Historical Romance Book Club discussion
This topic is about
Lord Despair
Season
>
BOTM 2 – Sept 2025 – Lord Despair
date
newest »
newest »
Darn. This one has good reviews and I thought I'd try it. But it's marked as 'currently unavailable' on Kindle Australia. Same for Bk 2 - maybe for the whole series? (I didn't check the rest). Frustrating.
I was thinking about reading this as it sounded good. Then I looked and I have read it and it was good lol. I'm not big on rereads so will check out other books for the month. Jan I saw it on hoopla but I am sure you have already looked there.
Mod
Interesing Jan. I am in Australia and I am currently reading it on Kindle unlimited.....
I am over half way and enjoying this. It is about a Lord with PTSD. I am not sure it is the best depiction of PTSD, there are certainly holes in the story, and it is very cliche (misunderstandings, hero with no shirt.....). However both the hero and heroine are very likeable and I am engaged......
Susan wrote: "Interesing Jan. I am in Australia and I am currently reading it on Kindle unlimited....."Thank you for the tip, Susan. I have now been able to find it on Kindle Unlimited (of which I'm already a member, luckily). It just didn't show up for me as being on KU, until I did a dedicated KU search for it after your tip.
I've just started another HR, but will borrow Lord Despair on KU ready to read a bit later this month :)
LOL. It seems to be available on kindle Australia to purchase now. It definitely wasn't yesterday. *shrug* Oh well, I have it on KU to read now, so all good.
I just started reading this book. It's good so far 🤞
I finished this book a couple of days ago. I had a little trouble with the slow beginning and the slow romance. The MC gradually became friends, and then they fell in love. TBH, I was a little bored through this half of the plot. Luckily, once they marry, the story improves significantly! I really liked this couple. They balanced each other very well. The author also does a good job of showing the effects of PTSD. Love doesn't make it magically go away. I know I'm shocked, too ;)
Conclusion: This is the kind of book that if you put the effort in, you will be rewarded. I just didn't have the patience for it.
Susan, Did you ever finish the book? What did you think of it?
Mod
Susan, understandable! I'm starting to have the same problem. I believe all 3 books this month deal heavily with PTSD. I just finished another book with the same issue before this book. It's too much!
Join us in reading this HR that features the theme All’s Fair in Love and War!
Lord Despair, by Sydney Jane Baily
Synopsis:
From the lush English countryside to the glittering society of Victorian London, Lord Despair thought he’d left the worst behind in the Burmese jungle. He was wrong!
How can a man embrace his birthright when he cannot leave his bedroom?
Lord Simon Devere returns from the Burmese War, haunted by the vivid memory of his slain cousin and powerless to know reality from dreams. Unable to sleep, lest he awaken in the cell of his nightmares, he sits in the dark, incapable of believing he is truly home—and safe—in England.
How can a clever young lady support her family after her father dies in debt?
Jenny Blackwood is determined not to let her mother and sisters succumb to an unkind fate. With a head for numbers, she becomes the skilled bookkeeper “Mr. Cavendish.” One unexpected client is the nobleman cruelly named by gossips as Lord Despair.
A damaged aristocrat and danger in disguise…
With the estate’s coffers mysteriously dwindling, Jenny goes where others fear to tread, into the darkened room of the unstable earl. As friendship quickly sparks into passion, they discover even greater peril lies ahead of them, and the biggest threat to Jenny may be Lord Despair himself.
Engaging characters, attention to period detail, and passionate romance with a touch of intrigue—you’ll find it all in the stories by USA Today bestselling writer Sydney Jane Baily.
Happy reading!