Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing!!
Review: After reading Lessons in Love #1 (lord dare's story), I looked eagerly for this sequel. But it was a slow tedious read (until the last 2 chapters which were quite good.) "Saint" propositioning Evie every other page god fairly tiresome very early. And the fact that she never stood up to her brother Victor was also disappointing. However, the premise that there is good in everyone and the dedication with which she believed in Saint was quite nice. How wonderful he became because of her faith in him (the last chapters) was great.
I think this book had so much potential but in totality, it
missed the boat for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Such a lovable scoundrel
Review: Enoch is one of my favourite authors, so I was pretty pleased to read London's Perfect Hero, followed by London's Perfect Scoundrel, in one go. While they involve the same characters in both stories, these books couldn't have been more different.
I found Hero to be more serious, but Scoundrel no less enjoyable for being a lighter read.
Saint is introduced as a bad boy with an edge of sarcasm in his words, but slowly grows to know himself better through the seduction of Evie. Evie meanwhile starts off as a doormat for her brother, and gradually realises her independence through charity work - and Saint.
Be warned that there is a mercenary feel to this story - Saint and Evie spend a lot of the time trading favours for this and that, albeit for different reasons, but then her brother Victor is equally mercenary - Enoch never fails to remind the reader that every move Evie makes will bring him votes in return.
The one jarring note was the kidnapping. I didn't think Evie achieved very much with it, other than allowing Saint a hold over her, so it didn't need to have gone on for so long.
Nevertheless, a good read, and worth the time spent on it.
Rating:
Summary: entertaining Regency
Review: Evelyn Ruddick wants to help society's poor though a young lady like herself is expected to embroider not visit orphanages. When she sees the Heart of Hope Orphanage, she selects that as a place she can provide some good through donating her time and money. However, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees the Marquis of St. Aubyn, better known by the misnomer, "Saint", thinks otherwise. Saint tells her to go back to her aristocratic cronies, but when she persists he insists she come back with a plan as he still tries to get rid of the meddling do-gooder.Saint wants out of the orphanage business, but his mother's will ties him to the place that he hopes to tear down. He finds himself quite attracted to Evelyn, who wants to implement an education program for the children. However, her brother sees Saint as a reprobate who will cost him his political career so he bans his sister from seeing him. Still, Evelyn and Saint fall in love while she tries to improve the lot of the poor children. This engaging Regency romance hooks the reader from the moment the cynical Saint meets the Pollyanna Evelyn. Though the complex social issues are too easily resolved, the story line is fun to follow especially when the endearing mischievous children fluster Evelyn and she in turn emotionally moves the Saint, who knows how to retaliate via kisses. The audience will appreciate this entertaining Regency. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: An enriching lesson of love
Review: Fans of Ms. Enoch would probably miss the lack of robust humour from Meet Me At Midnight but fret not, London's Perfect Scoundrel has redeemed itself with laudable characters who set themselves apart from the reckless couple in The Rake. This love story is essentially a tale of redemption and a faithful ode to love and its reforming powers. Evie Ruddick is set to derive meaningful pleasure in her life by dedicating herself to voluntary work at the Heart Of Hope Orphanage, who unfortunately gets mocked by the director and notorious rogue of the ton Marquis of St. Aubyn whom ironically everyone calls "Saint". This hardened cynic sets himself to seduce the virginial Evie while giving her a tour of the house. With no particular attachment to the orphanage, he agrees to sell to the Royal Prince to pave way for development - indirectly crushing the dreams of Evie. Readers seethe at what a scoundrel he is and joyfully laud at his "imprisonment" at the cellars of the orphanage executed by Evie and the children. Isolation and darkness forces him to rethink and admire Evie's passion as well as falling inexorably in love. He reforms by taking political ambitions, making amendments while courting Evie, who is ruthlessly used by her brother Victor as a pawn to his political career. She is to marry the dull Lord Alvington and give up Saint. Ms. Enoch heats the tale with sizzles and seduction but also manages to deliver responsible matured characters who are true to themselves. Evie weighs family obligations with love; Saint is a flawed man who admits mistakes and rectifies them. These are endearing creatures who make this lesson of love ultimately sobering and enriching.
Rating: 
Summary: WONDERFUL!
Review: I ABSOLUTELY ADORED THIS STORY! Its been a long time since Ive read a book that had such amazing characters that positively sizzled with chemistry! Even more then that though, was how obvious it was that not only did Saint and Evelyn want eachother, but they truly LIKED one another.Saint has to be one of my all time fave heroes. I LOVED THIS! OH!! The last scene! I reread it like a million times..read this book! YOU WONT BE SORRY!!!
Rating: 
Summary: A real scoundrel all right
Review: I have seldom seen a more vulgar or ungentlemanly 'hero'. He is so uncouth that his supposed reform is completely unbelieveable. There is no real romance or sensuality-the only two love scenes in the book are depressingly brief and belittling. He treats her like a whore, and anyone who has stand-up sex in the theatre toilet alcove is just begging to be ruined. The fact that she isn't is a minor miracle, as is the fact that someone with an pretensions to intelligence at all, as the heroine has, should have steered clear a million miles from such a debauched man. His decision to marry her is downright insulting and the ending trite, cliché, and completely unbelievable as well. This novel makes light of adultery, orphans and a whole host of social ills in an attempt to bre witty and amusing, and it falls flat because the 'hero' is so callus and her own family are also odious. I was hard put to like a single character.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: I loved this Book. Saint is Best version of a character who was once bad now reformed by love. I read this book and found out that there were others before it and after that, I had to Read them. I liked Evie but she should have just run off with Saint instead of just sitting there. I can't wait until the Next book which is called England's Perfect Hero and it comes out March 2004. That is Lucinda's story and I think I already know who her hero is. Hint: He's already been in the books and we all want to see him get better after what Happened at Waterloo.
Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunate elements in an otherwise decent book
Review: I was very disappointed by this book. I felt that it had more than enough to make it quite good, but it never got there. And more than never getting there, there were some elementary problems with it that the editor should have picked out on the first reading.
The book starts with the heroine, Evie, making a list with her friends of behaviors that they want to teach men to exhibit. Chapter One finds us with Evie a year later, with one friend married (though that is never said outright) and Evie herself generally floundering. She decides to start volunteering at an orphanage, where she gets involved with Saint, the hero. She has. . .relations with him (something that I believe would have been basically unheard of back then, but what have you) and they fall in love. Problem is, her politically-minded brother is trying to get her married to someone that would be advantageous for his career (something that was done quite often). Saint saves her in the end, of course, by offering her brother the political position he pined for and then marrying Evie.
My problems:
1. The book starts with Evie and her friends making this list, but that plot is basically forgotten immediately after that chapter ends. I actually really liked that plot and thought it was a great comic device, so I was puzzled as to why she dropped it. The only reason I came up with is that she started out writing a very different book than what she finished with, but as I said before, her editor should have noted that and fixed it. The book is much more of a drama than that first chapter would indicated.
2. You would also think that her friends would be an important part of Evie's life, but they are also rarely mentioned. When they are, their names are often confused (literally-they are first called by one name, then another and it is supposed to be the same person--this happens several times in the book and with as many characters as this book has, it can be confusing).
3. As noted above, there are a lot of characters. Evie's brother wants her to make political connections, so many characters are introduced solely for that purpose, but don't have any real bearing on Evie's own love story.
4. I found the story slow and hard to get into. I literally forced myself to keep reading it.
5. Despite some promisingly feminist inner monologues and a few actually actions, Evie doesn't really get up her gumption the way she should and although stating that she will think of a way to get out of this political marriage, shows no evidence of that and just waits for Saint to help her. There are things to like about this book. I like the bildungsroman aspect of Evie, the watching her grow into a woman who attempts to make her own decisions in a world that most assuredly would not allow her to. I liked Saint, a true bad boy that goes good without losing that predatory nature that makes him interesting and fun to read about. I really liked the comic aspect of the early plot, although that was discarded for a more dramatic one. I have another book of hers at home that I'm going to try, but based on this one, I certainly won't be buying any of her books again. This book shows that though Ms. Enoch has good ideas, she does not have the ability to develop them correctly or coherently. A bestselling author (with, presumably, a decent editor) cannot make these kinds of elementary mistakes.
Rating:
Summary: Unfortunate elements in an otherwise decent book
Review: I was very disappointed by this book. I felt that it had more than enough to make it quite good, but it never got there. And more than never getting there, there were some elementary problems with it that the editor should have picked out on the first reading.
The book starts with the heroine, Evie, making a list with her friends of behaviors that they want to teach men to exhibit. Chapter One finds us with Evie a year later, with one friend married (though that is never said outright) and Evie herself generally floundering. She decides to start volunteering at an orphanage, where she gets involved with Saint, the hero. She has. . .relations with him (something that I believe would have been basically unheard of back then, but what have you) and they fall in love. Problem is, her politically-minded brother is trying to get her married to someone that would be advantageous for his career (something that was done quite often). Saint saves her in the end, of course, by offering her brother the political position he pined for and then marrying Evie.
My problems:
1. The book starts with Evie and her friends making this list, but that plot is basically forgotten immediately after that chapter ends. I actually really liked that plot and thought it was a great comic device, so I was puzzled as to why she dropped it. The only reason I came up with is that she started out writing a very different book than what she finished with, but as I said before, her editor should have noted that and fixed it. The book is much more of a drama than that first chapter would indicated.
2. You would also think that her friends would be an important part of Evie's life, but they are also rarely mentioned. When they are, their names are often confused (literally-they are first called by one name, then another and it is supposed to be the same person--this happens several times in the book and with as many characters as this book has, it can be confusing).
3. As noted above, there are a lot of characters. Evie's brother wants her to make political connections, so many characters are introduced solely for that purpose, but don't have any real bearing on Evie's own love story.
4. I found the story slow and hard to get into. I literally forced myself to keep reading it.
5. Despite some promisingly feminist inner monologues and a few actually actions, Evie doesn't really get up her gumption the way she should and although stating that she will think of a way to get out of this political marriage, shows no evidence of that and just waits for Saint to help her. There are things to like about this book. I like the bildungsroman aspect of Evie, the watching her grow into a woman who attempts to make her own decisions in a world that most assuredly would not allow her to. I liked Saint, a true bad boy that goes good without losing that predatory nature that makes him interesting and fun to read about. I really liked the comic aspect of the early plot, although that was discarded for a more dramatic one. I have another book of hers at home that I'm going to try, but based on this one, I certainly won't be buying any of her books again. This book shows that though Ms. Enoch has good ideas, she does not have the ability to develop them correctly or coherently. A bestselling author (with, presumably, a decent editor) cannot make these kinds of elementary mistakes.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book
Review: Im glad I didnt read the reviews/spoilers on this book, because this book's story, was so refreshing, I was completely surprised, and very entertained, by a new twist in historical romance. It actually had a great story. I read the book twice, and it is a keeper.
|
