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roseybot's review
4.0
I AM SURPRISINGLY EMOTIONAL ABOUT THIS BOOK. EXCUSE THE TEARS AND THE LAUGHTER WHILE I GO CURL UP IN A BALL AND JIBBER.
rankkaapina's review
2.0
Well, I did finish this... But I'm getting tired of these books that describe a modern woman in sort of historical setting. I do like Kate Noble's writing, but I just need my historical fiction to be historical. Or at least historically believable. I think I will stick to contemporary romance for a bit...
librophiliac's review
3.0
Cute, fluffy... The premise of knocking each other off their horses and into the water in the park... I know I've read it before... Maybe in a Mary Balogh book? But otherwise nice, I liked the part in the museum.
lindacbugg's review
4.0
This is a story full of familiar tropes-two sisters-one beautiful and one bookish. Both in love with two men and both of them unsuitable.
This book fit right in with my year of fun reading--light and fluffy and made me ready to read another Kate Noble immediately--which I did!
[bc:The Summer of You|7094488|The Summer of You (The Blue Raven #2)|Kate Noble|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1318535765s/7094488.jpg|7351308]
Beautiful Evangeline and bookish Abagail are finally back in London after a lifetime spent abroad, with a new stepmother, Romilla, in anticipation of their debut season's. With a good London address, a father who's been recognized by the crown, money and a venerable general for a stepmother, their debuts are practically assured.
I love books with bookish main characters and Abagail or Gail as she's called had just the right amount of spunk and tom-boyishness. She has no trouble saying what's on her mind and doesn't suffer fools which is not a good combination for an era where women should talk of inconsequential things and flatter the people around them--no matter how muffin headed they sound.
Her slightly older beautiful sister Evangeline is not as bright but she's sweet and their friendship is solid. Living abroad most of their lives and the death of their mother has made them allies. While Gail might not be excited about "The Season" or the ball being planned by stepmother Romilla to introduce the girls to society Evangeline is over the moon. She can't wait to meet all the delightful young men, attend dances and parties and fall in love. Sadly she manages to get herself "Compromised" (hence the title) and thus secretly engaged the night of her ball and though it may have seemed romantic in the moment, in the long term Evangeline and her future husband Max have nothing in common.
The main framework of this novel is keeping this engagement secret until just the right moment and this is where all the fun happens. For a marriage not to be seen as shameful a girl must be properly courted. This means Max spends time with his intended and for proprieties sake her sister and his best friend Will often both act as chaperone's. Sparks fly--and not between Max and Evangeline but between Max and Gail. Whenever they are in the same room they can't help but bicker and snipe with each other and thir interactions are such fun to read.
I don't want to give away all the surprises but this is a romance novel so you know going in there will be a happy ever after, it's all about how you get there in the end. This journey was loads of fun and I found myself laughing out loud lots. Kate Noble reminds me of [a:Lisa Kleypas|27847|Lisa Kleypas|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1288899037p2/27847.jpg] in the best sort of way. For those who worry about the steam value, this is pretty steam free until almost the end with one mild racy scene.
All I can say is I plan on reading Kate Noble's The Blue Raven series and most likely right away!
Buy this title from Powells Books.
This book fit right in with my year of fun reading--light and fluffy and made me ready to read another Kate Noble immediately--which I did!
[bc:The Summer of You|7094488|The Summer of You (The Blue Raven #2)|Kate Noble|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1318535765s/7094488.jpg|7351308]
Beautiful Evangeline and bookish Abagail are finally back in London after a lifetime spent abroad, with a new stepmother, Romilla, in anticipation of their debut season's. With a good London address, a father who's been recognized by the crown, money and a venerable general for a stepmother, their debuts are practically assured.
I love books with bookish main characters and Abagail or Gail as she's called had just the right amount of spunk and tom-boyishness. She has no trouble saying what's on her mind and doesn't suffer fools which is not a good combination for an era where women should talk of inconsequential things and flatter the people around them--no matter how muffin headed they sound.
Her slightly older beautiful sister Evangeline is not as bright but she's sweet and their friendship is solid. Living abroad most of their lives and the death of their mother has made them allies. While Gail might not be excited about "The Season" or the ball being planned by stepmother Romilla to introduce the girls to society Evangeline is over the moon. She can't wait to meet all the delightful young men, attend dances and parties and fall in love. Sadly she manages to get herself "Compromised" (hence the title) and thus secretly engaged the night of her ball and though it may have seemed romantic in the moment, in the long term Evangeline and her future husband Max have nothing in common.
The main framework of this novel is keeping this engagement secret until just the right moment and this is where all the fun happens. For a marriage not to be seen as shameful a girl must be properly courted. This means Max spends time with his intended and for proprieties sake her sister and his best friend Will often both act as chaperone's. Sparks fly--and not between Max and Evangeline but between Max and Gail. Whenever they are in the same room they can't help but bicker and snipe with each other and thir interactions are such fun to read.
I don't want to give away all the surprises but this is a romance novel so you know going in there will be a happy ever after, it's all about how you get there in the end. This journey was loads of fun and I found myself laughing out loud lots. Kate Noble reminds me of [a:Lisa Kleypas|27847|Lisa Kleypas|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1288899037p2/27847.jpg] in the best sort of way. For those who worry about the steam value, this is pretty steam free until almost the end with one mild racy scene.
All I can say is I plan on reading Kate Noble's The Blue Raven series and most likely right away!
Buy this title from Powells Books.
whiskeyinthejar's review
4.0
The book started out giving me a bit of a strange and icky feeling with Max liking Gail's sister Evie first and kissing her, I just like my romances to keep it out of the menage a trois family arena I guess.
I love, love, loved the small bit of Gail's intelligent passion about British taking artifacts from other countries and in her eyes stealing from their cultures, so refreshing and endured the character of Gail to me heartily. By adding this part of Gail's personality is how characters become real and I start to visualize them in my mind, it's about going this small extra mile (take note authors).
Awesome scene: Gail and Max are in the British museum and she complains about the Greek statues being stolen and Max points to a lower class little girl and says people who aren't advantaged would otherwise never be able to see them, then they are quiet for a while and then Gail starts to assert her point again I love how Max interrupts her sighs, and then says "Let it go". (By the way I stared into space for about 5mins here thinking about their argument and who I thought was right. I originally agreed with Gail but then Max pointing out the little girl turned me a bit. I still don't know how I feel about it…but I must move on, nerdiness over) This brief subtle scene hit such a cord with me. After I read this I swear there was an audible ding sound as if this was the moment Gail and Max's relationship became real for me. This was definitely the moment I started to become quite intrigued about their relationship and hoped this was a turning point in the book and looked for more interaction between the two.
Although the story was absolutely predictable from Max and Gail to Will (Max's friend, who actually could have played a bigger part, even interrupting Gail/Max and I wouldn't have minded. I never say that!) and Evie (Gail's sister) the way Gail was written was fresh and titillated me. Gail was an intelligent, strong willed, and insecure girl. She wasn't completely captivating in her looks, a swashbuckler who wore pants, or a diamond of the first water who flaunts society but refreshingly average in her unconventionalism; awesome character.
Powerful writing when Max's father dies and Gail goes to his apartments to comfort him. I don't know if I have ever read a scene such as that one where the male lead character breaks down in such a heartbreakingly beautiful way and it is the female lead character's strength which shines through.
The tone of the book was uneven at times, seem to be warring between being a serious book and a hokey kind of humor, the writing didn’t blend and flow as easily as it could have I think.
The character of Gail is one of the best (if not #1)female leads I have read in '09. Gail had an inner strength paired with a sweetly sympathetic vulnerability I loved. When Max's father dies a weakness rarely shown in a male lead's character utterly captivated me (again, take note authors) and created a beautifully compelling scene. There were other smaller flashes of brilliance for Max but on the whole he was kind of just another London Lord. In the end it was a good book but not a keeper because of the unbalance, tried and true story line, and lack of a certain je ne sais quoi.
Oh and I almost forgot what in the world was with Gail's ratty old brown riding hat?!? There was a big deal made out of it and then nothing, why was it so important to her? Grrr, another unsolved mystery, if someone knows tell me maybe I missed it!!!
B
I love, love, loved the small bit of Gail's intelligent passion about British taking artifacts from other countries and in her eyes stealing from their cultures, so refreshing and endured the character of Gail to me heartily. By adding this part of Gail's personality is how characters become real and I start to visualize them in my mind, it's about going this small extra mile (take note authors).
Awesome scene: Gail and Max are in the British museum and she complains about the Greek statues being stolen and Max points to a lower class little girl and says people who aren't advantaged would otherwise never be able to see them, then they are quiet for a while and then Gail starts to assert her point again I love how Max interrupts her sighs, and then says "Let it go". (By the way I stared into space for about 5mins here thinking about their argument and who I thought was right. I originally agreed with Gail but then Max pointing out the little girl turned me a bit. I still don't know how I feel about it…but I must move on, nerdiness over) This brief subtle scene hit such a cord with me. After I read this I swear there was an audible ding sound as if this was the moment Gail and Max's relationship became real for me. This was definitely the moment I started to become quite intrigued about their relationship and hoped this was a turning point in the book and looked for more interaction between the two.
Although the story was absolutely predictable from Max and Gail to Will (Max's friend, who actually could have played a bigger part, even interrupting Gail/Max and I wouldn't have minded. I never say that!) and Evie (Gail's sister) the way Gail was written was fresh and titillated me. Gail was an intelligent, strong willed, and insecure girl. She wasn't completely captivating in her looks, a swashbuckler who wore pants, or a diamond of the first water who flaunts society but refreshingly average in her unconventionalism; awesome character.
Powerful writing when Max's father dies and Gail goes to his apartments to comfort him. I don't know if I have ever read a scene such as that one where the male lead character breaks down in such a heartbreakingly beautiful way and it is the female lead character's strength which shines through.
The tone of the book was uneven at times, seem to be warring between being a serious book and a hokey kind of humor, the writing didn’t blend and flow as easily as it could have I think.
The character of Gail is one of the best (if not #1)female leads I have read in '09. Gail had an inner strength paired with a sweetly sympathetic vulnerability I loved. When Max's father dies a weakness rarely shown in a male lead's character utterly captivated me (again, take note authors) and created a beautifully compelling scene. There were other smaller flashes of brilliance for Max but on the whole he was kind of just another London Lord. In the end it was a good book but not a keeper because of the unbalance, tried and true story line, and lack of a certain je ne sais quoi.
Oh and I almost forgot what in the world was with Gail's ratty old brown riding hat?!? There was a big deal made out of it and then nothing, why was it so important to her? Grrr, another unsolved mystery, if someone knows tell me maybe I missed it!!!
B
abbythompson's review against another edition
3.0
When they first meet, Gail Alton and Max, Viscount Fontaine detest, loath and despise one another. And then fate throws a curve ball when on the Alton girl's coming out ball, Max and Gail's beautiful sister Evangeline are caught in a compromising position and must wed. But what happens when Gail realizes that she's in love with Max, and Max is in love with Gail? And Evie is in love with Max's best friend, William and he's in love with her? Oh the scandal!
Why I Picked It Up:
I loved Noble's other two novels, which I found to be a breath of fresh air in a cluttered and over-stuffed genre. This one was a little less interesting than her other two. The ending was a little too neatly wrapped up, though I loved watching Gail and Max fall for each other. Think "When Harry Met Sally" in Regency England.
Who I Would Recommend it to:
Lauren B-S, who loves a good rompy romance!
Why I Picked It Up:
I loved Noble's other two novels, which I found to be a breath of fresh air in a cluttered and over-stuffed genre. This one was a little less interesting than her other two. The ending was a little too neatly wrapped up, though I loved watching Gail and Max fall for each other. Think "When Harry Met Sally" in Regency England.
Who I Would Recommend it to:
Lauren B-S, who loves a good rompy romance!
lizabethstucker's review against another edition
4.0
This debut shows great promise for Kate Noble in the historical romance realm.
Gail Alton thought Maximillian, Viscount Fontaine, was an obnoxious although handsome member of London's Ton. She certainly never expected him to rescue her from a lecherous rake nor that, after a compromising kiss in the moonlight, Max would become engaged to her sister Evangeline.
Humor and star-crossed lovers are a great combination for any romance if handled correctly. Noble does a fairly good job for a beginning author. Although her characters are a bit different than the normal Regency hero and heroine, their backstory does somewhat explain it.
Overall, I will be interested in seeing what Ms. Noble does in the future.
Gail Alton thought Maximillian, Viscount Fontaine, was an obnoxious although handsome member of London's Ton. She certainly never expected him to rescue her from a lecherous rake nor that, after a compromising kiss in the moonlight, Max would become engaged to her sister Evangeline.
Humor and star-crossed lovers are a great combination for any romance if handled correctly. Noble does a fairly good job for a beginning author. Although her characters are a bit different than the normal Regency hero and heroine, their backstory does somewhat explain it.
Overall, I will be interested in seeing what Ms. Noble does in the future.
laylacarstairss's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0