The Beloved One

The de Montforte Brothers #2

by Danelle Harmon

FIVE STARS!  "I loved everything about this story ... brilliant writing!  I am very happy to give this highly emotional, sensual, and very touching story my Five Quills!" -- Melanie Friedman, RCJR eZineIn this second installment of her breathtaking De Montforte Brothers series, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Danelle Harmon introduces us to Englishman Lord Charles de Montforte, who awakens in the tender care of an American beauty after being wounded in battle. Amy Leighton has long wished for someone special to enter her life and take her away from a cruel, unloving step-family, but the handsome stranger is from an enemy land ... and he's sworn to love another. A 1775-era Cinderella story sure to enthrall!

Read The De Montforte Brothers in

Book 1: The Wild OneBook 2: The Beloved OneBook 3: The Defiant OneBook 4: The Wicked OneBook 5: The Wayward OneBook 6: The Admiral’s HeartBook 7: The Fox & the AngelBook 8: My First Noel A DESERT ISLAND KEEPER! GRADE A! Practically perfect from start to finish, [it] keeps you on the edge of your seat as the plot twists and turns, and leaves you with a tear in your eye. A wounded hero to die for, a heroine to admire, and a wonderful cast of secondary characters. Who could ask for anything more?  Harmon is a master at creating heroes that are handsome, brave, and loyal, but also flawed... You might as well buy them both [The Wild One and The Beloved One], barricade yourself into your home, and order a pizza. A book to treasure. If you love it as much as I did, you'll be glad that there are still two more de Montforte brothers. FIVE STARS!!" -- Blythe Barnhill, All About Romance 



FIVE STARS! "Lord Charles is one of the most romantic characters I've ever read about.  A truly wonderful love story ... extremely hard to put down."  -- Vikki, Romantic Historical Lovers



"Once again, eldest brother Lucien, 'The Wicked One,' decides to play God in the life of another of his siblings, and the results are great. Wonderful characters, especially the darling heroine who holds a special place in my heart." -- Rendezvous "



"A well-written romance that comes alive... a very fresh story under the talented tutelage of Danelle Harmon due to the realistic Cinderella-like characterizations. Fans of historical romance storylines will want to read this book." -- Harriet Klausner, Under The Covers

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Regency, Fiction, British Literature

350 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Danelle Harmon has written seventeen critically acclaimed and award-winning books, with many being published all over the world. A Massachusetts native, she has lived in Great Britain, though these days she and her English husband make their home in New England with their daughter Emma and numerous animals including five dogs, an Egyptian Arabian horse, and a flock of pet chickens. Danelle enjoys reading, spending time with family, friends and her animals, dog showing, plane-spotting, and sailing her reproduction 19th century skiff, Kestrel II. She welcomes email from her readers and can be reached at Danelle@danelleharmon.com.

Reviews

[Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

“It's not all right, can you not see? My army has rejected me, my own brother toys with me in the name of discipline, and here I am in my darkest hour and who is it that I want to reach for, who is it that I want to hold, who is it that I need more than any other person on earth?” “Charles —” “It's you, Amy, can't you see it, can't you feel it, can't you understand that you are the very center of my existence?! You, not Juliet. You. God damn it, I need you.”

Lord Charles de Montforte was presumed dead by his family back in England. But the truth is that he had only been terribly injured in battle. Amy Leighton is the young miss who took it upon herself to nurse Charles back to health. Soon, they develop a companionship. Although Lord Charles is from the enemy land and he is affianced to another woman, Amy can’t help but fall in love with the man despite the fact that they will never be together. When Charles felt as though everyone had forsaken him, there was Amy who loved him and believed in him. And though Charles regards Amy with the same affection she has for him… he knows he has to go home…back to his family… and back to the fiancee he had before Amy. Will the two star crossed lovers beat the odds that separate them from one another?

The beloved one is the second book from Danelle Harmon’s historical romance series, The De Montforte brothers. This tells the story of a Duke’s second son and captain, Charles and Amy who is half-indian from the American colonies. I skipped book one but I don’t think it took away from my enjoyment of this book. In fact, I think me skipping book one made this book so much more likeable. I have been wanting to read this for a long time and when I was in the perfect mood to do so, I did. I had high expectations and wow did Danelle Harmon meet them! Seriously… I am kind of obsessed and I think I will be reading more of her work.

I thought the heroine was perfect for our wounded hero. To any other reader, Amy might not be special (I’ve read some review saying such a thing) and she might be a bore but I honestly think that’s just them being biased because they obviously loved the heroine of book 1. But to each their own. Anyway, I thought Amy was a pretty good match for Charles. She was young but aside from her having a girlish infatuation with Charles, she didn’t act immature (not that I would blame her if she did considering her age). She’s just my type of heroine. She was sweet, caring and gentle. I loved how she nursed Charles back to health and how she didn’t have any hesitation even after she learned that he was from an enemy land. She had a quiet strength that I always love about my heroines. This girl was very selfless and at times my heart hurt for her. Loved when she finally got the courage to leave her abusive family behind. She deserved so much happiness and I am glad she had that with Charles.

While I loved Amy’s character, this book was definitely Charles’s. This hero was one of the most wounded, depressed, flawed heroes I’ve had the opportunity to read about and wow did I love him. As I was reading, I kept thinking “Yes, this is how you write a flawed hero.” Charles was nowhere near perfect but I couldn’t help but feel for him and eventually love him. I have never felt so seen and heard until Charles. He was a perfectionist who couldn’t handle the idea of failing and making mistakes. If I were a book character, I would totally be Charles. I think the reason why I ended up loving his character so much is because I see myself in him, therefore, I feel that I can truly understand him. I sympathize with him. I empathize with him. I hated him. I loved him. I cried for him. I cried with him. I can’t even begin to put it in words but I feel like he is one of the best written heroes I’ve ever encountered. The wounded/flawed hero has been done a thousand times and I’ve read plenty but this is one case wherein this character’s feelings were truly shared with the readers / it wasn’t brushed off. The readers were truly there on a journey with him. Before he was wounded, when he woke up, his anger, his resentment, his insecurities, his mistakes, his loss of will to live, to eventually picking up the pieces and being the man he once was yet a much better version. He was such a real character. He came alive in the pages. This man was in pure agony for almost the whole book and while it was quite depressing to read, I was way too hooked to stop. I can’t say more but I truly came to understand his character and ended up loving him despite his flaws, just as Amy did.

The hero wasn’t the nicest of men, especially when he woke up. But it’s understandable, besides he apologizes because he knows he’s in the wrong. At first, I wasn’t too sure about him because I’ve already had prior knowledge that he fathered another child and I tend to avoid books with ow/om drama or h/H with bastard children because it’s just not my thing. Despite my misgivings, I grew to love him from the moment he took it upon himself to be Amy’s champion. I thought that was very sweet and well done of him. It made a lot of sense why the heroine would fall in love with him given that he treated her well and appreciated her companionship. It was also understandable why he would come to love Amy. She took care of him, and aside from that, she understands him very well. She is aware of his failures, his insecurities, his hurt and though she accepted him as he was, she also encouraged him and saw potential when he felt he had none left. What they had was real, true, honest, raw love. It was beautifully depicted and while it wasn’t perfect, it was true. This satisfied me very much. The gradual emotional connection was believable.

In this genre, insta-lust is very often present. This book had two characters who were attracted to each other, yet it didn’t feel forced. While there was physical attraction, the emotional understanding between the two was much prominent. The development between platonic friendship, lust and finally to love was well paced and it made for a compelling read. When I read a romance book, the emotional connection of the h and H is what I’m looking for to believe the love that they’re supposed to have for each other, and this author did just that. This book showed real, honest and passionate love between the heroine Amy and hero Charles.

I am still icky about the fact that Charles and his previous lover (who is now married to his brother) are now in-laws. It was obvious that the author tried the best she could to make their interaction less awkward and make it seem like it really did not matter…. But I was cringing nonetheless. These characters are stronger and more secure in their relationship than me because their whole set up was just very awkward to read. But if it works for them… then I guess it works.

Moving on, I really liked the nursing back to health present in the book. The class difference. The reasons why they can’t be together. It all worked very well and made this book a memorable one. Loved how Charles felt that he had to better himself first to feel deserving of Amy. Loved how Amy accepted him regardless. I just enjoyed this couple together and I am so glad they got their HEA. The De Montforte family reminds me of the Bedwyn family… both are very powerful and with an aloof duke / head of the family who manipulates his siblings’s lives. Danelle Harmon definitely impressed me with this book! I am going to be reading more. Her writing was good and I love how she managed to make the characters feel very real and human. I will be reading the next books in the series.

Some quotes:

“Do you know how I've longed for the sound of your voice, the touch of your hand, the cheerfulness of your spirit when mine could do nothing but dwell in the darkest depths of despair?”

“When I feel confident in my abilities again, when I am once again the man I was before that fateful day in April, then… then, Amy, I will feel worthy of you. Then I will ask you to be my wife, and by God, you had better accept.”

“If you can’t be yourself around them, and be accepted for the man that you are, then who can you be yourself around?” “You,” he said bleakly. “I can be myself around you. I tell you things I’ve never told anyone else, I feel completely at ease around you, but then, you know all of my secrets and I have nothing to hide from you.”

“And look into the eyes of the woman who has become my dearest and very best friend.”

“I find it more difficult to forgive myself for my mistakes, than others for theirs. They are allowed to make them. I am not.” (This quote resonated with me very much, I just had to share it. In this one simple sentence, Charles’ character became human to me)

[Dinjolina]

A gr friend is currently reading this book so I was remained of the fact that I never wrote a review. She said that she picked it up because she fell completely in love with book one, and I understood her. That is the reason I gave this book a try, also.

Was it a good read? Not for me. It was a constant pile of frustration. I wanted to scream my head off during some parts. I wanted to rage against the hero, and I disliked the heroine. Still, it was written well. The plot line did not sag. The plot flow was a bit boring at times, but still plausible. The syntax, the descriptions, the character build up…it was all fine. And yet…

Maybe all of this would have been different if the heroine of book one, and the former fiancé of this hero, was not a favorite of mine. Maybe if I did not truly fall in love with her child. Maybe, maybe, maybe…

Then again, I have to give the author praise where it is due- she tried in every way imaginable to make no feeling hurt in the dealings of Juliet and Charles. They both have stated to feel nothing for one another now. They are content with their chosen spouses/partners/loves. Everything is rainbows, sunshine and flowers.
But still, deep inside, I felt it all unjust. I felt cheated because Charles did not feel anything about Julia. There have been so many evil vileness littered trough the HR world that were neither perfect nor good like Julia, but still got the heroe’s lingering feelings.
No. Not this hero. He does not feel a thing for his past love. Not a twinge, not a spec.
And why?
Because of Amy.
Well, my dear friends, I had a problem with that-because Amy was not a special heroine.
If she was some fiery temptress full of life? Some goddess of the wild, some mayhem of a character that knows now bounds to being different?! Then yes. I would have said- the hell wit Julia! Let see what this woman has to say!
But she was not even fun. Julia is stated to be level-headed and perfect for Gareth because of this, but Amy is nothing but a bore herself. She somehow managed to be impulsive WHILE BEING BORING. Of all the…how did she manage THAT?
Other readers have repeatedly stated that she is like Cinderella with the evil sisters and the misery. Born out of her own ashes!! Ehhh…not so much. Well, she WAS this lost puppy, trying to be strong at times. And she WAS supposed to be daring, but never was… In reality she was a lumpy mash of unsalted potatoes…she was…
….dear lord…it just came to me….
…she was the prototype of the 70-80 Harlequin heroine. Wow.

And with her comes the hero, whose idea I liked while reading book one. The perfection. The illusion. Who was the man behind it all?
Well let me tell you:
He was a loser that liked to wallow in self pity. The idiot that has a hard on for the first pretty face and has the gall to say it was because his fiancé did not know or understand him enough.
Also, I shall enlighten you - Amy and Charles knew nothing about one another. They did nothing special together, but play patient and nursemaid. Profound words? The ultimate blend of minds? Naaaaaah. Only some sexual chemistry that drives them to suck face.

(Again, I got to say….Harlequin anyone?)

I pretty much had NO IDEA why these two people were in love. And yet they had the symptoms of one of those ultimate loves. The grandeur that last a lifetime! For example Charles, when confronted with his fiancé, the woman he liked enough to get pregnant - can not even bear to THINK about the fact that he had sex with her. His mind shies away from it. You would think the lady was the Loch Ness monster with a couple of extra eyes… Why, you ask? Because, gosh! Him, touching somebody that is not Amy? Blasphemy! No! His life before did not exist!
Puuuuh-lease.

So…as you can see-while reading, I went over a lot of messy situations, and things that I did not like. Still, I was firm in saying that the author knew her stuff, knew how to write. Maybe she made a small ‘oops’ with not building a better heroine, but what the heck, right?
Wrong. I DISLIKED the whole book, and would have rated it very very very low if not for my decision to not give it a decided number of stars.
What could have blown me so completely out of the waters?
Charles’s feelings toward his child by Julia.
On one hand, I applaud the author for trying to give a sound portrait of what makes a parent. On the other, when he picked Charlotte up and realized that he does not love her, and in fact feels like he picked up a random child who he does not know, or feels anything for…I was, frankly, a bit appalled. Sure, it was supposed to give the idea of a clean brake. That Gareth was now the child father…but Charles to not feel even a twinge? Nothing? NOTHING?? Not even regret for not knowing her??
And to make matters worse - this was nothing compared to the UTTER RAGE I felt toward this hero when he picked up his newborn by Amy and loved her instantly.
So, what does this teach us?
I think the author wanted to tell us that your kid is the kid you brought up. Which is admirable. Even true. BUT, by giving Charles the ability to fall in inst-love with his (new) baby, it became apparent that the moral of this story is: If you don’t love a woman, you are unable to love her child. You can only love kids that come from love. All the other kids should just rot, or get brought up by somebody else, because heck!...no insta- love for them!

No. Just no. I had about 3 pages left and I refused to read them. I marked the book dnf and even decided to never rate it, because the way it was written does not deserve the minus 5 stars I would wish to give it.

Will this book appeal to somebody? Huh. I have no idea. Some people loved it! But maybe they never got their hands on book one. Or they love lousy fathers. Maybe it was something else. The only thing I know is: It served me a very bad turn, because it discouraged me from picking up the next two books right off. And THOSE books DO DESIRVE to be read. They really do.

[Zoe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my second attempt at the de Montforte brothers and still, I walked away very disappointed.

But it has nothing to do with the quality of writing or the book itself. It's just not my cup of tea.

In the first book, I did not like Juliet Paige, the heroine. In this book, I like both Amy and Charles but dislike their relationship. I remember how disappointed I was when I read Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale, which also had the lead characters falling in love in a similar context: the hero losing one of his major capacities and the heroine being his only light in darkness.

In The Beloved One, Charles lost his sight and was brought to Amy's home. So the young Amy was "infatuated" with the handsome and charming Charles. This is already a pet peeve of mine. Youthful infatuation never goes down well in my book. A girl who admires a man from afar when the said man knows and only returns the affection when he has no one else.........this very sentiment grates on my nerves. And this is exactly what happened between Amy and Charles. Charles wrote 3 letters after his injury and thought his commanding officer, his brother and his fiance (Juliet Paige, the heroine from book 1) would be there for him. While waiting for their response, Charles "befriended" Amy and thought: oh young Amy harbors this youthful infatuation with me.....gotta let her down gently (I am annoyed even just writing about it). All this while Amy fell more in love with Charles because of course he was the sun in her life, the only brightness of her dark existence.

Amy's evil sisters forged the replies to Charles' letters, and each response was a rejection. Charles, after losing his eyesight, was extremely vulnerable and turned to Amy for support. And this is when he realized: oh Amy you are the only one I have.

I stopped reading when Charles said: oh Amy you are the only one I have. This is desperation, and I have trouble believing that this is supposed to be love.

I think I just prefer if the lead characters are on equal footing, in the emotional sense. I don't care if one of them is from a lower class. I don't even care if the hero acts assholey. The important thing is that they show their true feelings in their actions. Maybe I am just not much for Cinderellas. I like my girls with dignity. If a guy only turns to me when he has no one else, I would think he does not deserve my affection.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was easily my least favorite in this series because I had a really hard time liking Charles. He is supposed to be the beloved one and a perfectionist, but he's already fallen in love with, promised marriage to, and impregnated one colonial girl. Then, he almost dies and goes to stay with another family and almost immediately is attracted to Amy and almost immediately begins acting on that attraction in some way or another. It made him seem fickle and blase in a way that really bugged me. And, I will freely admit this is soapboxy, but when you are willing to risk behaving in a way that will break one girl's heart when you have to do your duty by another? I just couldn't get behind him, physical impairments and loss of confidence or not. Charles DID improve as the book progressed. The actions he made out of frustration and loneliness and loss made a lot more sense and were much more forgivable to me.

This was especially disappointing because I loved Amy. I almost gave this book three stars because I thought she was so awesome. I liked that she was strong and practical in her own way and in a way that fit with her situation and her time. I almost wanted someone better for her than Charles, though I liked Charles much more at the very very end of this book and in the rest of the series.

The reason I couldn't give this book three stars was how contrived the ending felt. I thought Charles had an interesting story, but how long he wanted to wait and how perfect he wanted to be for the last third of the book was frustrating for me as a reader, especially as a reader who loved Amy. It felt like a deliberate misunderstanding sort of thing, and I just didn't get why he thought it was ok to continue risking pregnancy with Amy while he isn't sure he's man enough to marry her and take care of her. In a modern romance novel, this might not have bothered me, but Charles should have KNOWN the risks of that for Amy, especially an Amy who already had societal black marks against her name. It just felt strangely selfish and I wanted more for her.

[Jennifer Hammer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have noting but great appreciation for Danelle Harmon’s writing. Her writing is descriptive and vivid and full of life. I absolutely felling in love with Charles and Amy’s story. Charles character development was truly wonderful to watch. Amy was such a kind,loving truly gentle soul she was so good to and for Charles (you couldn’t help but love her)

I literally had a hard time putting down this book the story kept me enthralled the whole time wanting to know what was going to happen next and how it would end.

I would highly recommend reading it ( Side Note I enjoyed book 1 in this series but found the story didn’t capture my interest nearly as much as book 2)

[Jonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Wild One, Lord Charles de Monteforte's death on the battlefields in America set off a chain of events that ended with his pregnant fiancée coming to England and marrying his younger brother, Gareth. They are now deeply in love and expecting another child and Gareth has accepted Charlotte, Charles' biological daughter, as his own. Now we know Charles is very much alive and has been living in America.

This story begins with the center of the controversy, showing what really happened to Charles and how it came to be that he was assumed killed in action. He ends up in a town not far from Boston being cared for by the Leighton family, or more specifically, Amy Leighton, the ostracized one in the household. She nurses Charles back to health physically and spiritually as he tries to cope with the long-term results of his accident and his diminished opinion of himself.

Charles' story is a darker tale, which is understandable given his propensity for being the perfect one who always does the right thing. He has no experience or preparation for falling short of his own ideals and expectations. Amy tries to help him maintain confidence in himself but worsens the situation because he also struggles to make sense of his attraction to her while being engaged to Juliet. It was fascinating to see the stark contrast between the once confident almost arrogant Charles with the broken, unsettled man trying to rise above his self doubt and depression. His lifeline is Amy, who in spite of her miserable circumstances still maintains a level of optimism for her prospects in life and sees in him what he cannot see for himself.

I really liked that this wasn't a frothy story. Charles' emotional state was so very realistic and even though his self-pity became tiresome and frustrating it was completely believable. His journey back, both literally and figuratively, was insightful. The emotional turmoil he experienced upon his return to England was jarring, especially his reaction to Charlotte. It's a brave approach that puts the "hero" of the story at risk but it gives the story more depth and credibility...this is what happens in real life. However, we get a wonderful payoff by the end.

It was really great to see the characters from the first book appear in this one and not gratuitously. They play a significant role in Charles' transformation. And, there are some really steamy moments here...Chapter 22 is incredible!

I read this book in a day. It's not a page turner; I just got so immersed in the story emotionally I lost track of time. With this being so different from the first book, I have no idea what to expect with the next and that's got me intrigued. I'm loving the unpredictability of this series. It's so well written and the characters couldn't be more appealing.

[Mslvoe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The new cover for The Beloved One


Once upon a time there lived an 'unhappy and boring' young girl named Amy. Her sisters didn't like her and always asked her to do all the house works. One day, The Beloved One got shot by her 14yrs old brother named Will. Will feel guilty and brought Charles home to save him from death. Amy was happy to tend him. Well, the story goes on and of course Amy married the The Beloved One and lived happily ever.

Things that I love when Juliet said 'Oh Gareth. Please know that what I once felt for your brother is dead. It is you, you, that I love. I love Juliet. I loved how she always express her feeling towards Gareth.

Things that I don't like
1. Charles realized that he did not love Juliet Paige.
2. I hate when Charles thought that everyone betrayed him. Come on, you got what you want right?
3. He didn't have a feelings for Charlotte when he picked her.

And I'm sorry that I didn't like prefer The Beloved One and Amy.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better than The Wild One, this book gives us the back story of what was happening to Charles while the events in Book one took place, then brings everyone together to sort out the awkwardly heartbreaking results of the apparent death of Charles, The Beloved One. Both parts of the story are well told, though Amy's wicked stepsisters are a bit over the top (and so derivative of Cinderella, I had to laugh)- and the patience Ms. Harmon shows in developing the relationship between Amy and Charles serves the story well when the action returns to England.

The richness of the details, in Charles' accident, in his recovery, in his approach to Blackheath and his initial meeting with his family upon his return to England, are the things that drew me in, brought tears to my eyes and made it impossible for me to put the book down. Lucien's machinations were a bit overblown, but then, he's the glue, the bridge between stories, so I can't really complain.

And the love scene in the barn? So good I had to go into my bathroom to read it in peace LOL!

After the ending, I am having trouble seeing how Andrew's story will play out, but I've bought The Defiant One and started the 1st few pages before going to sleep last night - just couldn't wait.

[Sabrina Jeffries · Rating 5 out of 5]

The One Series. I scarfed these down like candy. Harmon's de Montforte brothers are each delicious, and every book is better than the last. Unfortunately, most are out of print, but if you see them in the used bookstore, definitely grab a copy. Also, the last book, The Wicked One, is still available and stands alone very well.

[Heather ~*dread mushrooms*~ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 16%

I may have been biased against this book going in, because I really, really hate the synopsis. But since my friends and I had done a buddy-read of the first book in the series and planned to BR the rest, I was willing to give it a chance instead of just skipping to the next book.

This appears to be a re-release of the original book, and there are almost two hundred additional pages. This frightened me. Your typical romance novel generally doesn't need to be more than 400 pages. In my naivety, I assumed the author had simply added more sex scenes, since THE WILD ONE was not a re-release and only had one sex scene.

Well, I didn't make it far enough to read any sex scenes. At first, I was impressed, because Danelle Harmon is a research queen; whether it's battles or ships or medical procedures, she's got it down. Unfortunately, she may be a little too good at writing medical procedures, because the trepanning she described in here was pretty realistic and gross, which made it all the more jarring when the heroine ogled the hero during said procedure. He's literally bleeding from a hole in the head, breathing erratically, about to die, and she's admiring his handsome features. Characters ogling each other on their sickbeds is one of my most hated tropes of all time. This was only at 7%, and I knew I was in trouble.

Like Nenia, I felt this book was overwritten. Something just seemed different from the other three books of Harmon's I've read. Amy, the heroine, is in a Cinderella-esque situation, and her evil sisters are incredibly over-the-top in contrast to Amy's daydreamy goodness. She seemed very young, and I couldn't picture her with the battle-hardened hero of an aristocratic family. At the point I stopped reading, he can't see, and he accidentally touches her boob while reaching for her hand. Later, when he's asleep, he's dreaming about touching her magical bewbie even though he's engaged to someone else.

Lastly, the head hopping. My god! After the 7% mark it happened constantly. I don't recall this in any other Harmon books. I'm very disappointed and hope the rest of the series fared better on the re-release. For now, the next Harmon book I pick up will be from another series.

[Jae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somebody call the wahmbulance, we've got an emergency. 90% of this book is our "hero" whining about how perfect he isn't anymore and the "heroine" whining about how unworthy she is of being treated like a human being. I have some sympathy for her as her upbringing was rather harsh, but I got over that real quick. I wasn't a fan of The Wild One either. Part of it is the writing style, as it's rushed and either anachronistic or trying too hard to emulate the period. The other part of it is that the wangst is so overdone.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles de Montforte is the second son of a duke and a captain in the King's army. Amy is a half-Indian patriot from the American colonies. When Charles is injured, Amy nurses him back to health. They develop feelings for each other during the recuperation. Charles is betrothed and he feels guilty over his growing feelings. Can Charles find his confidence he had before the injury? Is there hope for their growing love?

This is a Cinderella story. The major characters are well-rounded; even the secondary characters are fully developed. This is a delightful, easy read.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

This was a good second story to the first, although you did not need to read the first story to follow the plot. The hero is perfectionist, used to the acclaim of the community. He is rendered temporarily blind and is nursed back to health by the heroine. The experience makes him doubt his self worth and the most interesting parts of the book is his development of humility and confidence. The story has some different twists a nd turns and decent characters. An easy summer read

[Mary23nm · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is going to sound harsh, but I am sorry that I have read The Beloved One. I wanted to DNF this book many times, but did some skimming instead. The book started fine and was okay when the H/h were in America (except for an oddly long love scene in the barn, which was several pages long and added nothing to the story). I found most of the book tedious, verbose and predictable.

[i_hype_romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored this second chance romance set during the American Revolution!

Tropes: sickbed; stern brunch daddy with a stick you know where who finally lets go of his need to always be perfect; tortured hero; class difference

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

For as much as THE WILD ONE was filled with a mix of humor and drama, I found THE BELOVED ONE to be filled mostly with drama.

We finally get a chance to find out what happened to Charles and whit took him almost two years to get in touch with his family.

Charles' story starts off with the letter Charles wrote to his brother Lucien in which he asks his brother that in case he never comes back alive from the upcoming battle, to please take care of the woman he loves and their baby she is expecting.

Oh how I loved Charles! This man was perfection in itself! There was nothing he did wrong, and thinking ahead and planning for any and all circumstances was something he did best. He was a man of deep convictions, and true hero. The high expectations this man put on himself were very admirable, yet also very unrealistic in the overall scheme of things, and when he couldn’t reach them, the downfall was steep and very painful.

The author made a conscious decision to delve into Charles’ psyche and ultimately we were rewarded with a much more dramatic and much more serious tale.

As for our heroine, Amy Leighton, Ms. Harmon gave us as well as Charles, a young woman of no more than seventeen; a gentle but longsuffering daughter of a local pastor whose two other girls enjoyed tormenting and bullying a sister that did everything around the home.
Talk about Cinderella story! Those girls were by far, the most obnoxious creatures I’ve ever had the displeasure to meet in a book!

To watch our hero struggle and then accept his infirmity while Amy tries everything in her power to help him cope with it, and then see the friendship grow and ultimately love blossom, was a trip worth taking. I loved everything about this story, but watching this man’s acceptance of himself, his fate and coming to terms with his scattered feelings about Juliet and Amy, was brilliant writing!

The icing on this ‘cake’ of a story is the reappearance of the de Montforte family as they deal with the brother they all adored and admired for his cool, calm and composed manner. They are all vested in his well being, and to watch him come apart, wasn’t something they could idly stand by and watch, so all banded together to help him survive this battle he was having with himself.

I am very happy to give this highly emotional, sensual and very touching story my Five Quills. At this point, I am so much vested in these people that I can’t wait to read THE DEFIANT ONE and see in which direction the author shall take Andrew’s story. This is one family that will stay with me for some time to come and I hope you give them a chance.

Melanie for http://rcjrezine.com/ website

[Atunah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a 3.5

I love this setting, it starts in 1775 Boston area. I am always happy to find historical romance from this time. And I like when it combines the American setting with the English setting in one book. Everything was lush, the area, the people, the bits of battle we got.
The heroine is having a sort of Cinderella story. She is half native american and basically used as a servant by her two half sisters and father. When she meets the hero, he is seriously injured.

This story basically follows up after the first in the series where Charles is presumed dead. I loved the first one. Here I just had issues with Charles. He turned into a whiny boy feeling guilty about everything and just kind of immature. Considering his standing in the military, it was just a bit too much. And he doesn't really stop until the end either.
I was just wanting to throw him into a "Take That" music video at some point. Kneeling in the rain screaming "Why, Why, Why me".
Also annoying how easy it was for the horrible half sisters to deceive him and how he just believed the fake letters so easy.
He was wimpy.

Someone need to tell him to snap out of it. I guess that is what his older brother the Duke Lucien did back home in England. So thankfully even though I didn't like this hero very much, I really liked the other brothers and they saved the day.

Overall it was a very enjoyable read. Nice cast of characters and I am now very intrigued by Andrew, who's story is coming up in the next. The ending left me wondering.

The bombastic finish of this one was just grand and entertaining. I always love when historicals incorporate some sort of "contraption".

I am looking forward to Andrew's story and hope for more contraptions. :)

[Megzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I was eagerly anticipating this story after reading the cliffhanger in its prequel "The Wild One."

At the Battle of Concord, Lord Charles de Monforte (The Beloved One) was about to kill a minuteman when he realized his target was a mere boy. He jerked his pistol away, which caused him to lose his balance and crack his head against a bolder. Will Leighton, the young minuteman, exchanged Charles' clothing with a fellow minuteman's and took him back to his home in Newburyport. There, the doctor trepaned his skull. Charles regained consciousness just to discover that not only was he blind, but among the enemy. Amy, Will's half sister, allowed him to have independence - and when Charles received three rejection letters from his commander, his brother the Duke and Juliet, his pregnant fiancee, it was Amy who wouldn't let him give up. Amy, who was being treated worse than a slave by her father, two half sisters, and almost everyone in the village.

Ms. Harmon gives her characters distinctly different personalities. This book reminded me a lot of a Cinderella story, with the evil step sisters, fairy god Duke, etc. Danelle Harmon provides great insight into what life was like for mixed Native Americans in the colonies. My only big complaint was Charles' complete lack of feeling for his first born, Charlotte.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in the de Montforte brothers' series and is a somewhat solemn tale.

In this book we meet Charles, the golden child of the family who has never done wrong and never expected to. We meet him whilst he's in crisis, not only physically but also of spirit. All that he has depended on has been cruelly ripped away and he has to try and discover the man he knew within. Helping him to find his way (both literally and figuratively) is Amy Leighton. In her we have our Cinderella heroine complete with two wicked sisters.

There are barriers to these two finding their way romantically to each other, instead they become each others best friend. This comes to fruition when Charles, on advising Amy of his return to England, accedes to her demand to take her with him so that she can try to make a new and better life for herself as a lady's maid.

Enter our master manipulator - The Duke. In this tale you cheer for him and wish him success. Our Duke seeks to force Charles to face and deal with his attraction to Amy. Circumstances result in Charles regaining the man he thought lost.

All in all this is a more serious tale than I expected, especially the first half and especially if you have just finished The Wild One. However, it is a worthwhile read.

On to The Defiant One.

[Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish he stayed blind. Honestly, that would've hit home. If your going to go there, when it comes to tragedy, you can't just bounce him back to health just like that lol.( being struck in the head by his horse) I felt like everything was too good to be true when Amy went to England. That is where i felt she rushed things had them married off the bat because everyone wanted them to. Also, I felt like amy's character was just too lame, she had no voice. a caring one but too plain. i felt like she really had no personality. And for me, i felt like the only reason why Charles fell for her is because she nursed him to health. The author inputed in the books that at night she would read to him or have conversations that brought them more closer, but i want her to write those conversations. I want to see the connection and the chemistry between characters. I don't want to see them sympathizing each other because of self esteem issues. I'm not going to lie, their tragedies brought them together, but it shouldn't only be just that. I like that the fact that there was a moment when he felt her face. That was a sweet moment that I ever won't forget. Maybe I'm being to harsh. It wasn't a bad read. I just didn't like how cliche it was.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

So once again Lucien is portrayed as a manipulative bad guy for…buying a girl new clothes and throwing a ball? Again, pure melodramatic nonsense. But this is the story about back-from-the-dead Charles, The Beloved One, who seems to have gained his nickname by never EVER allowing himself to disappoint anyone by stepping from the straight-and-narrow. Except, far from home in the American colonies, he makes several missteps that end in a betrothal to a pregnant girlfriend, falling in love with Cinderella, getting snookered by the evil stepsisters because of prideful shame and harsh self-judgment, and a year-and-a-half walk through the wilderness as self-appointed atonement for a bizarre coupling with Cinderella after attempted suicide. Yada, yada, yada, Charles and Cinderella end up in England where Charles gets his groove back, and Lucien gets blamed for everything. There were so many carefully and lovingly crafted scenes in this book that I thoroughly enjoyed but the whole felt a little off kilter.

[Vikki Vaught · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading The Wild One, which is the first in this series, I wondered how the author was going to surpass it, so as I began to read I was a bit skeptical. Ms. Harmon more than met my high expectations with this one.

Lord Charles is a tormented soul through much of the story, and the depth of emotion this author showed for him was so moving. He's just one of the most romantic characters I've ever read about. This is truly a wonderful love story, but so much more.

Amy was such a sweet character, with all that she had gone through it's amazing that she was such a loving and kind character.

The time period for this book is the Georgian era, and Ms. Harmon painted a wonderful picture of this, from the clothing worn to the lifestyle of an aristocratic family.

This was such a joy to read. I found it extremely hard to put down, so it's a good thing I had the day off. I highly recommend this book, and I can't wait to read the next one in the series.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I so wanted to like this book because I loved the first book in the series. I didn’t. Charles was a whiny douche and Amy was just blah. If I had to listen to any more whining from either of them I was going to scream. I did like the location. Since I am from the same area the book takes place, I could picture it perfectly in my head having walked the same streets and especially when they were on the Merrimack river in Newburyport. Once they got on the boat for England I started to skim. I basically skimmed for any mention of characters from the previous book. I wanted to know how Charles, Juliette and Gareth would react. It made me like him even less. This was my least favorite book in the series.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember borrowing this series from my mother when it first came out, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this book at the library. It is as excellent as I remember it. (Although you'd never know if from the cover (!), Charles is an honorable hero, and Amy is a sympthetic heroine who gets caught in between the proverbial rock and hard place trying to help the hero. Watching their relationship unfold makes for a lovely romance.

[Danette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend this de Montforte series by Danelle Harmon!!! The series gives us 4 alpha males to drool over. I've been reading out of order (one more to go) and recommend they be read in order. Author connects the books and leaves you wanting to know what happens to the next brother and his story. If you like sexy alpha males then I recommend this series.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colonial lady and English officer

Loved the first book and this one brought back to life the brother thought to be dead. His survival at the hands of a colonial surgeon and our heroine was interesting and accurate. Looking forward to the next book.

[ROMANTIC HISTORICAL REVIEW BLOG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Vikki for Romantic historical lovers
http://romantichistoricallovers.wordp...

[Eileen Dandashi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to share this review comment because I totally, totally agree. If you haven’t read the de Montforte Series from Danelle Harmon you are in for a treat when you pick it up! I’m swept off my feet!!

Comment taken from Amazon reviews:
A DESERT ISLAND KEEPER! GRADE A! Practically perfect from start to finish, [it] keeps you on the edge of your seat as the plot twists and turns, and leaves you with a tear in your eye. A wounded hero to die for, a heroine to admire, and a wonderful cast of secondary characters. Who could ask for anything more? Harmon is a master at creating heroes that are handsome, brave, and loyal, but also flawed... You might as well buy them both [The Wild One and The Beloved One], barricade yourself into your home, and order a pizza. A book to treasure. If you love it as much as I did, you'll be glad that there are still two more de Montforte brothers. FIVE STARS!!" -- Blythe Barnhill, All About Romance

Title: The Beloved One
Author: Danelle Harmon
Genre: Historical Romance
Published By: Danelle Harmon, 2012
Story Setting: 1775-1776, Newbury Port, Massachusetts, Berkshire, England, Blackheath Castle
Pages: 384
ASIN: B00840YT00

About the Story: In this second installment of her breathtaking De Montforte Brothers series, critically acclaimed author Danelle Harmon introduces us to Englishman Lord Charles de Montforte, who awakens in the tender care of an American beauty after being wounded in battle. Amy Leighton has long wished for someone special to enter her life and take her away from a cruel, unloving step-family, but the handsome stranger is from an enemy land ... and he's sworn to love another. A 1775-era Cinderella story sure to enthrall!

Review: This my friends has it all and bound up so splendidly. Danelle Harmon tells a great story and I’m so pleased that I picked this series to read.

In her second book we learn what happened to Lord Charles as he goes off to Concord to crush the rebellion against England. Lord Charles de Montforte was everything a good office of the King’s Own should be. His family was proud of him, but were devastated when they heard of this death. Except Lord Charles hadn’t died, but was taken off the battle field by a young boy whom he had a chance to kill, but didn’t. The boy, Will is his name, saw in Lord Charles the enemy yes, but he saw courage and loyalty when he saw him run after one of his soldiers to try to protect him. He saw strength, honor, valor and compassion. He just couldn’t leave him on the field to die. After all Lord Charles didn’t shoot him, he saved his life.

Amy Leighton, half-sister to Mildred, Ophelia and Will Leighton, was treated very poorly by her two sisters and neglected by her step-father. She waited on her sisters, cleaned the house, did their mending and washing and was verbally abused all the time. Her mother had had an affair with an Indian and she was the result. Luckily, after her mother died, her step-father let her continue to live in his house. Will was the only person in the house who was kind to her. He was her younger brother. Amy felt that she should be treated this way. Who was she?

When Will came back to the house after running off to do battle with the English, with a man he said was his friend and was injured in the battle, they took him in and called for the doctor. Amy had never seen such a gorgeous man. Lord Charles was close to dying. The doctor immediately saw the problem. He had a concussion and blood was pooling under the skull. The only way to relieve it was to drill a small hole in his skull to drain the blood. She didn’t want to see the man die either and stoically helped him with the operation. I don’t want to spoil the story for you, so suffice it to say you will so enjoy this part of the story.

I enjoyed how the author put the story together; how she made me feel Lord Charles’s pain with his imperfections. She made me feel the emotion of his utter hopelessness when all his family seemingly had turned him away when he needed them most. He had totally lost his self-esteem and belief in himself. He was no longer The Beloved One.

The story begins with a letter and ends with another. I value the thought the author put into the crafting of such a wonderfully potent emotional story. I also relished being in on the secret that was kept from both Amy and Lord Charles—a plan that Lucien, the duke, cooked up to free his brother of the fear of no longer able to act and make proper decisions—no longer perfect.

I can’t begin to say how absorbing this story was. From beginning to end it kept me riveted to its pages. It was one of those books that if you have to stop to do something else, you get annoyed, because you positively have to get back to the story to find out what happens. I give it 10 thumbs up!

As much as I was eager to read book 2 of this series, I can’t wait to read book 3. Book 3 tells the story of Andrew, the youngest brother, otherwise known as The Defiant One. The Duke of Blackheath the elder brother to all the de Montforte brothers is a character who is more and more interesting as we watch him manipulate people’s lives without them even realizing it until it is too late. He’s devilish and quite brilliant at the same time. I know his story is coming. It’ll be a whopper. The greatest shall fall the hardest! That will be book 4.

Excerpt:
Discharging his musket and retreating behind a massive oak, Will reloaded, his hands shaking so badly that he spilled half his black powder down his leg. He rammed the ball and wadding home, his nerves shot as all around him yelling minutemen rap past, diving behind rocks and trees to aim and fire and reload once more. He brought his musket up again, just in time to see a wild-eyed young ensign break rank and sprint toward them from out of the drifting smoke, leaping a stone wall and yelling at the top of his lungs, “Come out and fight fairly you cowards, you damned rebel wretches! Show yourselves and do battle like brave men, not skulking Indians!”

“Gillard, get back!” shouted a redcoat captain, splendid in scarlet and white, the blue facings of his uniform proclaiming him to be one of the King’s Own – and sent his horse charging down on the runaway ensign at a full gallop.

Tom narrowed his eyes and raised his musket. “He’s mine, the son of a batch.”

And fired.

Will would remember it for the rest of his life: the deafening roar of Tom’s musket. Half the young ensign’s face going up in a fountain of blood. His body seeming to trip and somersault, rolling over and over in the just-greening grass before it slammed up against the granite wall that Will had just vacated.

“Got ‘im!” crowed Tom, thrusting his musket skyward a second before a ball sliced through his neck, instantly killing him.

Will had no time to react, for at that very moment the captain’s horse exploded out of the smoke, sailing over the stone wall like an apparition. Five feet from where the ensign lay screaming in agony, the captain pulled the animal up and leaped from the saddle. Ignoring the lead whining about him, he ran to the young soldier, lifted him in his arms and carried him back toward the fretting, wild-eyed horse.

Will stood transfixed. Never had he see such steely courage, such selfless devotion to a subordinate. The captain’s hawkish face was hard, his eyes the December-ice clarity of aquamarine, and as he turned his back on Will and gently hoisted the soldier up into the saddle, Will knew he was going to have to kill him.

He leaped out of hiding.

Fired.

And oh my God missed.

The captain turned his cool, level stare on will, one pale, arched brow lifting with the sort of surprised annoyance that any well-seasoned warrior might show a colonial bumpkin trying to irritate the finest army in the world. Will’s stomach flipped over. Nausea strangled his throat. Too terrified even to reload, he froze as the captain picked up his ensign’s musket and trained it dead-center on Will’s chest. The blue eyes, so competent, so self-assured, so very, very dangerous, narrowed a second before the redcoat would have blown him into eternity.

“Don’t shoot!” Will squeaked, and his voice cracked, revealing his age – or rather lack of it.

The captain realized Will’s youth at the same moment the weapon discharged and jerked the musket skyward, trying to deflect his fire. Flames roared from that long and terrible muzzle, shooting straight over Will’s head. The gun’s fierce kick, combined with the unnatural angle at which it had been fired, threw the officer off balance. As he stepped backward to regain it, his heel sank into a hollow in the soft April earth and he fell straight into the wall of granite, the musket flying from his hand and the back of his skull striking one sharp, lichen-caked boulder with an awful, thudding crack. For a moment, he seemed to gaze up at Will in astonishment as he lay there spread-eagled against the rocks; then the pale blue eyes lost focus and clouded over, their thick lashes coming down like a curtain on the last act as his head slid sideways, leaving a smear of blood on the boulder behind him.




Excerpt:
Her gaze lifted to Will’s—but he and Papa were already hoisting the fellow up onto the table. As they set him down, the lolling head fell back over will’s arm and revealed a face that took Amy’s breath away. Her hands flew over her mouth.

He was breathtakingly handsome.

Absolutely, positively, indisputably, beautiful.

Dr. Plummer, however, took no notice of the fact. “What happened to him?” he asked, bending over the man’s face, lifting one eyelid and peering into the sightless, rolled-back eyes.

Blue. Amy though, noting their extraordinarily clear color before Plummer let the eyelid slide shut once more Oh, God, don’t let him die—with those looks, he’ll make all the beautiful angels in heaven envious and there’ll be war up there all over again.

“He—he f-fell during the fighting and hit his head,” Will stammered.

“How?”

The boy shrugged, his gaze darting away. “Don’t know.”

“How long has he been out?”

“Since yesterday, when it happened.”

“Yesterday!?”

Will reddened. “Y-yes sir.”

“This man should’ve been seen to immediately! Why the devil didn’t you get him to a local doctor instead of lugging him all the way up here?”

For answer, the boy only swallowed and hung his head. He looked absolutely miserable.
Ophelia, however, had no pity for either her brother or his injured friend. “Really, Will, I don’t know what’s got into you, bringing him here when you should’ve just let him there to die. After all, American needs good, competent men defending her, not clumsy oafs who injure themselves at first opportunity.”

“Maybe he injured himself so he wouldn’t have to fight,” scoffed Mildred. “The coward.”

“He wasn’t a coward!” Will exploded “He was a fine man, with more courage than a dozen lions!”

Dr. Plummer impatiently motioned for them to be quiet, then laid his finger on the injured man’s wrist, feeling his pulse. He straightened up, frowning. “Well, he’s alive all right, but if I can save him I doubt he’ll be a-thankin’ me for it. Come, come, let’s turn him over so I can have a better look at the back of his head. What’s your friend’s name, anyhow?”

“Er, Adam. Adam Smith.”

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of The Wild One, finding out that Charles was still alive was a jolting shock. His fiance has already had his baby, moved to England, fallen in love with his brother, and gotten married to him! Largely because Charles was dead did all these things happen - the obvious exception being the baby, who was coming regardless. So how could Charles still be alive? What has he been doing all this time?



I was so excited to delve into this second installment of the de Montforte chronicles, and I was not disappointed.



To be frank, I largely did not care for Charles' character. He's pompous, arrogant, and just very rigid. At least, he was until he got injured! The injury left him blinded and totally dependent on those willing to put up with him. It was incredible to read through his character change, and the budding fondness between him and Amy. She, by the way, is one of my favorite characters. So sweet, kind, gentle, yet made of sterner stuff than even she realizes. It takes amazing strength of self to deal with everything she does and maintain an open and loving heart.



When Charles recovers and leaves America, my heart broke just reading it. By that point in the story, the reader is already so invested in each of the characters that what happens to them inspires an outward reaction. As Charles was leaving, I remembered how he started out, how callous, really, he was. Bitter. He'd already been willing to walk away from Amy without hardly a word. Would he do that this time? Would he really leave her behind in America with her horrid family who abuses her so sorely?



Thankfully, Amy spoke up and asked to be taken to England with him. And she does get to go! As much as happened in America after Charles was injured, that was truly only half of the story. The other half happened in England.



One thing I really appreciated was how everybody has such a dark opinion of Lucien, the Duke of Blackheath. He is such an intimidating person, so calculating and manipulative, and his siblings tend to have a fairly negative view of him. But Amy quite likes him! I just loved that.



This story was fabulous from start to finish. I really loved reading it, and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series! Harmon's writing style is incredible. Every character and every scene is so expertly drawn so that the reader is fully drawn in. I plan to eventually really everything she's written!


Read this and more of my reviews at:
www.memoirsofabookwyrm.com

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A grown up fairy tale story! Loved, Loved, Loved!!!! Another home run by author, Danelle Harmon!
Charles De Montforte is a British Officer in the American Revolutionary War. His secret fiancée and British family believe he has died in battle. ( We first learn of this in Book 1 of the "Wild One" where his secret fiancée and baby, believing he was dead, went to his family in England to claim the baby's birthright as Charles wished. Charles' brother Gareth and she fall in love and are married. Book 1 is their story.)
"The Beloved One" starts out with Charles heading to battle. He leaves a letter for his fiancée, Juliet, in case he doesn't make it back alive. From book 1 of the "Wild One" its believed that Charles did die. He indeed still lives but is very close to death. He fell and hit his head hard trying to save one of his men and also an enemy kid (Will Leighton). Will Leighton is so struck by this act of courage, that he changes Charles' clothes with that of a dead Patriot and brings him home where Charles' life is forever changed. When he regains consciousness he realizes he is blind and may never see again. He slowly regains his strength with the help of Will's sister, Amy Leighton. Amy is treated no more than an indentured servant in the house but still finds the time to care for Charles.
Now I recommend reading the story of Charles & Amy to find out what happens next!