Customer Reviews

The Viscount in Her Bedroom (Avon Romantic Treasure)

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

 

 

Lord Wade is the toast of society until a riding accident blinds him. Unable to listen to the sounds of so called sympathy and "seeing" the pity in their eyes, Simon becomes a recluse, living a quiet life with his shy sister and grandmother.

In 1845, Simon's grandmother hires a companion Louisa Shelby without consulting him. Louisa and her sisters saw their world end when their father committed suicide; with her siblings settled in happy marriages, she looks forward to the single life as elderly Lady Wade's companion. To her amazement, Louise is attracted to Simon and him to her as she brings him back to life with her élan and enthusiasm helping his sister in turning more comfortable with men as well; but he assumes it is pity on her part not a passionate love like he feels so he ends their relationship abruptly. He is already hearing nasty rumors about her.

The third and final tale in the Sisters of Willow Pond miniseries (see the other Shelby siblings' tales, THE LORD NEXT DOOR and The Duke in Disguise) is an incredibly deep Victorian romance that focuses on the impact of blindness on more than just the individual as each member of his family feels the effect immensely especially since he was their leader. Readers will feel for Simon as he comes out of his self imposed shell due to Louisa although he ahs doubts about his beloved's motives. This is a fitting climax to a strong trilogy with a powerful cast that makes for a terrific historical.

Harriet Klausner

I may be a man, and not just a man, but a revolutionary man, proud of my common origins, and I would sooner die a common death than bow my head to any duke, lord, or nobleman, but when I am not cleaning my musket, sharpening my guillotine, or practicing my close-quarter fighting formations, I am reading the Victorian romances of Gayle Callen and the struggles of the Shelby sisters, commoners who may be poor in pocket, but not poor in spirit.

"The Viscount in Her Bedroom" closes the "Sisters of Willow Pond Trilogy" with the story of Viscount Simon Wade, once London's most eligible bachelor and a man of the ladies. As a man of the people, I would have sooner run Simon through with my pike than allow him to oppress us common folk, but a terrible riding accident leaves him blind and shunned from society, reducing a once proud man to a shell of his former self.

Simon finds refuge at his grandmother's estate, and there meets Louisa Shelby, former London socialite and daughter of a wealthy merchant, but now reduced to poverty after her father's ruin and suicide. Simon's grandmother, the dowager Viscountess, ostensibly hired Louisa as her companion, but the wise old dowager might have had other motives for bringing Louisa into her home. Had the dowager brought me into her home, I would have led a revolt and spread the raging fires of liberty all across the beautiful, green countryside. Georgie, Simon's sister, also comes to stay with her grandmother the Viscountess after a disastrous coming out at the court and the balls, and rounds out the household of social castaways.

Within the circumscribed world of the Lady Wade's estate, Simon learns to overcome his physical limitations but not the societal prejudices that he feels separates him from family and friends. Louisa knew the man that Simon once was and sees what he could be, but will Simon allow himself a little humility, see past the rumors of Louisa's reputation, and learn to accept her help and even love? He better, because the love of a common woman may be the only thing that saves him from the bloody judgment of revolutionary terror.

Callen draws her characters with fine detail and loving sympathy, allowing the reader to feel the tug of every heartstring of pain and desire. I string my crossbow with whipcord and the desire to spread freedom at the pain of a sharpened bolt, but after reading Callen's moving portrayal of two characters struggling against both society and themselves, only to find refuge in each other, I am moved to sympathize with a man whose humanity overcomes the titles and privileges of his birth. I never thought I would say this, but if I ever came across Simon, the Lord Wade, sneaking into Louisa's private chambers, I would put down my pike and allow the man to live as, dare I say it, the Viscount in her bedroom.

This is the first book that I read in this time in which a man has such an obvious deformity. I have not read the previous books in this series, but I don't think that it made the book any less enjoyable and I did not feel lost at all. It is a good book though the author's writing style was a bit plain and forced. The story was great and you could see the couple slowly fall in love. Though the viscount was blind, I love that he was not portrayed as weak (only in rare occasions) and that he was able to hold his own. Though he was blind, you could not help but o fall in love with him and I loved the way their romance slowly unraveled. Definitely recommend it. This was my first Gayle Callen book, and I will be in search of others.

I am really surprised by how low the rating is for Viscount in Her Bedroom. This was the first book I read from this author so was expecting all sorts of things when I picked it up.

I had gotten over ¾ of the way through and was still enjoying it...and I started to worry. I feared that Simon would regain his sight, which would have been a total insult to the intelligence of readers, and I prepared myself for that. But, alas, the ending was realistic and happy and I loved both Simon and Louisa.

Quick summary. Louisa becomes the companion to Simon's Grandmother. Simon, a viscount, lost his sight after a riding accident, and had moved in with his grandmother and his younger sister, Georgie. Simon once considered himself the "entertainer," always eager to please and make everyone laugh. But all that changed when he became blind. He and Louisa begin a friendship, which turns into more. Yet, of course, Simon is reluctant...what could Louisa want with a blind man. But Louisa sees through Simon. There were misunderstandings but they were believable and resolved when the characters, believe it or not, communicated.

I really enjoyed all of the characters. There really wasn't any "bad guys" to get into the way or ruin the plot. There was a few purposely annoying ones but no one really evil. I liked that. I liked that the book focused on Louisa and Simon's relationship and how Louisa helped Simon gain confidence to function in the world. I really liked Simon's grandmother and his siblings. Louisa was smart and strong, and Simon blindness was really believable.

I really recommend Viscount in her Bedroom. I found it believable and memorable and I look forward to more from this author.

I see this book has had a wide range of reviews. I come down right in the middle - certainly not a 5 star effort but not a failure either. I won't re-summarise the plot as others have done a good job of covering it so here are just a few thoughts to share.

Unfortunately the book does not sparkle and this is due, largely to the somewhat flat, dull prose and stilted and shallow conversation. Also, the author's language is not at all sympathetic to the timeframe in which it is set - too modern, too unpolished and it jars the mood of the story.

The heroine, Louisa, is under-developed in my view. She does not have enough substance to make her stand out and the best character in the book is probably Manvil, the hero's valet - at least he gets some good one-liners to liven things up. Lord Wade (what a sappy name!) was OK but did not come across as a fully developed lead either. Although blinded in an accident and struggling to recover to lead a full life, nonetheless he seems flat and a little boring.

The sex scenes towards the end of the book irritated me. I just could not visualise lying on a rocky lake shore, half submerged in cold water (exactly how it is described in the book) and enjoy making love. All I could think about was how bloody uncomfortable it would be to have rocks digging into me! The bedroom scene was a bit of an eye-opener but seemed to me a little surprising for although it was quite vivid the H/H seemed to walk away from it without much thought or introspection which in a more polished novel you might expect. Everything just seemed superficial. Ditto the supporting cast of characters. The hero's sister, Georgie, was a real mystery to me - she was both very wise and incredibly naive all at the same time but the combination just did not work.

I don't think I will bother again with this author. I do like a damaged hero but this one was pretty forgettable and although I am giving it 3 stars, I am being a little easy on the book. There are just too many of these indifferent, rather boring historicals around these days. Disappointing for those of us who love them.

This series is about three sisters who find their own ways of surviving after their father commits suicide. In this novel Louisa becomes a companion for Simon Wade's grandmother. Simon has had a recent accident that left him blind. The chemistry between Louisa and Simon was great - I LOVED THIS BOOK. Check out the whole series: THE LORD NEXT DOOR (1), THE DUKE IN DISGUISE (2) and THE VISCOUNT IN HER BEDROOM (3).

If you enjoy this genre I would also check out The Lady Lies by Samantha Saxon, Spirited Away by Cindy Miles and Secrets of a Duchess by Kaitlin O'Riley.

This book was a disappointment, as I had read and enjoyed Callen's other books' i.e. "The Lord Next Door". The title and cover may lead one to believe this is about a hot affair with a sexy lord, when in fact the Viscount in the title goes to the heroine's room periodically to have a friendly platonic chat. He enjoys talking with someone he feels treats him more naturally than the rest of society, who behave foolishly around him since he has become blind. While the hero and heroine are interesting, the relationship between them isn't. The idea that a 19th century man would hang out in the bedroom of an unmarried female guest is unbelievable enough, but that he would do so with platonic intentions is ludicrous. Presumably because he is blind he doesn't see anything he shouldn't, and so doesn't make a move on her. Huh? Eventually (a loong eventually) nature takes it's course. The viscount then nobly (and unbelievably) decides that it is more honorable to pretend not to care or inflict a blind man on her, than it is to offer to marry her - in spite of her loss of virginity and marriagability and the risk of pregnancy. Double huh!? She doesn't seem to hold it against him, and the two are sadly friendly for most of the book. I admit I lost patience with this, and the ending was rather bland as well. Great potential, but wasted.

This is the first Gayle Callen's romance I've ever read. I am aware this is a trilogy and I intend to read the two first stories about Louisa's sisters. I quite like the way how Louisa and Simon intertwine their lives. Louisa leaves her sister's home in London to work as a companion to the Dowager Viscountess Wade, Simon's grandmother in England's countryside. There she becomes aware of Simon's blindness due to an accident occurred when he was riding his horse. Louisa, besides being a lovely companion to the Viscountess also befriends Georgie, Simon's sister, a shy young woman who fears how to behave in society. Little by little, Louisa conquers everyone's hearts, Simon included. However, she has her own fears towards men who back in London think she is a "fast" woman. The story, in my opinion, is not overly dramatic, but goes sweetly into your heart. This is the second romance I read where the main character is blind. The first one with a marvelous story was Lynn Kurland's "This is all I ask". I recommend Ms. Callen's book for everyone who believes in the strength of love.

The third book was not my favorite in tne triology, but it held its own and was great as a solo title.
The main characters start off on two different sides without both of them knowing it.
The story grew on me as I got to know what drove each character. The Grandmother was quitelikeable and you knew she had many schemes up her sleve just waiting for the righ t moment to expose them.
The sister was a giel who just needed someone to believe in her, not a family memeber.
The motheer had a small part, but one that made a mark on both brother and sister.
The heroine just wanted to find a purpose in her life and to quit feeling like she failed her dad.
The hero just needed to remeber to live, not just exist.

What first caught my attention about this book was that the hero was blind. In the past, I have been very disappointed with most of Callen's books and I thought maybe this would be a good read. I was mistaken yet again. I give her credit for writing a "Less Than Perfect" hero, but the overall story was so tripe and dull that I am surprise I didn't throw the book across the room.
The heroine Louisa is so nice and perfect even though her father killed himself due to... not even worth remembering. Her life is just so perfect as we are told over and over but she is missing a certain zest for something. She becomes a companion to an older woman who really doesn't need her. But then Louisa meets Simon, another paragon of looks, money and he is just so nice, but he has gone blind due to a horse accident, so how will she deal with him?
Simon grows to love Louise because she has a nice smell (I am not joking, he really does like her because of her perfume). Also, because there are rumors of Louisa kissing too many men, this makes her questionable when it comes to her being around his sister. But hey, she smells so nice and she makes him laugh and she is willing to let him kiss her and touch her in ways that he shouldn't. But he is blind after all so it is okay.
There is not much of an appealing story here. Louisa walks around smiling; Simon rows boats in his lake and thinks about Louisa the perfume angel. There is that one lone sex scene that really doesn't make sense at all and the author probably inserted it in because it was expected.
The title is because Simon has this habit of just talking to Louisa in her bedroom all the time, well the times that Louisa is not roaming the house in her nightgown because she can't sleep. Simon also seems to find her at those times also.
If you are a fan of historical romance, look elsewhere. A nice smelling heroine and her undying devotion for her blind handsome lover can't help this story!

Katiebabs

The Duke in Disguise
The Lord Next Door (Avon Romantic Treasure)