Rating: 
Summary: good writing, problem with premise and characters
Review: This writer show great promise, is able to bring the Regency period of England to live, BUT....I get the feeling she grew up reading Catherine Coulter, who did a lot of books in the same period, many were solid writing but I ended up disliking for similar reasons I did not enjoy this book. Coutler is a great writer, but often I really HATED the males in her books (I recall one that took a whip to the heroine, his wife, because she caught him with his mistress and tossed a shoes at him!). James is a savvy writer, she sparkles, but I just could not warm to these characters. They had a bad wedding night, so Helene and Rees go their separate ways, with him having mistresses...after 10 years Helene wants a divorce, but Rees refuses because it would besmirch his reputation. Helene then decides to go looking for a stud to father the child she wants, and THEN Rees decides he wants his wife after all. I did not care for the romance of secondary characters either - Rees' brother and his mistress! It's just made me hurt Helene would accept so much, and end up taking all the guilt upon herself.
Rees never truly redeemed himself in my eyes. James is a solid writer, but the premise and choice of characters really sinks this effort for me. I enjoy her writing, so I will definitely read her next effort. Just please no more off to the nursery....
Rating: 
Summary: not that bad.. it's quite good.
Review: Well, after reading so many reviews for the book and finding most of the reviewers not exactly liking it, I can truly understand. Still, I'd like to point the good stuffs of the book. I have to admit that Rees did not exactly beg for Helene's forgiveness in the way I'd like him to.. ( Like groveling..), he made it up by in my opinion the best he could give. He's a musician, and people of arts don't really care of other people's feelings. Still, he made an effort to give her words that on other people, may find as nothing but Helene understood what he was trying to tell her and listened to her heart. The lacking bit is where there seems to be too much of romance between Rees's brother and his mistress. I skipped most of that part, choosing to read parts of Helene and Rees because despite what other people say, I think they truly are well-suited, the chemistry was indeed there and they understood each other more than they understood others. Okay, I didn't liked the part of them living estranged for TEN years, but recall that both of them weren't very happy living apart and Rees spent the the first month after Helene was gone, drowning in alcohol, and he DID told her in the end that 'he was in love with her' and 'that he never did enjoy all those rakehell days particularly the dancers on his dining table'. Recall also, that he was madly jealous to catch Helene with The Earl of Mayne ( was that his name? I'm not sure..), murderous enough and the fact that he refused to divorce her may held a deeper meaning than reputation. Like, love?? Helene was desperate to have a child, and that was the reason she agreed to his proposal. She did add conditions though, that bedding his mistress is strictly prohibited during her stay there and that it would only be for a month. The epilogue was also one of the best ending I've ever read. They were comfortable with each other, still shared their passion for music together by continuing to write songs on the piano and finding intimacy every oportunity even while sitting by a piano! So, overall I think this book was worth it and that readers should read and find deeper meaning in it. Buy it, cuz I think it's a keeper and a book that'll make you belief that God works in many ways and that it was a second chance in life.
Rating:
Summary: James does it again!
Review: Wow just when I think Eloisa James has done the best work she can do and that she'll never top herself she blows me away again. I loved everything about this book: the characters, the story, the writing, all of it. Rees was a fitting adversary for the very strong Helene which also made him the perfect love for her too. I couldn't wait to see how everything turned out and was up late reading several nights in a row. Highly recommended.
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