How to Woo a Reluctant Lady [Mass Market Paperback]

How to Woo a Reluctant Lady by Sabrina Jeffries
Historical Romance - Jan. 18th, 2011
5 stars

Sabrina Jeffries has outdone herself! How to Woo a Reluctant Lady is a charming, funny and highly entertaining Regency romance that is not to be missed. In this 3rd installment, the author continues her Hellions of Halstead Hall series with the romance between the gothic author Lady Minerva Sharpe and the gambling rogue barrister Giles Master.

The Hellions of Halstead Hall have tried the patience of their devious grandmother and she has threatened them disinheritance if all of them do not marry. So far 2 of them have been 'hitched.' But their grandmother despairs of her young granddaughter, the stubborn writer, Lady Minerva Sharpe. Minerva does not want any man to cut short her freedom and independence, for she knows he will stop her from her beloved writing. So she pulls an outrageous ploy to try to out-maneuver her manipulative grandmother but instead gets a surprise when the man who broke her young heart proposes to her! But Minerva is wiser and wants nothing to do the arrogant and reckless gambler Giles Masters. (The man she has based on her dark and dastardly villain in her gothic novels.)

It has always bothered Giles that Minerva has used him as the basis for her infamous villain in her stories. But she is the only woman that he has ever thought he could marry. When he discovers that Minerva is interviewing for prospective husbands to shock her grandmother, he runs over to be interviewed and is stunned when she laughs at his proposal. That is until Minerva realizes that her grandmother disapproves of Giles. And she realizes that pretending to be his fiancée is a perfect opportunity to force her grandmother to recant her ruling for Minerva to marry!

But Giles is as attractive as ever, and he knows it is about time he should marry. This 'pretend engagement' is not pretend to him. He intends to use his time with Minerva to convince her to take a chance on him because thinking of Minerva with someone else disturbs him more than he wants to admit. The trouble? Giles is a spy for the government. His role as a rogue has acted as a cover and helped him retrieve delicate information. However, he can't tell her about his double life. But a dangerous man with a mission is bound to be trouble for Minerva's poor heart!

This is an amazingly entertaining read. I loved the interplay between Minerva and Giles. Both are very intelligent, and it was fun reading them try to out do each other. Minerva doesn't let Giles get away with anything. I thought it is hilarious that she uses him in her stories and how miffed he is even though everyone else thought the villain is based on Minerva's brother, Oliver. Giles wants Minerva to see another side of him as he takes her to see him in court and slowly reveals more of the tragic past that shaped the man he became when his father died. (There are also segments about Minerva as an author that I thought were insightful.) As Minerva realizes how good Giles is at his work, she asks him to investigate the mysterious deaths of her parents that caused a huge scandal. There are definitely some intriguing surprises that I can't wait for the next book to reveal.

This book is my favorite in the Hellions of Halstead Hall series. I was sad that it had to end. The adventures and mishaps between Giles and Minerva are perfectly funny, charming, and definitely worth the wait.

Delightfully charming and filled with intrigue and mystery, this is a guaranteed winner. Do not miss this book. I simply loved it.

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

I've been waiting for this book to come out ever since I finished reading the last one, "A Hellion in Her Bed." And I was not disappointed. This book kept me hooked from the beginning to the end. I've been in love with the "Hellions of Halstead Hall" series from the very first book and thoroughly enjoyed reading this third novel.

Minerva has always been an independent woman, writing her popular Gothic novels much to the horror of her grandmother. But in this book you learn more about why she became an author in the first place and how she incorporated parts of her life into her novels. Readers get to see who the character Lord Rockton is based on and why Minerva turned him into such a villain.

Giles, the man behind Lord Rockton, has been leading a secret life from the beginning. The roguish life he's led was not for him anymore, it was just a cover for his other activities. And so to keep Minerva from revealing one of his secrets, he does the only thing he can think of and answers her ad for potential suitors.

I felt that Minerva behaved exactly what one would expect of a Sharpe sibling. With the first two books about her brothers, this one definitely gave readers an insight into Minerva's character, especially the pain and heart break she went through and the reason why she had put off marriage for so long.

In this particular book, what I found most intriguing, and what the first two books had started looking into, was the mystery surrounding her parents' death. "How to Woo a reluctant Lady" went deeper into that mystery as Minerva and Giles look into that night that changed the Sharpe family's lives for all time.

And of course, I loved seeing the tidbits of Minerva's latest novel. And it's always interesting to see how Hetty thinks, how she is able to thwart her grandchildren's plans to thwart her.

Overall, I thought this was an amazing book. It was something I simply couldn't put down. I had to continue reading to find out what happens next. And I loved seeing how both Minerva and Giles changed as the story progresses and they begin to trust each other more. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Sabrina Jeffries. You won't be disappointed.

I so adore a feisty and smart heroine pitted against a secret agent rogue for a hero and Ms. Jeffries has delivered another sure winner for historical romance readers to enjoy.

This little epic of a story starts off when they were younger and it sets up what is to come with heartfelt detail. The stars are Minerva and Giles. She is a young woman who wears her heart on her sleeve and Giles is a young man who makes a choice that has repercussions beyond his imagination. One night their paths cross in such a way that a reader knows that fate and Ms. Jeffries has a master plan to take this couple, have life mature them and then throw them at each other again to see what happens.
What fun!

I liked Minerva. Being a romance reader, I have visited many author loops and one of the things that have been said for a writer to do when a nasty and mean person crosses their path is to write them in as a villain and have them get their just desserts. I was completely entertained and was tickled pink that Minerva did exactly that but not because someone was getting away with something dastardly. Oh no, it's much more delicious than that. Minerva wrote a series of books or chapters that have a decided similarity to a certain person and event; it was noticed and became the catalyst for all the fun that followed.

One of my favorite things about Minerva was her dedication to her family, despite her annoyance with her grandmother. I liked her clever wit, her willingness to try risqué and naughty things and her steel spine. She's not afraid to speak her mind and stand up for those she is loyal to and I enjoyed the merry chase she led Giles on. He won't ever be bored with her.

Giles is quite the complicated and endearing character. He plays a deep game and unbeknownst to him, he's mired in quicksand and sinking fast. As to what kind, well that doesn't get revealed until later, when he's finally ready to listen to sense and reason. First he has to win a very reluctant and scheming Minerva and outwit her clever plot without letting her get wind of it. He doesn't get away with it for long and the scene was an amusing free for all especially when her brothers and their wives join the fray. Poor Giles. I have to say, the interaction between Giles and Minerva's brothers was very well written and I could visual the conversation vividly. In fact, there were quite a few scenes sprinkled throughout the book that were of the same caliber. At times it seemed the characters should have been able to jump out and start acting on the silver screen, there was so much going on and it was so rich and full.

Suffice to say, Giles is a man who actually has a rift in his heart that he's never really stopped long enough or felt brave enough to examine. It took Minerva's faith and trust in him to give him the means and the reason to want to do it. As hard as it had to have been for him to do, the emotional rewards made for some excellent storytelling.

There is a clever red herring thrown into the tale that although it didn't turn out to be quite what everyone thought, there is enough to whet a reader's appetite to wonder what is really going on. I suspect there is a subplot going on that might have been introduced in the books where Minerva's brothers met their wives. The mystery deepens in this book and even though I've not read any other books about the Sharpe family, this book, a great stand alone, has hooked me. I'll be getting the back list and will be on the lookout for future books about this family. I too want to know what happened and Ms. Jeffries has made this book entertaining enough, intriguing enough to inspire my curiosity and interest.

How to Woo a Reluctant Lady gets high marks from me and a definite recommend for historical romance fans everywhere. I laughed, I sighed and was completely committed to seeing Giles and Minerva get their well earned happily ever after. There is intrigue, light suspense, a wealth of well written characters to showcase the strengths and foibles of the hero and heroine and some very spicy scenes between the two. This book is going on my keeper shelf.

Originally posted at The Long and Short of It Romance Reviews

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