Customer Reviews

Her Notorious Viscount

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

 

 

The hero and heroine in this story are so likable you won't want to put the book down. The hero has just lost his brother and must leave what he considers his life of freedom to become the heir to his family's title and estates. He is not accepted by society and must find his way. The heroine comes into his life to help him with this but at a price. She wants the hero to find out any news he can about her missing brother. She believes he is her only access to this information. These two make for a great love and a great romance. Both characters are very intelligent and strong. This is no annoying stiff backed martyr heroine and the hero is no tough guy brute. He is a tough guy, but a very sexy and respectable man. This story is enjoyable from start to finish and is a highly recommended page turner. Very entertaining and a must read.

The cost of books these days and the waste when you end up disappointed or frustrated is pretty darn costly these days.

That's why it is *SO* nice after spending as much as I do on new books every month and as much as I read, to finally get a 5* book! And actually, I've been very lucky recently as I've had two out of the past two or three dozen I've read that were 5* 1-nighter's for me! (The other is "Some Like It Wild" by Teresa Medeiros if you're wondering)

The story grabs you from pg.1 to the end! The characters are very well written - with things (or body parts) to drool over, as well as like - without going over the top. Probably the best thing about this story is the author actually involves the reader in *feeling* the story! That's what so many books miss or fall short of.

Ms. Peterson doesn't just change her hero and heroine to make the happy ending. Rather she leaves what was basically good and inherent in each of them, and merely softens up some rough edges. These characters feel so real you can't help but like them. I don't know why some author's or books can write basically the same story, yet one be a total disaster while the other is just fantastic, but Ms. Peterson has definitely that gift or figured it out! When you read a story that actually makes you sniffle or laugh out loud, and *feel* what you're actually reading - that is the gift of story telling! And so very special!

I only hope Ms. Peterson will follow up with a happy ending for Patrick and "Rage" as well!

Thank you for a wonderful story Ms. Peterson! =)

Although "Her Notorious Viscount" was just shy of four stars for me, I bumped it up based on my smile at the end :) Jenna Petersen's latest regency romance is about a man and a woman who neither quite fit in; but both manage to find a place for themselves, with each other. A lovely message in today's world.

Stone is really the brand new Viscount Stoneworth, elevated to the title by the death of his beloved twin. Ignored and disparaged by his father, Stone became the antithesis of his brother and disappeared from polite society into London's infamous Underground. Now that he's ascended to the title, he will need to straighten up his act to take his place in the ton and uphold the family name...no matter how little he wishes to do so.

Jane is a lady whose decisions have resulted in her current status as a companion. First she lost her father and then shortly afterward, her missing brother was declared dead. However, Jane refuses to believe that her brother is gone. Instead, she's sure the cousin only declared him dead in order to inherit the family's title and wealth. So instead of allowing him to care for her, or accepting his numerous marriage offers, she hired herself out as a companion and continues her search for news of her brother. When word reaches her of Stone's familiarity with the Underground, where her brother disappeared, she's sure his status as a gentleman will cause him to help her. Instead, she's forced to make a deal with Stone: her assistance in society comportment in return for his assistance in finding word of her brother.

It's not hard to quickly figure out where the plot is headed; but in this case it really is the journey that makes all the difference. Petersen imbues every scene with the smoldering passion between Stone and Jane...it fairly jumps off the page. And her deft handling of the growing relationship and caring between the hero and heroine made it seem perfectly believable. Her secondary characters were amusing and irritating in turn and included at least one whose story I'd like to read! It all comes together in a feel-good, sexy romance that's a quickish read...not a bad way to spend an afternoon, eh?

Jane Fenton was in `society' until her family died and instead of living off her cousin she decided to work. Viscount Nicholas Stoneworth's twin brother recently died and now he is the current Viscount. Nicholas chose to live his life as boxer and now doesn't fit with the `ton'. Jane asks Nicholas to looking to her missing brother who was involved in the opium world and Nicholas asks Jane to him relearn society rules. What makes this book different then all the rest is that Nicholas wants to chance to respect his deceased brother and his children and Jane is sitting in two worlds of servant and a Lady. You will love it , Enjoy!

If you enjoy this genre , I would also recommend; Lessons From a Courtesan, Scandalous,What the Duke Desires (due out October 2009) and all of the Lady Spies Series From London With Love(Lady Spies Book 1).

Jenna Petersen also writes under another name Jess Michaels which are historical romances (super hot romances); Everything Forbidden (Avon Red), Something Reckless (Avon Red) and her newest Taboo.

This was a fantastic, well-written story that engaged my attention and my emotions from start to finish! I highly recommend it!!

As a prized pugilist in London's seedy underground, Nicholas Stoneworth certainly knows how to take care of himself, though he hasn't always been a part of this kind of life. Born the second son of a marquis, he was never able to live up to his father's expectations. Thus, he left his privileged life behind seven years ago. Now he receives news he never thought he'd ever receive--his brother is dead. Since his brother had only daughters, Nicholas is thrust into the role of Viscount Stoneworth, a title he does not want. Upon reentering Society, he once again disappoints his father and embarrasses his family by behaving in a most depraved and ungentlemanly manner. After a heartfelt conversation with his sister-in-law, he is ashamed by his actions and wants to correct them to protect his nieces' futures and ensure his late brother's legacy.

Like Nicholas, Jane Fenton lives a life much different from that which she was born. Currently, Jane, the daughter of a viscount, serves as a lady's companion. After her brother disappeared and was later declared dead and her father passed away, Jane wanted nothing to do with or anything from the cousin who inherited her father's title. Especially since she doesn't believe her brother is actually dead. He was rumored to have been addicted to opium and vanished into the underground. Considering that the new Viscount Stoneworth just returned from there and also observing how unprepared he is for the title he now holds, Jane seeks him out to make a deal with him. She will reacquaint and instruct him on how to be a gentleman if he will use any connections he has to locate her missing brother. Nicholas agrees because he knows that in order to get into his family's and the ton's good graces and regain respect in the Stoneworth title, he must marry someone of good name and fortune. The question is, will either of them be successful in achieving their end of the bargain?

I really enjoyed Her Notorious Viscount. It features two lonely, but strong protagonists who constantly challenged each other and had much in common despite their current stations. Jane and Nicholas are both lost souls who no longer feel like they fit into either world; neither the one they were born into nor the one that they have been living in. They progressed from friends to lovers (with some hot love scenes) and each became a healing balm for the other. My heart went out to Jane who didn't want to consider marriage and basically put her life on hold until her brother was found and reclaimed his birthright. And also for Nicholas who could never seem to measure up to his brother in his father's eyes.

With Her Notorious Viscount, Jenna Petersen brings readers an engaging, tender story about two people searching for a place to belong and together finding that and so much more. This is one of my favorites by Ms. Petersen, who has an uncanny knack for creating secondary characters that make a reader clamor for their story. And this one is no exception!

Andrea
Romance Novel TV
4 stars

I thought this was a really sweet read with likeable characters. Granted, the story was incredibly unlikely and the heroine submits way too soon, but I enjoyed it for all that. I have few books of this type but am glad I bought this one and will read it again the next time I want something light and full of humanity and hope.

Her Notorious Viscount is my first historical romance by Petersen and I greatly enjoyed it. Starting a new HR author is always loaded with risk (IMO), but I was extremely relieved to see that Petersen doesn't employ any of those annoying story ploys that drive me crazy: NO major misunderstandings, NO ridiculous fights and obstacles that only exist to make the book longer, NO saboteurs who are in love with either the H/H and do everything they can to keep them apart (and of course, always almost succeed).

MAIN CHARACTERS, Miss Jane Fenton and Viscount Nicholas Stoneworth:
Jane and Nicholas were wonderful leading characters and there were some really humorous interactions between them, since Jane is Miss Prim and Proper and Nicholas has basically been shunning society and cast out of the ton for ~10 years. Another plus is the chemistry between them, which is very well written and sizzles off the pages.

*Super priceless* was when the Jane saves the Nicholas - such a nice change! She doesn't literally save him, but usually you have the hero who ends up facing down her bullies and yelling at them and then all of us female readers understandably sigh dreamily (probably don't need to add gender, since I think the size of the male audience is negligible - if it even exists). HERE, however, we have the heroine who sticks up for the hero and it was a total "you go girl" moment ;-).

OTHER COMMENTS:
I loved Nicholas' best friend, "Rage," and think he would be great as a hero in another book. I was also surprised to find that I really liked Viscount Patrick Fenton, Jane's cousin, and hope that he gets his own book. It was such a nice change to have another character who is in love with the heroine yet isn't manipulative, is an actual decent and honorable human being, acknowledges that the heroine doesn't like him in that way (also nice, because I hate when an author creates divided loyalties like that) and so goes out of his way to help the hero.

Although there was a mystery subplot, the way it played out was very interesting and it was a nice change to not have some crazed murderous greedy villain confusing things and somewhat unnecessarily. In some ways it kind of stretched plausibility, but we read these books for enjoyment, not reality, so it wasn't enough of a stretch to truly bother me.

BOTTOM LINE:
Her Notorious Viscount was a light and enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend for a lazy weekend afternoon. As an author, Petersen lines up with other historical romance writers like Julia Quinn and Karen Hawkins.

I have to agree that the story turned out to be a bit weak. I really wanted to like this book, and in the beginning I did. However towards the ends it gets boring and weak. The hero (Nicolas) was likable. The heroine (Jane) was ok. In the beginning and middle the story was doing fine. But towards the end the author created a brake up out of something lame and stupid. That what made the ending boring and some parts were really overly dramatic. It was just an ok read for me nothing to get excited about. Sex scenes were very brief. Not hot enough for me. I'm very surprised because, I usually really enjoy Jenna Petersen's books.

I am in total disagreeance with the reviews that had 3 stars or lower. The plot and character developments are definitely there and it has very deep meanings and explores everything in depth and Jenna Peterson does show everything and you can totally see how they grew to love each other. Other authors just suddenly throw the word love around but everything about this book just makes me empathize. The heroine and the hero are very alike in which they don't know which world they belong to (servitude and Society or underworld vs Society) and the message they carry where loving someone for who he is and not what he stands for just really hit the spot for me. Every little thing is shown through the characters' actions and words unlike other authors where they just simply say that so and so is considerate and so and so is being an ass. I would definitely recommend reading it if you want a good adventure that leads up to a heart felt happy ending.