Four full-length sensual Regency romances make up this boxed set about four widowers.
When Isabella believes she has witnessed her mother’s murder at the hands of her father in THE DREAM OF A DUCHESS, she rides off to London in search of the man her mother always said she could go to in case of trouble. To keep her safe, Octavius, Duke of Huntington, agrees to hide Isabella in his country … country estate—and to allow her access to his stables and horses. But what about his heart?
When archaeologist Jasper, Viscount Henley, is caught kissing Marianne, he marries her despite knowing she’s nearly blind. Determined to show his new bride the wonders of the Roman world as part of his next expedition—their wedding trip—Jasper will do whatever it takes for her to see more clearly, even if his own vision is clouded by a revelation in THE VISION OF A VISCOUNTESS.
When the headmistress of London’s premiere finishing school dies, her son, Theodore Streater, is desperate to find a replacement. He’s a bank clerk and has no idea how to run a girl’s school. So when Daisy Albright appears to apply for the position, he hires her on the spot—even though he would rather hire her as his mistress. Left with only one arm from the last war, Teddy would prefer to take a wife, but who will marry a one-armed man? A former spy, Daisy has a secret she’d rather her employer not know, especially as she grows more fond of him. When she discovers what Mrs. Streater had already arranged on behalf of the school, though, her future employment and the fate of the school will be at risk in THE CONUNDRUM OF A CLERK.
What is real and what is fiction when it comes to Viscount Marcus Lancaster’s life? A widower, he’s imagined a life with Charity, a widowed countess, and he’s determined to make it become a reality. Never mind that the matchmaker wants nothing to do with marriage. But she does have a secret desire in THE CHARITY OF A VISCOUNT.
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Four delightful romances, each wit the same premise but each with a different background. My favorite? One couple had known each other for only ten minutes when they were caught sharing a kiss in front of a statue of Cupid. Within a week, they were married and on board a ship traveling to archeological sites in Italy. My second favorite? The illegitimate daughter of a duke, wounded while serving as a spy in the war with Napoleon finds herself as the headmistress of a girl’s school, teaching dance and mathematics and grammar. All four books are imaginative and interesting.
Loved this series. Highly recommend.
Would have scored higher if no book 2. Guess I have NO interest in archeology! I enjoyed books 1, 3 and 4.
3.25+ STARS
1. THE DREAM OF A DUCHESS – 4 STARS
There are many stories within. We have the Earl (David) who has a twin (Daniel). David is betrothed, but can’t be bothered to get to know the girl so he has his twin step in for the courting. Of course David and Clarinda fall in love. Clarinda never is told she was duped. I dislike stories that have lies or hold truth back, which we also have. There is over 20 year age difference between the twins and Clarinda. There is about 12-14 years between the other couple.
The scene with the mother and daughter I thought the daughter was like 10 and not 19, snooping in her mother’s dresser, seemed immature. The daughter thinks she witnesses her father kill her mother. As we read the story, it was not murder, which is what 1/2 the story is based on.
The story did drag at times, but for the most part it was entertaining. There is foreplay prior to marriage, heat level 4 out of 5. Romance does build slowly for the Duke and his ward.
My heart ached for Daniel because he was the romantic twin and loved Clarinda but had to watch his brother the Earl marry her.
The Epilogue was more confusing than helpful. It rehashed what you read. I truly thought my e-reader went backwards. Then when we are back to the present day in the story, it was confusing too for timeframes.
No cheating, no cliffhanger, you will wonder about Daniel and his story is called THE WIDOWED COUNTESS, another secondary character I liked and gets her story is the twin’s cousin, Connie. Her story is in THE LOVE OF A RAKE. I have them on my Wish List for Amazon.
2. THE VISION OF AA VISCOUNTESS – 3.25 STARS
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.
3. THE CONUNDRUM OF A CLERK – 3 STARS
I didn’t care for the h at all. I would have liked to know how she became a spy, who recruited her etc. I didn’t care that she was a mistress to two men all for the love the the Crown! She requests a friend to teach her how to pleasure a man. She offers her virginity willingly because she can’t be a virgin mistress – WHAT! It’s not like she HAD to do this. She is wealthy.
The H has lost his arm in the war and thinks he can’t find a wife. He was honorable and caring and I liked his character. But, I didn’t feel a connection to the h.
I did like the relationship with the Duke (her father). The h’s mother was the Duke’s (prior to receiving the Title) mistress for 19 years. He loved his mistress and his two daughter’s by her. Gave his girls his name too. I enjoyed that part of the story.
There is lovemaking outside of marriage, described a couple of times. Heat level 4+ out of 5.
No cheating, HEA, little on romance and some steam, little on drama or suspense.
4. THE CHARITY OF A VISCOUNT – 3.25 STARS
Many character’s with personalities all over the place. One lose end was with the h’s eldest son. Was he able to make a go of things when he had to abide by a provision in a Will (no spoiler’s)?
The h had a rough marriage and is now a widow. Her husband cheated on her all the time so her view is tainted on men. The H was kind and caring but his daydreaming was a put off. He’s an adult over 40 male and acted like he was a teenager who couldn’t focus. The first scene with the h in the garden was very confusing for the reader, even with the author’s notes.
The love scene with the H/h was talked about after the fact as was “tupping” a lot with a maid and footman – action not described.
As with all the books in the series, no real suspense, one drama scene with eldest son. HEA and romance fast paced. (ljb)
I have previously read and reviewed all four of the books in this delightful, witty and romantic box set.
The Dream of a Duchess: In this first book of the series, Ms. Sande has once again piqued my interest in how the rest of the plots would unravel. There were, in fact, two stories intertwined, both romantic, but the story between Isabella and Octavius progressed a little more slowly than that of David and Clarinda. The book is well written with humour and some sadness and there is also a mystery to be solved. After having witnessed the death of her mother, Isabella rides through the night to David Fitzwillim on her mother’s instructions, to take refuge in his brothel. Not being the kind of place a lady of quality should be hiding out in, he calls in Octavius to assist him in secreting Isabella away. One has to have sympathy for Octavius as the high spirited, opinionated young lady upends his home, the servants, the stables and Octavius himself. However, despite rattling the butler’s sense of proprietary, with time Isabella wins the whole household over and Octavius reconsiders his vow to his late wife. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the romance that played out between the young girl and the more mature Duke, as well as the ancillary characters.
The Vision of a Viscountess: In this delightfully entertaining Regency romance, I found myself not wanting to miss a word. There is humour, adventure and romance as the reader is taken along for the journey. I identified very closely with Marianne and her myopia, having had similar problems growing up. In an era when spectacles were heavy and clumsy (even in the nineteen fifty’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 foray 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 of my visit to Sicily. The book is very well written and I have a feeling that I’ll be coming back to it again in the future because it left me with such a good feeling.
The Conundrum of a Clerk: It took me a bit of time to get into this book as I wasn’t sure whether I was reading a comedy or a tragedy. Once I chose to view the book as a comedy, I actually did find it enjoyable. Theodore and Daisy are both wounded warriors finding their way in society once again after the war was over. They had scars and were living with the aftermath of their war experiences. The story did jump around a bit for me, as characters from previous books were drawn into this one. The love stories of other characters were also included. Nevertheless, this is a well written, gentle romance and it has a happy conclusion.
The Charity of a Viscount: The hero of the novel, Viscount Lancaster has something of a Walter Mittie complex and gets lost in his daydreams, sometimes leading to unforeseen events. Lady Charity has had her fill of bounders and rakes and is reveling in her freedom, even though she is living in borderline poverty. Taking up a position as a matchmaker in order to earn some “pin money” – i.e. much-needed finance – Charity gets wrapped up in the lives of the servants in big mansions as she attempts to find them marriage partners. Marcus has loved Charity from afar for years but because of his bumbling, almost loses his chance to make his feelings known to her. There were laugh-out-loud moments and also some cringe-worthy events but all in all I did enjoy this book.
I received a copy of this box set as a gift and this is my honest and voluntary review.