For the Love of Lila (Leisure Historical Romance)

Rating:
Summary: An admirable heroine and a true hero
Review: Great read! I loved both the hero and heroine. They are so obviously made for one another -- but both have such strong reasons to try not to fall in love. The sexual tension never stops, right through to the end. Tristan is a true hero in the tradition of Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy. He goes above and beyond to help Lila. I fell in love with him myself! Lila, too, is worthy of admiration. She may be a bit naive, but she's certainly a woman with principles.

Rating:
Summary: amusing historical romantic romp
Review: In 1828 England, Lila Covington learns life's lesson that a woman even at twenty-five can never live freely in this man's world filled with rigged male tainted rules. She wants access to her trust fund left to her by her father, but the trustee has placed so many stipulations on her she would be not much more than a groveling beggar. Desperate for help to live with a "free" female relative in France, Lila skips protocol and visits a solicitor, Tristan Wyndam, a former protégé of her deceased father.

Though he thinks Lila is a bit of a loose screw, Tristan cannot allow a single woman to travel unescorted across the Channel especially the daughter of his former mentor who would want him to keep her safe and that includes her reputation. As Tristan accompanies Lila on her excursion, they pose as a married couple. This proves quite easily to perform as they begin to act like newlyweds because love has cemented the relationship even if Lila wonders about her vaunted independence.

FOR THE LOVE OF LILA is an amusing historical romantic romp starring two delightful lead characters. The story line is breezy and loaded with the antics of Lila that places her and Tristan in awkward situations. Tristan is a bit too perfect as the knight in shining armor ready to enter any fray that Lila seems to cause to keep his beloved out of harm's way. Though the tale feels more like a 1930s madcap comedic anachronism, Jennifer Malin furbishes readers with an amusing reading experience that the audience will demand similar tales from the author.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: amusing historical romantic romp
Review: In 1828 England, Lila Covington learns life's lesson that a woman even at twenty-five can never live freely in this man's world filled with rigged male tainted rules. She wants access to her trust fund left to her by her father, but the trustee has placed so many stipulations on her she would be not much more than a groveling beggar. Desperate for help to live with a "free" female relative in France, Lila skips protocol and visits a solicitor, Tristan Wyndam, a former protégé of her deceased father.

Though he thinks Lila is a bit of a loose screw, Tristan cannot allow a single woman to travel unescorted across the Channel especially the daughter of his former mentor who would want him to keep her safe and that includes her reputation. As Tristan accompanies Lila on her excursion, they pose as a married couple. This proves quite easily to perform as they begin to act like newlyweds because love has cemented the relationship even if Lila wonders about her vaunted independence.

FOR THE LOVE OF LILA is an amusing historical romantic romp starring two delightful lead characters. The story line is breezy and loaded with the antics of Lila that places her and Tristan in awkward situations. Tristan is a bit too perfect as the knight in shining armor ready to enter any fray that Lila seems to cause to keep his beloved out of harm's way. Though the tale feels more like a 1930s madcap comedic anachronism, Jennifer Malin furbishes readers with an amusing reading experience that the audience will demand similar tales from the author.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: hero's & heroine's careless behavior wasn't very credible
Review: The previous reviewer has already done a rather good job of detailing the plot synopsis of "For the Love of Lila," so I'll leave off doing the same. And truth to tell I was in two minds about this novel. On the plus side, I thought that Jennifer Malin did a fantastic job of letting us see things from Lila's point-of-view. Lila Covington wants to break the trust that her seemingly liberal father had set up for her, so that she can stop living with her narrow-minded relatives, move to Paris and take up writing full time. Her stance is understandable: after all it is her money. She should be allowed to use her inheritance to live as she wishes and to pursue her dreams. Lila's frustration with the fact that she is subject to the whims and laws of a conservative society is also understandable. Unfortunately, from that point on, the story lost credibility for me. Because I don't want to spoil things for those who may not share my feelings, I'll leave out all the things that made me wince. Usually however, either the hero or the heroine behaves in a manner that is too foolish for words. In "For the Love of Lila" however, both Lila and Tristan Wyndam (the hero) keep making one foolish mistake after the other, so that you actually begin to wonder how 1) Lila could be considered an intelligent young woman? and 2) how Tristan had managed to build up a law practice of some repute?

For example, Tristan is about to throw his hat into the political arena. So naturally his solution to helping Lila travel to Paris is to suggest that she travel with him as his 'pretend' wife. Just the thing for any budding politician -- a sex scandal in the making. Of course Lila has her own ideas: she wants to make the voyage by masquerading as a boy. I won't go into what happens next except to wonder why, if Mary Wollstonecraft (Lila's idol) was able to travel to Paris just as the French Revolution was heating up, in the company of a married couple without the aid of a disguise, Lila Covington couldn't do the same thing? The list goes on, chapter after chapter both Lila and Tristan behave in either one reckless and careless manner or the other. So that you actually begin to wonder if an intellectual prowess and basic common sense are mutually exclusive of each other?

On the other hand, the authour really does a rather brilliant job of portraying the contrary desires of our confused heroine. She wants to experience life without the usual conservative restraints, but she also wants to have a lasting and meaningful relationship with Tristan. And she is frustrated that these two desires seem mutually exclusive. And in spite of my rising irritation with both Lila and Tristan, Jennifer Malin did a fairly good job of engaging my curiosity to see how this novel would end. So, all in all I would say if you're able to put up with the sometimes foolish behavior of both the hero and the heroine, than this novel should entertain.