Customer Reviews

Say You Love Me (Malory Family)

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(28)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Orphaned, Kelsey Langston and her young sister go to live with their aunt and uncle. One night, Kelsey finds her drunken uncle contemplating suicide. He his lost all of the family's money. He convinces Kelsey to sacrifice herself by becoming a rich man's mistress. For the love of her aunt and sister, Kelsey does. Derek Mallory notices an auction going on in one of the gentlemen's clubs he is visiting. A pretty, blushing girl is being auctioned off and the high bidder is Ashton, a known sadist. Unable to let the girl go to such a violent man, he bids on her and wins a mistress. But there is something about this young woman. Her speech and mannerisms are too fine. Surely she isn't a Lady. Derek soon realizes that he enjoys his mistress' company, but trouble is afoot. Ashton doesn't like losing to Derek. He intends to have Kelsey for himself. And he intends on punishing her for not belonging to him.

Kelsey is gentle, kind-hearted, resourceful, and charming. She is a very likable character and easily falls in love with Derek. Derek is protective, sexy, and caring. An absolute fantasy man. He and Kelsey sizzle together! A perhaps improbable story, but that is what it is. A tale of passion and love coming through. A wonderful addition to the Mallory books.

I received all the Malory novels for Christmas, just as SAY YOU LOVE ME was released in hardcover. I read them all, and went out and bought this book, as I could not wait until she published it in paperback. I am a huge fan of family series, and this one is fabulous. I love all the male characters, and their feminine counterparts are extremely exciting as well. I especially love how Reggie's two uncles continually berate Nicholas, years after they were married. I wanted to add, for the reader in Rochester, NY, who submitted her review on Feb 12, that the order for the Mallory novels is as follows: LOVE ONLY ONCE, TENDER REBEL, GENTLE ROGUE, THE MAGIC OF YOU, SAY YOU LOVE ME, and THE PRESENT. Hope you all enjoy them as much as I have!

Basically, I liked it, but when I get down to it, no I suppose I didn't. Hmmm. Well, it starts lowly (I didn't say slowly), the girl heads to a brothel (thanks to her dumb drunk desperate hysterical uncle), she gets into sick sad trouble, turns out she didn't have to be at the brothel, she hides away and gets sick, gets kidnapped, a scandal starts, oooh, which is cured suddenly somehow (can't remember how). There wasn't much strength nor energy here. However the kidnapper sadist was something... but so scary! Awful... I hope that doesn't happen to anyone. It's too bad that it already does. Seeing it in the book was a sad thing. But it was so wonderful how she got rescued. This is not one of those sweep-your-heart-away, give you something to remember, smile gently over romances. There are very few romances that fit into this category. If you want the best of the best, this one will disappoint on one level or the other, depending on the reader. What I mean to say is this book wont get you high. And if it wont, what's the point? You gotta make it all worth your while. I've just become picky, like some other reviewers, which is to hopefully result in great book-reading experiences, and no wasted ones.

_Say You Love Me_, the fifth book in the beloved Malory series, is the story of Derek Malory and Kelsey Langton. Though Derek has been a minor character in the background of the series, he definitely shines in this unique Regency romance.

Derek Malory, heir to the Marquis of Haverston, is following fast in the footsteps of his two rakehell uncles. Though more gentle and kindhearted in his love affairs, he is definitely a man interested in pleasure for pleasure's sake. Unlike other reviewers, I found it exhilarating to have a hero who wasn't an alpha male. Beyond popular belief, not all women are attracted to overbearing brutes and that's usually the type of hero you find in this genre. Derek Malory is a cut above the rest.

Kelsey Langton, though gently bred, must sell herself in a house of pleasure to save her family. Ignorant in the art of love, Kelsey is forced to act as mistress to the man who buys her. I was extremely impressed with Kelsey's character. She's strong, brave and self-sacrificing. In a genre full of selfish, conceited heroines Kelsey shines.

I've read numerous Regency-era romances, but _Say You Love Me_ is far from being a cardboard copy of the rest. The premise is interesting, the mystery intriguing and the love between Derek and Kelsey is sweet without being sugary. In fact, I found the entire book uniquely pleasurable -- I could scarcely make myself put it down.

_Say You Love Me_ would be an amazing story on its own, but it's even better as an addition to the Malory family saga. All of the previous characters are involved in the plot and help move the story along. As usual, their wit and charm make for an outstanding adventure.

Over the last 10 years I've come to expect great things from Ms. Lindsey and once again she's proven why that is. She creates memorable characters, puts them in fascinating situations and ties it all together with excitement, passion, romance and humor. I highly recommend this book to all fans of the Malory family.

This book does it again! I just love the Malory family and too read about Derek and Kelsay is even better! But there is a purpose why I gave this book 4 stars....only because I prefer James and Anthony over eveyone else. I loved their stories and when they get togther in other books, they are unbeatably funny!!! I love those brothers!!! So my favorite part in this book has too be when George gives birth to James's daughter Jack. That was a moment I was indeed crying and cheering over!! I am in the process of reading the first malory novel and when I'm done, on to The Present. I can't wait!!!!!!! Now I will have read all of them!!!! Only if the Author could read my this review, I hope she reads this: Where's Jeremy's story?!?! And there should be a book about Jason's story with Molly!!!! And what happened to the Anderson's after The Magic of You and that wonderful story about Warren and Amy (another favorite...that book touched me!). I can't get enough of that family!! All the books are great!!!

This is the second book by JL that I read this past year. I read many of her other books years ago, the moved away from her as I got bored and tried again in late 05' to early 06' to see if she was more interesting now. I also read "A Loving Scoundrel" (not bad) and then "Say You Love Me" (fair). Neither book was bad they simply weren't....great.

I'll just say in this book - the story was plausible and the characters believable, I just didn't feel any connection to the main hero and heroine Derek and Kelsey. I know a lot of Lindsay fans won't like any negative comments about their favorite author but, I'm coming from a general stand point of someone who does try very hard to read all the authors out there and like all the stories. I love "love stories" and want them all to be winners. But...I am honest when some stories don't work. It' only fair.

The plot itself was fine, the action and developments not unusual it's just...Derek wasn't all that interesting and frankly, neither was Kelsey. He was Mr. Nice guy doing all the right things and with all the right connections and she was of course beautiful, intelligent and from a good family too. From there...the plot was very basic - girl sells herself to help her family, she pretends to be someone she's not, great looking rich guy with title buys her to save her, makes her his mistress, they learn to like and love one another, he wants to marry her, she refuses to avoid scandals to both families, her aunt finds her once the truth is know and from there all the details, misconceptions and issues are brought to life. Especially other family secrets long hidden along the way. There were moments when I thought things might get interesting such as Kelsey slapping Derek the first time he got frisky with her as she thought it was his cousin that bought her and not him, then when Kelsey was left alone at his cottage for days without food, water or provisions and she had to fend for herself or when Kelsey finally told cousin Reggie about the whole situation and the truth finally came out but...nothing went much farther than the basics.

Many side characters were interesting in this book - the ENTIRE Malory family - especially the uncles. Even with the evil villain Ashford brought into the story, everything was predictable - Ashford would find Kelsey, make her pay for going with Derek instead of him at the auction and a serious brawl would ensue.

Nothing was awful or boring or terrible in this story - it just stayed a bit light and perky for me. Give me MORE in a historical romance - passion, intensity, desire, EMOTIONS. I imagine those of you who are already JL fans will continue to be fans with this book. Those who are not fans will find this story just ok, not at all memorable. Those like me who read a ton of romance books, know there are much better authors to be found out there. I feel that JL writes so many love stories over the years that either she or the writing is getting very bland. After all these years...her writing should have taken her to higher levels but, has not. Perhaps that's what the editors and publishers want?

I tried to give her another chance but, I'm bored again. I'll move on and work with other authors that give me that rush of excitement and joy I feel when I open a great book, stay up all night to finish it and then smile when I close the last page knowing I read an incredible story. I don't get that in JL books sorry to say. Wish I could give glowing reviews but, I can't. So, she gets three stars for a decent read but, no more.

Orphaned and penniless after losing their parents in an accident that has become known among the ton as The Tragedy, Kelsey Langton and her younger sister, Jean, came to live with their aunt and uncle. But when circumstance threatened to leave them all homeless, she feared for her sister's welfare and therefore made the decision to sell herself and become some aristocrat's mistress.

When Derek Malory accompanies his cousin, Jeremy, to the House of Eros, the most notorious brothel in London, little did he know that the night was going to cost him the exorbitant amount of twenty five thousand pounds for it was the night that Kelsey was being auctioned off to the highest bidder. When Derek realizes that the highest bidder was the debauched Lord Ashford, he finds himself outbidding him for fear of the sick things that would befall Kelsey if she ends up with Ashford. And so Derek inadvertently finds himself with a mistress. But what Derek doesn't know is that Kelsey is actually part of the gentry. She, on the other hand, tries to keep her real identity for fear of bringing more shame to her family. Regardless of this, both find themselves falling in love.

Well, the story started out well. The whole auction plot is quite good and both characters are very likable. I liked how Derek acts like a real gentleman towards Kelsey, something that you wouldn't expect from a Malory.

The only problem is the involvement of the Malory clan wasn't handled properly in that they pretty much take over most part of the book. Not that I didn't enjoy their appearance, but I just skipped on the parts that recap the story of the previous books' main characters. But a welcome addition is the insight to Jason Malory's love life. It was good to know a bit more about Derek's father. And of course, it is always delightful to see the banter between James and Anthony. I still enjoyed reading this even though the secondary characters tend to overtake the main ones.

I agree with some of the thumbs-down reviews. It was the worst Malory book. Derek WAS overshadowed and didn't seem much like a real romance HERO. Then Kelsey just SITS there, waiting for Derek in the house he's set her up in, knowing she loves him but thinking that he could never love her. What a LAME-O! And definitely: if the main hero and heroine are going to be overshadowed by retelling previous Malory books, it's time to write about other people. I totally, totally love the Malorys but this book was a tooootal turn off. Her latest Malory book (The Present) is just as bad. I think she's just bending to the pressure of her publisher and her readers to put out more Malory books. QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY!!!! Make the hero grow up and become a real man, a real hero. And the heroine definitely needs more guts/character! Please make sure Jeremy's book is better!

I have to disagree with the low rating given to this story by other readers, because Ms Lindsey ensures that the hero Dereck is quite unique - he resembles his dad Jason, but he is not like his uncles James and Tony and his cousins-in law Nicholas Eden and Warren Anderson!!! Readers must use logic, after all, Ms Lindsey is quite correct/original because she she does not typecast her Malory men!!! why do other readers expect the same old personality-type like Nicholas, Tony and that exception and BEST Malory male: James? Heroes in the same series MUST BE UNIQUE TO ENSURE VARIETY!!! Dereck is absolutely perfect in his own way!And the beautiful Kelsey is my favourite herione after Georgina...My only disappointement is the fact that a little too much information on the previous couples in the Malory series. Dereck and Kelsey did not receive the type of attention readers should have expected!!!I adore the other couples whose previous respective relationships were magical! BUT THIS IS NOT THEIR STORY!!! Other than that, the novel was perfect...

I love the story in this book as I love the whole Mallory series. But I find it very difficult to listen to the Audio Book with the man that reads this, I much perfer when Laurel does it.