Finding a worthy husband should be simple for three beautiful debutantes in Regency London. But the Somerset sisters have a way of making it delightfully complicated . . . Violet Somerset has always preferred a library to a ballroom, but to please her grandmother she agreed to one London season. With nothing to show for it but heartbreak, she’s reconciled to spinsterhood. Until a notorious … to spinsterhood. Until a notorious rogue known as the Devil of Dare requests an introduction to her timid, gentle youngest sister, Hyacinth. Violet will do anything to stop the match—even if it means posing as Hyacinth herself . . .
Nicholas Balfour, the Earl of Dare, is enjoying the life of a rake far too much to take a wife. But he must keep his promise to his grandmother. He’ll simply choose the meekest bride he can find, install her at his estate, then carry on as before. Hyacinth sounds perfect—until he discovers that her sweet demeanor hides the tongue of a viper and the mind of a bluestocking . . .
As Violet’s ruse threatens to unravel, however, she may find the tables turned. Soon she may have no choice but to tolerate her handsome fiancée—or fall in love with him . . .
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Publisher’s Description:
Finding a worthy husband should be simple for three beautiful debutantes in Regency London. But the Somerset sisters have a way of making it delightfully complicated . . .
Violet Somerset has always preferred a library to a ballroom, but to please her grandmother she agreed to one London season. With nothing to show for it but heartbreak, she’s reconciled to spinsterhood. Until a notorious rogue known as the Devil of Dare requests an introduction to her timid, gentle youngest sister, Hyacinth. Violet will do anything to stop the match—even if it means posing as Hyacinth herself . . .
Nicholas Balfour, the Earl of Dare, is enjoying the life of a rake far too much to take a wife. But he must keep his promise to his grandmother. He’ll simply choose the meekest bride he can find, install her at his estate, then carry on as before. Hyacinth sounds perfect—until he discovers that her sweet demeanor hides the tongue of a viper and the mind of a bluestocking . . .
As Violet’s ruse threatens to unravel, however, she may find the tables turned. Soon she may have no choice but to tolerate her handsome fiancée—or fall in love with him . . .
My Thoughts:
This book is a wonderful Regency read. It has everything this reader expects from Anna Bradley and more.
Nicholas Balfour, the Earl of Dare has promised his Grandmother that he will marry this season even though it’s the last thing he wants until he spies Hyacinth Somerset at a party where she is entertaining the other guests on the pianoforte. He calls on Miss Somerset the next day even though the two have yet to be properly introduced. Instead of Hyacinth he gets Violet, the slightly older bluestocking sister.
Violet engages in a ruse poising as Hyacinth thinking Nicholas will simply go away after encountering her eccentric ways. Nicholas is fooled into believing just that. But the Earl of Dare is not so easily frightened away
The tables turned on her Violet finds herself drawn to the rogue and he to her. But Nicholas still thinks she is Hyacinth.
How will this amusing, humorous and convoluted tale end?
Don’t miss this second book in The Somerset Sisters series by author Anna Bradley. It is a well written and plotted book worthy of any regency romance fan’s time.
I gave this book 4.95 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization and a sensual rating of 4.25 of 5.0 flames. The intimacy is hot but held off on until after the nuptials.
This book starts out as a laugh a minute and progresses into a poignant engaging story.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this book via NetGalley to read and review. This in no way affected my opinion of this title which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
More or Less a Countess by Anna Bradley is book Two in The Somerset Sisters series. This is the story of Violet Somerset and Nicholas Balfour, the Earl of Dare. I have read the previous book but feel you can make this a standalone if you wish to do so.
Violet is set to become a spinster since the town doesn’t like her for being a Bluestocking and besides the one man she thought liked her has now married her best friend. When at a dinner party Nicholas shows up and seems interested in her younger sister Hyacinth. Violet knows he is a awful rake and doesn’t want him near her young sister so when he assume she is Hyacinth she goes along with it. Nicholas was never given much love or self respect I felt which added to his self doubt and worth. So he just did what everyone expected him to do. But now he has to marry and produce an heir to satisfy family to keep up his lifestyle. So he thought Hyacinth would be the perfect choice a shy, quite girl to marry, place in one of his homes and then just do what he wants. But Violet/Hyacinth isn’t so easy.
Loved reading their story and can’t wait for the next book in this series.
More or Less a Countess by Anna Bradley
The Somerset Sister #2
Awkward, tone deaf, klutzy, brilliant Violet Somerset has given up on marriage after her first year on the marriage market. Instead her dream is to write and illustrate a book and with that in mind she is willing to risk life and limb to go to sometimes unsavory places to get her sketches. Nobody really understands her quest to write the book of her dreams but her sisters Iris and Hyacinth support her as they can.
One night Lord Dare, Nicholas or Nick to his friends, shows up for an evening event at his friend’s home…a friend that Violet had a crush on until HER friend ended up married to Lord Derrick crushing Violet’s dreams. Lord Dare, in need of an heir, thinks Hyacinth might be suitable with her ability to play Haydn on the pianoforte with such ease and beauty. Well, Violet is not willing to let her sister be courted by a roguish rake so when Nick mistakes Violet for Hyacinth she does not open his eyes and tell him who she really is.
No matter who tells Violet she is playing with fire by keeping the fake name of her sister she won’t listen. No, she uses Lord Dare for her own reasons to get…sketches. And, the house of cards she builds thinking, nobody will be hurt, does eventually come tumbling down at about midway through the book. With both Nick and Violet keeping secrets and hiding how they really feel it takes quite a bit of time for them to work out a way to be happy together but in the end…it is oh so very worth the pain they go through to get there.
I loved the interactions between Nick and Violet whether funny or steamy. The fact that Nick was not turned off by a bluestocking but intrigued instead said a lot. The issues from his childhood and hers from her year in society worked against them both. Their jumps to conclusions without communicating with one another were also a problem they needed to learn to surmount. I really enjoyed this book and the way it all came together. I wanted to smack one or the other a time or two but only to make them see sense.
Did I like this book? Definitely
Do I want to read Hyacinth’s story? Without a doubt
Is there anything I didn’t like in the book? Can’t think of anything.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books – Lyrical Press for the ARC ~ this is my honest review.
5 Stars
This was a well-written, entertaining book. Violet is reconciled to being a spinster, but when a rogue starts showing interest in her younger sister, she will do anything to keep her sister safe, including posing as her. Nicholas is enjoying his life of freedom, but his grandmother makes him promise to marry. He plans to marry the meekest bride he can find, set her up on his estate and continue his independent life. Neither of them planned on what would happen once they started spending time together! I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading other books by this author.
Nick The Earl of Dare is summoned back to England to beget an heir! When he meets a bluestocking, Violet Somerset look out! Well written storyline, will make you laugh and cry! Complex interesting characters you will love. A wonderful read!
Second book in this series, and I LOVED IT!
Violet Somerset prefers her books than being the belle of balls, when Nicholas Balfour the Earl of Dare a notorious Rake shows interest in her younger sister Hyacinth, she will do anything to prevent him from meeting her youngest sister….even impersonating Violet!
Nicholas Balfour has made a promise to his grandmother and take a wife, he’ll choose the most shyest and timid debutante marry her and scurry her in the country and carry on his merry debauched way. Hyacinth is perfect until she’s not. When her deception unravels she’s already lost her heart to the man she set out to deceive! Sometimes love has a way of ruining even the best laid plans!
An enjoyable well written story! Anna Bradley really knows how to keep the reader entertained. Witty dialogue a sexy hero and a heroine that keeps him on his toes! I highly recommend Anna Bradley’s books to anyone that enjoys historical witty romance.
I recieved a complimentary copy from the author and publisher via NetGalley.
This is my honest unbiased opinion.
“More or Less a Countess” by Anna Bradley
I loved this story. I was gifted a copy of this story via NetGalley and I had a most wonderful 8 hours or so in the world of Violet & Lord Dare. Two people who truly fit together like a hand and a glove. But will they have what it takes to find their way through to the perfect fit.
Warning. Mistaken identity may lead to love! Violet Somerset, a true bluestocking was done with the marriage market. The one man she had held affection for married her best friend. Attending a dinner with her grandmother and younger sister Hyacinth, she meets Nick, Lord Dare. Nick is back in England after inheriting the Earldom unexpectedly that should have gone to his elder brother. My heart just ached for Nick because he had grown up feeling he was never as good as his older brother and always feeling inferior. But he now needs to marry for money soon to pull the estate out of ruin. Sitting across from Hyacinth at the dinner, he determines she will be perfect. But he approaches Violet, mistaking her for her sister and the adventure begins. Violet intends to protect her sister from Lord Dare and tries to warn him off. But Nick will not be pushed away and he and Violet end up together time and again.
This was such a wonderful story that I could only smile at some of the prose and be delighted with the two main characters as well as the secondary. Nick deserved his happy ever after just as much as Violet and could not wait to see what happened!!
A wild ruse and past ghosts will bring these two together and it won’t be a fairytale. There are quite a few ups and downs with them and you may want to knock them both upside the head. But you will love them both in the end. Their first meeting was a confusing mess that led them on an adventure. I knew they were a perfect match when it came to the conversation in the museum and everything afterwards. The way he found out about the ruse was not how I expected and I didn’t see the rest coming. When they finally were happy I wanted to cheer.
Violet is not your average bluestocking with where her interests lay, but that’s what makes her perfect! I loved her from the start because of how different she was and that she wasn’t afraid to ask questions about anything. She almost gave up, but then she had the perfect plan that made me smile and laugh.
Nicholas is not how he appears to others and is haunted by ghosts of his past. As you get to know his story it’s heartbreaking and explains so much about his. When she made him see what the real problem was it was like he was a new man. I loved him from the start because he cared about her right away and didn’t realize it.
I absolutely loved Gibbs in every scene and agreed with her grandmother near the end.
I absolutely loved the plot of this story. It had a unique twist and the characters are so vividly-written, that you feel as if you know them.
Violet is a real spitfire and that, coupled with her independent, forward thinking, just endeared her to me even more. Nicholas gives as good as he gets, and the banter between the two of them had me literally laughing out loud on more than one occasion.
Anna Bradley always pens an interesting story that I don’t seem to want to put down, until I’ve reached the end. And, this book was no exception.
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley & Kensington Books/Kensington Publishing Corp. in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.
#MoreOrLessAcountess #NetGalley
Finding a worthy husband should be simple for three beautiful debutantes in Regency London. But the Somerset sisters have a way of making it delightfully complicated . . .
Violet Somerset has always preferred a library to a ballroom, but to please her grandmother she agreed to one London season. With nothing to show for it but heartbreak, she’s reconciled to spinsterhood. Until a notorious rogue known as the Devil of Dare requests an introduction to her timid, gentle youngest sister, Hyacinth. Violet will do anything to stop the match—even if it means posing as Hyacinth herself. Nicholas Balfour, the Earl of Dare, is enjoying the life of a rake far too much to take a wife. But he must keep his promise to his grandmother. He’ll simply choose the meekest bride he can find, install her at his estate, then carry on as before. Hyacinth sounds perfect—until he discovers that her sweet demeanour hides the tongue of a viper and the mind of a bluestocking
This was a delightful read, which I loved, I read with a permanent smile on my face until about seventy percent of the way through when things became more serious. The story of a rake wanting to marry quickly so he could return to Italy & his mistress was always bound to come a cropper. The bluestocking who’s a wallflower & will steer the rake from her quiet, meek sister is also bound to come a cropper. Put the rake & the bluestocking together & you have this deliciously humorous novel. Of course things don’t go according to plan & as the story progresses there are more misunderstandings & Nick & Violets’ fears and secrets come into play. Both of them are quite fragile but each has tried to hide this, their road to their HEA wasn’t easy but it was in turn humorous & heart wrenching. Whilst this is the second book in the series it could well be read on its own but all of the five Somerset sisters are hugely entertaining so I’d recommend reading the other stories.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
Victorian read with a funny courtship. Entertaining read with lots of misunderstandings and a good ending. Sex was more graphic than necessary was my only objection.
A wonderful story about love and healing
Book 2 in the Somerset Sisters series, as a new-to-me author, I hadn’t read book 1 before reading this, but I liked the blurb here as both the older sibling protecting a younger one and false identity storylines appeal to me. It worked well as a standalone, though I did get the sense that there must be another related series (which I later confirmed) since Violet has three married sisters but this is only book 2. One note about historicals: as long as dialogue and behavior both come across to me as reasonably authentic, that’s all I care about, and though the Regency era and just prior are my preferred time frames for historical romance, I don’t pretend to have any expertise. So if you’re looking for any critique on historical accuracy, you’ll need to look elsewhere .
I adored both these characters, and found Violet especially extremely relatable, as I’m positive I would have been a bluestocking wallflower myself if I’d been born at the time. As for Nick, my heart hurt for him as life just seemed to keep kicking him in the teeth as being only second best. My heart hurt for Violet, too, the intellectual when intelligence in women was scorned and ridiculed.
In addition to the heartbreak there were also laughs, such as how disconcerted poor Nick was when Violet failed to immediately succumb to his rakish charms. I was impressed with how well the author carried off the plot; secret keeping can irritate me if it goes on too long but that never happened here. There were several great secondary characters, and while I loved Hyacinth and cannot wait to get her story, I was intrigued by Louisa, Nick’s dead brother’s former fiancee. While she had only a very brief appearance here, it was a mark of this writer’s expertise how deeply I felt for her, and I REALLY hope she gets her own HEA at some point.
Full of humor, heartbreak, and, yes, some heat as well, I loved this story of two people who have been wounded by life but find healing in each other. This is not only my favorite historical so far for the year, it’s one of my top overall reads for the year. I can easily see myself giving this a reread down the road and I will definitely be looking for more books from this author. 5+ stars
B2B Kelly