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bookishmya's review
5.0
A delightful tale that soars to new heights as a hot air balloon on a summer’s day! Charlie Lane does it again, an exciting story that I could not put down. Katherine has always put everyone else first, given up much for her sisters happiness and allowed her own to wither. Edward, has stood by, biding his time because he loves her. That love, gives her the strength to pit herself first and the story that ensues is both beautiful and exciting. At the heart of The Debutante Dares is friendship, it is a remarkable love that empowers each of the girls to reach for their hearts desire. What makes the stories so utterly compelling is the growth of character. Each person in these stories has to come to some personal revelations and overcome their own shortcomings to find the strength that they already possess. Edward overcomes his own flighty nature to find the serious side to ground him, Katherine overcomes her lack of confidence to take charge of her own destiny and even Chrissy overcomes her selfish tendencies and incompetence to become a self-sufficient woman. I am completely in love with the power of the dare and it’s ability to unleash the stronger person within.
rainelle_barrett's review
4.0
Well here’s another sweet and charming book from Charlie Lane that will have you wanting to read the book again. The romance was completely obvious between Katherine and Edmund in the prologue of the story. He was obviously smitten with Katherine even though he stepped in poop droppings. Katherine was charmed by Edmunds boyishness. I like that the writer focused on the romance between the two. The story was easy to read. It has some realism to it.
glo68's review
5.0
Katherine has finally decided to free herself from her duties to her younger sister. After all, she’s grown up and has married well. And Kat has already sacrificed too much for her, including the man she loved. So now she has a plan. But to carry it out she needs the help of the very man she rejected…
Edmund has sworn that if he can’t marry the woman he loves, he’ll remain a bachelor. So when a daring debutante tries to entrap him, he’ll do whatever it takes to get rid of her. Including securing the help of his friends and of the only woman he has ever loved…
My favorite books are character-driven ones, therefore I love Lane’s books because her characters are exceptionally well developed and she focuses on showing the reader the inner workings of their minds. This time, I must confess that Katherine was kind of irritating for most of the book and she made me appreciate Edmund even more for his patience and understanding. I’m sure it’s my fault, because I prefer heroines who take their life into their own hands and she waited far too long to do it. On the contrary, he knew what he wanted from the beginning and was nothing but sweet, generous, kind and willing to sacrifice his own happiness to hers. So five stars to this book and four are all due to Edmund!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Edmund has sworn that if he can’t marry the woman he loves, he’ll remain a bachelor. So when a daring debutante tries to entrap him, he’ll do whatever it takes to get rid of her. Including securing the help of his friends and of the only woman he has ever loved…
My favorite books are character-driven ones, therefore I love Lane’s books because her characters are exceptionally well developed and she focuses on showing the reader the inner workings of their minds. This time, I must confess that Katherine was kind of irritating for most of the book and she made me appreciate Edmund even more for his patience and understanding. I’m sure it’s my fault, because I prefer heroines who take their life into their own hands and she waited far too long to do it. On the contrary, he knew what he wanted from the beginning and was nothing but sweet, generous, kind and willing to sacrifice his own happiness to hers. So five stars to this book and four are all due to Edmund!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
teabookscatsyoga's review
5.0
Thank you to WOLF Publishing, Charlie Lane, and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. This review was left voluntarily and the opinions are my own.
Katherine is a widow who has protected, sheltered, and unwittingly coddled her younger sister Chrissy. Katherine receives a proposal from Edmund, Viscount Escher. The proposal is upstaged by Edmund's father, the Earl, proposing to Chrissy. Katherine rejects Edmund's proposal out of propriety. They end up living under the same roof and share a heated Christmas Eve several years later when Katherine arrives at his bedroom door. Katherine never comes to him again and Edmund has decided he will not marry unless it's her. Katherine has a plan to write a new book and reprint her very poplar out of print novel. This plan would allow her to have financial independence so that she can leave the Earl and Chrissy's household.
Fast forward a little bit and a young lady tried to compromise Edmund to force him to marry her. Katherine and Edmund work together to lay matchmaker to this young lady to save both their reputations. Edmund also helps Katherine by being her muse for her writing.
This book was an excellent example of humorous, well written, Regency romance. There was a moderate amount of spice and the plot was unique and refreshing. The characters get a satisfying HEA. It checked off all my boxes for a novel in this time period.
Katherine is a widow who has protected, sheltered, and unwittingly coddled her younger sister Chrissy. Katherine receives a proposal from Edmund, Viscount Escher. The proposal is upstaged by Edmund's father, the Earl, proposing to Chrissy. Katherine rejects Edmund's proposal out of propriety. They end up living under the same roof and share a heated Christmas Eve several years later when Katherine arrives at his bedroom door. Katherine never comes to him again and Edmund has decided he will not marry unless it's her. Katherine has a plan to write a new book and reprint her very poplar out of print novel. This plan would allow her to have financial independence so that she can leave the Earl and Chrissy's household.
Fast forward a little bit and a young lady tried to compromise Edmund to force him to marry her. Katherine and Edmund work together to lay matchmaker to this young lady to save both their reputations. Edmund also helps Katherine by being her muse for her writing.
This book was an excellent example of humorous, well written, Regency romance. There was a moderate amount of spice and the plot was unique and refreshing. The characters get a satisfying HEA. It checked off all my boxes for a novel in this time period.
jkcantwell's review
5.0
The Viscount and the Widow... and His Father the Earl and the Widow's Sister
Charlie Lane's latest delightful Debutant Dares novel doesn't focus on a debutant, but rather, the beautiful and kind widow Katherine, good friend to the now-married debutants from the previous three novels. However, Katherine's rather child-like and self-centred sister does steal the limelight by marrying Edmund's father, the also self-centred Earl, at the beginning of the novel - and Katherine then feels it's inappropriate to continue her relationship with Edmund.
But love has a way of curling up in our hearts and pushing us to follow our hopes and dreams. Certainly Edmund isn't tempted for long to give up on Katherine. Especially when they'd met in a bookshop and she'd called him a nodcock the first time they met!
Both Edmund and Katherine have to face family relationships, and consider whether they're happy and prepared to continue shouldering burdens that rightfully belong to others.
Favourite quote: "He still wanted her because every other day or so she called him a fool or a knave, but she did so with such a smile and such a sense of acceptance that he needed her to do it more. Every day of his life, preferably." Favourite swoon moment: "Slipping into a woman you loved, making her yours - nothing compared.".
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Charlie Lane's latest delightful Debutant Dares novel doesn't focus on a debutant, but rather, the beautiful and kind widow Katherine, good friend to the now-married debutants from the previous three novels. However, Katherine's rather child-like and self-centred sister does steal the limelight by marrying Edmund's father, the also self-centred Earl, at the beginning of the novel - and Katherine then feels it's inappropriate to continue her relationship with Edmund.
But love has a way of curling up in our hearts and pushing us to follow our hopes and dreams. Certainly Edmund isn't tempted for long to give up on Katherine. Especially when they'd met in a bookshop and she'd called him a nodcock the first time they met!
Both Edmund and Katherine have to face family relationships, and consider whether they're happy and prepared to continue shouldering burdens that rightfully belong to others.
Favourite quote: "He still wanted her because every other day or so she called him a fool or a knave, but she did so with such a smile and such a sense of acceptance that he needed her to do it more. Every day of his life, preferably." Favourite swoon moment: "Slipping into a woman you loved, making her yours - nothing compared.".
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
ivorypalaceprincess's review
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own
This was such a fun, delightful book!! Edmund and Katherine were wonderful main characters and I was sucked into their story and throughly engaged. I love me a pragmatic heroine and a soft hero
I especially identified not only with Katherine 's desire to make her own way and be her own person, but also her fear and hesitancy to do so and how there was always a reason that she hadn't started yet, without even meaning to put it off. I've been feeling like I'm there myself lately, so it hit home especially hard and was so nice to see
The plot was fun, if a bit over the top, but in a good way. I adored Edmund and his schemes xD
It was a strange premise, the way Edmund and Katherine were connected, and I felt the book kept drawing attention to it which only made it weirder. And their was far more sex than I expected. I skipped at least one full chapter. But also, it's a romance, so expected, just was a lot more than I anticipated
All in all, it was a fun read with characters I throughly enjoyed! Even though I haven't read the previous books I wasn't lost, and had a lot of fun getting lost in Edmund and Katherine's story
This was such a fun, delightful book!! Edmund and Katherine were wonderful main characters and I was sucked into their story and throughly engaged. I love me a pragmatic heroine and a soft hero
I especially identified not only with Katherine 's desire to make her own way and be her own person, but also her fear and hesitancy to do so and how there was always a reason that she hadn't started yet, without even meaning to put it off. I've been feeling like I'm there myself lately, so it hit home especially hard and was so nice to see
The plot was fun, if a bit over the top, but in a good way. I adored Edmund and his schemes xD
It was a strange premise, the way Edmund and Katherine were connected, and I felt the book kept drawing attention to it which only made it weirder. And their was far more sex than I expected. I skipped at least one full chapter. But also, it's a romance, so expected, just was a lot more than I anticipated
All in all, it was a fun read with characters I throughly enjoyed! Even though I haven't read the previous books I wasn't lost, and had a lot of fun getting lost in Edmund and Katherine's story
annamariahz's review
lighthearted
fast-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
Edmund's plans to propose to Katherine go very wrong when his widowed father proposes to her younger sister minutes before he has a chance. Two years later, they are all living in the same home, and their feelings have only grown stronger. But Katherine is set on having her independence. She was forced to marry before to provide for her little sister, and, now a widow, she is forced to help her sister in her new role as a countess. So she is determined to write another novel and live an independent life. But when a very daring and dedicated debutante is chasing after Edmund, she agrees to help him, and Edmund uses the opportunity to convince her to say yes this time when he proposes. I loved this book! It was such a fun plot, and the characters were so engaging! I love the formal rules in regency romances, but it was interesting to read a book where the characters could be less formal around each other. Because Katherine is a widow, she and Edmund have fewer societal pressures and rules around their courtship, and I loved it! Edmund was hilarious, and I loved how much he loves Jane Austen and references them all the time. Also, the combination of the very practical Katherine, and the daydreaming Edmund was wonderful!
Thank you to Wolf Publishing, Netgalley, and Charlie Lane for an ARC in exchange for my honest review! I am so glad I picked up this series! I don't know how I will wait for the next book to come out!
Thank you to Wolf Publishing, Netgalley, and Charlie Lane for an ARC in exchange for my honest review! I am so glad I picked up this series! I don't know how I will wait for the next book to come out!
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