For Love Alone [Mass Market Paperback]

Shirlee Busbee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2000

After her husband dies, Lady Sophy Marlowe vows she will never wed again, except for love. So when she is suspected of murder, and Viscount Ives Harrington saves her from the gallows, she is none too pleased to have to marry him in exchange for his calculated kindness. But the union of these two passionate people is destined to become much more than a marriage of convenience.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A Regency-set historical romance, Busbee's latest follows Gypsy Lady and Love Be Mine. Though graced by two charming protagonists, widowed Lady Sophy Marlowe and Viscount Ives Harrington (lately arrived from the Peninsular Wars), this romance-cum-spy-mystery sags badly in the middle and is barely redeemed at the last minute by a breathtaking land-and-sea chase. Sophy, who had been victimized by a brutal husband, has no desire to ever marry again. Ives, looking for a wife to bear him an heir (his entire family was murdered by a spy for Napoleon), doesn't expect to fall in love. Sophy, however, agrees to marriage when, as a suspect, she needs an alibi for a murder investigation. This is an unpromising start for a good relationship, but these passionate lovers have what it takes. Unfortunately, only the most patient of readers will persevere in sorting out the multitude of would-be villains in this uneven story. (May)

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Shirlee Busbee is the proud author of 11 novels, including seven New York Times bestsellers. Published since 1977 and with over nine million copies of her books in print, she is the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in writing, including the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and Affaire de Coeur's Silver and Bronze Pen Awards. Shirlee lives in California with Howard, her husband of 34 years, two standard schnauzers, and the Standardbred horses the couple raise for pleasure.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446605328
• ISBN-13: 978-0446605328
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,056,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not that good either..., March 3, 2002

By 

Layla Halabi (Dubai - UAE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For Love Alone (Mass Market Paperback)

The first pages promise a good book, unfortunately, they fail to deliver. Sophy never seems 'right' somehow, alternating between strong willed and yielding.. Her character has promise that is never really fully developed in the book.

The hero, Ives wants revenge, then he forgets about revenge and decides he wants Sophy, then he wants revenge again, then he wants the spy..?? It seems that the author never really managed to get it all together. There are a lot of loose ends throughout the book and too many questions left unanswered..

Overall, I found the plot too thin and too unbelievable. The bit about the spy was obviously forced to add an 'interesting dimension' and had the writer managed to tie all the pieces together, the story would have been excellent..

I did manage to finish the book since it did have its moments and it does get better towards the end, so it's not a total write-off.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No Love for Love Alone., December 26, 2000

By 

Iphiginia (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For Love Alone (Mass Market Paperback)

To the point: Too formulaic and contrived.

I always hate to put down a book before I've given it a chance, but I gave this one several and finally decided to let it go. For one thing, after reading such wits as Julie Garwood and Jo Beverley, I found that the dialogue here was not up to par. Too contrived. Too, shall we say, purple prosey. I tired of the arching brows and saucy comebacks. It seems like the author just added the sparring because it seems expected in a romance. It just didn't ring true.

More importantly, I disliked the characters. The hero in particular; his unimaginative name--Harrington--it sounds like a fifties style coat or a couch you'd want to get rid of, and in fact, he was about as much fun as a moldy couch. Yes, I want a beautiful hero, with angst, and arrogance, but Ives Harrington was a cookie-cutter hero with all the right stuff and nothing out of the ordinary--interesting, that is. Same with the heroine. It seems like the author wanted her to be everything: innocent but worldly, saucy but shy, irritated with Harrington for practically stalking her (I sure was) but all giggley and blushing because he was handsome and interested. Can you say gag me! If you like unimaginative plots and devastatingly beautiful characters that follow your basic romance recipe in an un-interesting sort of boring way, this is the novel for you.

The only reason why I gave it 3 stars was because my attention was unwittingly snagged by the suspense. I yawned through the hero's blustering and the heroine's lovesick sighs and blushing, but was actually quite curious to find out the identity of The Fox, and was making guesses all through the book. Also, it was unimaginative, but well written.

In keeping with my not good, but not too bad theme, I give it three stars. I certainly do not recommend it, but if it were the last book on the planet, I would still read it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Comparison with other books by Shirlee Busbee, August 24, 2000

By 

Penny Gerbracht (Erie Pa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For Love Alone (Mass Market Paperback)

If you have never read a Shirlee Busbee book then you don't know what your missing. She always has some kind of suspense and mystery along with the great romance that she writes. The first book I ever read by her was Lady Vixen (which I consider to be an awsome book) so I compare all of her other books to this one. This book has all the fine makings of a great book but kind of falls flat with the historical part. The suspense and mystery are there and this is one of the reasons this book is a page turner. You don't know who the spy is until the end.