Customer Reviews

Annabelle's Courtship

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Annabelle's Courtship by Lucy Monroe is a delightfully funny and sensual story.

Laird Ian Mackay is in need of a wife. In order to inherit much needed funds for his estate, he must marry an Englishwoman. Ian has a few requirements, she must be plain, modestly dowered, older and practical. Ian sets off to London to find a wife.

Lady Annabelle is enthralled with the Scottish Laird from their first meeting. But after hearing his list of requirements her reaction to Ian dims. Still there is something about Ian that draws her everytime she sees him. Annabelle has her heart set on marrying for love, but Ian's ardent pursuit has her holding out for his heart.

Ian sets out to woo the woman he wants. He was burned before so he holds his heart in safe keeping. Annabelle is like no other he has ever know and she is chipping away at the wall around his heart. When Annabelle's life is in danger Ian will protect her at all costs.

Annabelle's Courtship is an absolute treat. Annabelle and Ian's courtship is filled with humor, romance and all out sensuality. They will make you laugh and sigh with pleasure. Lucy Monroe writes such delightful stories. Each one is a keeper for me.

I have truly loved some of Lucy Monroe's past work. Pregnancy of Passion is probably my favorite. But something has happened to her writing in the past couple of years. Either she is taking some really bad advice from someone or she is a bit burnt out. This story was a sweet little story with no real conflict, angst, or drama. I had to force myself to finish it. I will keep my eyes open in the future for the return of Lucy Monroe!

I just finished reading this book, supposedly written by Lucy Monroe. Honestly, it really doesn't seem like she wrote it. But I checked, and it's the same author who writes for Harlequin. I'm not sure if it was the subject or the time period that made the difference this time, but this book was really poorly written...kind of like a high school senior or college freshman wrote it. (Apologies to all the excellent high school- and college-age writers out there. The tendency to apply age to the quality of writing is leftover from my English teacher days). The actual storyline wasn't bad, but it dragged. She could have chopped out about 100 pages of it and turned it into a regular-length Signet (or whatever other publisher you want) Regency. There were also a TON of typographical errors. I don't know if those are Ms. Monroe's fault or her publisher's fault. Either way, it's a poor reflection on her...that she has a careless publisher and/or she doesn't have the intelligence to notice her mistakes. Example: The heroine describes her own behavior as "wonton". Really? The heroine was behaving like Chinese take-out? There were so many errors like this, but that's not the only problem...the writing itself (the mechanics, flow, and word choice) didn't seem well done either. For example, during a love scene, Ms. Monroe describes the heroine exploring the "plains" of her husband's back. Wow, he must be a really large guy if you need to use the word "plains" (huge, flat areas of land!) rather than "planes" (angled shapes); "planes" being the word used every other time in this situation. It just didn't seem like it was written by the same Lucy Monroe who has written several books I've really enjoyed, like "Hired: The Sheikh's Secretary Mistress." Maybe the historical thing just doesn't work for Ms. Monroe. I don't know what the problem was with this book, but whatever it was, I hope she figures it out and fixes it, because if she continues to write this way, I certainly will no longer purchase her books. Ugh.

And I agree with the reviewer that said that the Scottish spelling/pronunciation of Ian's words made him seem kind of dumb, despite the fact that I think Scottish accents are really hot. I've read a ton of Regencies that feature Scottish heroes, and there's a way to make it clear that there's an accent/dialect without reverting to spelling everything out like Monroe does in this book. For one thing, it's inconsistent. His family doesn't talk that way.

As another writer stated, being Lucy Monroe, more was expected. It fell flat in my opinion. It did not convey passion and intrigue. It was so bland that it was all I could do to finish it, and then discard. Getting a book commits me to becoming obligated to read. Often times this is a pleasure to look forward to after kids and home is quiet for the evening. But when it drags and has no umpft to it, it really becomes a chore. This was a chore, and a let down. Get from library if necessary to read, but don't bother buying.

I reserved this book at the library in late September and finally got it yesterday, so my expectations were high by the time I got it.

Unfortunately, I can't say that I enjoyed the book and for only one reason.

The way Ms. Monroe wrote Ian's dialogue made him sound like an idiot. I know she was going for realism with all of his "dinna" and "no" instead of "not" etc, but really it just made him sound ignorant.
For a character that attended an English boarding school, he showed a remarkable lack of understanding for the rules of the "ton" and ability to speak the English language. Even the bad guy's helper spoke better English and he was suppose to be a low-life.
It really did interfere with the enjoyement of the story. Plus, the character's explosive temper really just grew tiring.
There really did just seem as if there was no rhyme or reason to this character which is a shame because the rest of the characters were believable.
I just think Ms. Monroe dropped the ball with this character and that was a shame because it is a good story if you can overlook the flaws in the main male character.

Dena

This being another of Lucy Monroe's books, I bought it as soon as it came out. Being it is dated in the 1800's, and although I have read many books dated in this time period, I didn't see this as one of Lucy Monroe's better books.

Wonderful story, loved how Ian never gave up! Ian is the perfect guy for Annabelle. Ian and Annabelle forever. Just loved the whole story. Cute ending too.

I love Lucy Monroe's books. I read this one twice and discovered something different each time. Annabelle certainly knew her mind for someone in the 19th century but the heart will always win out.

This book was a delightful change. For once the heroine wasn't a great beauty, but she had standards that she stuck to and smarts. Thought the hero was idiot in the way he proposed (reminded me of the awful first proposal Mr. Darcy gives Jane in "Pride and Prejudice") and their getting together was fun to watch.

In order to help his people Ian Mckay, the Laird of Graenfrae must marry an englishwoman. Going to London Ian meets Lady Annabelle and Ian thinks that she would the perfect wife cause she is plain, moderately dowered, older adn practical.But Lady Annabelle is not what she seems and she may not all of Ian's needs. But Ian wants her and he willing fight the forces that want to make sure that Ian does not have her.
"Annabelle's Courtship" is the first book by Lucy Monroe and I really liked it. I thought that Annebelle was a great character. She was strong and willing to stand up for what she believe in. I also thought that while in the beginning Ian was kind of a jerk and the end he truly care about Annbelle and was willing to fight in the end for her. Overall "Annabelle's Courtship" is a good book and should not be missed by any fan of regency romance.