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An Unlikely Husband #1
A Taste of Seduction
Love and Betrayal…Regency style
A young woman of noble blood, raised as a peasant girl… An orphaned stable boy, now grown and the surrogate son of a powerful earl—the same earl who just so happens to be the young woman’s father…
Francie Jordan and Alexander Bishop have nothing in common—she runs barefoot and talks to animals. He won’t loosen his cravat unless the bedroom door is firmly closed. She believes in love, second chances, and happily ever after. He believes in keeping a safe distance from anything that resembles an emotion. Indeed, they have nothing in common but an undeniable desire for one another they can’t ignore, and an ailing “father” who will employ any means to bring them together.
Unfortunately, not everyone wishes to see a union between Francie and Alexander, and they will stop at nothing to keep this couple apart.
A young woman of noble blood, raised as a peasant girl… An orphaned stable boy, now grown and the surrogate son of a powerful earl—the same earl who just so happens to be the young woman’s father…
Francie Jordan and Alexander Bishop have nothing in common—she runs barefoot and talks to animals. He won’t loosen his cravat unless the bedroom door is firmly closed. She believes in love, second chances, and happily ever after. He believes in keeping a safe distance from anything that resembles an emotion. Indeed, they have nothing in common but an undeniable desire for one another they can’t ignore, and an ailing “father” who will employ any means to bring them together.
Unfortunately, not everyone wishes to see a union between Francie and Alexander, and they will stop at nothing to keep this couple apart.
326 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 2, 2011
2066 people are currently reading
929 people want to read
About the author
Mary Campisi
80 books420 followersMary Campisi is the author of over 40 emotion-packed novels that center around hope, redemption, and second chances.
Mary should have known she'd become a writer when at age thirteen she began changing the ending to all the books she read. It took several years and a number of jobs, including registered nurse, receptionist in a swanky hair salon, accounts payable clerk, and practice manager in an OB/GYN office, for her to rediscover writing. Enter a mouse-less computer, a floppy disk, and a dream large enough to fill a zip drive. The rest of the story lives on in every book she writes.
When she's not working on her craft or following the lives of five adult children, Mary's digging in the dirt with her flowers and herbs, cooking, reading, walking her rescue lab, Henry, or, on the perfect day, riding off into the sunset with her very own hero/husband on his Ultra Limited aka Harley.
If you would like to be notified when Mary has a new release, please sign up at http://www.marycampisi.com/book/book-...
website: marycampisi.com
e-mail: mary@marycampisi.com
blog: marycampisi.com/blog/
twitter: twitter.com/MaryCampisi
facebook: facebook.com/marycampisibooks
Instagram: instagram.com/marycampisiauthor/
Mary should have known she'd become a writer when at age thirteen she began changing the ending to all the books she read. It took several years and a number of jobs, including registered nurse, receptionist in a swanky hair salon, accounts payable clerk, and practice manager in an OB/GYN office, for her to rediscover writing. Enter a mouse-less computer, a floppy disk, and a dream large enough to fill a zip drive. The rest of the story lives on in every book she writes.
When she's not working on her craft or following the lives of five adult children, Mary's digging in the dirt with her flowers and herbs, cooking, reading, walking her rescue lab, Henry, or, on the perfect day, riding off into the sunset with her very own hero/husband on his Ultra Limited aka Harley.
If you would like to be notified when Mary has a new release, please sign up at http://www.marycampisi.com/book/book-...
website: marycampisi.com
e-mail: mary@marycampisi.com
blog: marycampisi.com/blog/
twitter: twitter.com/MaryCampisi
facebook: facebook.com/marycampisibooks
Instagram: instagram.com/marycampisiauthor/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
May 6, 2020
DNF about 75% in. I tried, I really did, but it was just too much. This book is basically the book people who make fun of romance genre are talking about. I knew in the first chapter it was bad but held out hope it'd get better, it did not. I skimmed most of it, but even that was too exhausting. Things that make this bad: There is literally an evil twin. The way you know a person is bad is because they like sex. Each villain is sex-crazed or abusive or both. The dastardly bad guy is trying to impregnate a whole village. . . on purpose. There are so many tropes it's hard to keep up. I finally just said enough.
Overall, Would NOT recommend.
How I rate a story. (In order of importance):
Does it keep my attention? No.
Is it plausible / logical? No, none of it
Grammatical errors or odd, repetitive language? 1/2 🌟 while it wasn't full of errors there were things that were wrong she describes her aunt as a teddy bear, a term that wasn't around in 1815. Her supposed huge dog got hurt when it TANGLED WITH A POSSUM, didn't know England had them.
Do I like the characters? No, there was no character development or connection.
All in all - A bad Read - 1.5 stars 🌟
There are very few stories that I'll give a 1 star. If I finished reading it then it had to be "ok".
Overall, Would NOT recommend.
How I rate a story. (In order of importance):
Does it keep my attention? No.
Is it plausible / logical? No, none of it
Grammatical errors or odd, repetitive language? 1/2 🌟 while it wasn't full of errors there were things that were wrong she describes her aunt as a teddy bear, a term that wasn't around in 1815. Her supposed huge dog got hurt when it TANGLED WITH A POSSUM, didn't know England had them.
Do I like the characters? No, there was no character development or connection.
All in all - A bad Read - 1.5 stars 🌟
There are very few stories that I'll give a 1 star. If I finished reading it then it had to be "ok".
September 30, 2020
After the death of her mother, Francie Jordan was raised as a commoner by her aunt and uncle, hidden from the truth of her real blood ties. Alexander Bishop had the opposite upbringing. Born to servants, he was taken in by an Earl and worked to become a proper gentleman. Circumstances force Francie's aunt and uncle to reveal her true identity and send her to her father's home, where she meets Alexander. He's unhappy about her presence, despite his attraction to her, and doesn't appreciate attempts from the Earl to push them together.
I've never read this author before and liked her writing style. It was a fun, easy read. I picked up this story because it was free on Amazon and I was intrigued by one star reviews that said it was riddled with sex. There was a decent amount, but none of the sex was long or gratuitous. The book was a little soap-opera-ish...the hero was stuffy, the villians were cartoony, and the family members were meddling but I liked the heroine and I thought the book was worth the time I spent reading it.
I've never read this author before and liked her writing style. It was a fun, easy read. I picked up this story because it was free on Amazon and I was intrigued by one star reviews that said it was riddled with sex. There was a decent amount, but none of the sex was long or gratuitous. The book was a little soap-opera-ish...the hero was stuffy, the villians were cartoony, and the family members were meddling but I liked the heroine and I thought the book was worth the time I spent reading it.
October 20, 2019
This would've collected three stars if it pulled back on the misogyny a little bit...
February 3, 2022
This was a lovely tale full of scandal, intrigue, villainous plots and lots of love. I highly recommend it for all historical lovers.
July 29, 2019
Love and Betrayal...Regency style
A Taste of Seduction is Book Two of Mary Campisi's Regency historical series, An Unlikely Husband. Readers fell in love with Francie and Alexander Bishop from The Seduction of Sophie Seacrest, and wanted to know how they came to be Mr. and Mrs. Bishop. A Taste of Seduction is their story.
(Author note: A Taste of Seduction has been re-released, and edits have been made to ensure continuity between the books, including character names.)
A young woman of noble blood, raised as a peasant girl...
An orphaned stable boy, now grown and the surrogate son of a powerful earl--the same earl who just so happens to be the young woman's father...
Francie Jordan and Alexander Bishop have nothing in common--she runs barefoot and talks to animals. He won't loosen his cravat unless the bedroom door is firmly closed. She believes in love, second chances, and happily ever after. He believes in keeping a safe distance from anything that resembles an emotion. Indeed, they have nothing in common but an undeniable desire for one another they can't ignore, and an ailing "father" who will employ any means to bring them together.
Unfortunately, not everyone wishes to see a union between Francie and Alexander, and they will stop at nothing to keep this couple apart.
An Unlikely Husband Series:
Book One: The Seduction of Sophie Seacrest (Sophie & Holt's story)
Book Two: A Taste of Seduction (Francie & Alexander's story)
Book Three: A Touch of Seduction: a novella (Ariana & Jason's story)
Book Four: A Scent of Seduction (Julia & Jon's story)
A Taste of Seduction is Book Two of Mary Campisi's Regency historical series, An Unlikely Husband. Readers fell in love with Francie and Alexander Bishop from The Seduction of Sophie Seacrest, and wanted to know how they came to be Mr. and Mrs. Bishop. A Taste of Seduction is their story.
(Author note: A Taste of Seduction has been re-released, and edits have been made to ensure continuity between the books, including character names.)
A young woman of noble blood, raised as a peasant girl...
An orphaned stable boy, now grown and the surrogate son of a powerful earl--the same earl who just so happens to be the young woman's father...
Francie Jordan and Alexander Bishop have nothing in common--she runs barefoot and talks to animals. He won't loosen his cravat unless the bedroom door is firmly closed. She believes in love, second chances, and happily ever after. He believes in keeping a safe distance from anything that resembles an emotion. Indeed, they have nothing in common but an undeniable desire for one another they can't ignore, and an ailing "father" who will employ any means to bring them together.
Unfortunately, not everyone wishes to see a union between Francie and Alexander, and they will stop at nothing to keep this couple apart.
An Unlikely Husband Series:
Book One: The Seduction of Sophie Seacrest (Sophie & Holt's story)
Book Two: A Taste of Seduction (Francie & Alexander's story)
Book Three: A Touch of Seduction: a novella (Ariana & Jason's story)
Book Four: A Scent of Seduction (Julia & Jon's story)
December 4, 2019
Didn't like the writing, the plot or the characters The H isn't grumpy, he's rude, ignorant and puts the h at risk. She is too perfect, but it was the plot that was my issue, I thought it was very silly. I can see others liked it, so guess it's me not the book.
May 2, 2019
Sweet and a good story with well developed characters. I need to find and read Mad Jack’s story now!
May 1, 2020
Cute characters with their sweet banter
July 9, 2019
Beguiling, intriguing, and steamy!
SUCH. A. GOOD. READ!
Alex and Francie are just the sort of characters I love to read—flawed, but earnest and endearing. They’re both terribly likable, even when Alex is behaving like a starched brute, and I found myself honestly rooting for them.
The intimate scenes are super steamy, though the language is what I would consider clean (“penis” instead of “cock,” etc), and the author provides a reasonable timeline of encounters prior to them engaging in anything sexual so the initial interaction is a wonderful relief of tension for the reader (and our protagonists!). Their road to HEA is not without peril, and even though the reader sees the trouble brewing, it is still done well.
There is a part I found to be a little confusing, with regard to the male antagonist of the story and how he so willing ran off despite the character arc, BUT he seemed a coward under all that psychopathic behavior, so it wasn’t terribly jarring. The female and male antagonists get their comeuppance, though we have to wait for all the threads to be neatly tied up via the epilogue.
As an aside, the epilogue scene of our two protagonists is adorable!
Honestly, I feel like A TASTE OF SEDUCTION is a title I’ll be adding to my “re-read” collection, I enjoyed it so much.
SUCH. A. GOOD. READ!
Alex and Francie are just the sort of characters I love to read—flawed, but earnest and endearing. They’re both terribly likable, even when Alex is behaving like a starched brute, and I found myself honestly rooting for them.
The intimate scenes are super steamy, though the language is what I would consider clean (“penis” instead of “cock,” etc), and the author provides a reasonable timeline of encounters prior to them engaging in anything sexual so the initial interaction is a wonderful relief of tension for the reader (and our protagonists!). Their road to HEA is not without peril, and even though the reader sees the trouble brewing, it is still done well.
There is a part I found to be a little confusing, with regard to the male antagonist of the story and how he so willing ran off despite the character arc, BUT he seemed a coward under all that psychopathic behavior, so it wasn’t terribly jarring. The female and male antagonists get their comeuppance, though we have to wait for all the threads to be neatly tied up via the epilogue.
As an aside, the epilogue scene of our two protagonists is adorable!
Honestly, I feel like A TASTE OF SEDUCTION is a title I’ll be adding to my “re-read” collection, I enjoyed it so much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2019
Overlong
The novel started out fine, but both the story arc of the two villains was one-dimensional, uncomfortable, and unnecessary. This felt like it would have been better as a short story without the twin sister and would-be rapist, simply focusing on the developing relationship between the main characters. About 2/3 through the book, I felt like the story hit a natural ending point, and didn’t need to continue (though I did complete the book).
The novel started out fine, but both the story arc of the two villains was one-dimensional, uncomfortable, and unnecessary. This felt like it would have been better as a short story without the twin sister and would-be rapist, simply focusing on the developing relationship between the main characters. About 2/3 through the book, I felt like the story hit a natural ending point, and didn’t need to continue (though I did complete the book).
July 8, 2019
I can tolerate some grammatical errors but some I cannot. The villain is introduced as the second son of a Duke, then a few pages later he's the second son of an Earl. Then later on he's back to being the son of a Duke again. How does one not catch that? Unacceptable. DNF
February 14, 2023
So I have read all the new releases that have come out recently by my “regular” authors so decided to try some new authors. There were a few authors, I had researched awhile back (I research every new author I want to read 😊) and had put several of those authors books on my Kindle Fire to read just for instances like this. Mary Campisi is one of those authors. I know she does have other genres which I won’t read but thought I’d give this series a try.
It is so weird.. I had started reading another new author before this book and just could not get into it at all. I would read and stop and try to pick it up again but 28% into the book I still couldn’t get into it. But with this book, within a short amount of time, I was already on Chapter 4 with this story. It caught my attention right away which I like in a book. I couldn’t put this book down. It was so good. Francie and Alexander were great. I loved the story. Just a great read. Can’t wait to read the rest of this series. I was sad to see that Mary Campisi doesn’t have anymore books in my genre. I hope she writes more.
It is so weird.. I had started reading another new author before this book and just could not get into it at all. I would read and stop and try to pick it up again but 28% into the book I still couldn’t get into it. But with this book, within a short amount of time, I was already on Chapter 4 with this story. It caught my attention right away which I like in a book. I couldn’t put this book down. It was so good. Francie and Alexander were great. I loved the story. Just a great read. Can’t wait to read the rest of this series. I was sad to see that Mary Campisi doesn’t have anymore books in my genre. I hope she writes more.
May 1, 2020
A nice read.
This is a nice read with a fairly predictable plot. A young countess has an affair with an Earl not her husband. She falls pregnant and doesn’t survive the birth long. Only long enough to realise that she has twin girls, one with black hair and one with red. Her sister removes the red haired girl and the black haired husband accepts
the other twin as his. The sister gives up her fortune (which made no sense) to take the red haired child and retires to the country with her husband, a poor scholar. The red haired twin, Francis, grows into a beautiful young woman running free in the country.
Unfortunately, she catches the attention of the second son of a duke. Of course the whole family are vile. Her aunt and uncle decide that she must be taken to her real father for protection.
The other twin, Claire, is spoilt rotten by her father who is also a vile man. She is also beautiful but with few morals.
I found the story to be rather melodramatic but readable.
This is a nice read with a fairly predictable plot. A young countess has an affair with an Earl not her husband. She falls pregnant and doesn’t survive the birth long. Only long enough to realise that she has twin girls, one with black hair and one with red. Her sister removes the red haired girl and the black haired husband accepts
the other twin as his. The sister gives up her fortune (which made no sense) to take the red haired child and retires to the country with her husband, a poor scholar. The red haired twin, Francis, grows into a beautiful young woman running free in the country.
Unfortunately, she catches the attention of the second son of a duke. Of course the whole family are vile. Her aunt and uncle decide that she must be taken to her real father for protection.
The other twin, Claire, is spoilt rotten by her father who is also a vile man. She is also beautiful but with few morals.
I found the story to be rather melodramatic but readable.
November 6, 2012
(Because I like the writer I gave this book three stars, otherwise the rating would have been lower).
***Contains spoilers****
I've discovered Mary Campisi fairly recently and I must say I quite like her contemporary romances. I find her style quite appealing, as she knows how to write textured everyday scenes, interesting lovers and interesting secondary characters (although, in my view, she could work a bit more on her endings). However, this historical romance contains very little evidence of Campisi's writing talent as it is burdened with all the faults and errors one can find in the overwhelming majority of historical romances written today.
First, this historical romance has nothing to do with the early 19th c. in which it is supposedly set, there's absolutely no attunement to a 19th c. experience, to a 19th c. sensibility or language (I don't mean flood the narrative with the idiom of the time but take care to avoid blatantly 21st c. expressions, e.g. 'must have a plan B' and other such), which require much more than the description of costumes, furniture, conveyances and undergarments. Second, the male character (the biggest victim in contemporary writers of historical romances is the male character, none of what passes as the hero in such romances bears the remotest resemblance to a male character belonging to another century and a different horizon of human experience). What, nowadays, poses as a male character is merely a caricature straight out of a marriage counselor's book, and I, as a reader, can see the writer ticking the boxes down said counselor's list (Campisi, could have easily avoided nonsense like the lovers' first time, where the focus is not on the passion but on keeping the hero (Anthony) within the parameters of 21st c. etiquette. Also, the name of the heroine is pure nonsense, no woman of the nobility would have called her daughter Meriel in the 19th c., for the sole reason that such names did not exist and people did not make-up names, pulling them out of their heads, like they do today, especially in the USA). Third comes the very popular in historical romances subject of adoption. There's an almost universal disregard for simple facts, i.e., that there were no adoption procedures in Britain prior to 1901. Facts are there for charismatic writers to interpret them, reflect on them or navigate around them, not completely ignore them and conjure up a history out of their heads (in short, writers are entitled to their imagination but they are not entitled to their own historical facts). Therefore, the Earl of Montrose could not have adopted Anthony, he could have become his guardian but not his legal father. Four, what was that about Anthony and Meriel inheriting the Earl's estate? As most estates were/are entailed, only the biological male heir (until very recently) born within wedlock could have inherited the estate. Anthony and Meriel could have inherited the money the Earl earned from his business investments, could have inherited the unentailed property of the Earl but not the estate. If there was no male heir (cousin, nephew, etc.) then the estate would have reverted to the Crown.Now, if the estate was unentailed (a rare occurrence), then the writer should have said and dramatised the fact, as it would have been an important element of her story.
There are other elements that appear carelessly conceived as well, Meriel's character is rather uneven, she's an 18 year old (by 19th c. standards prime marriageable age) who at times acts and reasons as a 10 year old and at other times as a 40 year old. There are moments where she is endowed with depth and others where she appears much too naive and gullible. Claire, the twin sister, is undeveloped, her portrayal as an ueber-hedonist borders on the comical while her obsession with Anthony remains at the level of mere statement (at frequent intervals) and nothing interesting comes out of it. As for the 'twin' sisters device it never rises above the level of mere device, no dramatic development (just the throwing of a tantrum towards the end) of the fact that the girls are twin sisters, in short, nothing that could not have been accomplished had the girls been, say, love rivals. What is the point of Claire being Meriel's twin sister ? Plodding towards the end the writer run so completely out of steam that she had no option but to stretch Anthony's anxieties, going over the same ground again and again without adding any new insight (the epiphany could have come 50 pages earlier), so much so that the 'inner turmoil' felt more like a page filler than the musings of a tortured and traumatised soul.
Overall a very disappointing book from a writer who has proved she can do much better.
***Contains spoilers****
I've discovered Mary Campisi fairly recently and I must say I quite like her contemporary romances. I find her style quite appealing, as she knows how to write textured everyday scenes, interesting lovers and interesting secondary characters (although, in my view, she could work a bit more on her endings). However, this historical romance contains very little evidence of Campisi's writing talent as it is burdened with all the faults and errors one can find in the overwhelming majority of historical romances written today.
First, this historical romance has nothing to do with the early 19th c. in which it is supposedly set, there's absolutely no attunement to a 19th c. experience, to a 19th c. sensibility or language (I don't mean flood the narrative with the idiom of the time but take care to avoid blatantly 21st c. expressions, e.g. 'must have a plan B' and other such), which require much more than the description of costumes, furniture, conveyances and undergarments. Second, the male character (the biggest victim in contemporary writers of historical romances is the male character, none of what passes as the hero in such romances bears the remotest resemblance to a male character belonging to another century and a different horizon of human experience). What, nowadays, poses as a male character is merely a caricature straight out of a marriage counselor's book, and I, as a reader, can see the writer ticking the boxes down said counselor's list (Campisi, could have easily avoided nonsense like the lovers' first time, where the focus is not on the passion but on keeping the hero (Anthony) within the parameters of 21st c. etiquette. Also, the name of the heroine is pure nonsense, no woman of the nobility would have called her daughter Meriel in the 19th c., for the sole reason that such names did not exist and people did not make-up names, pulling them out of their heads, like they do today, especially in the USA). Third comes the very popular in historical romances subject of adoption. There's an almost universal disregard for simple facts, i.e., that there were no adoption procedures in Britain prior to 1901. Facts are there for charismatic writers to interpret them, reflect on them or navigate around them, not completely ignore them and conjure up a history out of their heads (in short, writers are entitled to their imagination but they are not entitled to their own historical facts). Therefore, the Earl of Montrose could not have adopted Anthony, he could have become his guardian but not his legal father. Four, what was that about Anthony and Meriel inheriting the Earl's estate? As most estates were/are entailed, only the biological male heir (until very recently) born within wedlock could have inherited the estate. Anthony and Meriel could have inherited the money the Earl earned from his business investments, could have inherited the unentailed property of the Earl but not the estate. If there was no male heir (cousin, nephew, etc.) then the estate would have reverted to the Crown.Now, if the estate was unentailed (a rare occurrence), then the writer should have said and dramatised the fact, as it would have been an important element of her story.
There are other elements that appear carelessly conceived as well, Meriel's character is rather uneven, she's an 18 year old (by 19th c. standards prime marriageable age) who at times acts and reasons as a 10 year old and at other times as a 40 year old. There are moments where she is endowed with depth and others where she appears much too naive and gullible. Claire, the twin sister, is undeveloped, her portrayal as an ueber-hedonist borders on the comical while her obsession with Anthony remains at the level of mere statement (at frequent intervals) and nothing interesting comes out of it. As for the 'twin' sisters device it never rises above the level of mere device, no dramatic development (just the throwing of a tantrum towards the end) of the fact that the girls are twin sisters, in short, nothing that could not have been accomplished had the girls been, say, love rivals. What is the point of Claire being Meriel's twin sister ? Plodding towards the end the writer run so completely out of steam that she had no option but to stretch Anthony's anxieties, going over the same ground again and again without adding any new insight (the epiphany could have come 50 pages earlier), so much so that the 'inner turmoil' felt more like a page filler than the musings of a tortured and traumatised soul.
Overall a very disappointing book from a writer who has proved she can do much better.
April 26, 2020
3 stars for phillip and bernard their matchmaking efforts were the best part of this book
June 6, 2019
A Taste Of Seduction by Mary Campisi is an awesome historical romance. Ms. Campisi has delivered a well-written book furnished with an outstanding cast of characters. Francie loved her life with her aunt and uncle but when she draws unwanted attention from the earl's second son her aunt and uncle decide it's time to take her to her father. Francie's father took Alexander in as a youngster and raised him as a son. Alexander was suspicious when Francie arrived claiming to be Lord Montrose's daughter. Alexander and Francie's story is loaded with drama, humor, action, spice and suspense. I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more from Mary Campisi in the future. A Taste Of Seduction is book 1 of the An Unlikely Husband Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
June 9, 2019
A Taste of Seduction
Enjoyed reading this book. The story was good, fast pace, gripping with a bit of suspense thrown in and a happy ending.
Enjoyed reading this book. The story was good, fast pace, gripping with a bit of suspense thrown in and a happy ending.
May 31, 2019
An Unlikely Husband indeed.
This story was readable in one day. You can watch the struggles the characters have unfold and become more- some turned out good and some bad. The story was entertaining with a touch of madness.
This story was readable in one day. You can watch the struggles the characters have unfold and become more- some turned out good and some bad. The story was entertaining with a touch of madness.
May 28, 2019
A Taste of Seduction Book.1
I enjoyed reading, this book my review of a 4 was because there was still a few unanswered questions at the end of this story. I l really like how love can teach a person to trust, but I also would like all the unanswered questions answered
I enjoyed reading, this book my review of a 4 was because there was still a few unanswered questions at the end of this story. I l really like how love can teach a person to trust, but I also would like all the unanswered questions answered
August 2, 2019
I had a fun time reading this book. It suited me perfectly as a summer vacation read. I don't usually read much romance (apart from the classics) so I'm no expert, but I think Mary Campisi did a good job with the adult scenes. There's a blurry line between cheesy and sexy and it's difficult to get it right - and in this case I think it was just enough. They were short when they needed to be, longer when they served a deeper purpose.
As for the characters, I really enjoyed Alexander. He was well-written. If anything, I might have wanted to learn even more about him and his life as he learned to trust Philip. In regards to Francie I got the feeling sometimes that she was a bit of a Disney princess. She didn't really have any flaws, which is a bit of a shame, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment that much.
POSSIBLE SPOILER:
I would have liked more of a resolution for the villains. It kind of happened off-page which I found a little disappointing. It would have been quite satisfying if we got their POV's when the consequences of their actions finally caught up with them.
Overall, I would recommend it if you enjoy reading romance and don't mind some erotic scenes.
As for the characters, I really enjoyed Alexander. He was well-written. If anything, I might have wanted to learn even more about him and his life as he learned to trust Philip. In regards to Francie I got the feeling sometimes that she was a bit of a Disney princess. She didn't really have any flaws, which is a bit of a shame, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment that much.
POSSIBLE SPOILER:
I would have liked more of a resolution for the villains. It kind of happened off-page which I found a little disappointing. It would have been quite satisfying if we got their POV's when the consequences of their actions finally caught up with them.
Overall, I would recommend it if you enjoy reading romance and don't mind some erotic scenes.
July 15, 2019
Francie and Alexander are brought together when she finds out the truth of her parenthood, and meets her father for the first time. Alex has been raised as a son by Francie's father. Learning about his back story gives an insight into why Alex needs to feel in control over everything in his life. This compulsion makes it hard for him to admit her has feelings for Francie and there is the basis for much of the story.
Watching him figure it out was entertaining.
I was drawn in by the humour, and there was a little bit of suspense as well, which added to the story from my point of view.
There wer a couple of odd things in the story: It's set in England but Francie's dog is injured and the possible culprit is given as a possum..... um no possum's in England. The Calico cat is a male - when calico's are almost always female, (and the English would probably call it a tortoishell).
A good light read, will try out others of this author.
Watching him figure it out was entertaining.
I was drawn in by the humour, and there was a little bit of suspense as well, which added to the story from my point of view.
There wer a couple of odd things in the story: It's set in England but Francie's dog is injured and the possible culprit is given as a possum..... um no possum's in England. The Calico cat is a male - when calico's are almost always female, (and the English would probably call it a tortoishell).
A good light read, will try out others of this author.
January 1, 2012
Anthony,oh Anthony. I wanted to smack him at first. But then he quickly made me feel guilty about feeling that way. Such a big strong brute, who is really just a lonely, vulnerable little boy underneath it all. And if you read romance, then you're a sucker for a man like this. By the end of the book, he was most definitely sigh worthy.
And I just adored Meriel. She was such a joy from beginning to end. This character stayed true to herself and her beliefs from beginning to end, and while things weren't always peaches and cream for her, she never lost her sweet love and innocence.
Awesome read and great job by Mary Campisi.
And I just adored Meriel. She was such a joy from beginning to end. This character stayed true to herself and her beliefs from beginning to end, and while things weren't always peaches and cream for her, she never lost her sweet love and innocence.
Awesome read and great job by Mary Campisi.
July 11, 2019
Disappointing
It did have an epilogue but still e dead up being a cliffhanger. I guess that’s the authors way of having one keep reading her books. I love to keep reading further into authors other books but not so much when there is too many questions left to answer. There are other ways of ending a book and yet leading into the next. But that’s just my opinion as is her choice in leaving extreme cliffhangers it is mine not to go further.
It did have an epilogue but still e dead up being a cliffhanger. I guess that’s the authors way of having one keep reading her books. I love to keep reading further into authors other books but not so much when there is too many questions left to answer. There are other ways of ending a book and yet leading into the next. But that’s just my opinion as is her choice in leaving extreme cliffhangers it is mine not to go further.
May 31, 2019
Promising start but DRAGGED OUT FOR SO LONG UNNECESSARILY, could easily cut half the book
June 9, 2019
This plot was very cliche and the villains were ridiculous.
June 13, 2020
Cartoon-ish antagonists, a 'not like other girls' heroine, and a male protagonist that has relationship issues because of his parents.
December 4, 2020
Unfortunately, I began reading ebooks at a great rate -- probably 100 so far -- that I don't remember anything about this one except the cover.
Read
June 3, 2022
Trigger & Content Warnings
Attempted rape
Domestic violence recounted
Death during childbirth
Blood depiction
Death of a parent
Gun violence
Kidnapping
Attempted rape
Domestic violence recounted
Death during childbirth
Blood depiction
Death of a parent
Gun violence
Kidnapping
July 18, 2019
There were some...issues.
-There was a lot of attempted sexual assault, against women mostly.
-The phrase "...despite his age and apparent infirmary." No one runs a doctor's office, the earl has a deadly cough.
-Alex is a dick, telling Francie that her low cut dress makes her look like she "works in a brothel, do not be surprised when the customers begin lining up." And other charming statements.
-Because he's sooo attracted to Francie, Alex sleeps in the stables every night for weeks to make her think he's with his mistress.
-There is a calico cat named Mr. Pib. A male calico cat named after a soft drink...yup.
-The travel times are confusing, it's said that the good earl's estate is two hours away from the aunt/uncle's cottage but they traipse back and forth between there and the good earl's and the asshole earl's place in no time. Occasionally transporting dying people who miraculously survive.
-And finally I have in my margin notes from the last few pages "A random pirate appears!"
-There was a lot of attempted sexual assault, against women mostly.
-The phrase "...despite his age and apparent infirmary." No one runs a doctor's office, the earl has a deadly cough.
-Alex is a dick, telling Francie that her low cut dress makes her look like she "works in a brothel, do not be surprised when the customers begin lining up." And other charming statements.
-Because he's sooo attracted to Francie, Alex sleeps in the stables every night for weeks to make her think he's with his mistress.
-There is a calico cat named Mr. Pib. A male calico cat named after a soft drink...yup.
-The travel times are confusing, it's said that the good earl's estate is two hours away from the aunt/uncle's cottage but they traipse back and forth between there and the good earl's and the asshole earl's place in no time. Occasionally transporting dying people who miraculously survive.
-And finally I have in my margin notes from the last few pages "A random pirate appears!"
June 28, 2021
Trigger warnings: death in childbirth, blood, death of a parent, domestic violence (in the past), gun violence, male refusal to take responsibility for pregnancies, kidnapping, attempted rape.
2.5 stars.
I wanted to like this, I really did. But there was a LOT going on and a lot of it honestly didn't need to be there. I skim read the stuff from the perspective of the villains because, like, I didn't care. But also, it could have been much more impactful WITHOUT knowing that Claire was a villain and knowing what their plans were.
Also, the fact that Francie literally had an evil twin was just some Sweet Valley High type nonsense and I rolled my eyes more than once.
The romance itself was...fine, I guess? But I feel like it would have been better without all the moustache twirling villain nonsense, especially when the story goes from BIG! DRAMATIC! VILLAIN! PLOT POINTS! to "it's a year later, lemme dedicate two sentences to what happened to the villains before we cut back to the hero and heroine for some more sex." More than a little anticlimactic...
2.5 stars.
I wanted to like this, I really did. But there was a LOT going on and a lot of it honestly didn't need to be there. I skim read the stuff from the perspective of the villains because, like, I didn't care. But also, it could have been much more impactful WITHOUT knowing that Claire was a villain and knowing what their plans were.
Also, the fact that Francie literally had an evil twin was just some Sweet Valley High type nonsense and I rolled my eyes more than once.
The romance itself was...fine, I guess? But I feel like it would have been better without all the moustache twirling villain nonsense, especially when the story goes from BIG! DRAMATIC! VILLAIN! PLOT POINTS! to "it's a year later, lemme dedicate two sentences to what happened to the villains before we cut back to the hero and heroine for some more sex." More than a little anticlimactic...
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