nah. ( )

Lady Cynthia is a great character, at first I didn't like her, but she changed my mind. My initial sympathies were all with Damian, the Earl of Windermere, and his struggle to regain Beaulieu, the estate which belonged to his mother.

In a foolish reckless night of drinking and gambling, he lost the deed in a card game to a friend, who then lost it again in yet another game.

After years of work, he's finally in a position to get the estate back, but he has to marry Cynthia to seal the bargain.

Miranda Neville writes great romances with just a tinge of darkness, like a fine red wine. ( )

Reviewed for The Book Vixen:
http://www.thebookvixen.com/2014/07/book-review-lady-windermeres-lover-by.html ( )

Miranda Neville is one of those authors I’ve always wanted to read, but I haven’t had the opportunity to do so until now. So when I had the opportunity to participate in the blog tour for LADY WINDERMERE’S LOVER, I couldn’t pass up the chance!

We have good character development. We first meet Damian when he’s a young man. I really liked getting to see him at this age because we can see how reckless he becomes that night and how sorrowful he is afterwards. It’s really easy to see the man he’ll become. We don’t get much of Cynthia in her youth and by the time we do know her she’s already evolved into the woman Damian wanted his wife to become. She’s a bit complex to understand but Neville doesn’t leave us hanging and we’re given insight to how and why Cynthia transforms. I really liked Cynthia because she’s a woman who chooses to form her own destiny. Though the real scene stealer in LADY WINDERMERE’S LOVER? Julian Fortescue! Neville gives us a seductive secondary character that really does shine whenever he’s on the page. We have a few secondary characters that play a vital role and all of them are tied to Damian’s past. I really liked how Neville set this up because we get insight to how and why Damian changed. Furthermore, if you haven’t read any of the books in the series it’s not necessary in order to enjoy LADY WINDERMERE’S LOVER.

What I really liked about Neville’s LADY WINDERMERE’S LOVER was the friendship Cynthia forms with Damian’s friends. I loved how they accepted her openly with no questions asked. I also really liked that Cynthia had a few surprises up her sleeves and was able to surprise Damian on a few occasions. What I most enjoyed was when Cynthia and Damian finally had a talk regarding their marriage and why Cynthia accepted his suit.

I debated with the rating between a three and four and in the end, decided on a three for three reasons. The first, there hardly was any conflict between Damian and Cynthia. Of course Damian thinks Cynthia is having an affair and yet we don’t get much solid proof of this other than a suggestion of sorts. I wanted a bit more internal conflict between our main characters. Secondly, I got the impression that Damian wasn’t interested in his wife until he realized another man really wanted her. I wanted Damian to realize how incredible his wife was on his own, but other than wanting to keep her because they’re married, I didn’t see it. Thirdly, the whole reason Damian lost his mother’s home was because he decided to gamble it. Never did he take responsibility for his actions that night and instead blamed those around him and lost some good friends because of this.

Overall, Neville’s LADY WINDERMERE’S LOVER Lover was a satisfactory read. It’s been awhile since I stayed up late into the early morning to finish a book and this was definitely one of those reads.

If you’re a fan of historical romances or are in a reading rut, I recommend Miranda Neville’s LADY WINDERMERE’S LOVER. I can’t wait to read her backlist, but most important, really looking forward to Julian’s story! ( )

Not Miranda Neville's best. Plenty of detail about the hero's backstory does not quite redeem his bad treatment of the heroine, who, by contrast, is not as well developed. A meandering plot adds to the reader's frustration. ( )