A man with no past… could she hold the key to his future? Shipwrecked merchant Jack Langdon wakes with no memory and steals a kiss from a beautiful stranger–widow Blanche Tanet. As he recovers in her castle, passion flares between them. Jack’s fascinated by her independence and courage but, discovering his identity is not what it seems. Jack must first uncover the secrets of his own past if … own past if they’re to have a future together…
From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.
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Uncovering the Merchant’s Secret
Elisabeth Hobbes
https://www.facebook.com/ElisabethHobbes/
Release date 02/01/2020
Publisher Harlequin Historical / Mills&Boon Historical
Blurb :
A man with no past…
…could she hold the key to his future?
Shipwrecked merchant Jack Langdon wakes with no memory and steals a kiss from a beautiful stranger—widow Blanche Tanet. As he recovers in her castle, passion flares between them. Jack’s fascinated by her independence and courage but, discovering his identity is not what it seems, Jack must first uncover the secrets of his own past if they’re to have a future together…
My review :
When a man without a past is saved by a woman with one too burdensome …
I am happy I ventured outside my confort zone, medieval tales are more difficult for me to apprehend as I have few knowledges of the history and ways of life, plus I see it as a very violent and dangerous period, thus less romantic.
And sure here, there is no troubadour sprouting poetry, people kill other people still love is hard won and the reward of the best.
They both harbor secrets, John/Jack unwillingly but still he would have if he had held his memories, Blanche to protect her life goal.
Blanche is a layered woman, she faced so much tragedies, yet she refused to render to life’s dictates, it shaped her in a different woman, she learned to use every mean at her disposition, whatever it is.
It made her harsher and lonelier, why she is more and more jaded of everything taking place around her, but it has become her present and future.
Jack has lost his will to live with his wife’s death, so his amnesia cleans the slate and in some way opens himself to a different outcome. During his time with Blanche, he is the man he could be for her if he had no sorrow.
But as he recollects by fragments his reminiscences, he begins to struggle between his old and new self. And when Blanche’s past deeds are uncovered, he faces choices, choices that might hurt them both as reality of their situation might.
This is a tale of courage, the strength women had to have to ensure their future, the sacrifices and the tribute they pay in a world of men, always harsher because they are seen as weak and biddable.
Blanche is flawed, much more than Jack but she endured so much, and despite everything she kept her soul intact as she refused to settle for the easy route.
5 stars.
I was granted an advance copy by the author and prior to it preordered my own ecopy. Here is my true and unbiased opinion.
https://www.facebook.com/429830134272830/posts/554508131805029/?d=n
Uncovering the Merchant’s Secret is author Elisabeth Hobbes latest book for Harlequin/Mills & Boon Historical. I’ve been waiting for this book ever since I saw the gorgeous cover and it was definitely worth the wait!
Jack Langdon is on his way back to England from France when the ship he’s traveling on is attacked by wreckers. Washed up on to the shore of the nearest village, he’s thought to be dead. But an unexpected kiss with his rescuer Blanche Tanet proves he’s alive, but he has no memory of who he is.
Blanche Tanet has been widowed twice and now seeks revenge against the French who killed her second husband. When Jack washes up on her shore, she struggles to trust his loss of memory and fears he may be a spy. Jack also stirs up feelings and desires she want no part of anymore.
What an absolutely fabulous story and couple! Jack was a fabulous hero. When he wakes up without his memory, you feel his desperation and the devastation and sorrow when his memory returns. There is a connection with Blanche from the beginning, but both find it difficult to trust. Blanche was such a fascinating and strong heroine! She is a survivor and I admired her for all she had been through. Together I felt they were a wonderful couple, both lonely, trying to move on from their pasts and learning to live again. I liked that even in the beginning Jack admired Blanche for the strong woman she was. She fascinated him and he admired her strength and courage to overcome the obstacles she faced. A magnificent couple who was able to overcome secrets, lies, and pirates to achieve their perfect HEA.
Ms. Hobbes excels in creating strong admirable heroines and gorgeous swoon-worthy heroes and this book was no exception. The writing was as always flawless, detailed and kept the reader engaged. Such a fabulous story and I absolutely loved the ending! Highly recommend this book and author!
I love, love, love this book!! I have been a huge fan of Elisabeth Hobbes work since that very first book of hers I read; the Outlaws Revenge, which was actually one of the first medieval romances I read and from those first few bloody pages I was hooked like a fish on a line. Every year I wait with baited breathe to see what new adventure I am going to go on and with every new book Elisabeth shows time and time again what a marvel she is, yet this one is in my humble opinion the best yet! Especially the heroine; Blanche is easily one of the best heroines Elisabeth has written. I love her steely strength, her passion, her loyalty, her unwavering thirst to do all she can for her people, even if that means less then proper means to get what she wants and needs, which belays that fact that she has a vulnerable side, one which is well hidden beneath the padded Blaiz Mor disguise.
I think I have been waiting for this book for such a long time, a woman in control who dresses up as a notorious pirate? Yup, this book is what has been missing from historical romance.
After the death of his wife, Jack Langdon has fallen into a deep depression of pain and grief. Even his secretive life as a wine merchant; which really is a cover for something else, that something I refuse to tell you about as it would give way too much about Jack and the life he leads. He goes from day to day in a haze of gloom and with a deep desire to join his dead wife on the other side – honestly, this guy could break any heart with his Heathcliffe-Esque gloom and sadness – which is why he takes dangerous risks and gambles with his very life with deadly bar fights and making the acquaintances with smugglers.
It is on one of these very occasions when he is seeking passage from France to England that he takes a very shifty stranger up on his much too generous offer of passage on his ship – honestly, this guy has trouble written all over him! The ship he has taken passage on becomes shipwrecked on the coast of Brittany, which isn’t exactly accident of natural causes either, it was the villages who wrecked the ship and then went on to pilfer from the wreckage and the dead. Something their fearless and notorious leader isn’t too pleased about!
Jack is on death’s doorstep when out of the mist appears an apparition of whom he first believes to be his late wife coming to collect him and to take him to the other side – hmm!!! That does sound like something out of Wuthering Heights, but believe me, there is no ghostly arms through windows or digging up of corpses, I think I went slightly off-topic there. – But it isn’t his late wife, it is the Madame of the little rock he has landed on and the women who will not only bring him back to life but change it.
Blanche Tanet – is easily the best heroine that has sprung from the brilliant mind of Elisabeth Hobbes – she isn’t just a wealthy twice-widowed woman, but she is the Captain of her own fleet which she ruthlessly leads as the notorious pirate; Bleiz Mor (Sea Wolf) she didn’t permit the wrecking of the ship and is obviously furious that her people would go behind her back, putting so many in danger. She finds a lone survivor on the beach and instantly feels drawn towards the mystery man, so much so she knows she needs to keep him alive, there is an unexplained pull towards him – which really is not suspiring, this guy is hot, hot hot – you know me, I always have had a thing for brooding fragile heroes, I can’t help it they are my catnip, add in the fact that this guy can’t even remember his own name and I am lost forever.
Honestly, I need a cold shower and that’s when he is on his death bed, once Jack is fully fit…well…I don’t think my overactive mind and heart can take such swoon-some sexiness…those arms, well errrmmm…I need my heart-eyed emoji’s or a gif for this…#DoubleSwoon!!!
I really, really liked Blanche she is a complex individual, she has many responsibilities adorning her cloak’s shoulders; she has the care of her little community within the walls of her fortes to think of, her crews on her many ships, the villagers and now she has in her care an unknown man who may or may not be an enemy spy. She has a ruthless reputation once she is garbed as the Sea Wolf, and parts of that character are embroiled with her own tenacious and strong will, but that strong will of enforced iron is about to be tested once our lovely Jack begins to regain his feet.
The main plotline is really all about how Blanche and Jack getting to know each other, learning not just about one and other and the secrets that so cleverly entwine throughout the story, but there is also a sense of self-discovery for both. Obviously, with Jack trying to regain his memory but Blanche realises a few truths about herself and her way of life, she also shows huge amounts of courage as she allows someone in and opens up something which she has been determined never to do, I love how every step of their blossoming romance unfolds right before our eyes, its all so beautifully written.
Don’t think for a moment that this gorgeous book is all about Blanche fighting her internal fluttering for the handsome Englishman and said Englishman trying to remember who he is and all the while they fall under each other’s spell, oh no! This is an Elisabeth Hobbes book remember, so obviously, there is tension between the sparring character’s; Jack and Ronec are brilliant enemies you just know that these two are going to butt heads sooner or later. Imagine, two alpha male wolves circling and baring their teeth, each wondering who is going to make the first move, then you have an idea about how brilliantly written Jack and Ronec are.
If you hadn’t guessed already, I loved this book. Elisabeth’s already brilliantly enthralling writing has just gone up a gear. There isn’t a single thing I don’t love about this, it’s full of intrigue, lust, emotion secrets and untruths. It has a real buzz to it, it simmers with danger and tension, the characters are brilliantly written, each full of personality and the detail of Brittany is so vivid, I love it all.