Lord Aaron Lyle has one hell of a choice: a bankrupt dukedom, or marriage to some simpering society miss so his spendthrift father can get his hands on her huge dowry. He won’t do it. He has a reputation to maintain, and besides, he’d rather run naked through the streets of London than marry anyone at all. Surely, there must be a third option. Then Lady Crystal Wilding walks into his life, a … life, a bluestocking, full of subversive thoughts, who hates the notion of marriage even more than he does. He is intrigued…and suddenly he has an idea. He invites the totally unsuitable lady home on the pretext of presenting her as a possible match…but in truth, Aaron has something far more pleasurable in mind. For her part, Lady Crystal has her own reasons for going along with his harebrained scheme.
Imagine their shock when his highly proper family loves her and starts planning the wedding. Good lord. Now what?
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This is a regency story with a difference, set in Scotland it is a journey to a beautiful HEA for the beautiful Lady Crystal Wilding and Lord Aaron Lyle these two are drawn together in the shared belief that people should be able to choose their life partners and their belief in helping people as well as a very sensual thread that draws them closer at every meeting.
Lord Aaron Lyle is being pressured into marriage by his father to benefit the family coffers, but Aaron is not happy with this situation he knows that one day he needs to marry and have an heir but he would at least like to be fond of the woman he marries, and then like a ray of sunshine he discovers the beautiful Lady Crystal with her innovative ideas about marriage and life and he knows that he must get to know her better.
Lady Crystal is determined that she will never be treated as her mother was and now she is in a position to look after herself she sets forth from the highlands to Edinburgh to do what she can to teach young woman to read and write and push her views on marriage and woman having a choice in what they do with their lives, at one of her first meetings she meets the handsome Lord Lyle when he comes to her rescue and even if marriage is not what she wants a desire to learn more about what happens between a man and a woman is always on her mind and Aaron would be who she would pick to teach her.
This is a great story well written and it shows the plight of woman back in the regency days, I loved Crystal what strength she showed but her caring nature is wonderful and Aaron what a hero, what a forward thinker of that era I loved how he supported Crystal, the passion that flared between them was sensual and steamy, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good regency tale, I have to mention the Dowager Duchess Sarah what a woman loved her very much. Woohoo well done MS Ross this is a keeper.
Lord Aaron Lyle has one hell of a choice: a bankrupt dukedom, or marriage to some simpering society miss so his spendthrift father can get his hands on her huge dowry. He won’t do it. He has a reputation to maintain, and besides, he’d rather run naked through the streets of London than marry anyone at all. Then Lady Crystal Wilding walks into his life, a bluestocking, full of subversive thoughts, who hates the notion of marriage even more than he does. He invites the totally unsuitable lady home on the pretext of presenting her as a possible match…but in truth, Aaron has something far more pleasurable in mind. For her part, Lady Crystal has her own reasons for going along with his harebrained scheme.
This is a new author to me & I thoroughly enjoyed this fun, entertaining read of two people who were so right for each other fighting the inevitable. I loved Aaron the honourable heir who knew what his duty was but wanted to do it his way & I also loved Crystal who was now free & wanted to make a difference, their attraction sizzled & it took them both some time to realise they’d fallen in love. I also loved Sarah there’s nothing like a grumpy interfering grandmother. A couple of things didn’t seem to have closure, the nut allergy & the return of the clan Macleod members. A captivating read & I’ll certainly read more from the author
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
I enjoyed this book but I was expecting something more. This is the story of Crystal, an outspoken young lady whose goal in life is to see that women and girls receive an education. She meets Aaron, Lord Lyle, after one of her speeches extolling choice in choosing a marriage partner. Aaron is being forced to marry by his father so he invites Crystal to meet his family. Although it was a good book, it was anticlimactic. i would like to have seen more action in this book. Overall. i would recommend this book.
An Unsuitable Lady for a Lord
Scottish Lords and Ladies Series #1
Cathleen Ross
https://www.facebook.com/cathleenross123/
Release date 04/13/2020
Publisher : Entangled
Blurb :
Lord Aaron Lyle has one hell of a choice: a bankrupt dukedom, or marriage to some simpering society miss so his spendthrift father can get his hands on her huge dowry. He won’t do it. He has a reputation to maintain, and besides, he’d rather run naked through the streets of London than marry anyone at all. Surely, there must be a third option.
Then Lady Crystal Wilding walks into his life, a bluestocking, full of subversive thoughts, who hates the notion of marriage even more than he does. He is intrigued…and suddenly he has an idea. He invites the totally unsuitable lady home on the pretext of presenting her as a possible match…but in truth, Aaron has something far more pleasurable in mind. For her part, Lady Crystal has her own reasons for going along with his harebrained scheme.
Imagine their shock when his highly proper family loves her and starts planning the wedding. Good lord. Now what?
My review :
Will their chemistry be the end or the beginning of them ..
As my first read by Mrs Cathleen Ross, it was a fun quick one. With a very modern lady and the man who accepts her as she is.
Crystal is not a woman of her time, she is a progressiste born decades and decades too early. Her talk of education for everyone is great, as her will to help less fortunate.
After giving free rein to her desires is clearly seeking ruin, even if the other party is willing to protect her.
While she thinks she is very educated, she is also very naive of the world around her, but she wants to help. After I still think it is very careless to believe by having an affair with a peer, she could walk free unscathed.
I liked Aaron, he refuses to be a pawn in his father’s game, looking to make a difference for his clan and others. Still, he does not hesitate to seek Crystal’s company, even ready to compromise her as he first wanted to sort her out of his system. So I didn’t know where to stand with him, a honorable man but with a dishonorable agenda, as whatever she tells, having an affair could be the end of her when he would not even be bothered about it.
It is a witty and entertaining read with some scorching scenes, but I would have liked the last third to be a bit more developed, to explore the white slave business, the fall of the villain threatening them, to see them in between his proposal and their wedding day…
4 stars for an interesting and entertaining first in a series, with some wits and compassionate even if flawed characters.
I was granted an advance copy by the publisher Entangled. I also preordered my own. Here is my true and unbiased opinion.
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Overall, this was a sweet romance with likable characters, though it doesn’t quite deliver on its promise. Aaron and Crystal (are those even remotely period names?) were admirable in their desire to do good in their community, and were very earnest (even if Crystal was a bit too naive at times and Aaron went from “You’ve got to be nice to that undesirable man, he has connections” to calling that same man out and attempting to have him sent to a penal colony twelve hours later.) Aaron’s grandmother, the dowager duchess, was a hoot, and the little girls in Crystal’s school were heartbreaking.
I liked that Crystal let it slip twice in public that she thought that women should enjoy sex as much as men did–though surely it wouldn’t have been such a shock to all the men in the audience? Sure, they were all members of the ton, but surely they were able to satisfy at least one woman once in their lifetimes…? Okay, maybe not, but surely it couldn’t have been that much of a stretch. I get that they’re not “supposed” to, but honestly, none of them experienced a woman enjoying herself, ever?
The ending of the story is very sweet–HEA achieved!–but it didn’t actually feel as if their relationship obstacles were actually resolved, instead they were just…ignored, I guess? I did want them to be together, of course, I just wanted it to feel like more of a resolution was achieved.
First in a new series–it’s not immediately obvious who might be featured in the next series book (honestly, I couldn’t even guess–eligible friends and family members aren’t exactly thick on the ground–Aaron’s brother, maybe?), so I’ll be interested to see what direction the author decides to go there.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars / C+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
ARC received from publisher
2 Stars. Because I finished it but did not enjoy it.
I guess I unknowingly look for certain things in a regency/historical romance novel. And this book did not have it.
The concept sounded good. And good on the author for creating a strong female lead to have in such an era, when it was clear that men thought otherwise about women. This book being the example of that. And good on the book for consistently sticking with that. When meeting his family, her beliefs were the topic of conversation.
But I was just bored! This book held no spark for me. It’s a feminist novel in a story that I wouldn’t pick up when looking for a feminist novel. I found the characters so hard to get past. There was no connection between them.
I requested an ARC of this book via Net Galley, and these opinions are my own.
What drew me to this book was the synopsis – Hero needs to marry to save the failing Dukedom, Heroine is a champion for women’s rights, together they work for the betterment of all while falling in love. Upon reading, however, I feel like the story missed the mark a bit.
The characters were just…ok. Basically the way they were at the beginning is how they were throughout the book ; there was no real growth and I just didn’t get that emotionally involved.
One item I feel should have been addressed was the Heroine’s voyeurism. She freely admits to spying on servants and guests in her father’s home while they were engaged in amorous activities, and pleasuring herself while watching. This is mentioned several times by the Heroine herself, but never brought up with anyone or even really discussed. I feel like its a missed opportunity for further plot development.
Overall, if you are looking for a quick read with decent characters and very little conflict, this is the book for you.
Unsuitable? Lady Crystal Wilding certainly was beautiful and had bested Aaron Lyle the first time they met and he was intrigued! His father had been parading a lot of unsuitable women before him… He could never marry those women who only wanted his title. No he really wanted more but until then he just needed time to make sure his father did not bankrupt the estate.
Of course he forms a plan that just might work. Lady Crystal does not want to marry anymore than he due to her voice on women’s rights and education for women. She wants to choose as he does so who better to take home to his father? Totally unsuitable he would say! But he is in for a surprise!
A very entertaining start to this series that will keep your attention with the witty exchanges and humor. But let’s not forget the sparks that fly between these two! A match that might be totally suitable and full of love! I read this through Netgallery and the publisher!
An Unsuitable Lady for a Lord by Cathleen Ross is the First book in the Scottish Lords and Ladies Series. This is the story of Crystal Wilding and Aaron Lyle, the Marquis of Lyle.
Aaron’s father is the Duke of Lomond who wishes for Aaron to marry a heiress to help with the family coffers. Arron has no wish to marry but the only other choice is for his family to be bankrupt. Crystal is the daughter of an Earl but is a bluestocking choosing to be a advocate for woman and their rights. Aaron and Crystal happen to meet which of course leads to them to a strong attraction. Aaron talks Crystal into coming home to meet his family which Aaron hopes to derail his father’s plan with the distraction of Crystal. Of course the family ends up liking her but she isn’t the heiress they need but for Arron can’t help his growing feelings. Enjoyed their story.
The Duchy of Lomand – 1811
Lord Aaron Lyle, the Marquis of Lyle, and heir to the Duke of Lomond, is angry because his father demands that he marry a woman that he has chosen for him, but Aaron refuses.
Edinburgh – 1811
Lady Crystal Wilding, age 20. is thanking Aaron for rescuing her hat when it blew off her head. She is scheduled to be a speaker at a meeting with Sir Walter Scott. There, she is speaking on reform for women. She wants to see that they receive an education, in addition to being allowed to choose their own husbands. Some people agree with her and some don’t. When she makes a comment about mutual sexual satisfaction between men and women, people become angry and call her a whore. Aaron is intrigued by her speech, and being a lusty young man hoping to share a love affair with her, invites her to his home to meet his father.
When Crystal arrives at the extremely lush home, she instantly likes Aaron’s stepmother. His father also likes her. It’s his grandmother who questions her origin. But Crystal knows how to stand up for herself and his grandmother is impressed by this.
Aaron and Crystal are now truly in love. However, even though she is the daughter of an Earl, he feels his father does not think she is suitable to be his bride as Aaron needs to wed an heiress to cover his father’s debts. But, Crystal is not an heiress. Is there no hope for them?
This is a sweet love story with two strong characters. I liked both Aaron and Crystal and the things they stood up for. I did not care for the explicit sex scenes. The perfectly tied up ending is also a bit unbelievable. However, the book is a good read. Enjoy.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Crystal is ahead of her times in the ways she thinks. She is beautiful and fierce. Aaron is being hounded to marry by his father. When he meets the enigmatic Crystal he is instantly attracted and comes up with a plan. The story is fast paced and often funny. The racers are outspoken and fervent in their beliefs. It is a book filled with hope and joy. A great story with characters to love.