Dopo una vita da bandito, Christian Llevanth ha ereditato il titolo di visconte e può vendicarsi del duca di Massingale che ritiene abbia provocato con un'infamante accusa, tanti anni prima, la morte di sua madre. Scaltro e galante, Christian capisce che l'unico modo per accedere alla dimora del vecchio duca è ingraziarsi sua nipote, la bella e innocente Elizabeth. Ma i suoi piani si complicano quando la passione che nasce tra loro lo spinge involontariamente a compromettere la giovane lady. L'amore sbocciato improvviso sembrerebbe aprire la strada al matrimonio, anche se i sotterfugi di Christian e l'inesorabile ombra del passato rischiano di rovinare tutto…
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Hawkins writes novels that have been praised as touching, witty, charming, and heartwarming. A native Southerner who grew up in the mountains of East Tennessee where storytelling is a way of life, Karen recently moved to frosty New England with her beloved husband and multiple foster dogs. The Dove Pond books are a nod to the thousands of books that opened doors to more adventures, places, and discoveries than she ever imagined possible. To find out more about Karen, follow her at: FACEBOOK • TWITTER • INSTAGRAM • PINTEREST
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She loses her virginity against a door. The only character that makes this book bearable was the butler, Reeves, who is awesome. But for the most part, it was poorly written drivel.
Lady Elizabeth, at twenty five years of age, has yet to find herself a husband. Beth is content to live in the country with her grandfather, and among her roses and beloved books. Then her grandfather insists that she has a season in London, so she can find a husband. Beth doesn't want a husband, knowing that the only reason that she has any suitors is because of her large dowry that her grandfather has bestowed upon her, but then she meets Christian Llevanth, the Viscount Westerville, where rumors fly about him. Christian intrigues her, and Beth finds herself looking forward to their meets, and despite the fact that she isn't looking for a husband, she longs for his kisses, that throw all of her logic and reason out of the window. But there is so much more to Christian than meets the eye, especially when she figures out that he is looking into her grandfather, and knows that she must find out what he wants to know so badly about her grandfather, but will it destroy what they feel for one another?Her Officer And Gentleman is the sequel to Her Master and Commander, and I have yet to read the first one, but it turns out that I didn't need to, although after reading this one, that's next on my list for Karen Hawkins, that for sure. Her Officer and Gentleman, takes place in England, the Regency period. This is part of a duo series called "Just Ask Reeves" Reeves is their butler, and serves both brothers, which is what these two books are about. I have to be honest I did enjoy reading this book, but it took a little while to get into, and I didn't really get into it, until almost halfway through the book. I have always loved reading from Karen Hawkins, however this is probably one of my least favorite of hers, even though it was a great historical romance, and had some good attributes about it, but it just didn't click all the way for me. But what I did love about this story is the mystery and romance throughout the story. I will say that I did cry toward the end though, definitely had a emotional tie to the story, that really moved me, I just love the tender romantic endings.
Kitaba başlamam uzun sürsede çabuk bitirdim ve tadı damağımda kaldı. Duygusallığı, espiritüelliği, anlatım şekli, karakterleri kısacası herşeyi gayet güzeldi. Zevk alarak okuduğum romanlardan biri arasına girdi. Olaylar Westerville vikontu Christian'ın annesinin ölümüne Massiangale dükünün sebeb olmasına dair kanıtlar toplamasıyla başlıyor. Dük ün torunu Elizabeth i baştan çıkarıp bilgi sızdırma peşindeyken kızın çekimine fazlaca kapılıyor ve bu çekim kızın şöhretini lekeleyip planlarını altüst etme derecesine getiriyor. Espirili dialoglarla süslenmiş bu kitabı zevkle okucaksınız...
Kitapta çok güldüğüm bir yer vardı paylaşmak istedim;
"Ah ne olur açıklama yapmayın. Kekelemeniz çok hoşuma gidiyor."
"Nasıl böyle bir şey söylersiniz?"dedi Beth
Adam sırıttı. "Çünkü dudaklarınızın sesleri çıkarırken büzülmesine bayılıyorum. Kekelemeniz tamamen baştan çıkarıcı. Sorunlu dudaklarınızı öpmem için bir davet sanki."
"Eğer kekelemenin bir öpücük daveti olduğunu düşünüyorsanız, neyse ki geğirmiyorum, çünkü onuda yatağıma bir davet olarak düşünebilirsiniz."
İşte koptuğum an :D Kız dehşet zeki adamın niyetini ikinci görüşünde anlıyor resmen =))) Kahramanımızda eski bir eşkıya :D Baya insan soymuş eskiden. Takma ismide Centilmen James :D çok canlar yakmış bu uğurda =))) Yalnız sokağa düşme olayları felan var adamın ama yazar pek değinmemiş oralarda fazla bir acıtasyon yok ama buda beni ilk kitapta heralde yeterince yaptığı için ikinci kitapta o kadar değinmediği düşüncesine itti. Tabi birinci kitabı bilemiyoruz şimdilik =)) Gerçi çok yakında çıkıcakmış haberleri geldii =)) Mutlaka okuyunn ;)
This was enjoyable. I really liked Reeves the butler and both main characters were sweet. The mystery of what had happened with his mother and his disdain for his father was not that captivating, but perhaps if I had read the first one; I might have gotten a better sense of the relationships. I loved the sexy scenes on the billiards table (compromised!) and the silent fooling around under the Grandfather's desk. However, it was kind of weird that her first time was up against a door in her salon in the middle of the day. No matter, it was a fun read.
Her Officer and Gentleman is the sequel to Her Master and Commander. I found this one to be much more engaging and interesting than the first one. I didn't love it, but it was an easier read than HMaC and had more meat to the story.
Even though I didn't think HMaC was all that wonderful of a book, I was looking forward to Christian's story. His introduction in HMaC left me wanting to know more about him, and also wanting to know the resolution of what had happened to him and his brother Tristan's mother. Christian is a great character...so dark and brooding.
Story-line wise, I liked how everything worked out. The plot was so much more interesting than HMaC, which seemed to have no direction and point and bored me at times. I wasn't really bored with HOaG. Hawkins creates a nice, plausible plot that reads well. It's not full of twists and suspense, but it fits the story fairly well.
Romance wise...well, for a historical, I thought it was lacking a bit in the sex-scenes area. Which is tacky to say, probably. But usually in historicals you get more than a little of the good stuff (*G*). In this book, though, you get only one full sex scene. And I will say that I thought it was unnecessary for Hawkins to put off the intimacy for so long in the book. Strictly on a romance sense, I enjoyed Christian and Elizabeth. They were nice counterparts.
Overall, I liked HOaG much more than HMaC. It was just a much more well-rounded story with more purpose and meat. I didn't love the book, but I didn't mind reading it and mostly enjoyed it.
Interesting sidenote - from the other reviews of HOaG I read, it seems as though those who liked HMaC hated HOaG, and those who liked HOaG hated HMaC. Just an interesting contrast.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Okay so I usually don't like books that just drag along, I mean lets face it we women read romance books like men watch porn. All I was waiting for was the sex, kiss, touch or anything. The beginning dwindled off to other subjects, as if I really cared who killed who. All I cared for was the main couple, especially the hunky hero. Most of the time I despise a book for not letting the couple do their deed in the first half of the book because we all know that's when the story really starts. But in this case I shall forgive Miss. Hawkins since the sex scene was so incredible. Perhaps it was so amazing that she couldn't put another one like it to match since after that I wasn't satisfied with the couple at all. Maybe 2 more scenes like that, plus less focus on the other plot. Let's stop pretending this is a mystery book and realize it's suppose to be romantic.
I find myself a bit distressed that there do not appear to be any more books for Just Ask Reeves, after this one. This was was so very enjoyable. I would love to see more of Christian and Beth in later stories, same for Tristan and Prudence.
«Ho atteso più di vent’anni per riparare ai torti subiti da mia madre. In un modo o nell’altro, avrò la mia vendetta» Reeves sospiro ancora una volta. «Sì, milord. Lo vedo che siete molto determinato. Devo dire, conoscendo la professione che avete appena abbandonato, che il disprezzo che nutrite per la legge mi appare sconcertante. » «Non ho mai ucciso nessuno» «Questa è sempre una bella frase, in bocca al proprio datore di lavoro. Vi prego di non arrabbiarvi se vi chiederò di ripeterla altre volte. La trovo rassicurante»
“Il visconte innamorato” è il secondo libro della duologia Just Ask Reeves, in cui un’impareggiabile maggiordomo, per esaudire le ultime volontà del Conte di Rochester, deve ritrovare i due gemelli che il nobile ha avuto da una delle sue amanti e che, con abile sotterfugio il Conte è riuscito a legittimare. I due giovani, però, dovranno sottostare a particolari clausole per entrare in possesso del grande patrimonio. In “Capitano del mio cuore” Tristan, essendosi sposato con una donna coinvolta in un grosso scandalo, ha sì avuto il titolo di Conte, ma non l’accesso al denaro del padre. Ed è Christian, ora, che si dovrà dimostrare un perfetto gentiluomo per poter ottenere il denaro, passando l’esame della strana commissione voluta dal padre, che dovrà stabilire se la lucentezza dei suoi stivali o la perfetta piega della sua cravatta siano degni di un “vero gentiluomo”. Christian fino al momento della sua legittimazione era un noto bandito di strada “Gentlemen Jack”, conosciuto per essere solito derubare i nobili nelle loro carrozze e strappare baci alle vittime delle sue rapine. Ora, lasciati gli appostamenti notturni, Christian ha un solo obiettivo: vendicare la morte di sua madre, accusata ingiustamente di tradimento e morta in carcere. Tutte le indagini fatte conducono al Duca di Massingale, un uomo di ottantun anni che vive solo con la nuora e la nipote, lontano dal ton. L’unica strada per poter essere invitato nella sua tenuta è far finta di corteggiare la nipote. Ma Elizabeth non è solo bella è anche molto perspicace, e capisce immediatamente che in questo corteggiamento c’è qualcosa di strano. Nonostante i suoi sospetti però, fra lei e Christian è subito passione. Ma riuscirà a sopravvivere alla scoperta della verità?
Pur con alcune piccole pecche, questo è un romanzo che mi è piaciuto leggere; sicuramente un capitolo superiore, sia per trama che per personaggi, al primo della serie. Un bandito redento, segreti celati in nome dell’onore, un amore che riesce a farsi largo in un cuore dedito alla vendetta e un adorabile maggiordomo. Tutti questi elementi fanno di questo libro una lettura piacevole che ho molto apprezzato. Ma una nota bisogna farla: in un epoca in cui, specie nella nobiltà, il formalismo è un modo di vivere imprescindibile, dubito fortemente che un Duca lanci tazze contro le pareti, dopo aver letto sul giornale notizie che lo disturbino, e che appelli sua nipote in questo modo:
«Ma piantala di “Miliordare” come un’allocca. E siediti. »
Oppure, avere questo tipo di conversazione.
«Non cercare di cavartela con una battuta, signorina Tumistufi! Dovevamo presentarti in società per il tuo diciassettesimo compleanno, ma tuo zio Redmond ha avuto la pessima idea di morire di qualche stupida malattia infantile. Poi è stato il turno di tua cugina Gertrude e ci siamo dovuti mettere in lutto anche per lei! » «Che grandi maleducati. Li detesto entrambi, davvero. »
Va da sé che nell’ Inghilterra nobile dei primi anni del 1800, questo fosse un discorso impossibile. Ma nonostante questo, leggerlo mi ha divertita. Come coppia mi sono piaciuti, e la scrittura della Hawkins è sempre una garanzia.
Ci sono molte ricette di lucido per stivali, alcune delle quali prevedono ingredienti improbabili, come estratto di sangue di pipistrello o polvere di cadavere. La mia è più semplice: una parte di cera di candela e due parti di champagne. E’ raro che il miscuglio, riscaldato alla giusta temperatura e strofinato con vigore, non restituisca uno stivale eccezionalmente lustro. E al maggiordomo viene risparmiata l’incombenza di recuperare un cadavere polveroso adatto alla bisogna. Ci sono volte in cui la semplicità sceglie per noi. R.R. Reeves, Manuale del perfetto maggiordomo
Mah. A volte è tanto imbarazzante leggere un libro, quanto poi riuscire a formulare un giudizio oggettivo e ponderato. In questo caso devo dire che non mi è piaciuto proprio nulla e ho fatto una faticaccia a terminarlo. Senza fare spoiler, posso solo dire che vi è un nobile che gioca a fare il bandito galante, ma che punta - ovvio- a vendicare la madre, vittima a suo tempo di un duca malvagio. Senonchè non ha nulla dell'eroe ed è abbastanza una mezza calzetta, tanto che finisce per essere aiutato e indirizzato ogni volta dal ben più scaltro maggiordomo. La storia d'amore non ha nè capo nè coda, il duca malvagio è forse il più equilibrato tra tutti, e la soluzione del mistero non è una sorpresa per nessuno. (Se mai lo leggerete, vi sfido a non indovinare il colpevole con una fastidiosa preveggenza...). In buona sostanza, alla fine si salva davvero soltanto il maggiordomo (con le sue note di colore a inizio capitolo).
Un gentiluomo non antepone mai le proprie esigenze a quelle di una lady. A meno che, naturalmente, l’esigenza non sia quella della cena. E’ triste da dire, ma tutti gli uomini sono villani quando c’è di mezzo la carne di manzo.
The story was enjoyable with parts that I like very much, such as:
There was a lot of humor, mainly in the dialogues between the two heroes and their personal servants, respectively.
The heroine was very clever and quickly saw through the hero ‘s mask of deception. She is strong and self-assured. As of the hero’ s good looks: at one point in the story the heroine asks herself how she can be taken by such a good looking man, as he is not destined to belong to one woman only because of his “beauty “ (see below for more on beautiful men)
The points I did not like:
I don’t like it when the book’s title doesn’t match the story. I expected an officer or at least a soldier but looked for him in vain.
The hero was described as a beautiful man: I cannot believe that authors of romance novels think their readers want that. It’s logical that a “beautiful” man is spoiled by the superficial attention he gets all his life from the opposite sex ( the same is true for beautiful women). A person with such admiration by others becomes conceited and ......(feel free to add whatever negative trait one develops when one’s good looks is emphasized by others or oneself).
The fact that the hero was once a highwayman was supposed to be a well guarded secret but was an open one. Right at the beginning of the book this kind of undertaking by the hero was superfluous and unnecessary for the plot.
The story could have been more fast paced, it dragged in many places.
(the second of these books which i read during The Episode) i do appreciate that this one had a plot which sort of covered the shortcomings of the love story. i do NOT appreciate the hot highwayman vibe, nor do i understand how he is a landowning gentleman but also a highwayman? the fact that beth is pretty obviously a blank slate for the reader to insert their own personality into was extremely clear here so i really can't say anything about her but it made the romance extremely confusing, as most of it consisted of christian and beth somehow psychically discerning each other's entire personality via eye contact without speaking anyway once again why bother with the fake jeeves character when he contributes literally nothing to the plot? it's just another mystery that isn't meant for us to comprehend i appreciated that christian at least didn't make me want to reach for a pitchfork more than twice but beyond that his personality was also pretty nondescript... i guess a major plot point is that he likes to wear black and is tall with green eyes but are these really personality traits? i would say no but hey, what do i know also he is not an officer?? i know she's just ripping off the title of an officer and a gentleman but come on at least copy a title with more relevance to the character or plot!
Aşkına Talibim Just Ask Reeves Serisi 2 Karen Hawkins Hmmm güzeldi hatta konusu oldukça ilgi çekiciydi. Bigün baş ağrısı ve göz ağrısı ile zor okudum ama merak uyandıran tarafı ile kendine çekti annesini kaybeden bir çocuk babasının onlara herzaman geleceğini düşünür fakat hiç bir zaman gelmez ölmeden önce onlara bıraktığı miras ile bir Kahya birakır her keze böyle bir Kahya lazım bence harikaydı Annesi hiç hak etmediği suçlamalar ile hapise atılır ve orada narin vücudu dayanamaz ve ölür. Cristian ise onun ölümünün arkasında ki aileyi bulmayı kafasına koyar ve onların biricik torunu ile bunu yapacaktır tabiki işler onu gördüğü an farkı hale bürünur kızımız oldukça zeki ve tam istediğim gibiydi Ve kitapta öyle gerçekten iyiydi Ve böylelikle yazarın çıkmış tüm kitapları bitmiş oldu😊
Reeves and Jameson, you two kept me turning the page in this novel. I’m finding that I truly love the characters of butlers in romance novels. Who new that they had such a funny side to humor. And they come back with quick witted comments that throw their employers off balance. Christian, I swoon over you. Beth, strong and independent. You go girl. This book was well written., I loved all the characters. I laughed and smiled all the way. The book kept my attention so much that I read within a day. Few books do that for me and when they do, well I know then that I have stumbled across a good writer. I will be reading more of her books. Great job Karen Hawkins.
First Karen Hawkins and it was quite enjoyable! I found it in a library when I was trying to kill time waiting for a screening of A United Kingdom and arrived 3 hours before because I got the wrong time. Elizabeth was a lovely heroine, the kind of Meg Ryan 90s romantic comedy heroine, very lively and funny and charming but not over the top. Of course, the book also totally won me over because Elizabeth and Christian were forced into an engagement when he was making out with her on a billiards table.
Tentei muito gostar desse livro, mas nem o herói e nem a heroína tinham muita personalidade, e a autora tenta compensar isso a cada duas página enaltecendo a aparência física dos dois.
Nunca ficou explicada a importância do Christian ser um salteador de estradas e ele não tem nenhuma ligação com o exército, o que tornou o título da história irrelevante.
A única parte de prestou foi o Reeves e finalmente ter descoberto quem foi o responsável pela morte da mãe deles, mas de resto essa duologia é facilmente esquecível.
Hero is determined to get revenge on those who caused his mother's death, by using the granddaughter of the man he believes falsified information that got mom put in prison. This was hard for me to get into, but I did eventually. It started a little slow, I thought. But it was good reading in the end.
That was a fun story - which I read out of series order. This is what happens when you randomly pick up a book off the library shelf. I will for sure be going back to read book 1 in this series. The best part of the entire book - Reeves the butler and Annie the maid. Both of them should get their own books.
Scrittura molto buona, coinvolgente e umoristica, ma la maggior parte dei personaggi sono solo figurine, e la trama non c'è. Si ripete lo stesso ragionamento per tutto il libro ("corteggio la nipote del marchese X per accedere a casa sua e trovare le prove delle ingiuste accuse a mia madre morta"), e non c'è altro, oltre alle chiacchiere da salotto.
This book was fairly good. I rounded my rating up from 3.5 stars. I’m not sure why this book was called an officer and a gentleman. There was no officer involved and hardly a gentleman. Also, it irked me every time the duke was called “my lord” when the proper address is “your grace”. Aside from that, the heroine was sensible and witty and the hero’s backstory gave him a sympathetic air.
I think this is the first book I read by this author. It was very slow paced and some scenes seemed to drag. I skimmed most of the book because there was just too much internal dialogue that didn’t bring much to the story. Beth and Christian were both boring too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I really liked this book, the characters and the plot. I had a feeling who it was and I was right!! I did laugh a bit reading this, and may have swooned as well. Looking forward to reading more from this talented storyteller.
Wonderful story about two stubborn people who end up at the wrong end of that streak. What gives it that special something is the lively family members, a butler and a deadly secret.
2006 doesn't read well in 2024. The plot is fine, the characters are fine but the wording is out of date. A stand alone but part of a set about twins. This is the youngest of the boys, Christian.