Customer Reviews

The Earl Claims His Wife

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Okay, I have to say I was swept up in the beginning of the book, but quickly got disillusioned by several unforgivable faults.

1. This author really needs to restudy/bone up on her vocabulary. Not only did she repeat phrases over and over but she would use words in a completely inappropriate context. Those are not typos those are out and out mistakes that never should have made it past the slush pile!

2. The heroine, Gillian, was very annoying. She would change her mind about the hero on the turn of a dime. She goes on and on about how badly he treated her for four years and ONE DAY LATER she is exchanging renewal wedding vows and body fluids in a coach with this "terrible husband."

3. Everything wrapped up WAY too quickly. But that goes back to the fact that these characters would go from eternal hate to a love fest within the span of a page or two.

4. Finally, the love scenes were basically non-existent. Now, don't get me wrong I don't like when the sex is dragged out for an entire chapter, but in this book if you blinked you missed them. What WAS there was boring.

This is the last book I will read by this author. I just don't understand what is happening to publishing these days! Some houses seem ready and willing to publish any piece of shallow tripe sent their way.

As disturbing as some of the 80's era romance novels could be with their underage heroines and rather violent heroes, at least they were meticulous in research and talented in writing (the ones I read anyway). Now romance novels read like they were written by 9th graders (and not very talented 9th graders either).

I could find very little to like in this book; the hero (Brian) is a huge jerk, and his wife (Gillian) are both terribly annoying characters. I was rooting for Andres, the "other guy." Andres, unlike Brian, is gentle, sweet, handsome, and genuinely in love with Gillian, and while Gillian professes to love Andre back, just some simple gestures and stories from Brian is enough to make her fall out of love with him? I don't think so. The most touching scenes, and the best scenes in the book, were between Andres and Gillian, near the beginning of the story. After that, the book just falls apart.

I'm not complaining about the lack of steamy love scenes, yeah, yeah, in every romance novels, the title characters are passionately in love and wants nothing more than to get each other's clothes off, so I could care less about that. I am upset with the lack of character development.

I love the premise of the story, about the repentant rake, going back to claim his abandoned wife's heart; instead, Brian is a jerk, and he does little to redeem himself. He ignores his wife for 4 years, then gets her back when it's convenient for him, because he needs her and what she can do for him as a marriage partner, and lies about it repeatedly. After he stops lying and professes to be in love with her, he's just...really boring; I can't see what Gillian sees in him at all. Even his father, the overbearing and evil Marquess, is more interesting; for such a professed rebel, I don't think Brian had much of a backbone.

As for Gillian, she is, like previously mentioned, extremely fickle. Good god, she had Andres, who was handsome, gallant, and madly in love with him (Andres is a poor aristocrat, but then again, Brian DID bring her back to a hovel in London). Brian professes to love her, tells her a few cute war stories, and she falls madly in love with him again, and again, and again, after all the lies he's told her. I just wanted to shake some sense into her.

When I prefer the antagonists to the protagonists, to me, that's a sign of a bad book.

The back cover synopsis of the book does nothing for the story.

This novel is a return to the "old" Cathy Maxwell when her books were rich with detail and character development. Instead of the canned "unexpected heir to title needs to have estranged wife produce an baby" theme...here comes "The Earl Claims His Wife."

The story begins with Gillian ...wife of Brian Ransom the new Earl of Wright, third son, now unexpected heir to his father's title of Marquess. Gillian hasn't seen her husband since the morning after their arranged marriage four years ago when he destroyed her childish dreams of love by telling Gillian he was in love with his mistress. Since his abandonment, Gillian has become a woman in charge of one of the estates of her cousin, the Duke.

Now Gillian wants a divorce from Ransom. A new love has her entered her life, a Spanish Baron named Andres. Without a lengthy back story on the Baron, Ms. Maxwell places Andres as Gillian's love interest. It is apparent this has been a platonic love but Gillian wants more and she finally feels strong enough to ask for it.

Meanwhile, Ransom, the Earl of Wright, has returned to London after his father pulled him from his position as Colonel in the British army. Ransom's two older brothers have died recently leaving Ransom as the new heir. Ransom's life has changed dramtically since he married Gillian, and it's still changing when he writes Gillian several urgent letters telling her to "come home" to him.

Gillian has repeatedly ignored the Earl's letters until he finally arrives one moring while Gillian is longingly watching the Baron, Andres, put an Andulusian mare through her paces. (The story of the Andulusian mare is one of the interesting historic details peppered throughout this novel that don't overwhelm, but definitely add to the ambiance of the novel.)

Ransom's arrival, coming just when Gillian has decided to ask for her divorce sets the stage for a confrontation between Gillians, Ransom, and the Baron. I won't detail that part of the book because while it's interesting, it just sets up what happens next.

To be honest, I truly didn't like Gillian or Ransom at first. Both characters were one-dimensional shallow creatures. That's the surprise to me. I learned to care about Gillian and Ransom as both lead characters grew into three-dimensional people dealing with real challenges. I won't go into what the challenges are, that would spoil your enjoyment.

Unlike the typical "regency" where love grows through ballroom garden interaction these two people were wrenched into growth by learning to trust one another in day-to-day living. Yes, there was one incident of shopping on Bond Street...but the bulk of this novel was gritty and real.

I loved this one, and strongly recommend it as a purchase in paperback versus ebook. You will want it on your keeper shelf.

Reading the back of the book intrigued me. A strong woman who wouldn't be cowed by her husband and would stand her ground. I thought the book would cast a strong heroine and the earl would have to win her over a little at a time. I was greatly disappointed. Everything seemed to come easy for the earl. He didn't have to work all that hard to win her over. The heroine threw away all her protests early on. It became a book about the earl being a stubborn fool and the countess being no more than lovestruck. I don't think I took anything away from the story - no great story - no morale high - not even a sense that the ending ended well. I say that this book is best if you don't want a story with any excitement.

It's hard to take a story seriously when, despite being set in the early 1800s, the hero and heroine have names from the 1970s. It appears that 'Brian' has become a very popular name in the USA at the moment as it keeps popping up in books (along with 'Adrian'), although in the UK those names aren't favoured. But 'Gillian' too? Brian may be an old name but it was almost never used in England until the twentieth century, Gillian was very rarely used at that time; both names together just felt wrong. And unfortunately from that point on I found myself unable to quite believe I was in the Regency period, especially when people kept talking like modern-day Americans the whole time.

The book is about rediscovered (or discovered-for-the-first-time) love. Gillian has been married to Brian, Lord Wright, for several years but has not seen him as he's been away fighting against Napoleon. After their wedding night he told Gillian that he loves his mistress and so they were estranged. As the story begins Wright has returned from overseas and is writing to Gillian to ask her to return to him. She, on the other hand, has caught the fancy of a handsome Spanish chap and is considering an affair with him. When Wright appears to bring her back to London with him there starts a battle of wills and a journey of discovery - and there are some things that Gillian has to discover which may cause her much heartache.

This was a rather disjointed story. Gillian falls in and out of love with Brian, there are misunderstandings galore (many of which seem rather unlikely), lack of communication is vital to the plot and yet it seems that Gillian and Brian are actually very good at communicating in other areas. Gillian's behaviour towards the Spanish Barón is not a good advert for her character, but is one of the few indications that we actually get towards character in the story as otherwise everyone seems a bit wooden. The ever-present plot requirement that Brian tells Gillian he loves her (and then everything will be fine) was grating and the historical setting didn't work in many occasions. It's fun reading a book set in the Regency period but not when the names, language and behaviour of the characters is better suited to 21st Century America.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009

The back cover sounded great. The "hate into love" premise promised sparkling wit complete with biting dialogue between hero and heroine. I brewed a pot of coffee and settled in for a nice read. Unfortunately, I could not have been more wrong. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have grabbed the scotch bottle and poured a good stiff drink, and then another, and then a few more.

Nothing about this story was believable. Gillian, the heroine, was overly eager to forgive Brian, the hero who supposedly broke her heart by leaving her high and dry the morning after their wedding four years previously.

In a very short space of time (and we are talking hours here not days), she is willing to welcome him back into her heart and her bed. The hero Brian is more than willing to use Gillian for his own purposes while all the time trying to convince Gillian of his undying devotion. Every time Brian disappointed (which he did with regularity), Gillian would get angry and swore she was done, and then just as quickly forgive and fall back into love/lust. It just didn't ring true.

I kept waiting to be drawn in and captivated. It never happened. I finally resorted to skimming and skipping just to see how it would all wrap up, and even then, I felt cheated.

While Gillian may be forever going back to Brain, I think I will wait to check the reviews before buying this author's next one.

I enjoyed the story until the(wet noodle)heroine went off with the slug(husband) and IMMEDIATELY forgave him for everything he had done to her. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was because of the Spanish baron Andres who was handsome, charming and very much in love with the wet noodle. It is refreshing to find the 'other man' actually having all good qualities. This was one story where I was cheering for the other guy. Wouldn't it have been nice if she stuck to her guns and stayed with Andres? It certainly would have been a more interesting story. I hope if Ms. Maxwell writes Andres' story she will give him a heroine that is worthy of him.

What can I say??? The supposed Hero, sleeps with the Heroine on their wedding night then tells her that he loves his mistress, for 4 yrs he humiliates her with his mistress, then he comes back from the war to find that his mistress and his father have been having an affair and have had a child together, that they have abandoned. He finds the baby and can't find anyone to help him with it, all the servants seem to quit because the baby crys all the time. Hero all of a sudden needs her so he starts writing to her to come home. Then he goes after her, she's finally decided after all the humiliation she wants love and family of her own, she finds a great guy who truly loves her(he should really be the hero), and the hero and the real Hero(spanard-guy who loves her) set to fight a duel. This really isn't written well at all. The next thing she's setting of to London with her so called Husband. On the way he kisses her and she kisses him back, there's no real appology for the 4yrs of telling her he loves his mistress going to the mistress after the wedding night and leaving her not for the humiliation nothing.She just seems to back as if he's not done a thing and forgives without anything said or anything. Oh they say their vows again in the coach on the way back - he doesn't even know her full name, and we are supposed to beleive that there is a woman foolish enough to accept this when she has a real man that loves her and treats her with love and respect. The author tries to rap the heroine in courage she says all this strong stuff like I'm only going to be with you for 30days then I'm leaving you in the next instant she's falling all over him, it just doesn't make sense. After all his mistress has done to him, he still perceives her to be innocent and it's all his fathers fault, like she's so sweat and innocent.She goes back only to find that he's keeping the said mistress's baby and brings it up as his son, she forgives him straight away, WT. My mind is thinking WT did I read this for, it truly makes no sense at all. I thought it had promise with a gutsy heroine but she was all talk and no action. Worse he blamed her for not being there 4yrs later when he discovered his mistress had cheated on him, I mean really how dare she leave him after he tells her he loves his mistress and leaves her on the weddingnight, and he still thinks that his mistress is sweat and innocent and it's his fathers fault,WT. And the ending he screams out in front of everyone how he loves her, yeah that would do it for me after what he's done, crawling around london on his hands and knee's screaming how much he loved her still wouldn't do it for me. And his sweat mistress although he gives her up you just wonder???????? Please don't read this if you want to remain sane.

After deserting his wife on her wedding night for his mistress and the war Brian (hero) returns after 4 years to claim his wife not because he is sorry for the humiliation he has put her through and not because he loves her, but because he needs her to become his nursemaid, nanny, and to organize his household and help his career, oh and a bed partner. Gillian (herione) returns with him to London to find a surprise waiting for her!! Brian comes across as very selfish and has no compassion for his wife, once again she is the one being humiliated he never treats her with respect or gratitude, maybe if he tried to persue her the story would have worked but it just did'nt happen the few love scene were just plain BLAH AND BORING just like their relationship. For any female to tolerate this circumstances; she must have had very low self esteem!!! I was convienced by all he did that he did love his mistress!!!!

I was very disappointed in the whole book. It was an unbelievable beginning, used language idioms more appropriate to the 21st century, and glossed over the difficulties in a wife and husband seeing each other for the first time in 4 years. I read it just to finish instead of enjoying the book.