A Former Heiress…Heiress Alexandra Morland lives a charmed life until her mother reveals a life-shattering secret on her deathbed. Alexa’s world is immediately turned upside down by the revelation. Kicked out of her former home, she arrives in London in near ruin, with barely more than the clothes on her back. A Man With Ambition…Henry Northam can’t stand to sit idle. Even though he’s the … though he’s the heir to a large fortune and title, Henry has ambitions to make a career for himself in the law. His family doesn’t approve and he knows a wife wouldn’t either—he’s had his heart broken enough times to prove that.
Their Bond Will Be Tested…
One day Alexandra and Henry meet by chance and sparks begin to fly. Can Henry let his guard down and trust Alexa with his heart? And how long will Alexa be able to hide her scandalous secret from the man she is starting to love?
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Poorly Done “Regency” Romance
I am a voracious reader, and my favorite subgenre is Regency romance. Unfortunately, I found myself greatly disappointed in this book for many reasons. First of all, the hero and heroine didn’t really meet until after the 20% mark, and their first interactions were very casual and sporadic. For me, the romance doesn’t start until the meet-cute; this was already novella length, shortening whatever romance or character development there was going to be anyway. So having them not meet until the book is nearly a quarter of the way through doesn’t give much room for any kind of development. The fact that, even after they met, they barely spent any time together before the heroine’s villainous cousin tore apart them worsened this. That happened before the 50% mark. Until the very end, the hero believed the lies of the evil cousin and treated the heroine terribly every time they met. Truly, there was no romance in this romance!–although the hero and heroine at different points decided that they were in love with the other. Because not much as a romance was seen and it was cut short, their professions of love rang false.
**** SPOILER ****
When at the very end the hero finally understands he’s been lied to, they get physical and very intimate instantly, anticipating their vows then and there. It just wasn’t believable after all that it happened. Frankly, too, Regency women just would not have acted so sexually so fast or would have had much of an inkling what that all meant. Did she truly believe that she was a sinner because her mother fooled around, cuckolding her father… and that made it okay for her to “sin” as well? It just made little sense at all. Plus, after the way he treated her for most of the book, how could she just do that? Honestly, she deserved a better hero… and I don’t like feeling that way about a hero of a romance; it ruins the book for me. I would think she would need some sort of apology, and he would have to make it up to her. Truly he did not treat her like a gentleman would treat a lady during the bulk of the book—even given what he “found out” from the lying cousin. He truly acted reprehensibly to her. Also, I thought the vile cousin needed to get his comeuppance in the book, and the author did not give us that satisfaction. I also felt like there were plot holes galore, including the unresolved issue of the hero’s desire to become a barrister.
**** SPOILER DONE ****
One tiny quibble: This is not a true “Regency” romance, even though the author calls it such. The book takes place in 1802 and 1803; the Regency period lasted from 1811-1820. The book is Georgian, not Regency.
This is the kind of book that, even though it is not well done, you keep reading because you hope the author is going to make it right: have the hero act like the hero (treat the heroine well; be her champion, etc.) that the heroine deserves and have the bad guys get their comeuppance that we need for them to have in our moral outrage at their actions. Because this book failed to deliver on these counts, I do not feel like I can recommend it.
This is my first time reading something by Ms. Nash, and I have to say I enjoyed it very much.
After a secret is revealed, Alexandra loses everything and is kicked out of her home. Despite being an heir to a fortune, Henry wants to have a career in law even though his family does not approve. When Henry and Alexandra meet there is an instant attraction. Will each be able to let their guards down and follow their hearts? Both of these characters were very well-developed and I found them very endearing with wonderful personalities and depth. The storyline was interesting and caught my attention from the beginning. I found myself invested in the story and anxious to find out how it ends. I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading more from this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.