Customer Reviews

The Viscount's Betrothal (Harlequin Historical)

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

 

 

I disagree with the negative revues. In fact I am a bit shock that anyone would not like this book. Louise Allen's characters are always unusually speckled with their own special traits much like Decima's freckles. None of them are alike and all are well drawn specially in this book. The Viscounts Betrothal has to be one of my favorite regencies from beginning to end. The attraction was obvious but the friendship was more subtle and magic. Both stars are equals in intelligence and strength of character. I am tired of reading books where the couple hop into bed during the first half of the book only to have the heroine hope the Duke or other titled rake will offer them marriage by the end. Yes, Decima feels insecure with her height and other characteristics and finds herself shrugging her shoulders downward to be less conspicuous due to her appearance, but she is never week or cowering in anything else...a very realistic quality! It was nice to see her transformation and the way she became a swan in the end thanks partially to her easy friendship with the Viscount. As for our Adam...he has humor and honor and even when he finds himself in a jam due to such honor he forms a plan where everyone gets what and whom they want. Without going into too much detail I can say I completely enjoyed this softly sweet and sometime humorous story.
Thank you Mrs. Allen for another great read! This is a keeper.

Returning from a holiday in the country, Miss Decima Ross and her maid are rescued from a snowstorm by Adam Grantham, Viscount Weston, and his groom. They take refuge in his nearby hunting lodge, which is unexpectedly absent of staff. Decima's maid and Adam's groom are bedridden due to illness and injury, respectively, so Adam and Decima spend a great deal of unchaperoned time together. There is a strong mutual attraction, but propriety dictates that they keep it in check. However, as the days pass, restraint becomes harder and harder to maintain...

I liked the first half of this book - the part spent at Adam's lodge where the couple's feelings for each other develop and they have many lively conversations. Both of the lead characters are interesting and appealing. At the age of 27, Decima has been browbeaten and muzzled for years by her overbearing family, and taught that she is too tall and too freckled to be attractive to a man...so she has given up on even trying. Suddenly free to speak her mind, she is charmingly opinionated, disarmingly curious and utterly refreshing to a jaded Adam - who just happens to be very tall! Adam is quite endearing, as he gamely takes on the lowly duties of cooking, cleaning, and mucking-out the stables, all with newfound appreciation for the hard work of his absentee staff.

Then the weather clears, the would-be lovers part, and the story loses its spark. After a feeble effort to locate Decima (did it not occur to him that her brother might have a different last name?), Adam acts weak and heartless and behaves illogically. He insists on doing the honorable thing by a woman (NOT Decima) who tricks him. Yet he fails to do the honorable thing by good-hearted Decima to whom - by his actions at the lodge - he owes a great deal more. This makes no sense. There is also an annoying lack of honest communication among the various parties, and the resolution - although it gets the job done - is silly. 3 stars...but only because of the first half.

If you want a book to take along with you on the plane, sitting on the beach , or have some down time. This is the book for you, especially
if you like sweet romance that are placed in a period setting. Overall I enjoyed reading it and hopeful you will too.

Amazon provided enough of the storyline, so I'll just add my comments. The first half of the book is about a rescue during a snow storm that the hero takes her to a deserted inn. Of course no employees are to be found and it is also unlocked. I find this hard to believe. Wouldn't there be a maid left behind or a stable boy? The cook is gone, so is the owner. I just find it unbelievable the entire staff would have gone off to get provisions at the store and get trapped elswhere leaving everything open to be looted from if that should happen, but no, there are 2 couples who don't have the eye of the Ton on them and can behave how they want. I just couldn't get past this. The attraction didn't really feel that pronounced to be acted upon later and wasn't interested when it did happen. I can't say if it got better or not since I didn't finish.