Can a rogue really change his ways?Lady Catherine is satisfied. Having managed to ensure a young lady came to no harm by the hand of the Earl of Rutherford, she is horrified to then discover the very same gentleman near death!With no choice but to come to his aid, both she and ‘The Shadows’ work tirelessly to discover who is trying to rob the earl of his life. Setting aside her dislike for him, … aside her dislike for him, she protects and supports Lord Rutherford and, in doing so, begins to discover the gentleman hiding underneath the roguish exterior.
Stephen, the Earl of Rutherford, has always enjoyed the London Season, but this one has taken a turn for the worse. Injured and confused, he struggles to make sense of what has happened, finding himself desperate to return to society and the life he once knew. But slowly, Stephen finds himself beginning to warm to Lady Catherine, and, what is even worse, his heart opening up to her all the more.
Will Lord Rutherford, along with Lady Catherine, be able to find the attempted murder before it’s too late?
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Lady Catherine, one if the SHADOWS, steps in and protects Miss Cordner from the advances of Lord Rutherford, a notorious rake. As to Season progresses Stephen, Lord Rutherford, continues to his ways and he is attacked. It appears that someone is trying very hard to injure him and Lady Catherine with the other SHADOWS determine to protect him despite his reputation. He is secreted at Lady Catherine’s town house for him to recover and for the SHADOWS to begin their inquiries about who is responsible.
Over the multiple weeks that Lord Rutherford is under Lady Catherine’s care, Stephen begins to realize the havoc he has brought on many young women by his actions. As Lady Catherine continues to care for Stephen, he determines that he must reform hi ways and become an upstanding member of society. This leads to Stephen and Lady Catherine developing affection for each other. At the end of the story, the SHADOWS find out that who is not only injuring Stephen but trying to kill him and resolve the problems.
Another of Joyce Alex’s continuing SHADOWS mystery solving tales, This is one not to be missed.
This story is about a woman who saves the life of the Rake of London. The shadow take on finding out who is trying to kill the Earl, while Catherine nurses him back to health. In the end, the Earl finds he doesn’t want to change his ways. And Catherine & the Earl find out who’s responsible. I think the other Shadows were just lazy, and hoping that Catherine & the Earl would do all the work. The intrigue is good, but I think the plot could have been better.
3.25 STARS
This was part of a 5 novella bundle this author offered called LADIES, LOVE AND MYSTERIES! They are stand alone stories, but do have cross over character’s.
If you are a stickler for Regency Rules to be followed, you maybe disappointed. The h is alone with the H through most of the story with no consequences. The h talks down to the H and he is an Earl. Granted the H is very arrogant and it is hard to like him.
There is some suspense, awakening moments for the H when he realizes what type of person he is. I just didn’t feel a connection to the H/h. I can’t call this a romance story either, because the h dislikes the H throughout most of the story. We have only one tame kiss.
I figured out who the villain(s) were, so no surprises. The H at times was a coward and wanted to stay in the h’s home. The h’s father is clueless that he has a man living in his house for weeks.
No cheating, no cliffhanger, HEA – you assume they are going to marry, no romance and no spice. (ljb)
A well written story with nice storyline and plot. It is written in dual POV which gives the reader more of the feelings and thoughts of the main characters. Likeable main characters who develops nicely through the story. Nice chemistry and passion between them. How to choose the right partner and fight for it despite all the issues that is thrown at you. How to catch the chance for your HEA.
I just love this series and the way they are written. Very enjoyable to read and captivating.
A story that is a mix of mystery, drama, love, emotions, romance and sweetness.
Enjoyable, engaging and entertaining read.
This is a gripping story of murder, mystery and romance. Lady Catherine is smart, bold and determined. Lord Rutherford is cocky, charming and daring. After taking Lord Rutherford to task for behavior, Lady Catherine finds him stabbed, hidden in a room and left to die. She takes him to her home and hides him, while investigating the stabbing. While there, Lord Rutherford has plenty of time to examine his sins, and to think about the possibility of making changes. It will keep you on the edge of your seat.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. This is my honest and voluntary opinion of it.
Lord Rutherford had hold of a young lady and was trying to walk her down a hall…She’d been watching him along with her group call “The Shadows” and she knew what he was about. Rescuing the young woman she sent her back to her chaperone.
I was definately intrigued as this story start with the heroine Lady Catherine cornered the gentleman and gave him what for!
It seems she sees him at different social events and he always is trying to charm a young lady. He knows she is watching and gets a little satisfaction staring back at her, daring her to stop him.
But when she finds him almost dead, she helps him by taking him home to help him heal while The Shadows investigate.
This was really an interesting story, with mystery and intrigue and watching Lord Rutherford turn himself around. Don’t miss it!
Catherine is a member of the Shadows, a women’s group in London. Catherine prevented a rogue from ruining a young woman at a ball and took a dislike to him.Over time she convinced him to change his ways leading to a happily ever after ending. There is an abundance of mystery, intrigue and romance here. A real page turner.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Like a good mystery surrounded by history. There is suspence and conflict within the characters and the story. You can’t put it down. As the story unfolds so does the romance. Would recommend if you like historical and mystery!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I have been given the opportunity to read multiple parts of Lady’s, Love and Mysteries. All have a young woman of nobility in the lead role who solve puzzles they encounter. They call themselves The Shadows. This story is about Lady Catherine who addresses a man about his improper behavior. A day later she finds him, mortally wounded, and takes care of him. Lord Rutherford ponders his sins in the days of recovery and notices his deep appreciation for Lady Catherine, who in turn is impressed by the changes in him.
In this part I find the mystery they solve well used. Personally, I think this writing style is more distant and polite in terms of writing than in previous parts. I do not find any blossoming love in the story and I think that is a pity. I rate this story with a 3.5 star
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Well-Done Enemies-to-Lovers with Suspense
I have been reading the novels by Joyce Alec for around a year now. I can definitely see an improvement in her writing skills—particularly dialogue, as I thought that was weak when I first started reading her. I have quite enjoyed this series about the women, along with a handful of men, of the Shadows who try to right small wrongs—and sometimes even bigger ones—in Regency London.
As with most of Ms. Alec’s Regency novels, this is romantic suspense. But unlike most of her other ones, this is a definite enemies-to-lovers romance. The book opens with the heroine separating the roguish hero from what he hopes will be his next conquest. He does come across as mildly menacing toward the heroine but then backs down quickly when the other Shadows are revealed to be in the garden as well. These two keep running into each other, and eventually, she finds him injured, and that’s when things start to get interesting and change. He comes to understand some of the consequences of his previous actions and begins to reform his roguish ways. I particularly like the heroine, as she came across as so strong and smart. She truly did seem happy with her life precisely as it was (and was firm in her resolve), even if others within it were hoping that she could have or want more. The suspense really kept my interest, as I wanted to know precisely who was behind the issues with the hero and what he had done to become such a target.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
This is another addition to The Shadows stories. Lord Rutherford is truly a rake, caring little for the feelings of others. Lady Catherine was sent to save his next mark from ruin. There is much dislike between the two until Lord Rutherford’s life is in danger and he is forced to spend a great deal of time by himself. She is a member of The Shadows and calls upon her friends for help in solving the mystery of why someone wants the Earl dead. This is well written leaving the answer to the mystery in a twist. Of course, they have their HEA. Good, clean reading.
I received a free copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
Spend a day with this family-friendly tale of The Shadows, especially Lady Catherine and Lady Ann, and what follows after Lady Catherine reprimands Lord Rutherford for his rakish behavior.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Ms. Alec brings us another wonderful story featuring the ladies of The Shadows. Lady Catherine and Lord Rutherford are constantly at odds with each other, him being a confirmed rake and her trying to save each of his conquests from his advances.
Both characters were very well portrayed, each one strong in their positions.
But one unexpected night, Lady Catherine is compelled to save the rake himself after an attempted murder. Filled with plot twists, intrigue, and romance, this book is sure to hold your interest until the very last page.
It’s a sweet regency romance with a good dose of crime and mystery mixed. I highly recommend this book!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Lady Catherine confronts Lord Rutherford about his obnoxious ways as a rake when he is trying to entice her friend’s daughter. She decides that she cannot stand him.
Lord Rutherford is very proud of the way he acts and he has no intention of changing. He thinks if a lady falls for his wooing, it’s her own fault.
After Lady Catherine finds him wounded and takes him to her home to takes care of him, he’s made to take time to think of all his sins.
The shadows take over to find out who is the cause of his injuries and wanting him dead.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Stephen, the Earl of Rutherford was a rake caring little about how he hurt women as used them for his own pleasure. Lady Catherine stopped him from going after a naive debutante and has hated him ever since. She finds him stabbed and left to die at a party with a note that makes it look like a suicide. Despite her feelings for him she never wished for his death and with the help of the Shadows and their spouses decides to help him solve the mystery of who is after him. I didn’t like Stephen at first because he used women without considering how it would affect them and it was hard to believe that the ton continued to accepting him. The attempts on his life cause him to think about his behavior and changing his ways. This was a clean Regency romance mystery.
As Stephen, the Earl of Rutherford, tried to walk away with one of the young women at the ball, Lady Catherine, eldest daughter of the Earl of Enfield, stopped them. She suggested the young woman return to her mother who would not be pleased if she heard what she was doing. The young woman dashed off immediately, and Lord Rutherford approached Catherine to ask what right she had to interfere with his pleasures. Lady Catherine was a member of the Shadows who solve mysteries and keep an eye on things to aid society. They had already seen him slip money to the young woman’s companion so she would ignore his taking advantage of her. Catherine did not think highly of the rake and made no attempt to hide her disdain! He was furious and grabbed her arm painfully – but she just faced him and told him he was not a gentleman and his treatment of women as prey was disgusting. She had confirmed for herself the rumors of his awful behavior and wanted nothing to do with him… but she WOULD be watching him!
Lord Rutherford made one final attempt to intimidate Lady Catherine by accusing her of being outside the propriety by being at the ball alone, at which point she calmly asked the Shadows to step out and reveal themselves. His threat was totally ineffective, his bravado gone. Then they all returned to the ball.
At another soiree, Catherine again saw Lord Rutherford flirting with a lady. She glared at him and he pointedly ignored her. But from the shadows behind her, a man warned her to avoid him, saying he was not worth her time. When she turned around, the man had disappeared. When she next saw Lord Rutherford, he was alone. So she sat with her friend and laughed and chatted the rest of the evening.
But it seems their paths keep crossing when Lady Catherine finds Lord Rutherford left for dead and crumpled on a couch with a knife in his side. As the Shadows investigate who might have done this – and there could be many who had a reason – Catherine takes him to her home where the doctor can tend to him in secret until they know what is going on. She tries to tell him how his actions have hurt people. And he also thinks about what he has done and regrets the harm. Both of them begin to see the other in a new way and Catherine is confused by these feelings. And they still needed to find out who tried to kill Lord Rutherford? And why?
This was a great story with an intriguing mystery that kept the reader’s interest. It was also a nice touch to see a confirmed rake — who only cared about his pursuit of women and getting what he wanted from them – begin to reform. Perhaps he may even deserve a HEA at last? Grab your copy and find out how the author ties up all of the loose ends the reader is teased with! The Shadows are still working on the case and won’t stop until they find answers!
Book four of the Ladies, Love, and Mysteries series a well written Regency story that kept me turning pages. The Shadows are at it again! This is Lady Catherine and rogue Stephen, the Earl of Rutherford’s story, there is suspense, drama, danger, attempted murder, and romance. When they first meet he is not a nice man and Catherine gives him a scolding. She finds him stabbed, and with help gets him back to her Father’s estate. A story that once I started I was not putting down. I hope there is more to come in this series.I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A mystery.
For Catherine, really.
She is part of The Shadows and thwarted Stephen. Who later turns up stabbed. But alive. So the s it’s a who done it with his help.
3.5
AN ACTION PACKED ROLLERCOASTER!!!
Slamdunk! Joyce called me out once again with this impressive storyline and gripping plot, so heartwarming and touching with such passion, finesse and style that blows this baby wide open. You are not going to believe how this installment plays out. Satisfaction rocks this jewel, bringing it home with such intensity and precision, riding roughshod and delivering one block busting delight. Toss in drama, intrigue, danger, mounting suspense and thrilling situations along with a boatload of chaos while dodging calamity, you have one prize winning masterpiece. Anarchy, escapades and havoc run amuck, kicking this gem into a churning vortex, blasting it into a frenzy with a life-altering realization. Forging through the trials and tribulations, noting the astonishing twists and wicked turns, testing our characters in ways they could have never imagined. The dynamics and presentation in layer upon layer that you peel back with each page your drawn into this web so deep until everything else ceases to exist. The attraction and chemistry sizzles alluring and mesmerizing, binding them to one another beautifully. The realism and authenticity of the characters as their on point personalities blend and connect along with the graphically detailed scenes that really pull this baby together smoothly. Fantastic job Joyce, thanks for sharing this bad boy with us.
Interesting characters.
When you start reading this one you will be sure you know who the villain of the piece is but there are surprises waiting for the reader. It will take the Shadow to help solve a mystery and perhaps save a life. Catherine is an outspoken and brave character and when she and the other shadows are on a case they give it their all. In the end, the outcome is satisfactory in a number of different ways. I enjoyed this installment in the Ladies, Love and Mysteries series it is a quick read that will put a smile on your face. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.