Customer Reviews

Never Lie to a Lady

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a delightful, big old chunk of a book that refuses to be hurried. The author is a master of this genre and not for a moment will your reading pleasure be taken for granted. We care greatly for the male/female leads seeing in both of them the pain of the outsider and how their very forward-thinking behavior contrasts with the rest of the stuffy ton. Plus the secondary characters!!! There are enough wily servants, clever Scots, Irish, effeminate "stylists/decorators" and plotting family members to stock a small Shakespeare company. Each one is carefully personalized--individual enough so that we enjoy their character, smile at their interference in the leads' lives and wait for their next "bit o' business". Of course, there are subplots, spy deals, smuggling and all that kind of window dressing but appropriate for the time and the business of international shipping--which our female lead handles with ease and independance. If you need to rush--this book is not for you. But for a lovely vacation or all that time waiting in the orthodontist's office--this gem is perfect.

Liz Carlyle is capable of so much, so I don't know what happened here. I guess that she decided to pick up a few of the successful elements from previous books - a practical, business-minded woman who can compete in a man's world, a dastardly rake, fierce sexuality, a hint of intrigue - and hoped that if she tossed them together any which way the results would be satisfactory. Well, she was wrong.

What bothered me here is that Xanthia and Nash's relationship is so exclusively sexual that although I totally believed that they were hot for one another, and would go out of their way to arrange trysts and such, I never saw any kind of loving or emotional attachment developing at the same time. The kiss, they grope in public, they meet in back alleys; ok, sure. All of the soulmate, yearning for one another, emotional trappings just seemed like the kind of self-deception so many people indulge in when they don't want to see how simple and base their own motives really are.

If Liz Carlyle were writing erotica, this might fly - but she's not, she's writing a romance where the love connection never happens. And the book suffers as a result.

Carlyle's most recent efforts, while they were quite enjoyable, don't quite pack the punch of earlier books like No True Gentleman or My False Heart, both of which are on my keeper shelf. With Never Lie to A Lady, Carlyle is drinking caffeine again. A strong, beautiful heroine who runs a business and has needs of her own; a libertine English marquess by way of Montenegro who hates the Turks. Two people drawn to each other, a gun-running plot and the search for a spy. Carlyle knows her pre-Victorian London and she draws it almost as well as Barry Eisler does Tokyo in his Rain series. The difference is Carlyle's London hasn't existed for almost 200 years. But you see the Docklands and the Pool, the bustling commerce, the lawns running down to a rural Thames. If you loved Max Rohan and Elliott Armstrong, the Marquess of Nash is cut from the same exciting cloth. And Max and George Kemble are back in this book, partners in crime-fighting yet again. I read this book from cover to cover in one sitting.

I didn't feel anything for the characters at all. They bored me to tears. They meet... they're attracted to each other... they wow each other with their "radical" outlooks... they have sex... then stroll in the park, talking blandly about a bunch of boring stuff (business, politic)... then they have sex again... and apparently the sex is so mind-blowing that the hero falls in love with her. And all the while, she's trying to decide whether or not he's a traitor. Okaaay.. where's the romance?

I've always loves the independent heroine type; women who take their lives into their own hands and create a world for themselves that doesn't revolve around their husbands. I adore those kind of people... but independent disposition aside, there should be something else worth liking about their personality; A fun, refreshing sense of humour... an optimistic, unique outlook on life... a special skill or ability...a sweet, generous nature... a daring and quick wit...or even a fiesty, willful temperment. Anything at all that makes her stand out among her peers... not just the fact that she's independent. Because anyone can be independent, but still bored you to tears with their lack of personality.

Unfortunately, Xanthia falls into this latter department. I didn't find anything worth liking about her personality. Her independence in based on the fact she has a career and she freely takes lovers just like a man. I'd rather have Xanthia be a woman whose independence is defined by the way she defies social expectation. I'd rather have her uniqueness based on the fact that she doesn't give a damn what people think. Unfortunately, she does. Her behavior confuses me. She turns Nash down at first becuase she doesn't want to cause scandal, yet contrary to what society would approve of, she runs a shipping business and works in one of the most sketchy part of the city... Doesn't make any sense. If she's already defying social expectation by having a career, then why care what people think about her taking a lover?

Eventually Xanthia and Nash do become lovers. How and Why? Because Xanthia is spying to see if Nash is guilty of treason... huh...
Before knowing more about what kind of man he is and whether or not he's guilty, she sleeps with him. THEN, she decides "Oh, he must be innocent!" He doesn't SEEM like a traitor...hmmm.. Talk about bias. Instead of being the wise, down-to-earth heroine I hoped her to be (by waiting to learn more about him BEFORE having a relationship with him) she sleeps with him first, develops feelings for him (which from what I've seen are mostly just basic lust and sexual desires) THEN forms a verdict on his innocence. For an independent, free-thinking woman she sure acts like an illogical idiot.

Nash, on the other hand, is also boring as hell. Just a regular ol' rake...only, without any of the irresistible rakish charms. He's neither dashing nor fun nor especially sexy .. at least not to me. He's not physically or emotionally flawed in any way, so there's no compassion to be felt for our hero. He doesn't have a dark past or a shady secret... so he lacks the aura of mystery and danger. He's neither witty or display a unique charm. He doesn't have a skill or an admirable ability. His physical description doesn't leave one dreamy or sighing with wistfulness. Supposedly, he has an imposing and attractive presence, but I sure didn't see it. Nash.... takes mistresses and runs from the idea of marriage...typical, but... uh uh...not my kind of hero.

The couple together is uninteresting. The spy business takes any lightness out of the story and also any of the romance. Who'd wanna read page after page about government policies, conflicts between political parties, the how one country is using spies to infiltrate another. When I pick up a romance novel and I expect to have some fun... go on adventures...see some lovin'... and giggle stupidly like a silly girl. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. When Nash and Xanthia meet, they talk politely, inertly to each other. Their conversations are largely about politics and business... *yawn*... then out of nowhere, one person would make an innuendo to the other... and ooo the passion is simmering. Pff...yeah right. Whatever tension there is between them feels artificial and fake...limited to their shallow admiration for each other's bodies and their desire to couple... She doesn't seem so special that he can't stop thinking about her. And he doesn't seem worthy enough for her to risk that independence she struggles to hard to protect. I can't see what she loves about him and I can't see what he loves about her.So in the end, it's just the two of them adoring each other, with me -the reader- standing to the side, scratching my head and wondering to myself ...why?

All in all, I love Carlyle. I've read her for years, but I didn't like this book. It doesn't touch me in any way. And pardon me for being a little conservative, but I find the idea of her giving him a BJ the first time they have sex a little disgusting... She barely knows the guy! Eww... Not romantic, not sweet... just eww. Ok... That's all I have to say.
Oh and please keep in mind that these are MY opinions. They may not be true for everyone. So, take my word for what it is, but if you want to read the book and form your own opinion, please do... I look forward to hearing what everyone else think..

A woman married to her work discovers there is more to life than the bottom line in this spy-laden regency era romance. Twenty-nine-year-old Xanthia Neville has for years run her family's shipping business. She is smart, successful and adores her work - but she has never been in love. Xanthia has avoided matrimony, for most men do not permit their wives to work, and her business shares would go to her husband upon marriage. Nevertheless, she has a vague sense of loneliness and is considering the daring notion of taking a lover when she encounters an intriguing stranger, Lord Stefan Nash, on her cousin's darkened terrace. Totally out of character, she allows Nash to take rather far-reaching liberties with her, but at the last minute panics and runs away mortified. Nash discovers her name and tracks her down, but she assures him she expects nothing from him.

A few days later, Xanthia and her brother are visited by investigators from the Home Office who ask if she will befriend Lord Nash, who they suspect of being a gun smuggler. They want her to pretend to be a bit shady in her shipping activities, hoping that Nash will take the bait and use her ships for his illicit activities. Or that she can find something incriminating on him. Xanthia jumps at the chance to help. But is she truly out to trap Nash or, rather, prove his innocence?

I am a big Liz Carlyle fan, and this book is worth the read, but is not as strong as some of her other works. Most of the weakness is in the first half of the book, when Xanthia's spy tactics toward Nash cast a shadow over their burgeoning romance. Her pretending to be corrupt and her in-your-face, incautious sexual aggressiveness are real turn-offs. It is not consistent with the person she first presented to Nash - the one he fell for - and it is hard to believe Nash would find this behavior desirable. Xanthia's watchdog Mr. Kemble, who I liked in previous books, now has irritatingly overdone "interior decorator" mannerisms that are not endearing. The book has a much better second half, when Xanthia softens and is more circumspect. I like the way their relationship evolves, with Nash a very appealing hero right to the end. The scenes at his homes are particularly well done, as his feelings for Xanthia become more evident. The title, BTW, has nothing to do with the book. 3 1/2 stars...with a good finish.

I was hesitant to buy this book; Carlyle's last two disappointed me. However, she really redeemed herself with this one. She has a great anti-hero, a heroine that appeals to 21st century women, and a couple of nice twists in the end. We are also treated to a visit from de Vendenheim and Kemble from No True Gentleman (Sonnet Books), two characters I was glad to see again.

I just could not get over the fact that Xanthia was running a shipping empire that measures up to the likes of the East India company. I could really enjoy this of a contemporary, but a historical? A Regency Historical? I don't mind historical inaccuracies and women ahead of their time, but Xanthia just rang too false it got annoying. Lord Nash, the gentleman spy was equally annoying. He was just plain boring and seemed like a rehash of previous Liz Carlyle heroes. I'm pretty wary of reading the rest of this trilogy based on this disappointing beginning.

Upon finishing this book, I did enjoy it overall, but it seemed to move at such a slow pace, it was almost irritating. The story revolves around Xanthia Neville, part owner of Neville Shipping, and Lord Nash, a notorious and mysterious rake. A chance meeting of passion begins Lord Nash's interest and pursuit. But Xanthia, a business woman ahead of her time, is put off at first. But upon learning of a possible smuggling plot, Xanthia is back in the game, trying to learn what she can about Nash's possible involvement. But what she does learn is their shared outsider status, both being "foreigners" and not quite fitting in to the society of the "ton" - the real man behind the rumors. The plot (once it gets going) is good, but it takes some patience to get there. Some offshoot characters like Kemble and Nash's valet add some fun to the story. I just finished reading the 2nd book in the series, Never Deceive a Duke, and I found it to breathtakingly excellent in comparison. Lady is still a good read, and helps understand some of the characters in Duke which is a real 5 star read!

Dark, dangerous and intelligent, of eastern European and English descent, Lord Stefan Nash, is a compelling, complex man who finds himself captivated and involved with the intelligent, independent. businesswoman, Xanthia, who recently arrived in England after nearly 30 years in Barbados. They are both outsiders, citizens of the world with broad views and interests, unable and unwilling to constrict themselves to the provincial world of english society. The time period is the late 1820s, the political atmosphere in Europe in the years after Napolean is unstable at best. I found the time period used an interesting and not often used departure from the norm, the prejudices and perameters of societal situations are the hints, the precursers if you will, of the geo-political and societal changes to come to the British empire and other world nations. Nations are jockeying for positions of political and economic strength. The British empire well in the thick of the machinations, must protect it's interests, and America wants a footing in mix. The worldly, Xanthia and Stefan are thrust into the intrigue of the political and societal undertones, where it leads their relationship, is not a rosy, predictable resolution formula. This book is a well crafted blending of compelling, sultry sensuality, intrigue, and well developed supplementary character storylines. I enjoyed the pacing and the prose. Shortcomings?...IMO not many. The well rounded, strength of character and personality in Stefan and Xanthia along with the developing, rich intimacy and mutual respect in their relationship is more than worthy of 5 stars. I will re-read this book - In short, I recommend it.

Lord Nash is dark and dangerous. Although accepted by the ton due to his title and his wealth, he rarely partakes of the societal entertainments. Attending the Sharpe ball for business, Nash meets the sensual beauty, Xanthia Neville.

His pursuit of the passionate Xanthia leads him into an intrigue involving smugglers, spies, treason and love.

Never Lie to a Lady is full of the unexpected. I was surprised by many of the directions the plot took. From Xanthia's past to the identity of the traitor, I was pleasantly shocked. I do so love to be fooled.

Never Lie to a Lady has an engaging and unpredictable plot, a strong and independent heroine and a romantic love story. Liz Carlyle has begun a trilogy that promises to be extraordinary!

Annmarie
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed