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Belston & Friends #1
Miss Winthorpe's Elopement
Dashing Duke, Bluestocking Bride!
Shy heiress Miss Penelope Winthorpe was only trying to escape her bullying brother. She never meant to wed a noble lord over a blacksmith's anvil!
Shy heiress Miss Penelope Winthorpe was only trying to escape her bullying brother. She never meant to wed a noble lord over a blacksmith's anvil!
Adam Felkirk, Duke of Bellston, had no intention of taking a wife. But then Penelope's plight moved him. Now the notorious rake has a new aim—to shock and seduce his prim and proper bride.
But the gorgeous duke will be taught a lesson of his own as scholarly Miss Winthorpe becomes his seductive duchess!
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 2007
About the author
Christine Merrill
214 books210 followersChristine Merrill has wanted to be an author for as long as she can remember. But one thing stood in her way: touch typing.
Six weeks spent on an IBM Selectric in her Sophomore year of high school proved that she would never be able to produce one readable page of manuscript, much less several hundred.
Twenty years passed, and she found ways to pass the time: marrying her high school sweetheart; having two sons; and taking an assortment of jobs in professional theater costume shops, including a miserable year and a half spent styling wigs for a certain hamburger-selling clown (who shall remain nameless, since I don't want to incur the wrath of a major American corporation) and a couple of weeks working on a TV movie with one of the sexiest men alive (whose name I'm happy to drop: Mark Harmon!).
During that time, someone invented word processing, and a reliable spell checker.
Christine returned to her childhood dream, only to discover that there was more to the whole writing thing than accurate typing. The next years were spent learning to tell stories that people might want to read, and trying to find someone who wanted to buy them. Her chance came when she won the RWA's Golden Heart Competition for unpublished manuscripts. The winning story, soon to be known as THE INCONVENIENT DUCHESS, was bought by the contest judges, the delightful editors at Mills & Boon, in Richmond, Surrey.
Christine is now busy writing her fifth book, and is more than slightly jealous that her manuscripts get to visit England, while she stays home in Wisconsin
Six weeks spent on an IBM Selectric in her Sophomore year of high school proved that she would never be able to produce one readable page of manuscript, much less several hundred.
Twenty years passed, and she found ways to pass the time: marrying her high school sweetheart; having two sons; and taking an assortment of jobs in professional theater costume shops, including a miserable year and a half spent styling wigs for a certain hamburger-selling clown (who shall remain nameless, since I don't want to incur the wrath of a major American corporation) and a couple of weeks working on a TV movie with one of the sexiest men alive (whose name I'm happy to drop: Mark Harmon!).
During that time, someone invented word processing, and a reliable spell checker.
Christine returned to her childhood dream, only to discover that there was more to the whole writing thing than accurate typing. The next years were spent learning to tell stories that people might want to read, and trying to find someone who wanted to buy them. Her chance came when she won the RWA's Golden Heart Competition for unpublished manuscripts. The winning story, soon to be known as THE INCONVENIENT DUCHESS, was bought by the contest judges, the delightful editors at Mills & Boon, in Richmond, Surrey.
Christine is now busy writing her fifth book, and is more than slightly jealous that her manuscripts get to visit England, while she stays home in Wisconsin
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
March 8, 2010
After I read a short story by Ms. Merrill, I knew she'd be an author I wanted to read more of. And Miss Winthorpe's Engagement has validated that decision.
I appreciate the bluestocking/spinster theme very much, and as a booklover, how could I not adore Penelope? All she wants is to enjoy her spinsterhood and indulge her love of books, and as a considerable heiress, she has plenty of funds to do so. Unfortunately, her brother has decided that she spends too much money on books, when she has plenty of them already. When he puts his foot down, stating that she will do as he says regarding her finances and how she spends her time, unless she has a husband to control them for her, what's a girl to do?
Being an intelligent person who is tired of being under her less intelligent brother's thumb, she decides she's going to find herself a husband. Serendipitously, Adam, Duke of Bellston, is about to end his life, so he can save the dukedom from ruination at his lately unfortunate hands. Fate decrees that he throw himself in front of Penelope's carriage. And Fate has determined that he won't die, but fall right into Penelope's husband-needing hands. Penelope realizes that he's the answer to her prayers. She continues to ply him with brandy as they elope to Gretna Green. They marry, and Adam wakes up the next morning to a blinding headache, and being told by Penelope's servant Jem, that he is married to Penelope, who is an enormous heiress, even though she's a tradesman's daughter. Although at first, Adam is shocked that he's now married far beneath him, and to a bluestocking, his honor decrees that he cannot just forget he married her and tear up the document they both signed to that effect. They make a deal to stay married, and Penelope will give him the money he needs to save his estate from ruin, and he'll let her go about her way, and leave her to her books. But they both realize that their comfortable marriage turns out to be have much more meaning for them both.
This book was so very good. It was entertaining and readable, but also filled with hidden depths of emotion. Penelope had retreated to her books to save herself from the hurt that a disastrous Season had brought her. She had never desired to feel a man's touch or to be the object of a man's desire and love. But Adam awakens that part of her, much to her pain, but ultimate pleasure. Adam is a brilliant politician, but pretty good at making messes of his personal life. He has to live with regrets about what his reckless actions wrought on his family home, his friendship, and his brother. And Adam finds himself falling deeply in love with his wife, and coming to admire and respect her for who she is.
The chemistry between Penelope and Adam was well done, building steadily to an intense fire that made their love scenes very good reading. And the emotional honesty between them really adds to the fulfillment of reading this book. Penelope has to find her way in Adam's treacherous world, where friends are more like frenemies, and a friend's wife is trying to get her claws back into Penelope's husband. Adam made a huge mistake, but the way this book is written, you can't hold it against him. He's suffered for it, and his remorse is very obvious. And he's more than willing to face the music, but can't stand the thought of losing the wife he's come to love very deeply. Although it's a bit hypocritical in light of what he did in the past, I thought his jealousy over his wife and how it spurred him on to make his marriage with Penelope real, rather endearing. It was a real pleasure to see this match of expedience turn into one that is full of love and devotion.
This book is a real gem. I am very glad that I did get the chance to read it, and I can't wait to read more from this talented author.
I appreciate the bluestocking/spinster theme very much, and as a booklover, how could I not adore Penelope? All she wants is to enjoy her spinsterhood and indulge her love of books, and as a considerable heiress, she has plenty of funds to do so. Unfortunately, her brother has decided that she spends too much money on books, when she has plenty of them already. When he puts his foot down, stating that she will do as he says regarding her finances and how she spends her time, unless she has a husband to control them for her, what's a girl to do?
Being an intelligent person who is tired of being under her less intelligent brother's thumb, she decides she's going to find herself a husband. Serendipitously, Adam, Duke of Bellston, is about to end his life, so he can save the dukedom from ruination at his lately unfortunate hands. Fate decrees that he throw himself in front of Penelope's carriage. And Fate has determined that he won't die, but fall right into Penelope's husband-needing hands. Penelope realizes that he's the answer to her prayers. She continues to ply him with brandy as they elope to Gretna Green. They marry, and Adam wakes up the next morning to a blinding headache, and being told by Penelope's servant Jem, that he is married to Penelope, who is an enormous heiress, even though she's a tradesman's daughter. Although at first, Adam is shocked that he's now married far beneath him, and to a bluestocking, his honor decrees that he cannot just forget he married her and tear up the document they both signed to that effect. They make a deal to stay married, and Penelope will give him the money he needs to save his estate from ruin, and he'll let her go about her way, and leave her to her books. But they both realize that their comfortable marriage turns out to be have much more meaning for them both.
This book was so very good. It was entertaining and readable, but also filled with hidden depths of emotion. Penelope had retreated to her books to save herself from the hurt that a disastrous Season had brought her. She had never desired to feel a man's touch or to be the object of a man's desire and love. But Adam awakens that part of her, much to her pain, but ultimate pleasure. Adam is a brilliant politician, but pretty good at making messes of his personal life. He has to live with regrets about what his reckless actions wrought on his family home, his friendship, and his brother. And Adam finds himself falling deeply in love with his wife, and coming to admire and respect her for who she is.
The chemistry between Penelope and Adam was well done, building steadily to an intense fire that made their love scenes very good reading. And the emotional honesty between them really adds to the fulfillment of reading this book. Penelope has to find her way in Adam's treacherous world, where friends are more like frenemies, and a friend's wife is trying to get her claws back into Penelope's husband. Adam made a huge mistake, but the way this book is written, you can't hold it against him. He's suffered for it, and his remorse is very obvious. And he's more than willing to face the music, but can't stand the thought of losing the wife he's come to love very deeply. Although it's a bit hypocritical in light of what he did in the past, I thought his jealousy over his wife and how it spurred him on to make his marriage with Penelope real, rather endearing. It was a real pleasure to see this match of expedience turn into one that is full of love and devotion.
This book is a real gem. I am very glad that I did get the chance to read it, and I can't wait to read more from this talented author.
March 21, 2020
.
Well I have a hard time deciding how I feel about this one. 3 stars because I found it hard to put down.
There was a lot to like. The author had some nice insights into how the characters would feel in reaction to different scenarios, but yet she couldn't seem to deliver a satisfying redemption. Part of this is because there is no epilogue, so the story ends shortly after his grovel.
There's no comeuppance for the evil OW, and dammit, it is so richly deserved!
I feel vaguely skeevy about Penny living in that house with a man who has been so morally bankrupt in the recent past. Not that I dislike Adam... I just can't wrap my head around his past behavior.
But in other ways the story was wonderful. *shrug*
Penny has a tyrant for a brother who puts her down constantly. To escape his rule and keep her money, she needs to marry fast. So she takes off in her carriage and marries the man who literally falls in her path. After a strangely lacking wedding ceremony in Scotland, she finds out he is actually a duke and not a drunken fool... (or perhaps both after all).
When Adam wakes sober, their new life together tumbles about as they both find their footing together. Penny isn't smitten with him at first. It takes time for he to see him in a romantic light. She's pretty honest with her own feelings and practical about their relationship. She for the most part, can hold her own against the OW, if Clarissa wasn't quite such a vile scumsucker.
The first 3rd of the book was great! The setup was perfect and the characters are interesting and lead the reader into caring for them both and wanting them to find love...
But
then big spoilers follow:
we meet Adam'sassholes 'friends'...
and then we meet his best friend's nasty wife, Clarissa that hefucked had a month long affair with 6 months ago. Clarissa didn't want the affair to end.
She shows up regularly like dog crap for the rest of the book. She is beyond awful with no redeeming characteristics at all. Her husband Tim is a nice guy, in fact he is the only nice person in Adam's group of friends.
I had hoped that the author would downplay the affair and belittle it. But she chooses to just make Clarissa more despicable. Adam has boinked her everywhere it would seem. So his house in the country isn't safe from the OW. In fact she caused a fire that trashed a good part of it. Adam loves his family estate, but also feels lots of guilt when he is there because he is reminded of his sordid behavior with his best friend's wife... and Penny has no trouble deducing this. So she is constantly reminded as well.
But they finally get intimate and things start to look hopeful,
BUT
here comes Clarissa again, like an OW from an old school harlequin.
Now we find out that Adam also wrote XXX love letters to her during their affair that Clarrisa has kept.
At the end, these letters are still out there and Adam believes Clarissa will circulate them when they return to London.
...So even though he has told Clarissa where to stick it, and has lost his best friend, the shit storm will continue long after the book ends.
NOT WHAT I CONSIDER A ROMANTIC ENDING!
Adam's character was kinda confusing. He's supposed to be a fantastic politician and Penny has been reading his work in the newspaper for years, but as a person he comes across as feckless and easily corrupted. He does stand up for Penny throughout the story and I did like him.
If only the author hadn't made his affair so very awful. If there hadn't been love letters, or if it hadn't lasted so long, or if he hadn't boinked C in music room for the whole mansion to hear...
Anyways, it felt like it ended before the story should have ended. There was no closure. Clarissa looms large in their future and they and the reader feel helpless to do anything about it.
Safety is alright I guess
Will he stay true to Penny? Yes, I think he will. I was convinced of his love for her and hers for him.
Well I have a hard time deciding how I feel about this one. 3 stars because I found it hard to put down.
There was a lot to like. The author had some nice insights into how the characters would feel in reaction to different scenarios, but yet she couldn't seem to deliver a satisfying redemption. Part of this is because there is no epilogue, so the story ends shortly after his grovel.
There's no comeuppance for the evil OW, and dammit, it is so richly deserved!
I feel vaguely skeevy about Penny living in that house with a man who has been so morally bankrupt in the recent past. Not that I dislike Adam... I just can't wrap my head around his past behavior.
But in other ways the story was wonderful. *shrug*
Penny has a tyrant for a brother who puts her down constantly. To escape his rule and keep her money, she needs to marry fast. So she takes off in her carriage and marries the man who literally falls in her path. After a strangely lacking wedding ceremony in Scotland, she finds out he is actually a duke and not a drunken fool... (or perhaps both after all).
When Adam wakes sober, their new life together tumbles about as they both find their footing together. Penny isn't smitten with him at first. It takes time for he to see him in a romantic light. She's pretty honest with her own feelings and practical about their relationship. She for the most part, can hold her own against the OW, if Clarissa wasn't quite such a vile scumsucker.
The first 3rd of the book was great! The setup was perfect and the characters are interesting and lead the reader into caring for them both and wanting them to find love...
But
then big spoilers follow:
we meet Adam's
and then we meet his best friend's nasty wife, Clarissa that he
She shows up regularly like dog crap for the rest of the book. She is beyond awful with no redeeming characteristics at all. Her husband Tim is a nice guy, in fact he is the only nice person in Adam's group of friends.
I had hoped that the author would downplay the affair and belittle it. But she chooses to just make Clarissa more despicable. Adam has boinked her everywhere it would seem. So his house in the country isn't safe from the OW. In fact she caused a fire that trashed a good part of it. Adam loves his family estate, but also feels lots of guilt when he is there because he is reminded of his sordid behavior with his best friend's wife... and Penny has no trouble deducing this. So she is constantly reminded as well.
But they finally get intimate and things start to look hopeful,
BUT
here comes Clarissa again, like an OW from an old school harlequin.
Now we find out that Adam also wrote XXX love letters to her during their affair that Clarrisa has kept.
At the end, these letters are still out there and Adam believes Clarissa will circulate them when they return to London.
...So even though he has told Clarissa where to stick it, and has lost his best friend, the shit storm will continue long after the book ends.
NOT WHAT I CONSIDER A ROMANTIC ENDING!
Adam's character was kinda confusing. He's supposed to be a fantastic politician and Penny has been reading his work in the newspaper for years, but as a person he comes across as feckless and easily corrupted. He does stand up for Penny throughout the story and I did like him.
If only the author hadn't made his affair so very awful. If there hadn't been love letters, or if it hadn't lasted so long, or if he hadn't boinked C in music room for the whole mansion to hear...
Anyways, it felt like it ended before the story should have ended. There was no closure. Clarissa looms large in their future and they and the reader feel helpless to do anything about it.
Safety is alright I guess
Will he stay true to Penny? Yes, I think he will. I was convinced of his love for her and hers for him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2014
This was more like 1.5 stars: I did not like that I kind of liked it?
Penelope is super rich but needs to get married ASAP. Adam is super drunk and needs some money ASAP. She nearly runs him down on the road and then kidnaps him and marries him. Adam's gross past comes out of the woodwork to ruin everything before boners and feelings get in the way.
1. IT DEFINITELY WOULD HAVE TAKEN MORE THAN ONE DAY TO GET FROM SCOTLAND TO LONDON VIA CARRIAGE!! JUST SAYING!!
2. Were restaurants really a thing in regency England?
3. The whole bff/bff's wife plot thing was gross. A) I don't know if I could forgive a dude who slept with his bff's wife, so that makes liking Adam difficult. B) The bff claims that if he tried to leave her "she'd take the children", which. NOT THE CASE IN REGENCY TIMES! SORRY.
4. FIRST TIME SEX ON A DINING ROOM TABLE.
5. I was kind of disappointed that Penelope's social anxiety was hand-waved away because she ... yelled at an asshole that one time? What?
6. I did like the garter game though! (Although I did laugh when Penelope when from trembling virgin to give-it-to-me virgin after one manually stimulated orgasm. Like, she was giving Adam handjobs at the dinner table. Saucily.)
Penelope is super rich but needs to get married ASAP. Adam is super drunk and needs some money ASAP. She nearly runs him down on the road and then kidnaps him and marries him. Adam's gross past comes out of the woodwork to ruin everything before boners and feelings get in the way.
1. IT DEFINITELY WOULD HAVE TAKEN MORE THAN ONE DAY TO GET FROM SCOTLAND TO LONDON VIA CARRIAGE!! JUST SAYING!!
2. Were restaurants really a thing in regency England?
3. The whole bff/bff's wife plot thing was gross. A) I don't know if I could forgive a dude who slept with his bff's wife, so that makes liking Adam difficult. B) The bff claims that if he tried to leave her "she'd take the children", which. NOT THE CASE IN REGENCY TIMES! SORRY.
4. FIRST TIME SEX ON A DINING ROOM TABLE.
5. I was kind of disappointed that Penelope's social anxiety was hand-waved away because she ... yelled at an asshole that one time? What?
6. I did like the garter game though! (Although I did laugh when Penelope when from trembling virgin to give-it-to-me virgin after one manually stimulated orgasm. Like, she was giving Adam handjobs at the dinner table. Saucily.)
May 9, 2011
I actually picked this one up, because I'm just about to review another book which has some of the same characters and I didn't want to feel like I didn't know what the background was.
So, I bought the kindle book, begrudged paying five-something bucks for it, when epub was cheaper, especially when it's a relatively short book... until I started reading it. Wow! I LOVED this book.
Although the premise of aristo marrying cit heiress, then falling for her, is actually a fairly well-worn path, something about this felt really quite fresh for me. The hero and heroine are both really quite flawed people, but you never dislike either of them, not for one moment. The mess of their lives individually is taken quite far enough for it to feel worthy of a story, but not so far that you can't believe it. But what I probably most like about them is that they are both intelligent, say intelligent things, and don't do anything rash or stupid. Even their meeting, which (if I described it) would sound completely daft, actually isn't daft at all. They've both run out of ideas individually, and the courses of action they choose, which lumps them together, actually do make sense, in a twisted kind of way.
Other reviews have noted that this is a real "opposites attract" story, and I guess on the surface it is, but to me it's a great story about two incredibly well-matched people, finding each other against all the odds.
Loved it. 5 stars.
So, I bought the kindle book, begrudged paying five-something bucks for it, when epub was cheaper, especially when it's a relatively short book... until I started reading it. Wow! I LOVED this book.
Although the premise of aristo marrying cit heiress, then falling for her, is actually a fairly well-worn path, something about this felt really quite fresh for me. The hero and heroine are both really quite flawed people, but you never dislike either of them, not for one moment. The mess of their lives individually is taken quite far enough for it to feel worthy of a story, but not so far that you can't believe it. But what I probably most like about them is that they are both intelligent, say intelligent things, and don't do anything rash or stupid. Even their meeting, which (if I described it) would sound completely daft, actually isn't daft at all. They've both run out of ideas individually, and the courses of action they choose, which lumps them together, actually do make sense, in a twisted kind of way.
Other reviews have noted that this is a real "opposites attract" story, and I guess on the surface it is, but to me it's a great story about two incredibly well-matched people, finding each other against all the odds.
Loved it. 5 stars.
May 23, 2024
Wrote review 10/12/18.
Regency England. I liked how the heroine counted in her
head when she became angry. She 'lost her cool' several
times. 3 stars.
Heiress Penelope wanted to get away from her controlling
brother. She planned to pay a man to go to Gretna Green,
marry her & then part ways. She met drunken Adam who
tried to end his life. She tricked him into a Gretna marriage.
She discovered the next day, that Adam was a duke (!) and
not as witty or pliable as when drunk.
Adam felt Penny beneath him: her brother and late father
had jobs in trade. Ironically Adam just lost tobacco when
a cargo ship went down hauling this for him. Adam: also
in trade!
This story contained too much drama. Adam should have
strongly made clear from the start to his brother and
friends DON'T disrespect his new wife Pen.
Regency England. I liked how the heroine counted in her
head when she became angry. She 'lost her cool' several
times. 3 stars.
Heiress Penelope wanted to get away from her controlling
brother. She planned to pay a man to go to Gretna Green,
marry her & then part ways. She met drunken Adam who
tried to end his life. She tricked him into a Gretna marriage.
She discovered the next day, that Adam was a duke (!) and
not as witty or pliable as when drunk.
Adam felt Penny beneath him: her brother and late father
had jobs in trade. Ironically Adam just lost tobacco when
a cargo ship went down hauling this for him. Adam: also
in trade!
This story contained too much drama. Adam should have
strongly made clear from the start to his brother and
friends DON'T disrespect his new wife Pen.
May 4, 2010
I read this on a whim so that I had an excuse to eat my lunch and have something to do until I go to the gym. It is a short read, with a cliche bluestocking character with a marriage of convenience setting, and I adored it. For a harlequin, I did not expect this type of story to be so enjoyable.
The heroine is Penelope Winthorpe, a spinster-ish bluestocking who wants to marry a manageable man so that she can read peaceably for the rest of her days, all in attempts to escape her controlling brother. She finds Adam, drunk and not knowing that he was a Duke of Bellston, decides to marry him. This happens early in the book, so in the majority of the book, the H/H shared a marriage with no marital relations. They first become friends and later it grows to love. Unfortunately, Adam's past wrongs remain to haunt him (an affair with his friend's wife).
This is such a treat to read because Penelope was completely obsessed with books (almost like me) and the H/H fall in love slowly, with none of the absurd lusty obsessive feelings you generally get from HR. I recommend it to anyone who craves a short, cute HR.
The heroine is Penelope Winthorpe, a spinster-ish bluestocking who wants to marry a manageable man so that she can read peaceably for the rest of her days, all in attempts to escape her controlling brother. She finds Adam, drunk and not knowing that he was a Duke of Bellston, decides to marry him. This happens early in the book, so in the majority of the book, the H/H shared a marriage with no marital relations. They first become friends and later it grows to love. Unfortunately, Adam's past wrongs remain to haunt him (an affair with his friend's wife).
This is such a treat to read because Penelope was completely obsessed with books (almost like me) and the H/H fall in love slowly, with none of the absurd lusty obsessive feelings you generally get from HR. I recommend it to anyone who craves a short, cute HR.
October 19, 2008
Great book. Bluestocking heroine, hero with a tarnished past. Love the way Merrill gradually leads them to love. And doesn't completely make over the heroine in order for her to win his love.
August 2, 2011
3.5 stars
I'm somewhat torn on this book. In the beginning, I was disappointed because it started off feeling a little trite, cliche, and caricature-ish. That quickly changed though and I ended up really enjoying both the hero and heroine, as well as their interactions and developing relationship. I did have two problems though that really marred my enjoyment.
{ Praise }
While they're characters we have definitely seen before - the plain, bookish, quiet, blustocking wallflower and the arrogant, in desperate straits, previously badly behaved hero - Merrill was able to make them refreshing and new.
Both Penelope and Adam were written with more depth than I expected and that took them out of the realm of caricatures; one of the thing that often makes these cookie-cutter romance characters feel, to me at least, like caricatures is that we're told all the standard things ... and then they're written as nothing like that, with the behavior, thoughts, and words not at all matching up, or being way over the top. Penelope is described as sensible and practical - and she actually is sensible and practical; she's said to be a studious bookish blustocking - and she actually is all those things. Adam is portrayed as an arrogant Duke who has this hidden just-a-simple-and-nice-man side - and he actually is like that; he has is supposed to have a less than stellar (morally speaking) past, having been very rakish in very bad ways - and that actually is the case! His guilt for that past also feels very authentic.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Penny and Adam and watching it develop. They start off as nothing more than polite strangers who realize they can be mutually beneficial to one another and should make the best of the situation. They slowly begin to respect and like one another, and then become even more to one another (more on that below). Although I had real problems with the switch to that stage of their relationship, I did enjoy seeing them in the second half when they're getting along and everything is going well between them; was really cute and they seemed like such a good fit for one another, with each really needing something from the other. I loved that Adam helps Penny realize she needs more than quiet, solitude, and her books, while Penny helps Adam try to move beyond his guilt and combine his Duke self with his regular guy self.
The character of Timothy, Adam's friend, was also very well-written, and I almost feel like I wish he should have his own post-Clarissa romance. Will, Adam's brother, was a bit of a puzzle and should have been more heavily featured in the story. Especially given what Adam's thoughts are at the beginning and his guilt over Will being hurt (is nothing super major).
{ Criticism }
For me, where things kind of fell apart is when things progressed beyond that. The make out and love scenes by themselves were well-written and had a nice sizzle, but they felt out of place somehow - for some reason whenever I reminded myself that it was Penny and Adam I was reading about, it made the whole thing feel a little ... fake and forced, for lack of better words. The scenes were, relatively speaking, not really raunchy or anything, but they were more explicit than some mainstream authors (way more than Julia Quinn for example) and I think part of the problem was that there had been no such overtones leading up to these scenes. Penny and Adam had a platonic relationship, with the occasional thought by one or the other than this or that part of their body or face was attractive, and then all of a sudden boom! they're changing the previous arrangement and going to have a sexual relationship as well. Seemed to come out of nowhere, with no transition or warning.
The other thing that was a real failing for me was the ending. It was so unbelievably abrupt and there is not even an Epilogue to soften the feeling. There's the last big Event / Complication that always comes at the end of a romance and while it and the after-effects go one for a few pages, it is only finally resolved with Penny and Adam getting back together on the second-to-last page (and the last page is only half full of writing). Then nothing. That's it. The End.
So small but I have to mention this: the quotations use seemed backwards! Instead of having dialogue in " " and then any quoting within that being with ' ', it was the reverse. Don't know that I've seen that before. Was jarring, but I'm also sometimes a grammar freak, so could be no one else noticed.
{ Favorite Funny Quotes }
{ Favorite Sweet and Romantic Quotes }
{ Bottom Line }
I would say this book is most certainly worth a read, however having gotten my copy through PBSwap, I'm frankly still undecided as to whether or not I should keep it. Might I reread it in the future? If I still own it, then perhaps. However if I don't have a copy, will I need to get my hands on it again ... probably not. Merrill is a talented author though, and one whose other works I am eager to browse through.
(Written August 2, 2011)
I'm somewhat torn on this book. In the beginning, I was disappointed because it started off feeling a little trite, cliche, and caricature-ish. That quickly changed though and I ended up really enjoying both the hero and heroine, as well as their interactions and developing relationship. I did have two problems though that really marred my enjoyment.
{ Praise }
While they're characters we have definitely seen before - the plain, bookish, quiet, blustocking wallflower and the arrogant, in desperate straits, previously badly behaved hero - Merrill was able to make them refreshing and new.
Both Penelope and Adam were written with more depth than I expected and that took them out of the realm of caricatures; one of the thing that often makes these cookie-cutter romance characters feel, to me at least, like caricatures is that we're told all the standard things ... and then they're written as nothing like that, with the behavior, thoughts, and words not at all matching up, or being way over the top. Penelope is described as sensible and practical - and she actually is sensible and practical; she's said to be a studious bookish blustocking - and she actually is all those things. Adam is portrayed as an arrogant Duke who has this hidden just-a-simple-and-nice-man side - and he actually is like that; he has is supposed to have a less than stellar (morally speaking) past, having been very rakish in very bad ways - and that actually is the case! His guilt for that past also feels very authentic.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Penny and Adam and watching it develop. They start off as nothing more than polite strangers who realize they can be mutually beneficial to one another and should make the best of the situation. They slowly begin to respect and like one another, and then become even more to one another (more on that below). Although I had real problems with the switch to that stage of their relationship, I did enjoy seeing them in the second half when they're getting along and everything is going well between them; was really cute and they seemed like such a good fit for one another, with each really needing something from the other. I loved that Adam helps Penny realize she needs more than quiet, solitude, and her books, while Penny helps Adam try to move beyond his guilt and combine his Duke self with his regular guy self.
The character of Timothy, Adam's friend, was also very well-written, and I almost feel like I wish he should have his own post-Clarissa romance. Will, Adam's brother, was a bit of a puzzle and should have been more heavily featured in the story. Especially given what Adam's thoughts are at the beginning and his guilt over Will being hurt (is nothing super major).
{ Criticism }
For me, where things kind of fell apart is when things progressed beyond that. The make out and love scenes by themselves were well-written and had a nice sizzle, but they felt out of place somehow - for some reason whenever I reminded myself that it was Penny and Adam I was reading about, it made the whole thing feel a little ... fake and forced, for lack of better words. The scenes were, relatively speaking, not really raunchy or anything, but they were more explicit than some mainstream authors (way more than Julia Quinn for example) and I think part of the problem was that there had been no such overtones leading up to these scenes. Penny and Adam had a platonic relationship, with the occasional thought by one or the other than this or that part of their body or face was attractive, and then all of a sudden boom! they're changing the previous arrangement and going to have a sexual relationship as well. Seemed to come out of nowhere, with no transition or warning.
The other thing that was a real failing for me was the ending. It was so unbelievably abrupt and there is not even an Epilogue to soften the feeling. There's the last big Event / Complication that always comes at the end of a romance and while it and the after-effects go one for a few pages, it is only finally resolved with Penny and Adam getting back together on the second-to-last page (and the last page is only half full of writing). Then nothing. That's it. The End.
So small but I have to mention this: the quotations use seemed backwards! Instead of having dialogue in " " and then any quoting within that being with ' ', it was the reverse. Don't know that I've seen that before. Was jarring, but I'm also sometimes a grammar freak, so could be no one else noticed.
{ Favorite Funny Quotes }
They would live, happily ever after, as was told in folk tales. Just not with each other.
(p. 51)
"I never thought ..."
"That you would tell anyone besides the bank that you had wed?"
"That anyone would care," she said.
"I have no idea what people might think of your marriage," he responded. "But if I marry, all of London will care."
She took a gulp of her own wine. "That is most conceited of you, sir."
"But no less true."
(p. 83)
"I am sorry to have inconvenienced you," he said, not the least bit contrite. "But I will need an heir. Once one has married, it makes sense to look at the obvious solution to the problem."
"And you would ... with me ... and we ..."
He nodded. "Two male children are preferable, but one might be sufficient. If it was a boy, and healthy. If the first is a daughter, then ..."
"But that would mean ... we would ... more than once ..."
"Most certainly. Repeatedly. For several years at least."
Repeatedly. She sat there, eyes round, mouth open, mind boggled. Unable to speak at all.
(p. 212)
{ Favorite Sweet and Romantic Quotes }
He thought of her eyes again, and imagined a brood of little eyes following him with that same direct stare: dangerously clever children with insatiable curiosity. The prospect intrigued him, [...]
(p. 50)
He looked up to into the mirror to see his wife standing in the connecting doorway behind him. He didn't realise he had been holding his breath until he felt it expel from his lungs in a long, slow sigh. It was his wife, most certainly. But transformed. The gown was a pale green, and with her light hair and fair skin, she seemed almost transparent. As she came towards him, he imagined he was seeing a spirit, a ghost that belonged to the house, that had been there long before he had come.
[...]
His friends would not call her a beauty, certainly. She was most unlike all the other women who were lauded as such. But suddenly it did not matter what his friends might say. It only mattered what he knew in his heart to be true---she looked as she was meant to look. And now that he had removed her from whatever magic realm she had inhabited, he was overcome with the desire to protect her from the coarse harshness of the world around them.
(p. 172)
And then she noticed the silence emanating from the room.
[...]
Her husband spoke. "I find her appearance to be singular. Her eyes, especially, are most compelling. Not to everyone's taste, perhaps, but very much to mine. You might wish to remember that, in future, if you wish to visit my home." The warning in his voice was clear, and she imagined him the way he had been when he stood up to her brother. Quiet, but quite frightening. Her jaw dropped. There was more muttering in the room, and a hurried apology from John.
[...]
She leaned her back to the wall, and let the plaster support her as the room began to spin. The Duke of Bellston found her "singular." Whatever did that mean? If another had said it, she'd have thought it was faint praise, and that the speaker had been too kind to say "odd." But from Adam's lips? It had sounded like "rare." As though she was something to be sought for and kept safe.
(p. 194-195)
"If the world were different, and we were all free, you would have done better to choose him, for his temperament would suit you." Adam's face darkened and his lips twisted in a bitter smile. "But I find that I do not care, when you are near, what is best for you or that you deserve better. You are mine, and I want to keep you all to myself." His smile softened as he remembered. "It was so good, being alone with you. And you seemed content with just me for company."
(p. 277)
She stepped closer and reached out a hand to him, touching his hair, and trailing her fingers slowly down his cheek. He closed his eyes for a moment, then turned his head to press kisses into her palm, seizing her hand in his so that she could not pull away. And she felt the familiar thrill of power at the sight of him, cradling her hand as though he feared the loss of her touch. He kissed her knuckles again, and bowed his head to her. "My fate is yours to decide, Penny. I will do as you wish in all things. I will go tonight, if you say I must. But I beg you, do not be apart from me, for I fear I shall go mad with the loss of you."
(p. 280)
{ Bottom Line }
I would say this book is most certainly worth a read, however having gotten my copy through PBSwap, I'm frankly still undecided as to whether or not I should keep it. Might I reread it in the future? If I still own it, then perhaps. However if I don't have a copy, will I need to get my hands on it again ... probably not. Merrill is a talented author though, and one whose other works I am eager to browse through.
(Written August 2, 2011)
April 28, 2011
This is a Quickie Review. For the full review, please visit The Romanceaholic.
Expected Release Date: Available Now!
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Harlequin Historical
Author’s Website: http://christine-merrill.com
My Source for This Book: Netgalley
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 1, Belston and Friends
Series Best Read In Order: N/A
Steam Level: Steamy
The blurb of this little historical gem simply doesn't do the book justice.
Penelope is, to put it mildly, a bookworm. Penelope is an heiress to a great fortune left to her by her father, who was a very successful book printer and whom she inherited her love of books from. Having had a disastrous first season in society, she wants nothing to do with balls and soirees, and would very cheerfully live out the rest of her spinsterhood translating classical books from their original Greek into English, were it not for her brother. You see, her brother has been named guardian of her fortune until such time that she should marry, and after a few comments from Penelope about his (mis)management of her money, he tells her that she may no longer spend any money on books.
In a fit of temper, she basically says a big eff you to her brother and runs off towards Scotland, hoping to find a man along the way who would be agreeable.
Meanwhile, Adam Felkirk has been having a horrible year. After several rather large missteps and losing a major investment in a tobacco shipment, he's left destitute, having failed the tenants who depend on him for their livelihood. Since the "gentlemanly" thing to do would be to end his life, he decides to get blindingly drunk and stage an "accident" that will allow his brother to inherit the dukedom. Once he's sufficiently in his cups, he stumbles outside and "slips" on the cobblestones to fall in front of, you guessed it, Penelope's speeding carriage.
The driver manages to miss Adam's prone body, and Penny sees the opportunity she's been waiting on, and rescues Adam (who at this point is so drunk that he thinks he's dead and that she's an angel sent to take him to the afterlife). Encouraging him to continue drinking, Penny outlines her plan for a marriage of convenience that would give Adam riches as well as permission to keep as many fine mistresses and dissolute habits as he wishes, so long as he gives Penny the freedom she desires. Still drunk out of his mind, he agrees, and they are soon wed over the anvil in Gretna.
It isn't until the next morning when Adam awakens with a horrible hangover that he realizes what he's done, and now he has to decide if he wants a shabbily dressed, plain, bluestocking spinster as a wife in order to save his estate and tenants, or if he wants to subject them both to the scandal of an annulment.
Despite some of his actions before the book began, Adam was at heart an honorable man. Even though he didn't initially love nor was physically attracted to Penny, he still went out of his way to make her as comfortable as possible and to make the best of a bad situation. Penny had a tendency to be a bit childish, even though I personally enjoyed her temper and how she rarely allowed herself to express it, and I even warmed up to her brother towards the end.
Overall, I enjoyed this one. While the lovemaking seemed rather bold for an incredibly shy spinster, I did feel the attraction between Penny and Adam, and the angst that arose when their original bargain clashed with developing feelings was lovely. A solid 4/5 Stars.
Expected Release Date: Available Now!
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Harlequin Historical
Author’s Website: http://christine-merrill.com
My Source for This Book: Netgalley
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 1, Belston and Friends
Series Best Read In Order: N/A
Steam Level: Steamy
The blurb of this little historical gem simply doesn't do the book justice.
Penelope is, to put it mildly, a bookworm. Penelope is an heiress to a great fortune left to her by her father, who was a very successful book printer and whom she inherited her love of books from. Having had a disastrous first season in society, she wants nothing to do with balls and soirees, and would very cheerfully live out the rest of her spinsterhood translating classical books from their original Greek into English, were it not for her brother. You see, her brother has been named guardian of her fortune until such time that she should marry, and after a few comments from Penelope about his (mis)management of her money, he tells her that she may no longer spend any money on books.
In a fit of temper, she basically says a big eff you to her brother and runs off towards Scotland, hoping to find a man along the way who would be agreeable.
Meanwhile, Adam Felkirk has been having a horrible year. After several rather large missteps and losing a major investment in a tobacco shipment, he's left destitute, having failed the tenants who depend on him for their livelihood. Since the "gentlemanly" thing to do would be to end his life, he decides to get blindingly drunk and stage an "accident" that will allow his brother to inherit the dukedom. Once he's sufficiently in his cups, he stumbles outside and "slips" on the cobblestones to fall in front of, you guessed it, Penelope's speeding carriage.
The driver manages to miss Adam's prone body, and Penny sees the opportunity she's been waiting on, and rescues Adam (who at this point is so drunk that he thinks he's dead and that she's an angel sent to take him to the afterlife). Encouraging him to continue drinking, Penny outlines her plan for a marriage of convenience that would give Adam riches as well as permission to keep as many fine mistresses and dissolute habits as he wishes, so long as he gives Penny the freedom she desires. Still drunk out of his mind, he agrees, and they are soon wed over the anvil in Gretna.
It isn't until the next morning when Adam awakens with a horrible hangover that he realizes what he's done, and now he has to decide if he wants a shabbily dressed, plain, bluestocking spinster as a wife in order to save his estate and tenants, or if he wants to subject them both to the scandal of an annulment.
Despite some of his actions before the book began, Adam was at heart an honorable man. Even though he didn't initially love nor was physically attracted to Penny, he still went out of his way to make her as comfortable as possible and to make the best of a bad situation. Penny had a tendency to be a bit childish, even though I personally enjoyed her temper and how she rarely allowed herself to express it, and I even warmed up to her brother towards the end.
Overall, I enjoyed this one. While the lovemaking seemed rather bold for an incredibly shy spinster, I did feel the attraction between Penny and Adam, and the angst that arose when their original bargain clashed with developing feelings was lovely. A solid 4/5 Stars.
August 29, 2013
3.5 stars
A surprisingly funny and definitely better story than the similar novella Reasons for Marriage by Stephanie Laurens. I think what made this better is that the male main character actually has other thoughts in his mind than shagging the main female character. And that I share quite a few traits with Penny, the most prominent of which are her aversion to large groups of people and her bookishness. I really like how both Adam and Penny endeavored to make the best of their relationship and consider each other's happiness. Also, I liked how Penny is smart but impulsive and short-tempered at the same time but maybe that's because that aspect in her character reminds me of myself a little bit.
The main problem I have is its length; its relatively shorter length left little room for a deeper exploration of Adam's thoughts and feelings as well as the second, er, relationship thread. The ending was a little anticlimactic and very brief too. When I reached the end, I was surprised that there was nothing more. I was curious as to how Adam and Penny resolve the issues of their relationships outside their own. I think there was more that could be done with their friends and family. A teensy problem I also had was I thought Penny's translation project wasn't given as much attention as I expected. Although I can't speak or read Greek, my background in languages made me interested in Penny's Homer translation.
A surprisingly funny and definitely better story than the similar novella Reasons for Marriage by Stephanie Laurens. I think what made this better is that the male main character actually has other thoughts in his mind than shagging the main female character. And that I share quite a few traits with Penny, the most prominent of which are her aversion to large groups of people and her bookishness. I really like how both Adam and Penny endeavored to make the best of their relationship and consider each other's happiness. Also, I liked how Penny is smart but impulsive and short-tempered at the same time but maybe that's because that aspect in her character reminds me of myself a little bit.
The main problem I have is its length; its relatively shorter length left little room for a deeper exploration of Adam's thoughts and feelings as well as the second, er, relationship thread. The ending was a little anticlimactic and very brief too. When I reached the end, I was surprised that there was nothing more. I was curious as to how Adam and Penny resolve the issues of their relationships outside their own. I think there was more that could be done with their friends and family. A teensy problem I also had was I thought Penny's translation project wasn't given as much attention as I expected. Although I can't speak or read Greek, my background in languages made me interested in Penny's Homer translation.
April 1, 2010
I liked this one quite a lot. The heroine is the reclusive bluestocking daughter of a printer whose brother has cut off her book purchasing money. Since she will inherit her own fortune when she marries, in a rage, she takes off on a trip to Scotland hunting for an appropriate groom on the way--one who will let her live her life the way she wants. She stumbles across a drunken impoverished peer who's trying to commit accidental suicide (because he's insured) and decides he's perfect. Only when he sobers up, he turns out to be a bit more than she bargained for. And so is she. It's a delightful story. I liked it a lot.
May 21, 2020
Ich hatte bei diesem Cover eigentlich das Übliche erwartet. Ihr wisst schon... Naives Mädchen trifft auf leicht arroganten Adligen und nach in paar Verwicklung und Sex ist es dann die große Liebe. Hier war es jedoch anders.
Penny ist ein Blaustrumpf, die nur ihre Bücher im Kopf hat und eine Ehe auf dem Papier wünscht und der gute Adam ist pleite, betrunken und will sich eigentlich umbringen, als er Penny begegnet. Er ist nicht der arrogante, überlegende Superheld, sondern ein Gentleman, der versucht immer das Richtige zu machen und sich nur immer mal für wenige Seiten den Anschein des üblichen Helden gibt. Das fand ich überraschend anders und gut. Ich hatte nicht das Gefühl diese Geschichte schon zu kennen und sehr lange habe ich nicht gewusst, wie das zwischen Penny und Adam je zur großen Liebe werden soll. Die Auflösung war dann vielleicht etwas schnell, aber gut, was erwartet man bei 222 Seiten? Ich habe jedenfalls mehr bekommen, als erwartet.
Beschrieben wird die Geschichte, wie bei Liebesromanen typisch, aus der Sicht der beiden Protagonisten, wobei wir die meiste Zeit mit Penny verleben.
Ganz ehrlich? Es hat mir viel Freude gemacht diesen Heftroman zu lesen. Ich mochte die teilweise sehr schlagfertigen Dialoge und wenn mir die Charaktere auch nicht ans Herz gewachsen sind, so habe ich sie gemocht und gerne Zeit mit ihnen verbracht.
Ob das Jahrhundert, indem die Geschichte spielt, immer durch Dialoge, Mode etc. richtig behandelt wurde, wage ich anzuzweifeln, aber es wird auch kein genaues Datum oder historische Personen angeführt, die es zeitlich in einen genauen Rahmen packen. (zumindest nicht soweit ich mich erinnern kann)
Schauplätze sind jedenfalls London, die legendäre Schmiede von Gretna Green und ein Landsitz, den leider ein Feuer ein wenig mitgenommen hat.
Romantik und auch sinnliche Szenen sind zwar vorhanden, aber doch weniger im zentralen Vordergrund des Romans. Ob Adam, der Duke von Bellston, ein Mann zum Verlieben ist? Er ist jedenfalls, wie schon gesagt nicht der typische Held. Ich fand ihn ganz sympathetisch und wer auf Ehrenmänner steht, der wird ihn vermutlich mögen, auch wenn er in der Vergangenheit sich einen schwerwiegenden Fehltritt geleistet hat, der noch zur Belastungsprobe für die Beziehung wird.
Das Buch hat keine Längen, ganz im Gegenteil. Gerade zum Ende hin hätte es mehr Seiten gebrauchen können, denn die Auflösung war wirklich etwas schnell und nicht immer ganz so glücklich, was meinem Lesevergnügen aber keinen Abbruch getan hat.
Es ist das ideale Buch, wenn man Lust hat einfach gedanklich einen amüsierten Aufenthalt in der idealisierten Vergangenheit zu verleben, ohne den Kopf anschalten zu müssen. Ich werde das Buch im Regal behalten, weil ich einfach weiß, dass wann immer ich danach greife, ich mich an die schönen Lesestunden zurückerinnern werde.
Penny ist ein Blaustrumpf, die nur ihre Bücher im Kopf hat und eine Ehe auf dem Papier wünscht und der gute Adam ist pleite, betrunken und will sich eigentlich umbringen, als er Penny begegnet. Er ist nicht der arrogante, überlegende Superheld, sondern ein Gentleman, der versucht immer das Richtige zu machen und sich nur immer mal für wenige Seiten den Anschein des üblichen Helden gibt. Das fand ich überraschend anders und gut. Ich hatte nicht das Gefühl diese Geschichte schon zu kennen und sehr lange habe ich nicht gewusst, wie das zwischen Penny und Adam je zur großen Liebe werden soll. Die Auflösung war dann vielleicht etwas schnell, aber gut, was erwartet man bei 222 Seiten? Ich habe jedenfalls mehr bekommen, als erwartet.
Beschrieben wird die Geschichte, wie bei Liebesromanen typisch, aus der Sicht der beiden Protagonisten, wobei wir die meiste Zeit mit Penny verleben.
Ganz ehrlich? Es hat mir viel Freude gemacht diesen Heftroman zu lesen. Ich mochte die teilweise sehr schlagfertigen Dialoge und wenn mir die Charaktere auch nicht ans Herz gewachsen sind, so habe ich sie gemocht und gerne Zeit mit ihnen verbracht.
Ob das Jahrhundert, indem die Geschichte spielt, immer durch Dialoge, Mode etc. richtig behandelt wurde, wage ich anzuzweifeln, aber es wird auch kein genaues Datum oder historische Personen angeführt, die es zeitlich in einen genauen Rahmen packen. (zumindest nicht soweit ich mich erinnern kann)
Schauplätze sind jedenfalls London, die legendäre Schmiede von Gretna Green und ein Landsitz, den leider ein Feuer ein wenig mitgenommen hat.
Romantik und auch sinnliche Szenen sind zwar vorhanden, aber doch weniger im zentralen Vordergrund des Romans. Ob Adam, der Duke von Bellston, ein Mann zum Verlieben ist? Er ist jedenfalls, wie schon gesagt nicht der typische Held. Ich fand ihn ganz sympathetisch und wer auf Ehrenmänner steht, der wird ihn vermutlich mögen, auch wenn er in der Vergangenheit sich einen schwerwiegenden Fehltritt geleistet hat, der noch zur Belastungsprobe für die Beziehung wird.
Das Buch hat keine Längen, ganz im Gegenteil. Gerade zum Ende hin hätte es mehr Seiten gebrauchen können, denn die Auflösung war wirklich etwas schnell und nicht immer ganz so glücklich, was meinem Lesevergnügen aber keinen Abbruch getan hat.
Es ist das ideale Buch, wenn man Lust hat einfach gedanklich einen amüsierten Aufenthalt in der idealisierten Vergangenheit zu verleben, ohne den Kopf anschalten zu müssen. Ich werde das Buch im Regal behalten, weil ich einfach weiß, dass wann immer ich danach greife, ich mich an die schönen Lesestunden zurückerinnern werde.
November 13, 2018
Honestly, I'm not quite sure what to make of Miss Winthorpe's Elopement. I have so many mixed feelings about it. I was so sure when I started reading it that it would make its way into my 'favourites' shelf and remain there always. It had such a good start to it. The plot was amusing, comical and refreshing, the characters even more so. Penelope was just my kind of heroine: intelligent, bookish, kind, unusual, didn't care what people thought and not afraid to stand up for herself. Adam was also a very enjoyable character. He was also smart and kind and he was willing to learn from his mistakes and seize an opportunity. I loved watching how their relationship grew from mere strangers into real friendship and eventually something much more.
For about 3/4 of the book, I could not stop flipping through the pages. There were no unresolved mysteries or carriage chaces or kidnappings involved; it was just a simple, delightful, entertaining love story of how two people met under unorthodox circumstances and fell inlove. The whole thing, however, started to go horribly wrong during the last quarter of the book, right around the moment things got sexual.
The whole scene felt so awkward and so out of place. It was suddenly like they were two completely different people in the room. And the sexual scenes that followed were just as flawed. No build-up, no tension and no realism. This was a pretty important issue for me. It basically ruined the whole book for me. I hoped it would get better and that a new scene would cover up the mess of this one, but that did not happen.
And sadly, that is why I couldn't give this book a higher rating, when it could've been and was easily heading towards a 4 or 5 star rating. I'm not giving up on Christine Merrill though ;).
For about 3/4 of the book, I could not stop flipping through the pages. There were no unresolved mysteries or carriage chaces or kidnappings involved; it was just a simple, delightful, entertaining love story of how two people met under unorthodox circumstances and fell inlove. The whole thing, however, started to go horribly wrong during the last quarter of the book, right around the moment things got sexual.
The whole scene felt so awkward and so out of place. It was suddenly like they were two completely different people in the room. And the sexual scenes that followed were just as flawed. No build-up, no tension and no realism. This was a pretty important issue for me. It basically ruined the whole book for me. I hoped it would get better and that a new scene would cover up the mess of this one, but that did not happen.
And sadly, that is why I couldn't give this book a higher rating, when it could've been and was easily heading towards a 4 or 5 star rating. I'm not giving up on Christine Merrill though ;).
March 10, 2021
Vamos a conocer a Penelope Winthorpe, una joven heredera loca por los libros que necesita deshacerse de su hermano como sea, ya que este empieza a cortarle el grifo y no tiene la suficiente libertad para comprarse sus novelas. Para ello emprenderá un viaje a Gretna Green esperando en el camino conocer a un hombre tranquilo con quien casarse y así pasar el resto de sus días leyendo tranquilamente, además de poder huir de las garras de su hermano. Y eso sucederá. Lo que no espera ella es que quien se tropieza en su camino es un duque con muchos demonios y a la deriva.
La verdad que no esperaba encontrarme con la historia que me he encontrado. Me ha gustado mucho ver la relación entre ambos personajes y como se ha ido fraguando poco a poco, de perfectos desconocidos, a conocidos pasando a ser amigos, lo que desemboca en algo más. Es una lectura muy entretenida de dos personas con diferentes circunstancias que se encuentran de una manera nada común y que se enamoran.
Ella, una mujer que se había acostumbrado a vivir su vida de soltera haciendo lo que le apetecía hasta que se rebela y necesita más para poder seguir siendo feliz con sus libros y sin nadie que le moleste. Él un duque arruinado y punto de cometer una locura, que ve en ella una salida. Me ha gustado mucho esa relación entre ellos tan diferente a lo acostumbrado en la época.
A pesar de sus 320 páginas, y por sus dimensiones, es una historia corta que se lee del tirón.
Si os llaman las historias de época os recomiendo esta lectura. Yo espero leer algo más de la autora en cuanto pueda.
La verdad que no esperaba encontrarme con la historia que me he encontrado. Me ha gustado mucho ver la relación entre ambos personajes y como se ha ido fraguando poco a poco, de perfectos desconocidos, a conocidos pasando a ser amigos, lo que desemboca en algo más. Es una lectura muy entretenida de dos personas con diferentes circunstancias que se encuentran de una manera nada común y que se enamoran.
Ella, una mujer que se había acostumbrado a vivir su vida de soltera haciendo lo que le apetecía hasta que se rebela y necesita más para poder seguir siendo feliz con sus libros y sin nadie que le moleste. Él un duque arruinado y punto de cometer una locura, que ve en ella una salida. Me ha gustado mucho esa relación entre ellos tan diferente a lo acostumbrado en la época.
A pesar de sus 320 páginas, y por sus dimensiones, es una historia corta que se lee del tirón.
Si os llaman las historias de época os recomiendo esta lectura. Yo espero leer algo más de la autora en cuanto pueda.
April 3, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. It was short and sweet and avoided a lot of the pitfalls that turn me off of so many romance novels. Both the hero and heroine were likable people who behaved in understandable ways. Their romance built believably and I really felt like they had genuine feelings for each other at the end.
So what cost this book 1/4 of a star? The ending is way too abrupt. The author introduces some circumstances at the very end in order to bring about the Big Misunderstanding that causes the final conflict, but once that misunderstanding is resolved, the book just abruptly ends without giving any resolution to the circumstances themselves. So the reader is left wondering whether the Bad Thing on the horizon actually came to pass or not. I guess maybe we're supposed to feel like it doesn't matter if the Bad Thing happens because as long as our couple is together and in love they'll be able to weather any storm, but I personally would have preferred an epilogue that told me for sure. But as irritating as this abrupt ending was, I enjoyed the rest of the book so much that I couldn't mark it down too much.
Plot Summary:
In this story Penelope "Penny" Winthorpe is the unmarried daughter of an extremely wealthy printer. When he died, he left both Penny and her brother significant inheritances but, as is typical of the time period, Penny doesn't have control over her money because she's a woman. Her brother has sole control of her wealth until such time as she marries in which case the control would pass to her husband. Her brother is a frankly evil man who took over the printing business but is terrible at running it and has started helping himself to Penny's inheritance to cover the business's losses. He does this while at the same time chastising Penny for wanting to spend her own money on such "frivolous" things as books and constantly reminding her what a failure she was in society during her coming out season so she'll continue to hide from the world and never have a chance of marrying.
Then one day the brother goes one step too far and Penny decides she's going to find herself a husband so she can be free of her brother's tyranny. So she sets off in her carriage looking for an amicable idiot to marry. Someone she'll be able to control by allowing him free reign to indulge in whatever vices he prefers; drink, mistresses, whatever. All she wants is to be left in peace and feels that she and her future husband can come to an understanding in which they'll live quite happily in completely separate lives.
Adam, meanwhile, the Duke of Bellston and is flat broke. It's been a bad year for crops, his estate suffered a costly fire, and his last remaining investment just sank to the bottom of the sea in a storm. In addition, he lives with constant guilt over having slept with the wife of his best friend, Tim. An awful but rich and beautiful woman named Clarissa who pursued Adam specifically because it would hurt her husband most of all to have his own best friend be the one to turn him into a cuckold. At the start of the book, Adam feels like the world will be much better off without him around and that the insurance policy on his life might be enough to allow his brother to bring the family estate back from the edge of bankruptcy. So he drinks himself into a stupor and throws himself in front of a carriage, hoping for a quick death that will be ruled accidental.
Of course that carriage happens to belong to Penny and she quickly seizes on the opportunity to marry what she thinks is a country gentleman who is amicable and prone to drink. She does explain the circumstances to Adam before they marry but he's too drunk to really understand what's going on. The next morning Penny is horrified to find that her new husband is actually a Duke and much more commanding than she'd bargained for. But they soon realize the marriage could be just what they both need and decide to continue on with it.
I liked that Adam was good to Penny right from the start. He treated her with respect and basically as an equal, despite her being a woman and not a member of the aristocracy prior to their marriage. He did his best to protect her from the vicious gossip that would and did circulate about their hasty marriage. Everyone assumed that Adam had married her for her money and Penny had grabbed the opportunity to land a title and elevate her working class family into the upper echelons of society. That rumor is repeated over and over by the people Adam claims to call friends, but most of all by Clarissa, who takes great delight in spreading malicious rumors about Penny and undermining her confidence whenever she can.
I thought Penny's portrayal was good as well. She was intelligent but unskilled in the ways of high society and it showed in how she behaved. But when she was forced to do things necessary in her new role as Duchess, she used her intelligence and good heart to handle things as best she could. Together she and Adam made a good pair and their transition into a love match was well paced and believably written.
All in all it was an enjoyable story.
So what cost this book 1/4 of a star? The ending is way too abrupt. The author introduces some circumstances at the very end in order to bring about the Big Misunderstanding that causes the final conflict, but once that misunderstanding is resolved, the book just abruptly ends without giving any resolution to the circumstances themselves. So the reader is left wondering whether the Bad Thing on the horizon actually came to pass or not. I guess maybe we're supposed to feel like it doesn't matter if the Bad Thing happens because as long as our couple is together and in love they'll be able to weather any storm, but I personally would have preferred an epilogue that told me for sure. But as irritating as this abrupt ending was, I enjoyed the rest of the book so much that I couldn't mark it down too much.
Plot Summary:
In this story Penelope "Penny" Winthorpe is the unmarried daughter of an extremely wealthy printer. When he died, he left both Penny and her brother significant inheritances but, as is typical of the time period, Penny doesn't have control over her money because she's a woman. Her brother has sole control of her wealth until such time as she marries in which case the control would pass to her husband. Her brother is a frankly evil man who took over the printing business but is terrible at running it and has started helping himself to Penny's inheritance to cover the business's losses. He does this while at the same time chastising Penny for wanting to spend her own money on such "frivolous" things as books and constantly reminding her what a failure she was in society during her coming out season so she'll continue to hide from the world and never have a chance of marrying.
Then one day the brother goes one step too far and Penny decides she's going to find herself a husband so she can be free of her brother's tyranny. So she sets off in her carriage looking for an amicable idiot to marry. Someone she'll be able to control by allowing him free reign to indulge in whatever vices he prefers; drink, mistresses, whatever. All she wants is to be left in peace and feels that she and her future husband can come to an understanding in which they'll live quite happily in completely separate lives.
Adam, meanwhile, the Duke of Bellston and is flat broke. It's been a bad year for crops, his estate suffered a costly fire, and his last remaining investment just sank to the bottom of the sea in a storm. In addition, he lives with constant guilt over having slept with the wife of his best friend, Tim. An awful but rich and beautiful woman named Clarissa who pursued Adam specifically because it would hurt her husband most of all to have his own best friend be the one to turn him into a cuckold. At the start of the book, Adam feels like the world will be much better off without him around and that the insurance policy on his life might be enough to allow his brother to bring the family estate back from the edge of bankruptcy. So he drinks himself into a stupor and throws himself in front of a carriage, hoping for a quick death that will be ruled accidental.
Of course that carriage happens to belong to Penny and she quickly seizes on the opportunity to marry what she thinks is a country gentleman who is amicable and prone to drink. She does explain the circumstances to Adam before they marry but he's too drunk to really understand what's going on. The next morning Penny is horrified to find that her new husband is actually a Duke and much more commanding than she'd bargained for. But they soon realize the marriage could be just what they both need and decide to continue on with it.
I liked that Adam was good to Penny right from the start. He treated her with respect and basically as an equal, despite her being a woman and not a member of the aristocracy prior to their marriage. He did his best to protect her from the vicious gossip that would and did circulate about their hasty marriage. Everyone assumed that Adam had married her for her money and Penny had grabbed the opportunity to land a title and elevate her working class family into the upper echelons of society. That rumor is repeated over and over by the people Adam claims to call friends, but most of all by Clarissa, who takes great delight in spreading malicious rumors about Penny and undermining her confidence whenever she can.
I thought Penny's portrayal was good as well. She was intelligent but unskilled in the ways of high society and it showed in how she behaved. But when she was forced to do things necessary in her new role as Duchess, she used her intelligence and good heart to handle things as best she could. Together she and Adam made a good pair and their transition into a love match was well paced and believably written.
All in all it was an enjoyable story.
January 8, 2018
leído en Enero 2013
Entretenido
Entretenido
August 11, 2021
It was alright, but their feelings for one another are very sudden.
Read
April 1, 2010Fun read!
Miss Penelope, a cit's daughter, is a shy heiress who just wants to be left alone with her books. Her brother, who has control of her money, refuses to buy more books for her. He thinks she is to much of a blue-stocking. Penelope leaves her brother's in a tiff with the plans of going to Gretna Green and finding someone to be her husband on the way. All she needs is some nice man who will be happy with some of her money and will leave her alone.
Enter Adam, Duke of Bellston.
Adam is drunk. He plans on spending the last of the money in his pocket getting drunker and then "accidently" get killed so that his brother can take over the estate and hopefully save it for future generations. He sure has made a mess of things. But, when he tries to "fall" in front of a moving carriage, he fails to die. Instead a beautiful woman rescues him and asks him to marry her!
Gertna Green here they come!
Next day the fun really starts. Adam is shocked to learn he actually married someone rich enough to save his family but discovers she is the most fustrating woman he has ever met. She excites him in more than one way. Adam's family thinks he is crazy and want him to get an annulment. Penelope's brother feels the same. Oh what fun it was to read this book! I really needed something to make me laugh after paying the bill at the car garage. Great pick-me-up book.
Miss Penelope, a cit's daughter, is a shy heiress who just wants to be left alone with her books. Her brother, who has control of her money, refuses to buy more books for her. He thinks she is to much of a blue-stocking. Penelope leaves her brother's in a tiff with the plans of going to Gretna Green and finding someone to be her husband on the way. All she needs is some nice man who will be happy with some of her money and will leave her alone.
Enter Adam, Duke of Bellston.
Adam is drunk. He plans on spending the last of the money in his pocket getting drunker and then "accidently" get killed so that his brother can take over the estate and hopefully save it for future generations. He sure has made a mess of things. But, when he tries to "fall" in front of a moving carriage, he fails to die. Instead a beautiful woman rescues him and asks him to marry her!
Gertna Green here they come!
Next day the fun really starts. Adam is shocked to learn he actually married someone rich enough to save his family but discovers she is the most fustrating woman he has ever met. She excites him in more than one way. Adam's family thinks he is crazy and want him to get an annulment. Penelope's brother feels the same. Oh what fun it was to read this book! I really needed something to make me laugh after paying the bill at the car garage. Great pick-me-up book.
July 12, 2018
Trigger Warnings:
Adam and Penny were pretty well suited and I did like their slow build romance. That being said, I felt like they were beset on all sides by unsavoury characters.
Adam and Penny were pretty well suited and I did like their slow build romance. That being said, I felt like they were beset on all sides by unsavoury characters.
January 8, 2022
I really enjoyed this! Read it all in one sitting. Epic-level OW drama; insecure, plain, bluestocking heroine; misunderstandings and angst - just how I like ‘em!
One complaint:
One complaint:
June 2, 2010
Some historical inaccuracies I can live with, but there were just too many in this book for me to forget and enjoy it, which is too bad because it had a good plot and interesting characters. The most glaring:
A duke so poor one bad harvest wiped out his fortune and who owned only two estates and one house in London
A duchess in danger of not being accepted in society
A husband who couldn't leave his unfaithful wife because she would take the children
A husband who puts up with his wife's repeated infidelities because there is nothing he can do
A duke's staff allow a caller to burst in on the duchess before finding out if she was at home to callers
A duke so poor one bad harvest wiped out his fortune and who owned only two estates and one house in London
A duchess in danger of not being accepted in society
A husband who couldn't leave his unfaithful wife because she would take the children
A husband who puts up with his wife's repeated infidelities because there is nothing he can do
A duke's staff allow a caller to burst in on the duchess before finding out if she was at home to callers
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2010
Although I was expecting a run-of-the-mill regency when I started this book, I was surprised to find small twists to the story ( the heroine is a complete book nerd!) and dimensions I did not expect. I especially appreciated how Ms. Merrill revealed her characters and their motives a little at a time throughout the book. In this way the reader learns right along with the other characters instead of being privy to motives then just watching them play out. This made for a much more interesting story. There are a couple of steamy scenes to skip if need be.
January 13, 2017
Good solid HR fare - a few dollops of angst, likeable H&h. Not the most realistic of tales, but excellent for a quick late-night comfort re-read.
March 12, 2017
Great Book
April 4, 2017
If your on the fence I'd say save your money, but to each thier own. Unless I really love it or hate it I never have much to say, sorry.
December 3, 2019
My first book by this author and not the last. always excellent to find another trove of works. intelligent bluestocking Penelope knows of Adam Felkirk from speeches in the house of Lords. a good foundation of respect. brother Horace has returned a book she has ordered for her Greek translation. brother has gone over the line, Pen flips out and with her faithful and large footman Jem journeys to Gretna. She expects to find a husband on the way, and does, drunk on the cobbles. When sober, Adam has married a cit; his 'friends' will not be amused, and neither is he, at the beginning. Dealing with her brother was masterful, and she moves into his aristocratic circle, keeping to herself and her books. Adam goes on with his life recognizing it fails to meet his previous expectations. his dissatisfaction is a counterpoint to his wife's dedication to her work. his relationship with Pen deepens as he defends her without reservation, trying to become the man she has admired in his political beliefs. The wanton wife of his best friend is routed, at the loss of the friendship, his possessiveness of Penny is recognized as deep affection and attraction as she has already fallen in love. Major flaw, no resolution at the abrupt ending, they just fell off a cliff. Complaints of how a single bad year and investment could destroy his finances must be considered that he is a Duke from Wales; they are not and never have been with excessive wealth of British dukes. It was an engaging read, and recommended.
September 11, 2017
Two stars because disappointing. The heroine's non-noble background plays an extremely minimal role in the book, and it is otherwise cardboard cutout historically inaccurate category regency. The heroine marries the hero while he is black-out drunk, which is kind of creepy, actually; and the villain of the piece is the hero's best friend's wicked wife, who is sexually voracious and obsessed with the hero. Despite the hero's love for his best friend, she seduced him and he just can't keep away from her (until he falls in love with the heroine, which gives him the power to resist the Magic Evil Ladyparts). The hero's best friend stays with her because otherwise she will "leave him and he will never see his children again," which is wildly ahistorical - the exact opposite is true (if they split up, he could quite easily keep her from ever seeing her children again, whether or not they were even his - no DNA tests in the regency period, after all). It's more than a little infuriating that the entire plot hinges on this ridiculous stereotypical harpy, and it makes the hero entirely unlikable. Memo to hero: there is no such thing as Irresistible Ladyparts; you made the decision to sleep with your best friend's wife (repeatedly) and now you're whining about how much inconvenience and guilt this has caused you. Ugh.
February 23, 2019
I've seen that Harlequin was offering manga versions of older titles but this is the first I've read. It was very interesting. This particular story has a spinster heiress whose brother is threatening to cut her off from reading (horrors!). So she decides to enter a marriage of convenience. And it's convenient that the man that she knocks down with her carriage lives to tell the tale. The two enter into marriage but it takes some time for them to find their paces.
This was definitely an interesting way to read this book but I feel like a lot of the story got left out in trying to display it through pictures instead of story.
This was definitely an interesting way to read this book but I feel like a lot of the story got left out in trying to display it through pictures instead of story.
March 23, 2017
Adam is foxed and sunk because of bad investments. He's contemplating suicide. Penny wants her inheritance tied to her marriage. When they get married in Scotland she is unaware that he's a Duke and he has no idea she's a tradesman's rich daughter. The differences between them is stark. She's a bookworm and he likes society, he's peerage and she's a bluestocking. The book shows how similar yet how different these two are. Its a sweet romance that is not very complicated. Adam's defends Penny as much as he can and Penny's straightforwardness is charming. Good read.
January 6, 2019
I hated the so called hero. He was no hero at all. He lost all his money and his only solution is to kill himself. He was a weak son of a gun. He is also disgusting, he slept with his best friend's wife. He also used his wife's money to buy his whore an expensive gift. He was trash and this book held no romance for me. He also took the heroin's virginity on the dining room table. Beast!
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