She takes him in to meet Donaldson. Nathaniel notices the affection between them, that Donaldson's study has grandchildren drawings hung up, paintings done by his daughter. It'd just been the two of them for many years. He bought his daughter a nobleman, Victoria's husband, because Donaldson had money to spare but he didn't have a title. He confesses he killed him, and asks what will happen to his daughter and grandchildren. Nathaniel will see to it that he doesn't hang and that his fortune remains his family. He will also have one of his agents watch over the family until Donaldson returns.
Nathaniel shows Victoria the written confession. She tells him she wants all of him or none of him. Andrew comes out, catches them hugging. Nathaniel leaves. Andrew knows that Nathaniel is Phoebe's dad. He cries that he wasn't able to protect her from her husband, and she lets him so that he forgives himself. He doesn't think Nathaniel is worthy because he left her all those years ago. Andrew leaves to go to a good club with his brothers-in-law. Victoria realizes her life is empty without her children. She goes to her room, the window is open. Nathaniel wants to see the world for the first real time because she'll be at his side. He gets down on his knee and proposes with a special license from the Archbishop. He couldn't before because he had to set Andrew's life to rights. They leave. Simply leave.
3 months later, they're in Phoebe's parlor. The three children and two sons-in-law are chastising them for leaving without even a note. Nathaniel and Victoria aren't really feeling remorse. Then Victoria sees Nathaniel and Phoebe exchanging glances, and Nathaniel whispers he asked Phoebe for permission to marry her. Phoebe asked where they'd gone. We were sailing to the Sandwich Islands. We came back because Victoria got ill. She's expecting. They're aghast! Nathaniel and Victoria get a whole new life.
Sex: 1 scene, 1 petting
Language: 0 F words, 41+ Lord's name in vain, 1 S words
Violence: dead body was gruesomely marked, mugging
HEA or Cliffhanger: HEA
Do I need to read books before this one: no. I saw a references to previous stories, but it didn't influence my ability to enjoy this book
Would I read more of the series: no
The first part of this book dragged. Over and over, the main characters are thinking about their loss, their pain, their regrets. It got rather tiresome. But then the plot picked up. It got interesting and romantic and suspenseful. I ended happy with the story, but man! That first part needed more dialogue.
----SPOILERS----
1820 London. Nathaniel Archer, Earl of Exeter, Sovereign of the Brethren of the Lords, an organization that keeps England and its people safe, is reviewing recommendations for an open position. The Brethren is a secret organization known only to the king, the Home Office, and its members. Lionel Bennett is his assistant, son of a Brother, 20 years Nathaniel's junior. The Duke of Quimbly's son has applied 4 times for the Home Office. Bennett would like to see him hired somewhere; they were friends at Eton. The last file, Colin Lockhart, is not a recommendation of the king; he's a Bow Street Runner. He's spent the last two years restructuring and remodeling the organization to be modern, getting rid of lackadaisical agents, etc. He's the first within the ranks to not have been born into a title; his was awarded because of heroism.
MacLeod arrives for his meeting. Nathaniel meets with young agents to ensure they don't make the same mistakes he did. He got too confident and spent 2 years tortured by Irishmen, which cost him the love of his life: Lady Victoria Barrett nee Tremaine. He struggles to come back from memories. MacLeod's new assignment is the 2mo murder of Victoria's husband. Andrew Barrett, now Viscount Waters, is the lead suspect. Carved on the body were the words whoremonger, drunk, adulterer, reprobate. Nathaniel takes the case. Sovereigns don't do that.
Victoria hated her husband. They married because she was pregnant with Nathaniel's baby and the viscount needed money. She believes Nathaniel dead. She doesn't feel one whit of grief for her husband, but will fulfill society's demands for the sake of her children and grandchildren. Phoebe finds her, Victoria sings to her grandson. Phoebe doesn't grieve him, either. Phoebe's husband, Edmund, comes in; he'd woken because Phoebe was missing. Victoria is jealous. They leave Victoria. She sees the window open 2", the signal she and Nathaniel shared. She closes the window, turns around, and there's a man. He quiets her, releases her, and she can't believe it's Nathaniel. She weeps in his arms, starts asking questions, but Andrew comes in. Nathaniel slips out. After Andrew goes to bed, she thinks about Nathaniel. She’d given him her virtue and heart on nothing more than a promise of more when he returned. For those gifts, he’d left her with a babe in her belly, never to return. Why, he hadn’t bothered with so much as a visit or hasty explanation. What if he'd had a family, and she was the mistress?
Adam Markham visits Nathaniel. His wife, Georgina, rescued Nathaniel years ago. Markham wants to know why he's picked this case. Nathaniel tells him of long gone dreams.
She's eating breakfast when Manfred, her butler, brings her the morning papers. They slander her name. She sees Nathaniel is investigating. She demands her carriage. She believes everything he told her was a lie. Andrew joins her. He believes he is like his father because they share blood.
She storms into Nathaniel's office. She slaps him, is horrified at what she did. She begs him to drop the case, he can't. “After I gave you my virtue and you pledged to marry me, you left, never to return.” He winced. “You let me believe you were dead, then return all these years later, and just expect I should trust you with my son’s fate?” She forced a laugh. “If you believe that, you are either mad, or stupid, or both, Nath—my lord.” “It was never my intention to hurt you.” “Go to hell, Nathaniel. ” “I was there long, long ago,” he said in hushed tones. “I rather doubt I’ve ever left.”
He goes to interview Phoebe. Victoria is there. “That damned organization always meant more to you than,” me, “anything or anyone.” “Not everyone. Every stolen meeting, every pledge I made you, every word of love were the only real things in my life.” Phoebe and Edmund come in. He sees in Phoebe the daughter he could've had. He wants to interview her alone; neither Victoria nor Edmund will allow it. Phoebe unknowingly paints a picture of the years he's missed of Victoria. Also of a terrible man: “My father normalized shameful behaviors. His drinking and whoring and wagering crippled our family’s finances and brought struggle to each of us.” Nathaniel is shattered.
He goes to Adam's and Georgina's ball, only because they're his only friends. He reveals all to Georgina, who encourages him to pursue Victoria and leave the Brethren.
The next morning, Phoebe and Justina invite Victoria to Captain Cook's exhibit. Nathaniel had taken her, promised they'd travel. Phoebe talks her into an hour. While she's there, Nathaniel talks to her. He'd been following Phoebe. They go into an island exhibit. He's seen the real places. He kisses her, and she feels desire, something she thought her husband had squelched. Light petting. Daughters interrupt. She's no longer angry, just confused.
The next day, he visits Justina and the Duke of Huntly. Victoria arrives. Her father had intended to marry her to the Marquess of Tennyson (a Brethren). Andrew had no relationship with father, either, though he adopted his ways. “When my father learned of my husband’s intention to call in his markers, he took exception with my marriage. He went partially mad. Went into a rage. Turned violent. [Parents] were arguing. He was shouting vile, hateful words about her for encouraging us to believe in love. I heard glass breaking and wanted to leave. Instead, I entered the room. He had her by the wrist. Her cheek was red, though we never spoke on it, I saw it. I knew he’d turned violent. [Andrew] said if my father touched either one of us again, he would see him dead.” Nathaniel wants to toss his head back and rail like an angry beast. Wants to drag the jerk she’d called husband from the grave and kill him all over again with his bare hands. He talks to Tennyson, who doesn't think his murder could've been politically motivated.
Victoria's gardening at night. He comes, asks her why she married. She married 86 days after he left. He was captured, 100 miles away, for 2 years. "And she, who’d long believed herself incapable of inflicting harm upon another, wanted to hunt his captors down and bury a blade inside their black hearts." He apologizes for not returning. She was gone when he crept into her old room. "She was gone to you the moment you chose the Brethren over her." Why did you marry him? Pregnant. With Phoebe. "
And not only had he left Victoria to suffer, but he’d brought misery to his own child. “All I ever wanted was you and a family together. I wanted a daughter just like her mother and all these years, I had her and never—” He sobbed, his body shaking. "I was going to marry you. I would have you know that."
Andrew's interview. He tells the story of when he was five, he heard screams, saw father raping Victoria, took up a poker and stabbed him in the butt. Next time father hurt Victoria, he put the poker through his throat. He'd not touched her again until Justina got married. Andrew leaves, Nathaniel holds Victoria without words. He's not guilty. I know. Let's find the real killer.
They look through the study for secret documents. He asks if their love had to be lost, if he can give up the Brethren. She's not sure of his commitment. He tells her he's had no woman since. He admires that her children are bright and believe in love, that's a credit to her. They find a coded message referring to a den of criminality. She wants to investigate with him.
That night, she dresses as a man and walks to where the carriage is waiting. A man comes to her, she knees him, and before she can attack again, Nathaniel identifies himself. She teaches him he deserves happiness, doesn't need to atone for bad decisions forever. He treats her as an equal.
At the hell, the waitress hits on them both. The second waitress gives them information on Donaldson and on Tennyson. Nathaniel's going to have Bennett interview the second waitress to be an agent. They leave, are attacked, Nathaniel thrashes the first assailant, Victoria aims her pistol at the second until he leaves, threatening them to not ask about Donaldson. She tends to Nathaniel's wound in the carriage. No one has cared before. She says I love you. "After all he’d done, after the shame and pain he’d left her to face alone, she should love him still?" He kisses her. He takes her to one of his secret offices. She is aghast at how easily he could've died. One day he will falter, and she'll lose him again. She hates the Brethren. She takes off his shirt and sees so many scars, mostly from his captors. She tends his wound. They make love.
When they wake, he has to get her home without anyone seeing them together. He wants a marriage with her. She sneaks into her home, expecting no one, but Manfred and Phoebe are there. She and Phoebe go to her room. Victoria shows her the original Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, jewel-encrusted, in Farsi. Nathaniel got it for her, and she kept it hidden under the floorboards under her bed these 24 years. She tells Phoebe who her father is.
Nathaniel interviews Tennyson. “It is my opinion the Cato Street Conspiracy is more than a scheme concocted by commoners and merchants. It is someone from within the peerage.” The recent attempt to assassinate the British cabinet ministers and prime minister had been thwarted because of the Brethren. “Waters continued to show up at the Coaxing Tom. He sometimes sat down to cards and drinks with Ings and Brunt.” Two members of the conspiracy who’d been hanged for treason. “Waters had an entire family with Donaldson’s daughter. Lived a separate life, with a wife and three more children.” Donaldson knew.
Nathaniel and two others go to Donaldson's house. They meet Freddy and Miss Donaldson. She takes him in to meet Donaldson. Nathaniel notices the affection between them, that Donaldson's study has grandchildren drawings hung up, paintings done by his daughter. It'd just been the two of them for many years. He bought his daughter a nobleman, Victoria's husband, because Donaldson had money to spare but he didn't have a title. He confesses he killed him, and asks what will happen to his daughter and grandchildren. Nathaniel will see to it that he doesn't hang and that his fortune remains his family. He will also have one of his agents watch over the family until Donaldson returns.
Nathaniel shows Victoria the written confession. She tells him she wants all of him or none of him. Andrew comes out, catches them hugging. Nathaniel leaves. Andrew knows that Nathaniel is Phoebe's dad. He cries that he wasn't able to protect her from her husband, and she lets him so that he forgives himself. He doesn't think Nathaniel is worthy because he left her all those years ago. Andrew leaves to go to a good club with his brothers-in-law. Victoria realizes her life is empty without her children. She goes to her room, the window is open. Nathaniel wants to see the world for the first real time because she'll be at his side. He gets down on his knee and proposes with a special license from the Archbishop. He couldn't before because he had to set Andrew's life to rights. They leave. Simply leave.
3 months later, they're in Phoebe's parlor. The three children and two sons-in-law are chastising them for leaving without even a note. Nathaniel and Victoria aren't really feeling remorse. Then Victoria sees Nathaniel and Phoebe exchanging glances, and Nathaniel whispers he asked Phoebe for permission to marry her. Phoebe asked where they'd gone. We were sailing to the Sandwich Islands. We came back because Victoria got ill. She's expecting. They're aghast! Nathaniel and Victoria get a whole new life.
September 9, 2017
Christi Caldwell know how to captive her readers with mystery, adventure and murder all tied around a love that is as old as time. Victoria said good bye to the only man she ever loved the day he was killed. Many years have come and past with a few mistakes and lots of heartache. Having to marry a man she never love who was cruel and hurtful in so many ways. Now he is dead well murdered she cannot find it in herself to feel sorry, who wouldn’t be happy to see that man take his last breath. She has turned the last page in that book it is closed but now she must help her son clear his name and prove he didn’t do it. Just when she thinks she might get her life in order and clear her son she get slapped in the face coming face to face with the only man she ever love. Can this be real? Is this some kind of cruel joke? Is he really alive? What does this mean? Could he be so cruel as to let her think he was dead? So many thoughts going through her mind, lost love, how she mourned him and the whole time he was alive and well leaving her to face the fallout from their love. He abandoned her when she needed him the most. She had been so sure of his love and that he would come for her only to have him die but now face to face she finds she is reliving her nightmare all over again.
Nathaniel is a very bitter man and has been a very for years he thought she betrayed their love casting him aside and moving on to live a life of pleasure why he was taken and tortured. The only thing that kept him going was her. The thought of her waiting for him and his returning to clam what was his only to find she took another in his place. He left a very bitter man as he walked right out of her life. Now he comes face to face with her vowing to find the truth to her husband death. He thought he could deal with it that the need for her would be over he finds he is so wrong. He has a job to do, will the love he has for her get in the way? With the passion stronger than it ever was they both fight the feeling but love must come through which turns their world upside down.
These two were meant to be together as the story unfolds you fall so in love with them. Their passion is so real it holds the reader spellbound. What a wonderful exciting and thrilling story of second chance love. Nathaniel and Victoria deserve to break out of the prison they have both been in they deserve this second chance to find happiness. The author gives you a wonderful plot with characters that become very real to the reader. I found myself talking to them begging them to give it another try they deserve happiness after going through so much. I loved the fact that the romance was built around an older couple. Ones who made mistakes but never gave up on their love no matter how bad things got their memories kept the other going putting one foot in front of the other until they could have the happy ever after they deserved. The author gives the read the hope that there is true love it never fails but lives on and grows stronger each day. The author has a talent giving the readers a compelling story that pulls them in, making you want to cry, cheering the characters on. You forget you are reading as these characters become real they are like family to you. I loved the plot, characters and the ending was just delightful. I can’t wait to see where this new series will go and meet all the new characters we will come to love.
*********************
Book Obsessed Chicks Review
Nathaniel is a very bitter man and has been a very for years he thought she betrayed their love casting him aside and moving on to live a life of pleasure why he was taken and tortured. The only thing that kept him going was her. The thought of her waiting for him and his returning to clam what was his only to find she took another in his place. He left a very bitter man as he walked right out of her life. Now he comes face to face with her vowing to find the truth to her husband death. He thought he could deal with it that the need for her would be over he finds he is so wrong. He has a job to do, will the love he has for her get in the way? With the passion stronger than it ever was they both fight the feeling but love must come through which turns their world upside down.
These two were meant to be together as the story unfolds you fall so in love with them. Their passion is so real it holds the reader spellbound. What a wonderful exciting and thrilling story of second chance love. Nathaniel and Victoria deserve to break out of the prison they have both been in they deserve this second chance to find happiness. The author gives you a wonderful plot with characters that become very real to the reader. I found myself talking to them begging them to give it another try they deserve happiness after going through so much. I loved the fact that the romance was built around an older couple. Ones who made mistakes but never gave up on their love no matter how bad things got their memories kept the other going putting one foot in front of the other until they could have the happy ever after they deserved. The author gives the read the hope that there is true love it never fails but lives on and grows stronger each day. The author has a talent giving the readers a compelling story that pulls them in, making you want to cry, cheering the characters on. You forget you are reading as these characters become real they are like family to you. I loved the plot, characters and the ending was just delightful. I can’t wait to see where this new series will go and meet all the new characters we will come to love.
*********************
Book Obsessed Chicks Review
August 29, 2017
Find you a cozy reading spot, and prepare to fall in love...
This latest book by Christi Caldwell is beyond amazing! To look at the cover, I just fell in love with these characters, Nathaniel & Victoria. I can immediately see in this couple, a history of love and longing, heartache and hope. And when the first page was turned and I took that first step into their world, I was joyfully lost. I could not put it down, reading long into the morning hours. So many emotions as I read their beautiful story.
Nathaniel Archer (Lord Exeter) was her love of twenty years ago, a spy for the Brethren, who left on a mission and never returned to her. Lady Victoria Tremaine, thinking her love dead, would enter an arranged marriage to Viscount Waters, a faithless, drunken nobleman. She lives a life with an abusive wretch of a husband, dreaming of and mourning her lost love. The only good in her life, her children and grandchildren. Unbeknownst to Victoria, Nathaniel had returned years ago, but seeing her married with children to another, thinks his love did not wait for him, and leaves town, traveling and dedicating his total life to the Brethren.
Due to these heart wrenching misconceptions and secrets, their lives are launched along paths which will part them for the next two decades. When Victoria's husband is killed and her son is under suspicion of his murder, Nathaniel returns as the investigator of the crime. Can Nathaniel be successful in finding the truth, and will that truth heal her family? As their passion is rekindled and secrets are revealed, will they learn to trust again, and can their love lost survive?
If you are a Christi fan, you'll find this book is yet another example of her awesome talent! And if you're not familiar with this writer, this is a perfect opportunity to experience her larger-than-life characters and the world in which they live. A MUST READ!
This latest book by Christi Caldwell is beyond amazing! To look at the cover, I just fell in love with these characters, Nathaniel & Victoria. I can immediately see in this couple, a history of love and longing, heartache and hope. And when the first page was turned and I took that first step into their world, I was joyfully lost. I could not put it down, reading long into the morning hours. So many emotions as I read their beautiful story.
Nathaniel Archer (Lord Exeter) was her love of twenty years ago, a spy for the Brethren, who left on a mission and never returned to her. Lady Victoria Tremaine, thinking her love dead, would enter an arranged marriage to Viscount Waters, a faithless, drunken nobleman. She lives a life with an abusive wretch of a husband, dreaming of and mourning her lost love. The only good in her life, her children and grandchildren. Unbeknownst to Victoria, Nathaniel had returned years ago, but seeing her married with children to another, thinks his love did not wait for him, and leaves town, traveling and dedicating his total life to the Brethren.
Due to these heart wrenching misconceptions and secrets, their lives are launched along paths which will part them for the next two decades. When Victoria's husband is killed and her son is under suspicion of his murder, Nathaniel returns as the investigator of the crime. Can Nathaniel be successful in finding the truth, and will that truth heal her family? As their passion is rekindled and secrets are revealed, will they learn to trust again, and can their love lost survive?
If you are a Christi fan, you'll find this book is yet another example of her awesome talent! And if you're not familiar with this writer, this is a perfect opportunity to experience her larger-than-life characters and the world in which they live. A MUST READ!
September 9, 2018
So, I'm actually having a lot of trouble figuring out what order these books are supposed to be read in. Because this book is billed as the first in a series ("The Brethren, #1"), I thought it was, well, the first in a series. But it 100% contains characters from a book in a different series (Brethren of the Lords #1), albeit with something like a 23ish year time leap into the future. After poking around, "Brethren of the Lords #2" apparently also contains a character from a different series ("The Heart of a Duke" series) in addition to a character from "Brethren of the Lords, #1" so I just don't know the order I'm supposed to read the books in.
Regardless, I enjoyed "The Spy Who Seduced Her." Having read "My Lady of Deception (Brethren of the Lords #1)" was helpful (it gave me background into who the characters were and how they got to where they were), and in fact I enjoyed "The Spy Who Seduced Her" more than "My Lady of Deception (Brethren of the Lords #1)." Although the characters certainly suffered a lot in "The Spy Who Seduced Her," it wasn't anywhere near as extreme as in "My Lady of Deception (Brethren of the Lords #1)," which made it easier reading for me.
I also very much enjoyed reading about older characters (although it feels weird to be calling people in their 40s "older," being in your 40s is nevertheless very much "older" for a romance novel). It's so rare for anyone who isn't in their late teens, twenties, or (at the absolute oldest) early thirties to be represented in romance novels. Once a character has hit like 33 years old, they usually don't exist for the purposes of romance novels unless they are a secondary character. It's very unfortunate, and it was nice to see this turned on it's head.
Regardless, I enjoyed "The Spy Who Seduced Her." Having read "My Lady of Deception (Brethren of the Lords #1)" was helpful (it gave me background into who the characters were and how they got to where they were), and in fact I enjoyed "The Spy Who Seduced Her" more than "My Lady of Deception (Brethren of the Lords #1)." Although the characters certainly suffered a lot in "The Spy Who Seduced Her," it wasn't anywhere near as extreme as in "My Lady of Deception (Brethren of the Lords #1)," which made it easier reading for me.
I also very much enjoyed reading about older characters (although it feels weird to be calling people in their 40s "older," being in your 40s is nevertheless very much "older" for a romance novel). It's so rare for anyone who isn't in their late teens, twenties, or (at the absolute oldest) early thirties to be represented in romance novels. Once a character has hit like 33 years old, they usually don't exist for the purposes of romance novels unless they are a secondary character. It's very unfortunate, and it was nice to see this turned on it's head.
August 29, 2017
I've never really read a story with an older couple (mind you, I'm older than the couple in the book) and wasn't really sure what I would think of Nathaniel and Victoria's story. All I can say is WOW! I fell in love with Victoria's personality and straight up love for her children. She taught them how to love and hope even in her horrible situation without Nathaniel. Then there's Nathaniel with his own demons to fight where Victoria is concerned. The mistakes they both made are soon brought to light, but that doesn't fix the problem Victoria's son is in, or Nathaniel's job situation. I felt like I was about to cry through most of the book, sometimes sad, sometimes happy, but at the end, I almost woke up my family with the whooping noise I made! (It was 1230 am when I finished the book, I couldn't put it down) I can now say, I LOVE the more mature hero/heroine stories!
September 9, 2017
The Spy Who Seduced Her by Christi Caldwell
The Brethren Series Book One
Nathaniel Archer, the Earl of Exeter and Sovereign of the Brethren has lived a hard life. He had loved and lost that love and so much more. After that loss—he everything he had to the Brethren. Taking dangerous missions, after all, what did he have left to lose? Nothing.
Lady Victoria Barrett, Viscountess Waters loved her children and grandchildren. She had once know love but to the man she had married—she only knew hate. She didn't mourn him when he was murdered...only the fact that her son was being blamed for the murder.
A really good story with some surprising twists. Nathaniel, as Sovereign, usually stays in the office but when this case crosses his desk...he's determined to get to the bottom of who killed Viscount Waters. As always with Christi Caldwell's books, I'm looking forward to the next book in this new series. My Lady of Deception takes place about twenty years before and has some connections to this book.
**Sexual content
http://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com/...
The Brethren Series Book One
Nathaniel Archer, the Earl of Exeter and Sovereign of the Brethren has lived a hard life. He had loved and lost that love and so much more. After that loss—he everything he had to the Brethren. Taking dangerous missions, after all, what did he have left to lose? Nothing.
Lady Victoria Barrett, Viscountess Waters loved her children and grandchildren. She had once know love but to the man she had married—she only knew hate. She didn't mourn him when he was murdered...only the fact that her son was being blamed for the murder.
A really good story with some surprising twists. Nathaniel, as Sovereign, usually stays in the office but when this case crosses his desk...he's determined to get to the bottom of who killed Viscount Waters. As always with Christi Caldwell's books, I'm looking forward to the next book in this new series. My Lady of Deception takes place about twenty years before and has some connections to this book.
**Sexual content
http://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com/...
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