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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprises, May 31, 2005
Ethan Damont is an ornamental gambler, making his living by fleecing aristocrats of their money. A group of Crown spies, called the Liars, try to recruit Ethan to spy on Lord Maywell, a suspected French spy. Lord Maywell, in turn, wants Ethan to spy for the French. To make things worse, each side wants Ethan to be a double spy for each other. In the middle of it all is Lady Jane, Lord Maywell's niece and a famous heiress. Lady Jane is the only person who trusts Ethan, and she has some very interesting surprises up her sleeve, even as Ethan tries to save her from himself.
I have enjoyed every book in this "Liars" series, and this story was excellent. With the Liars books, the plots are always fresh and unexpected, the characters real and believable, and the stories are top-notch. Ethan was a realistic alienated, gambling hanger-on of society, never fitting in, yet always welcome to aristocratic homes. Lady Jane appeared a regular society debutante, but as the story progresses, you see how strong and funny she really is. Lady Jane's mother was particularly entertaining. The supporting cast were all intersting and humorous. If you like regency romances, I highly recommend this book.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Marvelous, with a caveat, June 16, 2005
For the first 2/3 of the book, this was one of the most delightful books I've ever read -- thoroughly enchanting. I, for one, was always intrigued by Ethan and looked forward to his story. He is marvelous here -- such wit and tenderness, and self-doubt, and strength, beneath all that charm and insouciance. And Jane -- she was sheer delight from her first moment on the page. Their banter and chemistry was top-notch. I smiled through much of the first half of the book. A very solid 5 stars.
Suddenly, however, about 2/3 of the way through the book, Jane unveils her secret. This reader, at least, was unprepared. Looking back, there were some hints, but very, very vague and inconsequential. In fact, at times in the last third of the book, Jane almost seems a different person (like the scene where she seduces Ethan, the ramifications of which BTW were never resolved to my satisfaction). The jar felt here drastically cut my enjoyment of the book. Perhaps this is a case where the character simply pounced on the author late in the book and announced her "truth," demanding her way; it happens. Unfortunately, the author doesn't seem to have gone back and made sure it was all of a piece from beginning to end. Once the bad guys re-enter the picture, the story picks up and once again becomes familiar. Thus, the book is rescued. A twinge of annoyance remains, however, because I felt tricked by the twist.
I found the ending tied the book into both the Liars and the Royal Four series quite well. Be aware that the ending is one of those "Oh, please, don't make me wait for the next book; I'll go mad" sort of cliffhangers. Not regarding our romantic leads, but regarding the entire Liars/Royal Four spy world.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
B+/A- what pulls this up to an A- is the clever plot and action scenes, Ethan's character development, and continuing the saga, April 17, 2006
In this romance, the hero really is the main character and focus of the story. And we watch him try to court the heroine. (I'd say the book is 80% his and 20% the heroine's.) He likes to gamble esp. w/ cards - and that's how he's earned his living - he cheats too - he'll take money from the rich and spoiled and ungrateful without feeling guilty at all. And he's damn good at it. Ethan truly is a commoner, the son of a fabric merchant and a seamstress - he was sent to a rich school (where he met his only friend, Collis from book 4) where he didn't fit in and didn't excel and only disappointed his father. And learned to cheat really well. This is the best "commoner" hero I've read about so far - and in my opinion even better than Lisa Kleypas' "commoner heroes" - b/c he's not dangerous or violent - he's not bitter - he's not raging or out to prove anything - he just wants to live a happy cozy life gambling through card games taking money from the rich and drinking fine brandy and if there's a woman involved - great. that's fine too. He'd rather not take sides in anything. But he would like to "belong". Ethan Damont is only invited into the high-society b/c others want to play cards w/ him - he knows he doesn't belong and the ton would never DREAM of actually inviting him for dinner or a special formal occasion and they especially wouldn't introduce him to their daughters. At night he goes home (his posh yet cozy bachelor house in London) to ONE butler and ONE cook. He wants nothing to do with spies or England or the crown or danger - he just wants to be the desperado - and enjoy finer things in life like fashionable clothes and his favorite label of brandy and smoking cher-roots and of course - playing cards. Imagine a REALLY HOT Johnny Depp - but alas - the Liar's club needs him. He was much too involved in investigation against Lord Maywell (book 5 picks up right where he helps out in book 4). He doesn't WANT to help the Liars but they're not exactly "blackmailing" him - but he's not exactly a "tax-paying" man and he's sort of "obliged" to help them esp. now that he "knows" too much already....so he ends up frequenting Lord Maywell's house for cards and meeting the lovely Lady Jane of course . . .
Lady Jane really is a mystery and I remember thinking around the first quarter of the book, "What is UP with this heroine?!" We know so little about her except she flirts w/ Ethan and they kind of have a thing developing - she's a little sheltered but she's REALLY gutsy and you can tell she's smart . . . but we haven't really been told her past yet...
Fabulous Celeste Bradley plot. layers and turns. This book especially blends well with the previous book The Charmer. I've never been irritated w/ Bradley introducing and involving previous characters from the other books - (Whereas with other series authors, I find this gets VERY annoying after a while.) WARNING - SPOILER: I read a review that criticized the plot saying that Ethan should've known better that the infamous "Bedlam" institution was dangerous and he never would've sent Jane there if he was smarter. What that reviewer probably missed (which is why I NEVER skim through Bradley's books) is that Ethan made a gamble with the villain (Jane's uncle) and chose for Jane to be sent to "Bethlehem Hospital" b/c he believed she would be safer there out of her uncle's harm. However her evil uncle sent her to Bedlam institution instead against Ethan's knowledge b/c he didn't have the authorization papers - and when the carriage stopped outside of Bedlam - THEN Ethan realized he had been duped by the villain and he had to save Jane.
The rescue escape scene had me rolling on the floor and grinning like an idiot with laughter!!!! It is by far the CLEVEREST rescue scene I have EVER read in a romance. I don't care if Bradley had to go to extremes in the plot just to fit it in - I'm SOOOOO glad that she did!!!
Finally, three cheers for Bradley for showing us a romance where the hero is the one who reinvents himself and deals with the struggles and human error and he isn't the perfect one where we read about it and end up thinking, "oh of course every hero is like that". His mantra and personality and whit is unlike anything I've ever read yet. I'd give it a B+/A- (what pulls this up to an A- is the clever plot and action scenes, Ethan's character development, and continuing with the drama of the Liars and the Royal Four!) Celeste Bradley fans would appreciate this - but if this is the very first book of hers you read you'll probably think "WTH is going on?!?"
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