Purchase Via AmazonSynopsis
William (Liam) Kellington, the Duke of Lynwood, loves Rosalind Carson, the sister of an impoverished viscount. But while Lynwood was still coming to terms with his feelings -- dukes can be particularly dim-witted when it comes to love -- Rosalind's brother sold her into a lucrative betrothal to another nobleman. Liam vows to save Rosalind from a marriage she does not want, while also convincing her to become the Duchess of Lynwood. The lady, however, is not one to wait to be rescued.
Rosalind has been in love with William Kellington much of her life. And it has been a rather one-sided romance. When her brother promises her to a man five decades her senior, Rosalind must find a way to live the life she wants and not the one that has been forced upon her.
Review
A few months ago, I was desperately waiting for the release of this book, biting my nails in anticipation, willing myself to exercise some patience. It was excruciating. Then finally I got my wish, the last installment in the Kellington series was published. The Kellingtons have been a source of entertainment for the last few months. I happened to come across Never a Mistress (the first book in the series) by chance while doing my daily browse of Amazon and there it was this freebie. I was intrigued by the title mainly because I didn't like it but then the synopsis sold me. Amazon is inundated with every type of regency known to womankind. I'm a novice to this genre so I don't profess to know too much but when a book is good, the fact that its a regency doesn't matter. I found Never a mistress, never a by chance, it was stuck between two other regency novels, both free, both as intriguing but there was something about that synopsis that begged me to read on. The books in the Kellington series are easy reads, they shouldn't take more than a two days depending on how speedy you are and they are Regency so expect loads of brooding males and beautiful female characters.
This book took me by surprise because of the story telling, Maureen Driscoll knows how to tell a great story with great characters and explosive plots. My main problem with regency is that many regency authors have a tendency to create cartoon characters; characters that are half baked and under developed. Hence why when I started reading Never A Mistress where the author had attempted to inject some personality into her characters, I was impressed. I should talk about the dynamics between the characters, this family has great banter, cheesy as it may sound, they witty, intelligent and humorous. Its a credit to the author and her ability to perfect the dialogue so masterfully that she manages to create extremely good looking, flawed characters that are also likable. She manages to maintain the plot as well as creating great dialogue. Some reviewers are talking about the historical inaccuracies but to be honest, who reads regency to get a history lesson? If you do read regency for history lessons, I apologies in advance and please send me an email and I will point you towards the best historical reads which aim to be as accurate as possible. Regency to me is spicy romance with a little bit of dressing up. Regency if done well, you forget about the inaccuracies.
Having said all that I read Never Deny Your Heart with trepidation not sure how the author would seal off the series. This is the last book in the series (hopefully not the last from the author). I was looking forward to Rosalind and Liam's story, the author had been dropping snippets and hints in the previous books of what we should expect. At times I did doubt whether they would get together and without spoiling the ending for those of you who haven't read it yet, the ending is spicy and they do end up together. Liam's secret is far more interesting than I thought. There's quite a bit of rough and tumble than they were in the previous books and at time I wasn't sure I was a fan but I gave in towards the end. I got used to Liam's secret with trepidation I might add .
Overall I would definitely recommend this books, they are well written and great fun.
Thank you so, so much for giving the Kellingtons a chance and then sticking with them. And if you think you were nervous about this book, I was terrified. And, uh, yes, I also tend to agree that my enjoyment when I read Regency has much more to do with the people and situations, than the history around them. I very much applaud authors who do both, but this is mostly romance in fancy clothes.
ReplyDeleteThere is actually one more book in the series -- Inspector Stapleton gets his book, though that will be more a mystery than a traditional Kellington book. And there's a possibility that Mary (Mel's cousin from book 4) may get a book. BUT I really don't want to wear out my welcome. I think we've all read series where the author should have quit before she did.
Thank you so, so much for your continued support. Mo