Scan barcode
kay_slayerofbooks's review against another edition
5.0
The best 1 thus far!
Bartholomew was an absolute fool and Daphne was and absolute prude and totally in denial. Until they no longer were. My favorite out of this series so far.
Bartholomew was an absolute fool and Daphne was and absolute prude and totally in denial. Until they no longer were. My favorite out of this series so far.
ctsquirrel's review against another edition
3.0
2.5/5 Not having much luck with new reads right now, maybe I'll switch to re-reads of faves for awhile.
Daphne was irritating, she was very shallow and her crusading was hard to take.
Tags- Grief: Daphne's father died suddenly and Tolly lost his twin brother while they were fighting together at Waterloo; Disabled: Tolly lost half of his right leg at Waterloo and has a fancy wooden prosthesis (with toes!)
Daphne was irritating, she was very shallow and her crusading was hard to take.
Tags- Grief: Daphne's father died suddenly and Tolly lost his twin brother while they were fighting together at Waterloo; Disabled: Tolly lost half of his right leg at Waterloo and has a fancy wooden prosthesis (with toes!)
booksavvyreviews's review
3.0
I enjoyed the book. I wish it was more fleshed out in some areas and the characters had more depth as to their life outside of one another but I did like it. The epilogue was probably my favorite.
3.5 savvy crowns
3.5 savvy crowns
verityw's review against another edition
2.0
*****************Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review*****
I liked the hero, but the heroine really gave me the pip. She was so irritating and sanctimonious I couldn't really get on board with her at all. I liked the idea behind the plot and was looking forward to reading it, but think the heroine just needed to feel a bit more... human, rather than preachy and perfect and it would've been great.
I liked the hero, but the heroine really gave me the pip. She was so irritating and sanctimonious I couldn't really get on board with her at all. I liked the idea behind the plot and was looking forward to reading it, but think the heroine just needed to feel a bit more... human, rather than preachy and perfect and it would've been great.
taisie22's review against another edition
3.0
I'd give this book 3 1/2 stars. The plot was a little fantastic at first: a vicar's daughter with a small portion has a pirate for a guardian (how did he meet the vicar anyway?) and all these eligible and fairly nice men willing to marry her, but she calls for an old childhood friend instead to help her have a fake engagement even though she hasn't seen him in years. And he jumps to help her even though he's been pushing his family and friends away for months because of the injury he received in the war (oh, and his dead brother). Some of these "plot holes" get resolved in the end (sort of) but between that and Bartholomew saying 'faux fiancee" way too many times, I didn't enjoy the book as much as I thought I should. Both Bartholomew and Daphne were obnoxious at times (she was really sanctimonious) and though Ms. Ridley attempted to justify their feelings, they were fairly unlikable. The secondary characters were more fun. Still I like the last part of the book and there was the requisite HEA. I received this as an ARC for an honest review.
bananatricky's review
3.0
Daphne Vaughan's guardian threatens to either marry off to one of his cronies or commit her to an asylum in order to get her to leave her father's house which he has inherited. In desperation Daphne writes to her childhood friend Bartholomew Blackpool asking for his help.
After losing a leg at Waterloo Bartholomew feels less than a real man, since he can't offer anything to a woman he is happy to help his old friend. But when Daphne's guardian makes it clear he has his suspicions about their engagement they both realise that they will have to do more than just 'say' they are engaged.
If they can fool everyone until Daphne receives her portion they can walk away from the fake engagement, but both of the them want to be the one to cry off (to save face for the other), so convinced are they both that they will never marry for real.
Another fun read.
After losing a leg at Waterloo Bartholomew feels less than a real man, since he can't offer anything to a woman he is happy to help his old friend. But when Daphne's guardian makes it clear he has his suspicions about their engagement they both realise that they will have to do more than just 'say' they are engaged.
If they can fool everyone until Daphne receives her portion they can walk away from the fake engagement, but both of the them want to be the one to cry off (to save face for the other), so convinced are they both that they will never marry for real.
Another fun read.
teaandbooklover's review against another edition
3.0
Too wordy. Too "in their head". I wanted more showing, not telling. As the book wore on, I disliked the Heroine more and more. In fact I wanted to smack her for her self righteousness and judgment towards everybody else who managed to find some fun in life. I did love the Hero, but I kept wondering 'what DOES he see in her?!'
I too liked the 'villain'-the Pirate cousin, the most. He was the most interesting character. Maybe she'll make a book for him.
I too liked the 'villain'-the Pirate cousin, the most. He was the most interesting character. Maybe she'll make a book for him.
melbsreads's review against another edition
4.0
Trigger warnings: death of a parent (in the past), death of a sibling (in the past), war (in the past), threats of incarceration in a psychiatric facility, grief, amputation (in the past).
I had very low expectations of this because I got it for like a dollar last year and I've read a couple of Erica Ridley's other books and they've been fine but nothing special. But this one? This one was DELIGHTFUL.
- Bluestocking heroine who just wants to save the world
- Returned soldier hero, broken by the war
- Fake dating
- Childhood best friends
- She insists she's never going to marry
- He uses humour to mask his pain
Obviously they fall in love. I enjoyed this from start to finish and I'm definitely going to have to pick up the next one in the series purely because of the excerpt at the end of this.
I had very low expectations of this because I got it for like a dollar last year and I've read a couple of Erica Ridley's other books and they've been fine but nothing special. But this one? This one was DELIGHTFUL.
- Bluestocking heroine who just wants to save the world
- Returned soldier hero, broken by the war
- Fake dating
- Childhood best friends
- She insists she's never going to marry
- He uses humour to mask his pain
Obviously they fall in love. I enjoyed this from start to finish and I'm definitely going to have to pick up the next one in the series purely because of the excerpt at the end of this.