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Vanity

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As the stranger’s arms closed around her, Octavia Morgan knew she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life. Picking pockets had seemed the only answer to her desperate plight. But now she’d been caught, and there was worse to come. For the dangerously attractive man she’d robbed was no common mark, but the most notorious highwayman in England. Haunted by his past and hungry for revenge, Lord Nick didn’t take kindly to being fleeced, especially by a ravishing thief with a deceptive air of innocence . . . until he realized that this reckless beauty could be the key to his long-sought vengeance. All he had to do was seduce her. All he had to do was ensnare her. All he had to do was enflame her . . . without letting this artful little pickpocket steal his heart.

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1995

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334 people want to read

About the author

Jane Feather

170 books628 followers
Jane Feather (born Jane Robotham) is a popular British–American writer of historical romance novels. In 1984 she wrote five contemporary romances under the pseudonym Claudia Bishop. She is a New York Times-bestselling, award–winning writer, and has more than ten million romance novels in print.

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5 stars
99 (22%)
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145 (32%)
3 stars
137 (30%)
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55 (12%)
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13 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Elle.
379 reviews
May 29, 2012
The story starts with three boys arguing over whose turn it is to fly a kite. One falls (perhaps not accidentally) and dies. He was the heir, and of the other two, twins, Collum is the eldest. But Phillip, the family's golden boy, accuses him.

Years later, highwayman Lord Nick is caught in the crowd as two of his merry men are hanged. He feels a flutter at his pocket, and sure enough, his pocket watch is gone. As the cries of "thief" go up, the beautiful Madonna next to him swoons. Nick isn't fooled, but he carries her out of the crowd, then proceeds to abduct her back to his hangout for some recompense. As he sees her gentle manners, an idea begins to form.

Octavia Morgan was and is a gentlewoman, only her father was defrauded of his wealth and even their home, and now has sunk into his own world. To keep coal in the stove and food in the oven, she does what she must--short of whoring.

Nick might be forgiven at first for his assumption that a woman who is a pickpocket is probably also a lightskirt, though his own circumstances ought to inform him that appearances can deceive. Regardless, he learns the truth quickly, when Octavia flatly tells him she's a virgin and that she refuses to whore.

So what's a guy to do, especially when his plan depends on this woman being a whore? Well, the hero of a bodice ripper, might seduce her anyway. Might even be a little pushy until her passions get the best of her, but ultimately she will be a full partner in her own deflowering.

What Nick does is entirely different, and from that point on, I hated his sniveling guts. Occasionally we would glimpse a hint of regret, and when the crows come home to roost, to her credit, Octavia doesn't just shrug it off. By that point she does love him (God knows why--his plan for her is as offensive as the way he kicks it off), but when she finally learns the truth (and she's pretty dumb not to have known it from the start), she's outraged, as she ought to be. By then, though, she had plenty more to be outraged for--when he proposed his plan, she should have spat in his face, but instead she agreed without hesitation (pretty amazing for a woman who doesn't want to whore). As you can tell I had a hard time feeling the love story part of this.

There's also a huge logic issue: The plan itself is this: Octavia, who is not to know the real name, the motive, or anything else of any import about the man she's shagging out of wedlock, is to pose as Nick's a/k/a "Rupert Warwick's" wife in court and ingratiate herself to Prince George and his courtiers, including Phillip, who presents himself as the Earl of Wyndham. She's to use her nimble fingers to obtain a tiny ring that Phillip carries on his person at all times. Some things ought to become obvious when "Nick/Rupert" pulls out the ring's twin, which he also carries, but of course she pretty much has to be hit on the head with a brick before she grasps the obvious. "Nick/Rupert" makes clear that if she has to seduce Phillip, whom he knows to be cruel to women (tho he somehow promises to keep her safe--dunno how he's expecting to do that since he can't be in the room with them when the seduction goes on). In exchange, "Nick/Rupert" agrees to avenge Octavia's father and restore their fortunes so everything can be as it should have been. At that point they will part ways.

It occurs to no one that when all this stuff is over and they part ways, Octavia will be exposed to all England as a whore who posed falsely as "Rupert's" wife and was even presented to the prince as such. She's facing a lifetime of being shunned and cast off, while "Rupe" stands to inherit an earldom. Happy endings all around!

And then there's the final fix that the hero gets himself into. It seems to me there's an obvious way he could get himself out of it, Anyway, nobody thought of that either, but OK.

The ending is predictable, fairly satisfying (if, after all is said and done, you really like the two of them together. I admit I kinda did. I figured this way they wouldn't inflict themselves on anyone else with half a brain and a penny's worth of chivalry). And I'll give the story this; Feather does write extremely well, so despite the inner arguments I had through the story with the characters and situations, I still wanted to find out what happened and I still wanted them to "win."

As always, Feather tucks away some good historical information in the story, which I always enjoy. In this case it's the Gordon riots, in which an anti-Catholic mob rioted and looted London, which plays out at a key point in the story, to good effect.
Profile Image for Emiliya Bozhilova.
1,912 reviews381 followers
November 8, 2021
Баба Джейн не разочарова. И този път влюбените и гълъбчета в Лондон от края на 18-ти век са странни птици: разбойник по пътищата с финансов размах и улична крадла. И, о радост - никой от тях не е херцог/ наследница! Естествено, всеки е с мотивите си. Докато разбойникът решава, че крадлата ще му свърши добра работа с мслко “правилна” мотивация, за му помогне да се докопа до дълго чаканото си отмъщение. И с това, както и с целия си план за отмъщение, междувременно едва не прецаква живота и на двамата. Следва театър из висшето общество и гастрол из кралския двор, с последвал отрезвяващо-просветляващ престой в килия в затвора Нюгейт, в очакване на бесилката. И щастлив край, разбира се.

Хубавото на баба Джейн е, че е метнала сантименталностите и съвременната странна политкоректност зад оградата, което прави цялата история супер приятна за четене. В крайна сметка, романтиката не търпи сантименталности, а политкоректност в живота не съществува.

⭐️3,5 звезди⭐️
Profile Image for Ana.
889 reviews40 followers
June 13, 2022
This book pushes certain boundaries that will make the reader feel uncomfortable. The story is captivating and I was on tenterhooks reading it until the end. Immensely satisfying. I give this one 4 stars.
Profile Image for Grace Kelley.
23 reviews4 followers
August 17, 2016
Umm, is anyone forgetting that he practically drugs her and rapes her for this romance to get going? The "oh I used a condom" bullshit aside I was upset to read that he practically took her virginity while she was drugged and asleep in his room. Octavia should have stayed in the chair. Rape starting this relationship, no one forget that.

The beginning chapters were the most upsetting ones. First she's kidnapped by that freak, taken against her will to his little hideaway, made to suffer, and he doesn't have the decency to let her get away after that. I doubt Octavia would have frozen to death with the hurt and anger pushing her through the cold. I know that if I could have jumped into her skin, that would be one thing I would do over. I would have turned, kicked him in his shriveled maggot encrusted balls, and ran. I wouldn't stop until I saw a horse or some animal I could ride to the town, gone home and yelled at the dad to get off his butt and work so I wouldn't have to pick pockets anymore.

If I had creative control of the rest of the story, then this is how it would end. A handsome young constable named George would come to Octavia's house with her mittens and stuff, tell her he arrested both Nick (and Phillip because I hate abusive douchebags) and court her reasonably before marrying her, allowing her to live comfortably with him and however many children they would have.

The End.
Profile Image for Rema.
452 reviews24 followers
March 18, 2016
I just didn't like this. At all. Especially after it was undoubtedly confirmed that Cullum raped Olivia. It was just too hard to digest after that. He disgusted me.

The characters were all just so awful and lacking in every respect. I'd read Valentine before this and I just kept comparing Theo and Sylvester with the characters here, and Olivia and Cullum were hopelessly lacking in the magnetic appeal and charm of the former pair.

Octavia is horrifyingly stupid. Or maybe stupidly oblivious. She agrees to an ill-thought out plan, without knowing ANYTHING about said plan (not even the identity of the guy she's sleeping with), in exchange for revenge-oh and a grab back at her old life. Nick/Rupert/Cullum never reveals who he is to Octavia because of an insanely idiotic reason. He thought she might give away the entire plan if she were informed of anything relevant. It was a pitiful excuse, especially since ANYONE could have figured it out. But of course not dear Octavia. She's just too oblivious for that. She has to be told everything to understand it. She's not at all clever or intelligent, which is disappointingly surprising given that she's a pickpocket. You'd think she'd have to brain cells to rub together, especially since she's survived on the streets for 3 years. I'd think anyone would have picked up SOMETHING while picking pockets in shady neighborhoods.

I just really can't believe how Octavia could have missed all the signs warning her away from Nick. He's not a good guy. He raped a girl by drugging her, making her think she wanted it, and barbarically tying her to himself because of their "shared" night of passion. He believes that Octavia won't be able to stay away from him after their "magical" night together. Surprise of all surprises, he's right. I hate characters that are so blinded by lust that they agree to the most stupidest of things.

*My mistake, her name is Octavia.
Profile Image for Lisa.
880 reviews16 followers
July 13, 2014
Throughout this whole book I would get mad, sad and annoyed with the characters. I thought that she needed to be with someone better because Lord Nick was an asshole but than he would do something really nice to her and than I would get so happy because he was doing the right thing. The ending of the book was a little different than what I was expecting to happen but it did happen the way Lord Nick wanted it to happen so that he could get what he wanted in the end. Octavia was a little annoying with her jealousies ness I thought just get over it and you will feel better but I didn't know how she felt so I couldn't assume that she was just being needy because you can't view it the whole way from her point of view.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
26 reviews
September 27, 2020
Vanity by Jane Feather

My very favorite author has done it again! I love this story. It is another triumph of love over hate. But Feather does it with panache. Vivid descriptions, historical facts and, best of all, great love, passion and emotional highs and lows! It is basically a riveting story of twin brothers at war to claim their title and estate. There are a lot of surprises too!
Vanity is a true love story between two lovable passionate outlaws who take a journey into deep love together. Steamy passion scenes mark Jane Feather’s great talent to sweep her readers away!
You will love this book!
542 reviews1 follower
September 21, 2022
I did not like this particularly, because of the many things that were no really satisfying

- the story was too long, it dragged on and on
- the two main characters were not very smart, in my opinion, as the story unfolded there could have been other endings to it, but because of the wrong decisions and helpless stupidity of their behavior, the turns the story took just were ridiculous.
- the beginning of the main characters‘ relationship was rather unsavory (HE forced himself on HER after drugging her to make her more amenable to his plans)
- I especially do not like this time era (England during the reign of George III) everyone seems so superficial and only interested in having sex with everyone else.

Profile Image for myreadiary.
34 reviews
September 22, 2021
Vanity by Jane Feather

I like how the author maintains the Female lead her personality and spunks from the streets and to play roles in different drawing rooms they invited to.

I learn a lot from this book from beauty patches and against discrimination to Catholicism - totally research it while reading. I love it. And Oh! I didn't know condoms exist in that era. 🤔.

A great chilling vibe for obsessions to the opposite sex is a must to trick your brain to getaway out from it.

Not so much action in the middle of the story but developments steams for both main leads hehe. I like it. Mutual understanding is the key.
Profile Image for Jo.
610 reviews2 followers
June 19, 2024
I don't find myself attached to any characters of this book even though Cullum/Rupert/Nick was quite interesting as he led double life. Octavia's character was half cooked and her revenge seemed insignificant as we, the readers, were not shown the end of it. The revenge itself was too easy, without any hassle, unlike Rupert's revenge, although Philip as the villain was not too bright and didn't put out too much fight.
I still like Ms. Feather's dark portray to her stories, at least the V series, and it drawn me to read more installment of the series. My favorite so far were Vice and Violet
Profile Image for Twila Leininger.
1,369 reviews1 follower
March 28, 2023
Wild

I found this historical romance novel to be wild and fun. I enjoyed watching Warwick and Octavia fall in love. They had interesting lives as a Highway man and a pick pocket but yet were aristocrats.
Profile Image for Adriana.
696 reviews135 followers
August 5, 2016
Vanity by Jane Feather

I’ve read this complete series and enjoyed it. If you’re interested in historical romance Ms. Feather is the go to author.

The description of the book I am listing below is from the back jacket of the book. I'm adding it because I believe the one on the Goodreads page does not depict this story.

As the stranger's arms closed around her, Octavia Morgan knew she'd just made the biggest mistake of her life. Picking pockets had seemed the only answer to her desperate plight. But now she'd been caught, and there was worse to come. For the dangerously attractive man she'd robbed was no common mark, but the most notorious highwayman in England. Haunted by his past and hungry for revenge, Lord Nick didn't take kindly to being fleeced, especially by a ravishing thief with a deceptive air of innocence...until he realized that this reckless beauty could be the key to his long-sought vengeance. All he had to do was enflame her...without letting this artful little pickpocket steal his heart.
Profile Image for Andrea.
500 reviews
October 14, 2012
mind candy! the magic of escape Reread after many years.

Jane Feather sets this book in 1762, during the reign of George III (the Hanovarian line of the British monarchs). During a few of the V novels (titles all begin with a V) Feather addresses social issues of the times that do not allow members of the lower classes redress for violence done to people or property.

Octavia Morgan supports herself and her aging father by her adventures as a pick-pocket. However at the hanging of two highwayment, she is caught by the notorious Lord Nick. Lord Nick takes Octavia to a country inn due to the storm which had arisen during the day, warms her up, feeds her, and then seduces her. (WE know that of course the hero will take care of the heroine in the end). When he takes her to her home, he finds that she and her father live very meanly as the father was cheated of their home by two sharps.

Nick himself has been cheated of his birthright by his youngest brother and seeing the difficult life that the heroine lives, fashions plans to redress both of their reduced circumstances.
153 reviews33 followers
January 15, 2023
I read this when I was in high school. I remember liking it and reading it several times during that time period before I finally moved on. I have since wanted to re-read it and see if I still liked, but I could not remember the name of the book. Then I read the author's name somewhere and a light bulb went off. So, I was excited to read this again and see if it was as I remembered. One thing that struck me today that I did not think much about back then, and as other reviewers have mentioned, the book begins with the hero drugging and raping the heroine. I can't imagine reading a scene like that in today's romance novels. Or, at least, not a scene where it is being perpetrated by the hero. I guess back then it was OK...because he's remorseful! Suspending my discomfiture over that, I did enjoy the rest of the book. As much as I did in high school? Well, no. I guess I've been exposed to a lot more and better books since then. This is fun to read in a nostalgic sort of way, but I don't think I'll be reading it again.
328 reviews3 followers
January 8, 2016
Octavia is a young woman used to a certain standard of life. When her father loses the family fortune and sinks into a deep depression, she does what she must to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. In this case, she becomes a pick-pocket. Unfortunately, she picks the pocket of a notorious highwayman, and he is determined to make her pay. He himself has a secret past, and he is determined to seek retribution for crimes against him. Octavia may be just the partner he needs to gain his revenge.

I enjoyed the historical aspects of this book. While not my favorite period, it was well researched, blending fact with fiction in an interesting manner. However, some of the plot points were a bit extreme for my taste (drugging and rape), and I didn't really feel the attraction between Nick/Rupert and Olivia until much later in the book. Overall, interesting but not a must-read.
Profile Image for Monique Takens.
649 reviews14 followers
January 25, 2015
Niet het meest romantische boek wat ik ooit gelezen heb , maar de langzaam groeiende liefde en de innerlijke strijd van de hoofdpersonen + de erotische en spannende scenes maken dit boek ondanks het slechte begin zeer de moeite waard .

Not the most romantic book I have ever read , but the slowly groing love and the inner struggle of the H and h + the erotic and tense scene's make this book even though the beginning is nasty a worthy read .

Profile Image for Mystikfire.
4 reviews2 followers
March 6, 2013
This story actually had me holding back many tears, it was catching and well written with the perfect suspense of characters. It was neither too fast or slow and well paced for a beautiful romantic read!
97 reviews
June 17, 2015
Reminded me of why I liked Jane Feather's books in the first place.
44 reviews
November 4, 2016
I like it, maybe not perfect but I enjoyed this book. I need more books translated into polish language! :D Petition !
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