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Effingtons #5
Her Highness, My Wife
Women never said no to the dashing Lord Matthew Weston and he never said no to them. But this was the first time he found one tempting enough to impetuously say "I do." Was it any wonder he awoke to discover her gone? And when Matthew learned the enchanting creature he'd married was of royal blood -- and would abandon their marriage bed without a second thought -- he vowed to put her out of his life forever. But even a princess makes mistakes. And now Tatiana's back, asking for the kind of help only he can give her. But is his assistance all she wants or are there secrets the willful royal is keeping from him? Matthew may well lend her his hand but he'll never again give her his heart. Still, he's determined to tame the green-eyed beauty and change her from a perfect princess to his passionate bride.
362 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
73 people are currently reading
797 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Alexander
64 books1,323 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and is still shocked it worked out.
Since the publication of her first book in 1995, she has written thirty-one full length novels and six novellas. The Perfect Wife—originally published in 1996 and reissued in March 2008—hit #1 on the New York Times list. Sixteen of her books are bestsellers hitting the New York Times, USA Today and/or Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. With books translated into more than a dozen different languages she has readers around the world and has twice been nominated for Romance's Writers of America prestigious RITA award. In 2009 she was given a Career Achievement Award from RT Bookclub and was named Historical Storyteller of the year in 2003. In 2008 she was the keynote speaker for the Romance Writers of American annual conference in San Francisco. Victoria credits much of her writing success to her experiences as a reporter.
Her years as a broadcast journalist were spent in two radically different areas of the country: Nebraska and West Virginia. In West Virginia, she covered both natural and manmade disasters. She was on the scene when a power plant construction accident in a small town left 52 men dead. She once spent the night on a mountain waiting to learn of the fate of coal miners trapped in a mine collapse. Victoria was producing a newscast when her husband (who worked at the same television station) and several other journalists were held hostage by a disturbed Vietnam veteran. In Nebraska, she reported on the farm crisis and watched people lose land that had been in their families for generations. She covered the story that was the basis of the movie BOYS DON’T CRY and once acted as the link between police and a gunman who had barricaded himself in his home. Her investigative work exposed the trucking of New York City garbage to a small town dump in rural Nebraska.
During her journalism career, Victoria covered every president from Ford to Clinton. She knows firsthand what it feels like to be surrounded by rising floodwaters and inside a burning building. She’s interviewed movie stars including Kevin Costner, ridden an elephant and flown in a governor’s helicopter. She’s covered a national political convention and Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Denver as well as small town festivals celebrating everything from walnuts to Glen Miller. Her work was honored by numerous organizations including the Associated Press who called a feature about a firefighter’s school "story telling genius". It was the encouragement she needed to turn from news to fiction. She’s never looked back.
Victoria claims her love of romance and journalism is to due to the influence of her favorite comic book character: Lois Lane, a terrific reporter and a great heroine who pursued Superman with an unwavering determination. And why not? He was extremely well drawn.
Victoria grew up traveling the world as an Air Force brat. Today, she lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband and her dogs. Victoria had two bearded collies, Sam and Louie (named from characters in one of her books). Sam (on the left), the best dog in the world for 13 ½ years, passed away in September 2010. Louie took on the position of loyal companion and did a fine job even though he doesn't understand that kitchen counter surfing is not allowed!
Now he's been joined by Reggie, also a faithful companion.
They all live happily ever after in a house under constant renovation and the accompanying parade of men in tool belts. And never ending chaos. Victoria laughs a great deal—she has to.
New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and is still shocked it worked out.
Since the publication of her first book in 1995, she has written thirty-one full length novels and six novellas. The Perfect Wife—originally published in 1996 and reissued in March 2008—hit #1 on the New York Times list. Sixteen of her books are bestsellers hitting the New York Times, USA Today and/or Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. With books translated into more than a dozen different languages she has readers around the world and has twice been nominated for Romance's Writers of America prestigious RITA award. In 2009 she was given a Career Achievement Award from RT Bookclub and was named Historical Storyteller of the year in 2003. In 2008 she was the keynote speaker for the Romance Writers of American annual conference in San Francisco. Victoria credits much of her writing success to her experiences as a reporter.
Her years as a broadcast journalist were spent in two radically different areas of the country: Nebraska and West Virginia. In West Virginia, she covered both natural and manmade disasters. She was on the scene when a power plant construction accident in a small town left 52 men dead. She once spent the night on a mountain waiting to learn of the fate of coal miners trapped in a mine collapse. Victoria was producing a newscast when her husband (who worked at the same television station) and several other journalists were held hostage by a disturbed Vietnam veteran. In Nebraska, she reported on the farm crisis and watched people lose land that had been in their families for generations. She covered the story that was the basis of the movie BOYS DON’T CRY and once acted as the link between police and a gunman who had barricaded himself in his home. Her investigative work exposed the trucking of New York City garbage to a small town dump in rural Nebraska.
During her journalism career, Victoria covered every president from Ford to Clinton. She knows firsthand what it feels like to be surrounded by rising floodwaters and inside a burning building. She’s interviewed movie stars including Kevin Costner, ridden an elephant and flown in a governor’s helicopter. She’s covered a national political convention and Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Denver as well as small town festivals celebrating everything from walnuts to Glen Miller. Her work was honored by numerous organizations including the Associated Press who called a feature about a firefighter’s school "story telling genius". It was the encouragement she needed to turn from news to fiction. She’s never looked back.
Victoria claims her love of romance and journalism is to due to the influence of her favorite comic book character: Lois Lane, a terrific reporter and a great heroine who pursued Superman with an unwavering determination. And why not? He was extremely well drawn.
Victoria grew up traveling the world as an Air Force brat. Today, she lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband and her dogs. Victoria had two bearded collies, Sam and Louie (named from characters in one of her books). Sam (on the left), the best dog in the world for 13 ½ years, passed away in September 2010. Louie took on the position of loyal companion and did a fine job even though he doesn't understand that kitchen counter surfing is not allowed!
Now he's been joined by Reggie, also a faithful companion.
They all live happily ever after in a house under constant renovation and the accompanying parade of men in tool belts. And never ending chaos. Victoria laughs a great deal—she has to.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
December 1, 2021
I want to give this 4-stars because I'm tired of the TATIANA SLANDER. I was reading the reviews that all seem to be anti-Tatiana, and lo and behold. Tatiana was a normal, flawed human being who had reasons for not telling everything to Matt. What was the woman supposed to do, immediately word vomit to Matt upon their reunion, prostrating herself, begging him to take her unworthy hide back?
Ok rant over 😄💀
The first chapter sets up Her Highness, My Wife for Angst City, which was so good, but this quickly becomes a lighthearted romp, if Matt being a ballonist didn't clue you in. The banter is fun. I would put it up there with Amanda Quick.
This is my first read by Victoria Alexander, and I'm not sure if Her Highness, My Wife is the best of Victoria Alexander's work. This feels like an ok, solid effort work by her. I didn't always buy the chemistry between Tatiana and Matt, but I'm curious to read more by her, as the banter was droll.
This is definitely a flippant novel with not too much emotional turbulence for the hero and heroine. The villain/mystery is also neatly solved.
Ok rant over 😄💀
The first chapter sets up Her Highness, My Wife for Angst City, which was so good, but this quickly becomes a lighthearted romp, if Matt being a ballonist didn't clue you in. The banter is fun. I would put it up there with Amanda Quick.
This is my first read by Victoria Alexander, and I'm not sure if Her Highness, My Wife is the best of Victoria Alexander's work. This feels like an ok, solid effort work by her. I didn't always buy the chemistry between Tatiana and Matt, but I'm curious to read more by her, as the banter was droll.
This is definitely a flippant novel with not too much emotional turbulence for the hero and heroine. The villain/mystery is also neatly solved.
September 29, 2021
Ik heb de Nederlands talige uitgave gelezen : Schenk mij de hemel - Candlelight Historische roman 817
Een verarmde jongste zoon van een markies en een prinses van Avalonia gaan samen op zoek naar de zoekgeraakte schat maar kunnen ze ook de grootste schat nl. liefde vinden ?
Een verarmde jongste zoon van een markies en een prinses van Avalonia gaan samen op zoek naar de zoekgeraakte schat maar kunnen ze ook de grootste schat nl. liefde vinden ?
August 10, 2012
The problem that kept coming up for me is how much I could NOT bring myself to like Tatiana. She lied constantly, put the people around her in danger, and had no patience with Matthew, who was still hurt by her actions long ago, simply because she briefly apologized in passing and thought he should be over it. Read this book if you're like me, and have to collect every book in the series. Otherwise...skip it.
March 18, 2017
Reviewed for THC Reviews
I’m now five books into Victoria Alexander's Effington Family & Friends series, and I have to say that while I do derive some enjoyment from these books, for the most part they haven’t been stand-outs for me. Her Highness, My Wife is my least favorite of the series so far. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it at all, but I did see a lot of missed opportunities for deepening the plot and character development that would have made it a much more engaging read. When I picked it up and found out that the heroine is the cousin of the hero from the previous book, The Prince’s Bride; that she is also a royal princess of Avalonia, the fictional nation that was introduced in that same book; and that she is going on a quest to find the missing crown jewels, also a continuation of an earlier plot point, I thought perhaps this was going to be a fun treasure hunt story. Unfortunately the plot kind of meanders around almost as much as Tatiana and Matthew meander around through England. I think that if the author had created more intrigue around this “adventure,” such as them finding clues along the way, or the villain being in hot pursuit throughout the story and them barely finding each missing piece of the puzzle before she did, it would have been more fun to read. As is, it’s a bit dull with the hero and heroine traveling from place to place, only to discover that there isn’t any new information to be found in those locations. Nothing particularly exciting occurs until about two-thirds of the way into the story, when Tatiana’s room is ransacked, an important letter is stolen, and she and Matthew end up on an ill-fated balloon ride, which I kind of saw coming. The evil princess who is also looking for the jewels doesn’t even show up until after that, but she does little more than make a verbal threat. Then there’s not much more of note until the very end. Even that, IMHO, could have been played out in a much more dramatic fashion than what it was. So, in the end, I would call this an OK read, but not one that held my attention very well.
Matthew is a likable enough hero. He certainly isn't a jerk or anything, but he does seem to be completely lacking in direction. He’s been out of touch with his family for ten years due to some mysterious falling out with his father that led to him being disinherited. I kept waiting and waiting to find out exactly what it was that happened to cause this family rift, and I’m sorry to say that no satisfactory answer was ever given beyond that he and his father were a lot alike in personality and that they often argued. How that created such disharmony as to make Matthew stay away for so long and not even write his family a letter during that time is still a head-scratcher for me. He seemed to think that his brothers wouldn’t forgive him, but what exactly he did that he thought was so unforgivable was never specified, which was a bit frustrating. Then when he does reunite with them it’s easy-peasy, with no issues at all. As the youngest son of four, Matthew spent some time serving in the navy, after which he went into ballooning to supplement his naval pension, with hopes of perhaps earning enough money from competitions to start his own shipping company. I thought him earning his livelihood as an aeronaut was a unique twist and not something I’ve seen before in romance. He’s even a bit of a tinkerer when it comes to the mechanics of flying the balloons, so I thought he was going to be a geeky hero, which I would have loved. Unfortunately we soon discover that his seeming passion for it doesn’t really exist and it was only a means to an end. Matthew just seems to be struggling to know what to do with his life even after Tatiana returns and he realizes he’s still in love with her, so consequently I struggled to make a genuine connection with his character.
Tatiana is an OK heroine. I didn’t strongly dislike her, but there were several things about her character that gave me pause. She was dishonest with Matthew from the start, when they first met in Paris, not telling him she was a princess. It was the classic story of royalty posing as a commoner to temporarily escape the pressures of their position. The problem I had with it, though, is that she strung him along, even going so far as to marry him, and then just dumped him by walking out while he was asleep, which seemed rather cowardly and cruel. She claims she never stopped loving him, but that she realized she had a responsibility to her people, although the exact nature of that responsibility is somewhat murky. She eventually goes in search of the missing jewels, but that doesn’t occur until over a year later. As a widow, it seems that Tatiana could have simply been honest with Matthew from the start, had her fun, and then walked away in the light of day, without marrying the poor guy and giving him non-existent hope. Of course, she comes back after all that time, asking for his help, but still not being honest with him about why she needs him. In fact, she practically wears her ability to lie convincingly like a badge of honor, always telling Matthew that she’s a better liar than he is. I also can't blame Matthew for being upset about her leaving him without a word, yet every time he brings it up as a point of contention in their relationship, she simply apologizes in what I felt was a somewhat flippant manner and refuses to talk to him about it anymore, as though he's the one in the wrong. In this way and others, Tatiana sometimes comes off as a bit entitled. It might seem from my criticism that I did dislike her when I didn’t per se. It’s just that she did a lot of things that didn’t make much sense to me and that didn’t endear her to me, so it was very difficult for me to relate to her or sympathize.
As a couple Matthew and Tatiana didn’t really spark off the pages for me. They were obviously wildly attracted to one another to have engaged in their brief but passionate affair in Paris that occurred before the events of this book. However, I didn’t quite understand their attraction to one another much less them falling love, because I couldn’t feel it. From the very beginning of the story, the reader is dropped into the scenario that they met, fell in love, and got married during a short six day span, but Tatiana walked away. Now she’s back more than fifteen months later, and they’re supposedly still in love although they don’t really trust each other. From Matthew’s perspective this made sense, because of how Tatiana left him, but Tatiana’s mistrust of Matthew made less sense. She supposedly lacks trust because of her first husband's numerous infidelities, but Matthew never gave her any reason to distrust him on that count or any other as far as I could tell. They keep bringing the trust issue up, but nothing really occurs to rebuild their trust. They more or less just get over it. For me, trust is an absolute must in a romance, so having a huge disconnect in this area was a detractor. Also when they finally do reconnect, it’s like everything else in the story. It was just too easy. The stakes simply weren’t high enough to suit me. Perhaps if the author had pared down some other parts of the story in favor of a few flashbacks to Matthew and Tatiana's time together in Paris, I would have understood their connection better. But as is, I had a hard time believing in their love even though I will admit that the emotional connection between them did improve somewhat as the story progressed.
In Her Highness, My Wife, there aren’t a lot of stand-out supporting characters, but we do get to visit with a few other characters from the series. The Dowager Duchess of Roxborough, the Effington matriarch, is an old friend of Matthew’s grandmother, as well as Tatiana's aunt, who Tatiana believes may have taken the jewels to England when she went into exile fifty years ago. Tatiana hopes that the Dowager might have information that will help in her search. Also some other past characters show up at a couple of different balls including Thomas and Marianne (The Marriage Lesson), and Randall (who is Tatiana’s cousin and the grandson of the exiled aunt) and Jocelyn (The Prince’s Bride). Then there’s Matthew’s friend, Ephraim, publisher of the tabloid-style newspaper for whom Marianne wrote her stories in The Marriage Lesson. He tries to persuade Matthew to do the same, but he refuses. And of course, there’s the villainous Princess Valentina, who was also one of the villains of The Prince’s Bride.
I felt that Her Highness, My Wife had a number of weaknesses that could have been shored up to create a stronger and more interesting story. I also thought it contained quite a bit of extraneous dialogue and narration that could have been pared down to make more room for actual storytelling. I would consider all the previous books of the Effington Family & Friends series that I’ve read so far to be romantic comedy, because they do contain a lot of humor, even though some of it wasn’t entirely to my taste. However, I’m not quite sure I can say the same of this book. It is pretty light, but the humor wasn’t nearly as witty and obvious as with the other books. Overall, this is a very slow-paced read. It's a whole lot of book with not very much happening to hold my attention. If there had been more character development, more plot development, more action in their “adventure,” or even more witty humor, it would have been better. I’ve certainly read far worse books (At least with this one I had no trouble following what was happening even if it wasn’t a whole lot.), which is why I decided to give it three stars, but it just wasn’t a particularly engaging read.
I’m now five books into Victoria Alexander's Effington Family & Friends series, and I have to say that while I do derive some enjoyment from these books, for the most part they haven’t been stand-outs for me. Her Highness, My Wife is my least favorite of the series so far. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it at all, but I did see a lot of missed opportunities for deepening the plot and character development that would have made it a much more engaging read. When I picked it up and found out that the heroine is the cousin of the hero from the previous book, The Prince’s Bride; that she is also a royal princess of Avalonia, the fictional nation that was introduced in that same book; and that she is going on a quest to find the missing crown jewels, also a continuation of an earlier plot point, I thought perhaps this was going to be a fun treasure hunt story. Unfortunately the plot kind of meanders around almost as much as Tatiana and Matthew meander around through England. I think that if the author had created more intrigue around this “adventure,” such as them finding clues along the way, or the villain being in hot pursuit throughout the story and them barely finding each missing piece of the puzzle before she did, it would have been more fun to read. As is, it’s a bit dull with the hero and heroine traveling from place to place, only to discover that there isn’t any new information to be found in those locations. Nothing particularly exciting occurs until about two-thirds of the way into the story, when Tatiana’s room is ransacked, an important letter is stolen, and she and Matthew end up on an ill-fated balloon ride, which I kind of saw coming. The evil princess who is also looking for the jewels doesn’t even show up until after that, but she does little more than make a verbal threat. Then there’s not much more of note until the very end. Even that, IMHO, could have been played out in a much more dramatic fashion than what it was. So, in the end, I would call this an OK read, but not one that held my attention very well.
Matthew is a likable enough hero. He certainly isn't a jerk or anything, but he does seem to be completely lacking in direction. He’s been out of touch with his family for ten years due to some mysterious falling out with his father that led to him being disinherited. I kept waiting and waiting to find out exactly what it was that happened to cause this family rift, and I’m sorry to say that no satisfactory answer was ever given beyond that he and his father were a lot alike in personality and that they often argued. How that created such disharmony as to make Matthew stay away for so long and not even write his family a letter during that time is still a head-scratcher for me. He seemed to think that his brothers wouldn’t forgive him, but what exactly he did that he thought was so unforgivable was never specified, which was a bit frustrating. Then when he does reunite with them it’s easy-peasy, with no issues at all. As the youngest son of four, Matthew spent some time serving in the navy, after which he went into ballooning to supplement his naval pension, with hopes of perhaps earning enough money from competitions to start his own shipping company. I thought him earning his livelihood as an aeronaut was a unique twist and not something I’ve seen before in romance. He’s even a bit of a tinkerer when it comes to the mechanics of flying the balloons, so I thought he was going to be a geeky hero, which I would have loved. Unfortunately we soon discover that his seeming passion for it doesn’t really exist and it was only a means to an end. Matthew just seems to be struggling to know what to do with his life even after Tatiana returns and he realizes he’s still in love with her, so consequently I struggled to make a genuine connection with his character.
Tatiana is an OK heroine. I didn’t strongly dislike her, but there were several things about her character that gave me pause. She was dishonest with Matthew from the start, when they first met in Paris, not telling him she was a princess. It was the classic story of royalty posing as a commoner to temporarily escape the pressures of their position. The problem I had with it, though, is that she strung him along, even going so far as to marry him, and then just dumped him by walking out while he was asleep, which seemed rather cowardly and cruel. She claims she never stopped loving him, but that she realized she had a responsibility to her people, although the exact nature of that responsibility is somewhat murky. She eventually goes in search of the missing jewels, but that doesn’t occur until over a year later. As a widow, it seems that Tatiana could have simply been honest with Matthew from the start, had her fun, and then walked away in the light of day, without marrying the poor guy and giving him non-existent hope. Of course, she comes back after all that time, asking for his help, but still not being honest with him about why she needs him. In fact, she practically wears her ability to lie convincingly like a badge of honor, always telling Matthew that she’s a better liar than he is. I also can't blame Matthew for being upset about her leaving him without a word, yet every time he brings it up as a point of contention in their relationship, she simply apologizes in what I felt was a somewhat flippant manner and refuses to talk to him about it anymore, as though he's the one in the wrong. In this way and others, Tatiana sometimes comes off as a bit entitled. It might seem from my criticism that I did dislike her when I didn’t per se. It’s just that she did a lot of things that didn’t make much sense to me and that didn’t endear her to me, so it was very difficult for me to relate to her or sympathize.
As a couple Matthew and Tatiana didn’t really spark off the pages for me. They were obviously wildly attracted to one another to have engaged in their brief but passionate affair in Paris that occurred before the events of this book. However, I didn’t quite understand their attraction to one another much less them falling love, because I couldn’t feel it. From the very beginning of the story, the reader is dropped into the scenario that they met, fell in love, and got married during a short six day span, but Tatiana walked away. Now she’s back more than fifteen months later, and they’re supposedly still in love although they don’t really trust each other. From Matthew’s perspective this made sense, because of how Tatiana left him, but Tatiana’s mistrust of Matthew made less sense. She supposedly lacks trust because of her first husband's numerous infidelities, but Matthew never gave her any reason to distrust him on that count or any other as far as I could tell. They keep bringing the trust issue up, but nothing really occurs to rebuild their trust. They more or less just get over it. For me, trust is an absolute must in a romance, so having a huge disconnect in this area was a detractor. Also when they finally do reconnect, it’s like everything else in the story. It was just too easy. The stakes simply weren’t high enough to suit me. Perhaps if the author had pared down some other parts of the story in favor of a few flashbacks to Matthew and Tatiana's time together in Paris, I would have understood their connection better. But as is, I had a hard time believing in their love even though I will admit that the emotional connection between them did improve somewhat as the story progressed.
In Her Highness, My Wife, there aren’t a lot of stand-out supporting characters, but we do get to visit with a few other characters from the series. The Dowager Duchess of Roxborough, the Effington matriarch, is an old friend of Matthew’s grandmother, as well as Tatiana's aunt, who Tatiana believes may have taken the jewels to England when she went into exile fifty years ago. Tatiana hopes that the Dowager might have information that will help in her search. Also some other past characters show up at a couple of different balls including Thomas and Marianne (The Marriage Lesson), and Randall (who is Tatiana’s cousin and the grandson of the exiled aunt) and Jocelyn (The Prince’s Bride). Then there’s Matthew’s friend, Ephraim, publisher of the tabloid-style newspaper for whom Marianne wrote her stories in The Marriage Lesson. He tries to persuade Matthew to do the same, but he refuses. And of course, there’s the villainous Princess Valentina, who was also one of the villains of The Prince’s Bride.
I felt that Her Highness, My Wife had a number of weaknesses that could have been shored up to create a stronger and more interesting story. I also thought it contained quite a bit of extraneous dialogue and narration that could have been pared down to make more room for actual storytelling. I would consider all the previous books of the Effington Family & Friends series that I’ve read so far to be romantic comedy, because they do contain a lot of humor, even though some of it wasn’t entirely to my taste. However, I’m not quite sure I can say the same of this book. It is pretty light, but the humor wasn’t nearly as witty and obvious as with the other books. Overall, this is a very slow-paced read. It's a whole lot of book with not very much happening to hold my attention. If there had been more character development, more plot development, more action in their “adventure,” or even more witty humor, it would have been better. I’ve certainly read far worse books (At least with this one I had no trouble following what was happening even if it wasn’t a whole lot.), which is why I decided to give it three stars, but it just wasn’t a particularly engaging read.
November 1, 2010
Mathew Weston and Tatiana: The balloon maker and the Princess of Avalonia. Tatiana was a widowed Princess and the sister of Prince Alexai. She spent a week in Paris with the balloon maker and had a fantastic time but she had to leave in order to fulfill her obligation as a princess in Avalonia. She left him but they never forgot eachother. She is back in order to find the lost royal jewels. (The Heaven’s Stars, etc). Balloon maker thinks he’s has no wealth because he’s the youngest of three sons and left his now deceased father on bad terms when he was 16 and on the quest to follow the steps of Tatiana’s aunt Sophia, they end up being trailed by the evil cousin Valentina. His balloon is sabotaged and he now has to start all over but turns out that he is indeed very wealthy as his father had provided for him. They find the jewels with Sophia’s daughter (Natasha, Beaumont’s mother) in the frame of the father. Mathew goes back to Avalonia with Tatiana (I think)…after some drama with Valentina and that’s it. Meh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2016
3 1/2 ⭐️'s
I hate that goodreads doesn't have 1/2's
I hate that goodreads doesn't have 1/2's
May 26, 2020
This was a fun little romp. Second chance romance, a runaway hot air balloon, missing jewelry, conniving relatives, and the plot keeps moving forward briskly.
September 5, 2018
Charming characters, but the story took a long time to evolve beyond banter and dating behavior. Thankfully, there is a villain and danger, but it comes about halfway through. Then, the adventure truly begins.
March 16, 2011
I didn't like this book nearly as well as the first three in this series. I just really never liked Tatiana. She was dishonest, devious and distrustful and was never very appealing to me. I had trouble with buying into a romance between two people who never really trusted each other. The ending was also merely average. I'm hopeful the next books improve back to the quality of the 1st three.
May 23, 2011
Too much time in this romance was spent with unneeded dialogue instead of action or character development. A European princess falls in love with a minor noble and sets out to save her country's symbol so she can be free to continue her marriage to him.
February 2, 2017
The heroine was a cold hearted snob. Who wants to read about that?! DNF
June 17, 2015
I actually loved the way this book played out. And I love how all the characters are intertwined. Can't wait to start the next one.
August 17, 2020
One of my favourites in the genre, this story ticks all the checkboxes.
The hero is gorgeous of course and adventurous - an ex-Navy man who's taken up ballooning, a prodigal son with quite a way with words, and a tendency to pay heed to his fine-honed sense of what's right. Matthew is a dreamer and a true romantic. He shows initiative, optimism and talent, and fixed devotion to a dream - whether it is winning aerostat competitions, or starting a shipping business. He is a fine example of how capable and appealing a hero can be, without being overbearing, or a straight out pig.
The heroine is witty and strong-willed, amusing without being a goosehead, and so beguiling as to get her way even when you know she is not being completely honest. She is obviously as much of a romantic as Matthew - their story began when she asked him to take her up in is balloon and they were married after a scanty week. She has secrets, but she has very good reason to keep those secrets too. Tatiana is a full woman, sure about what she wants - whether it is to do her duty by the position she was born to or her duties to herself as a woman to grab on to happiness and not let go without a fight.
It helps a lot that the two are already married, the reader gets a reprieve from having to suffer through the compulsory naivete of a woman getting sex ed from her lover. These are two people who have been hurt to various degrees, both by each other and their past, and as much of a risk-taker they are, both are a little gun shy too. So sparks fly and they argue as passionately as they crave each other.
A strong recommendation.
The hero is gorgeous of course and adventurous - an ex-Navy man who's taken up ballooning, a prodigal son with quite a way with words, and a tendency to pay heed to his fine-honed sense of what's right. Matthew is a dreamer and a true romantic. He shows initiative, optimism and talent, and fixed devotion to a dream - whether it is winning aerostat competitions, or starting a shipping business. He is a fine example of how capable and appealing a hero can be, without being overbearing, or a straight out pig.
The heroine is witty and strong-willed, amusing without being a goosehead, and so beguiling as to get her way even when you know she is not being completely honest. She is obviously as much of a romantic as Matthew - their story began when she asked him to take her up in is balloon and they were married after a scanty week. She has secrets, but she has very good reason to keep those secrets too. Tatiana is a full woman, sure about what she wants - whether it is to do her duty by the position she was born to or her duties to herself as a woman to grab on to happiness and not let go without a fight.
It helps a lot that the two are already married, the reader gets a reprieve from having to suffer through the compulsory naivete of a woman getting sex ed from her lover. These are two people who have been hurt to various degrees, both by each other and their past, and as much of a risk-taker they are, both are a little gun shy too. So sparks fly and they argue as passionately as they crave each other.
A strong recommendation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2023
This book was good, but I felt there was too much going on with Matt and Tatiana.
Tatiana was a princess of a small country, who was 3rd in line, for the throne. She met Matt in Paris, when she ran away, form her bodyguards. Then, after a few days, Tatiana ran away from Matt and he didn't understand why.
After 15 months Tatiana came back, asking for his help. And their journey began. Taitana was looking for the jewels that were stolen from her counrty, so many years ago.
I liked the story, but I felt Matt and Tatiana should have declared their love, for each other, sooner.
Also, I didn't understand how Tatiana and Matt's lives were interwined. The author needed to explain that more.
Tatiana was a princess of a small country, who was 3rd in line, for the throne. She met Matt in Paris, when she ran away, form her bodyguards. Then, after a few days, Tatiana ran away from Matt and he didn't understand why.
After 15 months Tatiana came back, asking for his help. And their journey began. Taitana was looking for the jewels that were stolen from her counrty, so many years ago.
I liked the story, but I felt Matt and Tatiana should have declared their love, for each other, sooner.
Also, I didn't understand how Tatiana and Matt's lives were interwined. The author needed to explain that more.
September 5, 2018
After only six days together in Paris, quick marriage, pair are "love at first sight" type. Matt wanted to fly balloon, but Tatiana keeps secrets and wants lost royal jewels, pursued by evil beautiful cousin.
"This means nothing to me." "Nor to me." p 109 while panting style repartee repeats for 'humor'. So many Effingtons bog pages down, so if a series, I've had enough now. I'm really tired of cutesy "bit her bottom lip" p 79 women, so if that's an author Alexander tradition, I'm off her.
Silly identical Typos:
"father and bothers" p 137 is "brothers"
"you and your bothers" p 303 is "you and your brothers"
"This means nothing to me." "Nor to me." p 109 while panting style repartee repeats for 'humor'. So many Effingtons bog pages down, so if a series, I've had enough now. I'm really tired of cutesy "bit her bottom lip" p 79 women, so if that's an author Alexander tradition, I'm off her.
Silly identical Typos:
"father and bothers" p 137 is "brothers"
"you and your bothers" p 303 is "you and your brothers"
August 22, 2021
I RARELY give one star, but if I could give this book a half star I’d do that. I didn’t finish this book so much as I was finished WITH this book. I usually give 100 pages a try before I give up. I couldn’t even do that. Tedious characters with absolutely awful dialogue. I did speed read about three quarters of the book by reading the first sentence of paragraphs. Not a bit curious about how this story ends and that us very unusual.
October 4, 2019
I finished the book a little late, but the book was great. A wonderful read. I definitely loved the banter between, Tatiana and Matt, but you could see that they got along like a married couple who has been married for years. I would like to have seen Dimitri play a prolong role in the book as well as Valentina, but I still like the way the book played out.
June 28, 2018
The sad truth is, I am still curious to know more about the Avalonia Brandy... and could it work to fuel the hot air balloon? As for Matthew and Tatiana? They had their ups and downs... kinda more downs than ups, but they work it all out in the end, this is, after all... historical romance! *grin*
October 24, 2018
Fiction : Romance : Historical
England, Regency,
She marries him, abandons him, finds him, uses him, and then it all works out?? He understands, get real!
England, Regency,
She marries him, abandons him, finds him, uses him, and then it all works out?? He understands, get real!
November 20, 2018
I loved the banter between the hero and heroine.
February 13, 2021
2 1/2 stars
The least favorite of the whole series so far
The least favorite of the whole series so far
October 12, 2021
A modicum better than the previous book in the series, enough so that reading didn’t feel like a slog. Still just as outlandish but not quite as silly. Silly but not quite as.
August 9, 2023
Het begin was veel te lang! De zoektocht was wel heel interessant. Het einde was niet super en beetje te kort i.v.m. het begin
March 4, 2017
Matthew and Tatiana experience a wonderful week in Paris together before she ups and leaves him with nothing more than a note and an allusion to . He is completely heartbroken. A year and a half later, she's back in his life asking him to pose as her husband so she can search for her royal jewels, though she lies to him about her reasons. And she lies to the people that she's meeting as well. And along the way they rekindle their romance.
This is the story of how one character can ruin an entire book. I hated Tatiana. It's been a while since I loathed a heroine the way I loathed this one. She breezed back into the hero's life as though she hadn't done anything wrong and was so completely unapologetic about everything. She broke his heart and she laughs it off. Sure, she's monologuing about how sorry she was, how she knew how hard she'd have to work to get him back, but she actually has the audacity to blame him for not coming after her, when she's the one that walked out. Even worse, when he she tells him he'll need to grovel. She should just call it even...or do some groveling herself. For once, I so didn't mind that a hero wasn't celibate during their 15 month separation, because it actually hurt her when she found out. And stupid bitch, she's the one that asked about it and got upset that he hadn't remained celibate. She had no right - she left him.
I hated that she lied about everything. She was selfish about it to - not lying to protect, but out of cowardice and selfish reasons. The only reason I kept reading after discovering how much I hated her is that I wanted to see Matthew hand her heart back to her on a silver platter. I so wanted him to break her heart and leave her for good. Fairly disappointed in that respect.
Mostly I skimmed after the 70% mark - once I realized I'd be disappointed in getting some sort of comeuppance for the heroine. What I did read, was a bit tedious.
This is the story of how one character can ruin an entire book. I hated Tatiana. It's been a while since I loathed a heroine the way I loathed this one. She breezed back into the hero's life as though she hadn't done anything wrong and was so completely unapologetic about everything. She broke his heart and she laughs it off. Sure, she's monologuing about how sorry she was, how she knew how hard she'd have to work to get him back, but she actually has the audacity to blame him for not coming after her, when she's the one that walked out. Even worse, when he she tells him he'll need to grovel. She should just call it even...or do some groveling herself. For once, I so didn't mind that a hero wasn't celibate during their 15 month separation, because it actually hurt her when she found out. And stupid bitch, she's the one that asked about it and got upset that he hadn't remained celibate. She had no right - she left him.
I hated that she lied about everything. She was selfish about it to - not lying to protect, but out of cowardice and selfish reasons. The only reason I kept reading after discovering how much I hated her is that I wanted to see Matthew hand her heart back to her on a silver platter. I so wanted him to break her heart and leave her for good. Fairly disappointed in that respect.
Mostly I skimmed after the 70% mark - once I realized I'd be disappointed in getting some sort of comeuppance for the heroine. What I did read, was a bit tedious.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2013
i really did it this time. i recently got around 8 books from the library,and i dont even need to read them to know they suck.
i've gotten to page 16 &i'm already bored.it certainly doesn't draw you in or make you interested in the story. i mean it sounds like tatiana &matthew were lovers. &she was married sometime but apparently isn't now.i just don't get it and it's too heavy for me. i've never read a book like this before-where they used to be lovers.
i also feel that the reason she wants to get married isn't good enough.i mean, your gonna tie yourself to a guy for the rest of your life for a reason like that? who does that?! i mean, why couldn't she look up her family history by herself?
this is one of those few books that highlight kind of unusual professions in the 1800s.he's a baloonist-something i've never read about.reminds me of the 1800's books where the guys work with trains or build things.you'd think i'd appreciate it because it's different from the typical romance book-about dukes,marquesses,etc. but i guess i don't.or maybe the unusul professions just haven't been done in a good way, i dont know.
i dont even think im gunna finish it beause the conversations feel so stilted and proper. she's 1 of those authors who think they have to write extremely proper for the time period which comes off as extremely boring.i can't muster up any interest in the story.
of course,it could turn out to be good,but i just dont feel like reading it.
i checked the ending, and there were some good quotes back there that almost made me want to read it, but i just dont feel like it.
i've gotten to page 16 &i'm already bored.it certainly doesn't draw you in or make you interested in the story. i mean it sounds like tatiana &matthew were lovers. &she was married sometime but apparently isn't now.i just don't get it and it's too heavy for me. i've never read a book like this before-where they used to be lovers.
i also feel that the reason she wants to get married isn't good enough.i mean, your gonna tie yourself to a guy for the rest of your life for a reason like that? who does that?! i mean, why couldn't she look up her family history by herself?
this is one of those few books that highlight kind of unusual professions in the 1800s.he's a baloonist-something i've never read about.reminds me of the 1800's books where the guys work with trains or build things.you'd think i'd appreciate it because it's different from the typical romance book-about dukes,marquesses,etc. but i guess i don't.or maybe the unusul professions just haven't been done in a good way, i dont know.
i dont even think im gunna finish it beause the conversations feel so stilted and proper. she's 1 of those authors who think they have to write extremely proper for the time period which comes off as extremely boring.i can't muster up any interest in the story.
of course,it could turn out to be good,but i just dont feel like reading it.
i checked the ending, and there were some good quotes back there that almost made me want to read it, but i just dont feel like it.
January 1, 2012
This is one of those Almost But Not Quite kind of books. I was expecting the same old same old (which I did get), but I was surprised that the heroine, Tatiana, was one step above what you usually get in this genre.
In a whirlwind week in Paris (that we don't really get to experience other than being mentioned), Tatiana of Avalonia and Englishman Matthew Weston meet, have a sizzling affair, get married, and then she leaves him. Fifteen months, three weeks and four days later, she's back. I like that Tatiana is up front enough to tell Matthew that she wants him back and yes, she's eager to get back into his pants. Other heroines would be trying to resist their treacherous bodies, but at one point it is Tatiana who is the aggressor and Matthew who is attempting to deny her access to the Mighty Wang. Alexander sets up situations where other authors would have their leads fall into the Big Misunderstanding, yet thankfully she gives Tatiana enough sense for her to figure things out very quickly. (I'm not a fan of the Big Misunderstanding in romance stories.)
On the other hand, nothing really happens in the story. Tatiana, besides trying to get back into her husband's bed, is searching for some lost royal jewels. It's not a very exciting quest. The villain, what there is of one, doesn't physically show up until the last quarter of the book and quite frankly isn't much of a villain. The story just breezes along with no real high or low points. It's not a story that will stay with me.
In a whirlwind week in Paris (that we don't really get to experience other than being mentioned), Tatiana of Avalonia and Englishman Matthew Weston meet, have a sizzling affair, get married, and then she leaves him. Fifteen months, three weeks and four days later, she's back. I like that Tatiana is up front enough to tell Matthew that she wants him back and yes, she's eager to get back into his pants. Other heroines would be trying to resist their treacherous bodies, but at one point it is Tatiana who is the aggressor and Matthew who is attempting to deny her access to the Mighty Wang. Alexander sets up situations where other authors would have their leads fall into the Big Misunderstanding, yet thankfully she gives Tatiana enough sense for her to figure things out very quickly. (I'm not a fan of the Big Misunderstanding in romance stories.)
On the other hand, nothing really happens in the story. Tatiana, besides trying to get back into her husband's bed, is searching for some lost royal jewels. It's not a very exciting quest. The villain, what there is of one, doesn't physically show up until the last quarter of the book and quite frankly isn't much of a villain. The story just breezes along with no real high or low points. It's not a story that will stay with me.
December 27, 2007
Apparently this is Book FIVE of the Effington Family series by Victoria Alexander. I had no idea.
Before this, I'd never read any historical romances with royalty in them. It was interesting--reading about a fictional royal family from a fictional country. Avalonia. (Avalon with an "ia" at the end?)
Anyway, I really liked it. I LOVE the name Tatiana, so the heroine was automatically on my good side. The fact that she was very intelligent, witty, and totally lied about getting that annulment like she said she would... oops!... that just added to my list of reasons I liked the Princess. As for Matthew Weston... *shakes her head* No, just kidding. Dude. He flys hot air balloons! What's not to like?
Anyway, this story was chalk full of adventure, including missing jewels and an evil adversary trying to thwart all of Tatiana's plans. PLUS, there's that whole he-doesn't-know-we're-still-married twist. That was hilarious, because they are OBVIOUSLY in love with each other, but they both don't trust each other... probably because they both lied a BIT upon first meeting each other. But seriously--what can you expect when you get married after 6 days? You can't possibly know EVERYTHING after that long!
So this book was a romantic adventure, full of all sorts of exciting and scintillating stuff. AND, it all worked out in the end. Shockingly enough... :) I was really good.
Before this, I'd never read any historical romances with royalty in them. It was interesting--reading about a fictional royal family from a fictional country. Avalonia. (Avalon with an "ia" at the end?)
Anyway, I really liked it. I LOVE the name Tatiana, so the heroine was automatically on my good side. The fact that she was very intelligent, witty, and totally lied about getting that annulment like she said she would... oops!... that just added to my list of reasons I liked the Princess. As for Matthew Weston... *shakes her head* No, just kidding. Dude. He flys hot air balloons! What's not to like?
Anyway, this story was chalk full of adventure, including missing jewels and an evil adversary trying to thwart all of Tatiana's plans. PLUS, there's that whole he-doesn't-know-we're-still-married twist. That was hilarious, because they are OBVIOUSLY in love with each other, but they both don't trust each other... probably because they both lied a BIT upon first meeting each other. But seriously--what can you expect when you get married after 6 days? You can't possibly know EVERYTHING after that long!
So this book was a romantic adventure, full of all sorts of exciting and scintillating stuff. AND, it all worked out in the end. Shockingly enough... :) I was really good.
August 29, 2011
The Effinton series continues with Alexei's sister, Tatiana. She had met Matthew Weston 15 months earlier in Paris. As a Balloonist he had taken her up in his balloon and after 6 days and nights of passion they had married. And then she was gone leaving only a note that duty called.
Tatiana reappears in Matt's life and asks for his help and to pretend that he is her husband. She don't tell him she is looking for her country's lost jewels or that a crazy cousin is on the loose in England. This book is filled with half truths and mostly lies of omission and it all leads to trouble.
We get to visit Effington Hall once again with the Dowager Dutchess, the almost 80 year old woman who seems to know all of the happenings all around.
Can a Princess and the 4th son find happiness and a life together, that is the big question of this book. Plus he just can't seem to lie as well as she does.
*sexual situations
Tatiana reappears in Matt's life and asks for his help and to pretend that he is her husband. She don't tell him she is looking for her country's lost jewels or that a crazy cousin is on the loose in England. This book is filled with half truths and mostly lies of omission and it all leads to trouble.
We get to visit Effington Hall once again with the Dowager Dutchess, the almost 80 year old woman who seems to know all of the happenings all around.
Can a Princess and the 4th son find happiness and a life together, that is the big question of this book. Plus he just can't seem to lie as well as she does.
*sexual situations
November 26, 2007
I liked this book, but it took me a little time to get really into it. The main characters weren't as humorous as those in The Prince's Bride, but I did enjoy the story once I had the opportunity to sit down and read it.
The main character, Princess Tatiana, has a two-part mission on her mind. The first mission is to find the long-lost "Heavens", three jewels that symbolize her family's right as rulers of Avalonia and avoid her evil cousin who is looking for them also. The second mission is to rekindle the love she shared with Lord Matthew Weston during a brief encounter.
Overall, I enjoyed this book--it isn't anything new to those who enjoy romance novels, but I have found that I am really getting into Victoria Alexander's books. I have had a tough time finding new authors, so when I find a good one, I stick with them.
The main character, Princess Tatiana, has a two-part mission on her mind. The first mission is to find the long-lost "Heavens", three jewels that symbolize her family's right as rulers of Avalonia and avoid her evil cousin who is looking for them also. The second mission is to rekindle the love she shared with Lord Matthew Weston during a brief encounter.
Overall, I enjoyed this book--it isn't anything new to those who enjoy romance novels, but I have found that I am really getting into Victoria Alexander's books. I have had a tough time finding new authors, so when I find a good one, I stick with them.
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