Customer Reviews

Trial by Desire (Hqn)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was late to read Courtney Milan's debut novel PROOF BY SEDUCTION because the love story of a peer and a commoner (and not only a commoner but one working as a fortune teller) is never one of my favorites. But after seeing all the favorable reviews, I picked it up at the library and loved it.

This new book, about the nephew of the hero of book one, is not quite as good as the first, but it's close. Hero Ned Carhart had emotional problems in PROOF BY SEDUCTION and they carry over into this one. At the end of PBS he is found in a compromising situation with Lady Kate, the daughter of a duke, and they must marry. But 3 months into the marriage he leaves for China on a mission for his uncle (but actually on a soul-searching mission for himself). At the beginning of this book he returns after 3 years away. He and heroine Kate are almost strangers to each other (although the physical attraction has always been there) and this is a story about their learning to really know and understand each other and, of course, develop a deep, mutual love.

Kate is considered a vapid, superficial female shopaholic by members of the ton, but she is hiding her true depth. She has a secret mission to help women abused by their husbands. So the plot of this story, beyond the romantic aspects, involves Kate's help in hiding the wife and baby son of one of Ned's friends. (Ned and other members of the ton are not aware that this friend is an abuser, BTW.)

Kate does not confide in Ned about what she is doing and Ned does not discuss with Kate his emotional and mental problems. My take on his problem, BTW, is that he suffers from clinical depression with dangerous periodic episodes where he feels almost suicidal, although we only have allusions to this. And since there probably wasn't medication for this in 1838 (other than laudanum) it must have been very difficult for him to cope during these episodes.

So we have these two main plotlines going: 1) Ned and Kate learning about each other, and 2) the abused wife being helped by Kate. The second plotline gives us an interesting look into women's role in society then, their lack of real power even to escape abuse, and we even have a look at trials and the judicial system at that time. Milan may be taking a few liberties there (in the trial section) but it's still interesting. For me, this was a rewarding read and it's nice to have a new author who writes so well.

I absolutely loved Courtney Milan's debut novel Proof by Seduction (Hqn) so was really looking forward to the follow-up which is the story of Ned. In 'Proof by seduction'. Ned is a shallow, weak and unstable young man, so I really looked forward to see how Milan made him into a leading man that the readers could believe in.

Ned spends three years in China fighting his demons, trying to find a way of managing his bouts of depression. When he comes home he has to make his peace with his wife, Kate, proving to her that he can be a worthy husband that she can rely on. And boy, she needs all the help she can get. Kate has been harbouring the wife of a nobleman who is the victim of domestic violence. Kate has been dreadfully hurt by her husband's absence. Yet at the same time, she loves him as much as she did when he left her. What she does not understand is why he keeps his distance from her...why he always needs to keep himself fully in control...not even to make love to her. And so the story unfolds with the development of the relationship between Kate and Ned, as well as the plot involving the battered wife.

I really struggled with this book for the first half. I love lots of emotion and angst from a hero, but I just could not make sense of what was going on. I struggled to understand how Ned was feeling or why he was acting the way he was acting. It wasn't until the end of the book that I really understood the motivation for his behaviour. I felt there were lots of words saying nothing about nothing. Never the less, I am glad I kept going because in the second half of the book everything fell into place. Ned was a gorgeous main man...a real hero...and I adored him. Kate was also an engaging and strong heroine. With some good editing this book could have been another 5 star effort from Milan, but as it stand, I think it comes in at 3 stars.

While I agree with some of those who posted about the abundance of "navel gazing" the hero does in this book, I do wonder whether they are out of sympathy with him because they don't understand how devastating bipolar disorder can be. The clues as to what he's experiencing are there long before he admits it explicitly, either to himself or the reader (his manic tossing of hay, for example). Even today, people suffering from bouts of depression have a hard time coping or admitting to others what they are going through because they've been taught to see it as a weakness. A hundred years ago, the situation was far worse. One might end up diagnosed as a madman and put away in an asylum for the rest of one's life.

Of course, truths don't always make for the best fiction, and perhaps Ms. Milan might have cut out some of the angsty bits from the hero, but that's a fairly trivial complaint in what is overall an emotionally satisfying read.

Three months into their marriage, Ned sails off to China leaving his new bride, Kathleen, at their home in England. In that time Kathleen has been the subject of gambling bets and much gossip. When Ned returns, three years later, she isn't exactly happy to see him. She never wanted him to leave, but after such a long absence her feelings are all over the place where he is concerned.

Both Ned and Kate have their secrets and it keeps them from fully trusting one another and giving in fully to the chemistry that sizzles between them.

I loved Courtney Milan's debut book, Proof by Seduction (Hqn), and I was crazy excited to dive into this second book. Ned's character in the previous book had captured my interest and I wanted to know him better. I can honestly say I was loving this one as much as the first, if not more. I was laughing, I was crying, I was completely in love with both the hero and the heroine and was anxiously awaiting their Happily Ever After.

Unfortunately, it took way too long for both Ned and Kate to open up to each other. Had the author hurried the honesty a skosh, I would have been a happier reader. That being said, though, this book is still excellent. I really enjoy the humor and the unique characters this author gives us. This is a great romance novel and very hard to set down. I look forward to see what Ms. Milan comes up with next.

Cherise Everhard, November 2010

I am kind of disappointed with this book. I liked the previous book by this author "proof by seduction" very much, so I got this novel in my kindlle the day this book was released. I found the book to be very slow. While I have nothing against books which are all about feelings (this is a romance novel after all), there is just too much of it in this novel & not a lot actually happening. May be it is because I was preconditioned by the two older books by Pamela Clare that I read in the last 2 days. Those 2 books were full of emotion AND had very rich storylines. This story's hero had gone through great emotional challenges in the previous novel by the author and has nearly recovered and is a "new man" in this book. The heroine is an attractive character & I liked her. But other than the secondary story line of spousal abuse happening to heroine's friend, I didn't find anything interesting happening in this story. Other than the issue of spousal abuse (which happens even in this day& age) there was no rich historical details either. I like this author's way of writing and will still read her next book if the story line sounds interesting. But I will wait to get it used/from library/paperbackswap instead of being too eager & paying full price the day it is released. Any way, this story was just not for me. The language in which this story was written is pretty good, just like in "Proof by seduction and some people who like a lot of introspection by characters & reading about two people who love each other getting together very slowly might like this story.

I have read several books in the past few days and this had to be the most boring and disappointing book I've read in years. I had to fight with myself to get through it. How many times in one book can someone say, how dark and unsure the hero thinks he is. Same with the Heroine. The author could have put the whole story in 2 Chapters and the rest was just chapters of saying the same thing over and over. Sorry I spend hard earned money on the book, I would not recommend it!!

I've read one other book and one novella by Courtney Milan, so clearly I enjoy her writing. While she's not as scrupulous about period detail as some, she doesn't include any anachronisms so glaring as to rebuff me from my engagement with the story. Generally, there is a strong chemistry between the protagonists, and at times I've been genuinely touched by the relationships portrayed. Her heroines have both brains and feelings, and her heroes are neither perfect pattern cards of virtue, nor hardened rakes or embittered misogynists in need of reformation. So I had high expectations for this book, and found these expectations, in the long run, to be unfulfilled. My problem was mainly with the hero, Ned. Like the heroes in her other works I've read, he's complicated, flawed, but genuinely likes and cares about both his lady-love, and women in general. So far, so good, but in this book and its predecessor, "Proof by Seduction" (where Ned is first introduced) there's something a little abstract or theoretical about his character. By the time I'm about 1/3 of the way into a book, I feel I should have enough of a sense of who the main characters are to be able to follow their inner logic, but I never reached that point with Ned. I didn't dislike him, but I couldn't quite fall for him, either, and his final rapprochement with his wife seemed perfunctory. I haven't given up on Ms. Milan, because when she's good, she's very good, but this, in my opinion, isn't her best work.

Ned Carhart left his wife Kate a mere three months after their marriage to go to China at the behest of his cousin to check out what was going on with the British and the Opium situation and to find himself. At the point of their marriage Ned considers himself something of a useless fribble with no responsibilities.

Kate is stunned and bereft.

Fast forward three years later and a lot has changed. Kate rescues women who are victims of domestic abuse and helps to to leave their husbands and relocate. Ned is back, strong in both mind and body and ready to take on the responsibilities of both a husband and as the heir presumptive of a Marquisate.

The two find their way back to each other. Ned still dealing with his demons while Kate is helping her riskiest 'rescue' yet, a wealthy lady of the ton whose powerful husband is relentless about getting her back.

This is only my second Courtney Milan book after the novella Unlocked and I must say I did not enjoy this one as much as I did that one.

There are three main things happening here: First, is the plot with Kate hiding her friend Louisa from her blatantly misogynistic husband the Earl of Harcroft; Second is the repairing of the sundered marriage of Kate and Ned; And third is the personal demons that Ned fights each day, which is clearly his Bipolarism. This being the 19th century, of course, there is no diagnosis nor drugs for it, so Ned has to deal the best he can.

My problem is that of the three elements of the book, I only truly enjoyed the first. The plot to save Louisa from her husband was really exciting to read. But unfortunately that is not enough to carry the entire book that is supposed to be a romance novel.

The second element of the book -- the reparation of the marriage -- is continually derailed by the third element of the book, Ned's state of mind. The thing is, Ned's inner (and outer) dialogue about his 'winter of bleakness' feelings that sometimes come over him consumed the book and not in a good way, imo. Kate kept trying so hard to connect with him and he obfuscated. It was maddening to read. He was so emo! I couldn't take it after awhile.

Toward the end, I found myself skimming to read the parts that involved Louisa and her dastardly husband. Kate and Ned had lost me by that point.

So not a winner for me at all.

An enjoyable read! Ned and Kate just strike me as extremely likable characters & good people. This really makes it seem unfortunate that they haven't been able to make their marriage work thus far. So I found myself rooting for them as a couple, really hoping that they could trust each other enough to reveal who they are & come to know and love each other. I felt invested in what happened to them, which is good. Unfortunately, the flip side is that the story felt like it dragged a bit in the middle--I mean, he's afraid to reveal himself and is always trying to control and contain his emotions; she can't risk telling him x,y, and z. It just felt like things needed to happen more quickly. That said, I don't consider this much of a problem; it didn't ruin my experience in any kind of major way. The novel has well developed characters, a good story, snappy dialogue & Harcroft is excellent as a despicable villain. I really wanted to find out what happened to Ned and Kate, and when I did, I was pleased. I just wanted to get there a bit faster.

I enjoyed the first book by Courtney Milan, Proof by Seduction, in which we first meet Ned. So when I saw this follow-up book that was all about Ned's story, I was excited to read it. Unfortunately, I was a bit underwhelmed.

Ned married Kate in the first novel without really getting to know her. I half expected the story to start with her death so Ned could find someone else and truly fall in love. But it seems he is in love with Kate. And since he left her for three years right after their wedding, this book is sort of a falling-in-love story.

What I found so annoying was the whole book is Ned not allowing himself what he wants because he thinks he has to deprive himself to make himself strong. Though there may not have been a name for it back then, it seems Ned suffers from bouts of depression, perhaps he's even bi-polar. He has figured out a way to bring himself out of it when he feels it coming on, but it involves depriving and punishing himself. In doing so, he deprives and punishes Kate, who just wants to be close to her husband, emotionally and physically.

Kate's story is enjoyable. She helps abused wives escape their husbands - no small feat in England in that age where women were essentially the property of their spouses.

Overall, I would recommend this book to someone who read Proof By Seduction just to complete the series, but it's not good enough to recommend on its own merits.