A decent plot though there are parts that don't hang together as well as I have come to expect. ( )

I like Jo Beverley's Regency romances much better even though I've read a few of her Georgian ones. I appreciate the historical perspective in her books but as good as her writing is, I just can't get into the Georgian ones. This was a good book but I'm probably going to stick to her Regencies, except will read the Georgians on my TBR pile, when and if I get to them. ( )

Summoned to the death bed of his distant cousin, the hero is shocked to learn that the man has given him the family estate in his will. The hero knows that the man has done this to cause a divid in his already horribly divided family. The hero is told that not only can he not just give the house to his tyrant father, but he's also requested to marry the granddaughter of the woman who put a curse on the family. The hero, a bit weak willed but determined to do his duty, sets off to the loathsome countryside to find his bride. The heroine grew up with a mean mother and a fire and brimstone preacher father. Now, they're both dead but they've left their children very little to live on. When the hansom, slick tongue hero comes to her and offers her marriage and a new life, her pride makes her chase him off- quite latterly, she pulls a gun on him. But he is nothing if not persistent and eventually it's the idea of a better life for her twin brothers that finally make her succumb but only under the agreement that theirs will be a marriage in name only. The hero readily agrees has he wants his life in town. They wed and for the first little while, the agreement stands. They develop an understand and even a friendship. Until the heroine begins to catch feelings. Not that anyone come blame her, the hero was charming and jolly and easy going. She also wants a baby and that's the catalyst to their tumble deep into the wilds of love. I can say that this book was absolutely nothing like what I expected it to be-but unfortunately not in a good way. Reading the reviews from other users I came to expect a romance historical adventure but really it was very boring. Sure there was such spy intrigue towards the end and the search for the origins of the curse but 90% of the novel was very slow paced without any drama to speak off. Firstly the heroine was horribly annoying. She was so many different characters rolled into one that she became muddled and hard to predict. She was a lady. She had manners and the sophisticated speech if not entirely understanding social interactions of the time. But she was bitter and prickly and would often snap at those around her or just be a real bitch towards the hero for no good reason. Sure, he himself was selfish with no spine to stand up to his father-instead eagerly doing everything the man wanted of him to avoid conflict. But to the heroine he was kind and uplifting-treating her with nothing but respect, yet she gave him nothing but attitude. It really made me distance myself from understanding where she was coming from. Also, she had an insane temper and had a habit of pulling guns or threating the hero which I thought was absurdly melodramatic and didn't fit with the laid back tone of the story. They had zero chemistry. For most of the book I honest believed the hero felt nothing towards her. He gave no hint at any deeper feelings than friendship so when he was suddenly so in love with his wife I didn't believe it. Also, the weird mismatch of romance spy intrigue and mystery was off putting and made no sense. Over all, this was a vast disappointment. ( )

I received an ARC through GoodReads.

This is the second book by Jo Beverley that I have read.

As I was reading this book, I found that Jo had used a similar story formula as her "Forbidden Magic" book. Although there formulas were the same I had high hopes that this book would be just as exciting.

The basic formula seems to be impoverished female lead seeking to improve the lives of her family, handsome and wealthy male lead required to marry within certain time frame, both parties arrive at the alter with a lot of resistance, eventually both parties fall in love, and happy ending.

I found that this book makes a fairly decent light read. I rather enjoy the set up in Georgian England and the descriptions of places and items. Right from the start, I rather admire Claris' temper and courage, especially when she pulls the pistol out at Perry. I enjoyed reading and getting to know a little bit more about the secondary characters, Athena and Ellie are very interesting. Like I said, it‰ÃƒÂ›Ã‚ªs a decent light read, but nothing more than that.


There were a few points that I was rather disappointed with. First, I felt like Claris did a complete 180 after she and Perry spent the night together. Claris became a whiny and insecure female, awaiting the company of her husband. To me that felt like the complete opposite of the independent and headstrong Claris that we got to know in the beginning of the story. Also, after sleeping with Perry, Claris immediately considers having a child, what happened to her wanting to be her own mistress and lack of hesitation (to the whole marriage deal) that was present earlier in the book? Second, there‰Ûªs no sudden twist or climax, if there was it was very anti-climatic, leaving me rather bored for the remaining ‰ÉÒ of the book. Actually, for the most part, everything that happened at Perriam Manor and in London was basically all domestic stuff. Third, it would have been nice if some of the secondary characters‰Ûª backgrounds were expanded a bit more, like Athena and Ellie‰Ûªs adventures over the last few decades. Fourth, I didn‰Ûªt understand how the whole espionage and investigation that Perry was conducting was sufficient enough to be considered as a subplot. I found it rather pointless, perhaps a slightly different subplot would have worked better to explain Perry‰Ûªs role at court or something else to add an element of danger. And finally, I didn‰Ûªt feel that the full story of the sisters were fully fleshed out, I think a twist to that part of the story would have been nice, like if Claris was actually the daughter of Clarrie and Giles therefore she is the natural living heir of the Perriam Manor, that way the original will that Perry signed (leaving the manor to his oldest brother) would be null and void.

Overall, it‰Ûªs a decent light read. It passes the time, but after a while it doesn‰Ûªt hold your attention where you feel the need to find out what happens next. The story could use a bit more fleshing out of characters and storyline. Truthfully it's pretty much been there done that, full of the usual cliche.
( )

Not my favorite of Jo Beverley's books. There's usually a bit more conflict and suspense in her books that just wasn't there in this one. Perry has been left Perriam Manor by his cousin, under the condition that he marry Claris Mallow. He doesn't want to marry anyone, but he doesn't want to lose the house, so he goes off to convince Claris. Meanwhile, she has no desire to marry either. Her parents had a miserable marriage and upon their deaths she is raising her twin brothers. There isn't much money but they are getting by. When Perry shows up to get her to marry him she doesn't want anything to do with him and chases him away. But she can't deny that marrying him would have benefits that would make life easier for her family so she gives in. She has demands of her own regarding the marriage and Perry is desperate enough to give in. It isn't long before both want more from the marriage that the business arrangement they had agreed on.

I have mixed feelings about Claris. I really liked her independence and the strength she had to have to make a life for herself and her brothers, grandmother and friend. I loved the scene where she used the pistol to chase Perry away. She did end up agreeing to marry him after realizing how the marriage would help her make a better life for her brothers. It bothered me a little that she seemed to give more weight to the goodies Perry provided than the benefits to her brothers. Claris worried that marriage to Perry would see the end of her independence. She was somewhat reassured by his actions as he kept the various promises he made, though she seemed to be constantly expecting him to go back on his promises. She had a tendency to take almost everything he said or did the wrong way and accuse him of breaking his word. Even though she had insisted on a marriage in name only, she decided that she wanted a child of her own and told Perry of her change of mind. I liked the way that she didn't hold back once she made that decision. Claris had been very nervous going into the marriage feeling that she was not up to the task of being a nobleman's wife. She was helped along the way by Genova Ashart (Winter Fire) and began to feel a bit more confident. I really enjoyed seeing her grow into her role as lady of the manor, but she still seemed a bit on the whiny side to me. I enjoyed her trip to London to see Perry and loved the way she stood up to a couple of the snotty ladies.

Perry's inheriting of Perriam Manor was a complete surprise to him. The conditions to do so were unpleasant but he was determined to do it to keep the manor in the family. He was terribly overconfident when he went to Claris the first time and it wasn't really a surprise to see him get shut down fast. I liked his sense of humor about it and loved his conversation with Genova Ashart about how to win Claris. I really liked the way that he was willing to give her complete control over the manor. It was fun to see him realize that he was attracted to her and bemoan the fact that he had agreed to a marriage in name only. I liked the way that he is kind to Claris and her family and does whatever he can to make the transition a smooth one. Perry is an usual hero in that he has no interest in the managing of the estate and admits that he has no clue as to how to do it. He insists that he is a Town guy, but he sure seems to like his time in the country with Claris. He has his duties in the city, most of which are tied to positions gotten for him by his father. One thing that bothered me about Perry was how he was under his father's thumb. I didn't like the way he caved in regarding the disposition of the manor. I liked seeing the work he did for Rothgar and thought a little more could have been done with that. When Claris came to visit Perry in London it caused him to think even more about the effect she has had on his life and how important he finds it to do things that make her happy. I liked the way that he finally took control of his life.

Secondary characters were done well within the story. Claris's grandmother was a pretty good foil to show Claris's goodness. Athena was not the most pleasant of people and showed up to be pretty selfish. I liked her friend/companion Ellie and was rooting for good things to happen with her. I loved Claris's brothers. They were a great mixture of good and mischievous. I liked the way they tried to watch out for Claris. They also enabled Claris to see a different side of Perry. ( )