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Love in the Regency #1
Waiting for You
As a boy, Jack Coltrane, heir to the Coltrane House, spent his time hiding in the attic away from his drunken father. That is, until Merry comes along -- the tiny babe his father has been named ward of, and the young woman he will eventually grow to love as more than a sister. In a dark plan to secure Merry's fortune, Jack's father reveals the devastating secret that will tear them apart and force Jack to flee. Years pass, and now Jack is back to set things right for the girl he'll always love...but cannot.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
67 people are currently reading
583 people want to read
About the author
Kasey Michaels
307 books541 followersKasey Michaels is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 100 books (she doesn't count them). Kasey has received three coveted Starred Reviews from Publishers Weekly, two for the historical romances, THE SECRETS OF THE HEART and THE BUTLER DID IT, and a third for contemporary romance LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY (that shows diversity, you see). She is a recipient of the RITA, a Waldenbooks and Bookrak Bestseller award, and many awards from Romantic Times magazine, including a Career Achievement award for her Regency era historical romances. She is an Honor Roll author in Romance Writers of America, Inc. (RWA)
Kasey has appeared on the TODAY show, and was the subject of a Lifetime Cable TV show "A Better Way," in conjunction with Good Housekeeping magazine, a program devoted to women and how they have achieved career success in the midst of motherhood (short version: "with great difficulty").
A highly praised nonfiction book, written as Kathryn Seidick, "...OR YOU CAN LET HIM GO," details the story of Kasey and her family during the time of her eldest son's first kidney transplant.
Kasey has written Regency romances, Regency historicals, category books including novellas and continuities and a few series "launch" books, and single title contemporaries. She has coped with time travel, ghosts, trilogies, the dark side, the very light side, and just about everything in between. Hers is also the twisted mind behind her ongoing Maggie Kelly mystery series starring a former romance writer turned historical mystery writer whose gorgeous hunk of a fictional hero shows up, live and in color, in her Manhattan living room – to melt her knees, to help her solve murders, and to leave the top off her toothpaste. And, says Kasey, she's just getting started!
Series:
* His Chariot Awaits
* Lion On the Prowl
* Crown Family
* London Friends
* Chandlers Request
* The Trehan Brothers
* Maggie Kelly Mystery
* Romney Marsh
* Sunshine Girls
Kasey has appeared on the TODAY show, and was the subject of a Lifetime Cable TV show "A Better Way," in conjunction with Good Housekeeping magazine, a program devoted to women and how they have achieved career success in the midst of motherhood (short version: "with great difficulty").
A highly praised nonfiction book, written as Kathryn Seidick, "...OR YOU CAN LET HIM GO," details the story of Kasey and her family during the time of her eldest son's first kidney transplant.
Kasey has written Regency romances, Regency historicals, category books including novellas and continuities and a few series "launch" books, and single title contemporaries. She has coped with time travel, ghosts, trilogies, the dark side, the very light side, and just about everything in between. Hers is also the twisted mind behind her ongoing Maggie Kelly mystery series starring a former romance writer turned historical mystery writer whose gorgeous hunk of a fictional hero shows up, live and in color, in her Manhattan living room – to melt her knees, to help her solve murders, and to leave the top off her toothpaste. And, says Kasey, she's just getting started!
Series:
* His Chariot Awaits
* Lion On the Prowl
* Crown Family
* London Friends
* Chandlers Request
* The Trehan Brothers
* Maggie Kelly Mystery
* Romney Marsh
* Sunshine Girls
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
January 8, 2025
Having read more than one of Kasey Michaels's offerings this one started out very well but began to soon unravel in my opinion.
The abbreviated synopsis: Young hero is the son of a lazy, cruel, and profligate nobleman and grows up with the heroine, a ward of the manor house owner. The son is forced into a wedding to the heroine so the evil nobleman can gain access to her fortune. The son is thereby shamed, threatened, and sent away, seemingly forever. The young heroine waits five long years for her 'husband' to return to her. When he finally does there is an interminable period of love/hate that ping-pongs back and forth between the two that drags on way too long for this reader. The funds for the manor are mysteriously disappearing and the life-long bookkeeper is suspected. There ensues a plan to regain the manor from crushing debt and the hoped-for reconciliation of the two resentful and angry lovers.
The author's strong point is her use of humor, which is well-developed. However, toward the middle point, it began to drag and be overly-drawn out for me. As a reader, I would have enjoyed it much more if at least 100+ pages could have been eliminated from its 400+ page length.
The introduction of ghosts at the mid point also spoiled the serious nature of the romance for me.
All in all, it was OK but not one of my more favorite examples of the author's repertoire.
The abbreviated synopsis: Young hero is the son of a lazy, cruel, and profligate nobleman and grows up with the heroine, a ward of the manor house owner. The son is forced into a wedding to the heroine so the evil nobleman can gain access to her fortune. The son is thereby shamed, threatened, and sent away, seemingly forever. The young heroine waits five long years for her 'husband' to return to her. When he finally does there is an interminable period of love/hate that ping-pongs back and forth between the two that drags on way too long for this reader. The funds for the manor are mysteriously disappearing and the life-long bookkeeper is suspected. There ensues a plan to regain the manor from crushing debt and the hoped-for reconciliation of the two resentful and angry lovers.
The author's strong point is her use of humor, which is well-developed. However, toward the middle point, it began to drag and be overly-drawn out for me. As a reader, I would have enjoyed it much more if at least 100+ pages could have been eliminated from its 400+ page length.
The introduction of ghosts at the mid point also spoiled the serious nature of the romance for me.
All in all, it was OK but not one of my more favorite examples of the author's repertoire.
April 7, 2022
Jack is growing up under the auspices of his debauched father when Merry, his father's infant ward, comes into his life. He then devotes his life to ensuring her safety and welfare with the help of Clancy and Cluny, two down-on-their-luck Shakespearean actors, and their friends. August, the father, just grows worse and worse until the situation becomes untenable and Jack has to leave. He returns to set things right but circumstances on the estate have changed.
Ms. Michaels always serves up a good story and this is no exception with a cast of characters that entertain the reader. I admit there were a few moments when Merry got on my nerves, acting as childish as she accused Jack of doing, but mostly I was greatly charmed with Merry, Jack, and all the rest, including an American Indian and two Irish ghosts. The romance is sweet and the villain is dastardly, everything I want in a love story.
Ms. Michaels always serves up a good story and this is no exception with a cast of characters that entertain the reader. I admit there were a few moments when Merry got on my nerves, acting as childish as she accused Jack of doing, but mostly I was greatly charmed with Merry, Jack, and all the rest, including an American Indian and two Irish ghosts. The romance is sweet and the villain is dastardly, everything I want in a love story.
July 11, 2018
3.5, rounded up. I count on Kasey Michaels to give me a gently humorous story with characters who are endearingly flawed. This did not disappoint. Surprisingly, the paranormal with Bard quotes wasn't a deal breaker.
March 4, 2019
Good book
You people should just read this novel yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourselves and I really enjoyed reading this novel very much so. Shelley Ma
You people should just read this novel yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourselves and I really enjoyed reading this novel very much so. Shelley Ma
July 25, 2019
Horrible. I hated the ghost thing and the story was just so lame. Just waiting for something to happen. I got half way through and stopped.
October 11, 2019
Read from 10/6__1600-10_2240/19
Actual Reading Time is 19 Hours
Actual Reading Time is 19 Hours
November 14, 2021
Didn't connect. 2.5☆
Read
September 21, 2014As a boy, Jack Coltrane, heir to the Coltrane House, spent his time hiding in the attic away from his drunken father. That is, until Merry comes along -- the tiny babe his father has been named ward of, and the young woman he will eventually grow to love as more than a sister. In a dark plan to secure Merry's fortune, Jack's father reveals the devastating secret that will tear them apart and force Jack to flee. Years pass, and now Jack is back to set things right for the girl he'll always love...but cannot
This has a decent enough premise - the first few chapters cover Jack's early life when Meredith is just a baby in August Coltrane's house. August is a drunk and a gambler, who returns to the county estate at infrequent times during the year to throw raucous house parties. Though various methods, Jack and Merry are brought up by a random troupe of people, including two actors, a tutor, a viscount, and various other people. The story zips along at 5 year gaps as Jack and Merry grow up, ultimately being forced to marry, when she is 16, in order for August to get hold of her money.
That same night, Jack escapes, fearing his father would beat him again - this time to the death. He returns 5 years later, certainly richer, but not necessarily wiser- with his father and some of those who looked after Jack when younger, now dead.
He finds Merry both loves him and hates him. Henry Sherlock, a friend of his fathers, has been running the finances of the estate in Jack's absence, whilst Merry has been running the estate and trying to pay off all the debts. Clancy and Cluny - the two actors - are now ghosts keeping an eye on Merry. The rest of the book is spent with Jack and Merry trying to work out their emotions and a way forward - bearing in mind they are still technically married to each other, dont really know each other as adults and have been damaged so much since they were children. Jack also comes to realise that Henry Sherlock isnt as benign as he lets on. There is also the matter of the Highway man who has started robbing people mere days after Jack has returned to town.
There's a lot of plot, a lot of talking (much of it resulting in the book getting a little bogged down in parts). The use of the ghosts as a plot device was good, though not sure if it could have worked some other way. Much of the other matters - such as embezzlement, fraud and forensic accounting - could be seen as very modern for a regency period book.
In all, good premise, reasonable story, got a little bogged down here and there
This has a decent enough premise - the first few chapters cover Jack's early life when Meredith is just a baby in August Coltrane's house. August is a drunk and a gambler, who returns to the county estate at infrequent times during the year to throw raucous house parties. Though various methods, Jack and Merry are brought up by a random troupe of people, including two actors, a tutor, a viscount, and various other people. The story zips along at 5 year gaps as Jack and Merry grow up, ultimately being forced to marry, when she is 16, in order for August to get hold of her money.
That same night, Jack escapes, fearing his father would beat him again - this time to the death. He returns 5 years later, certainly richer, but not necessarily wiser- with his father and some of those who looked after Jack when younger, now dead.
He finds Merry both loves him and hates him. Henry Sherlock, a friend of his fathers, has been running the finances of the estate in Jack's absence, whilst Merry has been running the estate and trying to pay off all the debts. Clancy and Cluny - the two actors - are now ghosts keeping an eye on Merry. The rest of the book is spent with Jack and Merry trying to work out their emotions and a way forward - bearing in mind they are still technically married to each other, dont really know each other as adults and have been damaged so much since they were children. Jack also comes to realise that Henry Sherlock isnt as benign as he lets on. There is also the matter of the Highway man who has started robbing people mere days after Jack has returned to town.
There's a lot of plot, a lot of talking (much of it resulting in the book getting a little bogged down in parts). The use of the ghosts as a plot device was good, though not sure if it could have worked some other way. Much of the other matters - such as embezzlement, fraud and forensic accounting - could be seen as very modern for a regency period book.
In all, good premise, reasonable story, got a little bogged down here and there
June 17, 2013
3.5 stars. Merry has been the bright light in Jack's beleagured childhood - one he's spent hiding from his brutal and debauched father, and loving and taking care of Merry, an infant when she became his father's ward. Clancy and Cluny, a couple of Irish travelling Shakespearean actors arrive to entertain a house party and never leave as they fall in love with the children and decide to help bring them up. Merry has loved Jack for ever, but he can't reconcile his attraction for her with his belief that he should feel for her as a brother. Through a series of unfortunate events Jack and Merry find themselves married and Jack exiled. Many years, and his father's death later, Jack returns with his enigmatic American Indian partner Walter in tow, now rich, to find the estate flourishing, the house falling to bits, Merry as estate manager, Clancy and Cluny gone, his father's business manager now a wealthy neighbour and his best friend Kipp in love with Merry. And Merry has no time for Jack, deeply hurt by his desertion, continued absence and lack of communication. Yet she won't divorce him. With some spirited help from Clancy and Cluny, devoted friendship from Kipp, forensic accounting by Walter and Jack, a mysterious highwayman is caught, embezzlement identified to source and just desserts meted out. For a lovely HEA.
Merry is stubborn to a fault, adventurous, loving, caring and determined. Jack is tormented by his father's hatred, his attraction to Merry and guilt over their forced marriage. At times I wondered what he had in him to win devoted friends like Kipp and Walter. Kipp is an intriguing attractive character I hope to encounter again.
Merry is stubborn to a fault, adventurous, loving, caring and determined. Jack is tormented by his father's hatred, his attraction to Merry and guilt over their forced marriage. At times I wondered what he had in him to win devoted friends like Kipp and Walter. Kipp is an intriguing attractive character I hope to encounter again.
October 5, 2014
Overall good read, slow in spots.
I thought this to be an entertaining story with elements that were quite good. The ghosts, twists and red herrings along the way were nice. That being said, for a Kasey Michaels book, the plot
was slow and plodding in places and I found myself skimming to find better content. As writer myself, I find that spelling errors in e books occur frequently, grammar and syntax are sacrificed to speedy publication. Historical Romances should not be formulaic, but should be consistent, as Kasey's books usually are. This one fell a little bit short of being really good.
I thought this to be an entertaining story with elements that were quite good. The ghosts, twists and red herrings along the way were nice. That being said, for a Kasey Michaels book, the plot
was slow and plodding in places and I found myself skimming to find better content. As writer myself, I find that spelling errors in e books occur frequently, grammar and syntax are sacrificed to speedy publication. Historical Romances should not be formulaic, but should be consistent, as Kasey's books usually are. This one fell a little bit short of being really good.
October 17, 2014
I wanted to test my Kindle App and the book happened to be a free offering that day. Unfortunately, it was a waste of time. I'm not inclined towards melodrama in general, and I do prefer a wittier heroine and more of an alpha male character in a Regency. I might have given it 2* but the ghosts dropped the rating further. I believe they were supposed to provide some comic relief, but instead they felt awkward, annoying and completely unnecessary.
August 18, 2015
Long journey home
For what is home but where the heart is. A very poignant story of two people finding their way in a world of difficult times and with no family to help. Creating their own family and living. Having a variety of people to help them and love them. That's what you will find in this story.
For what is home but where the heart is. A very poignant story of two people finding their way in a world of difficult times and with no family to help. Creating their own family and living. Having a variety of people to help them and love them. That's what you will find in this story.
October 19, 2015
This story has a little bit of everything!
This story is at times suspenseful, at times heart rending, at times sad, but underlaying it all the love between the characters makes you root for them. I loved the Shakespearian quotes and the Bard's actors, especially in death. Lots of twists and turns, with many surprises, but overall a delightful story.
This story is at times suspenseful, at times heart rending, at times sad, but underlaying it all the love between the characters makes you root for them. I loved the Shakespearian quotes and the Bard's actors, especially in death. Lots of twists and turns, with many surprises, but overall a delightful story.
September 10, 2014
Good read
Very good read. Light on sensuality & romance, and heavy on the plot. There's a bit of paranormal in it, and while I don't usually go for that sort of thing, it did help move the story along somewhat.
Very good read. Light on sensuality & romance, and heavy on the plot. There's a bit of paranormal in it, and while I don't usually go for that sort of thing, it did help move the story along somewhat.
October 21, 2014
Casey Michaels Never Disappoints!
I've been a Kasey Michaels fan a long time. I've never read one of her books I didn't enjoy. Intelligent, sympathetic character's, well plotted with action, suspense & humor. And the Regency Period always provides an interesting backgroud.
I've been a Kasey Michaels fan a long time. I've never read one of her books I didn't enjoy. Intelligent, sympathetic character's, well plotted with action, suspense & humor. And the Regency Period always provides an interesting backgroud.
September 15, 2015
A good beginning
Another fine Regency romance by Kasey Michaels. I read the second volume first, and although they're stand alone, it was great to meet Merry and Jack, and the giant Indian.
Another fine Regency romance by Kasey Michaels. I read the second volume first, and although they're stand alone, it was great to meet Merry and Jack, and the giant Indian.
October 16, 2010
No babies at the end of this book, but it was a pretty good read. It was a little confusing-the whole ghost thing-but I managed to wrap my mind around it towards the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2014
Slow read. I had trouble finishing the book. There were parts that I like, but a lot of it was just too much detail and little romance.
September 4, 2014
Is a great book to read
August 22, 2014
Romance, intrigue, scoundrels, orphans, and even ghosts. This book had all of it. I enjoyed reading this one and would read more of these Regency books - this was book one.
August 28, 2014
um... it was pretty bad. by far the ghosts were the worst part, but falling into bed with someone you had changed diapers on without much of any foreplay was also bad.
May 24, 2016
Well-written, for the most part, but it got off to a slow start and the romance wasn't as prevalent as I would have liked.
Read
September 4, 2014Not quite my thing.
October 1, 2014
Lazy writing - talking to oneself used to disguise exposition. Weird use of secondary characters, an excuse to spout Shakespeare?
December 5, 2014
powerful guardian uses resources of his charge and destroys his son and her charge
November 2, 2018
Love the author but this is not one of her best. Convoluted plot and somehow it couldn't keep my interest. Missing the liveliness of other works.
February 9, 2016
Enjoyed the story. And the ending - loved it! Was almost in tears! Cluny and Clancy stole my heart.
August 1, 2014
What a great story and always beautifully written. Love Kasey Michaels
August 21, 2014
Loved that it was a good read and free on my Kindle.
August 23, 2014
Not as witty or funny as I've come to expect from Ms. Michaels, but still a good read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews