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Guilty #3
The Marriage Bed (The Guilty Series)
MP3 CD Format Everyone in society knows that the marriage of Lord and Lady Hammond is an unhappy one. Everyone knows they have barely spoken to one another in over nine years. But what no one in society knows are the reasons why . . .
Lady Viola Courtland was a romantic and impulsive young girl when she fell instantly in love with the handsome and dashing Viscount Hammond. Unbeknownst to Viola, John Hammond had already given his heart to the only woman he would ever love—his cousin's wife—but he was in dire financial straits and desperately needed to marry a wealthy heiress. In Viola, he thought he had found the perfect woman—beautiful and rich with a sweet nature. But Viola was neither practical nor sensible when it came to marriage, for she fully expected her husband to love her and was determined to settle for nothing less. Soon, however, John's secret was unwittingly revealed, but by then they were married and it was too late. Until one day, John finally came to his senses and prayed it wasn't too late to win back the love of his very own wife.
Lady Viola Courtland was a romantic and impulsive young girl when she fell instantly in love with the handsome and dashing Viscount Hammond. Unbeknownst to Viola, John Hammond had already given his heart to the only woman he would ever love—his cousin's wife—but he was in dire financial straits and desperately needed to marry a wealthy heiress. In Viola, he thought he had found the perfect woman—beautiful and rich with a sweet nature. But Viola was neither practical nor sensible when it came to marriage, for she fully expected her husband to love her and was determined to settle for nothing less. Soon, however, John's secret was unwittingly revealed, but by then they were married and it was too late. Until one day, John finally came to his senses and prayed it wasn't too late to win back the love of his very own wife.
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First published June 1, 2005
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About the author
Laura Lee Guhrke
39 books1,812 followersFrom the publication of her very first historical romance, Laura Lee Guhrke has received numerous honors and critical acclaim for her novels and her writing style. She has been honored with the most prestigious award of romance fiction, the Romance Writers of America Rita Award, and she has received additional awards from Romantic Times and All About Romance. Romantic Times has proclaimed her, “One of the most natural voices in historical romance to be found today”. Her books routinely hit the USA Today Bestseller List, and Guilty Pleasures has been honored with the Romantic Times Award for Best European Historical Romance of 2004. Among her publishing credits are twelve historical romances, including her latest, And Then He Kissed Her, now available from Avon Books.
Laura is currently hard at work on her thirteenth historical romance for Avon Books. She has also written articles for various publications, including the Romance Writers Report, The British Weekly , and the Irish-American Press.
Laura is currently hard at work on her thirteenth historical romance for Avon Books. She has also written articles for various publications, including the Romance Writers Report, The British Weekly , and the Irish-American Press.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 486 reviews
October 3, 2015
One month. One month. ONE fucking MONTH.
But, of course, he's the victim -- having to put up with her tears and having to sleep alone and all.
So, she finds out that the entire time he was courting and kissing her, the entire time he was telling her he loved and adored her...he'd been lying. She finds out he married her not because he loved her, even after having told her so, but because he's a gold digger and wanted her money. Despite his strained financial circumstances, however, he was able to afford a mistress and kept her and slept with her during their entire courtship, up until the very day they married. Then, after they married, he bought her kiss-off jewellery with the money his wife had brought into the marriage.
She's reasonably upset, of course, that she'd been deceived and used. She's upset that every single day that he kissed her and told her he loved her, he was going to another woman's bed. She's upset and doesn't want to be touched by that lying, deceiving gold-digger.
And he only sticks around for one month.
He sticks around for one month before packing his things and leaving without a word. He walks away and proceeds to hire mistresses on his wife's dime for the next eight years. He humiliates her for nearly a decade because these are the same women she has to see and associate with in society, deal with some of their sly or loving looks, knowing that he, the man that she loves, has been in their beds.
She asks if he can promise fidelity. He says he doesn't know. Why? Because he doesn't know if she'll once again turn him out. He can't promise her fidelity because he can't trust her not to turn him out, forcing him to seek pleasure elsewhere and, thus, make a liar of him. He tells her if she denies him, he'll seek a mistress. It's just that simple.
Of course he does. But of course she's the shrew. She's the frigid bitch who forced him to seek other women because she'd denied him his husbandly rights. He had to seek comfort with other women and console himself with them and it's his wife's fault. They didn't mean a thing though. Of course they didn't.
He walked away after one month. He couldn't keep it in his pants for more than one fucking month and he called her reluctance to be touched by him, upon discovering his duplicity, sexual fucking blackmail? She's the one that's had to deal with years of his infidelity...and he's the one that can't trust her?
And now he's returned..not because he feels bad for what he did and is of a mind to reconcile for selfless reasons. Oh, no no...he's still justifying that. Nope. His cousin, and heir, just died, you see, and he is now in need of an heir! And he, and others, feel she just needs to get over it and forgive and forget because their rift is both their faults ("His fault and hers, he thought") because she was an "ice queen" to him. His words, not mine, by the way -- he calls her that on more than one occasion, and to her face, at that.
So his fidelity depends on her? He can't promise that he won't stray because it depends on her and if she'll turn into an "unforgiving ice queen" and all. She has to make it "worth his while" to remain faithful?
He can go fuck himself.
Her tears and hurt had been met with no understanding, only his biting, sarcastic wit. Her closed bedroom door had not made him realize the error of his ways. There had been no admission of guilt, no words of love, and no apologies. Instead, he waited a month for her to relent, and when she hadn't, he walked out on her without a second thought.
But, of course, he's the victim -- having to put up with her tears and having to sleep alone and all.
"I waited a month, sleeping alone, being driven mad by the fact that you were in the next room and wouldn't let me sleep with you. You wouldn't relent. You just cried a lot."
So, she finds out that the entire time he was courting and kissing her, the entire time he was telling her he loved and adored her...he'd been lying. She finds out he married her not because he loved her, even after having told her so, but because he's a gold digger and wanted her money. Despite his strained financial circumstances, however, he was able to afford a mistress and kept her and slept with her during their entire courtship, up until the very day they married. Then, after they married, he bought her kiss-off jewellery with the money his wife had brought into the marriage.
She's reasonably upset, of course, that she'd been deceived and used. She's upset that every single day that he kissed her and told her he loved her, he was going to another woman's bed. She's upset and doesn't want to be touched by that lying, deceiving gold-digger.
And he only sticks around for one month.
"You left without a word. You just packed your things and took off. No good-bye, no note!"
He sticks around for one month before packing his things and leaving without a word. He walks away and proceeds to hire mistresses on his wife's dime for the next eight years. He humiliates her for nearly a decade because these are the same women she has to see and associate with in society, deal with some of their sly or loving looks, knowing that he, the man that she loves, has been in their beds.
She asks if he can promise fidelity. He says he doesn't know. Why? Because he doesn't know if she'll once again turn him out. He can't promise her fidelity because he can't trust her not to turn him out, forcing him to seek pleasure elsewhere and, thus, make a liar of him. He tells her if she denies him, he'll seek a mistress. It's just that simple.
"Are you going to turn me out of bed? Because if you are, I will eventually go get a mistress. It is that simple."
Of course he does. But of course she's the shrew. She's the frigid bitch who forced him to seek other women because she'd denied him his husbandly rights. He had to seek comfort with other women and console himself with them and it's his wife's fault. They didn't mean a thing though. Of course they didn't.
He walked away after one month. He couldn't keep it in his pants for more than one fucking month and he called her reluctance to be touched by him, upon discovering his duplicity, sexual fucking blackmail? She's the one that's had to deal with years of his infidelity...and he's the one that can't trust her?
She said she could not trust him. He hadn't pointed out that trust went both ways and so did the ability to inflict hurt. He could have promised Viola that he would never go to any woman's bed but hers, but he wasn't going to make that promise unless he could trust her not to spurn him when she was angry. He would not be the victim of any woman's sexual blackmail, and that was what she had done to him, even if she could not see it. How could they ever get past that?
And now he's returned..not because he feels bad for what he did and is of a mind to reconcile for selfless reasons. Oh, no no...he's still justifying that. Nope. His cousin, and heir, just died, you see, and he is now in need of an heir! And he, and others, feel she just needs to get over it and forgive and forget because their rift is both their faults ("His fault and hers, he thought") because she was an "ice queen" to him. His words, not mine, by the way -- he calls her that on more than one occasion, and to her face, at that.
Viola: "If I came back to you, and I were a faithful wife who gave you children, would you be a faithful husband to me?"
John: "I don't know."
Viola: "You don't know? What sort of answer is that?"
John: "An honest one! I told you, that is a no-win question for a man. No matter what I answered, it wouldn't satisfy you. Would I do my best to be a faithful husband? Yes. Would I succeed? Again, that depends on you. Can you be a good wife to me? Can you be a loving, affectionate companion? Can I rely on you not to dissolve into tears and shut your bedroom door to me? Can I rely on you not to turn into the unforgiving ice queen when things don't go your way?"
Viola: "That is a cruel thing to say."
John: "You wanted the truth."
Viola: "For heaven's sake!" She jumped to her feet, truly angry now. "You talk as if I am being unreasonable. It is not unreasonable for a woman to expect her husband to be faithful!"
John: He also stood up. "Nor is it unreasonable for a man to expect his wife to make fidelity worth his while!"
So his fidelity depends on her? He can't promise that he won't stray because it depends on her and if she'll turn into an "unforgiving ice queen" and all. She has to make it "worth his while" to remain faithful?
He can go fuck himself.
avoid
July 4, 2011This was a badly written book.
So,eeew to the cheating.
But to be frank? It did not bother me as much as it should.
On the other hand, there are times when fiction crosses the lines and becomes pure fantasy. How? We can have unreasonable and we can have pure imposible.
This book had a lot of the impossible. Also, when I finished it, I was more confused then while reading it, because it seem that nothing was really resolved and the feelings of the characters never got to me. I never understood them and the author told me that in the end, they found love. I didn’t see it.
But maybe its just me…still these are the important things:
-The woman
I know people did not stigmatize with her because she let him leave. I can say she was silly, but on the other hand-she was young. He was the one that just left after she didn’t change her mind. I know that some readers ranted about her being stupid because she did not know that some jewelry was the currency of barking a contract with a mistress. Who cares? If she is like me, or any woman out there, I think the thing that would have flabbergast her was the fact that he had a mistress up till the last moment. Right up till going in to a church. He was having sex with somebody while he told her nice things and courted her. And that, my dear friends, is a big no-no in my book. Not the stupid jewelry. Oh and the talk about his needs and all? Not good. The author wanted me to see that both of them were to blame but I still never could see it. I saw a young girl that had her happiness taken away and I saw people telling her she was to blame. And she took it. She doubted herself. She took him back. Kid and all. And that was just plain wrong. I know he was a charmer and I know she loved him but there are a lot of men in the world and it seem such a waist for Viola to give herself to this loser.
-The man
I wanted to say he was a jerk. He was. And a cheater. Because he was that also. There are alfa heroes out there that are the same. But my biggest problem with this hero was that he was so boring. Yes, boring! It seems everybody saw him as a charmer because he was nice looking and had a few jokes up his sleeve. But to me ,he was plain dull. I read about him, read what he was thinking and all the time a small frown marred my face because I would never love him. And it seem all these good women did. They just did. And why? Because he was easy with a few banal affections? Because he smiled nicely? I call them stupid. I call them shallower then him. I call them wrong, because they never loved him, they loved the image of what he could be to them. Now, if this was a well written story then the hero would have some depth that only the heroine could see. He didn’t. He simply had no inner layer. He was what he was. A easy going average person that liked fucking. And maybe some other things. I was never told. Because he what he mostly did was nothing.
His statements about how he never loved his wife made me want to slap him. On the other hand his revelation that he needed her and only her in the end was so fast and..ok, never mind that the author seemed to finish it all in 5 sentences. Look at it like this.-did he love her then? Was that what she was trying to tell us readers? That he simply did not understand? Maybe. I never saw it. But there was something in the scene where he talked to his ex mistress that just saddled him with a child. She looked at him and he knew she wished he was not married. And to tell you the truth I never felt that he would not marry her if Viola did attain a divorce. Because this is how I saw him. As a person going with the flow. Not as a person in love with Viola.
-The babies
His son. Oh, yes, his son. Or as I liked to call it he plot device of hell. I was made to read that ‘Do you have illegitimate children’ conversation over and over again and him always telling her ‘no,no,what do you think of me, sheesh I was careful’. But when he told her French letters were not always efficient a little warning bell rang in my head. When the mountains of letters from his ex came I saw it coming like a big avalanche of snow and I could not do a thing about it. He had a kid! Oh no! How? Just how? This is the thing that most made the line between fiction and fantasy. Or in other words you could just see that it was all written so the author could finish this book one way or the other. French letters were very efficient. This is why they were also very expensive. And not many people used them. But our hero said that he did! Always! Also in a age in which no woman wanted to carry an unwanted child every widow ,mistress, courtesan etc, that indulged in sexual exploits used something to exceed blood flow and stop pregnancies. Baths. Sponges. So how the hell did these people end up with a kid? Also, how did the hero ‘know it was his’? It was not because she would never cheat on him. Or because he knew the mistress loved him. No, he seems to know it was his because he ‘knew the risks’. What risks? How did they even encounter these risks for God’s sake?? Well, it does not matter because this, my friends is nothing more that a means to an end. A drama prop pushed at us so we could see how he could change and take responsibility and how she could soften. Yes, so she could…soft…what? Why did she soften? Why do authors always make their heroines hormonal ticking bombs that have to raise other peoples bastards all the time? Is it a kink for historical romance writers? Is there a law that tells them that if there is a baby, preferably the bastard of the hero then the heroine should fall in to instant love with the brat and mother it no questions asked? Horrible. That just..so not feministic. It's like they are spitting on our genetics and telling us that we, as woman have to love all babies. What a stupid notion! And as books and books pass trough my hands, the more I read these kinds of things the more I get bat sh.t crazy over it. It’s just stupid, for Pete’s sake!
Oh and the hero…we see hem daydreaming about kiddies with his wife trough the book. But when the ex mistress trusts a child in to his hands he falls instantly in love. Fist of all, in these cases I hate instant love also. I hate it when the kid is the hero/heroin's and I hate it when it is the heroes bastard. But the bigger problem there was the fact that I did not think how cute that is. The thing that came to mind was ‘Will any child do?’ Not the heroine's child but really any child? If he daydreamed about their children so much why was he not just a bit shaken that this was not her kid? Because this hero is as I said, a person that goes with the flow.
-The love
What love?
The hero could love anybody. He likes any kid. He likes any woman. He likes who ever!
The heroine on the other hand was having a youthful crush on a guy she did not know. Now, 10 years later he is nothing but a moron all the time, and sometimes even cruel. He never thinks he was really wrong and he told her things like ‘Fidelity from a husband is something earned by being good in bed ’ (Let me kill him, oh please please let me kill him!). So why in gods name did she love him now?! No reason. There was just no reason at all! And then he saddled her with a kid he has by some other stupid woman, and I say-why the f.ck did she stay?
And how could I read this chicken poop?
-The boys and the girls
It was insinuated that his bastard son will inherit. Why would his wife want this? Why would she allow this? And more importantly why did the author put such a big exclamation mark on the fact that he now has a son. It would have been so much nicer, and cleaner if he had a girl. But no. He was getting back with his wife because of a son and now he has a bastard one! Sure, he was the first born. So maybe he should get a title. Oh,wait! But he was born while he was married to an other woman. Does this not make the other woman worthier of having her kids successing the title? But then they had a girl! Oh, a nice little girl! Oh yey! The author cleaned this mess up! Wait, no she did not. She just swept it under a rug, because what will happen when they have more kids? When they get more SONS? Well it seems the main problem was still the fact that like not doing research about French letters the author did non here also. It was almost impossible to make a bastard legit. Even adopted children (not bastards, just adopted) had problems with inheriting! So..what….the…f.ck?
-The conclusion
This whole thing was such a mess…We had cheating-that is such a big no-no in romances…we had a badly developed love (or should I say it again-where is the love? Get it off me!!!!!)…we had bastards (I had an other glimpse of the girls bastard of a supporting character that made me think more about French letters-it seems, french letters herb supplements and all didn’t even work whit high priced courtesans! How very strange!)…we had a faulty and fast ending ..and we had a dumb epilogue about a GIRL CHILD WOOHOO (sorry, sarcasm got the best of me)..all in all..not really worth my time. Or anybodies time.
So,eeew to the cheating.
But to be frank? It did not bother me as much as it should.
On the other hand, there are times when fiction crosses the lines and becomes pure fantasy. How? We can have unreasonable and we can have pure imposible.
This book had a lot of the impossible. Also, when I finished it, I was more confused then while reading it, because it seem that nothing was really resolved and the feelings of the characters never got to me. I never understood them and the author told me that in the end, they found love. I didn’t see it.
But maybe its just me…still these are the important things:
-The woman
I know people did not stigmatize with her because she let him leave. I can say she was silly, but on the other hand-she was young. He was the one that just left after she didn’t change her mind. I know that some readers ranted about her being stupid because she did not know that some jewelry was the currency of barking a contract with a mistress. Who cares? If she is like me, or any woman out there, I think the thing that would have flabbergast her was the fact that he had a mistress up till the last moment. Right up till going in to a church. He was having sex with somebody while he told her nice things and courted her. And that, my dear friends, is a big no-no in my book. Not the stupid jewelry. Oh and the talk about his needs and all? Not good. The author wanted me to see that both of them were to blame but I still never could see it. I saw a young girl that had her happiness taken away and I saw people telling her she was to blame. And she took it. She doubted herself. She took him back. Kid and all. And that was just plain wrong. I know he was a charmer and I know she loved him but there are a lot of men in the world and it seem such a waist for Viola to give herself to this loser.
-The man
I wanted to say he was a jerk. He was. And a cheater. Because he was that also. There are alfa heroes out there that are the same. But my biggest problem with this hero was that he was so boring. Yes, boring! It seems everybody saw him as a charmer because he was nice looking and had a few jokes up his sleeve. But to me ,he was plain dull. I read about him, read what he was thinking and all the time a small frown marred my face because I would never love him. And it seem all these good women did. They just did. And why? Because he was easy with a few banal affections? Because he smiled nicely? I call them stupid. I call them shallower then him. I call them wrong, because they never loved him, they loved the image of what he could be to them. Now, if this was a well written story then the hero would have some depth that only the heroine could see. He didn’t. He simply had no inner layer. He was what he was. A easy going average person that liked fucking. And maybe some other things. I was never told. Because he what he mostly did was nothing.
His statements about how he never loved his wife made me want to slap him. On the other hand his revelation that he needed her and only her in the end was so fast and..ok, never mind that the author seemed to finish it all in 5 sentences. Look at it like this.-did he love her then? Was that what she was trying to tell us readers? That he simply did not understand? Maybe. I never saw it. But there was something in the scene where he talked to his ex mistress that just saddled him with a child. She looked at him and he knew she wished he was not married. And to tell you the truth I never felt that he would not marry her if Viola did attain a divorce. Because this is how I saw him. As a person going with the flow. Not as a person in love with Viola.
-The babies
His son. Oh, yes, his son. Or as I liked to call it he plot device of hell. I was made to read that ‘Do you have illegitimate children’ conversation over and over again and him always telling her ‘no,no,what do you think of me, sheesh I was careful’. But when he told her French letters were not always efficient a little warning bell rang in my head. When the mountains of letters from his ex came I saw it coming like a big avalanche of snow and I could not do a thing about it. He had a kid! Oh no! How? Just how? This is the thing that most made the line between fiction and fantasy. Or in other words you could just see that it was all written so the author could finish this book one way or the other. French letters were very efficient. This is why they were also very expensive. And not many people used them. But our hero said that he did! Always! Also in a age in which no woman wanted to carry an unwanted child every widow ,mistress, courtesan etc, that indulged in sexual exploits used something to exceed blood flow and stop pregnancies. Baths. Sponges. So how the hell did these people end up with a kid? Also, how did the hero ‘know it was his’? It was not because she would never cheat on him. Or because he knew the mistress loved him. No, he seems to know it was his because he ‘knew the risks’. What risks? How did they even encounter these risks for God’s sake?? Well, it does not matter because this, my friends is nothing more that a means to an end. A drama prop pushed at us so we could see how he could change and take responsibility and how she could soften. Yes, so she could…soft…what? Why did she soften? Why do authors always make their heroines hormonal ticking bombs that have to raise other peoples bastards all the time? Is it a kink for historical romance writers? Is there a law that tells them that if there is a baby, preferably the bastard of the hero then the heroine should fall in to instant love with the brat and mother it no questions asked? Horrible. That just..so not feministic. It's like they are spitting on our genetics and telling us that we, as woman have to love all babies. What a stupid notion! And as books and books pass trough my hands, the more I read these kinds of things the more I get bat sh.t crazy over it. It’s just stupid, for Pete’s sake!
Oh and the hero…we see hem daydreaming about kiddies with his wife trough the book. But when the ex mistress trusts a child in to his hands he falls instantly in love. Fist of all, in these cases I hate instant love also. I hate it when the kid is the hero/heroin's and I hate it when it is the heroes bastard. But the bigger problem there was the fact that I did not think how cute that is. The thing that came to mind was ‘Will any child do?’ Not the heroine's child but really any child? If he daydreamed about their children so much why was he not just a bit shaken that this was not her kid? Because this hero is as I said, a person that goes with the flow.
-The love
What love?
The hero could love anybody. He likes any kid. He likes any woman. He likes who ever!
The heroine on the other hand was having a youthful crush on a guy she did not know. Now, 10 years later he is nothing but a moron all the time, and sometimes even cruel. He never thinks he was really wrong and he told her things like ‘Fidelity from a husband is something earned by being good in bed ’ (Let me kill him, oh please please let me kill him!). So why in gods name did she love him now?! No reason. There was just no reason at all! And then he saddled her with a kid he has by some other stupid woman, and I say-why the f.ck did she stay?
And how could I read this chicken poop?
-The boys and the girls
It was insinuated that his bastard son will inherit. Why would his wife want this? Why would she allow this? And more importantly why did the author put such a big exclamation mark on the fact that he now has a son. It would have been so much nicer, and cleaner if he had a girl. But no. He was getting back with his wife because of a son and now he has a bastard one! Sure, he was the first born. So maybe he should get a title. Oh,wait! But he was born while he was married to an other woman. Does this not make the other woman worthier of having her kids successing the title? But then they had a girl! Oh, a nice little girl! Oh yey! The author cleaned this mess up! Wait, no she did not. She just swept it under a rug, because what will happen when they have more kids? When they get more SONS? Well it seems the main problem was still the fact that like not doing research about French letters the author did non here also. It was almost impossible to make a bastard legit. Even adopted children (not bastards, just adopted) had problems with inheriting! So..what….the…f.ck?
-The conclusion
This whole thing was such a mess…We had cheating-that is such a big no-no in romances…we had a badly developed love (or should I say it again-where is the love? Get it off me!!!!!)…we had bastards (I had an other glimpse of the girls bastard of a supporting character that made me think more about French letters-it seems, french letters herb supplements and all didn’t even work whit high priced courtesans! How very strange!)…we had a faulty and fast ending ..and we had a dumb epilogue about a GIRL CHILD WOOHOO (sorry, sarcasm got the best of me)..all in all..not really worth my time. Or anybodies time.
September 12, 2014
Ah, shit! I'm not strong enough for this shit.
John was a hypocrite, selfish, cheating, callous, unfeeling asshole and I would have never taken him back if I were Viola.
I can't believe the pain and humiliation he put his wife through. And to make everything worse, he thought he was a freaking saint and that it was Viola's fault their marriage was in shambles.
No! Just no! Hell to the no!
And that little twist in the end? That would have been the fucking end of everything. How dare he? HOW DARE HE?
I'm pissed for Viola, since she obviously didn't have the brains for that.
March 6, 2010
5 stars – Historical Romance
I really disliked John and his arrogant, selfish, horndog, cheating, unrepentant, emotionally aloof, clueless, callous ways (up until about the last 100 pages or so that is) and the feminist in me totally sympathized and sided with headstrong, spirited Viola, but I was still completely engrossed in their story and wanted so much for them to reconcile and achieve love and happiness together. The Marriage Bed is full of drama and emotional tug of war and at times wasn’t an easy or comfortable read, but it’s a thought provoking and moving story of two flawed, proud, stubborn people trying to heal their wounded hearts and mend a broken, sham marriage that just might be too late to save.
I really disliked John and his arrogant, selfish, horndog, cheating, unrepentant, emotionally aloof, clueless, callous ways (up until about the last 100 pages or so that is) and the feminist in me totally sympathized and sided with headstrong, spirited Viola, but I was still completely engrossed in their story and wanted so much for them to reconcile and achieve love and happiness together. The Marriage Bed is full of drama and emotional tug of war and at times wasn’t an easy or comfortable read, but it’s a thought provoking and moving story of two flawed, proud, stubborn people trying to heal their wounded hearts and mend a broken, sham marriage that just might be too late to save.
March 26, 2017
Hated the male lead he was a cheating rat and to top it off he has a child with another woman that was too much of a no no for me!
August 11, 2017
This one is hard to rate. I'm going to go with a 3 since I thought it flowed well and was an interesting character study and probably a more realistic look at marriage between aristocrats at the time.
Did I enjoy it? Nope. It's not a light and fluffy type of romance nor is it an old school romance where you love to hate the hero and get drawn into the 'oh, no he didn't' factor either. The hero was just a man. He did happen to be good looking and titled, but he wasn't extraordinary in the way you want a romance hero to be, or even over-the-top in the old school bodice ripper style. He was very flawed, but not a monster. He ran instead of facing the issues in his marriage. He made jokes or sarcastic comments when conversation got serious. He was ridiculously out of touch with his emotions and childish/prideful. By the end I didn't hate him, but he's not my type of hero.
Did I enjoy it? Nope. It's not a light and fluffy type of romance nor is it an old school romance where you love to hate the hero and get drawn into the 'oh, no he didn't' factor either. The hero was just a man. He did happen to be good looking and titled, but he wasn't extraordinary in the way you want a romance hero to be, or even over-the-top in the old school bodice ripper style. He was very flawed, but not a monster. He ran instead of facing the issues in his marriage. He made jokes or sarcastic comments when conversation got serious. He was ridiculously out of touch with his emotions and childish/prideful. By the end I didn't hate him, but he's not my type of hero.
November 18, 2011
What do i say i just cannot rate this book,i have read many cheating books,i read them cause i wanna see how characters they accept their mistakes and redeem themselves but here the hero i really wanted him dead,he is irredeemable in my eyes,even when Viola is ready to make effort and be a good wife wants faithfulness from his that also he says he does'nt knows whether he can be faithful,i just could'nt see the reason why Viola was still with him,even when his last mistress comes with their baby he takes it and declares Viola will take care of it,does'nt even asks her,he feels guilty towards the mistress not towards Viola,on what basis should she be in this relation past present or future there is only pain hurt humiliation
I would have preferred Viola leaving him and going to settle in a cottage
Ignore it
I would have preferred Viola leaving him and going to settle in a cottage
Ignore it
January 27, 2016
This book was absolutley fantatsic ! From its tear-jerk worthiness to its downright hilarity,if one excluded the romance and the lust factor that is,well then this book defiantly had it all ! ♥
Honestly speaking,i don't think i could have picked a better book than The marriage bed to have fulfilled my need for a good angsty Historical novel.
Even after reading the books summary and a few reviews from my fellow GR mates.i was still kinna reluctant to actually pick it up and go ahead reading,thinking about this book's stated predictably. And i mean why not ? wasn't it obvious ?
A reluctant wife ...a love struck husband and loads of groveling which would lead to a final and predicatable HEA ?
And yet i still some how squirmed myself into my reading seat,(which btw refers to whichever seat im was sitting on back then) and pried the book open,and found myself surprisingly enjoying both its hilarious story and the strength and emotionally displayed by BOTH the leads,for it only happens once in a verrry loong time,that the female actually manages NOT to annoy me throughly by the end :P Infact ,i loved her !
She was strong,determined and stubborn when it came to their forced reconciliation and she defiantly did not end up running back to John's bed after one or two love struck words. Instead she fought,she fought through and through.
Mis-understanding and pride had ripped them apart.But it was beautiful to see them building bridges back to each-other wronged hearts.
RECOMMENDATION : If ur a fan of the Histiorical grene ! u definatly shouldnt miss this out ! even though i wanted to give this book a 4.5 for NOT giving me my epilouge ! ive got to say i dont think it would have bee fair to give this less ! This book was definatly to me Fantastico !
June 13, 2020
Enough reviews have discussed the plot so I'm going to skip over it.
Dealing with a potentially reformed cheater is a tough one as the hero has had several mistresses and for no good reason than because he can and because his wife kicked him out. According to the era, he's no better or worse than any other man.
The need of an heir is the only thing that brings him back which is depressing, but there is a redemptive arc once he and the heroine start communicating instead of doing their usual dance of taunt and dismissal.
The hero receives and epic and worthy comeuppance as his past and charm filled lothario attitude comes back to haunt him just as he feels he has matured and received what he wants most, his wife back to create an heir.
Dealing with a potentially reformed cheater is a tough one as the hero has had several mistresses and for no good reason than because he can and because his wife kicked him out. According to the era, he's no better or worse than any other man.
The need of an heir is the only thing that brings him back which is depressing, but there is a redemptive arc once he and the heroine start communicating instead of doing their usual dance of taunt and dismissal.
The hero receives and epic and worthy comeuppance as his past and charm filled lothario attitude comes back to haunt him just as he feels he has matured and received what he wants most, his wife back to create an heir.
May 27, 2021
This is a very strange thing. I read this book almost ten years ago and I reread it now. I remember that the couple was estranged and that the husband made his best to win the heroine back. I remember that at the time I liked this very much. Now that I reread it I am appalled. I found the book awful now. How can it be? Is it possible that I changed so much my values that what 10 years ago seemed acceptable now it's not? So, this is the fact. The hero married the heroine because he needed money. He kept his mistress and when the heroine found out she left him and they spent their life completely estranged for years. Then the hero needs an heir, and he's back to her. He has to win her back. Of course she was celibate during the whole time while he has so many mistresses he can't even count. He does his best to win her back and she falls for him again (stupid woman) Then it turns out that he has a son with one of his lover. And now I must buy another kindle because I've broken this one against a wall. Of course a sob like this will be so faithful husband in the future. Of course! Worst man ever. One of the most pityful story ever. The only thing I liked is that I could notice how a person's point of views change during his/her life.
July 8, 2022
5 Stars to The Marriage Bed
I have a more fitting title for this book: "Winning Viola"
*sigh* 🥰
I just can't get enough of these marriage in trouble romances. I search and search endlessly through Goodreads just to get my greedy hands on a deliciously angsty read. Anyway, here's another one to add to my shelf. Even sweeter, this one was free from my public library.
My thoughts?
I loved, LOVED the writing. It flowed so easily and immediately sucked me in. It was incredibly emotional and heartfelt. Given some of the reviews, I was a little wary going in, thinking maybe I wouldn't find a redeeming hero or a strong enough heroine. All of this is subjective, I understand; nonetheless, I know what I want and I don't like feeling disappointed. Well, I was happy to realize how quickly I connected with the main characters, John & Viola. I was swept away by them and the storytelling. I loved John. God help me, I loved him. I can't blame Viola for doing the same. I loved seeing her through his eyes, because the way he saw her, it was clear there was no one else like her. It made my insides swoon how he rhapsodized about her beauty and charm. Unfortunately, that didn't change the fact they would be at each other's throats the minute they came face to face. I felt for Viola. John had betrayed her trust, had hurt her deeply, and he couldn't even see it. But I loved how she wasn't a pushover or a doormat. Considering the times, I was both surprised and glad to see how determined she was to make a life without him, even asking for a divorce. They lived separately for 8 years. However, with each turn of the pages I saw there was still hope for these two. I gotta say, the passion between them was off the charts, and watching John woo his wife--exhilarating. He wasn't just winning Viola over, he was winning me over too.
So much about John and Viola's past was slowly revealed; not all of it was easy, especially reading about John's indiscretions. But that's what I love about second chance romance, when an author is able to convince you that a character can be redeemed, even when you didn't think it was possible. I empathized with John, the moment when he realized how much damage he had caused, and the disappointment he felt to realize he had turned into the man he never wanted to be--like his father. There's a speech by John towards the end that actually made my eyes tear up. “It was the most incoherent, rambling, beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”
There's only one thing I wasn't happy about, and that was the whole surprise baby revelation towards the end of the book--too close to the end. I was disappointed with how Viola easily and calmly accepted the situation. To me, it was such a devastating moment and I felt heartbroken for her. Still, this didn't change my feelings on the book as a whole. I believed they were a solid couple and deserved their HEA. I know I'll be reading this book again in the near future. I loved it that much.
Notes:
Sweet epilogue included.
Setting: London, 1833
I wasn't expecting such steamy sex scenes in this historical romance. Amazingly written 🔥
I have a more fitting title for this book: "Winning Viola"
*sigh* 🥰
I just can't get enough of these marriage in trouble romances. I search and search endlessly through Goodreads just to get my greedy hands on a deliciously angsty read. Anyway, here's another one to add to my shelf. Even sweeter, this one was free from my public library.
My thoughts?
I loved, LOVED the writing. It flowed so easily and immediately sucked me in. It was incredibly emotional and heartfelt. Given some of the reviews, I was a little wary going in, thinking maybe I wouldn't find a redeeming hero or a strong enough heroine. All of this is subjective, I understand; nonetheless, I know what I want and I don't like feeling disappointed. Well, I was happy to realize how quickly I connected with the main characters, John & Viola. I was swept away by them and the storytelling. I loved John. God help me, I loved him. I can't blame Viola for doing the same. I loved seeing her through his eyes, because the way he saw her, it was clear there was no one else like her. It made my insides swoon how he rhapsodized about her beauty and charm. Unfortunately, that didn't change the fact they would be at each other's throats the minute they came face to face. I felt for Viola. John had betrayed her trust, had hurt her deeply, and he couldn't even see it. But I loved how she wasn't a pushover or a doormat. Considering the times, I was both surprised and glad to see how determined she was to make a life without him, even asking for a divorce. They lived separately for 8 years. However, with each turn of the pages I saw there was still hope for these two. I gotta say, the passion between them was off the charts, and watching John woo his wife--exhilarating. He wasn't just winning Viola over, he was winning me over too.
So much about John and Viola's past was slowly revealed; not all of it was easy, especially reading about John's indiscretions. But that's what I love about second chance romance, when an author is able to convince you that a character can be redeemed, even when you didn't think it was possible. I empathized with John, the moment when he realized how much damage he had caused, and the disappointment he felt to realize he had turned into the man he never wanted to be--like his father. There's a speech by John towards the end that actually made my eyes tear up. “It was the most incoherent, rambling, beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”
There's only one thing I wasn't happy about, and that was the whole surprise baby revelation towards the end of the book--too close to the end. I was disappointed with how Viola easily and calmly accepted the situation. To me, it was such a devastating moment and I felt heartbroken for her. Still, this didn't change my feelings on the book as a whole. I believed they were a solid couple and deserved their HEA. I know I'll be reading this book again in the near future. I loved it that much.
Notes:
Sweet epilogue included.
Setting: London, 1833
I wasn't expecting such steamy sex scenes in this historical romance. Amazingly written 🔥
July 8, 2022
I read this book in the way of rubbernecking. It has some very mixed reviews, which I read – spoilers and all. So, knowing and prepared for what a jerk the H was, I actually enjoyed the story a lot.
I like the h a lot. But this H was as unfeeling, unrepentant and blasé as they come.
I felt the h’s heartbreaking angst as also her bracing pride as she lives through her husband’s continuous and prolific womanizing right in front of her and the ton.
He is a witty, charming, glib and seemingly shallow rogue who walks through life with many a broken hearts in his wake, not even realizing the hurt he causes to the women he takes into his life. So it’s just not the h who suffers at his hands but some ow as well - and the 'generalized' closure the author gives to all of this, evokes mixed feelings.
In the present, he thinks that his wife has to fall in line when he wants, how he wants - basically let him back into her bed and give him an heir. The h, understandably, cannot get over his callous and cruel past behavior. She had loved him so selflessly and he had treated her love so casually and callously.
My Angst/ Rant?
This is one of those books that is done in by its ending - a better wrap-up was needed. After reading so much hurt, what one needs is the absolute-ness of his love. Regret for his heartless womanizing ways is okay, but not when it's delivered clubbed together with his repentance/ realization of his feelings for the h.
His redemption and his realizations did not need to come at the hands of an ow and their baby. Why couldn’t he have become a better man by being with the h, his wife? So, I was not convinced of his love for her at the end. It smacks of desperation. It was more like that he realizes what a heartless cad he has been all these years – breaking hearts left, right and centre and suddenly, he wants to be better man, husband and a father all at once.
And he needs his wife more now - not just for an heir but to raise his illegitimate kid as well. I feel this could have been a better story, more satisfying without the illegit. baby angle. It's dropped on the reader at the fag end, without a proper closure and the h also folds so easily. The problem is not her giving in as much as a lack of a believable and heartfelt grovel on his part.
And why the name all his past mistresses has to be read out in his long awaited epiphany. It was a sort of 'ghosts of girlfriends past'! Okay I get it that he realizes his heartlessness to all of them, but I didn't like him including the h along with all the others in his long list of heart-breaking follies.
ETA- The writing flows effortlessly and what I liked a lot was that the story keeps itself in the present - no flashbacks, certainly no long ones breaking the flow. It is definitely a difficult book to put down.
Thankfully there is no philandering by the H in the present, although there is no dearth of past mentions. The author shows the H as very attracted to his wife and how he remembers all her little quirks and favorite things even after this long estrangement. We get the feeling that he is more attached to her than he lets on, even to himself. So it all builds towards a grand passionate declaration, but then the books slips up at the end in favor of a mellow connubial accord, support and contentment.
I like the h a lot. But this H was as unfeeling, unrepentant and blasé as they come.
I felt the h’s heartbreaking angst as also her bracing pride as she lives through her husband’s continuous and prolific womanizing right in front of her and the ton.
He is a witty, charming, glib and seemingly shallow rogue who walks through life with many a broken hearts in his wake, not even realizing the hurt he causes to the women he takes into his life. So it’s just not the h who suffers at his hands but some ow as well - and the 'generalized' closure the author gives to all of this, evokes mixed feelings.
In the present, he thinks that his wife has to fall in line when he wants, how he wants - basically let him back into her bed and give him an heir. The h, understandably, cannot get over his callous and cruel past behavior. She had loved him so selflessly and he had treated her love so casually and callously.
My Angst/ Rant?
This is one of those books that is done in by its ending - a better wrap-up was needed. After reading so much hurt, what one needs is the absolute-ness of his love. Regret for his heartless womanizing ways is okay, but not when it's delivered clubbed together with his repentance/ realization of his feelings for the h.
His redemption and his realizations did not need to come at the hands of an ow and their baby. Why couldn’t he have become a better man by being with the h, his wife? So, I was not convinced of his love for her at the end. It smacks of desperation. It was more like that he realizes what a heartless cad he has been all these years – breaking hearts left, right and centre and suddenly, he wants to be better man, husband and a father all at once.
And he needs his wife more now - not just for an heir but to raise his illegitimate kid as well. I feel this could have been a better story, more satisfying without the illegit. baby angle. It's dropped on the reader at the fag end, without a proper closure and the h also folds so easily. The problem is not her giving in as much as a lack of a believable and heartfelt grovel on his part.
And why the name all his past mistresses has to be read out in his long awaited epiphany. It was a sort of 'ghosts of girlfriends past'! Okay I get it that he realizes his heartlessness to all of them, but I didn't like him including the h along with all the others in his long list of heart-breaking follies.
ETA- The writing flows effortlessly and what I liked a lot was that the story keeps itself in the present - no flashbacks, certainly no long ones breaking the flow. It is definitely a difficult book to put down.
Thankfully there is no philandering by the H in the present, although there is no dearth of past mentions. The author shows the H as very attracted to his wife and how he remembers all her little quirks and favorite things even after this long estrangement. We get the feeling that he is more attached to her than he lets on, even to himself. So it all builds towards a grand passionate declaration, but then the books slips up at the end in favor of a mellow connubial accord, support and contentment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2023
2.5 Stars
Opinion Breakdown
The Good: The side characters and the steam.
The Not-So-Good: The ending. I had predicted the conflict so I didn't get emotional about it at all, but I was disappointed that the ending was so quickly after that was dropped on the couple.
The Bad: The H. Dude! You left her because she That's cold.
Overall: This had been coming up on lists of recommended reads for a while now when I've been looking for an angsty hr. I'm glad I finally gave it a chance because the reviews were pretty much split -- either they loved it or they hated it! I don't feel either way tbh. I just feel a little meh about it all and I think that might be because I was expecting an awesome unrequited angst fest! I'm going with a rating of a little less than just okay -- because while I definitely didn't love it, I didn't necessarily hate it either. Any recommendations for an angsty hr send my way, please!
Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Viola and John's story. John gets news that his cousin and heir has died in an accident with his son and he realizes that he must reconcile with his estranged wife to finally get his own heir. Only Viola has no interest in spending any time with him, especially the kind of time that will produce an heir. John has broken her heart and her trust in major ways and it requires some wooing and addressing their past to get her to come around to giving him another chance. There are some secrets revealed, some sad moments, and some sexy times...and they get a HEA ending.
Point Of View (POV): This alternated between focusing on Viola and John in 3rd person narrative.
Overall Pace of Story: Good for the most part. I never skimmed and I thought it flowed well except for the very end.
Instalove: No, they've been married for years when this starts.
H (Hero) rating: 2 stars. John. He was a mess. Arguably messed up from his family life growing up, but that was no excuse for this guy! He needed to get his sh together!
h (heroine) rating: 3 stars. Viola. She was alright but I wanted her to be a little stronger when it came to the H.
Sadness level: Low/moderate. I shed a few tears but never needed any tissues
Push/Pull: Yes
Heat level: Good. They have some good tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.
Descriptive sex: Yes
OW (Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama: Yes
Sex scene with OW or OM: No
Cheating: Yes
Separation:Yes
Possible Triggers: Yes *BIG SPOILERS*
Closure: This ends in an alright place but I wanted more time after their big conflict was resolved
Safety: This one is probably Not Safe for most safety gang readers
Opinion Breakdown
The Good: The side characters and the steam.
The Not-So-Good: The ending. I had predicted the conflict so I didn't get emotional about it at all, but I was disappointed that the ending was so quickly after that was dropped on the couple.
The Bad: The H. Dude! You left her because she That's cold.
Overall: This had been coming up on lists of recommended reads for a while now when I've been looking for an angsty hr. I'm glad I finally gave it a chance because the reviews were pretty much split -- either they loved it or they hated it! I don't feel either way tbh. I just feel a little meh about it all and I think that might be because I was expecting an awesome unrequited angst fest! I'm going with a rating of a little less than just okay -- because while I definitely didn't love it, I didn't necessarily hate it either. Any recommendations for an angsty hr send my way, please!
Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Viola and John's story. John gets news that his cousin and heir has died in an accident with his son and he realizes that he must reconcile with his estranged wife to finally get his own heir. Only Viola has no interest in spending any time with him, especially the kind of time that will produce an heir. John has broken her heart and her trust in major ways and it requires some wooing and addressing their past to get her to come around to giving him another chance. There are some secrets revealed, some sad moments, and some sexy times...and they get a HEA ending.
Point Of View (POV): This alternated between focusing on Viola and John in 3rd person narrative.
Overall Pace of Story: Good for the most part. I never skimmed and I thought it flowed well except for the very end.
Instalove: No, they've been married for years when this starts.
H (Hero) rating: 2 stars. John. He was a mess. Arguably messed up from his family life growing up, but that was no excuse for this guy! He needed to get his sh together!
h (heroine) rating: 3 stars. Viola. She was alright but I wanted her to be a little stronger when it came to the H.
Sadness level: Low/moderate. I shed a few tears but never needed any tissues
Push/Pull: Yes
Heat level: Good. They have some good tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.
Descriptive sex: Yes
OW (Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama: Yes
Sex scene with OW or OM: No
Cheating: Yes
Separation:Yes
Possible Triggers: Yes *BIG SPOILERS*
Closure: This ends in an alright place but I wanted more time after their big conflict was resolved
Safety: This one is probably Not Safe for most safety gang readers
May 7, 2018
Siento frustración, tal vez amor-odio por este libro, me la llevé rabiando la mayor parte y lo peor de todo es que siento que tenía potencial para ser de esos libro que me gustan, pero a pesar de todo ahí me tenía pegada leyendo.
Cuando leí por primera vez del personaje de Viola y la situación con su marido tuve muchas ganas de leer su historia y como se resolvía el asunto.
Tenemos a John un Vizconde que es un libertino, cínico, sarcástico que ha tenido miles de amantes y varias queridas a lo largo de sus 8 años de matrimonio no le interesa un heredero porque ya tiene a su primo que lo considera su hermano pero al morir este y su hijo por una enfermedad decide que necesita un heredero y la única que se lo puede dar es su esposa de la que está distanciado años.😑😑
El personaje de John me llenó de rabia y frustración es un GRANDÍSIMO HIJO DE PUTA!! Así en mayúsculas 😡😡👊es un hombre machista, egoísta a más no poder es inmaduro un niñato un hombre del que huiría de él como la peste.🏃🏃➡ Esperé que se redimiera, que sufriera que se esforzara por recuperar a Viola que se arrastrara y llorara lágrimas de sangre por su perdón, sorry así de sádica soy. Pero nada de eso sucedió se hizo la víctima culpo a Viola por haberse conseguido a otras que calentaran su cama porque ella no quería.😬😑
Pues oye el IMBÉCIL la engañó diciéndole que la amaba para casarse con ella cuando sólo la quería por su dinero y durante el cortejo tenía una querida 😠😤💣
Nunca se arrepintió siempre justificó sus actos y para mí es un NO NO NO. John puede ser de los hombres que me gustan libertinos sarcásticos alegres pero cuando NO ESTÁN CASADOS y cuando se enamoran son unos lindos. No vi a ese John enamorado por recuperar a Viola siempre fue porque eres mi esposa te voy a recuperar.
Tal vez al final me ablandé un poquito con John pero viendo en general al personaje no me gustó, tal vez me dirán que era otra época y así, pero esto es ficción y yo siempre cuando voy a leer romance voy con la mentalidad de que el protagonista me guste mucho al punto de suspirar por él.
Siento que la historia pudo haber sido más pero la autora se equivocó con el desarrollo del personaje de John.
Cuando leí por primera vez del personaje de Viola y la situación con su marido tuve muchas ganas de leer su historia y como se resolvía el asunto.
Tenemos a John un Vizconde que es un libertino, cínico, sarcástico que ha tenido miles de amantes y varias queridas a lo largo de sus 8 años de matrimonio no le interesa un heredero porque ya tiene a su primo que lo considera su hermano pero al morir este y su hijo por una enfermedad decide que necesita un heredero y la única que se lo puede dar es su esposa de la que está distanciado años.😑😑
El personaje de John me llenó de rabia y frustración es un GRANDÍSIMO HIJO DE PUTA!! Así en mayúsculas 😡😡👊es un hombre machista, egoísta a más no poder es inmaduro un niñato un hombre del que huiría de él como la peste.🏃🏃➡ Esperé que se redimiera, que sufriera que se esforzara por recuperar a Viola que se arrastrara y llorara lágrimas de sangre por su perdón, sorry así de sádica soy. Pero nada de eso sucedió se hizo la víctima culpo a Viola por haberse conseguido a otras que calentaran su cama porque ella no quería.😬😑
Pues oye el IMBÉCIL la engañó diciéndole que la amaba para casarse con ella cuando sólo la quería por su dinero y durante el cortejo tenía una querida 😠😤💣
Nunca se arrepintió siempre justificó sus actos y para mí es un NO NO NO. John puede ser de los hombres que me gustan libertinos sarcásticos alegres pero cuando NO ESTÁN CASADOS y cuando se enamoran son unos lindos. No vi a ese John enamorado por recuperar a Viola siempre fue porque eres mi esposa te voy a recuperar.
Tal vez al final me ablandé un poquito con John pero viendo en general al personaje no me gustó, tal vez me dirán que era otra época y así, pero esto es ficción y yo siempre cuando voy a leer romance voy con la mentalidad de que el protagonista me guste mucho al punto de suspirar por él.
Siento que la historia pudo haber sido más pero la autora se equivocó con el desarrollo del personaje de John.
May 22, 2017
2.5 to 3 stars. Another book that I *liked* but didn't *love*. Sigh. Maybe I'm too picky? IDK. But it seems there are so many HRs out there that just don't grab me enough.
At the moment I'm going through a stage of trying quite a few HR authors I hadn't read before (including Laura Lee Guhrke). I've read some reasonable books amongst them, but so far no five stars (or even four stars??) So far the new (to me) author I've liked best is Grace Burrowes and her Windham series, but even those I've mostly given 3 stars.
This one was a reasonable concept for a story, but sadly the whole middle section just dragged on waaayyy too long. Viola married John when she was pretty young and naive. She was in love with him because he was good-looking, sexy and an absolute charmer. What's not to like? But as it turns out, when John told Viola her loved her, he was lying. Yes, he liked her, but his main motivation for marrying her was for her money. But the first few months of their marriage went pretty well and they seemed pretty compatible, especially in bed.
But then Viola overheard a conversation about one of John's (previous) mistresses, and that he'd just married Viola for the money. Shocked and hurt, she ended up giving John the cold shoulder for a month, at which point John had had enough of the icy treatment and moved out. Then they lived separate lives for about NINE YEARS. That's right. It takes nine years for them to finally get back together. And during that time, John had a series of mistresses to stave off his loneliness, which hurt Viola deeply cos she was still in love with him.
But circumstances change, and now John wants an heir, and he attempts to reconcile with Viola, but she has put it all behind her by now and doesn't trust him or want a bar of him. So it begins - their hot and cold games for the next too many pages.
Some readers wouldn't like this book on the grounds of John's adultery/ cheating, although there are mitigating circumstances. And he did have a crappy childhood and doesn't really know how to love someone. Although I'm not a fan of cheating books, the adultery didn't worry me too much in this book because Viola had deliberately (and supposedly permanently) cut him off anyway.
But I just got a bit sick of the will she/won't she, on again/off again that went on for a long time. And there was a bit too much talking and discussion and dissection about all of their pain etc etc.
And somehow I didn't care enough about either Viola or John in the end. And that's what makes me a bit hesitant to try another Laura Lee Guhrke. To me, the characters are the key in any book. They have to seem real, and I have to care enough about them to want to read on till they find their HEA. If the characters are so-so, I'm not driven to read on - it's more of an, OK, I suppose I'll finish this and see how things pan out.
So overall, I'm on the fence. A bit disappointed (again!) and thinking I'll move on to try another new author.
At the moment I'm going through a stage of trying quite a few HR authors I hadn't read before (including Laura Lee Guhrke). I've read some reasonable books amongst them, but so far no five stars (or even four stars??) So far the new (to me) author I've liked best is Grace Burrowes and her Windham series, but even those I've mostly given 3 stars.
This one was a reasonable concept for a story, but sadly the whole middle section just dragged on waaayyy too long. Viola married John when she was pretty young and naive. She was in love with him because he was good-looking, sexy and an absolute charmer. What's not to like? But as it turns out, when John told Viola her loved her, he was lying. Yes, he liked her, but his main motivation for marrying her was for her money. But the first few months of their marriage went pretty well and they seemed pretty compatible, especially in bed.
But then Viola overheard a conversation about one of John's (previous) mistresses, and that he'd just married Viola for the money. Shocked and hurt, she ended up giving John the cold shoulder for a month, at which point John had had enough of the icy treatment and moved out. Then they lived separate lives for about NINE YEARS. That's right. It takes nine years for them to finally get back together. And during that time, John had a series of mistresses to stave off his loneliness, which hurt Viola deeply cos she was still in love with him.
But circumstances change, and now John wants an heir, and he attempts to reconcile with Viola, but she has put it all behind her by now and doesn't trust him or want a bar of him. So it begins - their hot and cold games for the next too many pages.
Some readers wouldn't like this book on the grounds of John's adultery/ cheating, although there are mitigating circumstances. And he did have a crappy childhood and doesn't really know how to love someone. Although I'm not a fan of cheating books, the adultery didn't worry me too much in this book because Viola had deliberately (and supposedly permanently) cut him off anyway.
But I just got a bit sick of the will she/won't she, on again/off again that went on for a long time. And there was a bit too much talking and discussion and dissection about all of their pain etc etc.
And somehow I didn't care enough about either Viola or John in the end. And that's what makes me a bit hesitant to try another Laura Lee Guhrke. To me, the characters are the key in any book. They have to seem real, and I have to care enough about them to want to read on till they find their HEA. If the characters are so-so, I'm not driven to read on - it's more of an, OK, I suppose I'll finish this and see how things pan out.
So overall, I'm on the fence. A bit disappointed (again!) and thinking I'll move on to try another new author.
avoid
May 24, 2022One of the worst cheater and doormat story. Worst romance novel, ever!
H married the h for her money.
Kept his mistress around, slept with her during courtship though.
Had to use the heroines money on his mistress.
She finds out about the mistress, he leaves a month later.
After they separate, he continued to spend the heroines money on himself and ow.
Goes on for 8 years.
Years later they reconcile because he needs heirs. Only reason why he came back.
The h tries to make the marriage work , but he can’t promise to be faithful to the h. Ever.
Mistress show up with his + mistress baby.
The h has to raise his baby with the ow.
HEA.🙄
This author should not be writing love stories.
H married the h for her money.
Kept his mistress around, slept with her during courtship though.
Had to use the heroines money on his mistress.
She finds out about the mistress, he leaves a month later.
After they separate, he continued to spend the heroines money on himself and ow.
Goes on for 8 years.
Years later they reconcile because he needs heirs. Only reason why he came back.
The h tries to make the marriage work , but he can’t promise to be faithful to the h. Ever.
Mistress show up with his + mistress baby.
The h has to raise his baby with the ow.
HEA.🙄
This author should not be writing love stories.
November 21, 2013
First something positive, I loved the fact the author brought back some of my favorite characters...Anthony Duke of Tremore and Daphne his duchess. I wonder how life continued for them.
Now for the negative, I know this is just a book, however having been where Viola has been, it was just depressing reading about how her husband treated her. And it's such a shame that women in that era had to endure that. But she had a damn good idea about going to American and starting a new life and I think she had other options, like Anthony her brother could have easily stopped her income just to spite her husband and leave him broke, buying women jewelry with HER MONEY...what an ass...she could have sought out a lover that was well skilled in dueling and started an affair and her husband would have to request a duel and be killed...so many options. But NO, I was just DONE when he had that baby outside his marriage and Viola just instantly started to take care of the baby, like really how much of a fool can you be at this point....Viola deserved so much better, too bad she didn't seem to think so.
By the way...one part of the book just had me throwing my hands in the air...when Anthony finally opened up about his sisters death like immediately once he finished his sentence, Viola started to give him oral pleasure...This came out of NO WHERE...I mean the author took a complete left at this point...
Now for the negative, I know this is just a book, however having been where Viola has been, it was just depressing reading about how her husband treated her. And it's such a shame that women in that era had to endure that. But she had a damn good idea about going to American and starting a new life and I think she had other options, like Anthony her brother could have easily stopped her income just to spite her husband and leave him broke, buying women jewelry with HER MONEY...what an ass...she could have sought out a lover that was well skilled in dueling and started an affair and her husband would have to request a duel and be killed...so many options. But NO, I was just DONE when he had that baby outside his marriage and Viola just instantly started to take care of the baby, like really how much of a fool can you be at this point....Viola deserved so much better, too bad she didn't seem to think so.
By the way...one part of the book just had me throwing my hands in the air...when Anthony finally opened up about his sisters death like immediately once he finished his sentence, Viola started to give him oral pleasure...This came out of NO WHERE...I mean the author took a complete left at this point...
February 9, 2023
"Would I do my best to be a faithful husband? Yes. Would I succeed? Again, that depends on you. Can you be a good wife to me? Can you be a loving, affectionate companion? Can I rely on you not to dissolve into tears and shut your bedroom door to me? Can I rely on you not to turn into the unforgiving ice queen when things don't go your way?"
An entire novel of a man gaslighting his wife into believing that him taking 8 different mistresses in the time they were married is entirely her fault for refusing him in bed.
That's what i get for reading a historical romance published in 2005. They made the main character seem crazy for not trusting her husband who came back to reconcile with her....because wait for it he needed an heir not because he loved her. Which he never did btw. I think the author just hates women.
September 1, 2014
I enjoyed this story, as I have done virtually all of Laura Lee Guhrke's titles.
The story is quite simple. A young Viola falls madly in love with Lord John Hammond and marries him soon after meeting him. He has professed his love for her (apparently only when she asked him, "Do you love me?"), but in reality he married her primarily to get the money he needed to restore his estates, which had been run to ruin by his irresponsible father. For a few months they are supremely happy, but then Viola finds out that John had mistresses in the years before he married her and that he wasn't actually in love with her.
In these respects, John isn't much different from the naughty rakes that we frequently encounter in historical romance. We readers are often told that they are proud, arrogant, and horny as hell. Laura Lee Guhrke, however, doesn't tell us; she shows us. When Viola locks him out of her bedroom, he leaves the house and takes up where he had left off. He supports Viola and gives her a house, but they make every effort to avoid seeing one another. For eight years. John is not very admirable, but he oozes charm. I liked him better than Viola, who was awfully prim and almost seemed to enjoy her role as The Victim.
Many readers automatically condemn a book where the hero is unfaithful to his wife, but I see nothing wrong with a plot where a man like Hammond behaves exactly as a man like Hammond would have behaved in 1833. There is a wonderful Carla Kelly book where a duke traveling incognito falls in love with a young lady whom he believes to be an heiress. Upon learning that she is poor and from an undistinguished family, he does exactly what a duke would have done; he asks her to be his mistress. I loved that. Mary Balogh wrote about a gentleman whose mistress leaves him to return to her hometown and marry her old sweetheart. Belatedly realizing that he loves her, the hero sets out to find her and only then realizes that he doesn't even know her last name. I can believe that. By contrast, another writer, one of my favorites, creates wonderful heroes, but I sometimes think that her heroes are way more in touch with their feminine side than a typical Regency gentleman would have been. They tend to behave the way women wish they would behave rather than how they really would have done. Of course, this is why they are so dreamy to read about.
So, this book is about a failed marriage. Viola is romantic and naive, and Hammond is arrogant and thoughtless. When Hammond's cousin and the cousin's son (his heir and spare) die, he decides that he must reunite with Viola and produce an heir. He goes about informing her of his wish in the most ham-handed, typically male, manner. She is horrified and refuses to even consider his proposition. He is persistent, though, and little by little he works his way back into her life. There is not much action in this book, but there is a beautiful story that will gladden your heart as these two proud, stubborn, people finally open up to one another and find their way back together.
The story is quite simple. A young Viola falls madly in love with Lord John Hammond and marries him soon after meeting him. He has professed his love for her (apparently only when she asked him, "Do you love me?"), but in reality he married her primarily to get the money he needed to restore his estates, which had been run to ruin by his irresponsible father. For a few months they are supremely happy, but then Viola finds out that John had mistresses in the years before he married her and that he wasn't actually in love with her.
In these respects, John isn't much different from the naughty rakes that we frequently encounter in historical romance. We readers are often told that they are proud, arrogant, and horny as hell. Laura Lee Guhrke, however, doesn't tell us; she shows us. When Viola locks him out of her bedroom, he leaves the house and takes up where he had left off. He supports Viola and gives her a house, but they make every effort to avoid seeing one another. For eight years. John is not very admirable, but he oozes charm. I liked him better than Viola, who was awfully prim and almost seemed to enjoy her role as The Victim.
Many readers automatically condemn a book where the hero is unfaithful to his wife, but I see nothing wrong with a plot where a man like Hammond behaves exactly as a man like Hammond would have behaved in 1833. There is a wonderful Carla Kelly book where a duke traveling incognito falls in love with a young lady whom he believes to be an heiress. Upon learning that she is poor and from an undistinguished family, he does exactly what a duke would have done; he asks her to be his mistress. I loved that. Mary Balogh wrote about a gentleman whose mistress leaves him to return to her hometown and marry her old sweetheart. Belatedly realizing that he loves her, the hero sets out to find her and only then realizes that he doesn't even know her last name. I can believe that. By contrast, another writer, one of my favorites, creates wonderful heroes, but I sometimes think that her heroes are way more in touch with their feminine side than a typical Regency gentleman would have been. They tend to behave the way women wish they would behave rather than how they really would have done. Of course, this is why they are so dreamy to read about.
So, this book is about a failed marriage. Viola is romantic and naive, and Hammond is arrogant and thoughtless. When Hammond's cousin and the cousin's son (his heir and spare) die, he decides that he must reunite with Viola and produce an heir. He goes about informing her of his wish in the most ham-handed, typically male, manner. She is horrified and refuses to even consider his proposition. He is persistent, though, and little by little he works his way back into her life. There is not much action in this book, but there is a beautiful story that will gladden your heart as these two proud, stubborn, people finally open up to one another and find their way back together.
May 1, 2022
the hero is a huge ass
nothing redeemable about him
he deserves shit
nothing redeemable about him
he deserves shit
January 4, 2022
In general, I love Laura Lee Guhrke books. So I was happily surprised to see that there was one that I hadn't read yet. I will say that I read it within 24 hours because it WAS engrossing. However, I wasn't quite sure what the "message" was unless it was to make me frustrated and feel like everyone was taking crazy pills instead of me. In which case, well played, Ms. Guhrke, well played.
This was a case where a sweet, young h falls in love with the H when she was 17. She begs her older brother (whom I liked despite basically having a walk on role) for permission to marry him. He warns her he's a rake and a fortune hunter but she doesn't care because they love each other. About 6 months into the marriage she realizes that 1) he doesn't love her 2) he did marry her for her money and 3) he had a mistress right up until the wedding (and as she points out, he had money for a mistress but nothing else PLUS when he bought his mistress out of their "contract" - it's a debt of honor so to speak, he used her money to do so). So she locks him out of her bed and 1 month later, he leaves. To find other women. For 8 long years he's sleeping his way around, TOTALLY unconcerned and fairly happy with his life. He's taken her money and used it to invest into his estates and managed to make money off of them so he's basically not using just her money to support his lifestyle and mistresses. She has to endure the humiliation of attending functions sitting across from his mistresses (former and present) and listen to them talk about his prowess in bed.
Now. Here's the part I dislike. I mean, in ADDTION to all of the above. While he's man ho'ing his way around, she stays celibate. No lovers. Nothing.
Well, now the H gets word that his heir apparent and his heir apparent's son have died. Well, he needs an heir now. So he tells his wife she has no rights, the law is on his side, and he demands that she returns home and allow him into her bed. She's furious. Her brother (go bro!) sides with her. No one else does. Including bro's wife who suggests several times that maybe she should give the guy a chance. WTF? See, this is where I get angry because I can NOT stand to read, see or hear about women who just help victimize/un-empower (is that a word?) other women.
No, what would have truly been awesome is if the h thinks you want an heir? Then finds a guy and shags him to within an inch of his life and then throws it in the H's face because of course NOW he'd never really be certain or know right? But then that's me and hell hath no vengeance...
But no, she, after a short time and some few token words of protest, falls back in love with him (because she never did stop loving him). He's thrilled and starts enjoying his life with her. Meanwhile, she goes to a charity event she's hosting and the woman whom she snubbed by refusing to allow her to vet the guest list invites every single woman that her husband slept with. Now THAT is a woman after my own heart because she knows how to twist that knife and leave you bleeding. So the h grins and bears it and thinks how several of those women had fallen in love with her husband and how sad it is because he felt nothing for them really.
And here, I will do a Laura Kinsale honorable mention. There were 2 parts of this story that I feel was heavily influenced by Flowers from the Storm. First occurs when the h worries that he won't save all his kisses, all his caresses for her and her alone. As someone who has read "Flowers from the Storm" several times, this reminded me of a line in there where Maddie worries and says to Christian that she worries that he won't save all his kisses, etc for her and her alone.
Second, one of his mistresses, the last one he had before he hooked back up with his wife, comes to confront him in front of his wife, his wife's family and all the servants that she loves him, that she gave him everything, EVERYTHING. That she loved him. She's laying across the front steps groveling at his feet uncaring that she's making a spectacle. He stands frozen and unable to move or say anything. The h feels compassion for her and wants to go to her in her distress. She also wonders that the H can stand there stone faced at this woman's distress. Then the mistress gives her baby to him which the h takes.
Now if that whole scene doesn't remind you of "Flowers from the Storm" I don't know what will. As the H leaves without looking at anyone he thinks about how his wife was right that several of his mistresses had fallen in love with him. He thinks to himself "how can some thoughtful gifts, kind remarks be mistaken for love when he paid pound sterling for what they did in bed?" Well, he has a point there but still. He also thinks of the irony that his first born, a son too, is illegitimate and can't inherit. That the mistress was hoping that they were married instead and could raise the son together but alas...
Anyway, the h forgives him, falls in love with the baby and says she's going to be the best mother ever. The H announces his love for the h (around page 350 but who's keeping track? Me apparently). We get an epilogue. The h gives birth to...a baby girl. The H is happy with the girl and YET I think hmm... I would freakin' laugh my *ss off if she never gives birth to a son. 12 girls and counting. ha ha haaa!
So yeah. Engrossing story. Really felt everyone in the story was crazy except the h briefly in the first half and her bro who was cool throughout.
This was a case where a sweet, young h falls in love with the H when she was 17. She begs her older brother (whom I liked despite basically having a walk on role) for permission to marry him. He warns her he's a rake and a fortune hunter but she doesn't care because they love each other. About 6 months into the marriage she realizes that 1) he doesn't love her 2) he did marry her for her money and 3) he had a mistress right up until the wedding (and as she points out, he had money for a mistress but nothing else PLUS when he bought his mistress out of their "contract" - it's a debt of honor so to speak, he used her money to do so). So she locks him out of her bed and 1 month later, he leaves. To find other women. For 8 long years he's sleeping his way around, TOTALLY unconcerned and fairly happy with his life. He's taken her money and used it to invest into his estates and managed to make money off of them so he's basically not using just her money to support his lifestyle and mistresses. She has to endure the humiliation of attending functions sitting across from his mistresses (former and present) and listen to them talk about his prowess in bed.
Now. Here's the part I dislike. I mean, in ADDTION to all of the above. While he's man ho'ing his way around, she stays celibate. No lovers. Nothing.
Well, now the H gets word that his heir apparent and his heir apparent's son have died. Well, he needs an heir now. So he tells his wife she has no rights, the law is on his side, and he demands that she returns home and allow him into her bed. She's furious. Her brother (go bro!) sides with her. No one else does. Including bro's wife who suggests several times that maybe she should give the guy a chance. WTF? See, this is where I get angry because I can NOT stand to read, see or hear about women who just help victimize/un-empower (is that a word?) other women.
No, what would have truly been awesome is if the h thinks you want an heir? Then finds a guy and shags him to within an inch of his life and then throws it in the H's face because of course NOW he'd never really be certain or know right? But then that's me and hell hath no vengeance...
But no, she, after a short time and some few token words of protest, falls back in love with him (because she never did stop loving him). He's thrilled and starts enjoying his life with her. Meanwhile, she goes to a charity event she's hosting and the woman whom she snubbed by refusing to allow her to vet the guest list invites every single woman that her husband slept with. Now THAT is a woman after my own heart because she knows how to twist that knife and leave you bleeding. So the h grins and bears it and thinks how several of those women had fallen in love with her husband and how sad it is because he felt nothing for them really.
And here, I will do a Laura Kinsale honorable mention. There were 2 parts of this story that I feel was heavily influenced by Flowers from the Storm. First occurs when the h worries that he won't save all his kisses, all his caresses for her and her alone. As someone who has read "Flowers from the Storm" several times, this reminded me of a line in there where Maddie worries and says to Christian that she worries that he won't save all his kisses, etc for her and her alone.
Second, one of his mistresses, the last one he had before he hooked back up with his wife, comes to confront him in front of his wife, his wife's family and all the servants that she loves him, that she gave him everything, EVERYTHING. That she loved him. She's laying across the front steps groveling at his feet uncaring that she's making a spectacle. He stands frozen and unable to move or say anything. The h feels compassion for her and wants to go to her in her distress. She also wonders that the H can stand there stone faced at this woman's distress. Then the mistress gives her baby to him which the h takes.
Now if that whole scene doesn't remind you of "Flowers from the Storm" I don't know what will. As the H leaves without looking at anyone he thinks about how his wife was right that several of his mistresses had fallen in love with him. He thinks to himself "how can some thoughtful gifts, kind remarks be mistaken for love when he paid pound sterling for what they did in bed?" Well, he has a point there but still. He also thinks of the irony that his first born, a son too, is illegitimate and can't inherit. That the mistress was hoping that they were married instead and could raise the son together but alas...
Anyway, the h forgives him, falls in love with the baby and says she's going to be the best mother ever. The H announces his love for the h (around page 350 but who's keeping track? Me apparently). We get an epilogue. The h gives birth to...a baby girl. The H is happy with the girl and YET I think hmm... I would freakin' laugh my *ss off if she never gives birth to a son. 12 girls and counting. ha ha haaa!
So yeah. Engrossing story. Really felt everyone in the story was crazy except the h briefly in the first half and her bro who was cool throughout.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2021
England 1833. DNF at just past halfway.
John (viscount) +Violet (sis of a duke) were an estranged
couple for nearly 9 years. They avoided each other @ all
cost, until John surprised her @ a ball. During this story,
they had the same convo over+over. IMO John contributed
more to their estrangement, but neither H nor h wanted
to claim responsibility for his/ her mistakes. (She was
helpful but assertive in book #1 & spoiled in this one). He
acted too glib. John pressured Vi to reconcile w/ him in
order for them to have a baby/an heir!!! I won't go into
detail about John's heir. John was almost stalker-like,
forcing Vi to spend time with him. I wanted him to just
go away.
This baby plot, involving an estranged couple, seemed
absurd and OTT. This couple, both immature, should
have stayed apart. LLG the author can do better.
John (viscount) +Violet (sis of a duke) were an estranged
couple for nearly 9 years. They avoided each other @ all
cost, until John surprised her @ a ball. During this story,
they had the same convo over+over. IMO John contributed
more to their estrangement, but neither H nor h wanted
to claim responsibility for his/ her mistakes. (She was
helpful but assertive in book #1 & spoiled in this one). He
acted too glib. John pressured Vi to reconcile w/ him in
order for them to have a baby/an heir!!! I won't go into
detail about John's heir. John was almost stalker-like,
forcing Vi to spend time with him. I wanted him to just
go away.
This baby plot, involving an estranged couple, seemed
absurd and OTT. This couple, both immature, should
have stayed apart. LLG the author can do better.
Read
May 18, 2022Dustin bin material, the bin bag infact !
They are so adulterous I’m not into it
They are so adulterous I’m not into it
June 9, 2020
I remember reading this a long time ago when I was getting into historical romance novels. This was a horrible book. I really liked the h, she didn’t give in but then she did and I thought a lot about it.
What would you do if divorce wasn’t an option and you really did love your husband despite his horrible actions and even after resisting him for so long, he was going to get you back to his house by threatening the law/house of lords?
I don’t know the answer to that.
But I feel like the h shouldn’t have forgiven him so easily at the end when his “bastard” son turned up with his old mistress, I mean wth? That is beyond redemption! [I do know its not the baby’s fault
whatsover but the H’s but it still makes me really angry, why don’t men (in those days and even now) understand the consequences of sex?!]
Also, H was stupid, instead of going to other women in the beginning of his marriage when his wife was angry with him for a month, (only a month!) he should have tried to understand the h’s feelings and he should have tried harder to get her instead of
just jumping into other girls’ beds 🙄
This H was truly a jerk, manwhore, clueless, and completely despicable..... didn’t he understand she was upset with him for having a mistress before they wed, til the day before he married he had a mistress. So instead of doing exactly the same thing again, shouldn’t he have waited or tried harder for his wife? Seriously stupid is what the H is in this novel. And the h, she never once had any other man around, 8 years of marriage with a faithless man and she didn’t feel
Inclined to atleast talk to another man for comfort. I bet her husband would have come running back to her a lot sooner if he had any notion of her taking on a lover.
I remember being super pissed on behalf of the h and in general. I kept thinking about those era’s when divorce wasn’t even an option for women! Thank God for suffrage and women’s rights. We still have a long way to go though.
Rant over. I just had to get everything out.
What would you do if divorce wasn’t an option and you really did love your husband despite his horrible actions and even after resisting him for so long, he was going to get you back to his house by threatening the law/house of lords?
I don’t know the answer to that.
But I feel like the h shouldn’t have forgiven him so easily at the end when his “bastard” son turned up with his old mistress, I mean wth? That is beyond redemption! [I do know its not the baby’s fault
whatsover but the H’s but it still makes me really angry, why don’t men (in those days and even now) understand the consequences of sex?!]
Also, H was stupid, instead of going to other women in the beginning of his marriage when his wife was angry with him for a month, (only a month!) he should have tried to understand the h’s feelings and he should have tried harder to get her instead of
just jumping into other girls’ beds 🙄
This H was truly a jerk, manwhore, clueless, and completely despicable..... didn’t he understand she was upset with him for having a mistress before they wed, til the day before he married he had a mistress. So instead of doing exactly the same thing again, shouldn’t he have waited or tried harder for his wife? Seriously stupid is what the H is in this novel. And the h, she never once had any other man around, 8 years of marriage with a faithless man and she didn’t feel
Inclined to atleast talk to another man for comfort. I bet her husband would have come running back to her a lot sooner if he had any notion of her taking on a lover.
I remember being super pissed on behalf of the h and in general. I kept thinking about those era’s when divorce wasn’t even an option for women! Thank God for suffrage and women’s rights. We still have a long way to go though.
Rant over. I just had to get everything out.
April 26, 2021
*** Book Q & A***
* How did the book make you feel?: I felt like the H got off the hook too easily and that he was never truly remorseful.
* How do you feel about how the story was told?: This was a very entertaining and maddening read. The plot moved swiftly and it held my attention.
* What did you think about the main characters?: The H was truly a cad. He even told the h that his fidelity was contingent on the h pleasing him. He never really apologized to her and even partly blamed her for his own actions. He did apologize to one of his many OW when she foisted his bastard son off on him. I liked the h a lot and I thought she was very pragmatic, though she was too forgiving.
* Which parts of the book stood out to you?: The suffering and humiliation of the h was heart-wrenching. It went on and on!
* What themes/tropes did you detect in the story?: cheating H, wronged and abandoned h
* What did you think about the ending?: It was sweet. I would’ve liked a lot more groveling. I was left thinking he’d probably cheat again if she did something to piss him off.
* What is your impression of the author?: I’ll definitely read more.
Triggers: cheating
* How did the book make you feel?: I felt like the H got off the hook too easily and that he was never truly remorseful.
* How do you feel about how the story was told?: This was a very entertaining and maddening read. The plot moved swiftly and it held my attention.
* What did you think about the main characters?: The H was truly a cad. He even told the h that his fidelity was contingent on the h pleasing him. He never really apologized to her and even partly blamed her for his own actions. He did apologize to one of his many OW when she foisted his bastard son off on him. I liked the h a lot and I thought she was very pragmatic, though she was too forgiving.
* Which parts of the book stood out to you?: The suffering and humiliation of the h was heart-wrenching. It went on and on!
* What themes/tropes did you detect in the story?: cheating H, wronged and abandoned h
* What did you think about the ending?: It was sweet. I would’ve liked a lot more groveling. I was left thinking he’d probably cheat again if she did something to piss him off.
* What is your impression of the author?: I’ll definitely read more.
Triggers: cheating
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2020
Ok. This definitely was the LAST historical romance I'm reading. Can I please have my brain back?
What is going on? What is this unhealthy binge?
It is quite ironic that I'm reading all of that because of work stress which is literally caused by the members of the British aristocracy I need to work with.
Talking about cognitive dissonance.
Now, what to say about this book. I chose this because the premise of estranged spouses which reminded me of Sherry Thomas's "Private Arrangements" which is my favourite romance novel of all time. Needless to say this wasn't as good.
I enjoyed it but with reservations. The hero was a bonafide dick and his excuse wasn't good enough and his apology was half-arsed. It felt as if the heroine just resigned herself to loving him, having accepted she has no defences against his charm. I needed him to do a little bit more suffering before the inevitable happy ending. Ah, well.
Back to Henry James now for real.
What is going on? What is this unhealthy binge?
It is quite ironic that I'm reading all of that because of work stress which is literally caused by the members of the British aristocracy I need to work with.
Talking about cognitive dissonance.
Now, what to say about this book. I chose this because the premise of estranged spouses which reminded me of Sherry Thomas's "Private Arrangements" which is my favourite romance novel of all time. Needless to say this wasn't as good.
I enjoyed it but with reservations. The hero was a bonafide dick and his excuse wasn't good enough and his apology was half-arsed. It felt as if the heroine just resigned herself to loving him, having accepted she has no defences against his charm. I needed him to do a little bit more suffering before the inevitable happy ending. Ah, well.
Back to Henry James now for real.
June 20, 2025
Idek guys, but this all is getting very old.
It's about time I take a break from this author's book (this one is my second book by her and I dnf'd the third one). They all always start off pretty great, but the middle or the ending is rarely remarkable and snoozeworthy for me. I didn't care about the characters or their relationship right after the first few chapter probably. Also the HEA was so... convenient.Well, good for them!
It's about time I take a break from this author's book (this one is my second book by her and I dnf'd the third one). They all always start off pretty great, but the middle or the ending is rarely remarkable and snoozeworthy for me. I didn't care about the characters or their relationship right after the first few chapter probably. Also the HEA was so... convenient.Well, good for them!
March 3, 2020
This is a tough one for me to write. I'm going to give it 3 stars because I thought it was well written, and I did read it in one sitting, it sucked me in. The part I struggled with is that the characters didn't act how I wanted them to, I wasn't happy with their personal development, and it didn't end how I wanted it to. I'm not sure if it's fair to the writer though to rate low just because it didn't go how I wanted it to.
The plot is basically that the h thinks her marriage is based on love (because he tells her he does) but finds out that he lied to her, basically married her for her $$,and kept a mistress the entire time he was courting her. She is understandably pissed, freezes him out, he waits for a month for her to thaw, but then leaves because he “has needs.”
Many historical romances have cheating and mistresses, but this one was active cheating. He was in the wrong, he lied, but he just runs and starts having several affairs in the same city. He hurts her so many times, then only comes after her nearly a decade later because he needs an heir. There are no admissions of guilt, no words of love. He acts confused by her "woman feelings" when she gets hurt and pissed. He thinks because he has been faithful since their reconciliation, then everything should be peachy (as long as she puts out)
I couldn't respect either of them, she was a doormat, he was a prick that didn't see his mistakes so he didn't have any growth until the very end. Which brings me to the ending...…
stop reading if you don't want spoilers.....
I am tolerant of a lot, but I can not take it when a cheating partner produces a love child the h has to deal with. I felt like he showed more affection to his mistress and kid at the end than his wife.
The plot is basically that the h thinks her marriage is based on love (because he tells her he does) but finds out that he lied to her, basically married her for her $$,and kept a mistress the entire time he was courting her. She is understandably pissed, freezes him out, he waits for a month for her to thaw, but then leaves because he “has needs.”
Many historical romances have cheating and mistresses, but this one was active cheating. He was in the wrong, he lied, but he just runs and starts having several affairs in the same city. He hurts her so many times, then only comes after her nearly a decade later because he needs an heir. There are no admissions of guilt, no words of love. He acts confused by her "woman feelings" when she gets hurt and pissed. He thinks because he has been faithful since their reconciliation, then everything should be peachy (as long as she puts out)
I couldn't respect either of them, she was a doormat, he was a prick that didn't see his mistakes so he didn't have any growth until the very end. Which brings me to the ending...…
stop reading if you don't want spoilers.....
I am tolerant of a lot, but I can not take it when a cheating partner produces a love child the h has to deal with. I felt like he showed more affection to his mistress and kid at the end than his wife.
May 18, 2008
I didn't know what to expect when I started this book. Having read both positive and negative reviews on it, I figured I would either love it, or hate it.
With this book there is no in between. Either you will get on the Hero's side and root for him and Viola, or you won't.
Yes, the hero is a rogue. Yes, he hurt his wife by his indiscressions. But, she overeacted to the situtation at first. It wasn't an uncommon occurance for men to have mistresses. He gave her up to be faithful to Viola when they married. When Viola heard about her, and the fact he had to buy out the mistresses contract, she was hurt. (Understandably so) Personally, the fact that they were separated for as long as they were is the fact that they BOTH were stubborn, and when one would think about giving in, the other would have either ran off, or not make any effort to listen.
I admit that that Hero was a hard sell. He does not have a lot of redeeming qualities about him. (Especially at first) I felt sorry for Viola, but for some reason he won me over. Maybe it was the fond memories he had of her and the short time they had together. Maybe it was the way he started making a true effort to be with her. Maybe it is because he was so flawed, I really don't know.
I took a chance on this book, and I am glad I did. I am sorry some of the other people that read it disliked it so much, but I found it to be a book about forgiveness and personal growth from both John and Viola.
With this book there is no in between. Either you will get on the Hero's side and root for him and Viola, or you won't.
Yes, the hero is a rogue. Yes, he hurt his wife by his indiscressions. But, she overeacted to the situtation at first. It wasn't an uncommon occurance for men to have mistresses. He gave her up to be faithful to Viola when they married. When Viola heard about her, and the fact he had to buy out the mistresses contract, she was hurt. (Understandably so) Personally, the fact that they were separated for as long as they were is the fact that they BOTH were stubborn, and when one would think about giving in, the other would have either ran off, or not make any effort to listen.
I admit that that Hero was a hard sell. He does not have a lot of redeeming qualities about him. (Especially at first) I felt sorry for Viola, but for some reason he won me over. Maybe it was the fond memories he had of her and the short time they had together. Maybe it was the way he started making a true effort to be with her. Maybe it is because he was so flawed, I really don't know.
I took a chance on this book, and I am glad I did. I am sorry some of the other people that read it disliked it so much, but I found it to be a book about forgiveness and personal growth from both John and Viola.
November 29, 2024
4 ⭐- 4.5⭐
Reseña completa: https://masromance.blogspot.com/2024/...
en su momento le di las 4, ahora (en relación a lo que estoy leyendo) le daría las 4.5
Es cierto que el final es un pelín precipitado, pero lo bien llevado que está el tema, le veracidad de los personajes, complejidad de la historia y valentía de la autora, me han hecho disfrutar mucho de esta historia
Reseña completa: https://masromance.blogspot.com/2024/...
en su momento le di las 4, ahora (en relación a lo que estoy leyendo) le daría las 4.5
Es cierto que el final es un pelín precipitado, pero lo bien llevado que está el tema, le veracidad de los personajes, complejidad de la historia y valentía de la autora, me han hecho disfrutar mucho de esta historia
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