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Regencies #8
A Comfortable Wife
Stephanie Laurens 4 books collection: A Comfortable Wife, A Lady Of Expectations, An Unwilling Conquest and The Reasons for Marriage
378 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
351 people are currently reading
997 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Laurens
206 books5,588 followersStephanie Laurens was born in Sri Lanka, which was at the time the British colony of Ceylon. When she was 5, her family moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she was raised. After continuing through school and earning a Ph.D. in Biochemistry in Australia, Stephanie and her husband moved to Great Britain, taking one of the last true overland journeys from Katmandu to London.
Once in London, Stephanie and her husband both began work as research scientists in Kent. They lived in an area surrounded by history. Their own cottage was built in the 16th century, while next door were the protected ruins of an early Roman villa, and nearby was a 14th century castle.
After four years in England, Stephanie and her husband returned to Australia, where she continued to work in cancer research, eventually heading her own research laboratory. One evening Stephanie realized that she did not have any more of her favorite romance novels to read. After years of thinking about writing her own novel, during nights and weekends for the next several months, she began crafting her own story. That manuscript, Tangled Reins, was the first of her books to be published. After achieving a level of success with her novels, Stephanie "retired" from scientific research and became a full-time novelist. Her novels are primarily historical romances set in the Regency time period.
Stephanie and her husband live on peaceful acreage on the outskirts of Melbourne. If she isn't writing, she's reading, and if she's not reading, she's tending her garden.
Once in London, Stephanie and her husband both began work as research scientists in Kent. They lived in an area surrounded by history. Their own cottage was built in the 16th century, while next door were the protected ruins of an early Roman villa, and nearby was a 14th century castle.
After four years in England, Stephanie and her husband returned to Australia, where she continued to work in cancer research, eventually heading her own research laboratory. One evening Stephanie realized that she did not have any more of her favorite romance novels to read. After years of thinking about writing her own novel, during nights and weekends for the next several months, she began crafting her own story. That manuscript, Tangled Reins, was the first of her books to be published. After achieving a level of success with her novels, Stephanie "retired" from scientific research and became a full-time novelist. Her novels are primarily historical romances set in the Regency time period.
Stephanie and her husband live on peaceful acreage on the outskirts of Melbourne. If she isn't writing, she's reading, and if she's not reading, she's tending her garden.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
October 18, 2014
To be totally honest, I had a real hard time finishing this one. It's not that it's irritating or badly written, but just sort of dull. In fact, I started it over a month ago and just finally got around to finishing it. The MC's are... Well, they're difficult to relate to. They're both so repressed and depressing. And dull. Antonia is not real likable because she doesn't really have much of a personality. There's also a certain redundancy to the writing that grated on my nerves. I swear, at least once every chapter Antonia was thinking, "Why expect anything different? He doesn't love you. Stop being ridiculous." Over and over again. It just wouldn't stop. Until the book finally ended, which I was looking forward to far too much.
January 7, 2013
This is a nice and gentle historical romance. In fact, 'nice' and 'gentle' are the operative words that best describe the story. Philip and Antonia are pleasant and gentle with each other and with the other characters. When the inevitable misunderstanding between the two occurs, they are civil and gentle in their interactions until such time as the conflict is resolved. The resolution itself occurs without any great dramatics. In fact, the carriage chase and the incident with the two coachmen at the inn, close to the end of the story, is probably the most dramatic part of the book. Although the previous comments may sound critical, they are not so intended. This book acted like a 'reading palate cleansing' after a steady diet of books filled with tension, angst, and non-stop action. A pleasant change. I'd recommend this book to anyone needing a similar change.
October 4, 2020
3,5 letto visto che avevo beccato il preorder gratis per sbaglio, una storiella senza infamia ne lode che si fa leggere, anche se divaga un po' con i personaggi secondari
February 15, 2015
Nice Couple, Story is Only Pedestrian
"Being Philip's wife was what she wanted to be, had always wanted to be, she had not come to Ruthven Manor seeking love."
THE STORY: Philip Marlowe, Baron Ruthven is thirty-four and knows that it is time to find a wife but hasn't seen any woman who seems suitable. Just at that juncture, Miss Antonia Mannering comes back into his life. Antonia is his stepmother's niece. They haven't seen one another for eight years because after Antonia's father's death, her mother withdrew from life and took her children with her. Now Antonia is back and has Philip in her sights. She has had a infatuation with Philip for years and although she isn't looking for love, Antonia believes that they will have a satisfactory marriage.
OPINION: I am conflicted about his book. I really liked the characters and I even liked the premise of two people who think to have a conventional ton marriage soon find themselves ensnared by love. What annoyed me about the book was that Antonia loses her mind when they enter society and she begins to believe that despite all their personal relationship that she needs to be distant. Worse, she never talks to Philip about her beliefs or concerns. I just found that annoying as the only reason for distance between the characters. Because that point was just repetitive, I lost interest in the ongoing story. Finally, when the characters begin to talk, the story brightened again and I became interested again.
WORTH MENTIONING: This story has no explicit sex scenes. There is one scene but it is very oblique.
FINAL DECISION: I was disappointed in this book because it had much promise with the characters and parts of the book were very compelling. However, I found that the story dragged and it diminished my interest.
CONNECTED BOOKS: A COMFORTABLE WIFE is a standalone book but the hero appeared in AN UNWILLING CONQUEST which is the third book of the Lester Family Saga. It is not necessary to read AN UNWILLING CONQUEST or its connected books.
STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.
"Being Philip's wife was what she wanted to be, had always wanted to be, she had not come to Ruthven Manor seeking love."
THE STORY: Philip Marlowe, Baron Ruthven is thirty-four and knows that it is time to find a wife but hasn't seen any woman who seems suitable. Just at that juncture, Miss Antonia Mannering comes back into his life. Antonia is his stepmother's niece. They haven't seen one another for eight years because after Antonia's father's death, her mother withdrew from life and took her children with her. Now Antonia is back and has Philip in her sights. She has had a infatuation with Philip for years and although she isn't looking for love, Antonia believes that they will have a satisfactory marriage.
OPINION: I am conflicted about his book. I really liked the characters and I even liked the premise of two people who think to have a conventional ton marriage soon find themselves ensnared by love. What annoyed me about the book was that Antonia loses her mind when they enter society and she begins to believe that despite all their personal relationship that she needs to be distant. Worse, she never talks to Philip about her beliefs or concerns. I just found that annoying as the only reason for distance between the characters. Because that point was just repetitive, I lost interest in the ongoing story. Finally, when the characters begin to talk, the story brightened again and I became interested again.
WORTH MENTIONING: This story has no explicit sex scenes. There is one scene but it is very oblique.
FINAL DECISION: I was disappointed in this book because it had much promise with the characters and parts of the book were very compelling. However, I found that the story dragged and it diminished my interest.
CONNECTED BOOKS: A COMFORTABLE WIFE is a standalone book but the hero appeared in AN UNWILLING CONQUEST which is the third book of the Lester Family Saga. It is not necessary to read AN UNWILLING CONQUEST or its connected books.
STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.
July 14, 2022
I was so disappointed with this book. I am an avid Georgette Heyer fan, and after reading reviews comparing Stephanie Laurens to her, I started reading A Comfortable Wife with great anticipation. Within a very short space of time it was apparent that Laurens is definitely not in the same league as Heyer. I found the characters and storyline lacking the finesse so evident in GH books. And whilst it wasn’t bad, I often found the characters and their dialogue awkward, fake and forced. I kept reading for a while hoping things would improve but they just became worse, and the story began to rely on sexual tension - which differs quite widely from romantic tension which is part and parcel of a good romance - to maintain the reader’s attention rather than high quality narrative. About a quarter of the way through I decided to stop wasting my time and ditched the book.
As an aside, I will say that I started reading Georgette Heyer as a teenager, along with other quality romances such as those by Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters. A Comfortable Wife, and I assume other books by Stephanie Laurens, is definitely not suitable for young teenagers.
As an aside, I will say that I started reading Georgette Heyer as a teenager, along with other quality romances such as those by Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters. A Comfortable Wife, and I assume other books by Stephanie Laurens, is definitely not suitable for young teenagers.
February 23, 2013
I was pleasantly surprised! I'm so used to Ms. Laurens' later work, which seems more explicit and which seems to rely heavily on thesauri to state and restate key (and some not so key) thoughts and moments. This story was tender (no sex 'til the end and even that was only alluded to - not graphically described and certainly not prolonged), and the male protagonist was not as high-handed as I'm used to from Ms. Laurens. The female protagonist likewise was no wallflower but wasn't so overly independent that I'd wonder why she found herself deigning to be with the hero at all.
May 13, 2022
I'm DNFing this halfway through. I AM SO BORED.
February 3, 2011
Normally, I enjoy Laurens books more. It was ok, not her best work.
July 11, 2022
My rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.
This book is well-written, because Stephanie Laurens is a talented writer. I've read a lot of her books, and have always enjoyed them, so I wanted to read this series, too. Since it is one of her earlier series, the sex scenes are not as descriptive or explicit as in her later books -- I liked that.
This book seemed a little slow at first, as the author spent a lot of time developing her characters and the plot. There was also a great deal of descriptive detail to wade through. It didn't bother me, but it did make the book long -- and some readers might not like that.
Philip was likable, and I liked that he had no problem taking in Antonia and her brother Geoffrey, even though they were only distant cousins of his stepmother. I liked, too, that he seemed kind and oh so very stable and sure of himself.
I liked Antonia, and liked that she had basically been a mother to her brother Geoffrey for years. She was young, but realized that their mother was simply not up to the job. It did bother me a bit that she just decided she would be a "comfortable" wife for Philip, but didn't bother discussing that with him. She had lots of ideas about what he needed in a wife, and was determined to just be that woman -- but most of her ideas about what he wanted were wrong. This caused problems for them after they agreed to marry.
My rating system is below.
1 star -- Hated it, or did not finish. I usually only give this rating if some of the content is truly objectionable to me, like if one of the main characters does something really awful, and gets away with it.
2 stars -- Didn't like it. This rating usually means that I thought the writing wasn't very good, the editing was terrible, I didn't like the characters, or it had other major flaws.
3 stars -- I liked it, but had some minor issues with it. This rating means that there were minor editing issues, the story needed more character development, it was just too unrealistic, or had some other fairly minor issue. The majority of books I read get this rating – I do not consider it a bad rating.
4 stars -- I liked it a lot. This is a high rating for me, and I rarely give a higher one.
5 stars -- I loved it, and will probably read it again. Very few books are good enough to get this rating from me. The ones that do are usually classics.
This book is well-written, because Stephanie Laurens is a talented writer. I've read a lot of her books, and have always enjoyed them, so I wanted to read this series, too. Since it is one of her earlier series, the sex scenes are not as descriptive or explicit as in her later books -- I liked that.
This book seemed a little slow at first, as the author spent a lot of time developing her characters and the plot. There was also a great deal of descriptive detail to wade through. It didn't bother me, but it did make the book long -- and some readers might not like that.
Philip was likable, and I liked that he had no problem taking in Antonia and her brother Geoffrey, even though they were only distant cousins of his stepmother. I liked, too, that he seemed kind and oh so very stable and sure of himself.
I liked Antonia, and liked that she had basically been a mother to her brother Geoffrey for years. She was young, but realized that their mother was simply not up to the job. It did bother me a bit that she just decided she would be a "comfortable" wife for Philip, but didn't bother discussing that with him. She had lots of ideas about what he needed in a wife, and was determined to just be that woman -- but most of her ideas about what he wanted were wrong. This caused problems for them after they agreed to marry.
My rating system is below.
1 star -- Hated it, or did not finish. I usually only give this rating if some of the content is truly objectionable to me, like if one of the main characters does something really awful, and gets away with it.
2 stars -- Didn't like it. This rating usually means that I thought the writing wasn't very good, the editing was terrible, I didn't like the characters, or it had other major flaws.
3 stars -- I liked it, but had some minor issues with it. This rating means that there were minor editing issues, the story needed more character development, it was just too unrealistic, or had some other fairly minor issue. The majority of books I read get this rating – I do not consider it a bad rating.
4 stars -- I liked it a lot. This is a high rating for me, and I rarely give a higher one.
5 stars -- I loved it, and will probably read it again. Very few books are good enough to get this rating from me. The ones that do are usually classics.
August 28, 2022
I'm not really sure how this is a Lester Family book since it's not about any member of the Lester family. They are mentioned because Phillip is friends with them, but that's it. It's not even about Hugo who was at least in one of the previous books. That being said this book was fine, not great but not bad. It was a friends to lovers with an age gap. Antonia is 24 and had decided it's time to get married. She has never made a debut because she has been in the country taking care of her mother and younger brother for the past 8 years, after her father's death. She has therefore not seen Phillip in 8 years, but now that her mother is dead and she is out of mourning she has returned to visit her aunt, who just so happens to be Phillip's step-mother. He was an adult by the time Henrietta married into his family so it's not weird. Antonia has decided that she is going to convince Phillip that she can run a household and therefore would be a good wife for him; they've been friends for years so it makes perfect sense. But then they start falling for each other. He is very stoic and she is desperately trying to be a good society wife so a lot of it was pretty boring. The best parts had one or the other or both of them interacting with her 16 year old brother Geoffery and the side story of trying to get Catronia out from the clutches of her dragon of an aunt. It was fine, but a little dull.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 31, 2021
I liked this, not loved it.
A massive plus was this was not centred around the MCs sleeping together, it instead focussed on the building relationship between them. I know that this was written many years ago but it was still an enjoyable read.
Philip is perhaps what you might call a quiet, conservative man. He is different to the other men in the series, being a gentleman through and through rather than a rake. This makes for a different story. He and Antonia decide fairly early on that they will marry, but for him, he'd be more comfortable with a mildly affectionate relationship because that's where he emotionally feels safe. The true conflict of the novel is about how they discover just how deeply they love each other.
I enjoyed the earlier part of the book where they weren't in London for the little season, because to be honest, I'm a bit sick of reading about how many balls they attend.
A massive plus was this was not centred around the MCs sleeping together, it instead focussed on the building relationship between them. I know that this was written many years ago but it was still an enjoyable read.
Philip is perhaps what you might call a quiet, conservative man. He is different to the other men in the series, being a gentleman through and through rather than a rake. This makes for a different story. He and Antonia decide fairly early on that they will marry, but for him, he'd be more comfortable with a mildly affectionate relationship because that's where he emotionally feels safe. The true conflict of the novel is about how they discover just how deeply they love each other.
I enjoyed the earlier part of the book where they weren't in London for the little season, because to be honest, I'm a bit sick of reading about how many balls they attend.
April 13, 2020
Disappointing story line with very little conflict between the characters to make their relationship exciting to read about. I almost gave up on it but managed to persevere. In saying that though, I liked the characters themselves and really enjoyed the ending. The description of life as part of the Ton during the "Little season", was enough to convince me that I would have hated it. One ball and I think I would have been done. Hats off to all the men and women who were forced to endure it to secure marriages. The alternatives to succeeding there for young women especially, would have been dire.
April 6, 2020
Don't understand what this book had to do with the Lester family, it was nothing to do with them at all. This book would be ok as a stand alone, if you are buying the Lester family books you don't need this to finish the saga off. There are 4 children in the Lester family, 3 of them are in the first 3 books with the 4th briefly mentioned so I don't know why book 4 was not about him rather than someone who was nothing to do with the Lester family at all.
July 19, 2021
Out Riding!
Absolutely adorable Victorian romance with good humour and wit from that Era.
The courtesy from that era is what should have continued to now adays, where we have lost that Art. So do like Stephanie as an Author and her style even though this story was written in 2013.
Absolutely adorable Victorian romance with good humour and wit from that Era.
The courtesy from that era is what should have continued to now adays, where we have lost that Art. So do like Stephanie as an Author and her style even though this story was written in 2013.
March 16, 2019
This book is fast paced, interesting, and fun. I enjoyed the heroine making our hero crazy time after time. The only thing I didn't like is being left wondering what happened to the two young people trying to out pace and out wit the two moms trying to force a marriage unwanted.
July 26, 2019
as the last gasp of the Lester duo, a very strong disappointment with Ruthven and Antonia
second plot distracting
First two lesters were a reread down the road, cannot say the same for this rather boring story
second plot distracting
First two lesters were a reread down the road, cannot say the same for this rather boring story
June 23, 2020
There's nothing wrong with this book or characters except for the dullness. This is the very first for me. Nothing stood out or was worth remembering to admonish or praise. This is not the author's best work. I mean it took me 6 months to finally finish the book.
July 23, 2022
Love this book.
Antonia does not want to become an old maid.
She and Phillip Ruthven have been childhood friends.
They agree to marry.
They never expected to fall in love.
But it happened. They find love with each other.
I love Stephanie's books.
Antonia does not want to become an old maid.
She and Phillip Ruthven have been childhood friends.
They agree to marry.
They never expected to fall in love.
But it happened. They find love with each other.
I love Stephanie's books.
June 6, 2023
Excellent!
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I have been a huge fan of Stephanie Laurens for years. Her books are always well written, with characters you really care about. Her writing never disappoints.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I have been a huge fan of Stephanie Laurens for years. Her books are always well written, with characters you really care about. Her writing never disappoints.
October 1, 2023
Good historical romance story. Excellent writing. The story flowed along and kept my interest throughout. Liked the characters and her descriptions of them really made them come to life. I of course like a happy ending and in this I was not disappointed.
March 14, 2024
Good, but rushed ending.
I thought this was a good book, though it had little plot. Honestly I got bored near the end and then it filly rushed the ending. It wasn’t as fun as I had hoped it would be.
I thought this was a good book, though it had little plot. Honestly I got bored near the end and then it filly rushed the ending. It wasn’t as fun as I had hoped it would be.
July 27, 2024
this book started good but sadly it did go down hill. at one point i just wanted to scream. luckly this was in the last 3 chapters and so i was able to keep reading get this book out of the way.
this is the last book in the series and i am really happy it is all over.
this is the last book in the series and i am really happy it is all over.
October 5, 2025
The heroine seems to be in danger of hyperventilating throughout most of this book. The hero seems unlikely to have any brows left given how much he has raised them. A poor copy of the wit and clever stories of Heyer. Read if you are too tired to think properly.
December 11, 2017
I had read this before! But it's just as good the 2nd time through :-)
November 8, 2017
I enjoyed all the twists and turns of this story and would recommend this book to anyone who really enjoys a romance and a little mystery. ENJOY......
February 7, 2018
Qi love all Stephanie Lauren's books...
June 24, 2018
A comfortable read. The MCs or the story is not very memorable. It is like a small stream flowing somewhere...
September 30, 2018
Easy read!
March 29, 2019
Once again I liked this book,comfortable story line,easy on the brain and enjoyable reading😊
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews