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The Rosebuds #5
The Wedding Night
Dear Diary,
Four years have passed since the utter humiliation of my wedding night. But it seems like just yesterday that my husband left me--before consummating our marriage. So why, then, do I still harbor feelings for the selfish cad I once adored? Why did my heart quicken when I finally saw him again? I have my own life to lead, and my own secret, romantic novels to write. Samuel Firth has no place in my world.
Of course, the only reason Samuel returned to England was to contest my wish for a legal separation. He says he will not grant it--unless I agree to play the role of his wife until his place in Society has been secured. I knew he only married me for my noble name!
Yes, I was forced to agree to his sordid scheme. But if he thinks that our bargain grants him access to my bed, then he shall be sorely disappointed. In truth, it shall be quite amusing to lead him on--and then spurn him as he once spurned me!
From the private diary of Lady Cassandra Firth
Four years have passed since the utter humiliation of my wedding night. But it seems like just yesterday that my husband left me--before consummating our marriage. So why, then, do I still harbor feelings for the selfish cad I once adored? Why did my heart quicken when I finally saw him again? I have my own life to lead, and my own secret, romantic novels to write. Samuel Firth has no place in my world.
Of course, the only reason Samuel returned to England was to contest my wish for a legal separation. He says he will not grant it--unless I agree to play the role of his wife until his place in Society has been secured. I knew he only married me for my noble name!
Yes, I was forced to agree to his sordid scheme. But if he thinks that our bargain grants him access to my bed, then he shall be sorely disappointed. In truth, it shall be quite amusing to lead him on--and then spurn him as he once spurned me!
From the private diary of Lady Cassandra Firth
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
About the author
Barbara Dawson Smith
27 books101 followersFrom http://www.barbaradawsonsmith.com/bio...
A member of Romance Writers of America since 1981, Barbara Dawson Smith sold her first historical romance two weeks after sending it to a publisher. Her books have won the Golden Heart Award from RWA, and Best Historical Romantic Suspense and Best Regency Historical from Romantic Times. She has been a finalist for the National Readers’ Choice Award, Romance of the Year by Affaire de Coeur magazine, the Golden Quill, and the Booksellers' Best Award. She has also been a five-time finalist for the prestigious RITA Award, and realized a lifetime dream in 2002 when she won the award for TEMPT ME TWICE. Barbara also writes romance as Olivia Drake.
Barbara lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, two daughters, two cats, and who knows how many neighbor children running up and down the stairs. When she's not finishing a chapter or teaching a seminar on writing, she enjoys browsing in her collection of over a thousand research books.
A member of Romance Writers of America since 1981, Barbara Dawson Smith sold her first historical romance two weeks after sending it to a publisher. Her books have won the Golden Heart Award from RWA, and Best Historical Romantic Suspense and Best Regency Historical from Romantic Times. She has been a finalist for the National Readers’ Choice Award, Romance of the Year by Affaire de Coeur magazine, the Golden Quill, and the Booksellers' Best Award. She has also been a five-time finalist for the prestigious RITA Award, and realized a lifetime dream in 2002 when she won the award for TEMPT ME TWICE. Barbara also writes romance as Olivia Drake.
Barbara lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, two daughters, two cats, and who knows how many neighbor children running up and down the stairs. When she's not finishing a chapter or teaching a seminar on writing, she enjoys browsing in her collection of over a thousand research books.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 17, 2022
3.5 stars!
I wish I had waited and read the books in order! By the time a friend let me know I had already read the sample and was hooked. I don't know what it is about this author but I love her writing.
My problem was that the H was not much of an antihero. He's actually a good guy and I enjoyed the romance between the couple. His motive for revenge should have been left out of the book. I actually think the author forgot about that plot line herself.
Still, this was a fun story and I was actually shocked who the real villian turned out to be. So worth a read but definitely in order!
I wish I had waited and read the books in order! By the time a friend let me know I had already read the sample and was hooked. I don't know what it is about this author but I love her writing.
My problem was that the H was not much of an antihero. He's actually a good guy and I enjoyed the romance between the couple. His motive for revenge should have been left out of the book. I actually think the author forgot about that plot line herself.
Still, this was a fun story and I was actually shocked who the real villian turned out to be. So worth a read but definitely in order!
February 23, 2019
Maybe I should have liked this book more - it has all the things that usually pull me in. But I didn't!
A young wife abandoned on the wedding night, long separation, the husband falling in lust with the wife when he arrives back - not realising it's his own wife! Take that, you clueless lech!
Tries to woo her but she wants a separation. The H is the illegitimate son of a ?marquess and hates his blood family and wants to do a that'll-show-them. The h, on the other hand is enveloped in their bosom. So another reason for squabble.
And, yes, she's an author of semi-risque novels.
Even as this battle of wills and wants goes on, a shadowy but vindictive villain dogs them.
Suspense is mild but good.
Bedroom scenes are not at all mild and very good. Liked the H's planned seduction and the h's bold response!
Family drama is extraneous but the plot required the 'healing' and resolution.
So, yeah I kept skimming over the lulls and looked out for the important bits.
A young wife abandoned on the wedding night, long separation, the husband falling in lust with the wife when he arrives back - not realising it's his own wife! Take that, you clueless lech!
Tries to woo her but she wants a separation. The H is the illegitimate son of a ?marquess and hates his blood family and wants to do a that'll-show-them. The h, on the other hand is enveloped in their bosom. So another reason for squabble.
And, yes, she's an author of semi-risque novels.
Even as this battle of wills and wants goes on, a shadowy but vindictive villain dogs them.
Suspense is mild but good.
Bedroom scenes are not at all mild and very good. Liked the H's planned seduction and the h's bold response!
Family drama is extraneous but the plot required the 'healing' and resolution.
So, yeah I kept skimming over the lulls and looked out for the important bits.
August 26, 2026
This book, the final one of the Rosebuds series, was one I anticipated too; hence, I couldn't pick other books in between as I had to finish the entire stories.
The hero was a jerk prior to the book, so I was waiting to see how he could possibly redeem himself.
He set out to be financially successful and ruthless. He married Cassandra as a business arrangement. Her father owed him money, and Samuel in turn wanted the title he would be granted by marriage to these circles. Following the wedding ceremony, Samuel leaves Cassandra, and the continent as well.
He refused to push himself on the haughty man who had rejected his unwanted bastard son. Spurred by cold hatred, Samuel had set out to make his fortune. He had swom to avenge the wrong done to him and his mother by becoming the equal of the Kenyons.
Now, four years later, Samuel is back in London, and Cassandra, who was robbed of her happy ever after and fairytale love, is writing her own book. Cassandra has already ordered a deed of separation, to which Samuel disagrees. The latter strikes a bargain: if Cassandra helps introduce him to society and elevate his social standing while also pretending to have a successful marriage for an amount of time, he would sign the deed.
However, Samuel has other plans in mind
------ ------- -------
The matter that Samuel is set on revenge was vague and I quite felt it was underdeveloped; apart from his aspirations in mingling with the upper circles, there was nothing else that implied the actual vengeance and pursuit of it, nevertheless the people he had in mind.
Overall, in matters of rating, the plot is a 3.5 at most, the ensuing romance is 3, but the author's writing style and events/mystery anticipation build-up are solid 5.
The Rosebuds barely meddle here as they show up somewhere towards the last 60 pages. The conversations and reunion with the rest of the characters (Brand and The Kenyons) were enjoyable. Samuel constantly spurns every attempt at reconciliation all the while, till the very pre-end (almost 20 pages).
It's definitely not my favorite Rosebuds book, but neither is it near bad or okay; it was a bit underwhelming after having read One Wild Night, plus, the anticipation, in the previous two books, for the anti-hero archetype were a bit overstated; Samuel is not as horrible (or near horrible) and in desperate need of redemption as we were lead to believe. Brand in One Wild Night was portrayed much better.
Brand had a better redemption arc, for sure.
As usual, the villain of the story is the last person one would expect. I like that about the mysteries in Barbara Dawson Smith's books.
One more thing: Why hasn't Nathaniel proposed to grandmother Lucy yet? Lol, they've been courting since book 2. Lucy's grandchildren will have their own books next and Nathaniel is still her 'devoted companion'. I kept waiting for this to be resolved on-page.
The hero was a jerk prior to the book, so I was waiting to see how he could possibly redeem himself.
Two books ago and five literary years, in With All My Heart, Joshua Kenyon uncovers a secret, unknown to even the Rosebuds themselves: George Kenyon, his father, had an affair with an actress and, subsequently, an illegitimate child while married to their mother. He refused to acknowledge the child, and spurned the actress's pleas to acknowledge him. The child grew up to be Samuel Firth, facing hardship and carving his way to success, all the while hostile towards his half-family, grandmother Lucy, and the world itself.
He set out to be financially successful and ruthless. He married Cassandra as a business arrangement. Her father owed him money, and Samuel in turn wanted the title he would be granted by marriage to these circles. Following the wedding ceremony, Samuel leaves Cassandra, and the continent as well.
He refused to push himself on the haughty man who had rejected his unwanted bastard son. Spurred by cold hatred, Samuel had set out to make his fortune. He had swom to avenge the wrong done to him and his mother by becoming the equal of the Kenyons.
Now, four years later, Samuel is back in London, and Cassandra, who was robbed of her happy ever after and fairytale love, is writing her own book. Cassandra has already ordered a deed of separation, to which Samuel disagrees. The latter strikes a bargain: if Cassandra helps introduce him to society and elevate his social standing while also pretending to have a successful marriage for an amount of time, he would sign the deed.
However, Samuel has other plans in mind
------ ------- -------
The matter that Samuel is set on revenge was vague and I quite felt it was underdeveloped; apart from his aspirations in mingling with the upper circles, there was nothing else that implied the actual vengeance and pursuit of it, nevertheless the people he had in mind.
Overall, in matters of rating, the plot is a 3.5 at most, the ensuing romance is 3, but the author's writing style and events/mystery anticipation build-up are solid 5.
The Rosebuds barely meddle here as they show up somewhere towards the last 60 pages. The conversations and reunion with the rest of the characters (Brand and The Kenyons) were enjoyable. Samuel constantly spurns every attempt at reconciliation all the while, till the very pre-end (almost 20 pages).
It's definitely not my favorite Rosebuds book, but neither is it near bad or okay; it was a bit underwhelming after having read One Wild Night, plus, the anticipation, in the previous two books, for the anti-hero archetype were a bit overstated; Samuel is not as horrible (or near horrible) and in desperate need of redemption as we were lead to believe. Brand in One Wild Night was portrayed much better.
Brand had a better redemption arc, for sure.
As usual, the villain of the story is the last person one would expect. I like that about the mysteries in Barbara Dawson Smith's books.
One more thing: Why hasn't Nathaniel proposed to grandmother Lucy yet? Lol, they've been courting since book 2. Lucy's grandchildren will have their own books next and Nathaniel is still her 'devoted companion'. I kept waiting for this to be resolved on-page.
November 8, 2021
Cassandra and Samuel. Prologue starts out with Cassandra's diary entry. Then the story starts in 1820 which is four years later. Cassandra's book The Black Swan is about to be published when Samuel enters into her life again. I enjoyed this one.
The author also writes as Olivia Drake
The author also writes as Olivia Drake
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2023
Not my favorite. It was similar to another of her that was much better than this with a similar plot, the illegitimate son of a nobleman who marries a lady because he wants to get revenge on his relatives.
This one does something that I really didn’t like though.
He marries the heroine when she’s 15 then he leaves her alone for four years and screws every woman he meets on his way.
Does not matter if she was only 15 and still a child.
He deserted her for years and had his fun while she stayed at home to listen to all the rumors about his women.
This spoiled the book for me.
And the fact that he never says he’s sorry it’s still worse.
He comes back because she sends him paper for separation and he doesn’t want it.
He plans to have children with her.
Another nasty thing is that when he sees her after four years he doesn’t even recognize her and plans to have sex with her that very night believing she’s another woman.
Please don’t.
After this it was quite difficult for me to get into the right mood and I didn’t even care what happened afterwards.
He plans to seduce her and is very attracted to her and he even falls in love with her, eventually he will be able to reconcile with his family that never really rejected him since no one knew of him, beside his father who was the one and only villain.
What I liked the most was that when in the end he asks the heroine to choose between him and his relatives, that during his absence have been a true family for the lonely heroine, she doesn’t even think about it and chooses his relatives.
He deserved it so much!
I wish he apologized to her for deserting her and for cheating on his vows. No matter how young she was, she was still his wife and he was a cheat and a jerk.
This one does something that I really didn’t like though.
He marries the heroine when she’s 15 then he leaves her alone for four years and screws every woman he meets on his way.
Does not matter if she was only 15 and still a child.
He deserted her for years and had his fun while she stayed at home to listen to all the rumors about his women.
This spoiled the book for me.
And the fact that he never says he’s sorry it’s still worse.
He comes back because she sends him paper for separation and he doesn’t want it.
He plans to have children with her.
Another nasty thing is that when he sees her after four years he doesn’t even recognize her and plans to have sex with her that very night believing she’s another woman.
Please don’t.
After this it was quite difficult for me to get into the right mood and I didn’t even care what happened afterwards.
He plans to seduce her and is very attracted to her and he even falls in love with her, eventually he will be able to reconcile with his family that never really rejected him since no one knew of him, beside his father who was the one and only villain.
What I liked the most was that when in the end he asks the heroine to choose between him and his relatives, that during his absence have been a true family for the lonely heroine, she doesn’t even think about it and chooses his relatives.
He deserved it so much!
I wish he apologized to her for deserting her and for cheating on his vows. No matter how young she was, she was still his wife and he was a cheat and a jerk.
October 8, 2019
Lady Cassandra Firth was sold by her father to pay his debts to Samuel Firth. Samuel was the bastard son of an actress and Lord Stokeford, who never acknowledged him. He's become a wealthy businessman who "bought" Cassie when she was a very naive 15-year-old. Their marriage was never consummated and Samuel immediately left. Now 4 years later, he returns when Cassie's lawyer sends him a deed of private separation. Cassie has become a beautiful woman, and a published author, under a pseudonym. She has also moved in with his grandmother and half-brothers. He decides to make their marriage work and insists on her living with him for 2 months to introduce him to the ton. She does fall for him, but wants him to reconcile with his family who knew nothing of him until 5 years earlier, and then tried to make him part of the family. She's also got a stalker who eventually kidnaps her. Samuel recovers her with help from his brothers and all works out.
Interesting, a few bedroom scenes.
Interesting, a few bedroom scenes.
October 14, 2014
I'm glad that my experience with Once Upon A Scandal does not prevent me from reading this book. I have to say that this is a good book.
Unlike "Once Upon a Scandal", I feel like the plot is solid. Maybe not that spectacular, but to me everything is in the right portion. This book makes me want to read the rest of the Kenyon/Rosebuds series :)
Minor complaint for the large age gap between the hero (35-ish) and the heroine (19-20).
Unlike "Once Upon a Scandal", I feel like the plot is solid. Maybe not that spectacular, but to me everything is in the right portion. This book makes me want to read the rest of the Kenyon/Rosebuds series :)
Minor complaint for the large age gap between the hero (35-ish) and the heroine (19-20).
June 11, 2008
The Picture on the back of the book cover was better than the book.
June 17, 2025
Never liked Samuel’s character in With All My Heart book as he was such a villain in the book and absolute reprobate! Never knew he had his own book until I got recommended to this. Not only had he married FMC who was only 15 years old, he then abandoned her and literally slept with just about any lightskirt he met. And to make things worse, FMC had to endure every rumour about her rogue of a husband. I should have given this one star but since I love Barbara Dawson Smith’s writing so much, I have to add another star.
August 2, 2012
This is the 5th book in the series. It shows (A Kenyon Family novel), but it is also a 'Rosebuds' novel. I have to say that Ms. Smith saved the best for last. She deviated somewhat from the formula, but the bones were still there. (The Rosebuds didn't get to participate in solving the underlying mystery.) Of course, this was the 'happily ever after' for all five of the books. I recommend the series, but it is best you have them all at hand. Then, it like reading one big novel, because there are times you won't want to put them down. And, you certainly don't want to wait until you find or buy it. Happy reading!
October 26, 2012
In this book it is four years after Samuel Firth's wedding night and he has come back home to confront his wife about a deed of separation. Little does he expect but his wife is no where near what thought she would have grown up to be. Lots of secrets and Firth's deep hatred of his birth father's family.
May 1, 2013
I loved the hero, the grandmother and the brothers... i now see that I have read this out of order.... i did not notice, nor would you have to read them in order... but i am going to buy the ones i do not have and read them all in a row. Great book... heroine i warmed too but she was at times aggravating.
January 29, 2013
I had to struggle to finish this. The writing was good, the characters likeable, but the lack of communication and long-held grievances by both heroine & hero were annoying. Something about this book kept me from really liking it!
June 2, 2013
***3.8 stars***
its good!!
its good!!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews