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loverofromance's review against another edition
3.0
Originally Posted On Addicted To Romance
Damian, in his early twenties, while drunk on his birthday with his friends, gambles a important piece of property, a property that was special to his mother. So he marries Lady Cynthia in order to get that land back. Damian works for the foreign office for seven years. After a year of marriage, he returns for a mission and at the same time get his wife back. Cynthia even though married, hasn't seen her husband in quite some time, and doesn't seem any harm in flirting with her neighbor, but she is determined never to betray her vows. But when her husband unexpectedly returns, they start to live with each other once again, and Cynthia starts to slowly learn who her husband really is, and discovers a passionate and sensual man who is dedicated to duty and honor. Will Damian and Cynthia be able to learn to love after separation and mistrusts.
Lady Windermere's Lover is the third book in the wild quartet series and in the past I have learned to really enjoy this author. I found this book to be very enjoyable and fun and easy to love. There wasn't any big issues that I had with this story, I did feel like it wasn't the type of story I could fully get into though. I did have a fun time with it, and it was one of those stories you can relax into but not get fully immersed in the story. It had the feel of a good cup of tea on a quiet evening. Lately I have been reading very gripping stories, so it was nice to relax into a book and not be at the edge of my seat the whole time. (Not saying I don't like books like that, but it is nice at times to take a breather and read a story a bit more softer). Although I will say I wish there was more romance in the story. I felt like this couple were more friends than married turning into lovers. I didn't feel much sensuality in the story or much of a romantic theme. There were moments of course, but I didn't get the feeling that I usually do with this author. So I was slightly disappointed, but it was a comfortable and easy read, so I had no trouble reading it. I just had higher hopes for it. However having said that, I do want to touch base on a few things I really did enjoy.
I really love the characters involved in the story both main and side characters. Damian and Cynthia are a solid match. Damian is a mix of beta and alpha personality. Damian is willing to admit when he is wrong, willing to fight for what is his, and is a protector. He has a admirable sense of loyalty and I really liked him. Cynthia is your average heroine, but has some qualities that makes her above average. As you read further in the story you start to see more into Cynthia and I really loved her personality and she has that endearing quality to her. Some of my favorite characters were the side characters, and this neighbor rake trying to seduce Cynthia...well I liked his bad boy personality. He was just too likable not to love.
Overall a enjoyable story with witty humor, unique characters, and full of scenes to make you have that "feel good" feel. A PLEASURE TO READ!
Damian, in his early twenties, while drunk on his birthday with his friends, gambles a important piece of property, a property that was special to his mother. So he marries Lady Cynthia in order to get that land back. Damian works for the foreign office for seven years. After a year of marriage, he returns for a mission and at the same time get his wife back. Cynthia even though married, hasn't seen her husband in quite some time, and doesn't seem any harm in flirting with her neighbor, but she is determined never to betray her vows. But when her husband unexpectedly returns, they start to live with each other once again, and Cynthia starts to slowly learn who her husband really is, and discovers a passionate and sensual man who is dedicated to duty and honor. Will Damian and Cynthia be able to learn to love after separation and mistrusts.
Lady Windermere's Lover is the third book in the wild quartet series and in the past I have learned to really enjoy this author. I found this book to be very enjoyable and fun and easy to love. There wasn't any big issues that I had with this story, I did feel like it wasn't the type of story I could fully get into though. I did have a fun time with it, and it was one of those stories you can relax into but not get fully immersed in the story. It had the feel of a good cup of tea on a quiet evening. Lately I have been reading very gripping stories, so it was nice to relax into a book and not be at the edge of my seat the whole time. (Not saying I don't like books like that, but it is nice at times to take a breather and read a story a bit more softer). Although I will say I wish there was more romance in the story. I felt like this couple were more friends than married turning into lovers. I didn't feel much sensuality in the story or much of a romantic theme. There were moments of course, but I didn't get the feeling that I usually do with this author. So I was slightly disappointed, but it was a comfortable and easy read, so I had no trouble reading it. I just had higher hopes for it. However having said that, I do want to touch base on a few things I really did enjoy.
I really love the characters involved in the story both main and side characters. Damian and Cynthia are a solid match. Damian is a mix of beta and alpha personality. Damian is willing to admit when he is wrong, willing to fight for what is his, and is a protector. He has a admirable sense of loyalty and I really liked him. Cynthia is your average heroine, but has some qualities that makes her above average. As you read further in the story you start to see more into Cynthia and I really loved her personality and she has that endearing quality to her. Some of my favorite characters were the side characters, and this neighbor rake trying to seduce Cynthia...well I liked his bad boy personality. He was just too likable not to love.
Overall a enjoyable story with witty humor, unique characters, and full of scenes to make you have that "feel good" feel. A PLEASURE TO READ!
nelsonseye's review against another edition
3.0
Good moments and likeable heroine. The events in the last few chapters were quite abrupt.
bookilydo's review against another edition
1.0
I really disliked this hero. I never saw his character redemption.
emslovestoread's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. Nothing to really like or hate. In fact, it caused no real feelings at all.
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
Cynthia and Damian did not marry for love. While Damian traveled in Persia for the consulate, Cynthia stayed in England and blossomed. Now he's back for a secret mission and decides that he might as well meet his wife while he's here.
This was sort of an oddly laid out book. There was a lot of time jumping in the beginning.
There were also a lot, A LOT of misunderstandings. Which lasted throughout the book and then were magically cleared up in the space of less than a page. Why all the angst if they were going to be solved that fast?
I think, that if you like Ms. Neville, you will really enjoy this book. And to me, it says a lot that I had SO many issues with the book (a few more behind the spoiler), but Neville created a world that I want to go back to. Can't wait for the next one.
Damian's a believer. Also, the way he 180ed on the bill for weavers. It was so sudden (like all the "issues" in this book, oof. And he wants her, but he doesn't like her, but he wants her, but she's sleeping with his friend, but she's not, she's an angel! he loves her!
This was sort of an oddly laid out book. There was a lot of time jumping in the beginning.
There were also a lot, A LOT of misunderstandings. Which lasted throughout the book and then were magically cleared up in the space of less than a page. Why all the angst if they were going to be solved that fast?
I think, that if you like Ms. Neville, you will really enjoy this book. And to me, it says a lot that I had SO many issues with the book (a few more behind the spoiler), but Neville created a world that I want to go back to. Can't wait for the next one.
Spoiler
Damian was really kind of a douche. I mean, he wouldn't believe Cynthia after the many times that she said she wasn't sleeping with Dennford (Denford? I think I saw it both ways) but the guy denies it once andprgchrqltma's review against another edition
4.0
Characters: Abandoned wife, Diplomat/Artist
World Building: Standard. Interior design.
Plot: Largely internal. External plot a little shallow.
Sex: Medium.
Read another: Probably.
Neville's characters and motivations are well explored.
World Building: Standard. Interior design.
Plot: Largely internal. External plot a little shallow.
Sex: Medium.
Read another: Probably.
Neville's characters and motivations are well explored.
rosetyper9's review against another edition
3.0
Reviewed for The Book Vixen:
http://www.thebookvixen.com/2014/07/book-review-lady-windermeres-lover-by.html
http://www.thebookvixen.com/2014/07/book-review-lady-windermeres-lover-by.html
daisy87's review against another edition
2.0
I hate to say it, but I really did not much like this book. And that's mostly because the hero, Damian, is an ass and then the heroine, Cynthia just takes his crap.
So Damian is pissed that he's being forced to marry a commoner to get back the property that he foolishly gambled away as a youth. Ok. Fine. But that's no reason to treat Cynthia, his wife, the way he did! Constantly demeaning her and just being insulting and snobbish and UGH! I really wanted to slap him. And she falls for him ANYWAY because he's 'so handsome'. SERIOUSLY??? I wanted to shake her to wake up and recognize his assness.
Then he leaves her for a year and in that year she decides to flirt with his best friend, who she kisses once and he doesn't believe that they haven't been having an affair all year long when she tells him. But because she's beautiful now he decides to seduce her (WTF?) anyway. There's also this vendetta he has against his best friend that's basically him blaming Julian for something his stupid drunk self did when he was younger. I mean, SERIOUSLY?? I'm not even sure why I finished this, I get annoyed again writing this review.
My rating: 1,5 star (half star extra for cute kitten that's in it)
So Damian is pissed that he's being forced to marry a commoner to get back the property that he foolishly gambled away as a youth. Ok. Fine. But that's no reason to treat Cynthia, his wife, the way he did! Constantly demeaning her and just being insulting and snobbish and UGH! I really wanted to slap him. And she falls for him ANYWAY because he's 'so handsome'. SERIOUSLY??? I wanted to shake her to wake up and recognize his assness.
Then he leaves her for a year and in that year she decides to flirt with his best friend, who she kisses once and he doesn't believe that they haven't been having an affair all year long when she tells him. But because she's beautiful now he decides to seduce her (WTF?) anyway. There's also this vendetta he has against his best friend that's basically him blaming Julian for something his stupid drunk self did when he was younger. I mean, SERIOUSLY?? I'm not even sure why I finished this, I get annoyed again writing this review.
My rating: 1,5 star (half star extra for cute kitten that's in it)
malin12ccf's review
3.0
<3.5 stars
On his twenty-first birthday, Damian, Viscount Kendal, drunkenly follows the advice of his friend Robert Townsend and gambles away Beaulieu, the estate he has inherited from his beloved departed mother, then he passes out dead drunk. Unfortunately, Townsend had even more of a drinking and gambling problem than Damian and promptly lost the property to someone else. Damian is forced to return to his father, hanging his head in shame, promising to do whatever it takes to reform and help re-purchase the property. He cuts off all contact with his dissolute school friends and throws himself into a career in the diplomatic corps.
Seven years later, having inherited his father's title as Earl of Windermere, Damian has tracked down the man currently holding the deed to Beaulieu. The merchant in question doesn't want mere money to relinquish it, however, he demands that Damian marry his niece, Cynthia, a young and awkward woman who Damian just assumes is as grasping and social climbing as her uncle. He makes absolutely no attempt to actually get to know his shy, inelegant wife, demands that she speak to him in French whenever they actually do spend some time together (she only learned French at Finishing School, so isn't exactly fluent). He resentfully consummates the marriage, but leaves on a diplomatic mission to Persia after only a few weeks. He leaves orders that Cynthia stay at Beaulieu and have it refurbished for when he returns.
So imagine his surprise when he arrives back in London, nearly a year later, having barely corresponded with his wife in the time apart, to discover that she's not following orders and languishing away in the countryside. She is no longer retiring, plain and socially awkward. She is an elegant and ravishing society beauty and currently spending an awful lot of time with his former best friend, Julian Fortescue, the Duke of Denford, whose town house is right next door to his. There are a lot of choice rumours, all of them suggesting that Lady Windermere has taken a lover while her husband was off serving his country. All signs point to Denford being said lover.
Damian's current orders force him to put aside his enmity with Denford and try to rekindle the friendship they once shared, as the a Prussian Prince wants his hands on an art collection Denford is said to be in possession of, and diplomatic negotiations demand that the Prince stay happy. While Damian is unwilling to risk his career, he is not at all happy with the amount of attention Denford is lavishing on Cynthia and becomes determined to win his wife back. He quickly discovers that he knew absolutely nothing about the woman he married and didn't care to find anything out before he abandoned her. She is rightfully deeply hurt by his treatment of her, and has no intention of giving up the company of friends she made while he abandoned her for the best end of a year. Can Damian grovel enough to ever gain his wife's forgiveness?
I have rated this book 4 stars, despite the fact that for most of the book, I wanted to punch Damian, erstwhile Viscount Kendal, now Earl of Windermere hard in the face, and then kick him in the balls. He is a complete d*ckbag, who takes his disappointment and resentment from fixing a mistake he himself made out on the innocent woman who is saddled with him in matrimony. Instead of giving his mother's property up as lost when he himself drunkenly gambles it away, with no care for the consequences, he instead not only cuts all ties to his best friend, Julian, who he blames for not being persuasive enough to drag him away from the gambling table before he lost his mother's estate in a drunken stupor. It also turns out he used his father's influence to sabotage a lucrative art transaction that could have been the making of Julian, to make really make sure their status as friends was well and truly over. For so much of the book, Damian is a self-centred idiot, completely incapable of taking responsibility for his many weaselly actions.
So how is it that I haven't rated the book lower, I hear you asking? Well, because Lady Windermere herself and the man she pretends to have an affair with, Julian Fortescue are both delightful and I liked all their interactions with each other, or others. Poor Cynthia was so infatuated with the handsome man her uncle wanted her to marry, and while she didn't have any of the greed or social aspirations that Damian imagined, the other alternative for a husband her uncle had suggested, the rapey manager of his many factories, was just not an option anyone in their right mind would pick. Her illusions about her handsome husband are shattered pretty quickly, with him treating her at best callously and at its worst abominably, but once he leaves for his diplomatic mission, Cynthia quickly realises that she can turn her status as a Countess into something good.
As her husband ordered her to redecorate Beaulieu, she reasons that she can't very well do that from the country and travels to London to find inspiration. Caro Townsend, from [b:The Importance of Being Wicked|13552237|The Importance of Being Wicked (The Wild Quartet, #1)|Miranda Neville|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347933055s/13552237.jpg|19120350] hears that she is in town and quickly befriends her, telling her stories about what Damian was once like, when he was friends with Townsend, Lithgow and Fortescue. She also helps Cynthia find a decent dressmaker, and Cynthia begins to turn herself into the ultimate diplomat's wife, taking French lessons and striving to learn all the things her Finishing school didn't already teach her. As time passes and she spends more time with her new friends, Cynthia also grows a backbone and realises that she doesn't deserve the sort of treatment she's received.
She likes the idea of making Damian jealous, and what better way than to start flirting outrageously with his former best friend? She's fully aware that Julian has his own reasons to keep trying to seduce her, probably some kind of revenge for the slights he's experienced from Windermere. Of course, except one kiss, that makes her feel intensely uncomfortable, Cynthia never actually does anything with Julian. She just makes her husband think that she does. She also fills his town house full of atrociously ugly furniture and artwork, which she is purposefully overcharged for by a clever tradesman. The money she embezzles goes to fund a safe house for young women who've been abused by her uncle's foreman. Pregnant or with young children, they have nowhere to turn, and Cynthia has made it her mission to keep them safe.
It takes the best end of the book before Cynthia even deigns to consider her cad of a husband. I think she should have made him suffer a lot more, and grovel more comprehensively, but it is established that she is a deeply kind-hearted and generous woman, so it was probably never in her nature to be cruel to him in return. [a:Miranda Neville|2740425|Miranda Neville|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1288020404p2/2740425.jpg]'s writing is good enough that I really liked this book despite the horrible hero. If there is ever a "years later" sequel written, I would not be unhappy if it turns out that Lord Windermere died in some sort of painful and horrible way. Cynthia may have forgiven him by the end of the book, but I haven't.
On his twenty-first birthday, Damian, Viscount Kendal, drunkenly follows the advice of his friend Robert Townsend and gambles away Beaulieu, the estate he has inherited from his beloved departed mother, then he passes out dead drunk. Unfortunately, Townsend had even more of a drinking and gambling problem than Damian and promptly lost the property to someone else. Damian is forced to return to his father, hanging his head in shame, promising to do whatever it takes to reform and help re-purchase the property. He cuts off all contact with his dissolute school friends and throws himself into a career in the diplomatic corps.
Seven years later, having inherited his father's title as Earl of Windermere, Damian has tracked down the man currently holding the deed to Beaulieu. The merchant in question doesn't want mere money to relinquish it, however, he demands that Damian marry his niece, Cynthia, a young and awkward woman who Damian just assumes is as grasping and social climbing as her uncle. He makes absolutely no attempt to actually get to know his shy, inelegant wife, demands that she speak to him in French whenever they actually do spend some time together (she only learned French at Finishing School, so isn't exactly fluent). He resentfully consummates the marriage, but leaves on a diplomatic mission to Persia after only a few weeks. He leaves orders that Cynthia stay at Beaulieu and have it refurbished for when he returns.
So imagine his surprise when he arrives back in London, nearly a year later, having barely corresponded with his wife in the time apart, to discover that she's not following orders and languishing away in the countryside. She is no longer retiring, plain and socially awkward. She is an elegant and ravishing society beauty and currently spending an awful lot of time with his former best friend, Julian Fortescue, the Duke of Denford, whose town house is right next door to his. There are a lot of choice rumours, all of them suggesting that Lady Windermere has taken a lover while her husband was off serving his country. All signs point to Denford being said lover.
Damian's current orders force him to put aside his enmity with Denford and try to rekindle the friendship they once shared, as the a Prussian Prince wants his hands on an art collection Denford is said to be in possession of, and diplomatic negotiations demand that the Prince stay happy. While Damian is unwilling to risk his career, he is not at all happy with the amount of attention Denford is lavishing on Cynthia and becomes determined to win his wife back. He quickly discovers that he knew absolutely nothing about the woman he married and didn't care to find anything out before he abandoned her. She is rightfully deeply hurt by his treatment of her, and has no intention of giving up the company of friends she made while he abandoned her for the best end of a year. Can Damian grovel enough to ever gain his wife's forgiveness?
I have rated this book 4 stars, despite the fact that for most of the book, I wanted to punch Damian, erstwhile Viscount Kendal, now Earl of Windermere hard in the face, and then kick him in the balls. He is a complete d*ckbag, who takes his disappointment and resentment from fixing a mistake he himself made out on the innocent woman who is saddled with him in matrimony. Instead of giving his mother's property up as lost when he himself drunkenly gambles it away, with no care for the consequences, he instead not only cuts all ties to his best friend, Julian, who he blames for not being persuasive enough to drag him away from the gambling table before he lost his mother's estate in a drunken stupor. It also turns out he used his father's influence to sabotage a lucrative art transaction that could have been the making of Julian, to make really make sure their status as friends was well and truly over. For so much of the book, Damian is a self-centred idiot, completely incapable of taking responsibility for his many weaselly actions.
So how is it that I haven't rated the book lower, I hear you asking? Well, because Lady Windermere herself and the man she pretends to have an affair with, Julian Fortescue are both delightful and I liked all their interactions with each other, or others. Poor Cynthia was so infatuated with the handsome man her uncle wanted her to marry, and while she didn't have any of the greed or social aspirations that Damian imagined, the other alternative for a husband her uncle had suggested, the rapey manager of his many factories, was just not an option anyone in their right mind would pick. Her illusions about her handsome husband are shattered pretty quickly, with him treating her at best callously and at its worst abominably, but once he leaves for his diplomatic mission, Cynthia quickly realises that she can turn her status as a Countess into something good.
As her husband ordered her to redecorate Beaulieu, she reasons that she can't very well do that from the country and travels to London to find inspiration. Caro Townsend, from [b:The Importance of Being Wicked|13552237|The Importance of Being Wicked (The Wild Quartet, #1)|Miranda Neville|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347933055s/13552237.jpg|19120350] hears that she is in town and quickly befriends her, telling her stories about what Damian was once like, when he was friends with Townsend, Lithgow and Fortescue. She also helps Cynthia find a decent dressmaker, and Cynthia begins to turn herself into the ultimate diplomat's wife, taking French lessons and striving to learn all the things her Finishing school didn't already teach her. As time passes and she spends more time with her new friends, Cynthia also grows a backbone and realises that she doesn't deserve the sort of treatment she's received.
She likes the idea of making Damian jealous, and what better way than to start flirting outrageously with his former best friend? She's fully aware that Julian has his own reasons to keep trying to seduce her, probably some kind of revenge for the slights he's experienced from Windermere. Of course, except one kiss, that makes her feel intensely uncomfortable, Cynthia never actually does anything with Julian. She just makes her husband think that she does. She also fills his town house full of atrociously ugly furniture and artwork, which she is purposefully overcharged for by a clever tradesman. The money she embezzles goes to fund a safe house for young women who've been abused by her uncle's foreman. Pregnant or with young children, they have nowhere to turn, and Cynthia has made it her mission to keep them safe.
It takes the best end of the book before Cynthia even deigns to consider her cad of a husband. I think she should have made him suffer a lot more, and grovel more comprehensively, but it is established that she is a deeply kind-hearted and generous woman, so it was probably never in her nature to be cruel to him in return. [a:Miranda Neville|2740425|Miranda Neville|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1288020404p2/2740425.jpg]'s writing is good enough that I really liked this book despite the horrible hero. If there is ever a "years later" sequel written, I would not be unhappy if it turns out that Lord Windermere died in some sort of painful and horrible way. Cynthia may have forgiven him by the end of the book, but I haven't.