When Baron Jasper Henley is caught kissing a marquess¿ niece in the gardens during a ball, he agrees to marry the girl. It¿s not the first time he¿s been forced to marry¿he and his late wife had been caught kissing in front of the same fountain prior to his marriage proposal¿but he had always intended to marry Sophie.While on a visit to London to visit her uncle and his new wife, Marianne … Slater is happy to attend the Season¿s entertainments¿even if she can¿t see very well. The world is a blur unless it¿s close-up. Usually a wallflower at balls, Marianne is stunned when a gentleman approaches and offers to escort her in the gardens. A clear-eyed innocent kiss suddenly results in the blurry whirlwind of a quick wedding and its subsequent aftermath.Determined to show his new bride the wonders of the ancient world as part of his next archaeological expedition¿their wedding trip¿Jasper will do whatever it takes to see to it Marianne can see more clearly. But as things come into focus for her, Jasper may find his own vision clouded by an unexpected revelation. Can the insights he discovers from bits of history open his eyes to future possibilities? He may prefer blindness in ¿The Vision of a Viscountess.¿
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Sande delivers a fine story in “The Vision Of A Viscountess”. As usual the author does a superb job of world building and character development. Particularly in developing the character of the titular Viscountess. Showing fairly realistically how a very near sighted person got along during the time period as well as the prejudices that continue to today’s time about wearing eyeglasses.
I’m not sure how Sande did it, but she gave the readers three live stories in just one book.
While I listened to this book as an audiobook, I would reccomend it to my fellow readers in whatever format you prefer.
More on the audio part of the audiobook. The book was excellently narrated by Michael Troughton. Doctor Who fans will recognize his last name as his father, Patrick Troughton, portrayed the second incarnation of that character. Mr. Troughton does a superb job of narrating and producing the book while sparingly using sound effects to enhance the story.
In the interest of transparency: I was given a free review copy of this book and I am voluntarily sharing this review.
It is my own honest opinion.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
This had a fantastic plot that was thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing. I only marked it down a star because there were some words that even my e-reader didn’t know what they were when I looked them up. I adore historical romance. I do learn some things from them. This one though was filled with terms that were so odd (perplexing at first). I am sure they were words that were probably used back but if the dictionary doesn’t know what they are, then for a reader, it can be a little difficult. Also as the story took place in on Sicily amid ruins, the descriptions were a little wordy. But how to learn something different if you don’t read about it. It was just a little longer and my interest would drift away.
Overall though, the story was wonderful. I am so glad for the opportunity to read it.
This story had an interesting mix of love stories. It was one story that brought Marianne and Jasper together because of a compromising situation. Their time on Sicily, where most of the story takes place, introduced us to many other characters. There was an opportunity for a second chance at love for an older couple, as well as a new relationship for another couple. I liked Marianne as she learned to enjoy the world around her and the “Roman Arts”, though her dislike of glasses went a bit too far. Jasper was a romantic at heart and was a sweetheart. His honesty with Marianne made me fall in love with him as well.
I received a copy of this story through Candid Book Reviews, and this is my unsolicited review.
In this delightfully entertaining Regency romance, I found myself not wanting to miss a word. There is humour, adventure and romance and the reader is taken along for the journey. I identified so closely with Marianne and her myopia, having had similar problems growing up. In an era when spectacles were heavy and clumsy (even in the 50’s) a small child was teased unmercifully by classmates and on the playground. The history of spectacles that was woven into the story is interesting and I was fascinated by the origins of the earlier models. I was reminded of one crazy fray into wearing something different when I chose a pair of perfectly round specs. My experiences were exactly as described by Marianne. There were a couple of stories that ran parallel, which added to the enjoyment and kept me wanting more. I loved Jasper’s loving care of Marianne and the way in which he dealt with her insecurities. Marianne’s irrepressible spirit and pleasure in every aspect of life was a delight, as was the commentary on archaeological digs. Having traveled in the area when I was younger, I also enjoyed the flashbacks to my visit to Sicily. The book is very well written and I have a feeling that I’ll be coming back to this book again in the future, because it left me with such a good feeling. Although part of a series, this book is nevertheless a standalone and comes to a happy, noisy conclusion! I received a copy of this book as a gift and this is my honest and voluntary review.
The Vision of a Viscountess (The Widowers of the Aristocracy) by Linda Rae Sande
Reviewed for Candid Book Reviews
The Vision of a Viscountess proves that real beauty can’t be seen by the naked eye. True beauty is felt within the heart. Marianne and Jasper are a combination of life’s imperfections, but it’s their flaws they make them perfect for each other. Sande is a constant on my book shelf. She roots for the underdog with her tales of people courageous enough to be themselves. No matter what. A little wisdom, with an abundance of heart.
Excellent and most atypical Regency romance
Linda Rae Sands has given us what may be the most unusual Regency romance I’ve ever read. The main characters, while members of the Ton, are here not because of their places in the peerage, but because of their avocations and scholarly interests – Greco-Roman history, archeology, and the ruins of the Valley of the Temples in Sicily. Then there is the matter of the romance(s) – which no one was looking for, which is why it took a book’s length for them all to get it sorted. First off, the young Viscount who finds himself hitched to a young lady he kissed in a garden (her family caught them) and said young lady, so nearsighted she’s virtually blind – these two have a hard time seeing the truth in each other’s hearts that love can be sudden and still be real. Then the old earl, who met the love of his life AFTER his marriage, wants to see a new future with her twenty tears later – if only she could see how much he truly loved her. Then the young archeologist’s assistant, who can’t see what a mistake it is to court a woman when his life long romantic preferences run to the male gender, until he sees the son of the Sicilian widow who is their hostess on their expedition to Sicily. Which brings up the very different setting – an archeological expedition to rural Sicily, devastated by the Napoleonic Wars, and far removed from the judgement and gossip of London’s haute ton… It’s quite different, and really good reading – a beautiful triple tale of three couples who learn to see truly – from the heart. This is a voluntary review of an ARC.
3.25 STARS
I purchased this as part of the author’s 4 book bundle called THE WIDOWERS OF THE ARISTOCRACY: Boxed Set
Our H sees the h in a crowded ballroom, they both go outside, he decides he is going to kiss her and hopes they are discovered so they have to marry. WHAT? I just didn’t feel a connection to them. They certainly are active in the bedroom – heat level 5 out of 5 and described many times. Very simple story line.
There is also two other side stories. The one with the older couple who loved but couldn’t be together and are apart for over 20 years. I enjoyed their story more and felt a connection to them. There is cheating by the male for this couple as he was married but the women wasn’t aware. No lovemaking for this couple.
The other side story is about a homosexual couple. There sex life isn’t described, but they kiss.
Many descriptions of the ruins and excavations. Some tiles they find have sexual images described.
The h has a horrible vision problem and can’t see unless she wears very ugly glasses, which she refuses.
Little on drama and romance, heavy on lovemaking. We get HEA an epilogue one year in the future. (ljb)
This is an absolutely delightful read. I have almost as much delight about what is missing as I do about what is included in the story. There is no introspective naval gazing and page after page of angst. ** Happy Sigh ** We get three – yes that is correct – three – intertwined romances in one book. You just can’t get better than that can you? The characters are lovely and it would be fun to accompany them on one of their archaeological digs. With trowels in hand, we could unearth those lovely Roman mosaics in Girgenti, Sicily. I loved that there was so much information about the process, the area, the temples and the preservation of the artifacts. It was also fun to learn so much about eyeglasses!
The main featured couple is Jasper Henley who is a Viscount and Marianne Slater whose uncle is a Marquess. Several years ago Jasper was caught kissing Sophia in front of the cupid statue in the gardens behind Lord Attenborough’s mansion and they had to marry. Jasper was happy about that. Sophia passed away a year ago and Jasper has been in mourning since then. His first real outing since Sophie’s death was another ball at Lord Attenborough’s. When he sees a lovely young lady who doesn’t seem to see very well, he escorts her for a walk in the gardens. He’s intrigued by her and just can’t resist a kiss in front of Cupid’s statue – again – and he’s caught again. He’s perfectly happy about that. It seems she is perfectly happy about it as well. They are married a week later and leave for Sicily where they learn to love and trust each other.
Lord Darius was in Sicily twenty years ago – before he had even finished his schooling. He met and fell in love with Chiara Ferraro a beautiful seventeen-year-old Italian girl. His problem was that he was already unhappily in an arranged marriage and had to leave her. Now, he’s a widower and is in Sicily where Chiara is also now widowed. It was sweet to see them find each other again.
James Singleton works with Jasper on many of his digs – and he accompanies Jasper to Sicily. James is a flirt, but he’s really sad and alone. Then he meets David Anthony, Chiara’s son and they each know they’ve found their life partner.
I loved the book, but if you are expecting it to be period correct, then you will be disappointed. There isn’t much place where you would need that period correctness since most of the book takes place in Sicily rather than England. To give an example – Jasper Henley is also referred to as Lord Henley and Viscount Henley. Henley wouldn’t be the name of his Viscountancy. Anyway – if you are a stickler, you will find anachronisms.
I really enjoyed the book – it was pretty steamy and very sweet all at the same time.
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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.”