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solaana's review
3.0
Genuinely what is not to like about a hot priest and a romance novelist getting together
cheerfullrain's review against another edition
3.0
I finished it, but largely stopped enjoying it 3/4 of the way through. I found both leads to be annoyingly meek and completely immature. It was sheer curiosity that carried me to the end and not any investment in their happy ending.
bugbread's review
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
roseybot's review
3.0
Eva Leigh writes wonderfully, explicitly, feminist romances.
The only problem I have is that it really does take the reader out of the Victorian era, leaving us to question Leigh on why she even bothers to set her books then.
All the same, I love her couples and how they are unabashedly invested in helping each other, building a team, and supportive. It's nice to see, even if it doesn't quite ring true.
This book's epilogue was honestly a little too sickly sweet for me, with everything going perfectly for the lovers, but ah well, I'll take it over some of the terrible, more historically accurate works I've read.
The only problem I have is that it really does take the reader out of the Victorian era, leaving us to question Leigh on why she even bothers to set her books then.
All the same, I love her couples and how they are unabashedly invested in helping each other, building a team, and supportive. It's nice to see, even if it doesn't quite ring true.
This book's epilogue was honestly a little too sickly sweet for me, with everything going perfectly for the lovers, but ah well, I'll take it over some of the terrible, more historically accurate works I've read.
brittfiocca's review
4.0
Eva Leigh’s heroines are fascinating. They are all mostly women of the world, not genteel ladies, and exist in an array of occupations both scandalous and entirely normal: newspaper editors, writers, madams of sex clubs, smugglers, and pickpockets. They’re refreshing and bold. This particular book also serves as a meta meditation on the romance novels itself with a Vicar as our hero no less.
danny_bananny's review against another edition
4.0
I thought I would be a bit more put off by one of the main characters being a vicar, but it was an interesting take on it - the representation of religion was more like community with a side of spirituality, and it was a refreshing change from your Repressed Lords and Reformable Rakes. This series was a lot more about how women balance career and relationships than your typical Recency romance!
lassarina's review
5.0
OH MY GOD I'm still fangirling this entire series and I'm not going to stop so just deal with it, okay? Okay.
Like the other books in this series, Temptations of a Wallflower is about a woman writer at a time when that was Simply Not Done, and about class issues. Unlike the other books, in this case the heroine (Lady Sarah) outranks the hero (Mr. Jeremy Cleland, third son of an earl, and a vicar.)
Lady Sarah has been writing scandalous erotic novels under the pen name of A Lady of Dubious Quality, which have taken London by storm. Jeremy's father, the Earl of Hutton, a self-righteous moral crusader, has decided this lady must be unmasked because she is causing ruination in London. (If my romance novel habit has taught me anything, it's that London is quite capable of ruination all on its own, thank you.) So Jeremy sets out to find this lady, and instead finds Lady Sarah, the Watching Wallflower.
One of the things I really loved about this book is Sarah and Jeremy's relationship - they're both clever and thoughtful and capable people, and it shines through in the way they talk to one another and the interest they take in one another. Jeremy is not a rake; rather, he's a quiet country vicar who yearns to do more good than the scope of his parish allows, but he allowed his father to force him into the Church and sees no other path, as his allowance is not sufficient to fund his dreams of making a difference in the world, so he makes do with what he has. Sarah, on the other hand, is a duke's daughter, groomed for marriage and utterly uninterested in any of the suitors who would court her. Her passions are reserved for her quill. (Relatedly, I LOVED the fact that the writer of lurid novels is in fact a virgin with a stellar imagination.)
Jeremy gets a little too close to unmasking the Lady (whose books he actually quite enjoys and is conflicted about having to track down), and Sarah panics and realizes that her only salvation is going to be getting married, so she proposes to Jeremy. It's unconventional, and it's great--Jeremy isn't an alpha/alphole hero, and would never think to reach so far above his station.
Sarah has a number of great speeches--this book is intensely meta about romance writing in particular and I want to pick it up and cuddle it and squeeze it until it squeaks for that very reason. I love how intrinsically writing is tied to Sarah's self-identity; I love how much the idea of giving it up crushes her; I love her passionate defense of her writing as having value simply because she herself has value. There's a lot of meta-commentary going on in this book--spelled out in the text--about the value of escapism and stories for their own sake, and the value of romance and erotica for their own sake. I just find myself nodding so hard I'm about to hurt myself pretty much any time the concept of the value of Sarah's writing comes up.
Both she and Jeremy have very unfortunate family situations--his father is a controlling asswipe, and her parents are just. *flaps hands* Her parents mean well but they cut her off--not monetarily but emotionally--to express their displeasure with her and I'm so mad. I want to drop her father off a cliff. I want to drop Jeremy's father into a furnace because he's such a tool. (I'm with Sarah; I have no idea how Jeremy's mother is so awesome and yet is married to his father.)
Anyway, I love this book and this series so much with a million hearts, both for the actual romance content--WHICH IS GREAT--and for the meta about writing and romance and the value of women's writing. I am here for this forever.
Can I give this book more than five stars? I really want to give this book more than five stars.
Like the other books in this series, Temptations of a Wallflower is about a woman writer at a time when that was Simply Not Done, and about class issues. Unlike the other books, in this case the heroine (Lady Sarah) outranks the hero (Mr. Jeremy Cleland, third son of an earl, and a vicar.)
Lady Sarah has been writing scandalous erotic novels under the pen name of A Lady of Dubious Quality, which have taken London by storm. Jeremy's father, the Earl of Hutton, a self-righteous moral crusader, has decided this lady must be unmasked because she is causing ruination in London. (If my romance novel habit has taught me anything, it's that London is quite capable of ruination all on its own, thank you.) So Jeremy sets out to find this lady, and instead finds Lady Sarah, the Watching Wallflower.
One of the things I really loved about this book is Sarah and Jeremy's relationship - they're both clever and thoughtful and capable people, and it shines through in the way they talk to one another and the interest they take in one another. Jeremy is not a rake; rather, he's a quiet country vicar who yearns to do more good than the scope of his parish allows, but he allowed his father to force him into the Church and sees no other path, as his allowance is not sufficient to fund his dreams of making a difference in the world, so he makes do with what he has. Sarah, on the other hand, is a duke's daughter, groomed for marriage and utterly uninterested in any of the suitors who would court her. Her passions are reserved for her quill. (Relatedly, I LOVED the fact that the writer of lurid novels is in fact a virgin with a stellar imagination.)
Jeremy gets a little too close to unmasking the Lady (whose books he actually quite enjoys and is conflicted about having to track down), and Sarah panics and realizes that her only salvation is going to be getting married, so she proposes to Jeremy. It's unconventional, and it's great--Jeremy isn't an alpha/alphole hero, and would never think to reach so far above his station.
Sarah has a number of great speeches--this book is intensely meta about romance writing in particular and I want to pick it up and cuddle it and squeeze it until it squeaks for that very reason. I love how intrinsically writing is tied to Sarah's self-identity; I love how much the idea of giving it up crushes her; I love her passionate defense of her writing as having value simply because she herself has value. There's a lot of meta-commentary going on in this book--spelled out in the text--about the value of escapism and stories for their own sake, and the value of romance and erotica for their own sake. I just find myself nodding so hard I'm about to hurt myself pretty much any time the concept of the value of Sarah's writing comes up.
Both she and Jeremy have very unfortunate family situations--his father is a controlling asswipe, and her parents are just. *flaps hands* Her parents mean well but they cut her off--not monetarily but emotionally--to express their displeasure with her and I'm so mad. I want to drop her father off a cliff. I want to drop Jeremy's father into a furnace because he's such a tool. (I'm with Sarah; I have no idea how Jeremy's mother is so awesome and yet is married to his father.)
Anyway, I love this book and this series so much with a million hearts, both for the actual romance content--WHICH IS GREAT--and for the meta about writing and romance and the value of women's writing. I am here for this forever.
Spoiler
My favorite thing about this book is when Sarah has to choose between writing and love, and she tells Jeremy straight up, "I love you and I want everything but if I have to choose, I choose my writing." SHE CHOOSES HERSELF. SHE IS TRUE TO HERSELF INSTEAD OF THROWING AWAY WHAT MAKES HER UNIQUE FOR THE SAKE OF A RELATIONSHIP. I. I'm flabbergasted! It's amazing! (because this is a romance and we get a happy ending, her choice doesn't mean she doesn't get love--but HOW RARE. In a genre that's all about "we both change to make the happy ending," she doesn't, AND I LOVE IT.Can I give this book more than five stars? I really want to give this book more than five stars.
carleysuzanne's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
crownoflaurel's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Classism
hijinx_abound's review
4.0
Sometimes historical get caught up in very current language and circumstances. That does not bother me. This particular book felt a bit more Germaine to the times.
Meet Lady Sarah Frampton, Also known as The watching Wallflower. This is her second season and she is known to be shy and retiring. However, she is also known by another, much more scandalous name, The Lady of Dubious Quality. The lady writes erotic novels, in the French style and has the ton abuzz.
Vicar Jeremy Cleland never wanted to be a man of the cloth. As the 3rd son of an Earl, his future is a bit limited if he cares to receive an allowance from his father. Now his father has tasked him to find the lady of dubious quality before she morally corrupts all of London.
These two both feel out of their elements. They want things they are not supposed to and have secrets that could destroy them. The attraction between them is palpable. It is written so well. Their conversations and flirtations are believable.
Their assignation at the secret masquerade was sexy as hell. I loved that they were drawn to one another, even in disguise.
Once we get to the sexy times, they were well written as well. There was one small hiccup for me. The author uses the word quim, repeatedly. I don’t like the word but I don’t think it would have been an issue for me if it hadn’t been so frequent in that first encounter. Of course, the word is a me issue but since it is my review, there you go.
I am always in search of smart, sexy historical romance. I look forward to reading more of this authors books!
Meet Lady Sarah Frampton, Also known as The watching Wallflower. This is her second season and she is known to be shy and retiring. However, she is also known by another, much more scandalous name, The Lady of Dubious Quality. The lady writes erotic novels, in the French style and has the ton abuzz.
Vicar Jeremy Cleland never wanted to be a man of the cloth. As the 3rd son of an Earl, his future is a bit limited if he cares to receive an allowance from his father. Now his father has tasked him to find the lady of dubious quality before she morally corrupts all of London.
These two both feel out of their elements. They want things they are not supposed to and have secrets that could destroy them. The attraction between them is palpable. It is written so well. Their conversations and flirtations are believable.
Their assignation at the secret masquerade was sexy as hell. I loved that they were drawn to one another, even in disguise.
Once we get to the sexy times, they were well written as well. There was one small hiccup for me. The author uses the word quim, repeatedly. I don’t like the word but I don’t think it would have been an issue for me if it hadn’t been so frequent in that first encounter. Of course, the word is a me issue but since it is my review, there you go.
I am always in search of smart, sexy historical romance. I look forward to reading more of this authors books!