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In Want of a Wife
A country mouse does the London Season, with entirely unexpected results.
It is spring, the beginning of the London Season, and the beginning of what will be a season of surprising and far-reaching change for Hertfordshire sisters Rosa and Arielle Lane. Sent to stay with their London aunt for the purpose of finding suitable husbands, Rosa does not rate her chances of success very highly. She is a country mouse of the worst kind, with almost nothing to recommend her. She is small and slight, timid, chronically shy, possesses no fortune, and is afflicted with a mortifying stammer. All she has to bait her hook with is her girlishly pretty face and her sweet, obliging nature.
Beautiful, vivacious Arielle could not be more different. She is set on one thing: falling in love with the handsomest man in London. And she does not care whether or not he is a good match.
However, Rosa, one of the closest to the wall wallflowers of the Season, soon finds herself receiving interest from an entirely unexpected quarter. Torn between a marriage of convenience to a wealthy and eligible gentleman who makes no declaration of love, and her growing attraction to a sullenly mysterious man who makes no offer of marriage, Rosa has a difficult decision to make. To choose sense or sensibility, safety or danger?
Big-town rats, and the cats who know their ways, are to be found aplenty in London, and with Mrs Gently taking little interest in her two country nieces, they will have to navigate their first Season largely unaided. For the naive young sisters, it is a difficult and deceptively treacherous task…
It is spring, the beginning of the London Season, and the beginning of what will be a season of surprising and far-reaching change for Hertfordshire sisters Rosa and Arielle Lane. Sent to stay with their London aunt for the purpose of finding suitable husbands, Rosa does not rate her chances of success very highly. She is a country mouse of the worst kind, with almost nothing to recommend her. She is small and slight, timid, chronically shy, possesses no fortune, and is afflicted with a mortifying stammer. All she has to bait her hook with is her girlishly pretty face and her sweet, obliging nature.
Beautiful, vivacious Arielle could not be more different. She is set on one thing: falling in love with the handsomest man in London. And she does not care whether or not he is a good match.
However, Rosa, one of the closest to the wall wallflowers of the Season, soon finds herself receiving interest from an entirely unexpected quarter. Torn between a marriage of convenience to a wealthy and eligible gentleman who makes no declaration of love, and her growing attraction to a sullenly mysterious man who makes no offer of marriage, Rosa has a difficult decision to make. To choose sense or sensibility, safety or danger?
Big-town rats, and the cats who know their ways, are to be found aplenty in London, and with Mrs Gently taking little interest in her two country nieces, they will have to navigate their first Season largely unaided. For the naive young sisters, it is a difficult and deceptively treacherous task…
147 pages, Paperback
Published August 31, 2016
About the author
Odelia Floris
13 books28 followersI have always been captivated by stories that take us on haunting and extraordinary journeys deep into far-flung lands or hidden worlds, and that make new sense of the already-familiar or present magical new possibilities. Pair this with an imagination that is quick to turn a towering rock formation into a castle or people a forest path with a dreamed-up knight, and fiction writing was probably an inevitable occupation!
Growing up in rural New Zealand surrounded by beautiful nature (and taking full advantage of it by not spending much time indoors doing schoolwork) provided an abundance of inspiration, which I have been using to create stories and characters from a young age. My blog, The Muse, focuses on inspiration and creativity - check it out by visiting my website.
When I'm not writing, I love to spend time painting in watercolour, reading, horse riding, making or listening to music, gardening, and doing creative projects.
I live, with my family, my two horses and a much-loved cat, on a sixteen-acre rural property on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island.
For more about me and my writing, please visit my author website www.odeliafloris.com
Growing up in rural New Zealand surrounded by beautiful nature (and taking full advantage of it by not spending much time indoors doing schoolwork) provided an abundance of inspiration, which I have been using to create stories and characters from a young age. My blog, The Muse, focuses on inspiration and creativity - check it out by visiting my website.
When I'm not writing, I love to spend time painting in watercolour, reading, horse riding, making or listening to music, gardening, and doing creative projects.
I live, with my family, my two horses and a much-loved cat, on a sixteen-acre rural property on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island.
For more about me and my writing, please visit my author website www.odeliafloris.com
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 12, 2016
This book took me completely by surprise. Having loaded up my Kindle ready for a long-haul flight, I started with the big-name books and discarded them one-by-one — too many typos, too implausible, too historically inaccurate. By the time I got to this one, I had no expectations. And then it completely blew me away. Within five minutes of meeting Miss Rosa Lane — shy, stammering, socially inept Rosa — I desperately wanted her to have her happy ever after.
The plot is a time-honoured one: two sisters go to London for the season to find husbands for themselves. The older sister, Arielle, is excited at the prospect and declares she’s going to fall in love with the handsomest man she can find. Poor Rosa is terrified, of course. How will she ever manage at balls and large social gatherings, amongst so many strangers? She’s bound to be inept and say and do the wrong things. And both sisters are correct. Arielle instantly falls for the dashing and handsome Captain Steele, while Rosa can barely speak a word, even to the gentlemanly and unthreatening Mr d’Arcy, a widower in his thirties who is, as Jane Austen and the title of the book have it, ‘in want of a wife’, and who is unexpectedly friendly towards Rosa. But there’s another man whose attention she attracts, Steele’s friend, the strangely sardonic Captain Spencer.
And so the story unfolds with the choice Rosa has to make — the odd Captain, for whom she begins to have feelings, although he shows no sign of affection towards her, or the safe option, the wealthy widower with a comfortable situation, a marriage of convenience and perhaps a lifetime with respectability but no love. It’s a dilemma that so many Regency ladies must have faced — take the dull but safe offer now, or hold out for something better. Tricky. But when d’Arcy makes the offer, Rosa is too grateful and, frankly, too timid to turn him down and so, rather nervously, she marries him.
The rest of the book is an excellent description of how so many marriages of convenience must have gone — the polite formalities, the stilted conversations over dinner (Mr d’Arcy talks of very little beyond the weather!), the sheer loneliness of a life lived with someone who is virtually a stranger, played out in front of the servants. There are some very funny moments though, when the two are trying to conduct a conversation from opposite ends of a very long dining table, and misunderstanding each other, and having to repeat everything and shout. I wondered if they were going to resort to passing notes by way of the butler! The ending is pretty near perfect, and I actually cried when these two lovely people finally got all the obstacles out of the way and were set fair for happiness.
Is the book perfect? No, of course not. There were a few clunky moments, there were one or two places where I questioned the historical accuracy, the villains were a little too extreme and there were some parts of the story that could have been fleshed out a little more to give it some needed depth — I would have liked to see more of d’Arcy’s daughter, for instance, and one or two scenes showing Rosa with her after the marriage would have been welcome. One other (trivial) comment. It takes a certain amount of confidence to write a Regency romance with a hero called d’Arcy. There’s just too much baggage associated with the name. Captain Steele, too, reminded me of Lucy Steele in Sense and Sensibility.
I only have one serious grumble and that is the lack of chaperonage. I’ll forgive the two sisters travelling on the stagecoach because I assume there was an (unmentioned) matron accompanying them. But in London the aunt is simply never around, apart from formal functions like balls. During the day, she seems to be conveniently out visiting all the time, leaving the two sisters alone as prey for anyone who happens to turn up, or to walk about the streets and parks on their own. She must be the world’s worst chaperon! I’d expect her to take the girls with her when she goes visiting or shopping, to ensure they are introduced to all of her acquaintance, and once any gentlemen start to pay them attention she should be checking their backgrounds and ensuring that they’re respectable, and steering her nieces away from any bad apples. Instead she seems to take no interest at all until things reach crisis point.
But none of this detracted from the book for me in the slightest. From the very first page, its charm swept me along, and I was rooting for the hero and heroine all the way. A delightful read. Five stars.
The plot is a time-honoured one: two sisters go to London for the season to find husbands for themselves. The older sister, Arielle, is excited at the prospect and declares she’s going to fall in love with the handsomest man she can find. Poor Rosa is terrified, of course. How will she ever manage at balls and large social gatherings, amongst so many strangers? She’s bound to be inept and say and do the wrong things. And both sisters are correct. Arielle instantly falls for the dashing and handsome Captain Steele, while Rosa can barely speak a word, even to the gentlemanly and unthreatening Mr d’Arcy, a widower in his thirties who is, as Jane Austen and the title of the book have it, ‘in want of a wife’, and who is unexpectedly friendly towards Rosa. But there’s another man whose attention she attracts, Steele’s friend, the strangely sardonic Captain Spencer.
And so the story unfolds with the choice Rosa has to make — the odd Captain, for whom she begins to have feelings, although he shows no sign of affection towards her, or the safe option, the wealthy widower with a comfortable situation, a marriage of convenience and perhaps a lifetime with respectability but no love. It’s a dilemma that so many Regency ladies must have faced — take the dull but safe offer now, or hold out for something better. Tricky. But when d’Arcy makes the offer, Rosa is too grateful and, frankly, too timid to turn him down and so, rather nervously, she marries him.
The rest of the book is an excellent description of how so many marriages of convenience must have gone — the polite formalities, the stilted conversations over dinner (Mr d’Arcy talks of very little beyond the weather!), the sheer loneliness of a life lived with someone who is virtually a stranger, played out in front of the servants. There are some very funny moments though, when the two are trying to conduct a conversation from opposite ends of a very long dining table, and misunderstanding each other, and having to repeat everything and shout. I wondered if they were going to resort to passing notes by way of the butler! The ending is pretty near perfect, and I actually cried when these two lovely people finally got all the obstacles out of the way and were set fair for happiness.
Is the book perfect? No, of course not. There were a few clunky moments, there were one or two places where I questioned the historical accuracy, the villains were a little too extreme and there were some parts of the story that could have been fleshed out a little more to give it some needed depth — I would have liked to see more of d’Arcy’s daughter, for instance, and one or two scenes showing Rosa with her after the marriage would have been welcome. One other (trivial) comment. It takes a certain amount of confidence to write a Regency romance with a hero called d’Arcy. There’s just too much baggage associated with the name. Captain Steele, too, reminded me of Lucy Steele in Sense and Sensibility.
I only have one serious grumble and that is the lack of chaperonage. I’ll forgive the two sisters travelling on the stagecoach because I assume there was an (unmentioned) matron accompanying them. But in London the aunt is simply never around, apart from formal functions like balls. During the day, she seems to be conveniently out visiting all the time, leaving the two sisters alone as prey for anyone who happens to turn up, or to walk about the streets and parks on their own. She must be the world’s worst chaperon! I’d expect her to take the girls with her when she goes visiting or shopping, to ensure they are introduced to all of her acquaintance, and once any gentlemen start to pay them attention she should be checking their backgrounds and ensuring that they’re respectable, and steering her nieces away from any bad apples. Instead she seems to take no interest at all until things reach crisis point.
But none of this detracted from the book for me in the slightest. From the very first page, its charm swept me along, and I was rooting for the hero and heroine all the way. A delightful read. Five stars.
February 20, 2018
Spoilers
Even though my stars may be low, this is not a bad review. The author asks us at the end of her book to tell her what we thought, so I will say it respectfully. I thought the writing was good but there were inaccuracies in correct regency behavior (the sisters being able to receive callers, much less gentleman, alone. Walking about London without a maid present, characters like Mr. Sinclair popping up out of nowhere and speaking to her without an introduction, etc.). Pacing of the story was, well, confusing at best. The evilness of the Captains was never fleshed out or explained. My biggest problem was the ending. The declaration of love from Mr. D'Arcy when just SECONDS before he was declaring unending love for his deceased wife, Rosa's declaration of love for him without any reason, was just confusing not romantic. It was like an outline of a book. So, maybe this seems critical, but I think this author can write and I hope she continues trying. Heaven knows I couldn't do even half as well.
Even though my stars may be low, this is not a bad review. The author asks us at the end of her book to tell her what we thought, so I will say it respectfully. I thought the writing was good but there were inaccuracies in correct regency behavior (the sisters being able to receive callers, much less gentleman, alone. Walking about London without a maid present, characters like Mr. Sinclair popping up out of nowhere and speaking to her without an introduction, etc.). Pacing of the story was, well, confusing at best. The evilness of the Captains was never fleshed out or explained. My biggest problem was the ending. The declaration of love from Mr. D'Arcy when just SECONDS before he was declaring unending love for his deceased wife, Rosa's declaration of love for him without any reason, was just confusing not romantic. It was like an outline of a book. So, maybe this seems critical, but I think this author can write and I hope she continues trying. Heaven knows I couldn't do even half as well.
September 19, 2016
This was my first book by Odelia Floris and it will not be my last.
I loved this story, two sisters Rose and Arielle both sheltered but different . Arielle was confident and bold . Going to London for the season Arielle vows to fall in love , she wanted nothing less than a love match . Rose more reserved and extremely shy she tries to be brave but is mortified and is speechless when confronted with any gentleman. Captain Steele captures Arielle 's interest and fancies her self in love , meanwhile Rose is trying to make a match her mother will be happy, one daughter trying to do what is expected and not disgrace their mother the other throws caution away to satisfy her own expectations. Beautiful story of how not everyone seems as what they portray, and no matter how many generations go by , evil people who will use others of weaker character to benefit will always be prowling Very well written and definitely will recommend! I received an ARC from the author for my honest review.
I loved this story, two sisters Rose and Arielle both sheltered but different . Arielle was confident and bold . Going to London for the season Arielle vows to fall in love , she wanted nothing less than a love match . Rose more reserved and extremely shy she tries to be brave but is mortified and is speechless when confronted with any gentleman. Captain Steele captures Arielle 's interest and fancies her self in love , meanwhile Rose is trying to make a match her mother will be happy, one daughter trying to do what is expected and not disgrace their mother the other throws caution away to satisfy her own expectations. Beautiful story of how not everyone seems as what they portray, and no matter how many generations go by , evil people who will use others of weaker character to benefit will always be prowling Very well written and definitely will recommend! I received an ARC from the author for my honest review.
October 18, 2016
STORY LINE OF IN WANT OF A WIFE:
In Want Of A Wife, portrays the Regency era of history with all its stifling rules and restrictions. Sent to the London marriage mart season, found in all the best drawing rooms and ballrooms, two very different sisters, Rose and Arielle, vie for love.
Rosa, a small mousey girl is quite, stammers, shy beyond the pale, and subservient to her sister, dreads the season. She desires to return home to the peace and quite of the country side. Arielle is the exact opposite of Rosa. She is beautiful, confident, and outgoing in every way and ready to take on any and all for love.
Rosa, ever the wallflower, will find herself in a pickle. Not only does she have one suitor, she has two. Arielle is crazy for a handsome Captain. Are these suitors what they seem? Left to their own device, by their Aunt, each will journey through the season and its many pit falls. Will either of these two country ladies find love?
Come with Rosa and Arielle, on the journey through Regency London marriage mart and the rats and scum that dwells within.
CHARACTERS, PLOTTING, DEVELOPMENT:
First I must say, the Regency period of history guarded young women from the seamier side of life and sexual knowledge. Consequently, young women were naïve and childish in many ways. Sexual innuendo in mixed company and knowledge of marital relations practically non-existent. Although, we would find this an impossible attitude, Regency England considered it normal.
I found the plot of In Want Of A Wife relaxing and entertaining. Author Odelia Floris pacing of the story-line was in sync with the length of the book. Her writing style was clear and easy to follow as well as refreshing. I found this book a solid romance which did not rely on explicit or graphic sex to sell the story-line. Furthermore, I found In Want Of A Wife had a fairy tale quality and the happy ever after we all desire in life.
Ms. Floris developed the characters progressively throughout the story-line, growing in strength and wisdom as the story progressed. Watching Rosa come out of her shell and step out from behind her sister was wonderful. Growing up is never easy and to do so in the Regency period was even harder than today.
A solid read, I felt the author could have expanded a bit more on the relationship development between Rosa and James. It felt a bit rushed. However, this did not take away from my enjoyment of the story-line. The cover art for this book was beautiful, kudos to the artist.
IN WANT OF A WIFE RECOMMENDATION:
STARS 4
In conclusion, I found the plot, development, and pacing well crafted and the story-line entertaining. It is a relaxing book which provided solid entertainment. Available on Kindle Unlimited and available for sale on Amazon and other book sites, I found In Want Of A Wife suitable for young adults and adults.
Finally, I was provided a copy of this book by way of the author in return for an honest book review. All opinions in this review are my own. Furthermore, all book reviews of any novel are dependent on the book review author’s opinion. Consequently, all book reviews on line and on my blog under my name are my opinion.
In Want Of A Wife, portrays the Regency era of history with all its stifling rules and restrictions. Sent to the London marriage mart season, found in all the best drawing rooms and ballrooms, two very different sisters, Rose and Arielle, vie for love.
Rosa, a small mousey girl is quite, stammers, shy beyond the pale, and subservient to her sister, dreads the season. She desires to return home to the peace and quite of the country side. Arielle is the exact opposite of Rosa. She is beautiful, confident, and outgoing in every way and ready to take on any and all for love.
Rosa, ever the wallflower, will find herself in a pickle. Not only does she have one suitor, she has two. Arielle is crazy for a handsome Captain. Are these suitors what they seem? Left to their own device, by their Aunt, each will journey through the season and its many pit falls. Will either of these two country ladies find love?
Come with Rosa and Arielle, on the journey through Regency London marriage mart and the rats and scum that dwells within.
CHARACTERS, PLOTTING, DEVELOPMENT:
First I must say, the Regency period of history guarded young women from the seamier side of life and sexual knowledge. Consequently, young women were naïve and childish in many ways. Sexual innuendo in mixed company and knowledge of marital relations practically non-existent. Although, we would find this an impossible attitude, Regency England considered it normal.
I found the plot of In Want Of A Wife relaxing and entertaining. Author Odelia Floris pacing of the story-line was in sync with the length of the book. Her writing style was clear and easy to follow as well as refreshing. I found this book a solid romance which did not rely on explicit or graphic sex to sell the story-line. Furthermore, I found In Want Of A Wife had a fairy tale quality and the happy ever after we all desire in life.
Ms. Floris developed the characters progressively throughout the story-line, growing in strength and wisdom as the story progressed. Watching Rosa come out of her shell and step out from behind her sister was wonderful. Growing up is never easy and to do so in the Regency period was even harder than today.
A solid read, I felt the author could have expanded a bit more on the relationship development between Rosa and James. It felt a bit rushed. However, this did not take away from my enjoyment of the story-line. The cover art for this book was beautiful, kudos to the artist.
IN WANT OF A WIFE RECOMMENDATION:
STARS 4
In conclusion, I found the plot, development, and pacing well crafted and the story-line entertaining. It is a relaxing book which provided solid entertainment. Available on Kindle Unlimited and available for sale on Amazon and other book sites, I found In Want Of A Wife suitable for young adults and adults.
Finally, I was provided a copy of this book by way of the author in return for an honest book review. All opinions in this review are my own. Furthermore, all book reviews of any novel are dependent on the book review author’s opinion. Consequently, all book reviews on line and on my blog under my name are my opinion.
September 7, 2016
I was given a copy for an honest review
Rose and Arielle are sisters whom thier mother is sending them to thier Aunt for a season to hopefully find husbands. While they only have thier character and respectability to catch a husband , Arielle refuses to marry a man whom she dont love while Rose is full of worry for when she is nervous she tends to stutter.
Uoon arrival at thier aunt's they find out she is having a dinnner party and must attend , whike thier Arielle meets her captain Steel whom she declares is the most greatest gentleman while Rose meets Mr.d'Arcy whom is a widow looking for a new wife. While Rose is forced to accompany her sister with Captian Steel he brings another solider with him. While Rose feels he is cold her sister insist that he will offer for Rose .
Mr.d'Arcy ask for Rose's hand and she agrees , for it will make her mother proud that she found a husband of means and will never want for anything. Arielle demands her sister to break it off and wait for Captian Steels friend to ask for hand. For once Rose puts her foot down and declines her sister's command.
While married Rose tries to make a real marriage wirh her husband but learns he still has feeling for his first wife. Willbhe ever let go and make Rose his wofe in all ways or will she suffer the most terrible type of heart ache "rejection".
I actually coyld relate to Rose , as a younger sister my eldest was always getting me to see things in her way . As Rose would behind her sisters shadow i was hapoy too see her finally grow some back bone and make her own choices. While at times Rose was a little whinny and yes mousy at time i was like grow some back bone. Towards the end i got to understand why she was like that and got to appreciate her traits. I recommand this to lovers of this era
Rose and Arielle are sisters whom thier mother is sending them to thier Aunt for a season to hopefully find husbands. While they only have thier character and respectability to catch a husband , Arielle refuses to marry a man whom she dont love while Rose is full of worry for when she is nervous she tends to stutter.
Uoon arrival at thier aunt's they find out she is having a dinnner party and must attend , whike thier Arielle meets her captain Steel whom she declares is the most greatest gentleman while Rose meets Mr.d'Arcy whom is a widow looking for a new wife. While Rose is forced to accompany her sister with Captian Steel he brings another solider with him. While Rose feels he is cold her sister insist that he will offer for Rose .
Mr.d'Arcy ask for Rose's hand and she agrees , for it will make her mother proud that she found a husband of means and will never want for anything. Arielle demands her sister to break it off and wait for Captian Steels friend to ask for hand. For once Rose puts her foot down and declines her sister's command.
While married Rose tries to make a real marriage wirh her husband but learns he still has feeling for his first wife. Willbhe ever let go and make Rose his wofe in all ways or will she suffer the most terrible type of heart ache "rejection".
I actually coyld relate to Rose , as a younger sister my eldest was always getting me to see things in her way . As Rose would behind her sisters shadow i was hapoy too see her finally grow some back bone and make her own choices. While at times Rose was a little whinny and yes mousy at time i was like grow some back bone. Towards the end i got to understand why she was like that and got to appreciate her traits. I recommand this to lovers of this era
September 16, 2016
The story starts with sisters Rosa and Arielle. Arielle is a social butterfly while, Rosa is an introvert....to the extreme. In fact, I would compare them to Mary and Lydia Bennett. Both ladies are sent to London to find suitable matches before the Season ends. Arielle is determined to marry for love, while Rosa just wants to do her duty and never repeat a Season again.
As the story progresses, Arielle only has eyes for a dashing Captain in the military. Rosa, unexpectedly, finds herself juggling 2 suitors! She soon has to decide between love or duty.
I enjoyed this book very well. It's fast paced and if you're used to a traditional style of writing (like Austen or Bronte) you'll find it a light and easy read. It's a sweet and clean romance which means just a few kisses and nothing more. This also means it's good for the YA crowd should they be so inclined. I'm giving this a 5 out of 5 stars, but I have 1 complaint: It needs an epilogue! Or maybe a novella-esque sequel. I'd recommend it for Regency 'shippers and as this book reminds me of Jane Eyre and a mix of several Austen novels, I think it's a win for traditionalists as well.
full review on http://bibliogalblog.com
As the story progresses, Arielle only has eyes for a dashing Captain in the military. Rosa, unexpectedly, finds herself juggling 2 suitors! She soon has to decide between love or duty.
I enjoyed this book very well. It's fast paced and if you're used to a traditional style of writing (like Austen or Bronte) you'll find it a light and easy read. It's a sweet and clean romance which means just a few kisses and nothing more. This also means it's good for the YA crowd should they be so inclined. I'm giving this a 5 out of 5 stars, but I have 1 complaint: It needs an epilogue! Or maybe a novella-esque sequel. I'd recommend it for Regency 'shippers and as this book reminds me of Jane Eyre and a mix of several Austen novels, I think it's a win for traditionalists as well.
full review on http://bibliogalblog.com
September 26, 2016
Rosa does not expect to be a success during the London season. She's quiet, painfully shy, and cannot string a sentence together unless she is having a conversation with her sister. Before she knows it, she has a choice to make that will affect her future.
To be perfectly honest, I liked Rosa. I could identify with her shyness since I'm much the same way. The only thing I did not understand was her sudden attraction to a man who was cold and rude. The relationship with her beautiful sister, who seemed selfish to me, was also told very well.
If there was any point of criticism I would make, it was the repetition of phrases or words. Also the abundant use of 'fiancé' which did not come about until well AFTER the Regency area. Still, these are small nit-picks on my part.
I would recommend this to readers looking for a quick afternoon read. I was provided with a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
To be perfectly honest, I liked Rosa. I could identify with her shyness since I'm much the same way. The only thing I did not understand was her sudden attraction to a man who was cold and rude. The relationship with her beautiful sister, who seemed selfish to me, was also told very well.
If there was any point of criticism I would make, it was the repetition of phrases or words. Also the abundant use of 'fiancé' which did not come about until well AFTER the Regency area. Still, these are small nit-picks on my part.
I would recommend this to readers looking for a quick afternoon read. I was provided with a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
September 8, 2016
I made it as far as about the second page before I was cheering for Rosa. Or falling for her, to be more precise. But her vulnerability makes for difficult reading. It's so hard to see how she will ever find happiness under the influence of her sister and the weight of societal tradition. I was really worried for her as I read. I wanted to be her hero and save her from the horrible choices she had. I was so into this story - completely captivated.... In a broader sense, I'd say this is an interesting study of how a calculated marital arrangement might take time to get going, but may well develop into something rich and powerful.... The resolution for sweet Rosa worked very well for me. This is a poignant little regency romance with plenty beneath the surface.
June 6, 2018
This story was really hard to get through even though it was so short. It feels a little disjointed like you are skipping from scene to scene.
I found the protagonist's character to be a little unbelievable and was disappointed that she didn't grow as much throughout the story. She did improve a little bit right at the end, but it seemed strangely rushed and unbelievable.
The same goes for the antagonists. Adrielle (the sister) and Captain Steele gave off a bit of a Lydia and Mr. Wickham, pride and prejudice kind of vibe that worked somewhat well, but both of the two Captain's awful behavior seemed glossed over.
The story had a few short moments that I felt held promise, but on the whole, it didn't deliver. It feels more like a rough outline of a larger story.
I found the protagonist's character to be a little unbelievable and was disappointed that she didn't grow as much throughout the story. She did improve a little bit right at the end, but it seemed strangely rushed and unbelievable.
The same goes for the antagonists. Adrielle (the sister) and Captain Steele gave off a bit of a Lydia and Mr. Wickham, pride and prejudice kind of vibe that worked somewhat well, but both of the two Captain's awful behavior seemed glossed over.
The story had a few short moments that I felt held promise, but on the whole, it didn't deliver. It feels more like a rough outline of a larger story.
September 6, 2016
I received this book free in exchange for a review. I enjoyed this story about two sisters who travel to London to find husbands. It is a down to earth story but sweet. The only problem I had with it was the fact the girls were not chaperoned so got into trouble. Also there might have been more activities such as dances so that they could meet more eligible young men as the girls apparently had no experience so they could know better how to behave.
November 25, 2019
Pleasant. Actually I liked it a lot cause it had a different feel to it. You only see the heroine's POV but it didn't bother me.
The blurb makes it sound like the heroine is torn between two men. Spoiler/correction. I didn't think so. The OM is an ass that barely talks to her (yeah he says ONE positive line that her sister blows out of proportion) and then turns into a sadistic villain. Really. She wasn't torn. It was a no brainer even in the start before he turned into Dr. Ebil.
Apparently the author requested criticism so here goes nitpicking under spoilers.
The blurb makes it sound like the heroine is torn between two men. Spoiler/correction. I didn't think so. The OM is an ass that barely talks to her (yeah he says ONE positive line that her sister blows out of proportion) and then turns into a sadistic villain. Really. She wasn't torn. It was a no brainer even in the start before he turned into Dr. Ebil.
Apparently the author requested criticism so here goes nitpicking under spoilers.
July 6, 2017
Country-bred sisters, Rosa and Arielle Lane, are having their first London Season with the desperate goal of meeting and marrying husbands. They are desperate because their father died without having a son and their former home has been left to his nearest male relation – a cousin. Unless they make good marriages, they’ll be left to live with their penniless mother in a small cottage in the country. Arielle meets and falls in love with a handsome captain their first night in town. Rosa, shy, timid, and tongue-tied, longs to be done with it all and return home to her mother and the quiet countryside. Quite unknowingly however, she attracts the attention of one of the season’s most eligible catches, a widower with a special-needs daughter, who also prefers country-living to the excesses of town. Both sisters are soon wed to their admirers. However, Arielle’s love match doesn’t appear to be all that it should be. And what begins as a marriage of convenience for Rosa may become something quite different if she can just overcome her fears and natural timidity.
I really, really like Regency era romances (starting with Barbara Cartland’s books), and I am partial to any romance where the characters in a marriage of convenience find true love with one another. Author Odelia Floris has written a sweet, clean regency romance with handsome gentlemen (some that turn out not to be very gentlemanly) and pretty heroines.
Highly recommended for those regency readers that like sweet and clean stories and the marriage of convenience plotline. More please, Ms. Floris!
I really, really like Regency era romances (starting with Barbara Cartland’s books), and I am partial to any romance where the characters in a marriage of convenience find true love with one another. Author Odelia Floris has written a sweet, clean regency romance with handsome gentlemen (some that turn out not to be very gentlemanly) and pretty heroines.
Highly recommended for those regency readers that like sweet and clean stories and the marriage of convenience plotline. More please, Ms. Floris!
December 18, 2016
2.5/5.0
This is a sweet novella highlighting two sheltered girls sent to London to try and find love.
Read full review in the 2016 December issue of InD'tale Magazine.
This is a sweet novella highlighting two sheltered girls sent to London to try and find love.
Read full review in the 2016 December issue of InD'tale Magazine.
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