Tag: Marie Tremayne

The Viscount Can Wait by Marie Tremayne

On By TracyIn Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)2 Comments

The Viscount Can Wait (Reluctant Brides, #2)The Viscount Can Wait by Marie Tremayne

Tracy’s rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: The Reluctant Brides, #2

Release Date: October 23, 2018

2.5 stars rounded up because there was an epilogue.

Eliza was 16 when her father arranged her marriage to Reginald Cartwick. On the night of her betrothal, Thomas, Viscount Evanston kisses her. Thomas is her brother’s best friend and a huge rake. While she will never admit it, she has always had tender feelings for him.

Five years later, Eliza is widowed with a young daughter. Her mourning is done and she needs to remarry as her husband’s heir is due to arrive from America and she has moved to her brother’s dower house. She decides to go to London for the season and Thomas will be there. Her brother warns Thomas to stay away from her. Eliza is attracted to Thomas, but he is completely unsuitable.

During their time in London, Eliza and Thomas seem to play a game of push and pull – he is jealous and flaunts his former mistress, which makes her jealous, she confronts him and accuses him of interfering with her suitors. Thomas has finally realized that he wants Eliza for his own, and he tries to court her and she shuts him down. But when her friend Caroline needs help, it is Thomas she turns to for assistance. But his aid comes at a price, he asks her not to accept any marriage offers until she returns to Kent.

She returns home and Thomas steps up his pursuit. Again she rebuffs him. Clara and Caroline decide that Thomas is worthy of Eliza and conspire to help them. But things do not go as planned and Thomas is again rejected, this time by William.

Heartbroken, Thomas returns to London and is dealt a blow by his scorned former mistress. Eliza finally decides that it is Thomas she loves and with her brother’s blessing set out to make things right, but when she gets to London, she realizes that she may have waited too long.

I was really looking forward to this book and am sorry to say, I was disappointed. The author failed to show me why Thomas was so “unsuitable” – yes, he was a rake, but he was not married or betrothed, he didn’t gamble away his fortune, didn’t force women to his bed, took care of his estates and was always ready to help William whenever asked – so I really didn’t see why William and Eliza kept harping that he was not respectable and completely unsuitable. That along with the game of push and pull, making each other jealous and her running hot and cold, just became tedious – another reviewer nailed it by saying there was a lot of drama for drama’s sake in this book – that is it exactly, it wasn’t horrible, just repetitive and contrived.

This is the second book in the series, but it can easily be read as a stand alone and while I didn’t really care for this story, I will probably read the next book in the series.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher.*

Lady in Waiting by Marie Tremayne

On By TracyIn Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Lady in Waiting (Reluctant Brides, #1)Lady in Waiting by Marie Tremayne
Tracy’s rating: 3/3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Reluctant Brides, #1

Release Date: March 13, 2018

Maybe 3.5

This book started out at a gallop, then slowed to a trot and finally ended with a sprint to the finish.

Clara Mayfield is desperate, after helping her sister elope and dragging her family into scandal, she has finishing the season with no prospects until the vile Baron Rutherford asks for her hand. Clara would rather be a spinster than marry the Baron, but her nouveau riche parents long to be accepted by the ton and will not listen to her protests, leaving her no choice but to run away.

With the help of her maid she finds a position in the home of the reclusive William Halstead, the Earl of Ashworth. William has sequestered himself away in the county since the death of his father, older brother and brother in law. He suffers from flashbacks and panic attacks since the accident that claimed his loved ones and has no desire to be part of society. But when he meets Clara, while saving her life, he feels alive for the first time in almost two years. He walks away from her and is shocked and disappointed when she is at his home applying for a position in his under staffed household. At first he refuses to hire her, but finally agrees to a probationary period, he asks her name and she tells him her name is Helen.

For me the story really slowed down at this point, there is not a lot of interaction with Clara/Helen and William, it is mostly Helen the housemaid trying to fit in with the “below stairs” employees and her relationship with his niece, Rosa. While the scenes with William are sparse and fleeting, there is an undeniable attraction between them, but they never spent enough time together for me to believe there was any real connection between them.

The story progresses slowly and there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but when the author begins to wrap up the story, it gains a second wind and takes off like a rocket. And when Clara’s past finally catches up with her, will William be able to forgive her deceit?

I thought this was a decent debut, the writing is a bit on the wordy side and the relationship between William and Clara could have used a bit more development, there were also some inconsistencies and one glaring title error (which is not that bad considering there were several titled characters in the book). But overall, the story was good and I think with time this author will be a strong voice in the HR genre.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an Uncorrected eARC provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher*