Love Only Once

Rating:
Summary: Fall in love with the Malory's (Malory# 1)
Review: Outrageous, outspoken, bold... call them whatever you may like, but the Malorys is one family you would surely fall in love with. And Johanna Lindsey has written a perfect introduction to them with Love Only Once. Set in the Regency era, this is the love story of Nicholas Eden, Viscount of Montieth, and Regina Ashton, the most beloved niece of those rakish Malory brothers.

On the night that Regina happened to have borrowed Selena Eddington's carriage, Nicholas was out carousing with his friend at the park across from Anthony Mallory's house whom Regina was visiting. Now Selena is actually Nicholas's current mistress and when he spots the carriage, Nicholas decides to play her a prank by abducting her and locking her up at his home so that she would miss the ball that she had been desperate to attend, as payback for trying to make him jealous. Too inebriated, he doesn't realize that it wasn't his mistress coming out of the Malory house, but Regina instead. And so when he finally goes to the ball and sees Selena on the dance floor, he quickly realizes his mistake and bolts back to his home and takes Regina home.

Unfortunately for them, word of that incident got out and the news quickly spread within the haute ton the next day and now Regina's virtue is compromised. And this is where the fun begins as we see Nicholas baited and threatened by Regina's overprotective uncles into marrying her. The way he was practically kicking and protesting on his way to the altar was amusing. It was also funny to see Regina trying to defend him against her Uncle Tony and James, even after they were married.

And as we are introduced to the Malory family, especially Anthony and James, you can't help but fall in love with them. I found them so entertaining that I couldn't wait to read their stories. This is a great and exciting introduction to the Malory series. Ms Lindsey has done well in setting the pace for the succeeding novels.




Rating:
Summary: When love is both torment and ecstasy . . .
Review: _Love Only Once_ is the first in a series of books written about the Malory family. It's the story of Regina Ashton, beloved niece of the Malory brothers, whose only sister died when Regina was just a baby, leaving her in their care.

Regina and her uncles want her to find a husband, but she can't seem to find anyone that will please everyone. She's seen hundreds of men, so many that society has deemed her a cold fish, thinking she must be entirely cold-hearted and self-centered. That's not the case at all, it's just nearly impossible to please four overprotective men.

Viscount Nicholas Eden, a rakehell who has refused to ever marry owing to a secret in his past, is completely bored with his current mistress, Selena Eddington. He's started treating her badly and she's decided that it would be prudent to end things with him now, hoping to provoke a jealous reaction from him.

Finding herself in desperate need to talk to her uncle Tony, hoping he'll be able to convince her uncles that she's fed up with looking for a husband, Regina borrows Selena Eddington's conveyance. Having had too much to drink, Nicholas spots his former paramour's carriage outside Anthony Malory's home and decides to play a nasty trick on her and keep her from attending the party of the season. After her discussion with Tony, Regina bundles herself up in her cape and steps outside, only to be swept up on horseback by Nicholoas, who thinks he's kidnapped Selena!

Once home, Nicholas dumps Regina, who he still believes to be Selena, in one of his guest rooms, locks the door and leaves for the party himself. Only minutes after arriving at the party, Nicholas realizes his mistake and hurries home to see who he's actually abducted. The moment he throws open the door, he and Regina both are stunned. There's an instant attraction between them that almost crackles from the pages.

Despite careful planning on everyone's part, the story of Regina's abduction by one of London's most notorious rakes leaks out and Regina's reputation is ruined. Now, the once sought after beauty has very little chance of ever securing a good match. But, it's not the blot to her reputation that prompts Regina to have her uncles coerce Nicholas into marrying her, it's the fact that she's finally found the one man she can love completely. She's set her cap for him, and there's very little that Regina Ashton wants that she doesn't get.

Things really start to pick up as Nicholas does his best to escape matrimony and Regina tries her hardest to make him love her. There are numerous misunderstandings, painful words and harsh feelings between them and things really get complicated when it turns out Nicholas has a very dangerous enemy. As the story unfolds, you'll find the pages nearly turn themselves.

Not only is the story of Regina and Nicholas incredible on it's own, it's the opening to a series of books about a family you'll grow to love. The Malorys are a fiercely loyal family full of rakehells, rogues and beautiful women who are all passionate and spirited. All of the characters are so well-written that you'll feel like you know them. From Anthony, the rake with a heart of gold, to James, the sometimes pirate, there's never a lack of interesting people. Not to mention, this is the first introduction of one of my very favorite characters in the series -- James' son Jeremy (who definitely needs a story of his own!).

Though written nearly 20 years ago, _Love Only Once_ is an amazingly well-written Regency romance. Even at such an early stage in her career, Ms. Lindsey reveals why she is, even today, one of the top authors in this genre. I first read this story years ago and have continued visiting it once every couple of years. I never tire of the Malorys and their exploits. If you've never been introduced to this family, what are you waiting for?


Rating:
Summary: Sets the Stage for the Superb Malory Family Series
Review: The first in the endearing Malory Family series, "Love Only Once" is the story of a lark gone bad and what a young rakehell must do to make up for it.

The rake is Nicholas Eden, a gorgeous man with a most disreputable (yet true) reputation of seducer of innocents. The lark was kidnapping his current mistress in public and then locking her up in his home so that she misses an important ball. The mistake is that he nabbed the wrong woman!

Too late to save her reputation, the lovely and charming Regina Ashton decides she must marry Nicholas - before her uncles kill him - and there is where the real trouble begins.

This book is fast-paced and witty. Nicky is a different JL hero - a conceited rake bored out of his mind. Plus he has a dark secret hanging over his head. Regina is simply a delight! She had impish humor and a delightful ability to wrap her four doting uncles around her little finger.

As for the uncles ... this is where we meet them all, especially Anthony and James. Yummy! Anthony, a rake himself, wants to shoot Nicky dead. James punches him out instead.

I enjoyed reading "Love Only Once," especially any scene involving Anthony or James and Jeremy (James' son). In fact, I loved it so much, I read it in only a few hours. The book starts off with a bang, introducing us to the fun cast of characters and the kidnapping incident ... but tapers off after Nicky is coerced into taking Regina as his bride. The reason I gave this book 4 stars is that Nicky strives hard to be a jerk and succeeds very well ... too well, since I started disliking him even though I understood why he was doing it. I also found it hard to believe that Regina took his boorish behavior so well, considering she IS a Malory. Oh well. I still enjoyed this book immensely, but probably because Anthony and James stole the show.

There are several books in the Malory series. My absolute favorites, of course, are "Tender Rebel" (about Anthony) and "Gentle Rogue" (about James).



Rating:
Summary: getting better and better!
Review: I have read Gentle Rogue, Magic of You and Love Only Once, in that order...and the last time I'd written a review i've said that I liked Amy and Warren's story than Georgie' and James's...and now, I take all those back and admit that Love Only Once is now my favorite Malory Book...I dont know if it's a spruce of the moment(however the saying goes)...it just happened...
But as I think about it, I wasn't really captivated from the 1st half...I started to be hooked half way through the book. It doesn't have the humor in Gentle Rogue and Magic of you. What I like about this novel is that it invoked deeper emotions than a usual Malory novel. This is where the Malory brothers were united and I noticed that they were not as active on this one as they were on the coming novels, That's why the story is more centered on Regina and Nicky. There are a lot of holes and flaws within the plot of the story but I won't enumerate those all; OBVIOUSLY, that's not the reason I gave this a 5-star rating. I just felt good and satisfied after reading it, and I say, that's what really counts!

Rating:
Summary: this was a wonderful book
Review: I am a HUGE fan og Lindsey and this book was her at her best. If you are looking to dive into a new author or justa new series, look nowhere else, what you need is right here!

Rating:
Summary: Great!!!
Review: This book is great!!! Of course it has to be, it is a Malory novel!! Unfortuantely, I had read Gentle Rogue and Tender Rebel before reading this so I already knew what happened! But, there is nothing like reading it first hand!! This is another great creation by JL.