Customer Reviews

Flawless (The Christies)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This love story is set in South Africa, not a likely place for a reunion of a barely married separated couple! I am a sucker for a great historical and when a book comes along with a totally new place in history for a romance I get excited. Not only was the diamond field in South Africa volatile with the dangers associated with digging for diamonds, the tension that was created by Vivienne and Miles was volatile in it's own way...and a whole lot of heat.
I loved the way that Ms. Lofty created a character that was quite an accurate portrayal of the men of that era. A man who thinks that he is the hero and can get whatever he wants, including his lovely wife, but also learns a lesson or two of his own along the way. While Vivienne herself portrays herself as a woman who knows nothing so she can gain access to important records, she doesn't let herself be led around by the nose. The ending was an explosive bomb that definitely generated heat and perhaps both characters learned a little more about each other.. It did take some time to get to know the back story, but I liked the fact that there was a lot of tension at the beginning that was unraveled throughout the book.
I loved being shown a different part of the earth that I know almost nothing about and getting a romance along the way. I can't wait for the rest of this series to come to print...but the next book isn't due to be released until next summer! Thank you for another great start to a collectible series!

recieved review copy from Publisher...no other compensation given

Vivienne has been running from her estranged husband for over a year. He is a drunk, has a gambling problem, appears to love prostitutes and he just generally embarrasses her. She can't be held liable in the failure of her arranged marriage, she tried, she really did. She even thought she was falling in love with Viscount Miles Bancroft. Until one night he left her alone, panting after their sexual encounter under the stairs at a gala event. She fled to America to care for her ailing father, a business tycoon with interests all over the globe. Upon his death Vivienne learns that in order to receive her inheritance she has to take over a failing business and make it thrive. Knowing her inheritance could buy the pricey divorce she needs from Miles, she readily accepts.

Miles wants revenge. Revenge on his wife for leaving him and fleeing to America. She made him appear a fool and that cannot be tolerated. Knowing she needs his help if her business venture in South Africa is going to thrive he heads that way, with intentions to make her scream his name once more. Working closely allows Miles to begin to know the woman he married. Slowly she is cracking his hardened exterior. Vivienne is feeling the sparks as well, but with the lust comes fear. Fear that her secret ancestry may finally come to light. Something she has vowed never to allow Miles to know.

I will readily admit I was skeptical when I picked this one up. In fact I wasn't going to read it. I'm short on time this month and though the back blurb drew me in, this being a historical (which I don't read often) made it a harder sell to me. Then I picked it up on a whim and read the first couple of pages....and was hooked. I fell completely in love with Lofty's ability to paint a scene straight out of history and make me care, make me believe and give me a story with depth and vision. I finished all 384 pages in one afternoon and that is a feat for me!

Vivi is a complete handful and I loved how she straddled the polite English woman role with that of a outspoken, tough woman. She felt like the real deal. Often in a historical romance I get seriously annoyed with the heroine. They are way to polite, way to soft spoken and just generally annoying. Fainting over everything. Being prim and proper. I don't like it. Hence my aversion to a lot of historical romance. Vivi felt real. She talked and acted like I would suspect a woman of that time to be. Yes she still incorporated those qualities but she was more. She was direct when she needed to be and told Miles exactly what she thought when approached.

While I found Vivi to be real, I found Miles to be rugged and misunderstood. Ok, he was misunderstood because he was horrible at talking about his feelings. He spent the first half of the book alternating between being vindictive and just downright cold at times. He was as manipulative as he was sexy. Underneath the facade though, he did care for Vivi...a lot. Constantly at war with himself over wanting to take his revenge and his need for a wanton Vivi.

These two set the pages on fire with their push and pull throughout the book. I wanted them to break down their personal walls to find some happiness. Vivi had huge trust issues and so never wanted Miles to know that she was not adopted into the Christie family as he believed. Thinking he would abandon her if he knew she was a illegitimate child and daughter of a whore.

I loved the concept of the diamond mine and thought the back drop of South Africa made for lush scenery. Not knowing much about that area myself afforded me the ability to not think, to go with the picture Carrie had painted for me. What a picture Carrie painted....complete and well rounded I didn't have to imagine much of anything.

Flawless has a bit over everything, historical reference, erotic imagery and a story line that will suck you in and make you want to live it yourself. For just a moment in time, you too will want to be mining for diamonds in the 1800's, working the terrain and living a life free from the constraints of this day and age. I am eagerly awaiting book two, Starlight, in July of 2012. Where we will get to read Alex Christie's story.



I give Flawless by Carrie Lofty 4 stars!

Nikki- Ramblings From A Chaotic Mind

Lady Vivienne Bancroft has tried so hard to fit into what she deemed was proper society and please her father by marrying Miles Durham, Viscount Bancroft. However, she couldn't handle Miles' vices anymore. The last straw for her was after his blatant seduction of her in public, walking away, hearing of the rumors of him spending the night in a house of ill repute, and then having the gall to ask her for more money! Viv fled England for New York and hoped that she wouldn't have to deal with her wayward husband until she could set herself free of him and exist on her own. Yet, their paths cross once again at the reading of her father's Will. It looks as though Viv may finally realize her dreams when she stands to inherit monies from her late father. However, there is a catch. In order for her to gain her inheritance, Viv must fulfill a duty given by her father. She must take control of a diamond brokerage in Africa that her father owns and make it turn a profit within a year. If she can do, this she will have the option of buying the brokerage and inheriting quite a bit of money. If she is unable to fulfill the mission, she will not get nearly enough to see her dreams come to fruition.

Miles Durham, Viscount Bancroft, enjoys his hedonistic ways, but he much prefers a challenge! He has heard that his father-in-law has recently passed away and his estates are in need of cash to remain solvent. Miles would also like to exact revenge on his estranged wife, Vivienne Bancroft . . . what better way than to kill two birds with one stone. He will get his revenge as well as some money to save his estates. Miles goes on to Africa and Viv arrives shortly thereafter to find her husband already ensconced in the life there. He offers to stay and help her as he can enter into more business situations as a man than she can, but she will have to agree to take up her wifely duties while they are in Africa. Miles longs to have her back in his bed and then he plans on walking away from HER. They embark on fulfilling the terms of the Will while also being forced to ferret out a villain amongst the locals. However, neither counted on discovering secrets that the other had carefully hidden, and Viv isn't sure that Miles will want his soiled wife when all is said and done. Can Miles convince Viv that he has changed and can offer her the security that she longs for if she will just trust him, or will Miles find that what he thought he wanted wasn't what he wanted after all?

Flawless is a surprisingly entertaining historical romance set in a different part of the world from the usual romances. Miles starts at the bottom of the barrel when Flawless opens, and I was actually hoping that Viv would meet a better hero in the end. Yet Miles soon grew on me as his point of view was explored and contrasted with Viv's.

Neither Viv nor Miles truly knew one another, but over the course of Flawless, they soon found that there were strengths in each other that could be tapped if one only searched for them. Viv wants security and Miles couldn't seem to give her that, but he never knew how desperately she needed it either. Miles wanted what Viv refused to offer and she was too scared to have that part of her revealed because of her past. He felt that Viv was a pretender and he wanted to break her polite mask that she hides behind. Miles really did come across as an ass in the beginning of Flawless, but as his emotions and feelings were explored and revealed, he redeemed himself.

Miles changes from what he was in England to a better person in Africa as he rises to the challenges set forth before him. Miles could have never been trusted with Viv's secrets in the beginning of their marriage in Flawless, but he and Viv grew with their experiences and learned to trust one another. Viv had entered the marriage of convenience with hopes of companionship and respect, instead she was forced to cope with what she had rather than what she lacked. Yet by the end of Flawless, Viv was taught that it's okay to ask for what she needs.

The beauty in Flawless was the potential for so much between the characters of Miles and Viv. It was the knowing that they could be so much more if only they worked for things and learned to give and take in their relationship. It was the looking beyond the surface of what is presented and trying to understand Miles and Viv, to see what they will become.

Vanessa
For Joyfully Reviewed

I didn't need to know anything more about this book other than it was set in South Africa to know I wanted to read it. It was, however, from the outset a disappointment and hard to get through. The first big let-down was the almost total lack of description. I never *felt* I was in South Africa.

The story is extremely constructed. In order to get a million dollars, the heroine must make a company profitable. Reading the characters was about like reading a character chart point by point. What is the heroine's flawed thinking/big secret that makes her believe the hero can't love her? She's the daughter of a French actress turned prostitute who was hanged for murder after killing a man who tried to molest the heroine at age eight.

The attraction between the hero and heroine felt much too spelled out to be real. It never came off the page. The author has the hero instigate a thirty-day rule just so her characters don't hop in the sack immediately. It didn't add to the heat, it added to the constructed, non-organic feeling of the story. The distance between the hero and heroine was maintained only by the hand of the author needing to write a full-length novel. Had the hero and heroine been real people, they could have talked it out over dinner one night, agreed on some perimeters for starting anew, and been done with it. As it was, the emotion didn't feel genuine. The hero and heroine kept harping on trust like they were a feature couple on a Dr. Phil show. And I couldn't have cared less about the company they were supposed to run, the sensibilities of which felt modern and quintessentially American.

In the end I forced myself to finish it. To motivate myself, I counted the number of times "Miles'ss" appears in the text. Whatever they paid a copyeditor to edit this book, it wasn't enough. I found thirteen instances of Miles'ss, two sets of which were on the same page.

The story feels like the author was trying to do Courtney Milan. This story never came close to the depth of emotion, the intelligence, and the vivid reality that marks Milan's work, unfortunately. This book is a Lifetime Original while Milan is Merchant Ivory.

When I picked up this book, from the first paragraph I FELT it. You know, when you get that "feeling" where you just know a book will be a good one. You smile in anticipation because you think that you have found something? So what if you are in the middle of one book that seems interesting enough...you put it aside. Then you start reading and you wait. And you read some more, and you wait...and with each page you know it's about to happen, the magic will begin. Then you realize you're half way through the book and you are still waiting...

The story line was a great one, the characters were developed with such attention. Both so human, so flawed, so real. I loved the H/H or better yet the idea of who they were. The setting was amazing, never read one in even a similar locale. The writing was good as well, with the right descriptions, right conversations. But somewhere it fell short. Somewhere something didn't quite click. I can't put my finger on it. It's like baking your favorite cake from memory. It has the basic ingredients in it, but after one taste you realize that you left something out. And you don't know what it is. It's a very small something, like the 1/4 tsp of salt (or something equally miniscule), that you don't realize is so needed and is quite forgettable...until you taste the cake.

In short this should've been great for me, it had all the main ingredients I look for in a great book...yet it wasn't. Maybe one day I will re-read it and find that something. However, for now I will wait for the 2nd in the series, not with anticipation mind you, but I WILL read it (if I remember to)

4.5 stars

Lady Vivienne Bancroft has come to South Africa to secure her part of the fortune that her late father has left. One million dollars is hers to keep if Viv can turn a profit on his steadily failing diamond appraisal business within 2 years. She doesn't know anything about diamonds, but she is made almost immediately aware from the moment she steps off the boat that her drunkard of a husband, Miles Durham, Viscount Bancroft, has followed her there. Viv ran away from Miles over a year ago, heartbroken from his unloving ways, and is furious that he has chosen now to resurface.

What Viv doesn't know is that Miles has stopped drinking, smoking and gambling. In an attempt to make her feel as horrible as she has made him feel for leaving him he has proposed a deal; he will aid Viv on the condition that she performs her duties as a wife and enjoys it. After Miles has bedded her he fully intends to leave her. But Miles finds in coming face to face with Vivienne after spending a year drowning in alcohol, that there is only one thing he wants from his wife more than her body - her love. Viv knows that as a man, he has a certain social and physical advantage in running in a business, especially in such rough country and agrees to his deal begrudgingly. Africa brings new horizons and new hope to Miles and Vivianne for their future together, but they must trek through their past and fight their own separate demons and work together as a team for the first time in their marriage if they are going to succeed as entrepreneurs let alone lovers.

Overall Flawless was a great read. I loved that it was set in South Africa. It was a completely different place and the descriptions and scenes Lofty drew from it were vivid and thought provoking. There were only little things about this novel that brought it down, but just slightly. Learning about the diamond business throughout the story was great, but at times I felt it was a little bit like an aside to show off how much the author researched the trade. I also felt like this when Viv would have interchanges with Miles's 1/2 African, 1/2 Dutch hired hand. The beginning was a little heavy on ridiculous and unnecessary metaphors, but this eased up as the story began to unfold.

Both Viv and Miles were highly relateable in their resilience and unspoken love that they had for each other and the fact that they were afraid to recognize their passion as love. The tension was palpable through the WHOLE novel! On that note, the romantic scenes were solid and even a bit odd, which I didn't expect and not sure how I feel about the way Lofty chose to convey a particular scene in which Miles lets Viv do the choosing. I didn't like the food reference, but that's just my opinion. I will say no more on this because I don't want to spoil anything...

LOVE THE COVER. It's perfect.

Vivienne, Alexander, Gareth and Gwyneth's father has passed away. It is now time for the reading of the will. Vivienne does not know what the will has in it as she was adopted. Luckily for Vivienne, her father loved her like his own and left her something. Actually their father left them all something, only there is a catch. Each of the siblings has to work for their fortune at different businesses. The businesses are failing and the siblings must make them successful within two years. If the siblings do so than they each will receive one million dollars but if the siblings refuse this offer than all they will receive is five hundred dollars.

Vivienne is to manage the Christie Diamond Brokerage House in Kimberley, Cape Colony in Africa. Vivienne thinks this is the perfect plan. She is stuck in a bad marriage and it costs money to keep up with her life style. She leaves her husband, Viscount Bancroft, Miles Durham behind. Vivienne should have realized that it would not be so easy to get rid of Miles. Miles plans to teach Vivienne a lesson.

Miles became even better when he adapted to his environment and got dirty. He was like Indiana Jones...rough, tall, handsome, and even carried a whip. He knew just how to get under Vivienne skin and push all the right buttons. It was entertaining. I could not wait to see what Miles would do next. Vivienne was a strong woman. This was great because if she was a wilting flower than I would not have believed that Miles and her belonged together. The build up until they both gave in was steamy. Or course this book was not just all about the romance, there was a good story line to go along with it. I can not wait to read Alexander's story next. This book was flawless like a gem...it sparkled and shined.

3.5 Feathers
Flawless
by Carrie Lofty
(The Christies # 1)

What a stunning cover! I'll admit that was the first thing that attracted me to this book. This is actually a story of a strong-willed female who has always lived by societies rules, married by them, and acted as much as possible as she thought a wife should. But her husband, not so much. But a marriage of convenience turned into love.

Vivienne Bancroft is back in New York after her dad, Sir William Christie, passed away. She is hoping that with her inheritance she will be able to leave her husband once and for all. But her dad left all of his kids with a surprise. Vivienne gets to rescue his diamond business in South Africa. If she does, she gets the money. Otherwise she gets nothing.

And who turns out to help her with this project? Yes, her husband. Viscount Bancroft knows he's done wrong in the past. He gambled, he drank, he was an embarrassment. But after his wife leaves him and he is almost sure he's lost her for good he realizes what he had and what he has to do to keep her.

So he sets out to help her in South Africa and woe her. Not that he knows anything about work himself but he manages to turn himself and his life around for the woman he loves.

The setting was very interesting, the story quite original. The pace? A bit slow. I will admit to having issues with some of the things Miles did in the past and I found myself on Vivienne's side a lot. But in the end I believe he is a changed man and that this time they have a future together. I can't wait to see what the other siblings will have to deal with.

I always look forward to a Carrie Lofty book because I know I'm in for an emotional love story with a rich eye to detail -- as well the fact most of her stories have unusual settings and characters. The main theme of the book is the estranged couple reconciliation trope, which I really like -- although I do find it can be hard to resolve because sometimes the tension and emotional aftermath can be overwrought or forced. But with Flawless, I loved how Carrie Lofty presents the love story; it really felt organic and realistic without falling into the trap of too much angst, and the romance is really multi-faceted because of this.

The characterization is also another high point to the book and both Vivienne and Miles were well developed and three dimensional with realistic flaws. For Vivienne, respectability and hiding behind a shield of societal manners is a way to distance herself from her past and the castigation of her illegitimate past. Due to this, she appears cool and aloof and Miles finds hard to breach her emotional walls. However, he also has flaws which contributed to their mistrust and separation as he escapes the threat of being emotionally intimate with Vivienne by continuing to gamble and drink. Yet this new opportunity is a great catalyst to brings them together and force them to face their fears and issues, and I loved how they each come to realise this. The romantic and sexual tension buildup from the outset of the book was truly delicious, and I loved their sparring with each other and later in the book with their partnership in the business which helped to reconcile their differences.

I especially loved Miles who really had a Joie de Vivre air around him which makes people underestimate him because of his bored, arrogant and playboy-like appearance that he uses as a cover to hide his vulnerability. Vivienne's realisation of this was fantastic and it also helped her to realise that Miles is serious about their marriage and wanting to give their relationship a fresh start. This forces her to face up to her own fears and truths about her past.

Nonetheless, I wished the plot held more tension with the way they had to save the diamond brokerage business . It involved a cold and calculating villain and how that was resolved felt a bit anti-climatic. And I wished more time was spent on exploring and presenting the setting. I did find the first half of the book was a great set up for this but the second half diminished its focus as the romance really took centre stage which was great, but I may be a bit spoiled with other books by Carrie Lofty which really delve in historical details and places, and I missed that aspect with this book.

With Flawless, you will definitely find an unusual setting with a rich tapestry of characters and detail. I also found the prose is lush and rich and you really savour each word, because Carrie Lofty has a real gift to bringing details and characters to life. Although I did think the romance was much stronger than the historical setting which I wished that it was explored more fully. The romance between Viv and Miles was beautiful and multi-layered and I was totally caught up in their characterisation and love story. Flawless is evocative, rich and full of emotional depth, and will draw you in.

I haven't read a historical romance is a long time. Flawless has reminded me of what I've been missing. Ms Lofty has weaved a tale of love rekindled in of all places Africa in Victorian times.
Vivienne has not only been running from her husband for a year, she been running from her past. She's pulled herself up from the gutters, adopted by her father under a ruse. She has always known what she was and has been trying to outlive it. She's worked twice as hard as any socialite, but has a quick mind and the ability to be so much more than her gender and status allow in this age where men were men and women sat quietly in the tea parlor. I think her father saw this and as I read the book so did Miles, her husband.
Miles was born into nobility and wears it like an old coat. He tosses his name around and likes watching people react. The thing is he's actually reformed, or supposed to be as we get into his and Vivienne's back story yet there is so much more than meets the eye. I was routing for Miles from the get go. He's got a rougeish quality, that just grabbed at me.
I found myself wanting them to get back together, they were just so good together in business and personal. They had chemistry. Every time Vivienne would warm up I'd be like Yay and then Miles would do or say something and she pull away and I'd be like booo. Give him a chance. At time the back and forth did frustrate me, but it always does in romance, yet I guess that's what keeps up on our toes with it.
I feel Ms Lofty did an excellent job with this book, bring two colorful characters back together in a very unique background. This passionate and slightly heart-wrenching tale is only the first in this series, I can't wait to see where she takes us next.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher, it in no way influenced my review.