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Fairchild Family #1
A Well Pleasured Lady
Prim, plain, desperately virtuous Lady Mary Fairchild stared at the seductive gentleman and wondered -- did he remember the elements of the night they met? Surely not. In the ten years since, she had abandoned her youthful impetuousness and transformed herself into a housekeeper -- disguising her beauty beneath a servant's dour clothing determined to conquer the passions of the past.
But Sebastian Durant, Viscount Whitfield, did recognize her as a Fairchild, one of his family's bitter enemies. When he demanded her help recovering a stolen diary, she dared not refuse him. When he proposed they masquerade as a betrothed couple, loyalty forced her to agree. And when the restraint between them shattered and pleasure became an obsession, Mary had to trust a powerful man who could send her to the gallows ... or love her through eternity.
But Sebastian Durant, Viscount Whitfield, did recognize her as a Fairchild, one of his family's bitter enemies. When he demanded her help recovering a stolen diary, she dared not refuse him. When he proposed they masquerade as a betrothed couple, loyalty forced her to agree. And when the restraint between them shattered and pleasure became an obsession, Mary had to trust a powerful man who could send her to the gallows ... or love her through eternity.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
59 people are currently reading
1521 people want to read
About the author
Christina Dodd
98 books5,923 followersUpcoming:
— 6/30/26 TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN: Daughter of Montague Historical Fiction #3 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
New and Now!
—MUCH ADO ABOUT MISTLETOE: Daughter of Montague Christmas novella https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— THUS WITH A KISS I DIE Daughter of Montague Historical Fiction #2
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA Historical Fiction Trade Paperback Once upon a time a young couple met and fell in love. You probably know that story, and how it ended (hint: badly). Only here’s the thing: That’s not how it ended at all…
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
— WELCOME TO GOTHIC: A Gothic novella in ebook (at last!) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— WHAT DREAMS MAY COME Daughter of Montague novella 1.5 "I’m the daughter of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, that Romeo and Juliet. No, they didn’t die in the tomb…" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— GIRL ANONYMOUS “Crackling sexual chemistry and a few love scenes guaranteed to scorch readers’ fingers as they turn the pages." — ⭐️ Booklist
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Readers become writers, and Christina has always been a reader. Ultimately she discovered she liked to read romance best because the relationship between a man and a woman is always humorous. A woman wants world peace, a clean house, and a deep and meaningful relationship based on mutual understanding and love. A man wants a Craftsman router, undisputed control of the TV remote, and a red Corvette which will make his bald spot disappear.
When Christina’s first daughter was born, she told her husband she was going to write a book. It was a good time to start a new career, because how much trouble could one little infant be?
Ha! It took ten years, two children and three completed manuscripts before she was published. Now her suspense, paranormal, historical, and mystery novels have been translated into 30 languages and sold more than 15 million copies in print. Praised for her “brilliantly etched characters, polished writing, and unexpected flashes of sharp humor that are pure Dodd” (Booklist), her award-winning books have landed on numerous Best of the Year lists and, much to her mother's delight, Dodd was once a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest, where her 700 lavender plants share the yard with her husband’s various “Big Projects,” including a treehouse, zipline, and their very own Stonehenge.
Enter Christina’s worlds and join her mailing list for humor, book news and entertainment (yes, she’s the proud author with the infamous three-armed cover) at christinadodd.com. For more information on A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA, visit daughterofmontague.com. Her legions of fans know that when they pick up a Christina Dodd book, they'll find the story, "Wildly entertaining, wickedly witty!"
Christina is married to a man with all his hair and no Corvette, but many Craftsman tools.
(Source: http://www.christinadodd.com )
— 6/30/26 TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN: Daughter of Montague Historical Fiction #3 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
New and Now!
—MUCH ADO ABOUT MISTLETOE: Daughter of Montague Christmas novella https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— THUS WITH A KISS I DIE Daughter of Montague Historical Fiction #2
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA Historical Fiction Trade Paperback Once upon a time a young couple met and fell in love. You probably know that story, and how it ended (hint: badly). Only here’s the thing: That’s not how it ended at all…
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
— WELCOME TO GOTHIC: A Gothic novella in ebook (at last!) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— WHAT DREAMS MAY COME Daughter of Montague novella 1.5 "I’m the daughter of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, that Romeo and Juliet. No, they didn’t die in the tomb…" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— GIRL ANONYMOUS “Crackling sexual chemistry and a few love scenes guaranteed to scorch readers’ fingers as they turn the pages." — ⭐️ Booklist
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Readers become writers, and Christina has always been a reader. Ultimately she discovered she liked to read romance best because the relationship between a man and a woman is always humorous. A woman wants world peace, a clean house, and a deep and meaningful relationship based on mutual understanding and love. A man wants a Craftsman router, undisputed control of the TV remote, and a red Corvette which will make his bald spot disappear.
When Christina’s first daughter was born, she told her husband she was going to write a book. It was a good time to start a new career, because how much trouble could one little infant be?
Ha! It took ten years, two children and three completed manuscripts before she was published. Now her suspense, paranormal, historical, and mystery novels have been translated into 30 languages and sold more than 15 million copies in print. Praised for her “brilliantly etched characters, polished writing, and unexpected flashes of sharp humor that are pure Dodd” (Booklist), her award-winning books have landed on numerous Best of the Year lists and, much to her mother's delight, Dodd was once a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest, where her 700 lavender plants share the yard with her husband’s various “Big Projects,” including a treehouse, zipline, and their very own Stonehenge.
Enter Christina’s worlds and join her mailing list for humor, book news and entertainment (yes, she’s the proud author with the infamous three-armed cover) at christinadodd.com. For more information on A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA, visit daughterofmontague.com. Her legions of fans know that when they pick up a Christina Dodd book, they'll find the story, "Wildly entertaining, wickedly witty!"
Christina is married to a man with all his hair and no Corvette, but many Craftsman tools.
(Source: http://www.christinadodd.com )
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
May 27, 2018
People either hate or love this book…and all because of one infamous scene.
I’ve heard about this book over the years and the controversial rape scene about which even the author has been asked a few times. So I thought to find out for myself. Having forgotten the title, sifting through the CD books (several times) I always missed it…as I never suspected to find that rape scene in a book named 'A Well Pleasured Lady'!
Anyways, reading this mostly humorous story set in a rather quirky setting with an uber-dominant-but-considerate-despite-himself H and a prim-but-determined h, who set my heart zipping with their fiery yet endearing chemistry, I just couldn’t fathom a rape cropping up here – between these two.
**Spoilerish**
Rape or Forced Seduction?
As HP/Romance readers we’ve allowed that line to blur so many times for the medieval/regency bodice-ripping, indiscriminately rutting ‘Heroes’ or for the much older, coldly abusive and rapey husbands of vintage HPs (both kinds I personally detest), but dissenting opinions are still possible and understandable. And to be honest I’ve enjoyed my fair share of ‘forceful’ Hs who go for what they want, consent be damned.
I feel there was nothing PC about this one here but still I’d rate it a forced seduction rather than a rape.
Even when…
No (or don’t) should mean just that. (I’d be horrified if it didn’t in RL.)
He was a self-centered jerk to push her as he did.
He may not have been violent but power play definitely came into it.
He enjoyed and treasured ‘her tears over her maidenhood’.
He knew she was a virgin and still wasn’t particularly gentle with her or tried a more traditional way of doing things.
But it was so damn hot and erotic!
No wonder she tells him to 'shut up and hurry'.
No wonder this particular non-con took on such mythical stature.
The author wrote it as simple and complex as that…and takes you along – horrified, confused, swooning (guiltily) even as you wonder on things like No, consent/compliance before or after penetration, a much abused overwhelmed by passion or a believable portrayal of enjoyment, a certain tenderness-yes, it was there too.
As for the story, it was an okay entertainer and holds up well throughout. Lots of complex well-fleshed out characters, evil vulturish relatives, engaging plot and subplots, humor, suspense, blackmail, mild ow-om drama mixed in with some gothic-ness and hot sex.
Grouse? Although the story never lets up, the h/H interaction drops a bit in the middle. The last scene on the rooftop could have been better. Also the Mary vs. Guinevere thing got a bit odd after a while.
This was more a review of the that scene than the book per se.
Still a 4.15*, I'd say.
I’ve heard about this book over the years and the controversial rape scene about which even the author has been asked a few times. So I thought to find out for myself. Having forgotten the title, sifting through the CD books (several times) I always missed it…as I never suspected to find that rape scene in a book named 'A Well Pleasured Lady'!
Anyways, reading this mostly humorous story set in a rather quirky setting with an uber-dominant-but-considerate-despite-himself H and a prim-but-determined h, who set my heart zipping with their fiery yet endearing chemistry, I just couldn’t fathom a rape cropping up here – between these two.
**Spoilerish**
Rape or Forced Seduction?
As HP/Romance readers we’ve allowed that line to blur so many times for the medieval/regency bodice-ripping, indiscriminately rutting ‘Heroes’ or for the much older, coldly abusive and rapey husbands of vintage HPs (both kinds I personally detest), but dissenting opinions are still possible and understandable. And to be honest I’ve enjoyed my fair share of ‘forceful’ Hs who go for what they want, consent be damned.
I feel there was nothing PC about this one here but still I’d rate it a forced seduction rather than a rape.
Even when…
No (or don’t) should mean just that. (I’d be horrified if it didn’t in RL.)
He was a self-centered jerk to push her as he did.
He may not have been violent but power play definitely came into it.
He enjoyed and treasured ‘her tears over her maidenhood’.
He knew she was a virgin and still wasn’t particularly gentle with her or tried a more traditional way of doing things.
But it was so damn hot and erotic!
No wonder she tells him to 'shut up and hurry'.
No wonder this particular non-con took on such mythical stature.
The author wrote it as simple and complex as that…and takes you along – horrified, confused, swooning (guiltily) even as you wonder on things like No, consent/compliance before or after penetration, a much abused overwhelmed by passion or a believable portrayal of enjoyment, a certain tenderness-yes, it was there too.
As for the story, it was an okay entertainer and holds up well throughout. Lots of complex well-fleshed out characters, evil vulturish relatives, engaging plot and subplots, humor, suspense, blackmail, mild ow-om drama mixed in with some gothic-ness and hot sex.
Grouse? Although the story never lets up, the h/H interaction drops a bit in the middle. The last scene on the rooftop could have been better. Also the Mary vs. Guinevere thing got a bit odd after a while.
This was more a review of the that scene than the book per se.
Still a 4.15*, I'd say.
May 2, 2012
Hey, enjoy rape and forced marriage? Than this is the romance for you! When the most evil person in the book is a hero, it is difficult not to throw the book across the room in rage.
And don't forget it is ok to be an abusive rapist as long as something traumatic happened in your past! Then it is all good.
And don't forget it is ok to be an abusive rapist as long as something traumatic happened in your past! Then it is all good.
August 26, 2019
“Sooner or later, you and I will mate.”
His certainty frustrated her. “I am not an animal. I do not mate. ”
“Aren’t you?” His scarred, long-fingered hands reached out to her and caught the scarf tied to conceal her bosom. The lace gave easily under his coaxing, and he lifted the ends away from her skin. He looked at what he’d uncovered, then looked up at her. “Won’t you?”
"A Well Pleasured Lady" is the story of Mary and Sebastian.
A lady on the run..
A governess in disguise..
A determined viscount..
A counterfeit betrothal..
A missing diary..
A scheming godmother..
All come together to make this a worthwhile read! This book is SO SO sexy, and the passionate cat-and-mouse game between the MC's is titillating.
The heroine, Lady Mary Fairchild and her brother Hadden escape a treacherous fate, when the h is hired by Lady Valéry as a governess. She hides herself in plain sight for ten years, until Lady Valéry's godson Sebastian Durant, Viscount Whitfield visits her, and Mary realizes that her identity might not be disguised as she imagined..
As Sebastian and Valéry ask her favor in retrieving a scandalous diary, she is coerced into pretending to be his fiance, a charade that is complicated when she reaches the Fairchild family who once rejected her, and finds herself an heiress. Stuck between fighting her attraction to Sebastian, warding off money hungry suitors and realizing the long standing feud between Durants and Fairchilds, Mary realizes things can only get worse when threatening notes start arriving, planning to expose her..
Can she fight the world? Will Sebastian finally seduce her (hint: he does, and it is oh so HOT!)? Will she be prosecuted?
Everything is resolved in this thrilling read. Yes, the hero did act like a wounded bear/ass half of the time, and their first lovemaking scene is semi-con- but I really enjoyed this book and it kept me hooked since page 1.
Safe
4/5
His certainty frustrated her. “I am not an animal. I do not mate. ”
“Aren’t you?” His scarred, long-fingered hands reached out to her and caught the scarf tied to conceal her bosom. The lace gave easily under his coaxing, and he lifted the ends away from her skin. He looked at what he’d uncovered, then looked up at her. “Won’t you?”
"A Well Pleasured Lady" is the story of Mary and Sebastian.
A lady on the run..
A governess in disguise..
A determined viscount..
A counterfeit betrothal..
A missing diary..
A scheming godmother..
All come together to make this a worthwhile read! This book is SO SO sexy, and the passionate cat-and-mouse game between the MC's is titillating.
The heroine, Lady Mary Fairchild and her brother Hadden escape a treacherous fate, when the h is hired by Lady Valéry as a governess. She hides herself in plain sight for ten years, until Lady Valéry's godson Sebastian Durant, Viscount Whitfield visits her, and Mary realizes that her identity might not be disguised as she imagined..
As Sebastian and Valéry ask her favor in retrieving a scandalous diary, she is coerced into pretending to be his fiance, a charade that is complicated when she reaches the Fairchild family who once rejected her, and finds herself an heiress. Stuck between fighting her attraction to Sebastian, warding off money hungry suitors and realizing the long standing feud between Durants and Fairchilds, Mary realizes things can only get worse when threatening notes start arriving, planning to expose her..
Can she fight the world? Will Sebastian finally seduce her (hint: he does, and it is oh so HOT!)? Will she be prosecuted?
Everything is resolved in this thrilling read. Yes, the hero did act like a wounded bear/ass half of the time, and their first lovemaking scene is semi-con- but I really enjoyed this book and it kept me hooked since page 1.
Safe
4/5
November 15, 2012
Wow, to add to an already boring, draggy story, he rapes her but it's okay because even though she fought him the whole time she ended up kinda liking it? Yeah, not okay.
Did Not Finish.
Did Not Finish.
April 12, 2016
This book is disgusting.
Allow me to explain…
I have an interesting relationship with romance novels, they're like crack to me.
They pile high in my room, as I happily flit through them and toss them into a pile, smutty romance after smutty romance. I'm not ignorant to the flaws of these books. I am often amused at how terrible they can be. However, I seem to be immune to the flowery prose and usual romantic cliches. One thing I can't seem to ignore is the sexism. Although I have come to accept that these books don't have any literary merit and are not to be taken seriously, it kinda ruins the fun. Normally when I read a romance, I know what to expect and I can mostly just roll my eyes at the annoying sexism, but sometimes I run into the books like these, Where the sexism is so blantant is makes me sick and cannot be ignored.
A Well Pleasured Lady, follows Mary Rottenson, our Jane Doe with a secret past who is disguised as a housekeeper. When her employer Lady Vale´ry, informs Mary that her godson, Sebastian Durant, Viscount Whitfield, is coming to seek her out, Mary is panicked - he alone could identify her as a murderer. By force of his alpha male bullshit she is repeatedly raped and abused by Viscount Shitfield. He forces her to to act as his wife in order to gain access to a diary stolen from Lady Vale´ry. If the diary should fall into the wrong hands, his would godmother suffer and the very government could fall. Insanity enues. They find the diary, and Mary decides that it's okay that Sebastian is an abusive asshole because apparently that's okay if you've had a rough childhood.
The rape scenes are not only completely unnecessary and irrelevent, but also incredibly disturbing. The relationship between Mary and Sebastion is dysfunctional and abusive. There is absolutely NOTHING romantic about their relationship
The most annoying thing about this novel is that the plot is fairly interesting and it is well written. But because of the blantant sexism, I have now ripped off the cover and am using it as a mousepad. I would have really enjoyed this book if not for the horrid rape scenes.
This book turned me off to Christina Dodd forever. If I ever read another book by her it will just be to justify my disgust in this author.
Allow me to explain…
I have an interesting relationship with romance novels, they're like crack to me.
They pile high in my room, as I happily flit through them and toss them into a pile, smutty romance after smutty romance. I'm not ignorant to the flaws of these books. I am often amused at how terrible they can be. However, I seem to be immune to the flowery prose and usual romantic cliches. One thing I can't seem to ignore is the sexism. Although I have come to accept that these books don't have any literary merit and are not to be taken seriously, it kinda ruins the fun. Normally when I read a romance, I know what to expect and I can mostly just roll my eyes at the annoying sexism, but sometimes I run into the books like these, Where the sexism is so blantant is makes me sick and cannot be ignored.
A Well Pleasured Lady, follows Mary Rottenson, our Jane Doe with a secret past who is disguised as a housekeeper. When her employer Lady Vale´ry, informs Mary that her godson, Sebastian Durant, Viscount Whitfield, is coming to seek her out, Mary is panicked - he alone could identify her as a murderer. By force of his alpha male bullshit she is repeatedly raped and abused by Viscount Shitfield. He forces her to to act as his wife in order to gain access to a diary stolen from Lady Vale´ry. If the diary should fall into the wrong hands, his would godmother suffer and the very government could fall. Insanity enues. They find the diary, and Mary decides that it's okay that Sebastian is an abusive asshole because apparently that's okay if you've had a rough childhood.
The rape scenes are not only completely unnecessary and irrelevent, but also incredibly disturbing. The relationship between Mary and Sebastion is dysfunctional and abusive. There is absolutely NOTHING romantic about their relationship
The most annoying thing about this novel is that the plot is fairly interesting and it is well written. But because of the blantant sexism, I have now ripped off the cover and am using it as a mousepad. I would have really enjoyed this book if not for the horrid rape scenes.
This book turned me off to Christina Dodd forever. If I ever read another book by her it will just be to justify my disgust in this author.
Read
May 20, 2022I read this because I found this letter from Judith Ivory to an All About Romance column that defends it's right to exist.
Basically, this book has a reputation because of one particular scene. In 90s euphemisms, it's "forced seduction." In modern euphemisms, it's "noncon." If it's me being blunt, it's a rape scene.
There are a lot of superficial comparisons I could make to this book and To Have and To Hold! The heroine, Mary, is also a housekeeper. (She's an aristocrat disguised as a housekeeper, but I digress!) The hero's name is Sebastian, like the infamous rake from TH&tH. Then there is that one scene that both books host and are still hotly debated.
But A Well Pleasured Lady isn't interested in being To Have & to Hold. To Have & to Hold is a character study that challenges your ideas about the criminal justice system. A Well Pleasured Lady is a horny melodrama that is easily digestible until it suddenly isn't. That one scene is here in this particular book for kink purposes, and I agree with Judith Ivory when she says it has a right to be there, and we should judge it on how well it's executed.
Honestly, I enjoyed a lot about this book, and I would have done a full defense of it if it wasn't for a transphobic joke that I feel like crosses over into the harm spectrum. Dark doesn't equal harmful! Depiction doesn't equal endorsement. But harm and purposefully dark are different, and in this one aspect Dodd overstepped.
Basically, this book has a reputation because of one particular scene. In 90s euphemisms, it's "forced seduction." In modern euphemisms, it's "noncon." If it's me being blunt, it's a rape scene.
There are a lot of superficial comparisons I could make to this book and To Have and To Hold! The heroine, Mary, is also a housekeeper. (She's an aristocrat disguised as a housekeeper, but I digress!) The hero's name is Sebastian, like the infamous rake from TH&tH. Then there is that one scene that both books host and are still hotly debated.
But A Well Pleasured Lady isn't interested in being To Have & to Hold. To Have & to Hold is a character study that challenges your ideas about the criminal justice system. A Well Pleasured Lady is a horny melodrama that is easily digestible until it suddenly isn't. That one scene is here in this particular book for kink purposes, and I agree with Judith Ivory when she says it has a right to be there, and we should judge it on how well it's executed.
Honestly, I enjoyed a lot about this book, and I would have done a full defense of it if it wasn't for a transphobic joke that I feel like crosses over into the harm spectrum. Dark doesn't equal harmful! Depiction doesn't equal endorsement. But harm and purposefully dark are different, and in this one aspect Dodd overstepped.
March 30, 2023
This is the first Christina Dodd that I recall reading and I am not sure if it is representative of her usual style. I liked it, in a trainwrecky sort of way. This book is a mix of several different genres - historical romance, gothic, mystery, romance, bodice ripper, melodrama... I can't decide if it was a deliberate over-the-top, kitchen sink book and Dodd was having a bit of fun, or if this is just a combination of her being early in her career and influenced by old bodice rippers. Either way, I enjoyed it.
The characters and the scenarios involved are not realistic in any way. The hero is like an old school Harlequin Presents tycoon and ticks a lot of the HP bingo boxes:
Forcefully dresses heroine in the latest fashions - check
Punishing kisses - check
Pretend fiance - check
Blackmail - check
Jealous misjudging of heroine - check
Wants revenge on her family for ruining his - check
Amnesia - I wish, but alas, no. It really would have been a cherry on top.
There are lots of other check boxes I could likely tick and I haven't even started on the heroine who was living in virtuous poverty, sacrificing all for her younger brother.
The big old school touch is the hero and heroine's first time. It was rape. Not a brutal rape, but a little more than forced seduction (in the romance novel world). In the real world, it was definitely rape. If you have triggers around consent issues or if you are not a fan of the bodice ripper genre, be aware. Otherwise you may have a lot of fun with this. I am definitely going to checkout another of her books.
The characters and the scenarios involved are not realistic in any way. The hero is like an old school Harlequin Presents tycoon and ticks a lot of the HP bingo boxes:
Forcefully dresses heroine in the latest fashions - check
Punishing kisses - check
Pretend fiance - check
Blackmail - check
Jealous misjudging of heroine - check
Wants revenge on her family for ruining his - check
Amnesia - I wish, but alas, no. It really would have been a cherry on top.
There are lots of other check boxes I could likely tick and I haven't even started on the heroine who was living in virtuous poverty, sacrificing all for her younger brother.
The big old school touch is the hero and heroine's first time. It was rape. Not a brutal rape, but a little more than forced seduction (in the romance novel world). In the real world, it was definitely rape. If you have triggers around consent issues or if you are not a fan of the bodice ripper genre, be aware. Otherwise you may have a lot of fun with this. I am definitely going to checkout another of her books.
November 2, 2020
3 stars
August 8, 2018
The only realy,realy good thing is the cover of the book.
Sometimes I had a feeling that story was writen by somebody else and not by C.Dodd.
Sometimes I had a feeling that story was writen by somebody else and not by C.Dodd.
May 9, 2012
I thought this book was ok. There were parts that I absolutely loved but there were also parts that just totally pissed me off. I almost didn't finish it. I think that a different approach could have been taken with the part of Sebastian and Mary becoming intimate. Anything would have been better than a rape and that is exactly how I saw it. I didn't get how Mary could fall in love with such a man and was disappointed that Sebastian was made out that way. I actually liked his character until that happened. He could have still been a strong determined man without the brutal abuse in which he gave it to her. Maybe I'm being a little harsh but it really bothered me and made my starting love for the story turn into just a like for the book. I haven't decided if I want to read the next one in this series.
June 16, 2018
I never thought there'd come a time when I'd rate a Christina Dodd romance 1 star but here we are. Never say never I guess. To sum it up shortly, the hero rapes the heroine (but hey it's ok because she ends up liking it, right?). Screw heroes like that! That's a villain and not a hero for me. And the heroine's brother (who's supposed to be a good guy too) only gets mad at another guy when he finds out the woman he tried to dishonour was his sister, the heroine, but was totally ok with it when he thought it was some namless woman. And these are supposed to be the good guys? Yeah, no thank you, 1 star!
March 22, 2015
I'm in the middle of the book, and... WHAT THE FUCK? So it is OK to rape the MC as long as she enjoys it? Doesn't this author know that there are cases of rape where the forced person has an orgasm, and it isn't less traumatizing? As I was reading the scene, seeing that she was begging him not to do it, nearly crying, I couldn't be less turned off by it, and I kept thinking "she has told him in several occasions she doesn't want it, surely the author won't make the main character a rapist... he will stop right now, he will stop right.... aaand he is inside". I cringed at the scene. And for what? Because he thought she had been with another man? So then for him it is OK to rape her. AAAAAAGH! Stupid sonofafuckingbitch. I'm not reading past the scene, and I'm glad I didn't pay a cent for it, because rape should not be encouraged in any form, but even less when it is done by a person who apparently loves you.
A pity, because this author writes very good sex scenes, but this is outrageous.
A pity, because this author writes very good sex scenes, but this is outrageous.
January 12, 2022
“Sooner or later, you and I will mate.”
His certainty frustrated her. “I am not an animal. I do not mate. ”
“Aren’t you?” His scarred, long-fingered hands reached out to her and caught the scarf tied to conceal her bosom. The lace gave easily under his coaxing, and he lifted the ends away from her skin. He looked at what he’d uncovered, then looked up at her. “Won’t you?”
April 1, 2023
3,25 stars!
avoid
June 13, 2023self note
h is a "Prim, plain, desperately virtuous Lady"
not for me.
h is a "Prim, plain, desperately virtuous Lady"
not for me.
November 2, 2025
I picked up this book as a joke, me and my best friend just said “hey wouldn’t it be funny if we bought this and read it ?” and that we did BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE, i read a lot of serious books so this was a great little pick me up ! The sex scene (which a lot of people say was the hero of the book just full on R wording her) was weird and i can see why people say that, so I agree with both sides. She is so mega diva for killing that bastard fr cause he was just a waste of breath. Loved this book and will definitely read more of Christina Dodds books!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2022
This felt a bit more modern than historically accurate.
August 17, 2016
Mama likey.
This book reminds me of a 18th-century version of Clue...but with sexy times.
So, the story did start out a bit slow...BUT I'm glad I stuck it out, because it really picked up around 20%. From there, I was totally hooked.
What I especially liked and what sets this historical romance slightly apart from others is its subtle Gothic fiction elements (which I love):
A virginal maiden revealed to be the daughter of an aristocratic family and the sole heiress. Old estates and misty roof tops. A mysteriously missing diary. Dark secrets. Murders. Evil characters. Night escapades. Miraculous survivals.
I actually wish Dodd would have more fully embraced the Gothic style and just gone balls out. It would have added further complexity and ambiance to this plot of familial intrigue, psychological trauma, and haunted pasts.
And there is a touching love story here, as well. Sebastian is just how I like my heroes: sexy, sarcastic, dark, jealous, scarred, and, of course, a little bit broken.
A well-written and surprisingly entertaining story!
January 31, 2010
This book was good except for one HUGE problem. Although Mary fights him the whole time, pulling his hair, hitting him, scratching him, kicking and trying to get away, he has sex with her anyway. Right at the end she stopped fighting but the whole sex scene was her saying stop. Sometimes the heros won't take no for an answer after marriage, but they weren't even truly engaged. I wish this would have been written in not such a cringy way. I felt guilty reading it. Besides this sex scene, the rest of the book was really good. It's just hard for me to get beyond the "assault".
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2013
I liked this book for the first part. Then I hated it. Who in God's name ever thought that rape was sexy??? Because that's exactly what it was. Mary was flat-out raped, and the fact that we're supposed to like the guy who did this almost made me vomit. I lost any sympathy for the hero at that point. He claims to love her - and I don't believe a bit of it. He's cruel, selfish, and a rapist to boot. And his attempt at an "apology" later is pathetic. Disgusting
June 16, 2018
Prevod je sicer lep, vendar me je ta zgodovinska romanca precej razočarala. Avtorica sicer boljše piše moderne zgodbe po mojem mnenju. Zgodba se mi je zdela rahlo dolgočasna, Sebastian se je obnašal obupno (nasilno in dominirajoče), da ne govorim o določeni ljubezenski sceni, ki sem jo le stežka prebavila. Bolj sem čutila zamero in željo po maščevanju, kot pa ljubezenske iskrice med junakoma.
May 28, 2023
It’s not the forced seduction scene that bothered me, it was the awfully constructed book.
This reads like a comedy but it isn’t funny. The humor is so over the top that it falls flat. Literally, Dodd has a group of elderly men falling flat as the door opens to reveal them listening at the keyhole. I like my humor razor sharp not slapstick.
The characters spend waaaaaay too much time reacting to every line spoken, every action taken, every thought they have. It becomes a tedious slog after a few pages. Tens of pages are spent on conversations that can be condensed into just a few. And we didn’t need to have Mary remind herself of how she used to be a housekeeper on nearly EVERY page. We KNOW!!!!
It didn’t help that the author decided the main characters have to give the audience what I can only think of as commentary for the reader on everything they witness, in addition to their inner monologing when it’s just the two of them.
I hated the way the author kept teasing us about Mary’s past murder and the Whitfield/Fairchild feud. Stop playing coy. Either build it up in a way that the reasons themselves are a shock to the reader, or reveal it from the start. Don’t start talking about it and then have the talkative character clam up ALL THE TIME!
The story just lacked smoothness and coordination. Are the Fairchilds incredibly inept and stupid as we’re told or are they maliciously sly and clever (as we’re also told)? Why would they believe Whitfield when he says he just happens to be engaged to a family member they haven’t seen in years, a family member who conveniently comes along with her “guardian” who happens to be the woman one of them is blackmailing? No one is that dumb. How can the Fairchilds have been running amuck among the nobility for generations if grandpa was the first to be given the title of nobility? Why have so many Fairchilds if you aren’t going to bother to use those characters? Same goes for all the guests.
All the characters are extremely blunt, sometimes to the point of social ineptitude which didn’t come across as realistic. It’s not believable when EVERYONE does it. A would be lover doesn’t tell a servant that no one can touch his “precious Mary”, a peer of the realm doesn’t bring in a graphic stallion statue in front of unmarried and married guests, suitors don’t outright discuss their best qualities unless they’re flirting.
The language was also odd. It wasn’t that it was out of period, it was just strange. I love metaphorical language but it seemed at odds with the plain speaking everyone engaged in.
And I hate authors that tell instead of show. Don’t TELL me that Whitfield started falling for Mary when he took care of her on their carriage journey, none of which we see. For a great example of humor, a bad boy and how he falls in love through taking care of the heroine while on a journey see A Devil in Winter. I had no reason to believe Whitfield’s abrupt change, particularly when he was cold and indifferent right before that line of thinking. And how does Mary go from being wary to getting a a hormonal inducing kiss to craving (the author’s word) the hero’s touch? Where was the buildup? Why is Whitfield such a wimp? I don’t want my hero to be beaten into submission by another man to the point where he actually stays away from Mary because he doesn’t want to get hurt again. Dodd gave Whitfield so much potential with his iciness and sharpness at the beginning. By the time we’re at the halfway point he’s suddenly a hormonal fraidy cat. Not cool. He’s supposed to have a big black soul but he doesn’t do anything to warrant it except be crabby when he doesn’t like what Mary does.
He rapes her because he believes she’s been cheating on him (even though they have a sham engagement) but then says he’ll believe her next because… I don’t know why either. His supposed grovel turns into him being pleasured by Mary. HUH?!?!!
I also detested Lady Valery. Why would she rope in an innocent woman to retrieve something she shouldn’t have had in the first place, something that people would kill to have? Also, she claims she wants to protect the families of the men she “loved”, the many hundreds of men. If she cared about the families she wouldn’t have slept with their heads of household. There’s a name for women like her. And the moment where she’s imagining her godson and her protege naked made me gag. As did her sleeping with multiple brothers over the course of a few days. What a dirty old lady. We’re supposed to believe she’s still an extremely accomplished lover when she’s in her seventies, enough to make men lose their common sense. Uh huh. I get why she liked Nora, and it had nothing to do with the latter’s good character as the writer would have you believe. Of course Lady Valery would find a kindred spirit in a woman who has no problem prostituting her daughters, and not even for marriage at that. Nora loves her husband so much that she’s encourages THEIR children to sleep with men so that the family coffers can be refilled. She’s a lunatic!
I don’t understand Mary, either. She’s contradictorily shy and bold at the same time during the second love scene. For someone who never saw a naked man or has any knowledge of the intimacies she is unexplainably adept at things no innocent miss should be. But we know she’s innocent because she won’t take off her chemise. As a side note: how can Whitfield kiss her thigh if she’s straddling him? My brain was very confused.
Getting through the book is a determined drag.
This reads like a comedy but it isn’t funny. The humor is so over the top that it falls flat. Literally, Dodd has a group of elderly men falling flat as the door opens to reveal them listening at the keyhole. I like my humor razor sharp not slapstick.
The characters spend waaaaaay too much time reacting to every line spoken, every action taken, every thought they have. It becomes a tedious slog after a few pages. Tens of pages are spent on conversations that can be condensed into just a few. And we didn’t need to have Mary remind herself of how she used to be a housekeeper on nearly EVERY page. We KNOW!!!!
It didn’t help that the author decided the main characters have to give the audience what I can only think of as commentary for the reader on everything they witness, in addition to their inner monologing when it’s just the two of them.
I hated the way the author kept teasing us about Mary’s past murder and the Whitfield/Fairchild feud. Stop playing coy. Either build it up in a way that the reasons themselves are a shock to the reader, or reveal it from the start. Don’t start talking about it and then have the talkative character clam up ALL THE TIME!
The story just lacked smoothness and coordination. Are the Fairchilds incredibly inept and stupid as we’re told or are they maliciously sly and clever (as we’re also told)? Why would they believe Whitfield when he says he just happens to be engaged to a family member they haven’t seen in years, a family member who conveniently comes along with her “guardian” who happens to be the woman one of them is blackmailing? No one is that dumb. How can the Fairchilds have been running amuck among the nobility for generations if grandpa was the first to be given the title of nobility? Why have so many Fairchilds if you aren’t going to bother to use those characters? Same goes for all the guests.
All the characters are extremely blunt, sometimes to the point of social ineptitude which didn’t come across as realistic. It’s not believable when EVERYONE does it. A would be lover doesn’t tell a servant that no one can touch his “precious Mary”, a peer of the realm doesn’t bring in a graphic stallion statue in front of unmarried and married guests, suitors don’t outright discuss their best qualities unless they’re flirting.
The language was also odd. It wasn’t that it was out of period, it was just strange. I love metaphorical language but it seemed at odds with the plain speaking everyone engaged in.
And I hate authors that tell instead of show. Don’t TELL me that Whitfield started falling for Mary when he took care of her on their carriage journey, none of which we see. For a great example of humor, a bad boy and how he falls in love through taking care of the heroine while on a journey see A Devil in Winter. I had no reason to believe Whitfield’s abrupt change, particularly when he was cold and indifferent right before that line of thinking. And how does Mary go from being wary to getting a a hormonal inducing kiss to craving (the author’s word) the hero’s touch? Where was the buildup? Why is Whitfield such a wimp? I don’t want my hero to be beaten into submission by another man to the point where he actually stays away from Mary because he doesn’t want to get hurt again. Dodd gave Whitfield so much potential with his iciness and sharpness at the beginning. By the time we’re at the halfway point he’s suddenly a hormonal fraidy cat. Not cool. He’s supposed to have a big black soul but he doesn’t do anything to warrant it except be crabby when he doesn’t like what Mary does.
He rapes her because he believes she’s been cheating on him (even though they have a sham engagement) but then says he’ll believe her next because… I don’t know why either. His supposed grovel turns into him being pleasured by Mary. HUH?!?!!
I also detested Lady Valery. Why would she rope in an innocent woman to retrieve something she shouldn’t have had in the first place, something that people would kill to have? Also, she claims she wants to protect the families of the men she “loved”, the many hundreds of men. If she cared about the families she wouldn’t have slept with their heads of household. There’s a name for women like her. And the moment where she’s imagining her godson and her protege naked made me gag. As did her sleeping with multiple brothers over the course of a few days. What a dirty old lady. We’re supposed to believe she’s still an extremely accomplished lover when she’s in her seventies, enough to make men lose their common sense. Uh huh. I get why she liked Nora, and it had nothing to do with the latter’s good character as the writer would have you believe. Of course Lady Valery would find a kindred spirit in a woman who has no problem prostituting her daughters, and not even for marriage at that. Nora loves her husband so much that she’s encourages THEIR children to sleep with men so that the family coffers can be refilled. She’s a lunatic!
I don’t understand Mary, either. She’s contradictorily shy and bold at the same time during the second love scene. For someone who never saw a naked man or has any knowledge of the intimacies she is unexplainably adept at things no innocent miss should be. But we know she’s innocent because she won’t take off her chemise. As a side note: how can Whitfield kiss her thigh if she’s straddling him? My brain was very confused.
Getting through the book is a determined drag.
July 21, 2024
My first and last book by Christina Dodd and it has nothing to do with one particular scene that makes it somewhat notorious. My main gripe with this book is how it is written; the author makes a liberal use of short /staccato/ fragmented sentences, I understand her intention to create a mystery and tension but instead it became increasingly irritating to the point where I wanted to throw this book into a recycling bin…
May 31, 2023
It's b.o.r.i.n.g.!
Boring. Boring. Boring. Hated the heroine (didn't in the beginning but grew to not like her after the first chapter). Didn't like the Hero either.
Boring. Boring. Boring. Hated the heroine (didn't in the beginning but grew to not like her after the first chapter). Didn't like the Hero either.
April 27, 2017
Histórica georgiana. Sucede en 1793, digamos que Francia están decapitando a un rey y a algunos más y se está terminando la moda de las pelucas empolvadas y subiéndo el talle al vestido, aunque la nobleza conservadora en Inglaterra sigue con las pelucas y el maquillaje intenso. Las costumbres no son tan puritanas como lo serán más adelante. Digamos que para comprometer a una dama no bastaba con un beso en un pasillo oscuro, sino que había que “comprometerla” a fondo.
Mary Fairchild huyó hace diez años de Inglaterra junto a su hermano menor luego de un hecho atroz. Rechazada por su familia, vive de incógnito en Escocia como el ama de llaves de Lady Valèry.
Lady Valèry es una anciana, pero ha tenido una vida muy intensa con maridos y amantes y con gran influencia en la política siendo portadora de numerosos secretos comprometedores que ha plasmado en un diario. Ese diario ha sido robado y tiene que recuperarlo antes de que sea vendido al mejor postor.
Los sospechosos del robo son los integrantes de la familia Fairchild, conocidos por su falta de escrúpulos. Para intentar recuperar el diario Lady Valèry pide ayuda a su ahijado, el vizconde Sebastian Durant, quien planea averiguar dónde está el diario utilizando a la ahora descubierta identidad de Mary, visitando la propiedad de los Fairchild con ella como su “falsa” prometida. Una vez reunidos ahí se descubrirán secretos familiares, herencias, hechos, venganzas, perdón, amor y pasión.
Me gustó porque me pareció original. He leído poco de histórica georgiana
Unas cosillas entre ellos que no me gustaron (no se si ella estaba convencida de hacerlo)
Mary Fairchild huyó hace diez años de Inglaterra junto a su hermano menor luego de un hecho atroz. Rechazada por su familia, vive de incógnito en Escocia como el ama de llaves de Lady Valèry.
Lady Valèry es una anciana, pero ha tenido una vida muy intensa con maridos y amantes y con gran influencia en la política siendo portadora de numerosos secretos comprometedores que ha plasmado en un diario. Ese diario ha sido robado y tiene que recuperarlo antes de que sea vendido al mejor postor.
Los sospechosos del robo son los integrantes de la familia Fairchild, conocidos por su falta de escrúpulos. Para intentar recuperar el diario Lady Valèry pide ayuda a su ahijado, el vizconde Sebastian Durant, quien planea averiguar dónde está el diario utilizando a la ahora descubierta identidad de Mary, visitando la propiedad de los Fairchild con ella como su “falsa” prometida. Una vez reunidos ahí se descubrirán secretos familiares, herencias, hechos, venganzas, perdón, amor y pasión.
Me gustó porque me pareció original. He leído poco de histórica georgiana
Unas cosillas entre ellos que no me gustaron (no se si ella estaba convencida de hacerlo)
March 12, 2010
I have enjoyed reading several of Christina Dodd's book and found this one lacking.
Lady Guinevere Mary Fairchild and her brother ran away from their home after having something to do with a man's death. Mary ended up working as head housekeeper for Lady Valery who is notorious for having clandestine liaisons with members of the parliament. Unfortunately, the details of her liasions were added to her diary which has been stolen by someone in the Fairchild family and she asks for her godson's (Lord Sebastian Durant's) help to get it back.
Her plot is to have Sebastian announce his engagement to Mary and return to the Fairchild estate to find the diary.
After the beginning, the story seemed to lag and I didn't feel the love between the two main characters. To me it seemed all about the sex and getting revenge. I think it could have had stronger characters and a better plot throughout the whole book.
This was a disappointment to me since I've enjoyed so many of Ms. Dodd's other books
Lady Guinevere Mary Fairchild and her brother ran away from their home after having something to do with a man's death. Mary ended up working as head housekeeper for Lady Valery who is notorious for having clandestine liaisons with members of the parliament. Unfortunately, the details of her liasions were added to her diary which has been stolen by someone in the Fairchild family and she asks for her godson's (Lord Sebastian Durant's) help to get it back.
Her plot is to have Sebastian announce his engagement to Mary and return to the Fairchild estate to find the diary.
After the beginning, the story seemed to lag and I didn't feel the love between the two main characters. To me it seemed all about the sex and getting revenge. I think it could have had stronger characters and a better plot throughout the whole book.
This was a disappointment to me since I've enjoyed so many of Ms. Dodd's other books
October 21, 2012
This was a fun historical romance with a little political intrigue and a murder mystery thrown in. I always enjoy Dodd's novels when I want a light read. Unfortunately, the character who intrigued me the most, Hadden, does not play a very prominent role in the book. The Fairchilds are certainly a dispicable family with just a few redeeming characters. Guinevere Mary, the heroine of this novel, is one of the people who escaped the corruption of the dynasty. She escaped, along with her brother Hadden, to live a life of anonymity (or so she thinks). To help the woman who took her in and gave her employment she must return to her ancestral home and face her repulsive relatives. Along the way she is romantically entangled with her employer's godson and we are led to believe they have a chance at happily ever after.
November 12, 2012
I finally got to read some of Christina Dodd's earlier writing! I was happy to find a virtuous Lady with a past, a meddling seventy-something ex-sex goddess with secrets, a brooding, emotionally scarred Viscount with trust issues, and plenty of disguises, passion, and seduction. I had no issue with the situation of 'forced seduction' as did some readers. As I saw it, the reluctance was related to feelings of immodesty and fear of emotional intimacy rather than an opposition to sensual or sexual contact. I enjoyed the colorful characters, the twists and turns in the story, and was well satisfied with the outcome. Happy reading :)
October 20, 2012
2.5/5
Sigh, I really wanted to read this because of the Fairchilds as I've read Dodd's novella about Hadden first. But damn, I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Well no, actually the book was rather funny. Especially Lady Valery and her... abilities haha. But some parts of it were just off for me. Like SPOILER! how Mary was practically raped O_O I'm sorry I just can't think of this as romantic. Really. Sebastian will never, ever be on my Top Heroes list. And the murder was just simply shrugged off in the end. Bah. I dunno, there's just something not right about this novel
Sigh, I really wanted to read this because of the Fairchilds as I've read Dodd's novella about Hadden first. But damn, I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Well no, actually the book was rather funny. Especially Lady Valery and her... abilities haha. But some parts of it were just off for me. Like SPOILER! how Mary was practically raped O_O I'm sorry I just can't think of this as romantic. Really. Sebastian will never, ever be on my Top Heroes list. And the murder was just simply shrugged off in the end. Bah. I dunno, there's just something not right about this novel
April 28, 2011
Sometimes Dodd's writing style confuses me. Hard to follow conversations. Feels like you're missing part of the dialog because it doesn't make sense. Good plot, but read carefully or you'll miss major plot points.
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