A pretend courtship can only if work if you don’t fall in love . . .Lady Elise is a very content spinster. She holds intellectual gatherings and attends poetry readings, mind-improving lectures, and art shows. She runs her father’s household with quiet and determine efficiency, which is why she is absolutely stunned when Papa informs his three daughters that until Lady Elise is happily settled … settled with—gasp—a husband, he will not consider offers for his two younger daughters.
Lord Simon St. George has happily watched one friend after another become leg-shackled, taking pride in the fact that his title is secured by a brother and nephew, so there is no reason to seek a wife for himself. When he sees a woman previously unknown to him at a ball, who seems to be hiding from the rest of the attendees, he is intrigued enough to introduce himself.
A friendship forms, and Simon is thrilled to have found a lovely, intelligent woman to pass the time with, while Elise has secured a way to thwart her father by pretending they are courting. But even the best plans can go awry . . . .
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Elise is perfectly happy to be a blue-stocking and remain at home to keep house for her father, but father thwarts her plan by refusing to marry her two younger sisters until Elise is married. Simon has no interest in marriage, and is happy to let his brother’s son inherit the estate, but he is intrigued by Elise and her intelligence. Two wonderful characters and a circle of wonderful family and friends makes a wonderful setting for their romance to unfold.
Entertaining enough. They get their happy ending. So overall a nice story.
Not one of Callie Huttons best novels. It was short and light reading. It was 104 pages of regency style. If you want a short read without a lot of intrigue this is a good choice. I prefer more substance mostly.
Loved this !!! Great characters and could not put it down 🙂
Right away…the dynamics between the family, the whole premise of the story… it just captured my attention and pulled me in immediately.
I truly fell in love with this story, the avowed spinster and the confirmed bachelor.
Callie created such a strong heroine in Elise, her tenacity and determination, was also kind of part of what I liked least about her…her determination was also part of her stubborness…she was REALLY determined to NOT be married!
And how could I NOT fall for our hero, Simon??? He was what we want in a hero, honest, open…let’s just say he was very forthright…. can you tell I just really loved Simon, he knew he was in love with Elise even if he didn’t plan on falling for her…in the best way possible, he really loved her.
They both started out with no intention of getting married, not looking for love, and with specific ideas of what their life would be like, all planned out, spinster and bachelor forever.
There are two beautiful, heartfelt, special scenes, that could have come across as odd, awkward, had they been penned by a less skilled, less passionate author…but they come across so beautiful, so compassionate, sweet, kind and caring in Callie’s capable hands.
You can understand what motivates the hero or heroine’s stubbornness, they aren’t just pig-headed, commitmentphobes, they are truly born of legitimate fears…which is why, although they appear to be very, very unmoving in their way of thinking…it all boils down to honest, deep seated fear, and once that fear is addressed, they realize that they’re being unreasonable and what was perceived as being stubborn, is really insecurity that’s relieved by communication and of course, love. Perfectly portrayed
I know the book has me when I feel like I know the characters, when I personally wanted to sit Elise down and tell her, oh honey, talk to Simon!! He loves you!! He loves your independence and your uniqueness, he would never want to stifle who you are!! TALK TO HIM!! Or say to Simon, seriously? THAT’S not a proposal!!! I honestly felt like I KNEW them
Loved this book!!
This is the first book I have read by Callie Hutton and I really enjoyed it! I loved the underlying humor of the characters and had a smile on my face the whole time I was reading it. I’m looking forward to reading some of her other books.
entertaining love the author
A good, solid read with pleasant characters and sparkles of humor. I liked the book a lot, and look forward to reading more by this author (who clearly knows what she’s doing!)
Delightful
‘Bluestocking Lady Elise Smith is a very content spinster. She holds intellectual gatherings and attends poetry readings, mind-improving lectures, and art shows. She runs her father’s household with quiet and determine efficiency, which is why she is absolutely stunned when Papa informs his three daughters that until Lady Elise is happily settled with—gasp—a husband, he will not consider offers for his two younger daughters.
Lord Simon St. George has happily watched one friend after another become leg-shackled, taking pride in the fact that his title is secured by a brother and nephew, so there is no reason to seek a wife for himself. When he sees a woman previously unknown to him at a ball, who seems to be hiding from the rest of the attendees, he is intrigued enough to introduce himself.
Simon sees a lovely, intelligent woman to pass the time with, Elise sees a man who can help her thwart her father by pretending they are courting. But even the best plans can go awry…’
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For the Love of the Viscount is the first book in Callie Hutton’s The Noble Heartd Series.
Elise is the eldest daughter of the Earl of Pomeroy and has been running his household since she was just ten years old when she lost her mother to consumption. As well as being mistress of the house, she has served as both sister and mother to her two younger sisters. As both a spinster and blustocking, she enjoys a certain level of independence and has no intention give that up to marriage. But her father disrupts all her plans by deciding that the sisters must marry in order of age. Therefore her sisters may not consider marriage until Elise has made it to the altar.
I found this marriage constraint given by their father to be a lttle cheesy as a plot device, but at the same time I loved it because I thought it was amusing that he had given this order because he was sick of being managed by his daughters and inundated by their shopkeepers’ bills.
I really enjoyed the dynamic between St. George and Elise. They were quite silly and ridiculous, but also sweet and witty. They hatch a plan of their own to counter her father’s: he’ll keep potential husbands away from her at ton events and she’ll keep the scheming debutantes and their mamas away from him. Before they know it though this leads them into attraction, jealousy, and dangerous territory. I really loved Elise’s show of jealousy during that me of pall mall.
At a certain point Elise bypassed independent and detoured straight into stubborn, at which point she started to get on my nerves a bit. They were in love with each other and he was proving himself in every way he could and still she kept dragging her feet, even though it was making her miserable.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and will be continuing on with this series. I’m interested to see how things will turn out for her two sisters and if there is a happy ending in store for her father.
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I read this book with my Kindle Unlimited membership.
This was a quick and enjoyable read about a widowed father trying very hard to marry off his bluestocking eldest daughter. Wonderful hero and heroine!
I am not a fast reader and it only took me 2 days to read through this one. This one was funny, and whimsical, romantic and happily ever after, and had just enough surprise to make it interesting. I wish it were longer.
This is my second book by this author and I loved the lighthearted, upbeat, witty tale. Wonderfully, there wasn’t any angst, no ‘woe is me’, no conflict, no danger – just a delightfully entertaining tale. The writing was excellent and I adored the characters. It was an excellent introduction to the Smith family – Lord Henry, Earl of Pomeroy and father to Elise, Juliet, and Marigold. You’ll love Pomeroy, he is the sweetest man and most loving father – he adores his girls, but it is time for them to marry and pass on their bills to their husbands. His thought is “T’was time for others – with hefty bankrolls – to cherish them as well.”
Lady Elise Smith is very happy with her life. She’s the oldest of three sisters, her father loves her, and he allows her all of the freedoms she craves. She has absolutely no intention of marrying – ever. It isn’t that she sees marriage as a bad thing – it just isn’t for her. No husband would ever give her the freedom she gets from her father – nor would he share her interests. Yes, she is an unrepentant bluestocking. So, when her father calls them all together one morning and announces that Elise must marry before he’ll even entertain marriage offers for the other two, they, especially Elisa, are aghast! Beg, wheedle or cajole – they couldn’t change his mind.
Simon, Viscount St. George is also very happy with his life and has no intention of marrying. His title is secure because his brother is married and has a son, so no worries there. He’s handsome, charming and sought after by all of the hostesses in London – and he’s very, very adept at avoiding the marriage-minded mama’s and their offspring. He’s delighted when he attends the Cummings’ ball and sees a beautiful woman that he hasn’t met before. He’s even more delighted when he discovers how honest, intelligent and straight-forward she is – nothing like any of the other misses who are husband hunting.
Soon, Simon and Elise make a pact to pretend they are courting to protect her from men and him from the ladies who want to ensnare him. At the end of the season, he’ll go his own way and she can then convince her father that she is unmarriageable and resume her life as usual. That all works – sort of – except, they don’t count on how attracted they are to each other or how wiley her father is.
An example of the humor is during a conversation Elise has with her father. Her father says, “He is to treat you like fine porcelain.” To which she replies, “Me?” – Then her father says “Hmm, well, perhaps sturdy kitchen crockery.”
I definitely enjoyed this book and I think you will too! Happy reading!
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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”
Lovely afternoon read! Pall Mall game hilarious!
Excellent read with great characters and a lovely romantic story.
It was quite a different story and I really enjoyed it, I love it when I cannot wait to pick it up and finish it, which this book did for me. Also was disappointed when it finished. Would love to read more of her books.