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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really Enjoyable Read You Won't Want to Put Down 4.5 Stars, January 30, 2009
This review is from: A View to a Kiss (Mass Market Paperback)
I've read several bland HR books lately so I was surprisingly pleased when I finished this one. Societal rules are no match for the attraction and eventual love that develops between this spy and the free-spirited world-traveled daughter of an Earl. The heroine is bored to tears with the stuffy aristocratic men of London and the hero, a spy who is watching her father and others, is just the man to pique her interest. This is not a story in which I ached for the love between the hero and heroine, but, nevertheless, I enjoyed it from start to finish. The hero and heroine are likable and the story was interesting and unfolds very well - not completely predictable and utterly boring like the last 3 HR books I've struggled to finish. It also covers some of the political challenges of the time if you're interested in that, but it's not enough to detract and interefere with the story if you're not. I recommend this one if you're looking for an enjoyable and worthy new read.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A View to a Kiss by Caroline Linden, June 14, 2009
This review is from: A View to a Kiss (Mass Market Paperback)
I waffled back and forth on Caroline Linden's newest read, "A View to a Kiss". She writes with flow and emotion and her characters become people I want to know. However, I really dislike amazing coincidences that solve problems and this novel had that at the very end.
Mariah is the daughter of an Earl--an Earl who is very highly placed in political circles. After spending several years with her parents on the continent, doing business for the government, they have finally returned to London and Mariah will now have her season and find a husband. The problem is that all the eligible men she meets see her only for her dowry and political connections. Mariah wants a man who will see and love her for herself. Now where to find such a man?
Harry Sinclair is a spy. He works for the Home Office, hoping to eventually raise himself high enough to do political work to help those less fortunate. He's in disguise watching over some highly placed politicos after the Home Office received hints of treason...Mariah's father is one of these. From his first sight of Mariah, Harry is bowled over by her beauty. From their first meeting, on a dark and deserted terrace, he's attracted to her brains and temperment. But Harry is not titled and knows Mariah is so far above his station, seeing her is only a form of self-torture. But neither can seem to let it go.
A great match of hero and heroine. A fairly interesting mystery, but I guessed the 'bad guy' and his methods pretty early on. The relationship between the lead characters was well handled and grew over time rather than in the whole 'love at first sight' thing. My only beef is with the very end, but it really wasn't enough to spoil my enjoyment of the overall story.
Caroline Linden knows how to write attraction and love scenes that are both touching and racy. Her characters are multi-faceted and slowly unveil themselves to both readers and each other. While "A View to a Kiss" won't make my keeper shelf, I enjoyed the read very much. Now I hope she continues in this vein with one or two of her engaging secondary characters from this story!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful Regency spy romance!, May 1, 2009
This review is from: A View to a Kiss (Mass Market Paperback)
As the only child of the wealthy Earl of Doncaster and his loving wife, Lady Mariah is very close to her parents. So when at 16, her father became an emissary for the Crown to various European capitals, naturally his wife and daughter traveled with him. Five years later, Mariah finally gets her London Season and so far it isn't what she'd hoped it would be. Not even close. Until the night of her parents' ball and she meets a mysterious stranger on a darkened balcony. He's impertinent and blunt and candid . . . and the most interesting man Mariah has met. She becomes instantly smitten. The only problem is she has no idea what he looks like, only that his name is Harry. And then he starts coming to her bedroom window under the darkness of night uttering the sweetest things . . . and she begins to fall hopelessly in love with him.
Harry Sinclair is a spy for the Home Office and a master of disguises. While taking in some fresh air dressed as the elderly Lord Wroth, Harry meets the object of his instant attraction, the incomparable Lady Mariah. Knowing that a common spy is well beneath the station of an earl's daughter, Harry can't help himself from speaking to her. And even though his current mission could be compromised by doing so, he can't seem to stay away from her. But will his double life full of secrets destroy any slim chance they might have to be together?
I love, love, love the "reverse Cinderella" plot. There's just something so appealing to me of the complexity of a story in which a hero whose social standing isn't high enough or doesn't feel as if he's good enough for the heroine. Harry is just such a hero. I admired him for staying strong while managing his inner struggles and absolutely adored his raw vulnerability regarding Mariah. For him, it was love at first sight. *sigh* And Lady Mariah was the perfect heroine for him. She trusted her instincts and Harry, even when he couldn't supply answers to all of her questions, and was very determined to find a way - any way - for them to be together.
A cross between Jane Austen and 007, A View to a Kiss is a sweet, passionate romance filled with intrigue and surprise twists. This one kept me up late into the night because I couldn't put it down. Caroline Linden's first book for Avon is a book that should not be missed!
Andrea
Romance Novel TV
4.5 stars
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