Customer Reviews

A Change of Heart (Signet Regency Romance)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a wonderful story about two people too afraid to trust and who don't believe they can be loved. Mary is twenty-nine, conditioned by her late father to believe herself plain and unmarriageable; Jack is nine years older, a Marquess and rake who has been hurt in the past by a faithless woman, and who is now looking for a rich wife to save his estates from ruin.

They meet at a ball and quickly become friends: Mary offers to help him find a wife who will not bore him or lose her looks as she grows older. But friends grow closer... and then Jack discovers that Mary herself is very rich.

Candice Hern tells this story beautifully, little by little revealing the details of both characters' past and demonstrating why each finds it so hard to trust - and why, once trust appears to have been broken, it can be so hard to forgive.

There are some excellent supporting characters in this book, including Mary's companion Olivia, Jack's uncle Edward and Jack's mother. It's definitely a book to savour and read again and again.

delightful story, unusual hero and heroine. Better than the average Regency by far and great secondary characters.

I really liked this book, and I've already read it again. A hero who is a bit tarnished, a heroine who belives she's unattractive and on the shelf. These two strike up an unlikely friendship, until he realises she is an heiress, and his desperate need for money gets in the way of their friendship...

Get your own copy and read it!!

(Spoilers in review)

The only reason I gave this book more than one star was because I liked how the heroine was written--until the end. I thought the hero, Jack, was a selfish, whoring creep without any likeale qualities. I'm okay with a hero starting out a jerk as long as he's realistically redeemed by the conclusion. I'm sad to say that Jack never was. I thought the author failed horribly with his character. He constantly disregarded Mary's feelings, not only when he supposedly loved her, but also in the the earlier parts of the story when they were friends. Worse, what he did to her after he thought she had abandoned him was completely ridiculous and a path I'd never seen taken in a romance novel before. (I'm all for new and refreshing turns in a story, but having a hero, who claimed to be heartbroken over his love's abandonment, sleep with half the town to get over his hurt feelings completely destroyed any remaining hope I had for liking Jack or this book.) And any respect I had for Mary, the heroine, vanished abruptly when she forgave Jack for his deception after a two second apology and very little explaination--which didn't include a confession of just how many women he'd taken to bed since he and Mary had been apart. The ending was rushed and complete rubbish.

I will say that this is my first Candice Hern novel and I have no idea if her others are similar to this, or of much better quality. However, if you're looking to read a book from this author, I would suggest that you don't start with this one.

I absolutely loved this book...until the end. I mean Jack did not even try to piece together what had happened until 6 weeks later. What an idiot. Not to mention that instead of looking for the woman he "loved", he went back to London and screwed every female he could find for 6 weeks. I was so disappointed in him. It was not like they were never together, they were in engaged for crying out loud. I just got so mad reading about his "entertainment" versus caring where his fiance was. Then he shows up and she forgives him, which I can understand because she did not know what he did and she did try very hard not to be found but my gosh. If I would have found out my fiance would have rather slept with a different woman every night for 6 weeks versus finding me and making things right, I would not have been so forgiving. Mary already had emotionally issues, wonder how she felt when she found out about Jack's extracurricular activities.

Don't get me wrong, this book is great until that part. The whole time I am reading this and he is complaining about Suzanne, I kept thinking that you are doing the exact same thing to Mary and Jack never noticed it. It was hard for me to read 'An Affair of Honor' where Jack is so nice to Sedge and not think of how I felt when I read the end of this one.

I do love Mary though. It is a good read if you can get through wanting to hurt Jack at the end.

Words do not describe how wonderful this book truly is. I have found a new favorite author. I am looking forward to reading other books by the author.

I had recently read a few of Candace Hern's other books and loved the comparably clean content, but still passionate stories. The story line in A Change of Heart attracted me from the first. I liked Mary when I first read A Proper Companion, and was excited to see her with Black Jack in this book.
Now, the beginning and middle are full of exciting moments, everything seems to be pulled out just right. Jack and Mary are two individuals that everyone, but each other, know are hurt by past circumstances. I enjoyed everything, I really did, until the end when Jack follows her to Scotland, and automatically, she forgives him. I was shocked. I had expected some groveling, some more torment, but no. The ending was far too rushed, I felt like the author needed to finish the book and did so as quickly as possible. The ending honestly left a bad taste in my mouth, especially since I respected Mary a great deal. But, that's the way it went, hopefully others find the ending more pleasurable than I did. A change of Heart really was enjoyable, the ending was my only qualm.

Lady Mary Haviland is a 29 year old spinster, who considers herself comfortably on the shelf. After years of abuse at the hands of her father, she hides her fragile spirit behind a facade of gregariousness. While she has many acquaintances, and most of the ton loves her, she has few friends. She carefully hides her great fortune, certain that no man would ever want her except for her money because she is so plain. She is a heartbreaking character, so realistic in her complete lack of self esteem and unwilling to believe her true worth.
Jack Raeburn, unexpectedly the Marquess of Pemerton, is a less likable character. He is carefully trying to hide his complete lack of fortune, while finding a bride. After a woman broke his heart fifteen years earlier, Jack chose a life of drinking, gambling, and ladies of questionable reputations. When he meets Mary, he thinks all his problems are solved. They get along well, and he genuinely likes her, but doesn't think to seduce her until she finds out she's loaded... and when she uncovers his lies, he realizes how much her really loves her. Just when you think he's going to change, he tries to lose himself in a life of complete dissipation. While his reaction may have been realistic, it nearly ruined the novel for me...
Can Jack and Mary learn to trust each other before it is too late?
It's an easy to read book, and Mary is a well written character. And while I didn't much care for Jack, I will admit that he, too, was well written. Watching him spiral out of control was kind of like watching a train wreck... spectacular and deadly. You hope he can get his life together a little faster rather than wasting it. The story moves along quickly, but not so quick that it makes it unbelievable. I enjoyed the book, but I liked the first one better.

as her work is fun and has drama of dastardly characters who you hope don't succeed! And the HH's are fantastic.... Thanks!

I just finished "A Change of Heart." It was wonderful! I enjoyed the psychological growth between the hero and heroine as their relationship progressed. The middle dragged a bit, but persevere and the ending is well-worth the wait. It was very believable and poignant. I would definitely recommend this story. And my thanks to the author, Candice Hern, for offering her books at very reasonable prices from $.99 to $2.99. A guilt-free indulgence! And worth every penny!