The Truth About Lord Stoneville [Mass Market Paperback]

The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall) by Sabrina Jeffries
Regency Romance - Jan. 19, 2010
4  stars

The Truth About Lord Stoneville is a winning tale that is sure to please Regency fans. Sabrina Jeffries's sure touch carries this story as I quickly found myself attracted to the characters in her newest series.

In this series, the members of the Sharpe clan are all summoned by their canny and rich grandmother to their old home Halstead Hall. The Sharpe brothers and sister are known for their reckless and independent ways. But when one has an unfortunate accident the grandmother finally commands them all to marry within the year or all of them will loose their inheritance. Outraged they try to reason with her but without avail.

But Oliver Sharpe, the Marquess of Stoneville has a cunning plan of his own. He means to find the most wretched and unappealing fiancée. One that his grandmother will never approve of and therefore call off the ridiculous plan to force him to marry.

Maria Butterfield is a dreadful American who is stubborn, independent and dreadfully `inexperienced.' But Oliver soon finds Maria is more attractive than he knows what to do with and her American charm has a way of getting under his skin. A woman that is the complete opposite of what he usually prefers may just be what he needed all these years. But can he convince her of his true affections after blackmailing her to pretend to be his fiancée?

This was a fun romance. I was charmed with Oliver's brothers and sisters as they tried to match make Maria and Oliver. Even they knew before Maria and Oliver that they were destined for each other! As they tried to get the 2 together (They also think if only Oliver marries then they won't have to!), the story gets more entertaining and outrageous. I can't wait to read how each of them gets caught in the marriage trap!

Sabrina Jeffries is one of my favorite writers. The only reason I did not grade this story higher is because I actually found myself becoming more interested in Oliver's siblings as the story progressed! This is a solid story with very engaging characters. I am eager to find out more about the rest of the Sharpe clan and their devious grandmother.

This series is one sure to delight Regency fans and keep them coming for more!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

I'm sorry to have to say it and apparently most readers don't agree with me, but I was very disappointed by this book. I rushed out to get it before work this morning and was anticipating getting home this evening, snuggling up, and enjoying a great new read. I *never* start a book without finishing - I'm just unable to do it - but here I skimmed through about the second half of the book and will be posting it on Paperback Swap after I finish writing this review.

I'm not even going to split my comments into "Pros" and "Cons," because frankly I don't know what I would put under the first section. I loved Lord Stoneville in "The School for Heiresses" series and was one of the many who thought - and hoped - that he was the mysterious benefactor "Cousin Michael" that would be revealed in Wed Him Before You Bed Him, the final book of that series. I was very happy with who it ended up being and how that book turned out, and all the more excited by the idea that Stoneville's story still lay ahead!

What didn't I like exactly?

1) THE CHARACTERS --- They were not at all three-dimensional and if you're a longtime historical romance reader, many of them feel very, very familiar. You have Freddy, the clumsy can't-hold-his-tongue completely clueless side character; Maria, the innocent, pure, spitfire of a heroine who somehow instantly sees through the hero's devil-may-care facade to the lost-boy who feels guilty and only wants love; and the tortured hero who has been sleeping his way through society until he meets the woman who immediately changes his views on everything and makes him realize the burden he carries is not his fault.

2) STONEVILLE'S WICKED WAYS --- For those of us who read "The School for Heiresses" series, we're very familiar with (and dare I say fond of) Stoneville's bad-boy ways. Here, we hardly see any of that - we're *told* repeatedly what a rake and charmer he is, and everyone harps on this fact, but after meeting Maria (in the first few pages) he so quickly begins to experience the I-feel-about-a-woman-the-way-I-never-have-before phenomena that the remarkable change he is supposedly undergoing is not very remarkable at all. If you've never been introduced to his character before, you'll be left floundering, and if you have ... well WED HIM BEFORE YOU BED HIM came out 6 months ago and maybe it's just me, but I've read so many other romances since then that his wicked ways are not all that fresh in my mind.

3) THE ROMANCE --- I did not find this romance at all believable because everything happens *SO* quickly! It's almost impossible (IMHO) to have a book span 1-2 weeks of time and contain a credible romance, however when it does work it's only because the characters have known each other for a lengthy time before the book starts, so although the reader is meeting them for the first time they already have a history together, whatever that history may be.

Also, echoing what I wrote in another review for an equally disappointing book (Suzanne Enoch's THE CARE AND TAMING OF A ROGUE): We're never really shown why he is THE ONE for her and she is THE ONE for him. I didn't understand why Maria is the first one to be able to see past Stoneville's defenses; we're told on two different occasions that he's surprised when she remarks on things that even his closest friends haven't noticed - I'm sorry, is she psychic or is everyone else just absolutely clueless? I think even Dr. Phil could have picked up on some of those clues and made those insights into Oliver's personality. Likewise, I'm not sure why Oliver is all of a sudden drawn to this one young woman when for the past two decades he's viewed the female sex as valuable for pretty much only one thing - and even that is done without any attachment, as he only has bed partners and no short- or long-term mistresses. What's so special about *her* in particular?

4) THE ROMANTIC ACTION --- Another romance-related problem I had was one I've had with a few other of Jeffries' books, the main one that comes to mind being NEVER SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL. After literally only 24 hours of knowing one another, Maria and Oliver are getting hot and heavy in his carriage on the ride between the investigator's office and the dress shop - they practically do everything but have sex. Going that fast is not usually something I like when reading contemporary romances, so in historicals forget it! We're supposed to be watching them fall in love, but all I really saw was a strong case for lust, which is great but definitely not why I buy romance books.

"THE HELLIONS OF HALSTEAD HALL" SERIES:
I enjoyed the family's interactions and am hoping that the other siblings' books will be better. I'm particularly looking forward to Minerva and Celia's stories, as I think they'll be strong and unusual heroines and I'm hoping that one of them will have Jackson Pinter (the investigator) as their hero. I really liked him in WED HIM BEFORE YOU BED HIM and was happy to see him again here. He seems like he would be a very interesting and definitely not run-of-the-mill hero.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Though it pains me to say this because I'm a Sabrina Jeffries fan, skip this book and read one (or more) of the following instead:
~ By Sabrina Jeffries: WED HIM BEFORE YOU BED HIM, THE PIRATE LORD, A NOTORIOUS LOVE, ONE NIGHT WITH A PRINCE or IN THE PRINCE'S BED
~ Fake engagements: Mary Balogh's A Summer to Remember or Slightly Sinful; Amanda Quick's The Paid Companion
~ Where the bad-boy-turned-good is done right: Suzanne Enoch's London's Perfect Scoundrel, Always a Scoundrel, THE RAKE, or TAMING RAFE; Gaelen Foley's Lord of Fire; Mary Jo Putney's The Rake or Thunder and Roses; Lisa Kleypas' Worth Any Price

I'm not your typical historical romance reader. I don't read many at all, and when I do, they tend not to be English historicals. I've also never read a book by this author before. I purchased this one based on an excellent review by someone I trust, and promptly fell in love with it.

Since others have summarized the story, I won't. What sold me on this first and foremost were the characters. I can't think of anyone in the story I didn't like. Maria is strong and no-nonsense, while Oliver is charming with just the right amount of personal turmoil. The humor both approach life with made me laugh out loud more than once (as did Freddy, who I absolutely adored). Minerva and Celia have stronger characterizations than Jarret and Gabe, but I think that was likely deliberate to keep the focus on Oliver. However, all siblings were entertaining, and I particularly loved how they ganged up to push Oliver and Maria together.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. I'm not sure what the expectations were for Jeffries' fans or readers who saw Oliver in other books, but for this person coming in cold, this was a fantastic read.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 60 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars