Customer Reviews

Secret Desires Of A Gentleman

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This lastest installment of the Girl-Bachelor series though well-written and an easy read really missed the mark. I wish the end was more balanced to the beginning and middle because I felt robbed of a truly good love story at the end.
First, I did not like that 12 years had passed since Philip had sent the Maria away. (I guess all the girl bachelors have to be pushing 30) From a plot point of view, it bothered me because the way Philip was portrayed,it to seemed to me implausible that he would not have married during that time span. Second,the potential for the previous girl bachelors to meet, dish and advise Maria was wasted! I would have liked it better if Emma and Prudence would met at Marias shop and talked as the independent women they were, but no we had to go back to their old boarding house for tea and have the landlady, Mrs. Morris,lecture Maria on the importance of virtue and reputation. I felt the whole time I was reading this scene that the only reason for Maria to be there at tea was to introduce the reader to the next girl bachelor for the next book in the series. Third, the love story had such potential, but the time spent between the Philip and Maria as they were opening up, revealing their true feelings and admitting their love for each other was too brief. The author built up the story and in my opinion let me down with a final scene that I truly hated!!! *Spoiler Alert* in comments if your interested in why I hated the ending.
This book really disapointed me. I loved "And then he kissed her" the first Girl-Bachelor book. Emma and Harry were such great characters, the story was fresh and plot held my attention. The second book in the series. Wicked ways of a Duke was subpar.I have yet to read the whole thing though I read parts of it and the end because it could not keep my interest. I hope that Laura Lee Gurke gives us something new in the next book in the series and gets away from the aristoracy, please champion a captain of industry or a Military officer for god sakes. I will have a hard time believing if the next book follows the formula of the first three books that four women from Mrs. Morris boarding house would all marry into the aristoracy. If that is the case Mrs. morris will be a rich women because she will be able to charge whatever rent she wants because girls be flocking to her door since her establishment seems to be the hot spot in London to marry and aristocrat!

I am a fan of Laura Lee Guhrke's "Girl Bachelor" series. I especially liked "And Then He Kissed Her," due in no small part to the heroine, Emma Dove. She was an independent, talented woman who was very likable. The hero, Harry, was likable too while still being very much an alpha. I also liked Guhrke's writing style, which was fun, breezy, and kept the story moving. So I was very surprised by this book, because I found it extremely difficult to like either of the lead characters, and I didn't particularly care for the story.

SPOILER ALERT:
Maria is supposed to be one of the finest pastry chefs in Europe. Her father was once the chef to the "hero," Phillip. Because Maria is the daughter of the help, Phillip cannot get over the difference in their social positions, and treats Maria shabbily throughout almost the entire book. There is no heat or chemistry between them; when he grabs her and kisses her, then later basically attacks her in a carriage, it seemed to make no sense. They really don't seem to like each other very much, and it's not the kind of "they don't like each other but there is a lot of tension building" fun sort of plot you might expect.

Perhaps the most egregious part of the book is the ending. Phillip proposes to her in front of a whole roomful of people at a dinner. This might have been romantic, but somehow I just kept wishing it would end. It felt stilted and embarrassing and completely implausible. And then there is the matter of Maria's greatest joy in life, which is supposed to be cooking. She is a marvelous pastry chef, as previously mentioned, and her lifelong dream is to have her own pastry shop. She finally achieves this at the beginning of the book, and chapter after chapter we are reminded of her love of and dedication to her job, which is really her passion. After Phillip proposes, Maria decides, in one sentence, to give it all up! Again, this didn't feel real or authentic to the character.

Guhrke is a good writer, so her vivid descriptions and excellent secondary characters (especially Lawrence, the younger and much more appealing brother) earn this book two stars. But the lead characters and story just seem "off." A disappointing entry in an otherwise good series.

I've said before that I love Laura Lee Guhrke's work so it pains me to give one of her creations anything less than 5 stars. However, if I'm perfectly fair I have to. This book has a lot of good points, but the not so great points seem to overpower them at times.

I thought at first it was going to be another homerun for Ms. Guhrke, but it soon became clear that it had problems. One of which was the attitude of the hero. Yes, he changes his tune in time, but he spends quite a bit of the book pontificating on how he is so much more superior than our lowly pastry chef heroine. And while that is true from society's perspective, considering their history it makes him seem uncaring, snobbish and sometimes downright mean. It would have been nice to see him show a little more appreciation for his 'true north'.

In some ways it was refreshing seeing him come to realize that he had always been in love with Maria, the chef's daughter, but it took just a little too long for him to realize it. For her part, I really liked Maria, except for those 3 or 4 times when she sounded like a card carrying suffragette. The 'you must respect me, I'm an independent woman' routine didn't seem appropriate for the time period and made her seem a little unreasonable. Not that Phillip helped anything with his stark proclamations and demands.

But it was all interesting enough that I might have gotten over all that if the ending hadn't been so rushed. It could have used another chapter or an epilogue at the very least. I was not crazy about the public make-up scene either. Totally out of character for the straightlaced Marquess of Hawthorne. I'm sure that was intentional to show us how much he had changed and how much he loved Maria after all, but it didn't ring true to me.

Not the worst book I've read, but it could have been better.

Wow, such a diversity of opinion on this book! Secret Desires of a Gentleman is the third book in Guhrke's "Girl-Bachelors" series, which focuses on heroines forging their way though Victorian London and finding romance on the way, of course! I enjoyed this book immensely and devoured it in one night, unlike the second book in the series, which I gave up on halfway through. It was a light and frothy read, with a spunky and savvy heroine and sizzling chemistry between the protagonists.

Maria Martingale, like Emmaline Dove in the wonderful first book of the series And Then He Kissed Her, goes into trade, opening up her own pastry shop. Of course, the perfect location for her shop is right next door to the Hawthorne brothers, with whom she has a complicated history, to put it mildly.

What ensues is a charming homage to the seminal romance novel, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, with Phillip Hawthorne as a nice stand-in for Mr. Darcy, as well as the classic movie Sabrina - The Centennial Collection. Guhrke does a great job of integrating these two timeless plots and bringing them alive during the Victorian era, a unique time for women in history when "girl-bachelors" did indeed start to "mess with typewriters and latch-keys" (from A Room With A View ... although E.M. Forester's Howards End (Dover Thrift Editions) is probably a more accurate and sober depiction of the era).

Honestly, the only reason why I couldn't give this one five stars is because of the overly sappy ending, which was totally cringe-worthy. But the rest of the novel more than makes up for the ending!

Overall I enjoyed this book. It's got its share of flaws but is still much better than the last book in the series.

Unlike other posters on this board, I found myself liking Phillip much better tha Maria. He may have seemed like a snob, but all his objections about a union between Maria and him or his brother are valid and in keeping with the times. In comparison, Maria's complete disregard of the social gap or her utter unawareness of it seemed very unreal and conceited. I found it ironic and contradictory that the author chose to write a series about girl-bachelors - independent women in trade whose merit lies not in their birth but in their intelligence and character - and yet still found it necessary to pair them all up with rich aristocrats. And if the author insists on such pairings, why fail to explore the social ramifications? It's a little hard for me to believe the society would have so readily accepted both Prudence's and Emma's matches. This series has so much potential to be so much more complex and richer. It's a pity that the author chose to make it into romance-lite. I would love it if one of the next books in the series featured a boy-next-door hero - someone who's actually worth less than the price of a small island.

As for the story, the biggest flaw is that the central romance wasn't developed enough. We find out early on that Phillip was in love with Maria, and has been for years, but Maria remained clueless and it wasn't until the book is two thirds over that she exhibited any kind of feeling towards him at all. I didn't get the feeling that she thought much about him at all prior to his big declaration, and even afterwards it still felt pretty one-sided.

Still, this was an entertaining and quick read and I would definitely check out other books in the series if given the chance.

I really enjoyed reading this book so much that I finished it one reading. I couldn't put it down. I know some people did not like the hero but when I read about the ribbon, and when he whispered his reason for separating Maria from Lawrence all those years ago, I just melted. I have a weakness for stories with lost loves from long ago and this one is wonderful.

Although I enjoyed the other books in this series this one wasn't a keeper for me. As some other reviewers have commented, I had some problems with the "hero" (I thought he was a jerk) and the ending left a lot to be desired. It just wasn't believable. This book is a disappointment compared to other books by this author, many of which I've enjoyed for their light, breezy quality and sweet romantic scenes.

My affections wavered throughout this book. There were things I really liked about it and things I really disliked about it.

I liked the heroine Maria and the hero's brother, Lawrence. The heroine has spunk and a good sense of humor, qualities shared with Lawrence.

I did not like the hero, Phillip. I like a book where the guy thinks he's better than the girl, but sees the error of his ways when he falls in love. Phillip had been in love with Maria for 14 YEARS and yet he looked down on her until almost the end of the book.

Given this, I wonder at their HEA. He swallowed his pride to get what he wanted but never seemed to really appreciated how shabbily he had treated her and how it made her feel. I know it was presented as self preservation, but ouch!

The relationship, which took a long time to build over the course of the book, kicked into high gear very sudddenly towards the end. Strangely, before the Phillip FINALLY made his move, there had been no indication that Maria felt romantic toward him in the least.

Also, there was far too much time spent describing food. We all have to eat, but I am just not that interested in reading about it. The time Guhrke spent disussing food would have been better spent exploring the heroine's emotions towards the hero. Also, I hated the ending scene. I cannot stand public declarations/displays of affection,

Still, I give this book 3.5-4.00 stars because of the powrful emotions it invoked.

Secret Desires of a Gentleman is something of a Cinderella story in that the heroine, Maria Martingale, is a servant, and the hero, Phillip Hawthorne is the Marquess of Kayne. The only thing is the prince in this tale is decidedly uncooperative and adheres to social hierarchy in a most undemocratic fashion. He's a bit stuffy and strict, and practically everyone calls him a snob, but I thought it was realistic of him, in no way a huge character flaw. It was a nice concession to the historical, social circumstances of the book, and nothing that he should have to apologize for (though of course he does eventually have to see the light and recant.) The heroine was likeable, a spunky, fun type of character who is hell bent on setting up her own patisserie. She's independent, intelligent, hardworking, and never backs down from a fight. She also has a career, and her professionalism is admirable and impressive. But she also has a sense of humor, isn't above a little crafty subterfuge, is easy going and playful - the exact opposite of Phillip, the stodgy, virtuous businessman. They complemented each other nicely and were well matched, I thought.

Phillip and Maria already have a history together when the story opens, and I don't want to reveal too much because part of the story is the unfolding of, not only their present relationship, but of their past and the way in which Phillip's younger brother Lawrence fits into the mix. Lawrence and Maria had tried (unsuccessfully) to elope 12 years ago, and Maria hasn't seen either of the two brothers since. All this changes thanks to a coincidence, about as subtle as a ton of bricks, whereby the shop Maria wants to move into for her patisserie is located right next door to where Phillip and Lawrence live. Since Phillip doesn't want Maria anywhere near his brother, he tries to have her evicted from the shop. And Maria certainly isn't to take that lying down. Let the wild rumpus start.

Despite the book's promising beginning, I was disappointed in the love triangle involving these three, because the author clearly took the easy way out and from the start there's never any question which brother Maria really loves, which brother she's loved all along in fact. Love triangles of this sort are always opportunities for a lot angst, forbidden love, divided loyalties, etc. but none of that came up in Secret Desires of a Gentleman. This conflict was never more than a pretense, leaving me to wonder why Guhrke ever bothered with it in the first place. The real more concern lies with the more simplistic angle of how Phillip, it is revealed, has carried a torch for Maria since the beginning - hence the title. The repressed British peer resisting his attraction to a woman for whom he shouldn't feel anything has been done before - even by Guhrke herself, and here it seemed kind of rote, especially in light of all the creative opportunities offered by the aforementioned love triangle, all of which were never taken advantage of. Oh well. Still Phillip and Maria had good chemistry most of the time, and there were some great moments in the story - mostly involving Phillip silently pining after Maria. The book does a good job convincing me of their fundamental friendship through some touching flashbacks. And always Guhrke excels when it comes to the steamier side of their relationship - in particular Phillip's passion for Maria is pretty intense. As for their love - the jury's still out on that one I think.

The book derailed when it came to Phillip's first proposal. Maybe it's just me and I'm reading something into it that's not there, but their whole argument during that scene had strong echoes of Pride and Prejudice - the tone, what is said, the progression of their conversation, its outcome. I felt like the author wrote it right after watching Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle hash it out on screen, and part of me is delighted at those overtones - anything having to do with Pride and Prejudice can't be a bad thing. But then again, the episode didn't really ring true at the same time, as if the characters were being forced into a role that didn't quite fit, and it seemed like a poor imitation of the original (assuming there even was an original - though other reviewers have noted the Pride and Prejudice connection as well.)

Whatever the case, the end result is I started liking the book less and less, particularly when Maria makes a certain decision regarding career vs. marriage. I think the whole girl-bachelor group is a poor representation of pioneering feminists/working girls, and I am not impressed with their little Sunday tea-time ritual of telling whoever the one whose story is at hand that she must be in love, she must marry, etc. They don't seem to care about anything else, and I hate the "advice" they give each other. Prudence especially. I know I'm being picky, and it's not like she shows up for more than a few pages out of the whole book, but still good old Pru really gets on my nerves. All this (but mostly Maria's sacrifice and a very cheesy, clunky final scene) put a major damper on things for me. Even though I mostly enjoyed the book while I was in the midst of it, I can't say that I find Secret Desires of a Gentleman all that memorable.

I am really torn about this book. There were so many things I enjoyed about it. Maria, the heroine is such a wonderful character, but the hero is such a snob, and the ending seemed rushed and abrupt. I found it hard to believe that this man would make such a complete change at the end and she would give up her dream business after working so hard for it for so long. LLG is a fantastic author, but her earlier books were better. Still, it was a great light read.