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Carhart #2
Trial by Desire
SHE CANNOT FORGET THE FIRE HE IGNITED ...
In the three years since her husband left her, Lady Kate Carhart has managed to forge a fulfilling life for herself. But when Ned Carhart unexpectedly returns, she finds her tranquility uprooted --- and her deepest secrets threatened. Though she has no intention of falling for Ned's charms, Kate can no longer deny the desire that still burns in her heart.
OR THE PROMISE OF HIS LOVE ...
Ned is determined to regain his wife's trust by using unbridled seduction. But just as Kate surrenders to Ned's passion, her carefully guarded past threatens to destroy her. Now Kate must place her faith in the only man she's ever loved, and the only one who has ever betrayed her ...
In the three years since her husband left her, Lady Kate Carhart has managed to forge a fulfilling life for herself. But when Ned Carhart unexpectedly returns, she finds her tranquility uprooted --- and her deepest secrets threatened. Though she has no intention of falling for Ned's charms, Kate can no longer deny the desire that still burns in her heart.
OR THE PROMISE OF HIS LOVE ...
Ned is determined to regain his wife's trust by using unbridled seduction. But just as Kate surrenders to Ned's passion, her carefully guarded past threatens to destroy her. Now Kate must place her faith in the only man she's ever loved, and the only one who has ever betrayed her ...
360 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 28, 2010
82 people are currently reading
1953 people want to read
About the author
Courtney Milan
68 books5,484 followersCourtney Milan writes books about carriages, corsets, and smartwatches. Her books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. She is a New York Times and a USA Today Bestseller.
Courtney pens a weekly newsletter about tea, books, and basically anything and everything else. Sign up for it here: https://bit.ly/CourtneysTea
Before she started writing romance, Courtney got a graduate degree in theoretical physical chemistry from UC Berkeley. After that, just to shake things up, she went to law school at the University of Michigan and graduated summa cum laude. Then she did a handful of clerkships. She was a law professor for a while. She now writes full-time.
Courtney is represented by Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency.
Courtney pens a weekly newsletter about tea, books, and basically anything and everything else. Sign up for it here: https://bit.ly/CourtneysTea
Before she started writing romance, Courtney got a graduate degree in theoretical physical chemistry from UC Berkeley. After that, just to shake things up, she went to law school at the University of Michigan and graduated summa cum laude. Then she did a handful of clerkships. She was a law professor for a while. She now writes full-time.
Courtney is represented by Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 339 reviews
June 16, 2011
Ned Carhart left his wife Kate a mere three months after their marriage to go to China at the behest of his cousin to check out what was going on with the British and the Opium situation and to find himself. At the point of their marriage Ned considers himself something of a useless fribble with no responsibilities.
Kate is stunned and bereft.
Fast forward three years later and a lot has changed. Kate rescues women who are victims of domestic abuse and helps them to leave their husbands and relocate. Ned is back, strong in body and and somewhat stronger in mind, ready to take on the responsibilities of both a husband and as the heir presumptive of a Marquisate.
The two find their way back to each other. Ned still dealing with his demons while Kate is helping her riskiest 'rescue' yet, a wealthy lady of the ton whose powerful husband is relentless about getting her back.
This is only my second Courtney Milan book after the novella Unlocked and I must say I did not enjoy this one as much as I did that one.
There are three main things happening here: First, is the plot with Kate hiding her friend Louisa from her blatantly misogynistic husband the Earl of Harcroft; Second is the repairing of the sundered marriage of Kate and Ned; And third are the personal demons that Ned fights each day, which can clearly be seen as some form of Bipolarism or at the very least chronic depression (or maybe just a really extreme case of Seasonal Affective Disorder). This being the 19th century, of course, there is no diagnosis nor drugs for it, so Ned has to deal the best he can.
My problem is that of the three elements of the book, I only truly enjoyed the first. The plot to save Louisa from her husband was really exciting to read. But unfortunately that is not enough to carry the entire book that is supposed to be a romance novel.
The second element of the book -- the reparation of the marriage -- is continually derailed by the third element of the book, Ned's state of mind. The thing is, Ned's inner (and outer) dialogue about his 'winter of bleakness' feelings that sometimes come over him consumed the book and not in a good way, imo. Kate kept trying so hard to connect with him and he obfuscated. It was maddening to read. He was so emo! I couldn't take it after awhile.
Toward the end, I found myself skimming to read the parts that involved Louisa and her dastardly husband. Kate and Ned had lost me by that point.
So not a winner for me at all.
Kate is stunned and bereft.
Fast forward three years later and a lot has changed. Kate rescues women who are victims of domestic abuse and helps them to leave their husbands and relocate. Ned is back, strong in body and and somewhat stronger in mind, ready to take on the responsibilities of both a husband and as the heir presumptive of a Marquisate.
The two find their way back to each other. Ned still dealing with his demons while Kate is helping her riskiest 'rescue' yet, a wealthy lady of the ton whose powerful husband is relentless about getting her back.
This is only my second Courtney Milan book after the novella Unlocked and I must say I did not enjoy this one as much as I did that one.
There are three main things happening here: First, is the plot with Kate hiding her friend Louisa from her blatantly misogynistic husband the Earl of Harcroft; Second is the repairing of the sundered marriage of Kate and Ned; And third are the personal demons that Ned fights each day, which can clearly be seen as some form of Bipolarism or at the very least chronic depression (or maybe just a really extreme case of Seasonal Affective Disorder). This being the 19th century, of course, there is no diagnosis nor drugs for it, so Ned has to deal the best he can.
My problem is that of the three elements of the book, I only truly enjoyed the first. The plot to save Louisa from her husband was really exciting to read. But unfortunately that is not enough to carry the entire book that is supposed to be a romance novel.
The second element of the book -- the reparation of the marriage -- is continually derailed by the third element of the book, Ned's state of mind. The thing is, Ned's inner (and outer) dialogue about his 'winter of bleakness' feelings that sometimes come over him consumed the book and not in a good way, imo. Kate kept trying so hard to connect with him and he obfuscated. It was maddening to read. He was so emo! I couldn't take it after awhile.
Toward the end, I found myself skimming to read the parts that involved Louisa and her dastardly husband. Kate and Ned had lost me by that point.
So not a winner for me at all.
October 17, 2010
DNF at halfway point, just not feeling the romance and not caring about the hero or heroine. It was original so I can see why many gave it 5-stars, but for me I just couldn't quit skimming as I wasn't being pulled into the story. I really wanted to like it as I so enjoyed her debut, so I will read more by this author. There was a lot of 'telling' and not as much 'showing' going on too, and while it was done well for me it was just too much narrative.
November 28, 2014
Rating: 5 out of 5.
A beautiful story about estranged husband and wife. This is one of the few estranged romance stories I have ever read and liked. The best part of this romance was that both the heroine and the hero were true to one another throughout their separation. It wasn't like other stories where the hero/heroine profess to love the other, but then actually proceed to gallivant with other people.
A beautiful story about estranged husband and wife. This is one of the few estranged romance stories I have ever read and liked. The best part of this romance was that both the heroine and the hero were true to one another throughout their separation. It wasn't like other stories where the hero/heroine profess to love the other, but then actually proceed to gallivant with other people.
February 15, 2012
Grade: C - or weak 3 stars
Smoothly written story, a confident heroine who rescues abused women and a hero that battles depression should have been an angsty historical romance so why was it a struggle to maintain interest in this book? It felt tedious.
The Story
After three years abroad, Ned Carhart returns to England and his wife. He had left to conquer his inner demons and now has control over the melancholia that nearly destroyed him. The fear still lingers that he may sink into the pit of despair so he maintains a rigid command of his passions, environment, and actions. Ned knows his dauntless wife is keeping secrets soon after his return. His goal is to gain her trust and prove he is able to protect her.
After three months of marriage, Kate’s husband left on a long-term business venture. It left her feeling abandoned and lonely. Ned leaving also gave her the opportunity to pursue her secret activity of providing safe passage and/or shelter to battered women. The latest woman she shelters is the Earl of Harcroft’s wife and three month old infant. Harcroft is distantly related to Ned and a friend of the family. Kate longs to establish an intimacy with her husband. She wants to reveal why she acts the role of frivolous wife. She aches for someone to confide in. Can she trust her husband or will he hurt her again?
My Thoughts
Ned is a light, tortured hero. He’s charming. Ned makes people laugh while privately battling depression. He actively protects his wife from others, but privately creates a distance that wounds her. I did not find him a compelling hero.
Ned’s obstacle had an obvious solution, which Milan seemed to resolve in a realistic way. His repeated internal dialogue regarding his jealousy of Kate’s inner strength and his fear of losing control became frustrating. I didn’t understand why I should care or follow his personal journey to revelation. A happy ending in a historical romance is a given, and I didn’t feel invested in this story’s hero, which made about eighty percent of Trial by Desire a boring read.
Lord Harcroft added the tension this story needed. The last sixty-five pages were the most exciting and felt like a 4 star read. As for Kate, she was a treasure. She is mature and fearless. Her character never breaks, but bends then searches for another way past Ned’s armor.
Overall, this was a 3 star story but it felt like a 2 star read (boring). I’m glad I did not DNF because the last fifteen percent of the book was the best part. Proof of Seduction (book 1) didn't have as smooth a story as this one, but it did have compelling characters.
Memorable Quote
Smoothly written story, a confident heroine who rescues abused women and a hero that battles depression should have been an angsty historical romance so why was it a struggle to maintain interest in this book? It felt tedious.
The Story
After three years abroad, Ned Carhart returns to England and his wife. He had left to conquer his inner demons and now has control over the melancholia that nearly destroyed him. The fear still lingers that he may sink into the pit of despair so he maintains a rigid command of his passions, environment, and actions. Ned knows his dauntless wife is keeping secrets soon after his return. His goal is to gain her trust and prove he is able to protect her.
After three months of marriage, Kate’s husband left on a long-term business venture. It left her feeling abandoned and lonely. Ned leaving also gave her the opportunity to pursue her secret activity of providing safe passage and/or shelter to battered women. The latest woman she shelters is the Earl of Harcroft’s wife and three month old infant. Harcroft is distantly related to Ned and a friend of the family. Kate longs to establish an intimacy with her husband. She wants to reveal why she acts the role of frivolous wife. She aches for someone to confide in. Can she trust her husband or will he hurt her again?
My Thoughts
Ned is a light, tortured hero. He’s charming. Ned makes people laugh while privately battling depression. He actively protects his wife from others, but privately creates a distance that wounds her. I did not find him a compelling hero.
Ned’s obstacle had an obvious solution, which Milan seemed to resolve in a realistic way. His repeated internal dialogue regarding his jealousy of Kate’s inner strength and his fear of losing control became frustrating. I didn’t understand why I should care or follow his personal journey to revelation. A happy ending in a historical romance is a given, and I didn’t feel invested in this story’s hero, which made about eighty percent of Trial by Desire a boring read.
Lord Harcroft added the tension this story needed. The last sixty-five pages were the most exciting and felt like a 4 star read. As for Kate, she was a treasure. She is mature and fearless. Her character never breaks, but bends then searches for another way past Ned’s armor.
Overall, this was a 3 star story but it felt like a 2 star read (boring). I’m glad I did not DNF because the last fifteen percent of the book was the best part. Proof of Seduction (book 1) didn't have as smooth a story as this one, but it did have compelling characters.
Memorable Quote
”Do you know what it means, to help me?” He finally spoke against the edge of her collar. He was drifting off to sleep; his eyes would not stay open.
“Of course I do.” She sounded amused. And then she leaned forward. He could feel the bed shift under her weight, the heat of her against his face. Then she kissed his eyelids slowly. “It means I love you.”
April 8, 2018
OK, I won't say this is a bad book. I know Milan is quite popular. I've even read and enjoyed some of her books. But the simple fact of the matter is that I DID NOT LIKE THIS BOOK. That's the truth of it.
I found Ned horribly selfish, from start to finish. Yes, I understood that he was young and fighting demons, that he regretted having left and was trying to make amends. My problem was that he returned just as selfish as he left. I didn't find his fear a good enough excuse for the fact that he allowed his own wants to overshadow Kate's openly expressed desires, over and over again, hurting her repeatedly.
Further, I didn't understand why she continued to trust and love him. And that after the simple fact that after a 3 year absence (in a three month marriage), I wouldn't have been inclined to forgive him in the first place, let alone over and over again.
Then, there was the domestic violence aspect. Milan spouts all the right words about it not being a woman's fault, etc. But then she sculpted a heroine who laughed in the face of an abusive man. Yes, he was going to hurt her regardless, so why give him her fear. But it totally glossed over the fact that he very well could have killed her and purposefully antagonizing him isn't admirable. Placation isn't weakness if it keeps you alive. And of course the abused woman eventually stands tall and confronts her abuser. While I understand how this was supposed to be a triumph, if you really look at the inverse of it, regardless of what Milan espoused in the narrative, it all suggests that women who don't laugh in the face of their abuser or stand tall because they're so strong must in fact be weak. I was offended by the whole storyline.
I found Ned horribly selfish, from start to finish. Yes, I understood that he was young and fighting demons, that he regretted having left and was trying to make amends. My problem was that he returned just as selfish as he left. I didn't find his fear a good enough excuse for the fact that he allowed his own wants to overshadow Kate's openly expressed desires, over and over again, hurting her repeatedly.
Further, I didn't understand why she continued to trust and love him. And that after the simple fact that after a 3 year absence (in a three month marriage), I wouldn't have been inclined to forgive him in the first place, let alone over and over again.
Then, there was the domestic violence aspect. Milan spouts all the right words about it not being a woman's fault, etc. But then she sculpted a heroine who laughed in the face of an abusive man. Yes, he was going to hurt her regardless, so why give him her fear. But it totally glossed over the fact that he very well could have killed her and purposefully antagonizing him isn't admirable. Placation isn't weakness if it keeps you alive. And of course the abused woman eventually stands tall and confronts her abuser. While I understand how this was supposed to be a triumph, if you really look at the inverse of it, regardless of what Milan espoused in the narrative, it all suggests that women who don't laugh in the face of their abuser or stand tall because they're so strong must in fact be weak. I was offended by the whole storyline.
July 4, 2020
Ned is the life of the previous book -- even more beloved and central than the mcs.
I feared (as it alwaaays happens) that when it will come to his own book, I'll be disappointed and here, I am ... disappointed.
2.65*
I feared (as it alwaaays happens) that when it will come to his own book, I'll be disappointed and here, I am ... disappointed.
2.65*
September 24, 2010
Favorite Quote: “I don’t like to lose control.”
Kate inched her fingers across the coverlet to his free hand. His knuckles were heated, even though he’d been sitting in the cold. “Ned,” she whispered, “let me inside your control.”
We first meet our hero Ned in Proof By Seduction, where we learn he battles many demons, and depression is a big part of his life. At the start of Trial by Desire, Ned is not done battling his demons yet. After only three short months of marriage to Kathleen Carhart, he feels his control on his life slipping. Desperate to prove to everyone he can take on any job and any situation, he takes himself off to China to look into his family’s investments. Quite a drastic measure, but Ned’s problems just don’t skim the surface of his being. They run very deep, and he needs to remove himself from the new, intense feelings he has for his wife. It is in this three year journey that he wants and needs to prove to people that he is in control of his life.
Kate is devastated to be alone, but she also has a secret. She has started to help women who are being abused by their husbands get away. In 1840 England, women have limited rights, and Kate provides money, food, and shelter to get them to safety. She puts on airs of frivolity and pretends to be obsessed with shopping so people would never suspect she is the brains behind getting these women away from their husbands. All goes well, until she helps her dear friend Louisa and her newborn escape from the very abusive Earl of Harcroft. He is very suspicious of Kate, and what do you know – he shows up at her house to demand where Louisa is the day Ned unexpectedly returns home from China. Kate’s life gets turned upside down – she not only has a husband that has returned whom she does not trust, but a very cruel man keeping a very close eye on her.
I had no idea what to expect from Ned, after meeting him in Proof By Seduction. In that book, he came across as weak, and honestly when I found out he was to be the hero in the next book I wasn’t really excited. However, I adored Proof By Seduction and Courtney Milan’s writing style, so I couldn’t let Trial By Desire pass me by. Good thing for that too! Trial By Desire is an absolutely beautiful book and although we do get a Ned who has been hardened after three years abroad, he still struggles, and we get a very intimate look into his psyche. He is so scared – so frightened that he will lose just a bit of control and slip back into the darkness. He feels this intense need to prove to everyone he is capable of handling everything. When he returns home and truly gets to know his wife, and learns her secrets – he realizes she is so capable and smart. It makes him jealous in a sense and he instantly recognizes that fear again. He also has the desire to take his wife in an unseemly fashion and it scares him. A man in control should have no such thoughts. All of this makes him want to prove even more to her that he is a capable being. When all she wants is to feel safe and secure and just be with him. He is a unique hero – not really alpha, but definitely not a beta. He is tough, and stands up for his wife, but an air of fragility runs through him. In the end, he wants to be a better man for his wife, and that endears him to me in the best possible way.
Kate is a very solid mate for him, and she learns early on of his weaknesses, but makes the decision to be quietly strong for him. I think she gets overshadowed by his character – Ned has so much going on inside and leaves Kate a little in the dust. But I still liked her mature attitude and I loved the way she handles herself with Ned and Harcroft.
The romance in this one is so sensual. It takes about half the book to get there, but oh my does Courtney Milan give us some very nice scenes. I actually enjoyed the bedroom scenes in this one more than her first book. I think part of it is that she gives us some really sexy situations, but more than that, we see Ned lose a bit of that control in each scene, and it just makes them very intimate.
I thought the plot and evil doings of Harcroft present themselves very well too. The mystery becomes much more complicated than what I originally thought would happen.
I recommend you read Proof By Seduction first so you can meet Ned and get his full journey, however, this can be read as a stand alone. Luckily, we only have to wait until January to get another book from Courtney Milan, who is fast becoming one of my favorite authors.
Rating: 4.5/5
Kate inched her fingers across the coverlet to his free hand. His knuckles were heated, even though he’d been sitting in the cold. “Ned,” she whispered, “let me inside your control.”
We first meet our hero Ned in Proof By Seduction, where we learn he battles many demons, and depression is a big part of his life. At the start of Trial by Desire, Ned is not done battling his demons yet. After only three short months of marriage to Kathleen Carhart, he feels his control on his life slipping. Desperate to prove to everyone he can take on any job and any situation, he takes himself off to China to look into his family’s investments. Quite a drastic measure, but Ned’s problems just don’t skim the surface of his being. They run very deep, and he needs to remove himself from the new, intense feelings he has for his wife. It is in this three year journey that he wants and needs to prove to people that he is in control of his life.
Kate is devastated to be alone, but she also has a secret. She has started to help women who are being abused by their husbands get away. In 1840 England, women have limited rights, and Kate provides money, food, and shelter to get them to safety. She puts on airs of frivolity and pretends to be obsessed with shopping so people would never suspect she is the brains behind getting these women away from their husbands. All goes well, until she helps her dear friend Louisa and her newborn escape from the very abusive Earl of Harcroft. He is very suspicious of Kate, and what do you know – he shows up at her house to demand where Louisa is the day Ned unexpectedly returns home from China. Kate’s life gets turned upside down – she not only has a husband that has returned whom she does not trust, but a very cruel man keeping a very close eye on her.
I had no idea what to expect from Ned, after meeting him in Proof By Seduction. In that book, he came across as weak, and honestly when I found out he was to be the hero in the next book I wasn’t really excited. However, I adored Proof By Seduction and Courtney Milan’s writing style, so I couldn’t let Trial By Desire pass me by. Good thing for that too! Trial By Desire is an absolutely beautiful book and although we do get a Ned who has been hardened after three years abroad, he still struggles, and we get a very intimate look into his psyche. He is so scared – so frightened that he will lose just a bit of control and slip back into the darkness. He feels this intense need to prove to everyone he is capable of handling everything. When he returns home and truly gets to know his wife, and learns her secrets – he realizes she is so capable and smart. It makes him jealous in a sense and he instantly recognizes that fear again. He also has the desire to take his wife in an unseemly fashion and it scares him. A man in control should have no such thoughts. All of this makes him want to prove even more to her that he is a capable being. When all she wants is to feel safe and secure and just be with him. He is a unique hero – not really alpha, but definitely not a beta. He is tough, and stands up for his wife, but an air of fragility runs through him. In the end, he wants to be a better man for his wife, and that endears him to me in the best possible way.
Kate is a very solid mate for him, and she learns early on of his weaknesses, but makes the decision to be quietly strong for him. I think she gets overshadowed by his character – Ned has so much going on inside and leaves Kate a little in the dust. But I still liked her mature attitude and I loved the way she handles herself with Ned and Harcroft.
The romance in this one is so sensual. It takes about half the book to get there, but oh my does Courtney Milan give us some very nice scenes. I actually enjoyed the bedroom scenes in this one more than her first book. I think part of it is that she gives us some really sexy situations, but more than that, we see Ned lose a bit of that control in each scene, and it just makes them very intimate.
I thought the plot and evil doings of Harcroft present themselves very well too. The mystery becomes much more complicated than what I originally thought would happen.
I recommend you read Proof By Seduction first so you can meet Ned and get his full journey, however, this can be read as a stand alone. Luckily, we only have to wait until January to get another book from Courtney Milan, who is fast becoming one of my favorite authors.
Rating: 4.5/5
August 23, 2011
I was first turned on (pun intended) to Courtney Milan thanks to Stacey's review of Proof by Seduction. Which I also ended up loving and have been eagerly anticipating this sequel for some time now!
I wasn't sure if Trial by Desire could live up to Proof by Seduction. Especially because in Poof by Seduction Ned was kind of a fuck-up. Sure, I liked him and felt sorry for him but I was wondering how Milan was going to turn Ned into hero material. But hero material he turned out to be!
Ned, determined to prove his self worth, has spent the last three years working in China to sort out his cousin's business issues overseas.In the process, he has transformed from the joking, bumbling screw-up to a man this in strict control of all his emotions.
During his absence, his wife Kate has spend her time shopping and gossiping, or so she's lead all of society to believe. When, in fact, she has been fighting off a number of would be 'suitors' vying to win the attentions of the woman abandoned by her husband. In additon,Kate has been taking on monumental tasks like hiding her best friend from her abusive husband, hardly the acts of the oblivious socialite she's accused of being. And, in a time, when women were still considered property, helping her friend could put Kate in a great deal of danger.
When Ned and Kate reunite a battle of wits and seduction ensues.However, Kate is still hurt by Ned's abandonment and Ned is determined not to let his emotional guard down, especially where his wife is concerned. She is the one person who could unravel it all.
I have to say I think the book's description is a bit misleading. It says that "Ned is determined to regain his wife’s trust by using unbridled seduction." However, Kate is the one that is pushing for both physical and emotional intimacy but Ned is afraid of losing his grip on his hard won control.
I love how Milan manages to balance a slew of intense topics: abuse, betrayal, and depression with romance without having it feel like some historical soap opera. Instead she weaves a tale of strength, redemption, forgiveness, and love. Courtney Milan is fast becoming one of my favorite authors.
If you haven't already, I'd highly recommend reading Proof by Seduction before picking up Trial by Desire, but it's not necessary to read them in order. Trial by Desire is out now, what are you waiting for?! Go get it!
I wasn't sure if Trial by Desire could live up to Proof by Seduction. Especially because in Poof by Seduction Ned was kind of a fuck-up. Sure, I liked him and felt sorry for him but I was wondering how Milan was going to turn Ned into hero material. But hero material he turned out to be!
Ned, determined to prove his self worth, has spent the last three years working in China to sort out his cousin's business issues overseas.In the process, he has transformed from the joking, bumbling screw-up to a man this in strict control of all his emotions.
During his absence, his wife Kate has spend her time shopping and gossiping, or so she's lead all of society to believe. When, in fact, she has been fighting off a number of would be 'suitors' vying to win the attentions of the woman abandoned by her husband. In additon,Kate has been taking on monumental tasks like hiding her best friend from her abusive husband, hardly the acts of the oblivious socialite she's accused of being. And, in a time, when women were still considered property, helping her friend could put Kate in a great deal of danger.
When Ned and Kate reunite a battle of wits and seduction ensues.However, Kate is still hurt by Ned's abandonment and Ned is determined not to let his emotional guard down, especially where his wife is concerned. She is the one person who could unravel it all.
I have to say I think the book's description is a bit misleading. It says that "Ned is determined to regain his wife’s trust by using unbridled seduction." However, Kate is the one that is pushing for both physical and emotional intimacy but Ned is afraid of losing his grip on his hard won control.
I love how Milan manages to balance a slew of intense topics: abuse, betrayal, and depression with romance without having it feel like some historical soap opera. Instead she weaves a tale of strength, redemption, forgiveness, and love. Courtney Milan is fast becoming one of my favorite authors.
If you haven't already, I'd highly recommend reading Proof by Seduction before picking up Trial by Desire, but it's not necessary to read them in order. Trial by Desire is out now, what are you waiting for?! Go get it!
August 30, 2010
I was one of the readers of Courtney Milan’s debut novel, Proof by Seduction, who finished that book hoping that Ned Carhart, cousin to Gareth Carhart, the Marquess of Blakely, would get his own story. Trial by Desire is Ned’s story, but Ned is no longer the confused boy of POS; he is now a man, tempered by the hard experiences of three years in China. He returns to his home and his marriage, determined to uncover the secrets his wife is safeguarding even as he protects his own secret.
Trial by Desire is a more complex story than Milan’s first novel. The relationship of Ned and Kate takes place as they play their parts in the grimmer story of Kate’s friend Laura, sister of the Marquess of Blakely and wife of Viscount Beeton. The dual strands of the story make the reader aware of the darkness within an individual and within a society where coverture denies a married woman’s very existence as a separate, autonomous being.
This is a beautifully written, intelligent tale that raises questions about the definition of “strength” and affirms the transformative power of love.
Note: I received a free electronic Advance Review Copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
Trial by Desire is a more complex story than Milan’s first novel. The relationship of Ned and Kate takes place as they play their parts in the grimmer story of Kate’s friend Laura, sister of the Marquess of Blakely and wife of Viscount Beeton. The dual strands of the story make the reader aware of the darkness within an individual and within a society where coverture denies a married woman’s very existence as a separate, autonomous being.
This is a beautifully written, intelligent tale that raises questions about the definition of “strength” and affirms the transformative power of love.
Note: I received a free electronic Advance Review Copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
January 5, 2023
2.5
Started okay. Then it was depressing. Skipped through the second part just to find out what happened to Louisa.
Started okay. Then it was depressing. Skipped through the second part just to find out what happened to Louisa.
November 8, 2013
I will never ever stop being impressed by Courtney Milan's novels, mostly because not only are they the most helplessly and honestly heartfelt and romantic stories ever, they have such a PROFOUND sense of social justice to them--the plots are intelligent and they mean something and I always want to stand up and cheer and then maybe read a book or two about Victorian legal reform once they're over. God damn, she's my favourite author, and this book was great.
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March 15, 2015
A beautiful story with a surprisingly well working mixture of action, aspects of an thriller and well done, if not perfect, characterization.
Lady Kathleen "Kate" Carhart hasn't seen her husband in three years, when he, after only three months of being married, went on an abrupt diplomatic visit to China.
Said husband, Ned, comes back to find that his wife hasn't been a meek and silent resident of his country estate, but has some, lets say curious, projects going on.
I must applaud Courtney Milan for her ability and talent to create real, authentic, 3D characters. I was able to connect to them on an emotional level, and although that should be a regularly fulfilled requirement, it's hard to find those books.
Kate is a strong heroine without any qualms that could've made her into a stubborn, out-of-place and -time shrew. Her strength had a quietness about it, and she wasn't bitter and cold, not tiresomely so at least, despite the fact that she was left alone.
I liked that she and Ned were "only" seperated for three years, it has become somehow overused and therefore boring that many of these estranged couples in HR haven't seen each other for ten years.
Ned is a hero I don't have a clear opinion of, but if I would have to decide, I wouldn't vote in his favor. It unnerved me that his disappearance wasn't explained in a way that made me believe it. His reasons behind it were understandable, but I felt his reasoning somehow lacking.
He made up for it when he came back, but even then he came across as somehow naive and still not sure of himself, in the beginning.
I liked that his attitude towards Kate changed and developed realistically and without any major misunderstandings, but I disliked his stubborn claim not to be a burden to anyone. I hate when conceptions like that are in the hero or heroines mind until the very end, because it's simply frustrating.
As I haven't read book one from this series, I got a good first impression on hero and heroine from that book. Otherwise there is just the villain to mention as a significant secondary character, but he was, other than being a classical, radical misogynist, not very mentionworthy.
That said, Milan created an angsty atmosphere that was quite fetching and fitted the trust conflicts between the characters, their complex minds and thoughts, but also the general plot.
I would recommend it to anyone in the mood for a rather dark and emotional HR and an author in a league with Sherry Thomas and Mary Balogh.
Lady Kathleen "Kate" Carhart hasn't seen her husband in three years, when he, after only three months of being married, went on an abrupt diplomatic visit to China.
Said husband, Ned, comes back to find that his wife hasn't been a meek and silent resident of his country estate, but has some, lets say curious, projects going on.
I must applaud Courtney Milan for her ability and talent to create real, authentic, 3D characters. I was able to connect to them on an emotional level, and although that should be a regularly fulfilled requirement, it's hard to find those books.
Kate is a strong heroine without any qualms that could've made her into a stubborn, out-of-place and -time shrew. Her strength had a quietness about it, and she wasn't bitter and cold, not tiresomely so at least, despite the fact that she was left alone.
I liked that she and Ned were "only" seperated for three years, it has become somehow overused and therefore boring that many of these estranged couples in HR haven't seen each other for ten years.
Ned is a hero I don't have a clear opinion of, but if I would have to decide, I wouldn't vote in his favor. It unnerved me that his disappearance wasn't explained in a way that made me believe it. His reasons behind it were understandable, but I felt his reasoning somehow lacking.
He made up for it when he came back, but even then he came across as somehow naive and still not sure of himself, in the beginning.
I liked that his attitude towards Kate changed and developed realistically and without any major misunderstandings, but I disliked his stubborn claim not to be a burden to anyone. I hate when conceptions like that are in the hero or heroines mind until the very end, because it's simply frustrating.
As I haven't read book one from this series, I got a good first impression on hero and heroine from that book. Otherwise there is just the villain to mention as a significant secondary character, but he was, other than being a classical, radical misogynist, not very mentionworthy.
That said, Milan created an angsty atmosphere that was quite fetching and fitted the trust conflicts between the characters, their complex minds and thoughts, but also the general plot.
I would recommend it to anyone in the mood for a rather dark and emotional HR and an author in a league with Sherry Thomas and Mary Balogh.
August 18, 2016
Cute! I liked the heroine. It dragged on a little, but I'll definitely read more of Milan's work in the future.
September 8, 2017
I think I should make a new shelf: mental-illness-doesn't-work-like-that. Or perhaps disability-doesn't-work-like-that.
This entire review is one long content warning.
Since the first book, Milan has been hinting at Ned's "inner darkness," and toward the end of this book, Ned finally confesses the darkness is bouts of extreme depression. (Since it's the 1800s, Ned doesn't have a clinical term for it. Some reviewers have suggested bipolar disorder.) Ned hates this about himself: he constantly refers to it as the "inner monster" or the "inner darkness;" thinks it makes him an untrustworthy, lazy person; and treats it as a secret that must be kept lest he burden anyone else with it. At one point in the book, he describes how he almost committed suicide over this, but then decided that he wanted to live.
For Ned, living and dealing with his mental illness means constantly practicing control in all kinds of matters (sleeping in the cold, having sex less often and not being too passionate when he does have it, exercising rigorously), never depending on anyone, and looking over his shoulder waiting for the bouts to hit him again. Three-quarters of the book are dedicated to this self-loathing and means of coping with mental illness. And the book presents this approach as helping Ned to manage his illness to an acceptable level. I know it was the 1800s and Ned didn't really have any other options, but I worry about the message this sends to readers: if you have mental illness, just decide you're not going to let it take control of your life, exercise a lot, and play weird self-control games.
When Ned's wife finally finds out, she is touchingly committed to supporting him and staying with him. But Ned's self-loathing and coping mechanisms have only diminished slightly by the end of the book. Which, on the one hand: yay for love not curing disability! But on the other hand: what a depressing read, especially when this is supposed to be a brain candy HEA story.
To add insult to injury, the story's villain (a wife beater) is vanquished because he is diagnosed with lunacy (when he is overheard to say that he can't help his violent actions). He subsequently loses all his legal rights, and it is implied that he will be sent to a sanitarium. I can't explain how deeply this bothers me. Ned and his legitimate mental illness cannot obtain a diagnosis in the story, yet Milan has him manage his illness to a degree where he can function as a "successful" member of society (of whom no one suspects a thing). Then the villain gets an obviously false diagnosis which equals a horrible fate and I just. Can't.
The other story line revolves around the heroine rescuing battered women. As such there are descriptions of domestic violence, gender-motivated assault (non-sexual), and a husband trying to find his battered wife and force her to return to him, through legal means if necessary. A woman faces the possibility of losing her child to her abusive husband through the courts.
But, you know, Ned is a feminist and consent is a thing and the heroine takes charge of her sexual desire and they never cheat on each other, so. There is that.
This entire review is one long content warning.
Since the first book, Milan has been hinting at Ned's "inner darkness," and toward the end of this book, Ned finally confesses the darkness is bouts of extreme depression. (Since it's the 1800s, Ned doesn't have a clinical term for it. Some reviewers have suggested bipolar disorder.) Ned hates this about himself: he constantly refers to it as the "inner monster" or the "inner darkness;" thinks it makes him an untrustworthy, lazy person; and treats it as a secret that must be kept lest he burden anyone else with it. At one point in the book, he describes how he almost committed suicide over this, but then decided that he wanted to live.
For Ned, living and dealing with his mental illness means constantly practicing control in all kinds of matters (sleeping in the cold, having sex less often and not being too passionate when he does have it, exercising rigorously), never depending on anyone, and looking over his shoulder waiting for the bouts to hit him again. Three-quarters of the book are dedicated to this self-loathing and means of coping with mental illness. And the book presents this approach as helping Ned to manage his illness to an acceptable level. I know it was the 1800s and Ned didn't really have any other options, but I worry about the message this sends to readers: if you have mental illness, just decide you're not going to let it take control of your life, exercise a lot, and play weird self-control games.
When Ned's wife finally finds out, she is touchingly committed to supporting him and staying with him. But Ned's self-loathing and coping mechanisms have only diminished slightly by the end of the book. Which, on the one hand: yay for love not curing disability! But on the other hand: what a depressing read, especially when this is supposed to be a brain candy HEA story.
To add insult to injury, the story's villain (a wife beater) is vanquished because he is diagnosed with lunacy (when he is overheard to say that he can't help his violent actions). He subsequently loses all his legal rights, and it is implied that he will be sent to a sanitarium. I can't explain how deeply this bothers me. Ned and his legitimate mental illness cannot obtain a diagnosis in the story, yet Milan has him manage his illness to a degree where he can function as a "successful" member of society (of whom no one suspects a thing). Then the villain gets an obviously false diagnosis which equals a horrible fate and I just. Can't.
The other story line revolves around the heroine rescuing battered women. As such there are descriptions of domestic violence, gender-motivated assault (non-sexual), and a husband trying to find his battered wife and force her to return to him, through legal means if necessary. A woman faces the possibility of losing her child to her abusive husband through the courts.
But, you know, Ned is a feminist and consent is a thing and the heroine takes charge of her sexual desire and they never cheat on each other, so. There is that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2013
Quite disappointing.
I’d been saving this book, so I could savour it whenever I felt like I needed to read a really good romance novel. After the last couple of months, it felt like it was time.
Trial by Desire is a sequel to Proof by Seduction and although the couple set up is much more believable than in its prequel, the romance itself isn’t.
A scandal forced Ned and Kate to marry, but it was clear that both of them—Ned—at least needed to grow up in leaps and bounds for them to earn their (believable) happy ever after mandated by the genre. Milan’s solution is to send Ned away soon after the nuptials for three years and let him grow up into a capable man abroad.
Ned does grow up. When he comes back he’s a changed man and his reunion with his estranged wife is promising. Of course there are the familiar tropes keeping them apart: Miscommunication and a caricature villain. I’m wretchedly disappointed in the villain’s characterisation as the early promise of a multilayered characterisation for the domestic abuser is never realised. He has his internal logic that justifies the abuse but the reader is never shown why he thinks that way. Other than it’s assumed the period explains men’s attitudes towards women.
Even so, one man wanting his runaway wife back isn’t what stands between Ned and Kate and their happiness. It’s Ned himself. Milan tackles an important issue by making Ned bipolar—I assume that’s the correct diagnosis—and showing people have battled with mental illness before they had names for them. As admirable as it is to see Ned find his own solution for his mood swings, it doesn’t change the fact that his dogged insistence to cope on his own is what destroys the romance. The constant repetition of his desire to be the hero and secrets kept until the very end, don’t make him good husband material. He may have learned to stand on his own feet, but Ned doesn’t believably learn to lean on his wife, which leaves their marriage a sham.
Worse than Ned’s inability to transform from an independent man into a half a married couple, is how Kate’s plot is handled. She’s supposed to be saving battered wives from their husbands and an early feminist who learns to win her own battles, but time and time again Ned rushes to her rescue. He saves her both from a physical and a juridical attack. He’s the one who comes up with the final solution. Having read Kate’s story makes me appreciate Margaret and Jessica and all the other Milan heroines that much more.
The writing itself is uneven—which still occasionally true for Milan’s novels—and the story is boring. There are hideous amounts of telling and horrible smut euphemisms I wish never to see in a romance book again. Milan kept me engaged with the story at times but only at times.
I feel like I’ve read the worst Milan has to offer and I can go back to waiting for her next book. At least I know most of these novice mistakes won’t be repeated quite as blatantly ever again.
I’d been saving this book, so I could savour it whenever I felt like I needed to read a really good romance novel. After the last couple of months, it felt like it was time.
Trial by Desire is a sequel to Proof by Seduction and although the couple set up is much more believable than in its prequel, the romance itself isn’t.
A scandal forced Ned and Kate to marry, but it was clear that both of them—Ned—at least needed to grow up in leaps and bounds for them to earn their (believable) happy ever after mandated by the genre. Milan’s solution is to send Ned away soon after the nuptials for three years and let him grow up into a capable man abroad.
Ned does grow up. When he comes back he’s a changed man and his reunion with his estranged wife is promising. Of course there are the familiar tropes keeping them apart: Miscommunication and a caricature villain. I’m wretchedly disappointed in the villain’s characterisation as the early promise of a multilayered characterisation for the domestic abuser is never realised. He has his internal logic that justifies the abuse but the reader is never shown why he thinks that way. Other than it’s assumed the period explains men’s attitudes towards women.
Even so, one man wanting his runaway wife back isn’t what stands between Ned and Kate and their happiness. It’s Ned himself. Milan tackles an important issue by making Ned bipolar—I assume that’s the correct diagnosis—and showing people have battled with mental illness before they had names for them. As admirable as it is to see Ned find his own solution for his mood swings, it doesn’t change the fact that his dogged insistence to cope on his own is what destroys the romance. The constant repetition of his desire to be the hero and secrets kept until the very end, don’t make him good husband material. He may have learned to stand on his own feet, but Ned doesn’t believably learn to lean on his wife, which leaves their marriage a sham.
Worse than Ned’s inability to transform from an independent man into a half a married couple, is how Kate’s plot is handled. She’s supposed to be saving battered wives from their husbands and an early feminist who learns to win her own battles, but time and time again Ned rushes to her rescue. He saves her both from a physical and a juridical attack. He’s the one who comes up with the final solution. Having read Kate’s story makes me appreciate Margaret and Jessica and all the other Milan heroines that much more.
The writing itself is uneven—which still occasionally true for Milan’s novels—and the story is boring. There are hideous amounts of telling and horrible smut euphemisms I wish never to see in a romance book again. Milan kept me engaged with the story at times but only at times.
I feel like I’ve read the worst Milan has to offer and I can go back to waiting for her next book. At least I know most of these novice mistakes won’t be repeated quite as blatantly ever again.
September 3, 2015
Gah! I wanted this to be a better book. It's really only just three stars for me. I think the problem stems from Milan trying to do to much. She should've stepped back and taken one character element away. Ned is suffering with depression (which was a little flippantly dealt with in itself but CM is probably brave for even going there in an historical) and fears losing control. He fears that control will be lost in sexual encounters with his wife. He doesn't want her to see his weakness so he sort of pushes her away & yet he also wants her to want him sexually and, crucially, trust him but still not know about his problems. And: yeh, I can't fathom out what was going on. Just: head-scratching. Kate was better but still not brilliant. She helps women in scary and difficult situations but she seemed to just sit back & accept Ned's somewhat baffling behaviour. Frustrating. Never connected with them as a couple, although there was a dramatic improvement towards the end. There's merit to the ambition on show here and still moments of CM greatness but this was a somewhat exhausting muddle of a book, in my opinion.
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November 14, 2011
My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...
I was hoping against hope that Ned’s book would turn out to be something amazing but came out with a lot of disappointments. The writing was good but there were lack of humorous moments I so enjoyed in Proof by Seduction. I couldn’t connect with the characters, wasn’t really interested in Ned’s monologues on his ‘dark despair’ because I thought he was just wasting time and really got frustrated how he kept on pushing Kate away, even though he’s the one who left her in the 1st place. I REALLY hate to say this but the whole book was one huge boredom for me. It was a trial for me for sure, mostly because I was very confused about the desire part throughout the book since sexual tension was lacking decidedly in it!
So, the book starts right after Proof by Seduction where we saw Kate and Ned were supposed to get married. After 3 months, Ned just up and leaves for China, just like that! He informs Kate of it the morning he leaves. Whoa! That was just clumsy and beyond rude. We saw Kate is quite attracted to her new husband, wants very much to work it and though we really get no view of their marriage in those 3 months, it seemed like Ned isn’t at all happy. All his issues were, of course, with himself. His ‘dark despair’, the bouts of seasonal depression he had since he was 19 and his constant need to ‘prove’ himself worthy/perfect for everyone. This becomes a HUGE problem for them even when he comes back from China. Kate was really hurt the way Ned left her, I would be too. I wish we had more of those three months because after Ned comes back, I had trouble connecting with whatever actually was their problem. I wasn’t even sure for sometimes if Ned actually consummated the marriage or not. Maybe it was my misunderstanding but for a while I thought he didn’t do the deed... erm. So when Ned was back and I saw no sparks between them (even though the book blurb says otherwise and Kate kept asking for it), I was a bit deflated.
3 years later, Kate now has her own life. She has a secret, which turned out to be not a big secret after all. She saves abused women, mostly by their husband. Her last attempt went a bit beyond her league, this time it’s the wife of a peer of the realm. She saved the woman, Louisa, who’s also her good friend from her husband Harcourt. Louisa just gave birth to a boy but her husband’s uncontrollable anger along with the usage of his fists hasn’t stopped. The man was nasty throughout the book. But Kate was scared not only because he was a peer of the realm but that everybody knew him as a charmingly nice guy. Kate took Louisa to a shepherd’s cottage in her estate (Ned’s one where she resides now), which she has improved for such purpose. I liked the beginning here, how she saw Ned again, who came back without informing anyone of his arrival. Ned had beard and rescues Kate from a disaster waiting to be happened on the way. Kate was in disguise, just coming back from visiting Louisa. Kate couldn’t recognize her own husband not only because of the beard but also, apparently he’s matured bodily quite well. No longer the awkward, lanky young man he used to be. But whatever it was, I didn’t think he matured in any other way for that matter.
So their days together start. So are troubles with trusting each-other. Ned was still striving for that perfection in himself and dealing with his depression by doing manual labor and forgoing almost all kinds of comfort, i.e. fire in a cold night or sex with his own wife. I liked that he was celibate in China but I was equally pissed that even thought Kate wanted it, he wouldn’t and it’s not because he didn’t want her. Most of the confusions/misunderstandings created betwen them, IMO, were not that big and I thought this book had no plot for a full novel. I’d rather read a full novel of “This Wicked Gift” from The Heart of Christmas: A Handful of Gold\ The Season for Suitors\ This Wicked Gift, which was a wonderful novella by CM. Where was the magic of that novella? So, I totally felt the book was dragging and Ned’s musings were just repetitions after repetitions of the same thing. Honestly, it gets old after sometimes!
Kate knew that Harcourt was a very close friend of Ned, so she was pretty sure that Ned would support the man instead of her. This confusion also went on for the most part of the book. Ned wanted Kate to come to him on her own and not to perform her duty. Why couldn’t Kate just grab him by the tail and show that she wants him because she really wants him and not for her duty? Why did Ned keep on thinking he isn’t worthy of her? I mean they were both perfectly nice people, wanting to work on their marriage after the way Ned bungled it but hell, I didn’t really see their problem! As I said, not a ‘real’ problem in that sense. Then, even when Ned confessed to Kate about his problem, Kate wanted to help him and Ned didn’t want any help from anyone because asking for help made him feel ‘small and incompetent’. I thought Ned’s problems were very real but wow, reading about those felt like such a baggage, especially that he kept on pushing Kate away, over and over again.
I already mentioned their sex life. When the 1st sex scene finally happened, it wasn’t anything explosive or special IMO, considering how Ned and Kate felt about the whole thing. Then, even after they had sex, I felt no sexual tension. Is it really possible? If I kinda knew how their life was together just after their marriage, I’d had some basis for comparison but without it, I had no idea how to judge as to if things are going good or bad. Ned or Kate’s musings really didn’t help in this regard. We just know that they both desired each-other, so after such long time... I don’t know I felt nothing; no steam, no chemistry, nothing. It was worse because these two were perfectly fine individuals and there shouldn’t have been any problem with some chemistry at least.
Then of course, I was distracted by Louisa and Harcourt’s problem. Kate hides it from them all, including Gareth and Jenny. Kate thought these two didn’t like her. Because of Ned’s departure and the bad times that followed her, Kate kinda isolated herself from Ned’s family. And she very carefully cultivated this image of herself; the air-headed Duke’s daughter who knows nothing but shopping and perhaps a little of hosting parties and so on. It worked just fine for her secret mission. Even Gareth thought she was useless. Harcourt comes back, over and over again, to Ned’s estate because he was very suspicious of Kate from the beginning. At first, Ned helped him search the property and look for trails. But soon, Ned finds out the truth all by himself. Kate had already warned Louisa of it. I liked the scene, the way Ned helped Louisa understand that whatever her husband does to her, it’s got nothing at all to do with the woman she is. Yah, Ned knew of Harcourt’s problem because of one fine, drunken day in their Cambridge years, Harcourt blurted out his problems as Ned talked about his own. After that, Ned and Harcourt never talked about that day again but Ned was disturbed anyway. Yet, he never suspected that Harcourt might treat his wife so badly. Anyway, Ned doesn’t tell Kate but he is impressed nonetheless. Meanwhile, Kate is still confused over if or not to trust Ned about her secret mission. Harcourt tries to harm Kate before he leaves, to get information out of her but Ned saves her. He threatens Harcourt too but the guy leaves promising revenge. From there, they pick up on their marriage (and the sex life) or so to speak. Ned comes out with some of his troubles to Kate, yet not all. He was also scared that Kate would deem him unworthy if she knew of his afflictions. Yah, it was confusing and utterly annoying!
Soon Harcourt makes trouble for them, again. Not surprising as they were expecting it but didn’t know in form he’d attack. As Ned and Kate go to London, Harcourt brings charges on Kate for abducting his wife/encouraging his wife to leave him (something like that). After she was temporarily released from jail, they go back to their townhouse and talk. Ned tells Kate that he knows of her little secret. Kate was surprised but not shocked or anything because Ned said he was perfectly ok with her work. So, again, what was the problem, hmm? Ned goes to bring Louisa back to prove Kate’s innocence. On his way back at night, he has an accident and breaks his leg. What I couldn’t believe that with a broken leg (his horse, I believe, landed on his leg briefly before it ran away) he walked on for 5 miles (his ego on proving himself ‘worthy’) and brought Louisa back to London the next day while Kate’s trial. REALLY? The whole thing was solved soon as the case was dismissed against Kate. Yet Kate, looking at Ned’s disheveled state, couldn’t even guess that he has broken a leg or he’s doing really poorly or even that he’s in pain? Is that at all possible?! After that, when Kate wanted to help him and tried to make him see that taking help doesn’t mean he’s incompetent, he still wouldn’t co-operate and in the process, hurts Kate again. He tells her what in reality happened in China (to make her understand how unworthy he truly is!) while he was working for Gareth, that he was so depressed he was considering suicide. It should’ve been gripping but Lord, I had lost all my interest in the book by then, just flipping through it. After much thought, Kate does something else to salvage her marriage but I couldn’t believe that her ‘little talk’ made Ned see reasons he didn’t throughout the book. Right!
There was a little drama taking place afterwards, in a ball, to prove to the Lord Chancellor that Harcourt was brutalizing his wife but I didn’t care much for it. This thing already distracted me enough from Kate and Ned’s story, when it should’ve been them working on their own personal issues.
The ending was ok, showing that Ned is trying to come to terms with his troubles and live life to the fullest through all those, with Kate’s help of course. I don’t know because I wasn’t convinced there’s a HEA for them. I think there’d always be trouble because Ned would never be cured of his problem. And if he kept doing what he did throughout the book, I don’t see how they could be happy together! I am very unhappy because with such premise, if the plot was good with a strong storyline, it could’ve been a great book IMO. Ned was a very ‘real’ character yet an unusual HR hero while Kate was already an interesting heroine. But, CM couldn’t really utilize their potentials to the max.
3 stars, essentially for the writing. Also because as characters, I liked Ned and Kate. Definitely loved reading about Gareth and Jenny. I think I’ll give the Turner series a try.
*Update*
Want to have a good laugh? Read Mr. Milan’s review of Trial by Desire here! Heehee. :p
I was hoping against hope that Ned’s book would turn out to be something amazing but came out with a lot of disappointments. The writing was good but there were lack of humorous moments I so enjoyed in Proof by Seduction. I couldn’t connect with the characters, wasn’t really interested in Ned’s monologues on his ‘dark despair’ because I thought he was just wasting time and really got frustrated how he kept on pushing Kate away, even though he’s the one who left her in the 1st place. I REALLY hate to say this but the whole book was one huge boredom for me. It was a trial for me for sure, mostly because I was very confused about the desire part throughout the book since sexual tension was lacking decidedly in it!
So, the book starts right after Proof by Seduction where we saw Kate and Ned were supposed to get married. After 3 months, Ned just up and leaves for China, just like that! He informs Kate of it the morning he leaves. Whoa! That was just clumsy and beyond rude. We saw Kate is quite attracted to her new husband, wants very much to work it and though we really get no view of their marriage in those 3 months, it seemed like Ned isn’t at all happy. All his issues were, of course, with himself. His ‘dark despair’, the bouts of seasonal depression he had since he was 19 and his constant need to ‘prove’ himself worthy/perfect for everyone. This becomes a HUGE problem for them even when he comes back from China. Kate was really hurt the way Ned left her, I would be too. I wish we had more of those three months because after Ned comes back, I had trouble connecting with whatever actually was their problem. I wasn’t even sure for sometimes if Ned actually consummated the marriage or not. Maybe it was my misunderstanding but for a while I thought he didn’t do the deed... erm. So when Ned was back and I saw no sparks between them (even though the book blurb says otherwise and Kate kept asking for it), I was a bit deflated.
3 years later, Kate now has her own life. She has a secret, which turned out to be not a big secret after all. She saves abused women, mostly by their husband. Her last attempt went a bit beyond her league, this time it’s the wife of a peer of the realm. She saved the woman, Louisa, who’s also her good friend from her husband Harcourt. Louisa just gave birth to a boy but her husband’s uncontrollable anger along with the usage of his fists hasn’t stopped. The man was nasty throughout the book. But Kate was scared not only because he was a peer of the realm but that everybody knew him as a charmingly nice guy. Kate took Louisa to a shepherd’s cottage in her estate (Ned’s one where she resides now), which she has improved for such purpose. I liked the beginning here, how she saw Ned again, who came back without informing anyone of his arrival. Ned had beard and rescues Kate from a disaster waiting to be happened on the way. Kate was in disguise, just coming back from visiting Louisa. Kate couldn’t recognize her own husband not only because of the beard but also, apparently he’s matured bodily quite well. No longer the awkward, lanky young man he used to be. But whatever it was, I didn’t think he matured in any other way for that matter.
So their days together start. So are troubles with trusting each-other. Ned was still striving for that perfection in himself and dealing with his depression by doing manual labor and forgoing almost all kinds of comfort, i.e. fire in a cold night or sex with his own wife. I liked that he was celibate in China but I was equally pissed that even thought Kate wanted it, he wouldn’t and it’s not because he didn’t want her. Most of the confusions/misunderstandings created betwen them, IMO, were not that big and I thought this book had no plot for a full novel. I’d rather read a full novel of “This Wicked Gift” from The Heart of Christmas: A Handful of Gold\ The Season for Suitors\ This Wicked Gift, which was a wonderful novella by CM. Where was the magic of that novella? So, I totally felt the book was dragging and Ned’s musings were just repetitions after repetitions of the same thing. Honestly, it gets old after sometimes!
Kate knew that Harcourt was a very close friend of Ned, so she was pretty sure that Ned would support the man instead of her. This confusion also went on for the most part of the book. Ned wanted Kate to come to him on her own and not to perform her duty. Why couldn’t Kate just grab him by the tail and show that she wants him because she really wants him and not for her duty? Why did Ned keep on thinking he isn’t worthy of her? I mean they were both perfectly nice people, wanting to work on their marriage after the way Ned bungled it but hell, I didn’t really see their problem! As I said, not a ‘real’ problem in that sense. Then, even when Ned confessed to Kate about his problem, Kate wanted to help him and Ned didn’t want any help from anyone because asking for help made him feel ‘small and incompetent’. I thought Ned’s problems were very real but wow, reading about those felt like such a baggage, especially that he kept on pushing Kate away, over and over again.
I already mentioned their sex life. When the 1st sex scene finally happened, it wasn’t anything explosive or special IMO, considering how Ned and Kate felt about the whole thing. Then, even after they had sex, I felt no sexual tension. Is it really possible? If I kinda knew how their life was together just after their marriage, I’d had some basis for comparison but without it, I had no idea how to judge as to if things are going good or bad. Ned or Kate’s musings really didn’t help in this regard. We just know that they both desired each-other, so after such long time... I don’t know I felt nothing; no steam, no chemistry, nothing. It was worse because these two were perfectly fine individuals and there shouldn’t have been any problem with some chemistry at least.
Then of course, I was distracted by Louisa and Harcourt’s problem. Kate hides it from them all, including Gareth and Jenny. Kate thought these two didn’t like her. Because of Ned’s departure and the bad times that followed her, Kate kinda isolated herself from Ned’s family. And she very carefully cultivated this image of herself; the air-headed Duke’s daughter who knows nothing but shopping and perhaps a little of hosting parties and so on. It worked just fine for her secret mission. Even Gareth thought she was useless. Harcourt comes back, over and over again, to Ned’s estate because he was very suspicious of Kate from the beginning. At first, Ned helped him search the property and look for trails. But soon, Ned finds out the truth all by himself. Kate had already warned Louisa of it. I liked the scene, the way Ned helped Louisa understand that whatever her husband does to her, it’s got nothing at all to do with the woman she is. Yah, Ned knew of Harcourt’s problem because of one fine, drunken day in their Cambridge years, Harcourt blurted out his problems as Ned talked about his own. After that, Ned and Harcourt never talked about that day again but Ned was disturbed anyway. Yet, he never suspected that Harcourt might treat his wife so badly. Anyway, Ned doesn’t tell Kate but he is impressed nonetheless. Meanwhile, Kate is still confused over if or not to trust Ned about her secret mission. Harcourt tries to harm Kate before he leaves, to get information out of her but Ned saves her. He threatens Harcourt too but the guy leaves promising revenge. From there, they pick up on their marriage (and the sex life) or so to speak. Ned comes out with some of his troubles to Kate, yet not all. He was also scared that Kate would deem him unworthy if she knew of his afflictions. Yah, it was confusing and utterly annoying!
Soon Harcourt makes trouble for them, again. Not surprising as they were expecting it but didn’t know in form he’d attack. As Ned and Kate go to London, Harcourt brings charges on Kate for abducting his wife/encouraging his wife to leave him (something like that). After she was temporarily released from jail, they go back to their townhouse and talk. Ned tells Kate that he knows of her little secret. Kate was surprised but not shocked or anything because Ned said he was perfectly ok with her work. So, again, what was the problem, hmm? Ned goes to bring Louisa back to prove Kate’s innocence. On his way back at night, he has an accident and breaks his leg. What I couldn’t believe that with a broken leg (his horse, I believe, landed on his leg briefly before it ran away) he walked on for 5 miles (his ego on proving himself ‘worthy’) and brought Louisa back to London the next day while Kate’s trial. REALLY? The whole thing was solved soon as the case was dismissed against Kate. Yet Kate, looking at Ned’s disheveled state, couldn’t even guess that he has broken a leg or he’s doing really poorly or even that he’s in pain? Is that at all possible?! After that, when Kate wanted to help him and tried to make him see that taking help doesn’t mean he’s incompetent, he still wouldn’t co-operate and in the process, hurts Kate again. He tells her what in reality happened in China (to make her understand how unworthy he truly is!) while he was working for Gareth, that he was so depressed he was considering suicide. It should’ve been gripping but Lord, I had lost all my interest in the book by then, just flipping through it. After much thought, Kate does something else to salvage her marriage but I couldn’t believe that her ‘little talk’ made Ned see reasons he didn’t throughout the book. Right!
There was a little drama taking place afterwards, in a ball, to prove to the Lord Chancellor that Harcourt was brutalizing his wife but I didn’t care much for it. This thing already distracted me enough from Kate and Ned’s story, when it should’ve been them working on their own personal issues.
The ending was ok, showing that Ned is trying to come to terms with his troubles and live life to the fullest through all those, with Kate’s help of course. I don’t know because I wasn’t convinced there’s a HEA for them. I think there’d always be trouble because Ned would never be cured of his problem. And if he kept doing what he did throughout the book, I don’t see how they could be happy together! I am very unhappy because with such premise, if the plot was good with a strong storyline, it could’ve been a great book IMO. Ned was a very ‘real’ character yet an unusual HR hero while Kate was already an interesting heroine. But, CM couldn’t really utilize their potentials to the max.
3 stars, essentially for the writing. Also because as characters, I liked Ned and Kate. Definitely loved reading about Gareth and Jenny. I think I’ll give the Turner series a try.
*Update*
Want to have a good laugh? Read Mr. Milan’s review of Trial by Desire here! Heehee. :p
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2017
Well, what an interesting book. I read the Kindle enhanced version which gave the book a whole other dimension. The author lets you tap on symbols that take you to explanations and even audio where she (and, in one, her husband) talk about the book. It was actually fascinating to ponder the author's aim, her struggle to get an HR novel with a manic-depressive hero AND domestic violence (not the H here!) published and her own very critical opinion of this, the second book she has ever written.
I found it hard to forgive the H, Ned, for his self-absorption initially, but as the story progressed I realised he had been very young and immature when they had (apparently) been forced to marry, so I was able to cut him a bit of slack. The heroine, Kate, was a very strong young woman who presented a shallow and ditzy facade to the world so that she could secretly help women suffering from domestic violence. Ned did cause her a great deal of emotional pain, and I struggled to forgive him for that. I am a rather unforgiving woman, I think! And when Ned returns - just like that (what a great guy, it's all about him at this stage) - Kate has to deal with the truth that their marriage is basically an empty shell. How could he have abandoned her to the cruel innuendo and vicious rumours that obsessed the bored upper classes in London society?
The book revolves around Ned erecting and maintaining barriers against Kate so that he can remain in control at all times, believing this is the only way to deal with his depression when it arises, and Kate trying to break through and get him to understand that letting her help him at times will not lead to what could be suicide.
I understand CM's trenchant criticism of her own work, but I really don't think it is as bad as she says! I enjoyed it, I was absorbed by the characterisation and it is probably a book I won't forget- and I have forgotten A LOT of HR that I have read!
Well worth a look. Get the enhanced Kindle version if you can!
I found it hard to forgive the H, Ned, for his self-absorption initially, but as the story progressed I realised he had been very young and immature when they had (apparently) been forced to marry, so I was able to cut him a bit of slack. The heroine, Kate, was a very strong young woman who presented a shallow and ditzy facade to the world so that she could secretly help women suffering from domestic violence. Ned did cause her a great deal of emotional pain, and I struggled to forgive him for that. I am a rather unforgiving woman, I think! And when Ned returns - just like that (what a great guy, it's all about him at this stage) - Kate has to deal with the truth that their marriage is basically an empty shell. How could he have abandoned her to the cruel innuendo and vicious rumours that obsessed the bored upper classes in London society?
The book revolves around Ned erecting and maintaining barriers against Kate so that he can remain in control at all times, believing this is the only way to deal with his depression when it arises, and Kate trying to break through and get him to understand that letting her help him at times will not lead to what could be suicide.
I understand CM's trenchant criticism of her own work, but I really don't think it is as bad as she says! I enjoyed it, I was absorbed by the characterisation and it is probably a book I won't forget- and I have forgotten A LOT of HR that I have read!
Well worth a look. Get the enhanced Kindle version if you can!
May 24, 2024
Trial by Desire is my second book by Courtney Milan, and I'm shockingly finding this author to be a great disappointment for me. I've read so many good reviews about her books, but I'm hontesly not understanding why. I thought I would probably like this book better than the first, as apparently reading about Ned and Kate (who are the two main characters in this book) was the only thing I enjoyed about it, but I actually disliked it even more.
At first, I wasn't quite sure what it was that I didn't like about it. The first couple of chapters were interesting enough and the plot seemed promising, but for some reason I wasn't being pulled into the story and I wasn't sure if I should blame the author's style, the pace, or the way the events were unfolding. It turned out all three were to blame, and a few other things as well.
For starters, I don't think the author and I share the same view and opinion on matters. I would constantly get confused when reading a scene because while I often imagined the characters to be upset, serious, frowning, or whatever, the author would then describe them to be smiling, or vice versa, and I found that very annoying. Imagine what that must look like in my mind's eye. The characters appeared to be unstable and fickle, switching from one emotion to the next in a matter of seconds. Also, the way the events kept unfolding seemed unnatural to me. I didn't understand the characters. I didn't get their personalities or where they were coming from, the decisiones they made, what they wanted, how they felt or their interactions between each other. I just didn't get them and, honesty, they both came out as bipolar. And at least in regards to Ned, I've learned I'm not the only reviewer who thought so.
I understand that apparently Ned had some kind of mental disorder and was constantly struggling with it throughout the book, but I don't think it was properly handled by the author. Instead of making you feel empathetic towards him, he came out as an incredibly annoying characters. Or at least that's what he came out as for me. And anyway, what's Kate's excuse? I had the same issue with both characters, not just Ned.
Lastly, after re-reading my review of the previous book, Proof by Seduction, I think fickle, unstable characters might be the norm in Courtney Milan's books. I'd still like to give her writing one last chance though, before I completely give up on her.
In conclusion, I just don't think I should be wasteing any more time with a book that I'm simply not connecting with.
At first, I wasn't quite sure what it was that I didn't like about it. The first couple of chapters were interesting enough and the plot seemed promising, but for some reason I wasn't being pulled into the story and I wasn't sure if I should blame the author's style, the pace, or the way the events were unfolding. It turned out all three were to blame, and a few other things as well.
For starters, I don't think the author and I share the same view and opinion on matters. I would constantly get confused when reading a scene because while I often imagined the characters to be upset, serious, frowning, or whatever, the author would then describe them to be smiling, or vice versa, and I found that very annoying. Imagine what that must look like in my mind's eye. The characters appeared to be unstable and fickle, switching from one emotion to the next in a matter of seconds. Also, the way the events kept unfolding seemed unnatural to me. I didn't understand the characters. I didn't get their personalities or where they were coming from, the decisiones they made, what they wanted, how they felt or their interactions between each other. I just didn't get them and, honesty, they both came out as bipolar. And at least in regards to Ned, I've learned I'm not the only reviewer who thought so.
I understand that apparently Ned had some kind of mental disorder and was constantly struggling with it throughout the book, but I don't think it was properly handled by the author. Instead of making you feel empathetic towards him, he came out as an incredibly annoying characters. Or at least that's what he came out as for me. And anyway, what's Kate's excuse? I had the same issue with both characters, not just Ned.
Lastly, after re-reading my review of the previous book, Proof by Seduction, I think fickle, unstable characters might be the norm in Courtney Milan's books. I'd still like to give her writing one last chance though, before I completely give up on her.
In conclusion, I just don't think I should be wasteing any more time with a book that I'm simply not connecting with.
March 20, 2019
This one is hard to rate. There were elements that made me mad and others that made me so happy.
What worked for me:
1) Courtney Milan's writing. I liked the alternating povs told in the third person.
2) The safety which is pretty much a unicorn in the land of historical romances these days.
3) An H who is a decent guy, albeit completely obtuse at times.
4) A cute epilogue.
What didn't work for me:
1) The h was a big bag of hormones, even after the H essentially abandoned her for three years. Have you no pride, woman?!
2) The angsty angst that seemingly went on forever.
3) Too much sex.
4) The H's condition really warranted an author's note at the end of the story explaining what it was.
5) So much drama. It felt like the MCs' story wasn't enough to flesh out an entire book, so the author added a subplot to liven things up a bit. On a side note, the premise of the subplot really warranted an author's note too.
Overall, I didn't like this one that much. I didn't mind the sad bits, or the medical bits, but the relationship between the MCs just wasn't engaging enough after the half way mark. How many times can a woman feel rejected by her husband but still lust after him anyway? For this h, the answer is: an infinite number. Sigh.
What worked for me:
1) Courtney Milan's writing. I liked the alternating povs told in the third person.
2) The safety which is pretty much a unicorn in the land of historical romances these days.
3) An H who is a decent guy, albeit completely obtuse at times.
4) A cute epilogue.
What didn't work for me:
1) The h was a big bag of hormones, even after the H essentially abandoned her for three years. Have you no pride, woman?!
2) The angsty angst that seemingly went on forever.
3) Too much sex.
4) The H's condition really warranted an author's note at the end of the story explaining what it was.
5) So much drama. It felt like the MCs' story wasn't enough to flesh out an entire book, so the author added a subplot to liven things up a bit. On a side note, the premise of the subplot really warranted an author's note too.
Overall, I didn't like this one that much. I didn't mind the sad bits, or the medical bits, but the relationship between the MCs just wasn't engaging enough after the half way mark. How many times can a woman feel rejected by her husband but still lust after him anyway? For this h, the answer is: an infinite number. Sigh.
January 1, 2011
We met Ned Carhart in CM's Proof of Seduction and frankly I loved Ned. He was young and sweet. The glove with the teeth mark scene is still one of the funniest to me. But this story picks up about 3 months after PoS and Ned has married Kate.
Ned though feels that he needs to grow up before he can deserve Kate, so he takes off for China....for 3 years! When our Ned comes back he is a changed man, he has filled out those broad shoulders and cheek bones.
Kate however, isn't impressed she has 3 years of hurt and anger built up and by god he is going to feel her wrath. Only it is hard to be mad at somebody when you want to kiss the stuffing out of them instead.
Kate also has a big secret and if she reveals any part of her secret then people could get hurt. So what is a woman to do? She wants to trust Ned again, but is afraid he will leave. Ned has his own secrets he is protecting.
Ned really is a changed man and one that I like just as much as the old Ned. CM takes on a very real issue and I think portrays it in a very real manner. I always thought that Kate and Ned were a cute couple and nothing in this book changes my mind. At least we got a famous eyebrow waggle in the end once Ned realized that laughing and loving someone didn't mean the loss of his control that he desperately wanted to maintain.
Ned though feels that he needs to grow up before he can deserve Kate, so he takes off for China....for 3 years! When our Ned comes back he is a changed man, he has filled out those broad shoulders and cheek bones.
Kate however, isn't impressed she has 3 years of hurt and anger built up and by god he is going to feel her wrath. Only it is hard to be mad at somebody when you want to kiss the stuffing out of them instead.
Kate also has a big secret and if she reveals any part of her secret then people could get hurt. So what is a woman to do? She wants to trust Ned again, but is afraid he will leave. Ned has his own secrets he is protecting.
Ned really is a changed man and one that I like just as much as the old Ned. CM takes on a very real issue and I think portrays it in a very real manner. I always thought that Kate and Ned were a cute couple and nothing in this book changes my mind. At least we got a famous eyebrow waggle in the end once Ned realized that laughing and loving someone didn't mean the loss of his control that he desperately wanted to maintain.
November 10, 2017
This one is about Ned, who played a significant role in Proof by Seduction. He compromised Lady Kathleen Ware, trying to set her up with Blakely, and thus ended up marrying her himself. Ned was too young and hadn't come to grips with what we now call bipolar disorder, so he went to the Far East to investigate incidents leading to the First Opium War.
When Ned comes home three years later, he finally gets to know his wife and the strong woman that is hidden underneath the frippery. Since she was 16, she has been helping battered women leave their abusive husbands, using her fortune to help them build new lives. She most recently assisted Lady Louisa, the wife of the Earl of Harcroft, along with their infant son. Harcroft suspects Kate of knowing more than she admits; Kate wants to tell Ned but she isn't sure she can trust him since Harcroft is his friend.
It's a nice MOC story with the added conflict of Ned's mental illness and Kate's calling to help abused wives.
When Ned comes home three years later, he finally gets to know his wife and the strong woman that is hidden underneath the frippery. Since she was 16, she has been helping battered women leave their abusive husbands, using her fortune to help them build new lives. She most recently assisted Lady Louisa, the wife of the Earl of Harcroft, along with their infant son. Harcroft suspects Kate of knowing more than she admits; Kate wants to tell Ned but she isn't sure she can trust him since Harcroft is his friend.
It's a nice MOC story with the added conflict of Ned's mental illness and Kate's calling to help abused wives.
July 7, 2019
Well, this didn't live up to the first book, not in the least. It was an okay read, I suppose, but it simply didn't pack the feels the way I've come to expect from Milan.
The romance was fine, the characters were fine, the plot with Kate helping abused women was really lovely, but nothing seemed to live up to its full potential. I ended up simply skimming through various parts, because I was bored - bored on a Courtney Milan novel!? *cries* THAT broke my heart a lot more than anything that happened in the book, and that, friends, is sad.
The romance was fine, the characters were fine, the plot with Kate helping abused women was really lovely, but nothing seemed to live up to its full potential. I ended up simply skimming through various parts, because I was bored - bored on a Courtney Milan novel!? *cries* THAT broke my heart a lot more than anything that happened in the book, and that, friends, is sad.
December 29, 2019
Holy angsty goodness! I felt like crying for a good portion of this story because of how fraught relations were between Kate and Ned. There was so much longing on both sides, so much to overcome in their estranged marriage. And that’s only the internal struggle!
Kate and Ned had a marriage of convenience after they were caught in a compromising position. After three months of marriage, he left her to go to China and stayed away for three years, breaking her heart in the process. It may have been a marriage of convenience but she had real feelings for him and wanted more. However, Ned did not feel worthy of her and needed to prove something to himself. Now that he’s returned and could see just how much his actions negatively affected her, he wants to earn her trust back. Kate, however, doesn’t want to get her hopes up. In part because hope is hard and she’s not sure there’s any of their marriage worth saving and in part because she has a secret.
This story deals frankly with domestic violence and I want to discuss it more thoroughly so readers for whom this may be triggering can decide if they want to try this story. Kate, unbeknownst to everyone in her life, rescues women from abusive husbands and is in the process of helping the seventh woman, her friend Lady Louisa. Women had very few options at the time if their husbands abused them and even fewer rights. It’s beyond heartbreaking and Kate takes no small amount of risk in helping them. The abuse Louisa endured, as well as a couple of women Kate helped in the past, is referenced but we do not see on the page violence. However, Louisa’s husband Harcroft does threaten and hurt Kate in the story in his attempt to find his wife. Kate is not in danger for very long before Ned rescues her. Louisa does ultimately free herself of her husband in a very satisfying way but it does involve her confronting him. Overall, I thought this aspect of the story was handled well. Kate’s actions are commendable and I loved that Ned never questioned her actions, once he learned the truth. While Harcroft spews misogyny, Ned does not demean women, nor does he agree with Harcroft’s sentiments. He does have somewhat of an awakening because before this, he’s never thought about all that women endure.
The other important piece of this story is that Ned has dealt with depression since age 18, although it’s not labeled as such. He refers to it as a bleak darkness. He becomes a bit of an ascetic to ward it off and refuses help from anyone, in order to prove to himself that he can handle things. He is such a good man and takes winning Kate back seriously. But he has to learn what partnership looks like and how to accept that asking for help is not synonymous with weakness. The way that Kate ultimately proves this to him was so lovely. My heart overflowed. And I loved Ned’s gesture regarding the house for Kate at the end! These two were everything. Plus, there are some really hot scenes in this story. Another winner from Courtney Milan!
CW: domestic violence (side character), abused horse (who is rescued), violence, sexism, misogyny, broken leg due to spooked horse, depression, past suicidal ideation
Kate and Ned had a marriage of convenience after they were caught in a compromising position. After three months of marriage, he left her to go to China and stayed away for three years, breaking her heart in the process. It may have been a marriage of convenience but she had real feelings for him and wanted more. However, Ned did not feel worthy of her and needed to prove something to himself. Now that he’s returned and could see just how much his actions negatively affected her, he wants to earn her trust back. Kate, however, doesn’t want to get her hopes up. In part because hope is hard and she’s not sure there’s any of their marriage worth saving and in part because she has a secret.
This story deals frankly with domestic violence and I want to discuss it more thoroughly so readers for whom this may be triggering can decide if they want to try this story. Kate, unbeknownst to everyone in her life, rescues women from abusive husbands and is in the process of helping the seventh woman, her friend Lady Louisa. Women had very few options at the time if their husbands abused them and even fewer rights. It’s beyond heartbreaking and Kate takes no small amount of risk in helping them. The abuse Louisa endured, as well as a couple of women Kate helped in the past, is referenced but we do not see on the page violence. However, Louisa’s husband Harcroft does threaten and hurt Kate in the story in his attempt to find his wife. Kate is not in danger for very long before Ned rescues her. Louisa does ultimately free herself of her husband in a very satisfying way but it does involve her confronting him. Overall, I thought this aspect of the story was handled well. Kate’s actions are commendable and I loved that Ned never questioned her actions, once he learned the truth. While Harcroft spews misogyny, Ned does not demean women, nor does he agree with Harcroft’s sentiments. He does have somewhat of an awakening because before this, he’s never thought about all that women endure.
The other important piece of this story is that Ned has dealt with depression since age 18, although it’s not labeled as such. He refers to it as a bleak darkness. He becomes a bit of an ascetic to ward it off and refuses help from anyone, in order to prove to himself that he can handle things. He is such a good man and takes winning Kate back seriously. But he has to learn what partnership looks like and how to accept that asking for help is not synonymous with weakness. The way that Kate ultimately proves this to him was so lovely. My heart overflowed. And I loved Ned’s gesture regarding the house for Kate at the end! These two were everything. Plus, there are some really hot scenes in this story. Another winner from Courtney Milan!
CW: domestic violence (side character), abused horse (who is rescued), violence, sexism, misogyny, broken leg due to spooked horse, depression, past suicidal ideation
January 1, 2018
Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars
I can't decide how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I really, really loved Kate, a lot! On the other hand, the main conflicts in this romance/self-revelation historical were kind of frustrating. It really wasn't until the second half of the book that things started picking up a little bit.
And I can't believe that I actually found myself annoyed with Jenny's behavior after all the things she'd been through in the first book. I hadn't expected the snobbish dismissals she directed at Kate, and still don't understand the explanations given for her behavior in the end.
Possible full review to come.
I can't decide how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I really, really loved Kate, a lot! On the other hand, the main conflicts in this romance/self-revelation historical were kind of frustrating. It really wasn't until the second half of the book that things started picking up a little bit.
And I can't believe that I actually found myself annoyed with Jenny's behavior after all the things she'd been through in the first book. I hadn't expected the snobbish dismissals she directed at Kate, and still don't understand the explanations given for her behavior in the end.
Possible full review to come.
February 16, 2020
I usually love Courtney Milan books, but this series is harder for me to like. The biggest part fro me is the characters aren't that likable, or more that they are too self centered. In this case it was the hero - it was all about it him. Not in a bad way, but what he 'needed' was more important than anything else. Until the end at least and even then it almost had to be forced one him. Still a good story.
I listened to the audio with Elizabeth Jasicki narrating and it was good.
I listened to the audio with Elizabeth Jasicki narrating and it was good.
September 13, 2024
4.5
A marriage in crisis love story between a young woman secretly thrilled to be forced into marrying a young man who is too troubled to be good enough for her, yet.
Milan starts book one in this series with moves by Ned that’ll make you queasy. In the prologue of this book she sucker punches you with his announcement that he’s moving across the world 3 months into their marriage.
When he returns (unrecognizable) years later he endeavors to make things right. Little does he know about the community Kate, his wife, has built, and the dire consequences should she be discovered.
Together they navigate his return and mental health, her heartbreak and the dangers she faces, and their new relationship. Angsty Milan is my favorite Milan.
CWs: suicidal ideations
A marriage in crisis love story between a young woman secretly thrilled to be forced into marrying a young man who is too troubled to be good enough for her, yet.
Milan starts book one in this series with moves by Ned that’ll make you queasy. In the prologue of this book she sucker punches you with his announcement that he’s moving across the world 3 months into their marriage.
When he returns (unrecognizable) years later he endeavors to make things right. Little does he know about the community Kate, his wife, has built, and the dire consequences should she be discovered.
Together they navigate his return and mental health, her heartbreak and the dangers she faces, and their new relationship. Angsty Milan is my favorite Milan.
CWs: suicidal ideations
May 24, 2012
I originally read "Trial by Desire" in June of 2011, but I decided to re-read it in audiobook form and return to the book because I really enjoyed it. Lady Kate and Ned were both wonderful characters to get to know in the mix of events. I loved the opening of the novel where the two are reunited after quite some time apart. It takes place after the events of "Proof of Seduction" - where Ned returns from his travels as a more mature gentleman, though left unspoken - he still has his own internal battles to fight against. Kate's distraught because Ned left against her wishes, and she's taken on a number of responsibilities in the time he's been gone. The two reunite and come to terms with each other in the midst of a difficult situation involving Lady Harcroft and her husband. Lady Louisa Harcroft left her husband with her child to escape his torrential abuse, and Kate had helped her along in the process. Unfortunately, that help can only remain a secret for so long as Lord Harcroft starts to suspect Kate was involved in his wife's disappearance.
I loved the development of the characters in this novel. Kate is a strong heroine who stands her ground and can fend for herself when faced with a number of difficult challenges. Ned has the right balance of strength and insecurity for a hero, making him identifiable as well as quite matured since the events of the previous novel. The way the two learn about how they've changed over the years and come to terms in their relationship is alluring and radiates with distinct emotional resonance. Even the conflict involving Lady Louisa and Lord Harcourt took on a vivid, contentious tone. The plot is well paced and engaging from beginning to end, while managing to take all of the perspectives and present them in ways that are engaging to read - sometimes humorous and lighthearted without being too quirky, while in others Milan shows the grief and inner/outer turmoils they wrestle with.
I definitely plan on reading more of Milan's work in the future, and I would recommend reading "Trial By Desire" as a wonderful follow-up to "Proof of Seduction."
Overall score: 4/5
I loved the development of the characters in this novel. Kate is a strong heroine who stands her ground and can fend for herself when faced with a number of difficult challenges. Ned has the right balance of strength and insecurity for a hero, making him identifiable as well as quite matured since the events of the previous novel. The way the two learn about how they've changed over the years and come to terms in their relationship is alluring and radiates with distinct emotional resonance. Even the conflict involving Lady Louisa and Lord Harcourt took on a vivid, contentious tone. The plot is well paced and engaging from beginning to end, while managing to take all of the perspectives and present them in ways that are engaging to read - sometimes humorous and lighthearted without being too quirky, while in others Milan shows the grief and inner/outer turmoils they wrestle with.
I definitely plan on reading more of Milan's work in the future, and I would recommend reading "Trial By Desire" as a wonderful follow-up to "Proof of Seduction."
Overall score: 4/5
February 7, 2017
An intelligent, complex and mature romance that keeps the heart pounds of those ridiculous but ravenously readable bodice rippers, but removes the rage-incensing disempowerment, ignorance, and approved assholery.
This historical novel, set mid 19th century England, features concerns that, while not in any way new to humans, have a modern vocabulary. Issues sensitively crafted within include depression, suicidal feelings, obsessive compulsion, domestic violence, women's rights, borderline personality disorder.
I was impressed with how Milan wove a completely believable and compelling, action-filled story within the restrictions of this missing lexicon, this missing psychology.
There were two major conflicts: that of the hero and heroine's relationship and that of a young wife the heroine sought to assist in her escape from her seemingly perfect husband. The two mcs were fully developed; each had their own intricate internal conflicts. The tension was balanced exquisitely. The struggles were beautiful, hope-filled, both internal and external.
I read it in a couple days, eager to return to the characters' lives whenever I could.
(Small but grating annoyance: The first page--the first page!--says the hero has brown eyes. Please hire a competent cover artist.)
This historical novel, set mid 19th century England, features concerns that, while not in any way new to humans, have a modern vocabulary. Issues sensitively crafted within include depression, suicidal feelings, obsessive compulsion, domestic violence, women's rights, borderline personality disorder.
I was impressed with how Milan wove a completely believable and compelling, action-filled story within the restrictions of this missing lexicon, this missing psychology.
There were two major conflicts: that of the hero and heroine's relationship and that of a young wife the heroine sought to assist in her escape from her seemingly perfect husband. The two mcs were fully developed; each had their own intricate internal conflicts. The tension was balanced exquisitely. The struggles were beautiful, hope-filled, both internal and external.
I read it in a couple days, eager to return to the characters' lives whenever I could.
(Small but grating annoyance: The first page--the first page!--says the hero has brown eyes. Please hire a competent cover artist.)
March 18, 2023
This was apparently a disappointment to the author as a writing experience: she didn't write the book she wanted to, and it was a struggle to make it work. Having two days ago completed a book I found rather lacking, I am going to say that whatever the difficulties in writing may have been, the finished work is actually superior to many quite popular works in the genre.
It's interesting when the couple's problems arise from unique circumstances rather than stereotypes. It's fascinating to see how people try to solve problems they think are unique. It's refreshing to see disabilities that aren't plot devices.
Truly I would be delighted to see Ned and Kate again, not least because I want ro know what Ned plans to do with what he learned abroad.
Personal copy
It's interesting when the couple's problems arise from unique circumstances rather than stereotypes. It's fascinating to see how people try to solve problems they think are unique. It's refreshing to see disabilities that aren't plot devices.
Truly I would be delighted to see Ned and Kate again, not least because I want ro know what Ned plans to do with what he learned abroad.
Personal copy
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