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A review by nicolet2018
The Heir by Grace Burrowes
3.0
I picked this up after reading The Courtship and The Duke and His Duchess as I was interested to read about the characters I met in the spin off series book 1: The Trouble with Dukes. When I picked this up at my library, I was surprised at how many pages it had. Over 400!
Which is unusual for a historical romance. I was hoping it would not get too draggy.
The story starts with a misunderstanding. Lord Gayle Westhaven is assisting a mute chambermaid when her clothes get stuck in the fireplace grille and housekeeper, Anna Seaton attacks him with a poker as she thinks he is molesting Morgan. He is hurt so badly that she needs to help him to get up and lie down. He has cuts, bruises and his shirt gets torn. Wow, how hard did she hit him.
This sounds crazy. Then a weird relationship begins where she treats him as a wife would: Tending to his injuries (literally having his head on her shoulder), seeing him half naked and let's not get started on that little hug on the balcony when he tells her about his brothers who passed away.
She certainly does not sound like a housekeeper. Though, she certainly is very competent as one but she does not behave like someone from the working class. Who is she?
So I had expectations going into this book and this felt so sexual. Everything I wrote about happens within 50 pages of the book as does a sex scene with his mistress which is rather explicit compared to some of the author other books.
This book was too long. I felt that some parts were not necessary and it could have been more concise. Gayle makes every effort to care for Anna and she still holds back. I was annoyed with the heroine. Yes she is good at managing the household but so much trouble and angst could have been saved if she had revealed why she was on the run. Not to say Gayle did not make silly assumptions too. It irritated me that he literally cares for her in every way and she still thinks he doesn't love her.
Honey, a man who holds your hand, hugs you, brings you food, spends time with you, protects your sister, let's you furnish a house for his sister (foreshadowing that the house is for her!) and let's you stay at his parents house loves you.
The sex scenes were steamy, oh yes! But it was interesting how they do everything but vaginal sex. That comes much later. Anna is a virgin and Gayle shows her how pleasure can be gained from oral sex on both sides, humping and fingering. If anything, I liked how enthusiastic she was despite her lack of experience. It was interesting that the author mentions pleasuring a man's nipples. Typically it is the other way around.
I did like how the relationship between the brothers was more more lively and I could see them heal from their brothers deaths. Valentine seems to be the friendlier of the trio whilst Devlin is more stoic. That surprised me as Gayle always seemed like the quieter one since reading about him as a young boy in The Duke and His Duchess. In fact, Gayle seems sociable and much more open. But the consumption of marzipan and lemonade sounded diabetes inducing.
This book had ups and downs, it had draggy moments and interesting scenes and relationships. I liked how Gayle and his father argue and come to a point where things are not so tense anymore. He was annoying with his meddling and scheming. Assuming that Percival was in his thirties when he married Esther, I would out his age at sixties?
Also how is Rose Percival's grand daughter when Guinevere "Gwen" and Lord Amery are taking care of her?
It is not explained but I guessed she was the child of either Victor or Bartholomew "Bart" and thus adopted by Lord Amery.
The way the characters speak is hard to understand at times. But I do want to read more of the other stories.
Which is unusual for a historical romance. I was hoping it would not get too draggy.
The story starts with a misunderstanding. Lord Gayle Westhaven is assisting a mute chambermaid when her clothes get stuck in the fireplace grille and housekeeper, Anna Seaton attacks him with a poker as she thinks he is molesting Morgan. He is hurt so badly that she needs to help him to get up and lie down. He has cuts, bruises and his shirt gets torn. Wow, how hard did she hit him.
This sounds crazy. Then a weird relationship begins where she treats him as a wife would: Tending to his injuries (literally having his head on her shoulder), seeing him half naked and let's not get started on that little hug on the balcony when he tells her about his brothers who passed away.
She certainly does not sound like a housekeeper. Though, she certainly is very competent as one but she does not behave like someone from the working class. Who is she?
So I had expectations going into this book and this felt so sexual. Everything I wrote about happens within 50 pages of the book as does a sex scene with his mistress which is rather explicit compared to some of the author other books.
This book was too long. I felt that some parts were not necessary and it could have been more concise. Gayle makes every effort to care for Anna and she still holds back. I was annoyed with the heroine. Yes she is good at managing the household but so much trouble and angst could have been saved if she had revealed why she was on the run. Not to say Gayle did not make silly assumptions too. It irritated me that he literally cares for her in every way and she still thinks he doesn't love her.
Honey, a man who holds your hand, hugs you, brings you food, spends time with you, protects your sister, let's you furnish a house for his sister (foreshadowing that the house is for her!) and let's you stay at his parents house loves you.
The sex scenes were steamy, oh yes! But it was interesting how they do everything but vaginal sex. That comes much later. Anna is a virgin and Gayle shows her how pleasure can be gained from oral sex on both sides, humping and fingering. If anything, I liked how enthusiastic she was despite her lack of experience. It was interesting that the author mentions pleasuring a man's nipples. Typically it is the other way around.
I did like how the relationship between the brothers was more more lively and I could see them heal from their brothers deaths. Valentine seems to be the friendlier of the trio whilst Devlin is more stoic. That surprised me as Gayle always seemed like the quieter one since reading about him as a young boy in The Duke and His Duchess. In fact, Gayle seems sociable and much more open. But the consumption of marzipan and lemonade sounded diabetes inducing.
This book had ups and downs, it had draggy moments and interesting scenes and relationships. I liked how Gayle and his father argue and come to a point where things are not so tense anymore. He was annoying with his meddling and scheming. Assuming that Percival was in his thirties when he married Esther, I would out his age at sixties?
Also how is Rose Percival's grand daughter when Guinevere "Gwen" and Lord Amery are taking care of her?
It is not explained but I guessed she was the child of either Victor or Bartholomew "Bart" and thus adopted by Lord Amery.
The way the characters speak is hard to understand at times. But I do want to read more of the other stories.