Lovers Forever

by Shirlee Busbee

Under the cloak of darkness, Lady Tess escapes, a lone rider fleeing from her diabolical cousin-only to fall into the hands of ruffians who rob her of her jewels...and her memory. Then in the shelter of a wayside inn, she meets the man the centuries and the fates have prepared her for. From the moment the coldly handsome Nicolas Talmage, Earl of Shelbourne, lifts his dark eyes to hers, they are drawn together, spellbound, into each other's arms, and into a night of passion that claims her innocence and melts his heart. But Tess refuses to become his mistress. Enraged and yet unable to let her go, Nicolas takes her to an old cottage on the outskirts of his estate. Here, in a place haunted by whispers from the past, they will discover Tess's true identity, a tangled web of family secrets, and a magical love that can transcend the boundaries of time and space...

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Regency, Enemies To Lovers

406 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Shirlee Elaine was born 9 August 1941 in San Jose, California, USA. She was the first daughter of a career naval officer, later she had two sisters and three brothers, they raised traveling the world. She went to the institute in Kentri, Morocco, after which she returned to California and she went to Burbank Bussines College of Santa Rosa, where she received a certificate in 1962.

Shirlee married with Howard Busbee in June 22, 1963. Now, they live in hills of California, where they raise for pleasure Standard Schnauzers, Standardbred horses, and other many animals.

She has worked as a receptionist for the Marin County Title and Abstract Co., as plant supervisor for Fairfield Title Co., and as secretary and drafting technician for the County Parks Department of Fairfield, California, where she met her life-long friend and mentor Rosemary Rogers. Published since 1977, Shirlee Busbee is the proud author of over 18 novels, including seven New York Times bestsellers. With over nine million copies of her books in print, she is the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in writing, including the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and Affaire de Coeur's Silver and Bronze Pen Awards.

You may write to Shirlee Busbee care of C/O Warner Books, Inc., Time and Life Building, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

Reviews

[Misfit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh this was a good story. Even though the author doesn't make the setting prominent (could have been anytime in the past, I didn't *feel* the Regency coming out at me), it didn't matter because the story was so good. Same for the sex, a bit much, but then again the author doesn't write the cringe-worthy sex scenes with manroot and heroine honey - plus the story was good.

Amnesia, a reincarnation twist on the H and h's grandparents and a true love that will never die. Lots of twists and turns and a mystery about the local smugglers and too - loved her somewhat oddball uncles coming to the rescue.

[Regan Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 and 1/2 Stars - Smugglers, Mystery and Amnesia!

Set in 1811, mostly in Kent, this is the story of Lady Tess Mandeville. Tess looks like her ill-fated great grandmother, who also had red hair and violet eyes and who was abducted, raped and impregnated by Baron Mandeville, and forced to marry the evil man instead of the Earl of Sherbourne whom she loved. Now there is another Baron Mandeville, Avery, a distant cousin of the one who recently died. Thinking to have her fortune, Avery imprisons Tess in his house and demands she wed him.

With the aid of her aunts, Tess escapes, only to fall into the hands of smugglers looking for a horse. They take her horse and her jewels and hit her on the head, whereupon she loses her memory. In a nearby traveler’s inn, she meets the handsome Nicolas Talmage, Earl of Sherbourne, who assumes she is a tavern wench available for his use. He plies her with liquor and takes her innocence. When he tells Tess she will become his mistress, she refuses, but Nicolas ignores her. He takes her to an old cottage on the outskirts of his estate where he basically holds her prisoner as his mistress and “no thought of resisting him crossed her mind.” Apparently neither was concerned she might birth a bastard.

I love Busbee’s storytelling, which captured me immediately with Tess’ strange family history, and the inclusion of smugglers operating on the coast of Kent. The mystery of what happened to Tess’ great grandmother persists till the end. The plot thickens when the smugglers return and threaten Tess. Meanwhile, her uncles, who guard her fortune, are on the hunt for her. I loved Busbee’s portrayal of the uncles and their dry speech. And all her Regency expressions add richness to the story.

However, the instant lust between both the hero and heroine was a bit jarring, especially with her being an innocent and never having met him before. To my thinking, she also gave in to him too easily. It was interesting to me that neither Nicolas nor anyone else noticed Tess’ aristocratic speech, unlikely for a tavern whore. That aside, it was a great story and the mystery of her grandmother is solved in the end.

[BRNTerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

PUBLISHER: Warner Vision, 5/1996
GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance
SETTING: England, 1811
SERIES? No
AUTHOR SITE: link
MY GRADE: A-

MY THOUGHTS: I really liked this and it reminds me of books published in the 80's. Tess is twenty-one, with red hair and violet eyes. She was raised by her aunt, Hester. Her uncle Sidney died recently and his distant cousin, Avery, has inherited everything. He's out to make Tess his but she's having none of it. He holds her aunts and her prisoner but she escapes and looses her memory after she's attacked. She makes her way into an inn and is mistaken by the owners as someone they're expecting. They also think she's a prostitute, as does Nick.

Nick is thirty-two, with black curly hair and dark brown eyes. He doesn't believe she's lost her memory. He thinks she's poor and along with her family is trying trap a wealthy man into sleeping with her so he'll have to marry her. That couldn't be further from the truth, but he doesn't know it. There's not much backstory on him.

I like the way they bicker a lot. I can't stand when hero and heroine get along great from the start and there's never any conflict. Boring! They've got chemistry from the start. Though Avery's a villain, I like him and think there should have been more of him physically in the story, not just in the beginning, and not just in conversations.

The time span is only about two weeks which is ridiculous, really. They're in love and married in that short time. I don't know why the story couldn't have spanned several months, at least. Nick's older sister, Athena, is deranged and hateful but we don't really find that out until the end. She was nasty from the start but I liked her.

The only thing I didn't like about this story is the plot about Nick's grandfather and his old diary from seventy years ago. I found all that stuff to be absolutely boring. I found the Avery's-out-to-get-Tess storyline interesting as well as the whole Tess/Nick meeting at the inn to be interesting...and Nick trying to catch smugglers too was interesting to me.

[Khadidja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such an unserious book. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because i still have respect for the elderly (the author)

[Samantha Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book with a generations-old diary is a friend of mine.

Also, the magical realism? The mystery? The delightfully cheesy romance? Yeah

[♥ WishfulMiss ♥ · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I first started reading this I liked the fact that it read like an old fashion romance (thinkJohanna Lindsey) but than the more I read about Tess/Dolly and Nick, the more it reminded me why old fashion romances just don't do it for me anymore.

There was too much emotional highs and lows for these two and although they expresses themselves as feeling "shamed" and "guilty" I never saw any real remorse for their crazy actions. There was a lot of "I'm ashamed/guilty and I know this is bad/terrible/unforgivable but I'm gonna to it anyways - it cause numerous eye rolls for this reader. The whole story/romance felt rushed and the plot with the grandfather's diary was done really badly. I am still confused as to which of Benedict's lovers was really the one who held his heart. Theresa really got the short end of the stick in this relationship. (I am still pissed about Pallas' burial solution - I don't care how much I "loved" someone, please don't bury me next to him AND his wife! That is just wrong and left me feeling like Theresa deserved so much more than that. Even after death she was belittled!)

I know I got off point there, but sadly I was more interested in the dead couple (and I think I mentioned a bit how that all blew up in my face above) than I was about Tess and Nick. It was never really addressed in the story but both Nick and Tess experience a lot of de'javu moments through the eyes of Benedict and Theresa that made it all feel like this wasn't really Nick and Tess's love story but the replay of Benedict and Theresa's through their descendants. Which didn't bother me too much until you read Benedict's accounting of what happened 70 years ago. Than I didn't really fall for the whole "love of my life" theory, it all became a lot less romantic and more shabby. I would have left that can of worms unopened and moved on. It did not shine a good light on anyone.

In the end this one is just a confusing he loves her, he loves her not story that just left a bad taste in my mouth.

[Mariya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story but nothing more. It's good for a few free hours.

[Mas · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75
The romance was good. I ended up skimming through the suspense/crime part of it.

[Sandy Frediani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well... this was okay. Not the best and not the worst. The writing is a bit wordy often going into unnecessarily detailed descriptions. Along with quite a bit of backstory and exposition that borders on info dumps, the pace plodded. There's a fair amount of 'telling' as well. At a point near the beginning, when they find the smuggler's cache in the cellar, where Nicholas is thinking of her as 'Tess,' yet she still hasn't recovered her memory. He should be thinking of her as 'Dolly,' which is the only name by which he knows her at that point. I found myself wondering if the author thought she was being clever with the Pallas Athena names - Pallas being the grandmother and Athena the granddaughter. I didn't find it clever at all.

All-in-all, not the worst book I've read, but it could have been much better.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shirlee Busbee is a new author for me and i loved this book, with all it's wonderful characters and not so wonderful. The love story between Nick and Tess is full of ups and downs, twists and turns that sometimes you wonder if this pair will make it, and of course they do. There is two love story's in this novel one very tragic, and we have a touch of reincarnation going on. All comes together toward the end of the book. If you like a little murder and mystery in your love story you will enjoy this. Just be aware the sex scenes are hot and steamy, and Nick is quite the lover. Overall a good read looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Linsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, I really chose it mostly at random. Amnesia plots aren't usually my thing. But I liked this one. Although, I wasn't thrilled with the reincarnation part. That made me roll my eyes. And I was a little disappointed how conveniently she got her memory back just before her family arrived. I was hoping Nick would hide her for awhile for some amusing scenes before she was discovered. But the sex scenes were decent and I liked the mystery of who was trying to kill Tess and how that ended a lot.

[Pamela D. Gannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Easy read. Nice twists and turns. Good descriptions. Lovemaking thoroughly covered in the beginning so not excessive as the story builds.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really great. Love the romance and it was very captivating and kept me wondering what was going to happen through out the book. I couldn't stop reading until i was finished.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good - read twice

[Thu Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A steamy Regency romance with lots of suspense yet hardly any action. Just a lot of sex.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good! Absolutely loved it! It’s probably one of the best romance books I’ve ever read so far!

[My Book Addiction and More MBA · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVERS FOREVER by Shirlee Busbee is an interesting Regency Historical Romance. Follow Lady Tess Mandeville,and Nicholas Talmage, the Earl of Shelbourne on a journey of passion,danger,secrets,decades-old feud,misunderstanding and a fiery romance.Nicholas finds Lady Tess,at a tavern,with her memory loss, after left for dead in the woods and stumbles into the tavern. He takes her to his bed,and the story begins.....when Tess's true identity comes to light,they are shocked,for their families have had a decades old feud. They realize that maybe love can bring the feud to an end. But someone doesn't want that to happen,so enter the danger.... A wonderful story of an unremitting love. Well written with strong,engaging characters and an intriguing storyline. I would recommend "Lovers Forever" to any reader who enjoys historical romance, danger,secrets both present and pass,and how love crosses the bounds of time. Received for an honest review from the publisher.

RATING: 4

HEAT RATING: HOT

REVIEWED BY: AprilR, Review courtesy of My Book Addiction and More

[Karen K. Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was exciting and fast paced. The ending was great. I liked the characters. This wasn't my favorite book she has written. I did enjoy it and it took my mind off of my problems.

[Di Massey · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars ~ Tedious

[Angelyn Schmid · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're going to go, go all the way. This book does it. Unbelievable in parts, but all written in good faith, unlike many historical romances written today.

[Chris]

Ned. Titel: als een wilde orchidee

[S.Wouters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, good plot.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of her best.

[Ladyvixen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sympa sans plus l'histoire est toute simple mais manque de peps

[Elodie’s Reading Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an intriguing read, it began with a basic scheme of a trapped woman trying to escape a dark fate, then an amnesia plus a conspiracy plus a mystery were added to the mix, the whole was awesome.
Tess is a kind young woman, maybe too nice as it caused her actual predicament at the beginning of the book.
Then when she finds herself lost with no memories and any track of who she can be, she does the best with what is thrown on her way.
She doesn’t lack of backbones but her instant attraction to the gorgeous Nicholas Talmage reminded me of the paranormal romance about true soulmates. It was as if she can’t fight their chemistry, as it must be. Which is some way was real. I would have liked some more fights on her side than always letting her body being in charge instead of her brain.
Nick is a good man but some of his decisions were harsh, like abduct Tess even if it was to prevent her from a sad fate. Also he lacks in the conversation domain, hurting Tess more than reassuring her. And his denial of any of her explanations was some time infuriating but I had to remember the plot was set on a short time period.
In all, they were nice together, each one having his own issues but they were willingly to solve them for each other.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm just not into the reincarnation theme in this book.

[D Nichols]

I could not put this book down. By the end of it I was weeping. I was so touched. That doesn't happen to me.