Customer Reviews

A Dangerous Man

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

 

 

Eleanor, the widowed Lady Scarborough, returns to England following her husband's death in a boating accident in Italy. Eleanor is an American, and her husband's upper crust British family shunned her during their very brief marriage, mistakenly believing her to be a fortune hunter. She is now trustee of the money he left to his young sister. This does not sit well with her mother-in-law, who believes Eleanor murdered her son. She sends her brother Anthony, Lord Neale, to confront Eleanor who - needless to say - is quite offended. (Anthony and Eleanor met only once before, during which he rudely offered her money if she would not marry his nephew). Despite their mutual dislike, Eleanor and Anthony have an immediate and intense attraction to one another. As they attempt to sort out their warring emotions, Eleanor becomes the target of a mysterious stalker. Soon she and Anthony are working together to solve the mystery...and dreading the hours they must be apart.

I enjoyed this book. Miss Camp has a comfortable writing style and she does a good job of creating sexual tension between the leads. Anthony and Eleanor are perfectly matched, and their transition from contempt to more tender feelings is nicely done. Their frank and impassioned conversations are a particular delight. The love scenes, though fairly tame, are satisfying. The romance between Eleanor's staff members is curiously left unresolved, Eleanor's good friend Julianna inexplicably fades from view, and the ending leaves our hero and heroine - although quite happy - in a somewhat precarious situation. Nonetheless, this is a good read with very likeable leads and a nice romantic feel. 3 1/2 - 4 stars

When Lord Anthony Neale's older sister Honoria pleads with him to talk her son, Lord Edmund Scarborough's fiance out of the wedding, he is stunned to find himself so strongly attracted to the outspoken American, Eleanor, who informs him that she and Edmund have already married by special license. Eleanor, a wealthy heiress, meets Edmund and is delighted by his musical talent but is drawn to him by her protective nature because he is sickly and is dominated by his mother who demands all his time and money. Eleanor has a habit of taking on the weaker castouts and has in her employ several employees she rescued from dire situations and she is raising two orphaned children she took in off the streets. Eleanor takes Edmund to Italy hoping the climate will help his health but then he is killed in a freak boating accident and the Italian authorities demand that his body be burned under an archaic law dating back to the time of the plague. When Eleanor returns to England with Edmund's ashes and in charge of the trust for Edmund's sister Samantha, Honoria again approaches Anthony to intercede. Mistakingly convinced that Eleanor is a fortune hunter, Honoria says she believes Eleanor murdered Edmund. After making a few insulting insinuations about her character, Anthony is stunned to find out that Honoria is not only far wealthier than Edmund ever was but that her fortune is in line with his own substantial fortune. Vowing that he will make it up to her and tired of fighting his attraction to her, Anthony pursues Eleanor with everything he has. When it becomes clear that Eleanor is in danger and that there may have been suspicious circumstances to Edmund's death, Anthony vows he will protect Eleanor if it is the last thing he does.

This is a wonderfully written story and the characters interesting enough. I was happy with Eleanor, but at times, I thought the author shortchanged us with Anthony...the details on his life and background were sketchy at best and I like to know what kind of people my hero and heroines really are. The story was still entertaining enough, a little predictable a time or two but very good.

I have never read a Candace Camp book before. Quite frankly, I'm not entirely into historical romances (Julia Quinn and Amanda Quick being the exceptions!). However, I was desperate and needed something to read, so I picked this Camp book up and promptly read it cover to cover. I liked the fact that the heroine was intelligent and strong-willed. I also liked the fact that both hero and heroine were capable of connecting the plot "dots" with some degree of speed and intelligience. Sometimes I just want to throttle the main characters as they belatedly come to some obvious connection or conclusion within the storyline. Sigh. But I am not a writer, just a simple reader who likes smart characters and a bit of sexy moments thrown in to make a book enjoyable. Enjoy this one!

As other reviewers pointed out, many mysteries remain of the hero's and heroine's past. One mystery unexplained was why was she not intimate with her first husband. It was "touched" on during her first sex scene with the hero, which was disappointingly toward the end of the book. She had a flash of pain. Hero exclaims he did not know she was "untouched". No discussion about it thereafter. Weird.

The sexual tension was good but too long. Eleanor who lives by no one's standards than hers was a bit of a prude and not adventurous. Anthony was complacent. He should have snuck up to her bedroom through the window or disguised himself as room service. LOL

Fortunately, this was not my first Camp book. Though this one was a sleeper, others have been more exciting page turners and hot.

This was my first Camp book. I picked it up on vacation and it lasted me the whole week... Usually it takes me 5 hours to read a romance book.

The book was not BAD but it wasn't GREAT either. Sort of mediocre. Definitely not a must read.

Candace Camp masters the technique of writing, that is her language is good and her style smooth. But her story and characters were nothing to write home about. Okay, nothing more. There was nothing to dislike in the book but nothing to really like either. IMHO this author would have made a wonderful politician.LOL. She knows how to avoid pitfalls. But sometimes, the pitfalls are exactly what grabs my attention in a book. If the heroine does something impulsive and I want to grab her and shake her. Or if the hero's hang-ups make him into a jerk at some point before he snaps out of it. This book was so "literary correct" that it left me unaffaected throughout the book. Nor was it very sexy - and I like some spice in my romance books :)

Don't know if I'll read this author's book again. Depends on how desperate I am.

As a Candace Camp fan, I was disappointed at how boring this book was. Unlike the Reed Business caption describing the book, I wouldn't ever label this a fast-paced read. The book only got started around page 100, and by then, I wasn't even sure if I cared.

In the romance sector, I give this book a 1 out of 5. The attraction between Eleanor and Anthony is implausible from the get-go. Anthony isn't a convincing hero. He has no energy, no smolder.

When it comes to characters, Eleanor is at least very likeable. She's intelligent and independent, which is always a happy alternative to the occasional wimpy, whiney heroine we see. The villain plot, however, was heinous. As soon as a certain character appears for the first time, you know he's the villain without having to flip to the end of the book to prove it to yourself.

The storyline was reasonably good, and I think overall, the entire book itself could have been better with a faster pace and a better hero. It's not a complete waste of time, but I wouldn't gush over it like other reviewers have. I'm still selling it to the used book store this weekend.

Anthony & Eleanor showed promise in the beginning, but the story failed to keep the slight mystery and the strong personalities interesting. When Eleanor first walked into the room (through Anthony's view) I liked her immediately. But she didn't continue to be interesting. And for all his qualities, neither did Anthony.

Excellent sequel in the series. Camp does a great job of bringing in the previous story so as to blend in the new characters. Great book.

My disappointment in this book was compounced by the fact that the middle and the end were big let-downs after a good to great beginning.

The great set-up, interesting characterization and sexual tension quickly degenerated into cliches and melodrama complete with stiff, silly and unrealistic dialogue and plot developments.

Also, the lives of these character appeared to happen in a vaccum. The characters and their histories were blank except where when directly connected to the storyline.

For instance, the reader was told very little about the hero. Besides his father's remarriage and his relationship to the heroine's first husband, the reader was told very little about him. Did he have any friends? Hobbies? Where did he go to school? What was his romantic history? Did the hero ever reconcile with his father? What became of this stepmother? What did his older half-sister think of the step-mother? What did he do with himself when not called upon by the heroine or his sister?

For that matter, the heroine was a bit of a mystery herself. Why stay in England where she was not embraced and which she did not particularly like? When did her father die and what became of the hated step-mother? What was the main source of her wealth?

Over all, I thought the books was poorly written and even sophmoric. First and last book by this writer.

Lord Anthony Neale thinks Eleanor, Lady Scarborough, is a money hungry vixen who married his brother for money and an entry into aristocratic British society. Eleanor finds Anthony to be bossy, cold embodiment of all she hates about English aristocrats. To make matters worse, he and his family blame her for her husband's sudden death, only months after the marriage that they did not attend!

Humor, a spunky heroine and miscues of communication add up to a wonderful read. The suspense element makes for an intriguing fast paced read full of questions. Was Edmund's accidental death truly an accident? Who is this figure watching her in the shadows? Why is someone breaking into her bedroom? What item of value does she have that someone wants? Is Anthony trying to find evidence to discredit her among the aristocracy and ruin her reputation? Does the danger come from some secret of her deceased husband from their days in Naples? Who can she really trust?

The hero and heroine are just delightful and lovable, each in their own way. The character Honoria is so obnoxious and annoying --- I just love her! She exaggerates, she meddles, she criticizes, she expects that everyone treat her like a queen. Of course, she thinks, Edmund should have left his entire estate to her --- and if he didn't surely they will see that her beloved son meant to give her everything!

Not one page here is wasted. Romance, suspense, mystery and historical British society all come together to make this book a real treat. The historical and political background of Naples heighten the suspense and the ambiance.