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Gentlemen and Brides #1
Heart of a Marquess
A plan born of deception… Can Charlotte overcome her stepsister’s cruel actions and find the love she deserves?
Miss Charlotte Richardson was heartbroken when her father died, but is elated when her mother remarries. It brings Charlotte such joy to see her mother happy again.
Charlotte hopes to develop a close bond with her new stepsister, Lady Emma, but her hopes are quickly shattered. Lady Emma is upset that she must now share her home with Charlotte, whom she feels is beneath her.
When the Marquess of Withington develops affections for Charlotte, Lady Emma is furious because she wants him for his wealth and title. Lady Emma will stop at nothing and devises a plan that will ruin all possibilities of Charlotte finding happiness.
Will Charlotte find true love even though Lady Emma is determined to destroy her reputation? Can Lord Withington see through Lady Emma’s deceitful nature?
If you love clean and wholesome, Regency-era romances with a strong woman heroine and an inspirational romantic story, you will love Heart of a Marquess.
Authors Note: This is a clean, stand-alone romance, so there are no cliffhangers. This sweet romance is a 130-page book with bonus stories included.
Miss Charlotte Richardson was heartbroken when her father died, but is elated when her mother remarries. It brings Charlotte such joy to see her mother happy again.
Charlotte hopes to develop a close bond with her new stepsister, Lady Emma, but her hopes are quickly shattered. Lady Emma is upset that she must now share her home with Charlotte, whom she feels is beneath her.
When the Marquess of Withington develops affections for Charlotte, Lady Emma is furious because she wants him for his wealth and title. Lady Emma will stop at nothing and devises a plan that will ruin all possibilities of Charlotte finding happiness.
Will Charlotte find true love even though Lady Emma is determined to destroy her reputation? Can Lord Withington see through Lady Emma’s deceitful nature?
If you love clean and wholesome, Regency-era romances with a strong woman heroine and an inspirational romantic story, you will love Heart of a Marquess.
Authors Note: This is a clean, stand-alone romance, so there are no cliffhangers. This sweet romance is a 130-page book with bonus stories included.
120 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 29, 2018
105 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Joyce Alec
94 books90 followersJoyce Alec grew up in Colorado and graduated from college with a degree in business. After developing a passion for books, she spent countless hours reading a variety of genres, but fell in love with sweet, historical romances. Joyce’s passion for reading eventually cultivated into a love for writing, so creating Regency-era tales of love is a dream come true for her.
After planting her roots in Florida, Joyce found another passion: the ocean! In her free time, you can find Joyce at the beach with a big floppy hat, flip-flops, and a vanilla iced coffee in hand. She lives in the Sunshine State with her prince charming and wildly vivacious son.
After planting her roots in Florida, Joyce found another passion: the ocean! In her free time, you can find Joyce at the beach with a big floppy hat, flip-flops, and a vanilla iced coffee in hand. She lives in the Sunshine State with her prince charming and wildly vivacious son.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 10, 2018
This is a clean and sweet little novella but I really wished the author had developed the romantic story line a bit more by expanding on the relationship between the MC's. I am not talking about sex because a good romance novel doesn't need to always have sex scenes. I just felt a bit shortchanged because there was too much emphasis placed on the EVIL, jealous stepsister Emma and all the malicious things she did and said to the heroine Charlotte. A little more focus on the romance would have helped to balance out all the nastiness from Emma the junior hagwitch. Charlotte was a lovely lady like heroine with a lot of dignity but she always stood up her herself when Emma went into into bitch mode ( which happened once every other page or so... ). Phillip was an average H. He was not the hottest H I've encountered in a romance novel, but that's probably because the author spent too much time on Emma's bullshit evil machinations and not enough on him.
Charlotte only has one ally in her new home and that's Emma's widowed aunt. However, even that lady's presence didn't stop Emma from: locking Charlotte in a closet at a party and insulting the heroine with her jealous, hateful and bitter tirades. Emma is obsessed with marrying the H Phillip, because he's the only handsome, rich bachelor with the highest title, since he's a marquess. But Phillip doesn't even notice bitter hagwith Emma, since he only has eyes for the sweet heroine Charlotte. Emma's bitter "bitchery" escalates when she notices this and she actually lunges at Charlotte, pulls her hair, scratches her neck and face and beats her up. Harold Mongrelpup and I have one response to Emma:
REAL ladies do NOT act like vile, bitter, jealous and hateful hagbitches. Real ladies have dignity and poise because sour hagbitches will eventually drown in the sea of their own unhappiness and bitterness ...eventually. Emma takes things to horrific levels though ! She starts spreading nasty rumours about Charlotte in an effort to ruin the heroine's reputation. She pushes herself at Phillip and when he ignores her, she tells him lies about Charlotte. She says that Charlotte is a flirt with no self respect who encourages the attentions of men, when the reality is that Emma is the one who chases after men. I often find it strange when people like Emma bring up the issue of self respect, because it is so ironic and laughable. Phillip is, at first, wary about courting Charlotte after the crap of lies Emma told him but he does use his common sense ( unlike many other H's ) and realizes that Emma is just a jealous, bitter hag. The story line comes to a climax when Emma accosts Phillip at a party and asks to talk to him in private to apologize. When she gets him out on the balcony, she jumps on him and kisses him ! He pushes her away immediately and wipes his mouth. I applauded the wiping of the mouth part; more H's need to do that when stinky wannabe,, evil OW kiss them.
Unfortunately for Phillip, the heroine sees the kiss and runs off but he chases after her immediately to explain. Phillip proposes to Charlotte and she accepts but the bitter hagbitch Emma turns up with the aunt and shouts that Phillip is HER fiance since he kissed her. That delusional creature was OTT with her stupid antics in this scene because she was cackling like a pushy witch and telling the H that he had no choice but to marry her. Phillip handled her with class though. He looked at her with disdain, hugged Charlotte to his side and told her that the heroine is the only woman who will be his wife. Emma rushed forward to try and beat poor Charlotte but the H pulled his beloved to safety and protected her. Emma ended up falling into a nasty, mud filled and stagnant pond. Harold Mongrelpup and I reacted like this:
The only thing I am complaining about is that this was too short and the romance story line was not fully developed. That's all that was really needed because the story itself had so much potential.
Charlotte only has one ally in her new home and that's Emma's widowed aunt. However, even that lady's presence didn't stop Emma from: locking Charlotte in a closet at a party and insulting the heroine with her jealous, hateful and bitter tirades. Emma is obsessed with marrying the H Phillip, because he's the only handsome, rich bachelor with the highest title, since he's a marquess. But Phillip doesn't even notice bitter hagwith Emma, since he only has eyes for the sweet heroine Charlotte. Emma's bitter "bitchery" escalates when she notices this and she actually lunges at Charlotte, pulls her hair, scratches her neck and face and beats her up. Harold Mongrelpup and I have one response to Emma:
REAL ladies do NOT act like vile, bitter, jealous and hateful hagbitches. Real ladies have dignity and poise because sour hagbitches will eventually drown in the sea of their own unhappiness and bitterness ...eventually. Emma takes things to horrific levels though ! She starts spreading nasty rumours about Charlotte in an effort to ruin the heroine's reputation. She pushes herself at Phillip and when he ignores her, she tells him lies about Charlotte. She says that Charlotte is a flirt with no self respect who encourages the attentions of men, when the reality is that Emma is the one who chases after men. I often find it strange when people like Emma bring up the issue of self respect, because it is so ironic and laughable. Phillip is, at first, wary about courting Charlotte after the crap of lies Emma told him but he does use his common sense ( unlike many other H's ) and realizes that Emma is just a jealous, bitter hag. The story line comes to a climax when Emma accosts Phillip at a party and asks to talk to him in private to apologize. When she gets him out on the balcony, she jumps on him and kisses him ! He pushes her away immediately and wipes his mouth. I applauded the wiping of the mouth part; more H's need to do that when stinky wannabe,, evil OW kiss them.
Unfortunately for Phillip, the heroine sees the kiss and runs off but he chases after her immediately to explain. Phillip proposes to Charlotte and she accepts but the bitter hagbitch Emma turns up with the aunt and shouts that Phillip is HER fiance since he kissed her. That delusional creature was OTT with her stupid antics in this scene because she was cackling like a pushy witch and telling the H that he had no choice but to marry her. Phillip handled her with class though. He looked at her with disdain, hugged Charlotte to his side and told her that the heroine is the only woman who will be his wife. Emma rushed forward to try and beat poor Charlotte but the H pulled his beloved to safety and protected her. Emma ended up falling into a nasty, mud filled and stagnant pond. Harold Mongrelpup and I reacted like this:
The only thing I am complaining about is that this was too short and the romance story line was not fully developed. That's all that was really needed because the story itself had so much potential.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2018
This was a good, short read, but I wanted it to be a full length novel. That was the only disappointing factor about this. I WANT MORE.
CONTENT
Romance - Clean
Violence - none
Language - none
CONTENT
Romance - Clean
Violence - none
Language - none
February 7, 2019
Reviewed at Romantic Historicals
“Heart of A Marquess” proves that there’s no need to worry about wicked step-mothers (or step-fathers) when there’s a vile, nasty, spoiled, vicious wicked witch of a step-sister around.
Charlotte and Emma are young ladies of the ton. Their parents recently married bringing happiness to them and complicated family life to their offsprings. Charlotte is simply happy to see her mother loving life again after her father’s death. Of course, she’d always miss her father, but her mother’s happiness was important to her and she rejoiced in her mother’s new found love.
Unfortunately, her new step-sister, Emma, was equally appalled and angry at her father’s remarriage. Emma is in the most polite terms a totally spoiled brat of a woman who believes everyone not of her social tier or above is worthless, men are to be chosen for their wealth, titles and what they can bring to the marriage for her, and absolutely everyone around her must bow down to her demands… no matter how outrageous. She’s not above blackmail, can be an excellent actress when it suits her purposes and really is a nasty piece of work who deserves a good setdown or spanking, or both.
Phillip, Marquess of Withington, has a cynical attitude toward the ladies of the ton. He trusts no female. Perhaps he has a reason since he escaped being trapped into an unwanted marriage by sheer coincidence, but he’s let that one experience cloud his view of every young woman of marriageable age. His world is about to be shaken up when he rescues Charlotte from a situation only to discover that she has no idea nor care of who he is and she is quite willing to tell him exactly what she thinks of his raised eyebrows and cynical words.
The stars of this story are the diverse differences between the two step-sisters. One evil incarnate, the other kind but with a backbone that will not allow another woman to bully her nor will she bow down to her demands. I adored Charlotte, despised Emma… and was rather indifferent to Phillip. Unfortunately, for me, Phillip’s wall of cynical attitude that surrounded him constantly kept me from really carrying about his future or being able to see his actual affection for Charlotte. Oh, it was there, I simply had trouble seeing him in a romantic fashion when he suddenly (to me) seemed to cast aside all doubt and declare his heart belonging to Charlotte. To me, “Heart of A Marquess” was a story where the villainess outshone the couple by a great deal. I enjoyed the story very much, please don’t misunderstand… but of all the characters, Emma sticks out most in my mind because she was so over the top horrid.
If you enjoy Regency or Historical Romance then this story is one you’ll want to check out. I’m looking forward to doing a bit of binge reading to complete this series since luckily for me all of the titles are now available.
I own a Kindle edition of this story.
“Heart of A Marquess” proves that there’s no need to worry about wicked step-mothers (or step-fathers) when there’s a vile, nasty, spoiled, vicious wicked witch of a step-sister around.
Charlotte and Emma are young ladies of the ton. Their parents recently married bringing happiness to them and complicated family life to their offsprings. Charlotte is simply happy to see her mother loving life again after her father’s death. Of course, she’d always miss her father, but her mother’s happiness was important to her and she rejoiced in her mother’s new found love.
Unfortunately, her new step-sister, Emma, was equally appalled and angry at her father’s remarriage. Emma is in the most polite terms a totally spoiled brat of a woman who believes everyone not of her social tier or above is worthless, men are to be chosen for their wealth, titles and what they can bring to the marriage for her, and absolutely everyone around her must bow down to her demands… no matter how outrageous. She’s not above blackmail, can be an excellent actress when it suits her purposes and really is a nasty piece of work who deserves a good setdown or spanking, or both.
Phillip, Marquess of Withington, has a cynical attitude toward the ladies of the ton. He trusts no female. Perhaps he has a reason since he escaped being trapped into an unwanted marriage by sheer coincidence, but he’s let that one experience cloud his view of every young woman of marriageable age. His world is about to be shaken up when he rescues Charlotte from a situation only to discover that she has no idea nor care of who he is and she is quite willing to tell him exactly what she thinks of his raised eyebrows and cynical words.
The stars of this story are the diverse differences between the two step-sisters. One evil incarnate, the other kind but with a backbone that will not allow another woman to bully her nor will she bow down to her demands. I adored Charlotte, despised Emma… and was rather indifferent to Phillip. Unfortunately, for me, Phillip’s wall of cynical attitude that surrounded him constantly kept me from really carrying about his future or being able to see his actual affection for Charlotte. Oh, it was there, I simply had trouble seeing him in a romantic fashion when he suddenly (to me) seemed to cast aside all doubt and declare his heart belonging to Charlotte. To me, “Heart of A Marquess” was a story where the villainess outshone the couple by a great deal. I enjoyed the story very much, please don’t misunderstand… but of all the characters, Emma sticks out most in my mind because she was so over the top horrid.
If you enjoy Regency or Historical Romance then this story is one you’ll want to check out. I’m looking forward to doing a bit of binge reading to complete this series since luckily for me all of the titles are now available.
I own a Kindle edition of this story.
February 19, 2018
Title: Heart of a Marquess: Regency Romance
Author: Joyce Alec
Publishe: J. A.
Series: Gentleman and Brides
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Heart of a Marquess: Regency Romance" by Joyce Alec
My Thoughts....
"Heart of a Marquess" was a beautiful love story of Lord Phillip and Lady Charlotte. All would have been great if it had not been for the interference for Charlotte's stepsister Emma. Emma was one of those people who was hateful, jealous and very spoiled and she seemed to think she would be able to get her way with Charlotte not matter what. Even with Emma's aunt [Lady Perrin] trying to keep Emma on the straight and narrow would be of no good because Emma was just really something else. But when it all came together I like how well this author is able to give the reader a nice historical regency read. For me I was shaking my head and saying wow at all of Emma's antics! With Phillip having already had problems with a certain female one could see why he was so reluctant in wanting to get involved with anyone else but with the help of his friend [Kinsley] after meeting Charlotte was he having different thoughts? One thing about this read is that the storyline will keep your interest turning the pages to see what was coming next. Would I recommend? Yes, I did find it a very entertaining read.
Author: Joyce Alec
Publishe: J. A.
Series: Gentleman and Brides
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Heart of a Marquess: Regency Romance" by Joyce Alec
My Thoughts....
"Heart of a Marquess" was a beautiful love story of Lord Phillip and Lady Charlotte. All would have been great if it had not been for the interference for Charlotte's stepsister Emma. Emma was one of those people who was hateful, jealous and very spoiled and she seemed to think she would be able to get her way with Charlotte not matter what. Even with Emma's aunt [Lady Perrin] trying to keep Emma on the straight and narrow would be of no good because Emma was just really something else. But when it all came together I like how well this author is able to give the reader a nice historical regency read. For me I was shaking my head and saying wow at all of Emma's antics! With Phillip having already had problems with a certain female one could see why he was so reluctant in wanting to get involved with anyone else but with the help of his friend [Kinsley] after meeting Charlotte was he having different thoughts? One thing about this read is that the storyline will keep your interest turning the pages to see what was coming next. Would I recommend? Yes, I did find it a very entertaining read.
February 1, 2018
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I liked this book, and I thought Charlotte was AMAZING - she stood up to Lady Emma without fail, and she was a very strong character in general, like with Phillip. Lady Perrin was also super awesome, and she was my favorite character besides Charlotte. Phillip was a little flat, but other than that, this was a great book. 4 stars.
February 4, 2018
This was a lovely love story about the relationship that developed between Lady Charlotte and Lord Phillip, despite the jealousy and interference from Charlotte's stepsister. As the story unfolds it is evident that the stepsister Lady Emma is spoiled, hateful and jealous of her stepsister who is quite the opposite. I loved the story and hope to read more from this author. I also enjoyed the bonus stories.
May 29, 2018
I liked this story. Charlotte is bright and intelligent. Phillip is skeptical of woman and thinks all woman after his title. He learns differently from Charlotte. I think someone should have spanked Lady Emma. She didn't deserve to go out in society, especially after she attacked Charlotte. I found Marquess very off putting and he lacked charm, but he was intelligent and a man who looked at two sides.
February 2, 2018
A lovely short novella that takes two people from differing ends of societies standards at the time and despite cruel intentions, past negative experiences and no desire, a happy ever after is started. Set in city and country with a good cast of well developed characters for a short story this is a happy read.
March 4, 2018
Collection of short stories
I don't read novellas so unless I missed something in the description, this was misleading. It wasn't a novel but a collection of 6-7 short stories by different authors. For brief stories, they were pretty good tho, even tho I'm not usually a fan. They were very clean too
I don't read novellas so unless I missed something in the description, this was misleading. It wasn't a novel but a collection of 6-7 short stories by different authors. For brief stories, they were pretty good tho, even tho I'm not usually a fan. They were very clean too
September 28, 2019
Finding love
Having a troubles half sister and all the thing she does to make her life miserable.But there is a young man who is trying not to get marry,he things that all. Young woman are the same,he was trying to find someone who was different and he found it in this young woman. I give this story a four star rating
Having a troubles half sister and all the thing she does to make her life miserable.But there is a young man who is trying not to get marry,he things that all. Young woman are the same,he was trying to find someone who was different and he found it in this young woman. I give this story a four star rating
December 20, 2021
I really enjoyed this romance and I've given it a 5* rating. I voluntarily chose to review this clean romance. This is book one of Joyce Alec's Gentlemen and Brides Series. I must say that the spoiled new stepsister was very sneaky but her evil deeds seemed to backfire from the start. There is lots to enjoy and think upon and I'll be moving on to the next.
April 7, 2023
This was a short story about a girl that her mother marries and she gets wicked step-sister, that feels she's entitled to what-ever and who-ever she wants. The Marquess is wary of all the new ladies he encounters because he was almost set up by the young lady from his past. It's a quick read and endearing. Loved it!
February 3, 2018
A clean and wholesome historical romance that is fun to read. The characters are intriguing and well defined. The story has enough twist to keep the readers interest. It is truly a joy to read. I received this book as a gift and voluntarily give this review.
August 16, 2018
Ebook
She’s a young woman without a title. Her mother has just remarried and gained an evil stepsister. She catches the eye of a marquis but her stepsister is doing all she can to prevent a marriage
She’s a young woman without a title. Her mother has just remarried and gained an evil stepsister. She catches the eye of a marquis but her stepsister is doing all she can to prevent a marriage
August 26, 2019
This was such a delightful story! I loved Charlotte's kind gentle nature. I loved Withington's cautious, guarded personality. I enjoyed his banter with his best friend, Kinsley. I even enjoyed the spoiled, obnoxious Lady Emma. I found myself laughing out loud at her antics. DELIGHTFUL!
February 4, 2018
A pleasant read
February 5, 2018
Heart of a Marquess:
I did enjoy these stories. Reading one after the other. I began to confuse the stories. As if it were just mere aquatints of the to .
I did enjoy these stories. Reading one after the other. I began to confuse the stories. As if it were just mere aquatints of the to .
February 21, 2018
What a spoilt brat the step- sister was, she tried to make sure if things did not go her way Charlotte would be the one to suffer for it. A well-written story, the bonus stories also were very good.
July 10, 2018
A delightful tale that can be read in half a day.
August 16, 2018
Beautiful
What a beautiful story of love between two people who both had thought they would never find true love! Wonderfully written!
What a beautiful story of love between two people who both had thought they would never find true love! Wonderfully written!
August 20, 2018
A very sweet Regency tale complete with an evil stepsister!
A well written story
A well written story
September 5, 2018
Wonderful story filled with intrigue and deception but, as always, a fitting end. Good prevails over evil.
November 12, 2018
Clean Read
It was nice to enjoy short clean reads in a interesting and engaging compilation. This the second time I have read a few of these books.
It was nice to enjoy short clean reads in a interesting and engaging compilation. This the second time I have read a few of these books.
August 25, 2019
Heart of a marquess
Short sweet and simple romance story that will leave you oxcupied for a while. Grab it and enjoy. All the characters are lovely.
Short sweet and simple romance story that will leave you oxcupied for a while. Grab it and enjoy. All the characters are lovely.
August 19, 2018
A nice clean romance filled with jealousy, a spoiled brat, and true love. I like Aunt Agatha and the way Charlotte doesn't give in to her step-sister, Emma. I received an ARC of this book for free in return for an honest review.
February 5, 2018
The book was good. I received an ARC. I did not think the language fit the times per se - I've read historical fiction where it was obvious the authors did extensive research on what language was actually in vogue and in use at the time. The characters were great, especially Charlotte. I did feel like it was somewhat rushed but enjoyed the overall story, especially that it was clean.
Want to read
August 13, 2018💝FREE on Amazon today (8/13/2018)!💝
September 2, 2018
Clean,stand-alone Regency Romance.
Charlotte and Withinghton's characters are mild.
The love story is boring and nothing exceptional.
Charlotte and Withinghton's characters are mild.
The love story is boring and nothing exceptional.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews