  I was so bored that I couldn't finish it, 2006-01-26
From the back cover:
Seduced and conquered...
Lady Cassandra Howard was nearly ruined. Her rakehell brother forced her to frequent the London demimonde, then tried to sell her into marriage with a dissolue lord.
Though the world believed her wanton, Cassandra was really just an enticing innocent, untutored in the art of love, naive about the temptations of a midnight embrace. So her desperate plan was foolhardy: to escape her dreadful fiance by trying to seduce England's most virtuous lord--"Saint" Wyatt Mannerine--believing he would surely then wed her.
Truly, the lovely Cassandra did unleash the very devil in handsome Sir Wyatt...for his honeyed kisses not only taught her the wondrous consequences of desire, it swept them both into love's magical spell...
And my review:
When I bought this, I didn't expect it to be a book I would love. This was because I'd already read another of this author's works and wasn't all that impressed. Still, I was entertained by her other story ("Friends Are Forever", a Christmas novella in the Signet "An American Country Christmas" collection), so I thought that this would be a good way to kill a couple of hours.
But this book was so boring! First of all, the author likes to write long-winded sentences that you have to read several times to make sense of. I find this annoying. While I'm not looking for a romance novel for dummies, reading a book shouldn't feel like work.
Secondly, the author liked to head-hop a lot. This is another pet peeve of mine. I don't need to know the thoughts of every single person in the room. This is distracting and annoying. Write each scene through one person's eyes. When you want to switch to another person's point-of-view, create a section break so that the reader doesn't feel jolted out of the story.
Thirdly, there was a distinct lack of character development about the hero. He wasn't a well-rounded person; he was just...there. I didn't love him and I didn't hate him. I didn't really have any feelings about him because he was just taking up space.
Fourthly, nothing really seemed to happen. I don't need the books I read to be crammed full of non-stop action, but something significant should have happened by the end of the third chapter. That was not the case in this book. It was like I was watching an "a day in the life of" documentary. I don't want books to be all plot, but some is necessary. I skimmed ahead, but couldn't find anything all that compelling about this book to peak my interest.
Glad I only paid 50 cents for this book, but even so, I won't be keeping it!
Charming Regency, 2004-06-03
Setting - England, 1816 --- Lady Cassandra Howard, was the daughter of a Marquess, though her upbringing was not what one would expect for one of that noble a birth. In fact she had never had a proper come out due to the fact that her mother was a semi invalid and her father and brother had been bringing her into the worst gaming hell's since the age of twelve. After her father's death, life with her older brother was becoming increasingly disgusting to her especially when he was about to sell her into a marriage with a dissolute yet wealthy lord. Running away from Rupert, the man her brother was going to give her to, Cassandra ran straight into the arms of Wyatt Mannering, Earl of Merrick, once a neighbor and whose apples she once stole. She pleaded with him to help her escape the ball before the odious Rupert could corner her. Cassandra had indeed grown up in the intervening years and Wyatt, known throughout the ton as `Saint' Wyatt, was not totally immune to the young lady's obvious charms. Cassandra sensed this attraction, and knowing what a witch his intended was whispered into his ear that he could do much better. Cassandra truly was an innocent in the ways of love, yet she also knew that the only way out of her proposed betrothal dilemma was to somehow trick Wyatt into offering for her. Innocently, she would arrange to have them be caught in a compromising situation, but what wasn't factored into her plan, were the honeyed kisses that would rock her world and make Wyatt feel as though he'd been touched by magic. Cassandra was an interesting heroine. Although both her father and brother had thrust her into an unorthodox life style, dragging her along on their gaming ventures, in the area of love and sex, she truly was a clueless innocent. Wyatt, on the other hand, had the experience but had never come up against a free-spirit like Cassandra. Discovering what her childhood had been like, he was at once ready to champion her, but found that his dictates were one sure way of her doing the exact opposite. This was a charming little read although it did tend to bog down a bit in the middle. Cassandra's innocence was so sweetly depicted though that I would recommend to bring it along for a relaxing day at the beach or out in the backyard. ---Marilyn Rondeau, Official Reviewer for www.historicromancewriters.com ---
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