Bought: The Penniless Lady

Gentlemen of Fortune #2

by Deborah Hale

Desperate to safeguard the future of her precious nephew, penniless Lady Artemis Dearing will do anything - even marry the man whose brother ruined her darling sister! Hadrian Northmore's suffered enough heartbreak - he will not lose his brother's son, too. Calculating and deceitful as Lady Artemis may be, he will marry her if he must! But Hadrian isn't prepared for overwhelming desire, or his new wife's sweet disposition. There's been some mistake… his hard-built defenses are crumbling before his very eyes!

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Marriage Of Convenience, Historical Fiction, Harlequin

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 2010

Reviews

[Ana María · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Editada al final)
Me gustó mucho.
Hadrian es un amor y Artemis una dulce.
Pero entonces me dirán ¿cuál es el conflicto?
Pues... empiezan como enemigos ya que su encuentro se da por la tenencia de su sobrino y las culpas recíprocas por la tragedia que sufrieron los hermanos de ambos, padres de la criatura.
A eso se suma las clases sociales diferentes de las que provienen. Ella es hija y hermana de marqueses y él, de un minero.
Pero Hadrian hizo una fortuna en Singapur y está dispuesto a todo para mejorar la situación de los mineros y en contra de la arrogancia de la nobleza.
Pero se unirán por el bien de su sobrino, Lee.
Quizá los únicos conflictos sean vencer las tragedias del pasado, crecer como personas.
La única pega que le estaba poniendo, era que los conflictos familiares fueron contados precipitadamente, sin mayor desarrollo, al principio. Hacia la mitad de la novela, en la típica reunión campestre con varios matrimonios en etapa "fueron felices y comieron perdices", caigo que quizá todo lo previo fue desarrollado en el libro anterior ("Una belleza salvaje") que cuenta la historia del socio de Hadrian que era vecino de la familia de Artemis.
O sea, aunque entendí todo, quizá sea conveniente seguir el orden (cosa que nunca hago, cabezona que soy).
Es más, hace unos años leí el tercero "Se busca amante", que no me había gustado mucho pero ahora entiendo muchas cosas porque está enganchado con este. Es del tercer socio de Hadrian.
Ojo, no es Shakespeare ni nada espectacular. Quizá para 3 y media estrellas.
Pero, como se dice, me dejó una sonrisa en la boca.

Edito porque leí el primer libro "Una belleza salvaje" y no, la trágica historia de Dafne, la hermana de Artemis, y el hermano de Hadrian, no son contadas en el libro. Lo único que se describe es que se conocen y que la familia de ella no está de acuerdo que el romance. Creo que hubiera merecido un par de capítulos o, al menos, un prólogo que la desarrolle.

[MisskTarsis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Después de años sin pisar suelo inglés, Hadrian se entera que su querido hermabo Julian tiene ya un año muerto. Buscando aferrarse a lo unico que le queda se entera de la existencia de un hijo de su fallecido hermano, firmemente custodiado por su tía Artemis, hermana de su también fallecida madre, la cual no está para naa dispuesta entregarla al hombre al que considera parte de la familia culpable de la muerte de sus dos seres mas queridos.

Pero por el bien del niño ella haría cualquier cosa "hasta casarse con el mismísimo diablo", pero el diablo resulta ser el mismo Hadrian, para cobijar a su sobrino bajo su apellido y protección. Aunque obtener una verdadera esposa nunca fue parte del acuerdo...

Simplemente desde el primer momento me atrapó. Los prejucios de la alta sociedad que llevó a la muerte a Julian, Daphne y Leandre siempre estan presentes. Cuando el orgullo es más importante que una vida o el amor. La historia de Hadrian es... devastadora. Saber porque se aferra con tanta fuerza a la soledad o porque se juzga y responsabiliza con tanta severidad. Y ella, siempre recatada, responsable, siempre la madre.

Simplemente se necesitaban el uno al otro.

Y me encantó el final, lo furiosa que ella se puso al ver esas cartas, jajaja. Pero bueno, y vivieron felices para siempre. Quiero leer los otros dos.

[kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

First: the title is pretty misleading. Yes, technically, Artemis suffers from that harrowing disease, genteel poverty, but she's not really penniless. Or bought. And she's the one to propose marriage. It was much less MOC than I was thinking it was. :(

So, basically, Artemis's sister had this illegitimate kid (Lee) and then died, taking with her Artemis's brother and Hadrian's brother as well. DEATH FOR ALL. So Hadrian comes back from his business deals in Singapore to discover his brother is dead! For over a year! But there was a kid! So he rushes off to reclaim this ~last piece of his family and runs into Artemis, who is also clinging to Lee as the ~last piece of her family. Marriage happens, and then some sex, and then some feelings??

1. I...don't read a lot of romances with kids in them and that's because a) kids??? and b) PLOT MOPPETS??? What struck me the most about the presence of Lee in this book was how much he was used as a prop? When Artemis is angry with Hadrian, she snatches Lee out of his arms. When she doesn't want to look at Hadrian, she sets Lee down. When she doesn't want to talk to Hadrian, she picks Lee up. It's...convenient and distracting and kind of gross.

2. SPARKLING AMETHYST! DYNAMIC DYNAMOS!! There's this thing people do when they discover a exciting new word and that's SPRINKLING IT EVERY DAMN WHERE. A solid editing could have eliminated some of the repetitious prose.

3. The back and forth-ness of the hero/ine was frustrating. They like each other! They storm away from each other! They argue! They make up! They argue again! And while it's obviously true to RL, that sort of narrative lends itself to a choppy story that never truly builds to any large pay-off: it's all little bows and dips instead of a gradual climb.

Metaphors, man!

4. That said, I did appreciate that Hale has her heroine and hero TALK about their damn issues! Instead of storming off, they pause and apologize and consider what their spouse said to them. AND I LOVE IT. I love when communication DOES happen, even when it's done with a lot of yelling and unnecessary drama.

5. If this doesn't make any sense I'm running on like 4 hours of sleep because of REASONS.

[HR-ML · Rating 3 out of 5]

England 1824. This story had potential. I gave it 2.5 stars.

Julian (brother of wealthy Hadrian) & Daphne (sister of Lady
Artemis) had a love affair resulting in baby Lee. Lady A &
Hadrian agreed to a MOC to jointly raise now-orphaned Lee.

I agreed w/ the reader who said in a review that the title was
misleading. Lady A : not penniless (yet) & she shunned most
material goods offered by the H. He did shelter her and the
baby nephew.

The leads fussed, fought, made a truce, then repeated the
cycle. They both agreed Parliament should ban children from
working in coal mines. They argued: who should champion
this in Parliament? The H wanted Lee to do it, as an adult.
Would the adult Lee care about this issue? Why wait? The H
had a narrow view on this. Ditto on the H planning to return
to Singapore, alone.

Lady A was vulnerable under her cold, aloof facade. This
couple had too many heated, hurtful exchanges. Did the
author think readers would like this as a cat likes cat-nip?
Lee was the best aspect of the story.

[Tabatha García · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sin duda este libro es uno de las mas bonitos de la colección de Deborah Hale, autora que recomiendo mucho.
Este es el segundo de una trilogía auto conclusiva cada tomo, pues como es de esperar son la misma familia pero cada libro es un diferente miembro. Este en particular es sobre una mujer soltera que tiene que hacerse cargo de su sobrino pequeño, la custodia la comparte con el hermano de su cuñado. Quien pertenece a la realiza y que perderá la cabeza al conocerla.

Recomendado.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hadrian and Artemis marry in spite of their mutual hostility to raise their nephew. Their nephew is the son of her sister and his brother, both now dead. She died in childbirth or shortly after and Artemis' brother fought Hadrian's brother in a duel that killed them both. Hadrian returns from the Orient a year after to discover his brother dead and that he has a nephew. He wants custody. Artemis is desperate to find a way to raise her nephew because her Uncle says he will not have him in his house. So they marry. How they eventually come to appreciate the good in each other and fall in love makes a great story.

[Susan Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a rather annoying book to read. You have an illegitimate child (Lee) raised by his aunt (Artemis), both living with his horrid great uncles. One of the uncles is marrying a woman of ill-repute but thinks her sensiblilities will be upset if she has to live in the same house as an illegitimate child. So he tells his niece (Artemis) that she has to get rid of the child. She won't, but where will she go?

Hadrian shows up and wants his nephew. They agree to a marriage of convenience.

And here's the part that drove me nuts. Hadrian has his heart set on his (wastrel) brother going to Parliament and stopping the injustice of child miners. His father and other brothers had been killed in a mining disaster. He had been saved by a broken arm requiring him to stay home with the youngest brother. He goes off to make a fortune so his brother can live in the upper society and make connections to help the cause. When his brother is killed in a duel with Artemis' brother, (defending his other sister who got pregnant), Hadrian is devasted that there's no one to fight the injustice. Then he finds out about Lee and is thrilled that there is someone to carry on the battle to fight companies using children in their mine, regardless of the fact that Lee is only one year old. So the whole time I'm thinking, why don't YOU, Hadrian, go to Parliament to fight for these children? Duh! This made a lot of the book nonsense to me.

[Hopefulpuffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor relation raising her nephew ends up in MoC to mushroom who made his fortune in the East. To add to the drama, the nephew in question is also the mushroom's nephew. His brother had a child with heroine's sister. There are more convoluted familial relationships.

Both H and h have issues from their pasts although H's are more serious in my opinion. There are some misunderstandings but in general both characters talk to each other about their feelings so the plot itself doesn't revolve around the BIG MISUNDERSTANDING which often drives me bonkers.

I'd rate it as PG-13. No closed doors but all sex after marriage.

[CBLa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Actually rated a 1.5. My goodness I don’t know if it’s ever taken me longer to read a book. This was supposed to be my easy read at bedtime but it was incredibly boring for me. I’m glad Hadrian and Artemis found love and all that jazz, but all the in-between with the miner children and the drama of the duel could’ve been added in…or not. I think I would’ve simply preferred a different read. Blah on this one and thank goodness I’ve finished it.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that their relationship are more mature than some. They argued, they talk it out, they apologise and make amend,

And how open they are to each other before love even took place.

It's more angst to this story compare to Ford's story.

I'm glad they found happiness despite everything. These two deserved it.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hesitated to read this story because of the title. But I was familiar with this author's Love Inspired Historical books, so I gave it a chance. And found the title was misleading. This is a tale of two wounded people who are healed and changed by their growing love for each other and that of a small child. One scene which I was able to skip without feeling I was missing any of the story.

[Tim Covell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice twist on the marriage of convenience plot, and I appreciated the contrasts between genteel poverty and real poverty in the plot and dialogue. There was also attention to the lives and concerns of staff, and a great scene between the lady of the house and the housekeeper. As in common in marriage of convenience stories, it starts more dramatically than it ends, but a solid and enjoyable read.

[Debbie Burrows · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Love Story

The hero, Hadrian is tormented but wonderfully appealing. The heroine Artemis is everything a proper woman should be. There is so much love in her that our hero is transformed. A very good read.

[Alejandra Guerrero · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kid is mostly used as a prop, and if it wasn’t for all the external conflicts that ultimately don’t have any effect in the relationship, this could have been very short. It was entertaining, though. Also, she wasn't penniless nor bought.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two proud souls, who each blame the other for their tragic loss. A small child will bring them together. After the first 30 pages, I flew through this book in one sitting.

[Marilyn Ayres · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but

The story is an excellent one but if you prefer "clean" Romances with no bedroom scenes you should skip this one.

[Maria May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha encantado 😊

[Marina entrelibrosyrecetas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐

[Tonileg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Gentlemen of Fortune series by Deborah Hale. I liked the first Married: The Virgin Widow it was a tasty meal of secrets and bitterness, just as I like it with family and first love trauma/drama.
This is filled with secret past suffering mixed with present grief of lost siblings for Hadrian Northmore (his last brother) and Lady Artemis Dearing (both her brother and sister in less then a year). I really wanted to throw darts at Lady Artemis's two uncles, they were the definition of selfish jerks. So I was happy that she quickly marries and leaves her birthplace.
This is a marriage of convenience plot with a one year old illegitimate child thrown in to bring out all the lovely maternal instincts whilst at the same time giving Hadrian an instant family to finally heal his long time wounds of having being orphaned and family-less. I do love a 'married-then-fall-in-love' scenario in my historical romance stories. It is next to impossible to pass that off in a modern romance, but it totally works for historical (especially) gentry English settings. Something about an arranged marriage between two sweet but damaged people in the time period of repressed feelings and gestures, always makes for a delicious read. There is two sexy moments in the book, but they are very vague and quickly sketched out so I would almost put it at a YA level, although the audience is clearly for a mature female audience (me!).
This was 283 pages and just the right length for me. The author could have padded it with more girl time talks with ladies from earlier books or bringing up the terrible Dearing family again. But I am glad that there is no more contact with her selfish self-serving uncles. Silence can be more interesting then too much blah blah in a story.
2 stars

[Sabrina (Soter) Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 e 1/2
"Hadrian le accarezzò con lo sguardo il viso rigato di lacrime. «... c’è solo un’amante che voglio, un’unica donna che amerò sempre. Ed è quella che ho sposato.»"

Prendete un'abbondante manciata di lutti familiari (senza distinzioni: fratelli, sorelle, madri, padri, mogli, figli), aggiungete un orfano adorabile, un matrimonio di convenienza tra zii e una romantica e sofferta storia d'amore e voilà! ecco il libro della Hale XD Scherzi a parte, mi è sempre piaciuto come scrive quest'autrice, ha uno stile classico ma che fila bene e rende la storia scorrevole pur non essendo troppo originale (tra l'altro è il secondo di una serie, ma questo non ostacola in alcun modo la lettura!). Artemis è una nobildonna, che sotto il suo apparente freddo contegno nasconde molte insicurezze, il dolore per la perdita dei propri cari, e un'amore smisurato per il nipotino. Hadrian è "un'arricchito", che per i suoi commerci ha passato anni lontano da casa, per poi scoprire tornando di aver perso l'ultimo famigliare rimastogli, il fratello, ma di aver guadagnato un nipote che ora ha bisogno di lui. A prima vista i due hanno in comune solo l'interesse per il futuro del bambino, ma vivendo fianco a fianco scopriranno di essere l'uno la metà perfetta dell'altro, nonostante un'inizio a dir poco burrascoso e un passato molto sofferto! Ora manca all'appello matrimoniale il terzo socio e amico di Hadrian, Simon, che si è fatto spedire dall'amico un'amante stile pacco postale perché l'idea di risposarsi gli fa ribrezzo XD La ragazza sembra ingenua e dolce, probabilmente l'opposto perfetto per un uomo amareggiato e ferito! ;)

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from the Goodreads First Reads giveaway, THANK YOU! I did enjoy it. I read it in about 3 sittings. <<<>> I found the writing to be very good but the storyline leaving something to be desired. I wasn't expecting them to get married so abruptly. There was no build up, no inner conflict. Artemis mentioned it and two pages later they were married. It would have been better to go through that decision making journey with her. To understand why it was the only choice and to understand her inner conflict. Artemis and Hardian had like one encounter, so you didn't really feel the hatred and why this would be such a harship for her. It would have made the rest of the book, where they learn about eachother and fall in love a better triumph. Other than that, I did enjoy the book and the character development in the middle. The end I felt was slightly abrupt and would have liked a longer "Lee is missing" sequence to tie everything up. Overall it was good and I will be recommending it to a friend.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The heroine's uncle has just inherited because her brother died in a duel. Uncle's trying to pressure her into giving up her nephew, her sister's illegitimate child, and the heroine is determined not to, ever, at all. (Sister's dead, also the baby's father.) It's all a big mess, and gets messier when the baby daddy's brother comes back to England and discovers that his reason for going to India--his brother--was killed in a duel with the heroine's brother. (Follow all that?) This is all in the first chapter or so. He's furious, and determined to raise his nephew to fulfill the role he had planned for his brother, intending to take the baby from the heroine. Then the heroine proposes. What if they get married and raise the boy together? She'll make a deal with the devil if it means she can keep the baby with her. But the hero turns out not to be quite the devil he seems at first. Deborah Hale is a good writer. I like the premise she has for this story, and the characters she creates. I enjoyed reading the book.

[Rea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise was intriguing but everything felt a little rushed in this book. First, the marriage...

- We didn't undergo the journey of pondering actions and decisions - was it the right choice? etc.
- We didn't really undergo the change of feelings - it was kinda there from the beginning.
- Why the hell didn't Artemis bring up the "Margaret" thing earlier? If I were snogging my husband and he said some other woman's name, even if I didn't dare bring it up at the time I wouldn't have just forgotten about it entirely.
- The ending is so rushed it isn't even really an ending. It needed to be spread out over another 10 pages or so to really work the points in.

It was on OK read verging on good had certain points been addressed. 2.5 stars, as I'm feeling generous today I'll put it up to 3.

[Mare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penniless Lady Artemis is the last child of the Dearing old Lordship. Her sister has died leaving her with an illegitimate child. He brother has died from wounds from the duel from the offender who took their sister virtue out of wedlock. The scoundrel, Julian Northmore, has died from the wound from the dual…The Dearing’s new Lords DON’T want the illegitimate baby, but Lady Artemis wants the last connect to her family.
When Hadrian Northmore learns of his nephew he rushes back from Asia to claim his last remaining family member & decides he’ll have him even if he must marry Lady Artemis. A cute story of two people who have to learn to set aside their preconceived notions of one another, to move on with life.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to give this book 4 stars, but in the last 10 pages, Hale botched the reconciliation. There was really no need for Lee to wander off since Hadrian and Artemis were working their way towards fixing a large problem of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Additionally, Artemis' complete 180 is so out of character. There is no way that the character the reader has come to know would accept Hadrian taking a mistress. I had to reread this part of the ending to make sure I hadn't missed anything, then I had to fight the urge to throw the book across the room. Bought gets to keep 3 stars because prior to this scene, the book was solid and entertaining. The characters' names were a tad pretentious, but after a bit the reader gets used to them.

[Anne Neville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hadrian Northmore climbed from the coal mines of Durham to a position of wealth through his business ventures in the East Indies. He provides his youngest brother with the education and means to win a place in Parliament and abolish the dismal conditions that killed the rest of their family. When Hadrian returns to England only to discover that Julian died in a duel, he is devastated. He is also determined to gain custody of his illegitimate nephew. However, Lady Artemis Dearing, who has raised little Lee since her sister and brother’s deaths, is not willing to relinquish him. Faced with eviction from her home, Artemis arranges a marriage of convenience with Hadrian so she can raise Lee herself.

http://www.numbersonthespines.com/201...

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book last night. I hated to put it down. It was a very good read and I highly recommend it. It's the story of Hadrian and Artemis. Hadrian is a business man who has had a life-full of terrible tribulations. Now he's lost his younger brother in a duel. BUT... the brother has left a son. Artemis lost her parents at a young age and has raised her younger sister & brother. Now she's raising her sister's son. I don't want to disclose any more but, rest assured, their story is a very enjoyable read. Now I have to find and read the other two in this series!

[Caz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 'comfortable', well-written story. Both the H&H were emotionally scarred in some way - he by the horrific death of his family in a mining accident, she by the betrayal of the man she thought loved her - and I thought that the way that each managed to gradually break down the other's defences was well done.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't a bad book, there wasn't enough within the story to make me care for the characters. I felt like Hadrian's problems were a bit much, and had I lived through what he had I don't think that I would have gone about things the way that he had.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ici les personnages sont meurtris et torturés ils doivent apprendre à vivre, aimer et faire confiance
L'histoire montre comment d'un point commun au départ ils arrivent à évoluer et à se guérir mutuellement
Une belle histoire !