Customer Reviews

The Earl's Season (Signet Regency Romance)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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THE EARL'S SEASON is extremely well written, but the assembly and the delivery are even better. Emma Lange's handling of this story IS worth 'The Sacred 10' and this story is the reason I love this genre.

Juliana Whitfield is beautiful and wealthy. Presently, Lady Whitfield is a young widow; a young widow who vows she will never marry again, for Juliana has been to hell and has no intentions of returning to its fiery flames. She is exquisitely beautiful, blessed with violet eyes, but underneath, dark shadows linger. Everyone knew of Sir Arthur Whitfield's murky history. He was one of the richest men in England, but he was leagues beneath his young wife, in class, and decades older. Juliana soiled her reputation when she took the sixty-year-old man into her bed. Soiled herself for money, or so society thought . . . Sir Whitfield had a vulgar manner and a bully's temper. When she was barely seventeen, Juliana was sold for cards and loose women, sold for five thousand pounds, sold as property by her 'loving' family. Yes, Juliana had paid heavily for her riches!

The Earl of Hampton, is devilishly handsome, notably wealthy, and has been blessed with a charming lopsided smile. However, it is his eyes that are Lord Hampton's most striking feature. When he is content, his eyes are soft - like warm honey, but when the earl is upset, his eyes grow hard - like frozen amber. Presently, Hampton's eyes are frigid. He is extremely irritated! Reluctantly, he finds himself on the marriage mart, but he is more upset with Lady Whitfield's bewitching spell. A spell his sister has fallen under! Why can't his sister see into the vixen's witch eyes, see into the vixen's soul?

Unquestionably, THE EARL'S SEASON is a phenomenal read. Emma Lange fills the pages with brilliant poignancy; although there is little intimacy, this dazzling story needs nothing more. If I have a complaint, Emma Lange did not need the little sub-story she felt compelled to offer. Juliana and Alex's story can stand alone - no other dressing is necessary. Extremely well done Ms. Lange.
Grade: A+

MaryGrace Meloche,
Reviewer for: RomanceDesigns.

Lady Julian Whitfield was forced into marriage at 17 to an elderly, abusive man by her equally abusive step brother. Recently widowed, she is invited to London by a former school mate, Fanny. Fanny is hoping to match Juliana with her brother, the Earl of Hampton. Lord Hampton, however, has heard of Lady Whitfield, and considers her little better than a whore, who exchanged her body for a well-to-do husband. He is forced for his sister's sake to tolerate Juliana, but shows her little respect. Their relationship develops as they come to know each other.
I consider this Emma Lange's best. There is a touching quality to the characters, and a great deal of emotion.

Other people's reviews gave me high hopes for this unfamiliar author. And I suppose she did better than many. If I'm going to read a Regency romance, I prefer some historical accuracy. I flinch when people immediately call each other by their first names. I call for hartshorn when ladies and gentlemen run around unchaperoned, even when, as in this case, the lady is a widow, not a maiden. Our heroine is interesting. Her family forced her at 17 into marriage with a rich merchant in his 60s, and she has just finished her year of mourning and gone to visit a childhood friend in London. The earl, on the other hand, is not so interesting. We are told he's a rake, and I am very very tired of heroes who are rakes. But he doesn't act like a rake--he acts like a man who lets his sisters boss him around. He never quite manages to have a personality, though we are assured that he is extremely good looking. I hope he doesn't bore the heroine to death. You can't just look at a guy forever.