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5.0étoiles sur 5
One of the best romance books read, Sep 10 2009
I absolutely loved the book . Lucien de Vaux is a handsome, charming regency buck and Beth Armitage is an intelligent independent school teacher ( commoner)who dislikes the aristocracy. The two are forced into an arranged marriage and the intellectual sparring between the two is perhaps the most interesting part of their romance. Lucien discovers to his great surprise that he is attracted to her mind and sparkling wit and Beth finds herself falling in love with the handsome aristocrat much against her strong beliefs that the aristocracy are frivolous. Reading about how these two unlikely people with all their misgivings from such different backgrounds get to understand each other and fall in love is the charm of the book. I love that the author has created an intelluctual attraction between the two , a refreshing change when most romances are built around physical attraction and beauty. It is nice to see that a man can fall just as hard for a woman's brain.One review I read said that there was no passion between the two , but I felt plenty of it all through the book.I like that they become friends before becoming intimate even after they are married. Hats off to Lucien for his good sense and self control, in befriending her first before the passionate sex.In most of the regency romances, the man just feels it his right to bed his wife whether she is ready or not.This hugely elevated my opinion of Lucien.The scene where he backhanded her was not one of my favorite , but he was really sorry about it and truth be told ,her lie to him at the start of the story was partly responsible for it and Heck, if she could forgive him , why cant we ???.They both change into better persons as they discover their love for each other . I followed the couple through the other Rouge romances and find their antics - Lucien's harmless flirting and Beth interfering in the rest of the Rogue's romances charming. They are just such an interesting couple and add spice to the other novels .I love Beth's strong character and the way she helps the other Rogue wives in the other Rogue stories. Her befriending Blanche ( Lucien's beautiful Ex mistress)shows her self confidence for which Lucien is probably largely responsible. What grabbed me about the book is the wit, verbal sparring and tension between the two. I did however not like the fact that Lucien had a hot love scene with Blanche after he was engaged to Beth.(I know he was not in love with Beth at that time , but still....)But since he acknowledged to Blanche that Beth is the only woman he has ever loved , It makes it a little better. On the whole it is a great book, the secondary romance between the Duke and his wife is lovely too.Their involvement with the couple is touching. I like the duchess immensely and the affection she offers Beth right from the beginning is sweet. I wish there was a scene when the duke realizes that the marriage of convenience that he engineered has turned into alove match. My favourite of the Rogue Romances. I highly recommend reading all of them in order.The bond they share is superb. I wish JB would write a 2nd epilogue book reuniting all the rouges , so we can read what happened to them later in life.
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2.0étoiles sur 5
Dull and Frustrating, Mai 20 2004
First of all, I purchased this book because the back summary made the book seem passionate and original. I wanted to see what Beth would do with the marriage she is forced into. I thought she would use her wit and intelligence to ensnare her new husband. I thought there would at least be some sexual tension. However this is not the case at all. Beth in fact goes out of her way to make herself unattractive to her future husband, like snipping off her bow from her modcap before she first meets him. This is supposed to make us cheer her on, but I felt more frustrated. The hero, Lucien, is so shallow that without even knowing the character of the heroine, tells her he finds her "unattractive". This is what she wants, but she still feels hurt by his comment (FRUSTRATING!!!). This pretty much happens throughout the whole book. She goes out of her way to seem unaffected by him and he goes out of his way to hurt her. I really don't like the way JB forced the reader to read the interaction between Beth (who we're not even sure Lucien loves) and his mistress Blanche (who JB lets us know he does love). There is absolutely no chemistry whatsoever between Lucien and Beth. Lucien admits even after they are married that he felt no pressing need to make love to his wife. What galls me the most is that there is more passion between Lucien and Blanche than between Lucien and the woman he "loves" Beth. Then there's the back-handed slap. There were many times that JB could have made Lucien feel jealousy towards Beth, but didn't.Instead we are left with the impression that he slaps her because of wounded pride. Strangely this is the first show of any sort of intense feeling toward Beth and it falls flat.There was no justification for it. Considering he had a torrid affair with Blanche, even after he agreed to marry Beth, the jerk had no right to hit her merely because he saw an old tricorn hat. When the love scene DOES occur it is over before it begins, literally. Try two measly sentences. Worst of all, we're STILL not sure Lucien truly loves his wife. After this "love" scene, Lucien and Beth Join Blanche (I know, dumb) and Nicholas Delaney in one of the cheesiest stings ever to catch the villains. Beth and Blanche dress up like hookers while the men dress up like ruffians (?????). Blanche, once again is glorified, for being beautiful, graceful, etc., etc, and they all work together to bring the villains down. Needless to say there was no passion in this book, and in my opinion no love. Just a bunch of frustrating interactions between the hero and the heroine, and the knowledge that Lucien's mistress is the best. I would definitely recommend that people not waste their hard earned coin on this book between a "heroine", a "hero", and his greatest love, his mistress "Blanche"(Dare I mention I absolutely abhor this name!!!!)
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1.0étoiles sur 5
Hitting a woman is NEVER okay!, Mai 13 2004
Par Un client
What appalled me more than Lucien's backhand was Beth's reaction to it. Instead of hitting him back (my preferred reaction) or taking him to task, she forgives him and shoulders most of the blame. The whole interaction disgusted me. I don't mind that the man had a temper. In fact, I think an angry man can be a sexy man. But he should have hit the wall or thrown a priceless vase. He shouldn't have hit a defenseless, innocent woman.Lucien is NOT a hero, a man, or anyone I could admire or root for. He is a spineless coward who uses his fists against people who are no match for him physically. And then to say he did it because he loves her so much - UGH! He's a wife beater and I wish instead of forgiving him, Beth would have kneed him in the balls. I'm not sure I can ever read another Jo Beverly. This was my first and it really turned me off.
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