Helpful Score: 13
Loved it! Couldn't put it down once I started.
Strong hero/heroine, with the hero not your typecast, ubiquitous super alpha, sex-hungry, devilishly handsome, arrogant, uber wealthy rake. The heroine is strong as well as she stands toe to toe with the hero. Granted they are good looking, but that's minor to the story. The story moves in a leisurely pace that goes very nicely with the period. There are some anachronisms, but they did not yank me out of the story. There are no balls, spies (a tired theme in my opinion), and lastly no big misunderstandings (my pet peeve!). Of course there is sex, but not the gratuitous graphic variety of late. The bed scenes are sensuous and tasteful.
Excellent supporting cast, even the villains. I like the hero's parents and his siblings, too. They're a loving, supportive group led by a cantankerous, nosy, obsessed (with securing succession) father, but understandably, not annoyingly so, once you get to know him. Each member has his own quirk, making that person engaging.
I can't wait for the next installment, featuring the brother of this book's hero.
Strong hero/heroine, with the hero not your typecast, ubiquitous super alpha, sex-hungry, devilishly handsome, arrogant, uber wealthy rake. The heroine is strong as well as she stands toe to toe with the hero. Granted they are good looking, but that's minor to the story. The story moves in a leisurely pace that goes very nicely with the period. There are some anachronisms, but they did not yank me out of the story. There are no balls, spies (a tired theme in my opinion), and lastly no big misunderstandings (my pet peeve!). Of course there is sex, but not the gratuitous graphic variety of late. The bed scenes are sensuous and tasteful.
Excellent supporting cast, even the villains. I like the hero's parents and his siblings, too. They're a loving, supportive group led by a cantankerous, nosy, obsessed (with securing succession) father, but understandably, not annoyingly so, once you get to know him. Each member has his own quirk, making that person engaging.
I can't wait for the next installment, featuring the brother of this book's hero.
Helpful Score: 9
Really liked this. Above book review states the plot. This book brakes no new ground but has a plot that moves along, characters you get involved with and secondary characters that you'd like to hear more about. After all the stuff out there the last few months that I've been disappointed in, this was an enjoyable, quick read. Anyone who has read this type of book before will be able to see where the (slight) mystery is going. That being said, you go along for the ride and enjoy. The sort of book that you finish and go, "hey, I liked that."
Helpful Score: 9
Great debut! This is a big, fat book, so there is plenty of time for character development and for the H&H to get to know each other. I liked the way their relationship builds slowly, and there are lots of lovely leisurely erotic foreplay scenes, but no jumping into bed immediately as in some books. I enjoyed reading it slowly. Unlike most Regencies there is no attendance at social events. Most of the book takes place right in the hero's house with a small cast of characters. One unusual thing, the heroine has a big secret, but usually the author will let the readers in on it. In this case, we didn't find out until 3/4 of the way through the book. That drove me a bit crazy. There was also a misunderstanding towards the end that I found hard to believe and didn't serve any purpose except to add another 50 pages to the count. I give it 4.5 stars for that small flaw. The hero is extremely honorable and thoughtful, the opposite of a rake. I loved the other 2 brothers and can't wait to read their stories.
Helpful Score: 4
Very nice take on familiar genre -- if somewhat anachronistic (in this time period, no ducal family would welcome a housekeeper as the next duchess). It's really the characterizations that make this novel, set in the Regency period. The Duke (the eponymous Heir of the title) is nicely fleshed out and appealing without being too "alpha male". The secondary characters help propel the plot along. I recommend to anyone that can be flexible in that the true social strictures of the time are somewhat side-stepped.
Helpful Score: 3
Very promising new author. Burrowes excels in her characters, her writing flows smoothly and the story is engaging, if a little mundane. The biggest problem is the TSTL heroine. HUGE pet peeve! This is where the "first time novel" syndrome screams through - and all the little inconsistencies add up to frustration. Each of the heroines choices just don't ring true to life, given the way the author painted her character - especially the totally incomprehensible reason she refused to trust Westhaven. He did nothing but love and protect her, treat her with compassion and caring. She accepts all his love, all the benefits of his regard then brainlessly refuses to believe.... what? She makes NO sense! Tighten it up and keep it consistent, however, and Burrowes next book could truly be a winner.
Helpful Score: 1
LOVED this book! The characters were well developed and their personalities and relationships between not only H/H but family members was defined beyond the typical in historical romances. I especially loved the wit and humor in Ms. Burrowes writing style. I read it without putting it down and I immediately bought the 2nd in the series. I liked The Soldier it just as well.
I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more from Grace Burrowes.
I was not impressed with this book nor could I give it the same glowing reviews and accolades as others here have given it. Note: lots of my points will sound nitpicky to some but these are points that I just cant overlook:
The heroine, while a virgin of perhaps 22-23 years old, seemed to be very knowledgeable about sex, more so than the usual Regency miss would be. She wasnt shocked by what the hero wanted to do and didnt deny him anything. She took the initiative several times and did things that an inexperienced, unmarried woman of her time would not know about let alone know how to do. Later, she didnt recognize the fact that she was pregnant. Didnt in fact, acknowledge said pregnancy until the Duke dropped a few blatant clues during a visit at her home.
I felt the book was about 100-125 pages too long. All of the aforementioned sex scenes didnt add that much, if anything to the story. IMO, the number of sex scenes could have been reduced to maybe 2 or 3.
Too many times I felt as if I was reading book 2 in a series. Too many characters in the heros family were being dropped into the story with no explanation as to whom they were, their relationship to the hero or why they were being mentioned. Its like I walk up to someone I barely know and start talking about people I know by first name only and expect my listener to know what Im talking about. Eventually, the reader will figure out who some of these people are but it just seemed like the author placed these people in the story and there was no real reason for them to be thereexcept to confuse the reader. But there are still a few people I havent been able to identify withto me they are just names with no reason to be there.
The plot against Anna by the villains was allotted too little time. Again, IMHO, more time should have been spent developing the danger against Anna and Morgan. Nothing is mentioned or even hinted at throughout the first half of the book. We only know that Anna and Morgan are hiding from someone for some unknown reason. Of course Windham is curious and wants to know what her troubles are. He enlists his brothers to investigate her. Soon, we start to get a glimpse of danger when the stables at the house Windham purchased for his sister were set on fire just after the Earls parents hire a private investigator to discover who Anna and Morgan are and what they are running from. This investigator is followed back to London by the villains henchman thereby disclosing Annas location to villains
The excessive consumption of lemonade heavily sweetened with sugar seems unbelievable to me. Lemons were not that easy to come by unless the homeowner had a glasshouse or orangery. Nothing like that was mentioned in the book and it is unlikely that even with the capability to grow the fruit on premise, the yield would be high enough to produce the massive quantities the Earl drank in the story. Not to mention the use of sugar. Sugar was an expensive commodity in those days and was used sparingly.
As I mentioned earlier, a lot of this will sound petty to most readers, but the flaws in the book were enough to pull me from my enjoyment of the story and make me decide Im not going to give her other books a chance. I had to drag myself to finish this oneIm not going to subject myself to more of the same. I gave this book 2 out of 4 stars.
The heroine, while a virgin of perhaps 22-23 years old, seemed to be very knowledgeable about sex, more so than the usual Regency miss would be. She wasnt shocked by what the hero wanted to do and didnt deny him anything. She took the initiative several times and did things that an inexperienced, unmarried woman of her time would not know about let alone know how to do. Later, she didnt recognize the fact that she was pregnant. Didnt in fact, acknowledge said pregnancy until the Duke dropped a few blatant clues during a visit at her home.
I felt the book was about 100-125 pages too long. All of the aforementioned sex scenes didnt add that much, if anything to the story. IMO, the number of sex scenes could have been reduced to maybe 2 or 3.
Too many times I felt as if I was reading book 2 in a series. Too many characters in the heros family were being dropped into the story with no explanation as to whom they were, their relationship to the hero or why they were being mentioned. Its like I walk up to someone I barely know and start talking about people I know by first name only and expect my listener to know what Im talking about. Eventually, the reader will figure out who some of these people are but it just seemed like the author placed these people in the story and there was no real reason for them to be thereexcept to confuse the reader. But there are still a few people I havent been able to identify withto me they are just names with no reason to be there.
The plot against Anna by the villains was allotted too little time. Again, IMHO, more time should have been spent developing the danger against Anna and Morgan. Nothing is mentioned or even hinted at throughout the first half of the book. We only know that Anna and Morgan are hiding from someone for some unknown reason. Of course Windham is curious and wants to know what her troubles are. He enlists his brothers to investigate her. Soon, we start to get a glimpse of danger when the stables at the house Windham purchased for his sister were set on fire just after the Earls parents hire a private investigator to discover who Anna and Morgan are and what they are running from. This investigator is followed back to London by the villains henchman thereby disclosing Annas location to villains
The excessive consumption of lemonade heavily sweetened with sugar seems unbelievable to me. Lemons were not that easy to come by unless the homeowner had a glasshouse or orangery. Nothing like that was mentioned in the book and it is unlikely that even with the capability to grow the fruit on premise, the yield would be high enough to produce the massive quantities the Earl drank in the story. Not to mention the use of sugar. Sugar was an expensive commodity in those days and was used sparingly.
As I mentioned earlier, a lot of this will sound petty to most readers, but the flaws in the book were enough to pull me from my enjoyment of the story and make me decide Im not going to give her other books a chance. I had to drag myself to finish this oneIm not going to subject myself to more of the same. I gave this book 2 out of 4 stars.
I loved it. She's an imaginative author.
Very enjoyable book. I liked that Anna wasn't the type of girl to settle for the most part and goes after what she wants. Gayle is a little bit of a bonehead when it comes to Anna but he has his appeal. The brothers makes the book for me. They were delightful and added to the fun.
I read Lady Sophia's Christmas Knight and became interested in the other characters in the story and decided to go back to the beginning.
Grace Burrowes writes characters who are pretty well flushed out, have some complexities and their own unique foibles. I love the number of other characters, brothers, friends, family members so that the universe feels natural, not just two people in isolation.
With all the good stuff, the story seemed overly long, she could have easily eliminated 100 pages of fluff, and I found some of the character's (and perhaps author's) reversals of opinion to be jarring. For example initially the Duke wants Westhaven to marry at any cost, even his mistress would be acceptable. Then later expounds that he should marry someone he can truly love. There's an even more egregious example of this reversal but to explain it would give away the story.
I am also not so sure about how ordinary it would be for a peer to suddenly start spending a lot of social time with his housekeeper or for members of his family to think this would be a good marriage for him. Anyhow, not being an expert I'm not sure, but it felt a bit strange.
Overall the characters were all likeable and I look forward to reading more from this author.
Grace Burrowes writes characters who are pretty well flushed out, have some complexities and their own unique foibles. I love the number of other characters, brothers, friends, family members so that the universe feels natural, not just two people in isolation.
With all the good stuff, the story seemed overly long, she could have easily eliminated 100 pages of fluff, and I found some of the character's (and perhaps author's) reversals of opinion to be jarring. For example initially the Duke wants Westhaven to marry at any cost, even his mistress would be acceptable. Then later expounds that he should marry someone he can truly love. There's an even more egregious example of this reversal but to explain it would give away the story.
I am also not so sure about how ordinary it would be for a peer to suddenly start spending a lot of social time with his housekeeper or for members of his family to think this would be a good marriage for him. Anyhow, not being an expert I'm not sure, but it felt a bit strange.
Overall the characters were all likeable and I look forward to reading more from this author.
really liked this book, and i read book 2. so i will be reading book 3 right now! "the virtuoso" about valentine.
happy reading.
happy reading.
Loved this book, can't wait to read the next in the series!
This book was enjoyable. The characters really seemed believable and the banter between the heroine and hero was superb. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Grace Burrowes has become one of my favorite authors. Her writing is fabulous and leaves you wanting more.
1st of series
