Her Secret Lover [Mass Market Paperback]

Set in Victorian England, Her Secret Lover relies heavily on miscommunication as the main conflict between the protagonists. This goes on way too long in the novel and makes this tale rather mediocre romance.

Antoinette Dupree is forced into a betrothal with bad guy Lord Appleby, a man she loathes. She has in her possession a letter which will free her from her betrothal and she is on her way to Lord Appleby's country estate, Wexmoor Manor, when she is held up by a highway man.

Gabriel masquerades as a highway man so he can search for Antoinette's letter. He believes the letter will allow him to gain back his family estate, Wexmoor, which Appleby has taken from him. Gabriel is enchanted by Antoinette and they kiss and immediately have the hots for each other at their first meeting. However, Antoinette is not giving up her letter and Gabriel is unable to discover its whereabouts.

Later Gabriel sneaks into the manor with every intention of seducing Antoinette and finding the letter. Antoinette is amenable to this but in many ways she is very unsure of herself. She truly likes what Gabriel does to her but also is afraid of her own reactions, so afraid she reports her experience with the highway man to the local magistrate then suddenly thinks about the consequences of her actions, Gabriel could hang if caught. Antoinette prides herself as a logical, planned person but rarely does she exhibit these behaviors with Gabriel.

The leads always seem to be talking past each other. Gabriel believes Antoinette is Appleby's willing mistress, (she does not disabuse him of this for a good while) and she thinks Gabriel is in cahoots with Appleby. They sometimes state their feelings and even facts but somehow they never seem to grasp what the other person is saying.

The romantic scenes here are sizzling. Ms Bennett allows her characters to fully experience the wonder of intimacy but the dialogue between the leads left much to be desired and the many misunderstandings slowed down the story.

In 1851 her odious guardian Lord Rudyard Appleby exiled Antoinette Dupree to his Devon estate Wexmoor Manor where he has plans for her and her wealth. As she rides the coach towards his house she hides in her bosom the letter that will free her and her younger sister Cecilia from their loathsome legal jailer. However, a highwayman stops the coach demanding she give him the letter; she refuses even though he knows her name. He searches her touching her breasts and her unmentionables. They are both stunned and aroused as he tells the little sparrow she is wasted on a rogue like Appleby.

Gabriel Langley is frustrated over his failure to find the letter that will allow him to regain his family home and his desire for the sparrow. He obtains work at Wexmoor Manor with plans to become HER SECRET LOVER until he seduces her into giving him the letter. Love was not part of his plan, but soon his goal changes from regaining his estate to protecting his beloved sparrow from her contemptible guardian.

This is an entertaining Victorian romance starring two likable individuals who share many traits including stubbornness, determination and courage. The story line is fast-paced as a masked Gabriel slips into Antoinette's bed , but his wants quickly change. Although Rudyard is reprehensible beyond any redemption, readers will appreciate this fun mid nineteenth century historical.

Harriet Klausner

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Almost all events and conflicts throughout the book are based on misunderstandings due to vague communication - my pet peeve! I believe there are readers out there who are not bothered by this. Maybe they will like it. I did not. The plot, characters and conversations were not interesting for me. In Spoilers below, I give examples of conversations that bothered me, and I give away some of the plot. My purpose is for readers to judge for themselves.

STORY BRIEF:
Lord Appleby needs money. He arranges to be seen hugging Antoinette (a wealthy heiress) so she will be "ruined" and forced to marry him. Then he sends her to Wexmoor Manor, a country estate, waiting for the scandal to die down before he marries her. Antoinette fears Appleby because he threatens to marry her younger sister Cecilia if Antoinette won't marry him. She believes he will convince Cecilia to marry him because Cecilia is too trusting. Antoinette's former governess writes a letter to Antoinette stating where to find a person who can give evidence against Appleby. Before she can go to this person, Antoinette is sent to Wexmoor Manor against her wishes.

Gabriel is the heir to Wexmoor Manor. His mother wrote a letter with something about her prior affair with Appleby before she married Adam and had Gabriel. Appleby threatens to embarrass her by making the letter public unless Adam signs over Wexmoor Manor to him. Gabriel wants the letter so he can get back ownership of his home, Wexmoor Manor. Gabriel hears that Antoinette has a letter, and he mistakenly thinks it is the letter written by his mother. Gabriel pretends to be a highwayman to rob the coach she is in, but he can't find the letter which she has hidden within her clothing.

CAUTION SPOILERS:
The words "she" and "he" below refer to Antoinette and Gabriel. The conflict between them through most of the book is the following. She has a letter to help get evidence to show Appleby as a bad guy. She thinks Gabriel is employed by Appleby to get the letter from her. Gabriel thinks she has the letter from his mother which Appleby used as blackmail. Gabriel thinks Antoinette is Appleby's mistress and is there to protect the property and will tell Appleby where Gabriel is, so that Appleby can have Gabriel arrested for punching him in the nose (or some other offense that I can't remember).

Page 136: She asks him who he is, why does he want the letter and where will he take it. He shakes his head and does not answer her.

Page 162: He asks her why she is loyal to Appleby. Instead of answering she says "You sound as if you hate him." He decides to explain and starts to say "The letter." She interrupts yelling "I'm tired of the letter. You're both as bad as each other." (She didn't let him explain.) She then answers his question about her relationship with Appleby saying "It's because of the money." Gabriel mistakenly believes she is earning money from Appleby as his mistress instead of the truth which is she is wealthy and Appleby wants her money.

Page 195: Gabriel has a dream about his half sister Marietta. He says "Marietta" in his sleep. For the next 127 pages, Antoinette has angry reactions toward Gabriel because she mistakenly believes Marietta is his lover.

Up until page 246, Antoinette and Gabriel each think the other is working for and loyal to Appleby, so they keep secrets from each other. When they learn that Appleby is coming to Wexmoor Manor to get Antoinette, they flee together to avoid Appleby. I thought now they will learn the truth about each other since it's obvious they both don't want to be around Appleby. Instead, Antoinette tells Gabriel a new lie, that she has another lover in London to whom she is fleeing. When she is confused as to why Gabriel is fleeing from Appleby, instead of trying to figure it out or ask him, she decides she is too tired to think about it and falls asleep.

Page 267: Gabriel asks her why she needs the letter. She says "I need it. Without it I'll never get away from Appleby." Instead of further discussing it, Gabriel mistakenly assumes and says "so you intend to blackmail Appleby." She says nothing. It's not true, but she lets him believe it.

Page 268: She asks him why he wants the letter. He says he wants it so Appleby will give Wexmoor Manor to him. Instead of saying that Appleby had stolen Wexmoor Manor using blackmail, he made it sound like Appleby was paying Gabriel with the property in return for helping to get Antoinette back to Appleby.

For readers who like this sort of thing, I did not give it all away. There is "a lot more" of this vague communication that I have not described. I'm tired of writing about it.

DATA:
Story Length: 372 pages. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 7. Total number of sex scene pages: 32. Setting: 1851 Devon and London, England. Copyright: 2008. Genre: historical romance.

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