Scan barcode
alyssam03's review against another edition
5.0
It was hard to get into at first, but the character development was so good and the chemistry between the two of them was a really cute dynamic. I guessed the plot twist about halfway through and she was frustrating me because she couldn't figure it out.
mrsklwilson13's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
suzysuzy34's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
sandyfleener's review against another edition
5.0
I read this when it was new! Yeah, I'm getting old... This has long been one of my all time favorites in romance! I found romantic suspense and historical at the same time! I've recommended this book to many people over the years.
bookish_kristina's review against another edition
Can’t rate as I read this when I was young and unembittered. I don’t think this was as rapey as many from this time but KEW writes some bitchy and entitled heroines. I can’t reread these though, her writing style is almost a language unto itself and I can’t tolerate it at my age.
msbedelia's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
toriedawn1's review against another edition
3.0
This book was exceptionally hard to review as though the story had its merits, the writing lacked somewhat. I was recommended this book as a beauty and the beast, I thiught this was a mistake at first as until chapter 6, over 100 pages in there seemed to be no evidence that anyone would fit that storyline. This is not always a bad thing, I have appreciated back storys before but in this case it honestly felt like a chore to get through the first half of this book. Our beauty in this book is Erienne, a young lady who is very smart and yet seems to have no self control. Our beast is played by ||Lord Saxton|| who is difficult to read at first, why that is comes much later in the story. All the men in this book are pretty awful, we have Erriene's father ||who literally sells her, twice!||, Christopher || who has no respect for the word no, constantly touching Erienne despite her (albeit sometimes weak) protests, this book is obviously written prior to the understanding that no meant no||. We then have our beast ||Lord Saxton who seems reasonable, agreeing not to rush her into consummating the marriage, then in the next breath compares her to a horse with this charming statement "Though the mare I have purchased cannot be ridden, I would view her grace and beauty and thus salve my needs until she is ready to receive my hand and yield me the full rights of her mate." Just to be clear this was ofcourse after he bought her, ick. || big spoiler next ||we then find out that our beast is also Christopher which adds all his sins to lord Saxton too. This is not a great guy||. Are we not supposed to like our beast? All the other men in the village appear to be lecherous old men who also seem to have no regard for the word no. The only real exception to this rule is Eriennes brother who actually has a really nice bit of character development, may be my favourite person in the book. Errienne annoyed me, im not saying that everything that happened was her fault but there were several things she could have put a stop to that she chose not to, I am not putting others actions on her, simply stating that her actions were also bad. The story itself was what kept me reading, there were several mysteries that kept me second guessing things, though one of my early guesses proved to be right I had 100% talked my way out of it before it was revealed. The issue with this book is the pacing and the characters, there are several characters that we are supposed to hate but surely we should, atleast by the end, feel something for our couple, something other than distaste, the beast character did start to act much more respectably as the story neared its close but by then I thought so little of him I couldn't bring myself to like him. Erienne was just stupid, at any point she could have not entered several awful situations, ||"I keep getting attacked when I go out on rides, shall I go outside again? Ofcourse"|| no self preservation instincts whatsoever. Every star I give this book if for the idea and the concept behind the story, I can see what the author was trying to acchieve and it was original and spectacular. Unfortunately the book itself really missed the mark for me. Some people however really love this book so what I would suggest is looking into it a little before you sign up for reading this almost 600 page story, to see if it is something you would be interested in.
pjgal22's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining read overall, but I found Erienne to be an irritating heroine. She's painted as being almost saintly, but at the same time she comes off as superficial and shallow, not to mention a little dim.
taramisu's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
The premise: The Fleming's are a pathetic family. Avery, the widower, lives with his cripple son and bluestocking, yet beautiful, daughter. He is physically and emotionally abusive at times. In order to pay off his multitude of gambling debts, he is determined to sell his daughter to any rich man who will have her as a wife. Unfortunately for Erienne, all these "suitors" are of a disgusting lot: fat, old, meek, sweaty men with wandering hands. A handsome, virile man shows up at her door as she awaits the arrival of the newest "suitor". Assuming this is he, she is delighted with this man who has manners and good looks. However, the visitor turns out to be none other than Christopher Seton, the man who dueled with Erienne's brother Ferrell, leaving him without the use of his right arm. And so it goes, the very wealthy Christopher attempts to woo the young lady, only to find her and the other Flemings' hatred of him quite the obstacle. In the meantime, Avery comes across the idea of auctioning off his strong willed daughter, making a stipulation that Christopher Seton may not participate.
When all is said and done, she is bought by Lord Stuart Saxton, whom the town people had thought dead from a fire at his estate. The fire left him badly scarred and crippled. Erienne agrees to marry him out of a sense of duty, but comes to an agreement with her new husband that she will not have to consummate the marriage until her innate fear of his visage wanes. In the meantime, Christopher Seton seems to be everywhere she is and has made it quite clear that despite her marital status, he is intent on having her and making her his wife. This rakes at her soul, for as time goes on, she has fallen in love with Christopher but refuses to betray her marriage vows.
In the end, it turns out Christopher Seton and Stuart Saxton are really one in the same: Christopher Stuart Saxton.
Miscellaneous notes: I strongly suspected that Christopher and Stuart were the same person from the minute Stuart refused to attend a ball, sending Christopher in his stead. However, that did not ease my ire at Erienne's quick forgiveness. Had a man been deceived in this manner, it would take much more than some sexual tension to ease his anger at betrayal. I felt Erienne should have taken much more time to get over the unveiling. Plus, I hated Christopher throughout this book due to his insistence on having a married woman despite her continued pleas for him to leave her alone. When it was revealed that Stuart the cripple was not real, I felt a true sense of loss, as I had fallen in love with that poor tragic figure. To find out that it was the jerk Christopher all long angered me in a way that it did not anger Erienne. I actually stopped reading at that point, refusing to finish the book. But...curiosity pushed the book under my nose and urged me to finish. I'm glad I did, for Christopher really is Stuart, the kind, caring man. And the more I thought about Christopher's situation, the more I understood and came to forgive him.
The premise: The Fleming's are a pathetic family. Avery, the widower, lives with his cripple son and bluestocking, yet beautiful, daughter. He is physically and emotionally abusive at times. In order to pay off his multitude of gambling debts, he is determined to sell his daughter to any rich man who will have her as a wife. Unfortunately for Erienne, all these "suitors" are of a disgusting lot: fat, old, meek, sweaty men with wandering hands. A handsome, virile man shows up at her door as she awaits the arrival of the newest "suitor". Assuming this is he, she is delighted with this man who has manners and good looks. However, the visitor turns out to be none other than Christopher Seton, the man who dueled with Erienne's brother Ferrell, leaving him without the use of his right arm. And so it goes, the very wealthy Christopher attempts to woo the young lady, only to find her and the other Flemings' hatred of him quite the obstacle. In the meantime, Avery comes across the idea of auctioning off his strong willed daughter, making a stipulation that Christopher Seton may not participate.
When all is said and done, she is bought by Lord Stuart Saxton, whom the town people had thought dead from a fire at his estate. The fire left him badly scarred and crippled. Erienne agrees to marry him out of a sense of duty, but comes to an agreement with her new husband that she will not have to consummate the marriage until her innate fear of his visage wanes. In the meantime, Christopher Seton seems to be everywhere she is and has made it quite clear that despite her marital status, he is intent on having her and making her his wife. This rakes at her soul, for as time goes on, she has fallen in love with Christopher but refuses to betray her marriage vows.
In the end, it turns out Christopher Seton and Stuart Saxton are really one in the same: Christopher Stuart Saxton.
Miscellaneous notes: I strongly suspected that Christopher and Stuart were the same person from the minute Stuart refused to attend a ball, sending Christopher in his stead. However, that did not ease my ire at Erienne's quick forgiveness. Had a man been deceived in this manner, it would take much more than some sexual tension to ease his anger at betrayal. I felt Erienne should have taken much more time to get over the unveiling. Plus, I hated Christopher throughout this book due to his insistence on having a married woman despite her continued pleas for him to leave her alone. When it was revealed that Stuart the cripple was not real, I felt a true sense of loss, as I had fallen in love with that poor tragic figure. To find out that it was the jerk Christopher all long angered me in a way that it did not anger Erienne. I actually stopped reading at that point, refusing to finish the book. But...curiosity pushed the book under my nose and urged me to finish. I'm glad I did, for Christopher really is Stuart, the kind, caring man. And the more I thought about Christopher's situation, the more I understood and came to forgive him.