Megan FramptonBesprekingen
Auteur van Vanity Fare
Besprekingen
I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review
Simeon Jones— debonair, polished, and suave— was softhearted.
I jumped into the School for Scoundrels series with this third installment, Her Adventures in Temptation. The beginning felt a little jarring thrust into the story with Simeon at a Viscount's house to paint a portrait for the lord's wife and that said wife, tipsily trying to visit Simeon's rooms one night. The Viscount catches his wife and angrily tells Simeon to bugger off but before Simeon can, the viscount's sister, Lady Myrtle asks to travel with Simeon to London. Simeon knows it will be a recipe for disaster and reputations but with Myrtle offering to pay triple the just lost commission on the viscount's wife's portrait, he can't turn it down. What followed was an occasional story with sweet moments but mostly felt like bullet points with no surrounding story.
She would go to London and use her mathematical skills to assist ladies with their monies, hopefully helping them become more financially secure.
Myrtle wants to go to London because she wants to prove to her brother that she doesn't need to get married and can successfully make a go at running a business to help women invest and take care of their money. Myrtle is a mathematical genius, readers know this because she says it a lot and spouts some mathematical lingo and apparently that translates to also being a money management guru. There really wasn't anything flushed out and integrated with Myrtle's character regarding her mathematical skills, it felt like a bullet point for the heroine and that was the extent of it. Myrtle also lacks serious tact and is oblivious when she says comments that conventionally come off rude. I don't know if her character was introduced in the previous series books and more understanding about her would come from having read those but, starting here, she doesn't really get developed. I know she only has two friends, her niece and past governess, so I don't know if it's just lack of social integration or if she is supposed to represent on the spectrum. For me, it came off “I'm not like all those other girls”, because of thinking and saying lines like this “I have misjudged you, Mr. Jones,” Myrtle replied in a bright voice. “You are quite clever, something that is rare to find in very attractive people. Usually they are able to sail through life just being attractive.”
“Pretend to be . . . married?” she squeaked, then frowned, annoyed at her own reaction.
The previous book might have also delivered some foundation on Simeon that I ended up missing starting here. He grew up destitute in a home for boys and developed friendships with five other boys, strong enough that they got the moniker, The Bastard Five. I was disappointed that those friendships were hardly ever shown, I think it wasn't until the very later second half that the other four guys showed up to have scenes with him. Simeon is poor, why he accepts Myrtle's deal to travel with him and an artist but again, like Myrtle's mathematical mind, his painting came off more of a bullet point. There was also a random thread of him having to take in his adoptive mother's daughter but there was absolutely nothing done with it and had me head scratching what the point was.
“I’ve never found it easy to be around others, even around members of my own family. I do find it easy to be around you. And not just because you’re so easy on the eyes. If only I could marry someone like you,” she said with a sigh. And then she clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.
The romance starts to develop between these two on their journey to London and when Simeon insists they must pretend to be married to save her reputation. There's a bullet point one bed scene and some “I think I'm starting to like this person.” The first half has a first kiss between these two and then they're in London and thinking they'll never see each other again. However, Myrtle's brother is in London, angry with her but now wanting her to chaperon his daughter for her coming out because tipsy wife broke her leg. Myrtle recognizes she doesn't have the social graces to navigate the ton, so naturally, she turns to the poor, bastard artist Simeon to help her. Their fake betrothal is back on, so society doesn't question why they're spending so much time together and Simeon claims he must paint Myrtle.
Dear God. Did she know what she was getting into? Did he know what he was getting into?
For some reason, Myrtle gets it in her head that Simeon could be a successful painter if only he didn't get distracted by sex (readers don't really see evidence of him being such a ladies man) and since she really enjoyed their kiss, gets a little something for herself as she's helping out with a new plan, for one week they'll indulge in bedroom play and then one week absolutely no touching, then see which week was more productive for Simeon. I can't say this all made sense and not just randomly thrown in. Anyway, Myrtle suddenly gets porn mouth (one ex. “I want you to— to fuck me,” she said at last, the words dropping like individual bits of flame into his soul. I'm saying this did not fit the character and/with time and specific situation, not that women don't ever talk like this) and after a handie and some head from Simeon, Myrtle thinks to herself that she is in love. The bedroom scenes had definite word spice but it all felt so forced to deliver “hot” but since the characterization and relationship development wasn't there for me, I didn't feel any chemistry.
“What do you want from me, Myrtle?” he asked again, this time in a softer tone. She lifted her face to his, swallowing hard against the emotion. “I want you.”
It took a little longer for Simeon to think he was in love with Myrtle but when he does, he had a sweet moment where he tries to show Myrtle but her obliviousness ruins the moment and they have a quick breakup in the last 10% before they both realize their mistakes and deliver the HEA. Their characterization, along with the feeling of setting because their wasn't much effort to deliver it, was missing from this for me and as a consequence, I couldn't feel their romance. This was full of bullet points but not much crafting and filling out of those points.
Myrtle Allen knew her own mind. She knew exactly what she did and didn’t want. She’s a highly competent and intelligent woman, with a superbly developed understanding of all things mathematical, who has so far refused 27 or maybe 33 marriage proposals.
She doesn’t want to marry a stupid man, or a man who is only interested in her wealth.
Her brother, Lord Richard Allen, the Viscount of Leybourne, controlled her fortune and he seemed to want to hand it over to any suitably dull prospect. Myrtle wants to use her fortune to help other women who’d been treated unfairly.
Now Richard has delivered an ultimatum. Find a suitable husband or else! “Do something!”
Simeon Jones, an artist, handsome and debonair, couldn’t hold on to his money. He gave it away to those in need. However he’s just received a letter that he’s now the guardian of his adoptive mother’s child who’s about to be thrown on the Parish. Simeon needs to make some money quickly in order to rescue his ward. That’s how come he’s taken a commission to paint a portrait of Regina, the Vicountess of Leybourne, Myrtle’s sister-in-law. That is, until all he’ll break’s loose! Simeon finds himself unfairly dismissed and wondering what to do next.
An opportunity for Myrtle to take Richard’s, “Do something” option?!
Myrtle manages to inveigle Simeon into taking her to London with him … and the rest is a charming and challenging story, with both awkward and humorous moments, until Love finds a Way!
An immensely enjoyable read!
An Avon & Harper Voyage ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Charlotte is not the most beautiful of women, especially when compared to her more petite and stunning friends, and she has another unfortunate feature – she speaks her mind and is far from meek and mild. She is also, unfortunately if you listen to her mother, unmarried and on her third season, which is threatened to be her last.
David Marchston is back in England after a 10 year absence, and his nickname of “Mr Gorgeous” does him no favours. Before he can return to his preferred India, he is ordered to woo Charlotte. He dreads it at first but comes to realise that he’s falling in love with her.
Meanwhile, Charlotte is writing a fashion column which threatens to cause as big a scandal as if people find out just what she and David are doing whilst alone in front of the fire…….
Both characters are slightly damaged emotionally, with Charlotte the butt of many a joke (“The Abomination” being her nickname) and being bullied into a likely marriage with a unattractive man should she not secure an alternate marriage proposal during her last season. David is torn too, living in a place he doesn’t want to be, doing the only thing that will get him where he wants to be, and with a reputation still following him around – literally.
The short columns written by Charlotte at the beginning of each chapter are amusing and show a woman becoming more self assured and daring as her time with David progresses.
There are scenes of a more adult nature in this book, which are well done, but should come with a little bit of a warning! Those who like their historical romances to be on the more chaste side of things will do well to avoid this one.
The section where David is about to propose but she runs out on him seemed a little forced and resolved a little too quickly and implied the need to force the “overcome obstacles and misunderstandings in order to prove how much they love each other” chapter, but the book isnt really the worse for all that
Charlotte is not the most beautiful of women, especially when compared to her more petite and stunning friends, and she has another unfortunate feature – she speaks her mind and is far from meek and mild. She is also, unfortunately if you listen to her mother, unmarried and on her third season, which is threatened to be her last.
David Marchston is back in England after a 10 year absence, and his nickname of “Mr Gorgeous” does him no favours. Before he can return to his preferred India, he is ordered to woo Charlotte. He dreads it at first but comes to realise that he’s falling in love with her.
Meanwhile, Charlotte is writing a fashion column which threatens to cause as big a scandal as if people find out just what she and David are doing whilst alone in front of the fire…….
Both characters are slightly damaged emotionally, with Charlotte the butt of many a joke (“The Abomination” being her nickname) and being bullied into a likely marriage with a unattractive man should she not secure an alternate marriage proposal during her last season. David is torn too, living in a place he doesn’t want to be, doing the only thing that will get him where he wants to be, and with a reputation still following him around – literally.
The short columns written by Charlotte at the beginning of each chapter are amusing and show a woman becoming more self assured and daring as her time with David progresses.
There are scenes of a more adult nature in this book, which are well done, but should come with a little bit of a warning! Those who like their historical romances to be on the more chaste side of things will do well to avoid this one.
The section where David is about to propose but she runs out on him seemed a little forced and resolved a little too quickly and implied the need to force the “overcome obstacles and misunderstandings in order to prove how much they love each other” chapter, but the book isnt really the worse for all that
I really wanted to like this more, because I love Kleypas, and am a sucker for a spinster heroine. But there were too many issues with it for me to take it seriously:
Deck the Halls With Love by Lorraine Heath
No Groom at the Inn by Megan Frampton
The Duke’s Christmas Wish by Vivienne Lorret
Whomp. Whomp. This was disappointing.
The low rating of this novel, currently 3.50, is completely justifiable. The characters were bland as hell and more forgettable than the side characters that probably had more personality than our duo ever could, the romance and the relationship which had no real chemistry or connection was laughable, the rags to riches Cinderella storyline wasn’t thoroughly thought out, writing was hast and that ending—ha!
Everything consider, this wasn’t good at all.
This is a standalone addition to the Hazards of Dukes series. It features a heroine who wants to pay off her debts, and a scholarly hero who just wants a home to call his own. The heroine first appeared in the first book as she is the sister of that particular book's heroine. It's nice that the first book's couple made a cameo appearance in this book. There were also some other wonderful secondary characters, especially the whole village that came together to help with the home renovation and the main couple's canine companions. I liked the hero more than the heroine in this book because I felt that the growth of the heroine wasn't as balanced as I wanted it to be. It would have been nice to add some more details in certain areas of the story since the story did drag a bit and needed better transition in those parts. Overall, it's a nice reading and I look forward to reading more Megan Frampton books in the future.
**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in my review are my own.**
You’ve probably read the story blurb, so you know the gist of the story. Octavia and Gabriel’s fathers were both gamblers – inveterate gamblers. Nothing was more important to either of them than their next wager – and they loved to wager against each other. Where Gabriel’s father was successful at gambling and made a good bit of money, Octavia’s father lost – almost always. He even wagered his daughters and that was the premise of the first book of the series. Now, within a few weeks of each other, both fathers have died. Gabriel has the signed wager from Octavia’s father saying that he lost the family home to Gabriel’s father. Octavia has nothing at all but insists her father left the family home to her and her sister. When they both arrive at the family home at practically the same time – both planning to live there – well, they have to come to some kind of agreement. For me, I honestly fail to see why Gabriel would have been so accommodating to Octavia since he is the one with the signed legal document giving ownership of the house to him. However, I guess if he hadn’t been accommodating, there wouldn’t have been a story.
What did I like?
*** None of the characters belonged to the aristocracy. They were all plain old Mr., Miss, Mrs., etc.
*** The story takes place away from London in a tiny country village
*** Two delightful dogs who were as polar opposite as their owners. There was Octavia’s Italian Mastiff, Cerberus, and Gabriel’s tiny, fluffy Pomeranian, NYX.
*** Gabriel! He was a delightful character – Very tall, broad-shouldered, handsome, very intelligent. He was a scholar who studied Greek mythology. In essence, he wasn’t anything like his father and didn’t want to be – he detested gambling in any form. He was honorable, protective, and very accepting of people for who they were. My only quarrel with Gabriel was that he was a bit too laid back – too milquetoast. He definitely needed a stronger backbone for dealing with Octavia.
*** I loved the ‘family’ of villagers who ended up living at the house with Gabriel and Octavia. There was the cook who couldn’t cook, Gabriel’s old nursemaid who somehow ended up being the ‘housekeeper’, Old Joe is an old man with a limp and no purpose in life – so he ends up taking care of the stables. Well, you get it there were several of them and they were all delightful.
*** Gabriel’s ‘clean’ versions of Greek mythology were decidedly entertaining.
*** The Pomegranate Compromise
What didn’t I like?
*** Octavia! She came across as impulsive, abrasive, overbearing, annoying, and selfish. She never gave a thought at all to how her actions and words hurt others. She was derisive and dismissive – especially of Gabriel. In her mind, she is always correct and there is no room for argument. When Gabriel says something (using a larger, but common word) she’ll dismissively say she doesn’t understand a word he’s said – but then, in the very next paragraph (or sentence) she’ll say (or think) how very curious she is and how much she loves to learn. So, which way is it? Finally, though, she did seem to have learned a few life lessons and had developed a bit of maturity by the end.
*** The Chemistry between Gabriel and Octavia – I just didn’t feel it. There wasn’t a thing in me that was pulling for them as a couple. Mostly I was wondering – what in the world does he see in her?
I am happy to have met Octavia and Gabriel and I wish the author much success with the book. I’m not sorry I read it – I did give it a respectable 3-stars – but it won’t be one of those books I re-read time after time.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I really liked this! I read and also really enjoyed the first book in this series so I'm happy I enjoyed this one as well. I was a bit worried at the beginning that I wouldn't like this. It starts a bit slow and I thought the reason Thomas and Jane first get together was a bit rushed. However, the later part of this story really brought me around.
I thought the author did a really good job developing the relationship between Jane and Thomas. Except for the oddly rushed initial reason for them getting together, the pacing of the relationship was really well done. I felt like I could actually see why they were falling for each other.
Essentially, Thomas has to marry for money and Jane isn't wealthy enough and that's what is keeping them apart. That conflict is repeated frequently during this story, maybe a bit too frequently. However, I am always impressed with Frampton's ability to keep me engaged with relatively simple plots that don't have a ton of external conflict. I never find her stories dull even though those type of stories tend to bore me.
The sex scenes are also very well written in my opinion. I honestly don't read romance for the sex scenes and I will sometimes skim them if I think there are too many in a book but I really appreciated how well they were written in this book. Frampton does use some language that isn't as sexy that can bring me out of it a bit but otherwise, they're well done. There's one scene in a sex club that was so good, I'll probably re-read that chapter in the future, it was that good (the end chapter 17 through chapter 18, if you're curious).
There were a few things I didn't like as much. As I said, the conflict around Thomas needing to mary for money is repeated a few too many times. The reader doesn't need to be reminded of the central conflict that many times. There is also a bit of a side plot about conflict between Jane and her parents that isn't built up enough to be meaningful when it's resolved. The epilogue also loses some of the voice of the characters and feels very telling-not-showing. The language and attitudes of some of the characters are probably a bit too modern for them times, especially at the end, but personally, that kind of stuff doesn't bother me but may be helpful to know if it does bother you.
I definitely want to go back and read books two and three after reading this. Something about Frampton's storytelling just works really well for me and I really appreciate her work. I would definitely recommend people read this oce it comes out at the end of this month!
We met Lady Jane Chapel in the previous book in this series – and goodness – I think she had a personality transplant. What a difference two years can make. In that book, she was so meek, mild, and backward that her younger sister had to step in and save her from a very unwanted marriage. She mostly didn’t want the marriage because she was in love with someone else and they were secretly betrothed. That, of course, ended when her younger sister’s marriage caused a huge scandal. Somehow, after all of that chaos, she has grown a spine of steel, a will of iron, a longing for illicit events, and the temerity to state all of those things. The only part of her I recognized from the last book is how exceptionally beautiful she is.
Thomas Sharpe loves his family and will do whatever it takes to save them. Yes, they need saving. Thomas’s father lost all of his fortune because of a bad investment. I’m not sure why he’d invest money he couldn’t afford to lose – and certainly not enough to bankrupt them, but he did. The only way Thomas can save them is to marry an heiress who has enough money to support them all. He’s been looking for two years and hasn’t been successful because he is so very charming, witty, and handsome that none of the heiresses believe he’ll take a marriage commitment seriously. (I know, we all buy that one.)
Thomas is best friends with Jane’s illegitimate half-brother, Percy, but has spent very little time with Lady Jane who now lives with Percy. However, the two of them make a bargain – Jane will help Thomas find his bride IF Thomas will show her some of the more illicit things in society – those things she’d never normally be allowed to see. Of course, we all know where that is headed – toward a HEA – right!
The story blurb sounds good, doesn’t it? So, why didn’t I rate it 5-stars? While I generally enjoyed the story, there was a couple of things that just wore on me – but I will still read the next one.
• It was plainly and firmly established early on that Thomas had to save his family by marrying for money. Yet, we had to read it and re-read it and re-read it ad nauseum. Enough already.
• The writing often felt a bit choppy and repetitive.
• We heard over and over that Thomas was the most handsome and most charming man in London, yet I saw little of that exceptional charm demonstrated anywhere. He was charming and witty, but no more than anyone else.
• Many of the conversations and actions just had a very modern feel to me.
• It annoyed me that Thomas’s first thought to save his family was to marry for money instead of exploring all of the options that might have been available to him. His best friend is a whiz with numbers and accounting and works for the queen – so why wouldn’t Thomas seek advice from him? Why would Thomas not consider what sorts of other things he could do – especially since he was so very handsome and charming. Surely someone in his vast array of friends could offer some assistance. Thomas isn’t titled and it is the Victorian age – so – surely there was something else to at least consider.
This author is always hit-or-miss for me, so I always have to read the next book to see where it will fall. This book seems to fall into the ‘meh’ category, but the last one was a firm 5-star read. There is a fair amount of wit and steam in the book, so that isn’t ever a bad thing. Overall, I am happy to have met Thomas and Jane but wouldn't read this book a second time.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
After reading this, I definitely want to read more from Frampton. This is my first book from her and I really liked it. the writing was really good and I absolutely fell into the story. I gave this book only 3.75 stars because this book barely had a plot. Normally I that would bother me a lot more but because I liked the writing and characters so much, I could ignore the plotlessness more. I really liked the gambling den stuff and the fact that this book focused more on working people rather than just being about nobility like a lot of historical romances are. I would have liked to have seen a more central external plot but it didn't stop me from enjoying the book.
The real highlight of this book for me was the relationship. When this book started I wasn't sure I was going to like Sebastian. He initially came off as really abrasive to me. I think this ended up really helping the story because we really got to see Sebastian grow as a person and transform with the help of Ivy and it really helped me believe their relationship. I think Ivy goes through less personal development but she does get to figure out what she wants and I liked reading about that. She started as a character I already liked and wanted to see a story about. I actually would have loved to see more scenes with them working but I think the balance of working scenes vs other scenes was pretty good.
As I said, I definitely want to read more from this author. I have the ARC for book four in this series and I'm trying to read the first three before I read it so I will be picking up more books in this series pretty soon but I would also love to branch out to different series. I get why this book has a lower rating but I was happy that I was able to enjoy it.
Links
Officiële startpagina (English)
Megan Caldwell (English)
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Silly but cute. Both characters are virgins who put their noses in books rather than other peoples crotches.