You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
All the other reviews seem to love this but I just really didn't enjoy it, I didn't buy into the romance at all, Lisburne didn't seem particularly charming to me, in fact he didn't seem particularly anything, I barely feel like he had a personality at all other than occasionally being controlling and riding roughshod over what Leonie wants, he might not think she has particularly good reasons but he shouldn't just ignore what she wants for most the book. He kidnaps her at one point (throwing her in a carriage, ignoring her pleas to get out and physically stopping her getting out). Honestly Gladys and Swanton were more interesting characters.
The endless descriptions of dresses also got pretty old, I didn't need every dress described in painstaking detail down to the order of the ruffles, I pretty much knew Leonie was going to be well dresses throughout the whole book anyway, and hearing about a new outfit every chapter got old quickly and I started skipping over the descriptions. The sex scenes also felt repetitive and I started skipping them too by the end of the book.
The endless descriptions of dresses also got pretty old, I didn't need every dress described in painstaking detail down to the order of the ruffles, I pretty much knew Leonie was going to be well dresses throughout the whole book anyway, and hearing about a new outfit every chapter got old quickly and I started skipping over the descriptions. The sex scenes also felt repetitive and I started skipping them too by the end of the book.
An enjoyable, light read but more for the transformation of Lady Gladys than the protagonists. I enjoy Loretta Chase's writing style, but the basic premise of this series didn't work for me.
I think I didn't like Leonie as much as I liked her sisters, but it was a passably good read.
Ahh the booksmart/numbers heroine, usually one of my kinks and probably the main thing getting me through this particular book. Leonie is the smart one in the family, while Sophie is the spy and Marcelline is the artist, she's the one actually running their store, paying off their creditors and keeping things going in the absence of her newly married sisters.
Her hero is a strange contradiction in misogyny and new age man, there's a creepy emphasis on virginity in this series that I really wish wasn't there and the strange fixation/revelation this has on our heroes once they realise they're "first". I couldn't quite get over that in Sophie's story, but in this case Simon's weakness and probably the best part of this book was Swanton and his effect on Simon (my favourite scene being the one were Simon is overcome by all of the embroidered goods made by the girls supported by Noirot's charity).
I would have loved to have seen more of this side of their characters, not to mention more details of the Swanton/Gladys romance!
Her hero is a strange contradiction in misogyny and new age man, there's a creepy emphasis on virginity in this series that I really wish wasn't there and the strange fixation/revelation this has on our heroes once they realise they're "first". I couldn't quite get over that in Sophie's story, but in this case Simon's weakness and probably the best part of this book was Swanton and his effect on Simon (my favourite scene being the one were Simon is overcome by all of the embroidered goods made by the girls supported by Noirot's charity).
I would have loved to have seen more of this side of their characters, not to mention more details of the Swanton/Gladys romance!
I loved watching him go from cynical seducer to utterly besotted.
Terrific heroine & hero, lots of humor.
Reread several times, first posting on GR.
Reread several times, first posting on GR.
" My dear , he'd said, so casually, and her heart had tied itself in knots... My dear , he'd said. She'd make him pay...If she couldn't keep herself under control, she'd make sure he couldn't be in full control either. If he was determined to make her want him, then she would make him want her more."
4.5 stars due to some of the Swanton (spelling? I listened to this lol) drama being dragged on too long and detracting from some of the focus on Leonie and Simon.
However, their parts were good and I'm really just comparing Loretta to Loretta, she's in her own category.
Naturally, so many quotes I loved, so I'll need to update those after some sleep. But YAY! I've finished the Dressmakers series, and I could do a re-read of Clara's book since I love it, but I have other backlist LC titles to get to!
"He disliked, immensely, the ease with which she eroded his self-control without losing her own."
THE MERCER'S BILL. If you know, you know.
4.5 stars due to some of the Swanton (spelling? I listened to this lol) drama being dragged on too long and detracting from some of the focus on Leonie and Simon.
However, their parts were good and I'm really just comparing Loretta to Loretta, she's in her own category.
Naturally, so many quotes I loved, so I'll need to update those after some sleep. But YAY! I've finished the Dressmakers series, and I could do a re-read of Clara's book since I love it, but I have other backlist LC titles to get to!
"He disliked, immensely, the ease with which she eroded his self-control without losing her own."
THE MERCER'S BILL. If you know, you know.
I want to rate this lower than the other two as I felt the hero had a lack of personality which offset Leonie's in the background shadowing. I lost the thread of the story at the midpoint, when they hook up. They were fighting? But it seemed more like he wanted to leave but then didn't and somehow that made Leonie angry?
Basically I found it confusing.
That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this series and wish there was more to immediately consume.
Basically I found it confusing.
That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this series and wish there was more to immediately consume.
Vixen in Velvet
2 Stars
Following her sisters' marriages, Leonie Noirot is focused on the continued success of the dress shop they founded together. As such, she has little time for flirtation and even less for seduction. Nevertheless, Simon Blair, the criminally handsome Marquess of Linsburne, is proving to be a dangerous distraction and Leonie soon finds herself struggling to resist his considerable charms.
Despite the excellent potential inherent in this series, none of the stories have lived up to expectations and Vixen in Velvet is just as disappointing.
Much like the first two books, too much attention is paid to descriptions of clothing. Moreover, this installment has the added problem of incessant, nonsensical conversations and endless recitals of ridiculous and painfully bad poetry. Yes, Swanton is a truly terrible poet, but is it really necessary to prove how awful he is again and again …
Leonie and Simon's chemistry is only so-so although their romance does pick up in the 2nd half of the story. The secondary romance involving Swanton and Gladys is sorely underdeveloped and it is difficult to accept that he would become obsessed with her voice and fall in love with her so quickly even though he has barely seen or even spoken to her for most of the book.
The minor mystery plot is intriguing, but also lacks any real tension and the villains get off too lightly.
All in all, the story is too slow, the romance it too tepid and the mystery is too mundane. This is not a book or a series that I can recommend.
2 Stars
Following her sisters' marriages, Leonie Noirot is focused on the continued success of the dress shop they founded together. As such, she has little time for flirtation and even less for seduction. Nevertheless, Simon Blair, the criminally handsome Marquess of Linsburne, is proving to be a dangerous distraction and Leonie soon finds herself struggling to resist his considerable charms.
Despite the excellent potential inherent in this series, none of the stories have lived up to expectations and Vixen in Velvet is just as disappointing.
Much like the first two books, too much attention is paid to descriptions of clothing. Moreover, this installment has the added problem of incessant, nonsensical conversations and endless recitals of ridiculous and painfully bad poetry. Yes, Swanton is a truly terrible poet, but is it really necessary to prove how awful he is again and again …
Leonie and Simon's chemistry is only so-so although their romance does pick up in the 2nd half of the story. The secondary romance involving Swanton and Gladys is sorely underdeveloped and it is difficult to accept that he would become obsessed with her voice and fall in love with her so quickly even though he has barely seen or even spoken to her for most of the book.
The minor mystery plot is intriguing, but also lacks any real tension and the villains get off too lightly.
All in all, the story is too slow, the romance it too tepid and the mystery is too mundane. This is not a book or a series that I can recommend.
