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balletbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Was looking for "mindless" and "cute", got both but the ending was crap. Waaaaayyyyy too rushed for the extreme care taken in the set up.
shannon_cocktailsandbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Wow, this book took forever to finish. I usually can plow through a book, whether I liked it or not, but this one dragged on forever.
I loved David and could connect with him from the very beginning. The rest of the characters, not so much. In fact, it wasn't until the last 50 pages that I could even sympathize with Joycelyn.
Not much more I can say, other than I'm glad I finished it.
I loved David and could connect with him from the very beginning. The rest of the characters, not so much. In fact, it wasn't until the last 50 pages that I could even sympathize with Joycelyn.
Not much more I can say, other than I'm glad I finished it.
kayedacus's review
4.0
My favorite historical romance trope---the marriage of convenience---in the hands of a master storyteller.
dearestallison's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
nicolesa's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
robinwalter's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall, a solid and enjoyable read. The FL's conduct was hard to grasp, but when the reasons were made clear, her actions made sense.
lauriereadsrom1's review against another edition
4.0
A sweet Regency romance that actually made me tear up a few times. Lady Jocelyn's struggle to come to terms with her parents' scandalous divorce years earlier was very affecting, as was David's struggle to overcome not only his injuries but his brothers' past mistreatment. The secondary romance involving David's sister Sally and the surgeon, Ian Kinlock, was sweet too. I was particularly happy that Ian got his own HEA because he was such an important character in some of Putney's later books, particularly the Fallen Angels series. It was also interesting to be briefly introduced to the Duke of Candover, and I didn't miss the mention of Michael Kenyon, both of whom were featured prominently in the Fallen Angels series as well. Overall, "The Bargain" was a solid 3.5 or 4 star read for me.
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
Lady Jocelyn Kendal needs a man. Preferably one not long for this earth. Her father's convoluted will left her all of his money but only if she married by the time she turned 25... and that birthday is fast approaching. She needs more time to convince a certain duke that she could be his perfect woman.
While visiting the local veteran's hospital, she meets Major David Lancaster, a very nice man who is on his deathbed. And it seems that the major has a sister that he is worried about. In exchange for an immediate marriage, Jocelyn will support his sister. It's a win-win situation. At least, it is until David doesn't die.
I liked that David and Jocelyn were both perfectly decent people, each caught up in circumstances that were not of their own making. Their romance is fine but I REALLY liked the B romance between David's managing sister and the surgeon who saves his life. A little bland in places but overall an enjoyable read.
While visiting the local veteran's hospital, she meets Major David Lancaster, a very nice man who is on his deathbed. And it seems that the major has a sister that he is worried about. In exchange for an immediate marriage, Jocelyn will support his sister. It's a win-win situation. At least, it is until David doesn't die.
I liked that David and Jocelyn were both perfectly decent people, each caught up in circumstances that were not of their own making. Their romance is fine but I REALLY liked the B romance between David's managing sister and the surgeon who saves his life. A little bland in places but overall an enjoyable read.
melissad75's review against another edition
3.0
3.5-ish, I'd say. I really liked the hero, who was such a sweet, honorable guy, and though at a certain point I wanted to smack the heroine, in the end I did understand her motivation in continually pushing the hero away. I could've done without the secondary romance, but it wasn't as boring and shoehorned in as the romances of minor character usually are. The plot was predictable, but all in all it was a pretty good book. Entertaining enough, and it made me want to give other Putney books a try.
adventurepanda's review against another edition
2.0
I got bored so I just looked up historical romance and this wasn’t on loan, and so I borrowed it. It wasn’t amazing but it wasn’t terrible either, tbh I just wanted to read a historical romance and this fit the bill.
As a whole, I did like the premise, it’s pretty unusual and original. In a genre where the books tend to be similar enough for me to confuse different book plots, that is definitely a plus. I also came to like Jocelyn and Sarah (although I don’t know if this was just because the latter character kept reminding me of Jenny from ‘Outlander’ who is a great character). My favourite character was probably the sort of dying main guy just because he seemed nice but considering I can’t remember his name he’s not as memorable as I thought.
This might turn into a 2 star read gah. The shifting perspectives got confusing, you’d have a few paragraphs following Jocelyn and main dude, and then it would suddenly change over to Sarah and Ian in the most inorganic way. I don’t mind a secondary romance but this felt forced in, I would have much preferred if it’s foundations had been built into this book and furthered in a sequel or something. The primary romance was also overshadowed by the uneven pacing. I have read books where the romance has only lasted a couple of months but, by the end, it feels like a lifetime and you believe that it will work out long term. This one had a longer time frame of about 6 months but it felt like they’d only been together for a month or so. At the time of reading, I did believe in the two of them, but reflecting on it in this review, they’re totally screwed. I don’t think they don’t know each other well enough because I don’t know them, even after the 300 or so pages I’ve spent with them.
Oh well, it was a pretty fun book. But while I was initially surprised by the relatively low reviews this has gotten, now that I’ve dug a little deeper into my experience of it, I get it. I might pick up this author again because from what I can see, people seem to think this is one of her weaker novels, but I won’t be reading from this series again.
As a whole, I did like the premise, it’s pretty unusual and original. In a genre where the books tend to be similar enough for me to confuse different book plots, that is definitely a plus. I also came to like Jocelyn and Sarah (although I don’t know if this was just because the latter character kept reminding me of Jenny from ‘Outlander’ who is a great character). My favourite character was probably the sort of dying main guy just because he seemed nice but considering I can’t remember his name he’s not as memorable as I thought.
This might turn into a 2 star read gah. The shifting perspectives got confusing, you’d have a few paragraphs following Jocelyn and main dude, and then it would suddenly change over to Sarah and Ian in the most inorganic way. I don’t mind a secondary romance but this felt forced in, I would have much preferred if it’s foundations had been built into this book and furthered in a sequel or something. The primary romance was also overshadowed by the uneven pacing. I have read books where the romance has only lasted a couple of months but, by the end, it feels like a lifetime and you believe that it will work out long term. This one had a longer time frame of about 6 months but it felt like they’d only been together for a month or so. At the time of reading, I did believe in the two of them, but reflecting on it in this review, they’re totally screwed. I don’t think they don’t know each other well enough because I don’t know them, even after the 300 or so pages I’ve spent with them.
Oh well, it was a pretty fun book. But while I was initially surprised by the relatively low reviews this has gotten, now that I’ve dug a little deeper into my experience of it, I get it. I might pick up this author again because from what I can see, people seem to think this is one of her weaker novels, but I won’t be reading from this series again.