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44 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well..., January 6, 2005
Ms. Enoch is a truly talented author but her latest offering has fallen a bit short of what she normally provides her readers. Overall this was your typical regency set romance. What was not typical was the unlikable heroine Eleanor.
I wanted to like Nell. I truly did...but she came off as petulant, spoiled, and self serving. These were just some of her finer qualities! She wants one thing but ignores her inner voice when it tells her she is about to partake in a particular activity that perhaps she would be better off avoiding. The fact that she does the exact thing (not thinking and acting like a twit at the ripe old age of 21) that her brothers were "protecting" her from does not increase her "likeability factor" at all. For the entirety of the read she "wants" one thing but doesn't know what it is. Okay. But does she take time to figure out what that "something" is? The answer is no.
Valentine on the other hand is your typical rake hero. He lives a life that is well...rather colorful and he has no real use from woman (this is part of his past) and so when Eleanor's brother calls in a favor and asks Valentine to "watch" over Nell to make sure that she doesn't bring scandal to the proper Griffin name, Valentine is justifiably shocked. He represents "Sin" personified! Now honor demands that he watch out for the impetuous Nell. What he can't understand is why he is suddenly seeing her in a new light.
This was an okay read. Again it's hard to get invested in a read when one or both of the main characters turn you off. I did try to put myself in Nell's shoes and I could understand how she would have felt rather smothered by her protective older brothers. What I couldn't understand was her flaky behavior. There really seemed to be no rhyme or reason for what she did. Valentine was the better of the two and even he at times made me frustrated. Basically this is not the best that this author can do and I can't tell you how hard that is for me to say. I love Ms. Enoch and buy her books simply because her name is on the cover. I will continue to do so and I recommend that if you are new to this author, please don't judge her off of this effort. She has many worthy titles on her backlist that I highly recommend.
Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Suzzane Enoch has penned a great regency!, September 19, 2005
I had bought this book from my local bookstore a while back, and never read it. However, after getting some advice I got it again but this time from my library. I'm so glad that I gave this author another chance. I absolutely loved this book. Enoch gives you such charming dialogue, and witty repartee from both characters.
Eleanor Griffin is tired of having her three brothers dictate every single nuance of her life, so she stages a rebellion. Suprisingly her eldest brother Sebastian, Duke of Melbourne agrees to her terms of independence as long as scandal is never attached to the family name. What she doesn't know is that Sebastian has asked a family friend to watch over her to make sure she doesn't do anything scandalous.
Valentine, Marquis of Deverill does not want to waste his hedonistic days watching over his friends little sister, a girl that he has known since she was quite young. But, he owes Sebastian a favor and so he reluctantly does as asked. He never expects that such a pure naive woman would end up stealing his heart with her little rebellion. But he's so glad that she has.
There are such great romantic scenes between the two main characters. I loved the scene when they were in the pond at midnight in Hyde Park so Eleanor could finally do something that wasn't quite so "lady like"...swim naked in it. Valentine is your typical rake, that gets reformed by a lady of quality, but Enoch does it with such perfection that you can believe that this is how everyone in regency england was. I loved it, and you will too. I now have another author to add to my favorite list.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable Page Turner - 4 1/2 stars, January 9, 2005
I, like the other reviewers, am a huge S. Enoch fan. Unlike the other reviewers, however, I found this book to be a delicious page turner. I couldn't put it down until I'd finished it, and this does not happen often for me!!
I really enjoyed the setup of the older brother-type having to chaperone his friends' younger sister. Nell was an enjoyable character... a young woman who is trying to experience life under the watchful eyes of her overprotective brothers. Most women can related to an urge to "walk on the wild side" at least once. I also felt that the character of Valentine was well-developed, and that his conflicts (between living up to his "bad boy" heritage vs. forming a loving relationship vs. being loyal to his friends) added depth to the story.
I really enjoyed the developing relationship between Valentine and Nell, and felt that S. Enoch really captured the feelings of falling in love for both characters (and the reader, too!).
In summary, I really enjoyed it. I will be keeping this book to re-read in the future! I cannot understand the complaints of the other reviewers since this one hooked me. I really look forward to reading more stories about these brothers, especially Sebastian (the oldest). If my hunch is right, Nell's best friend may be nurturing a crush on one of the brothers....
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