Customer Reviews

Surrender to a Scoundrel (Avon Romantic Treasure)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After I had finished Julianne MacLean's previous novel to this one, Portrait of a Lover, I was pretty disappointed. Some authors start with a few really great titles, but then the quality decreases. Other build up steadily to some good titles, but somewhere along the way run off the rails. A few just plain can't write, or endlessly grind out formula stories that leave a sour taste behind and a strong urge to avoid them at all costs. And then there are those funny, quirky few who write novels that tend to leapfrog each other in quality, much like Star Trek movies.

Julianne MacLean is one of those authors who fall into that final category. Continuing on in her late Victorian milieu, she has taken a different direction than most authors in the historical romance genre. For one, the heroine isn't the usual sort, all blonde, slightly dense and of course beautiful.

The story opens in 1881, and a teenager is about to sneak off into an exclusive boy's school to slip a note avowing her true love to a boy. Her friend, Evelyn, isn't so sure that the scheme is about to work, and is reluctant to say the least. Their target, Lord Martin, the younger son of a duke already has a less than perfect reputation, and when they find him in bed with another girl, Evelyn resists the urge to tell her friend, I told you so.

And now the story picks up ten years later. A lot has happened to Evelyn -- she's been married, widowed, and has come to the Isle of Wight to find herself a suitable husband among the aristocracy as they gather for Cowes Week, a time of parties, and watching the fastest yachts in the world race for the America's Cup.

But Evelyn is a realist. She's grown up in a home with a cold, emotionally abusive father, and her marriage was also an arranged one that has left her no doubt what it is that men want of her. It's not her looks, which are ordinary -- but rather that she's a very wealthy widow. They are after her money, and she knows it.

But old emotions are about to return when she meets Lord Martin again. He's matured into a reckless man, known best for his skill at racing, and also for seducing the more than willing women who pant after him continually. And he's interested in her, especially when a racing rival, Lord Beckinridge, is making it plain that he intends to marry the lovely widow himself.

Will Lord Martin and Evelyn find each other? Will the reader care by the end?

Well, yes, yes, I did care by the end.

That's what surprised me by this novel. It's a plot full of romance, yacht racing, summer parties, and a particular sensual session of lovemaking on a beach. It's also a tale that isn't silly in the least; both of the main characters have emotional issues of their past that MacLean handles well, and not just in the deus ex machina way that most authors resort to when they write themselves into a corner. Instead, she has them work things out together or go and grow up a bit, and time passes. I like that, especially when she does it in a sensible way that doesn't insult the reader.

Silly dialogue is kept to a minimum, there are plenty of little details about sailing -- a sport that I enjoy learning about, the lives of the rich, a few appearances by actual folks who lived in the time, and finally, several characters from her earlier novels in this series make a return, but don't hog the story. The sexual encounters never sink into dreary smut that relies more on shock, but rather has the mood of a lovely impressionist painting, or that tingly feel of falling in love with someone that you've never really seen before.

Finally, our heroine, wears glasses. At last. Someone notices that the world does not have perfect vision. What a nice touch.

In short, this is one of those novels that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and sighed a bit when I put it down. Yes, it is a romance novel, but it's a smart novel, and there are just too few of them out there.

Julianne MacLean has a bona fide winner on her hands. SURRENDER TO A SCOUNDREL is easy to read and easy to enjoy! By using her remarkable talent fully, Ms. MacLean gives every scene genuine life! I don't give it often, but I am giving it here - the sacred 10.

As a girl, Evelyn Foster was awkward, wore glasses, and was considered a bluestocking. As a woman, Mrs. Evelyn Wheaton was wealthy, knew all about rejection, and was prudishly uptight. She was at the Royal Yacht Races, in Cowes, to find a potential fiancé.

Not long ago, when Evelyn had fallen through the ice, Lord Martin Langdon had pulled her to safety. From that moment on, she admired him . . . from afar. Outrageously, the mischievous Martin Langdon grew into the "Catch of Eton." Now, he was the famed racing champion of Britain and had turned into a scandalous rake. He was daring and had a passionate zest for life. He was a thrill seeker and he made Evelyn want to break free from her dull life. Martin Langdon was a very bad influence. When he teased her, when he charmed her, when he made sexual overtures, he heightened a dangerous excitement in her. Could Evelyn Wheaton partake in a wild and wicked affair with her childhood hero? Just . . . this once!

He was the Duke of Wentworth's younger brother and Martin Langdon was amusingly dreadful. He lived life for the moment, felt nothing too deeply, and had come to Cowes for nothing but superficial amusement! Evelyn Wheaton knew that. She knew the rules when she entered their affair. He had never made promises! The last thing Martin wanted was a wife and children. Evidently, Evelyn required love and wanted babies. It seemed, Evelyn Wheaton wanted forever and Martin Langdon wanted nothing.

Reviewer's Comments:
Julianne MacLean grabbed me with her zany opening and managed to keep me right to the end. How? By using snappy dialogue and smooth prose. Remarkably, Ms. MacLean has found her "niche" in the late Victorian era and gratefully, I found myself vicariously involved in SURRENDER TO A SCOUNDREL. I hobnobbed with the rich and famous; drank afternoon tea with the well-bred; and sailed adventurously around the Isle of Wight. Why? Because Julianne MacLean made me believe. Well done!
Grade: A+

MaryGrace Meloche.

Surrender to a Scoundrel is the first book I've read by Julianne MacLean, and while I liked it, I didn't love it. The story was interesting enough: a womanizing duke's son sets out to win the attention of a much-favored, and rumored to be "unflirtable" widow. The two meet up again after ten years apart and each finds that the other is much changed. The heroine, Evelyn, is no longer the shy, contemptuous girl the hero met in her youth, though she does put on a haughty air in his presence. The hero, Martin, is still the same rake he's always been, only Evelyn finds that he's still irresistable to her despite this. Over the course of the novel, the two fall in love (naturally), only to be kept apart by the hero's refusal to let go of his past. Eventually he gets over it and they live happily ever after. Not the most original plot ever, but I've read worse. Still, there was nothing spectacular about this story that would make me recommend it to a friend or want to read it again. Nothing sticks out in my mind and, doubtless, within a week I'll have forgotten about it entirely. That being said, I enjoyed it while I was reading it. I'd recommend Surrender to a Scoundrel if you're in the mood for romance and can't find anything better, but it's most certainly not a must read.

I am a huge fan of Julianne MacLean's novels. Her writing is so smooth yet real, she effortlessly engrosses me in the characters to the end. These characters are truly enjoyable. Evelyn Wheaton is wonderfully awkward and bookish as a young girl, and flowers into a compelling and attractive woman. Her crush on Martin Langdon is completely believable and as it develops into something more, the sexual tension is exquisite.

Julianne MacLean seems to capture the period perfectly and yet gives us characters with universal flaws and strengths that I can always relate to. Surrender to a Scoundrel is a delicious and delightful book.

This book was just very "blah", in my opinion. MacLean utilizes the same plot vehicles familiar to hundreds of romance novels, but with the least amount of depth possible. I really didn't care one way or the other about either the hero or heroine, or the very minor conflict in the book. The reader wasn't involved in the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters on any more than a basic, superficial level. In my opinion, it was like reading an outline of a novel. The only reason I didn't give this book one star was because there was nothing overly wrong or offensive with the story...really, there was nothing there in general. An extremely forgettable read.

Having read tons of good reviews about this book, I was very excited to indulge with a good romance. However, I was mildly disappointed.

The highlight for me was the sailing atmosphere. Being a sailor myself I was very excited to see a book finally set in this charge environment and everything was accurate too. I also always like books where the hero and heroine have known each other all their lives, and this one had a few memorable scenes from the characters past which should have made the novel really good.

The problem with it was I was bored after he discovered that he knew her. Their entire relationship was not just predictable, because obviously romance novel relationships are, but it was just stale. I could not believe that he would just fall completly in love with her for some reason. I don't know it was a weird book and the deaths didn't help. By the time they got back to the island for the second race I was saying to myself, can't the novel just end already.

It was okay, but not one I am going to reread.

This was more of an contemporary story. It was enjoyable. If you enjoy simple pleasant romance then you will enjoy this book. It really was like a breath of fresh air. A lot of time is spent at outdoors and sailing on yachts. The sex scenes were not so hot but there is still great chemistry betweeen the hero and heroine. However, this is the worst one in the series.

This is actually a very pleasant read. The only thing I found wrong was the hero's non stop refusal about marriage and a family. So, the guy lost his first family (which is told to us out of the blue!) but he has found love and passion again with a self proclaimed ugly duckling. Another wonderful aspect found is the hero Martin, as he grows to know the real Evelyn, he finds her to be his lovely swan and anyone who tells him otherwise, he thinks is a fool. She becomes beautiful to him because he sees how special she is and not from some magical makeover.
These are two grown up people, no naive innocents here. And the setting takes place at the end of the 19th century so no Ton-ish behavior around. Everyone talks so adult and with restraint, but when Martin and Evelyn hit the sheets, it is very emotional and hot.
Evelyn is one heroine who knows her limitations, but with a man like Martin, he sets her free from the restraints she put upon herself an in return she helps him heal his internal wounds.
A lovely story and I can say one of Maclean's best. This was a nice surprise in reading this well written and subtle romance.

Katiebabs

To Marry the Duke

This was my first book by this author, and I loved it! It was hard to put down. I especially loved Martin and Evelyn in this story. Too few romances show the hero and heroine actually having fun and laughing, which these two do a lot. They flirt, tease and laugh with each other in such a fun and charming way. They made a delightful pair. Evelyn's attraction is her brain, not her beauty. Most consider her plain to look at. But as her confidence in herself grows, so does her outer beauty. She learns that how the world sees a person is directly related to how that person presents them self to the world. She was wonderful, and NOT the typically heroine who whines and needs rescued from herself and her stupidity. (OK, Evelyn does get rescued from the freezing water, but it's not the same thing.) This book is very passionate and sexy with enough intrigue to keep you quickly turning the pages. Overall, a very well written romance. Loved it!! I will read more by this author.

Fans of historical romance will watch and wait for the next Julianne MacLean release, as each of her books are a delight to read. Surrender to a Scoundrel is no different. The usual research, story and character development is there like her other novels. This story takes place during the time of the famous Cowes Week and yacht races so popular during this period of history. It opens with young Evelyn Foster and her friend Penelope dressing up as young boys and sneaking into a boys dormitory in order to not only see what it looks like, but to sneak a peak of the handsome Lord Martin Langdon, who Penelope has a crush on. They catch the rogue in his usual pursuit, in bed with a young maiden. The straight-laced Evelyn Foster is completely turned off by this scoundrel, even though as a younger man he was a hero and saved her from drowning. The story then moves ahead years later to Crowes Week. Evelyn is attending the event as the sought after young, rich widow Evelyn Wheaton. Lord Martin Langdon arrives with his fast yacht, expecting to win the race and the heart of the most sought after lady of the event, only to find out that there is stiff competition for the race and that this year's sought after lady is a straight-laced, hard-to-get widow and just happens to be the Evelyn Foster from his youth. He is immediately enchanted by the older Evelyn, no longer plain, but beautiful and intelligent, as well as extremely wealthy. Evelyn is not so enchanted, as she remembers the rogue she knew years ago, and the scoundrel appears to not have changed by the stories of his exploits throughout the years since they last met. Martin's seduction eventually wears Evelyn down and they become passionate lovers. What is enchanting about this story is what Julianne MacLean has a talent to do - write the deep depth of feelings and struggles characters are dealing with to overcome their fears about life in order to realize that all that matters is love and that love overcomes all. She did this so beautifully in Love According to Lily and we see it once again in this story. I am looking forwarding to yet another Julianne MacLean romance.