Customer Reviews

Beguiled (Wheeler Romance)

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

 

 

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I found it while waiting at the drug store for a perscription. I immediatly found myself wanting to read more about Ally and the tumoltous world she is in. I found that the writing style is pleasurable to read not overly wordy but to the point. I also enjoyed the mystery/plot though it could have been a bit stronger. Fan's of Drake's won't be disappointed by thise light read. I enjoyed the twists and turns as well, though not as unpredictable as those in the North Kingdom.

I'm still reading this book but I agree wholeheartedly with the other reviewers in that how could they have this connection when they hardly saw eachother! He's always running off and she's always with the other writer Thane, whose also sort of attracted to her. She'd been better off with him. I hate when reviewers tell the book again in their reviews but this book is just goofy. Not one of her best. Not even almost. Too much mystery and not enough romance.

How could anyone give this book more than a couple of stars? There is barely any contact between the heroine and the hero, who are interesting in their own right, but never together. Their dialogue is abrupt, stilted, and constantly interrupted, which is the general mode of this annoying plot. Though the time and circumstances of this novel are refreshingly unusual (the late Victorian days) and the borrowed sleeping beauty with the 3 fairy godmothers in the forest cottage plot is sort of fun, this whimsical allusion just doesn't mesh well with the Sherlock Holmesque murder plot. The whole plot doesn't gel, the romance never develops, and there are too many marginal characters to keep track of for this reader to bother with. Disappointing read. Try Heather Graham's other books.

What was shannon drake thinking when she wrote this novel? there were so many errors, using a character's name in the wrong place, the wrong form of address for an earl...

However in all it was a really nice novel.. Loved Mark's character and Ally was quite a woman for him..

Nevertheless exected something a lot better from Drake... more along the lines of the Graham family series hopefully..

i was looking forward to this book, but i regret the time i spent reading it. i didn't like either of the main characters, and i found the story line old.

to be honest i have read much better books by this author and much much better books by other authors.

my personal opinion is not to waste you time or money on the book.

The English monarchy is in jeopardy from a growing opposition to a kingdom. Even more horrific is that someone is targeting supporters of the crown, killing anyone who even tenuously seems to support the royals. One person this serial killer would like to assassinate is editorial writer A. Anonymous who apparently thinks the monarchy brings something special to England.

Most people assume A. Anonymous is a male royal, but instead the author is truly an anonymous proper female author with dreams of becoming a great writer. Ally Grayson is engaged to prim and proper Mark with no hopes for adventures except in her writings. That is until a mysterious highwayman abducts her. Whether it is the Stockholm syndrome or not Ally falls in love with her kidnapper. Unbeknownst to her, her captor is also her fiancé, who works secretly to keep their homeland safe from internal terrorists and his beloved from harm's way as the royal assassin has targeted A. Anonymous.

This is a terrific historical romance starring a brave heroine and a courageous hero inside an action-packed fast-paced plot. Mark is delightful as he loves his fiancée but hides his identity from her; to his chagrin and jealousy Ally falls in love with his dashing alter ego. Fans will enjoy this delightful tale wondering how the lead couple will resolve their romantic entanglement as much as who is plotting to destroy the monarchy.

Harriet Klausner

I hate to do this, especially because I haven't read the rest of the series, but this book just didn't do anything for me. I am generally a fan of Heather Graham and her books published under this pseudonym, Shannon Drake. While I believe she is a fine author, I cannot recommend this book by any means, as anything but a second-rate romance with far too much effort toward the (attempted) suspense-driven murder plot and far too little effort at a believable romance.

The couple works in theory---an arranged marriage between and educated and well-written royal-in-disguise and a clever and charming albeit overworked highwayman-noble-in-disguise. Drake was successful in capturing the workaholic tendancies of the hero. Perhaps too successful, as it felt as if he were absent the entire time, the couple only meeting face to face (minus disguises) 100 and some odd pages into the story. The guy just never seemed to show up! When he finally did, the romance progressed too quickly to be believable.

All the scenes and setups involving the romance work in theory, but sadly none worked in execution. The highwayman component was insignificant in the story; the heroine's writing is underplayed; the wedding-night knife-to-the-neck bathtub scene was both unbelievable and anticlimactic. Buried under a drab story and mediocre characters, admittedly, there were a few gems in dialogue, which was the only suggestion that Ms. Graham / Ms. Drake really did do the writing for this story.

Perhaps this installment in a series is only enjoyable to readers who started it at the beginning with the three couples that comprise the heroine's guardians.

Beguiled is a part of a Victorian romance series by Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham/Pozzessere). The books are When We Touch (prequel and part of her Graham series), Wicked, Restless (the best) and this one. I found this book difficult to rate as Drake's writing is as good as ever (it would be a 5) but the story plods a bit and too much is revealed too soon. Frankly the heroine is weak at points (so much so I lost interest in her at that point) but then she is quite independent and strong in other places leaving the reader a bit confused about her. It is not like Drake to leave the reader in question about a character. Still it's an entertaining read and will tie up some loose strings from the others in the series. This story revolves around Alexandra ("Ally") Grayson's mysterious past (we met her in the earlier books as a child) and a series of mysterious murders of anti monarchist opinion writers. Young and handsome Sir Mark Farrow is asked by the Queen to get involved in solving the crimes based on his unique powers of deduction. Working with the police to question suspects and masquerading as a highwayman to obtain clues among the nobility, Mark uncovers much. Ally wants to be a writer and has written anonymous, pro monarchy pieces for the local paper that are getting attention. She is dismayed to learn her godparents and guardians have betrothed her to Mark Farrow, a man she does not even know. She seems to accept the betrothal all to easily even before she realizes the highwayman she meets on the road and is attracted to is Mark. From there the story and their relationship develop. The chemistry between the two is hot but seems a bit premature in the relationship...the "love" also seemed a bit early in coming. Not that I don't believe in love at first sight but it came a bit awkwardly here. While not her best (see my other reviews), it is a good read though I recommend reading the books in order.

Cute Victorian romance finds young orphan and want-to-be-writer Ally Grayson living in a quaint cottage in the woods with her three aunties. Though orphaned and title-less, Ally has lots of godparents (all wealthy, powerful socialite types) that have taken Ally under their wing. Of course, this is wonderful for her, until they decide to marry her off to the handsome young earl Mark Farrow- due to an agreement made when she was born.

There is a darling intro where Ally is absconded (briefly) by a highwayman and, naturally, finds herself **gasps** enamored with him. Of course, her pesky fiance is all in the way... or is he?

The plot follows a somewhat bumbling murder mystery that is clouded with anarchists and anti-monarchists and street riots... though none of it ever really seems to congeal. In fact, when I put the book down I was still wondering why our highwayman WAS a highwayman... Large plot hole there!! Armed robbery is a crime and it's never explained why he was doing it. The mystery, however, is solved (no thanks to said highwayman).

A cute and fun take on Sleeping Beauty, it earns three stars for having some interesting plot twists here and there. The potential was there for a really fantastic romance but it just stopped short of engrossing.

I thought this was a fun read. The interplay between the two main characters is often witty and fun and I found their romance mostly believable. There is some definite suspense in the story, with a conclusion that isn't entirely predictable from the onset. Some might find the three "aunties" too much like Disney fairy godmothers, but I found them fun and lighthearted. I enjoyed the banter between the hero and heroine, particularly in regards to the hero's double identity.

I am finding that I appreciate Shannon Drake's style because her stories generally have strong male and female characters, rather well-developed elements of suspense, and generally believable romantic encounters. These encounters are usually engaging but not overly graphic (not to mention that they are woven into the story, rather than having a story woven about them!).