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eg_m's review against another edition
3.0
This story has a lot to recommend it, taking the Victorian romance and adding some neat twists. The hunky hero is a scholar, not a nobleman and the lady in distress is rescued first by her horse. There are two suspenseful plots, one about saving the lady and one about legendary jewels. The hunky hero is more beta than alpha, marked by decency and courtesy more than bossiness. There's a great cast of supporting characters and the steamy bits are yummy.
None of which stopped me from skimming whole chapters as the narrative dragged. Well worth reading, but I doubt I will read others in the searies.
Spoiler
He's also the virgin of the twoNone of which stopped me from skimming whole chapters as the narrative dragged. Well worth reading, but I doubt I will read others in the searies.
onceinabluemoon88's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
elliefufu's review against another edition
3.0
Obsession Wears Opals, Jaded Gentleman #5, by Renee Bernard
Grade: C+
“The love of books does not disqualify you as a husband.”
Lady Isabel Netherton grew up learning to be a lady so she could one day make a match worthy of her family’s name and position which she thought she made when she married Lord Netherton. Little did Isabel know that her husband’s taste ran dark and she soon found fairytale turned into the worst nightmare imaginable. Fearful that her life would soon be ended Isabel escaped and found herself in the company of Darius Thorne, a scholar and sweet man. Darius shows Isabel that not all men are evil and some can offer the fairy tale she always dreamed of.
Darius Thorne has spent most of the last few years trying to discover who is after him and his friends The Jaded, a group of men who were held prisoner in India together and found precious stones while there. Darius has spent his head in books most of his life and never had time for women but Isabel is a treasure he never expected. To set her free from her evil husband Darius will travel into the underworld of brothels to discover what he needs to free Isabel even if he can’t keep her for himself.
I didn’t enjoy this installment of the Jaded Gentlemen series as I had in the past but i still love the books and the characters. I have been eagerly awaiting Darius’s book since the beginning because who doesn’t love the shy, super intelligent guy? I did enjoy Darius and I loved how hard he fought to free Isabel even though he wasn’t planning on being with her afterwards. I didn’t like how low he thought of himself and I was very happy when Isabel told him how silly he was being about it.
Now Isabel wasn’t a character that I hated or loved. I feel that I tolerated her for Darius’s sake but never got her and found her to be annoying and contradicting at times. I do feel for her that she lived such a hellish life with her husband and I understood why she was so fearful of men but I felt that with Darius one second she was fearful of him and the next she was falling into his bed. I wish that the two would have taken more time for her to emotionally and mentally heal before starting their love affairs. I didn’t get how she got over everything so quickly and it really bothered me that after having amazing sex they have lengthy conversations about her husband and his evilness while basking in their afterglow.
I had some issues with the book but it wasn’t a horrible story it just didn’t hold my attention like others did. I can’t wait for the Michael’s book and hopefully find out who is after the Jaded once and for all!
Grade: C+
“The love of books does not disqualify you as a husband.”
Lady Isabel Netherton grew up learning to be a lady so she could one day make a match worthy of her family’s name and position which she thought she made when she married Lord Netherton. Little did Isabel know that her husband’s taste ran dark and she soon found fairytale turned into the worst nightmare imaginable. Fearful that her life would soon be ended Isabel escaped and found herself in the company of Darius Thorne, a scholar and sweet man. Darius shows Isabel that not all men are evil and some can offer the fairy tale she always dreamed of.
Darius Thorne has spent most of the last few years trying to discover who is after him and his friends The Jaded, a group of men who were held prisoner in India together and found precious stones while there. Darius has spent his head in books most of his life and never had time for women but Isabel is a treasure he never expected. To set her free from her evil husband Darius will travel into the underworld of brothels to discover what he needs to free Isabel even if he can’t keep her for himself.
I didn’t enjoy this installment of the Jaded Gentlemen series as I had in the past but i still love the books and the characters. I have been eagerly awaiting Darius’s book since the beginning because who doesn’t love the shy, super intelligent guy? I did enjoy Darius and I loved how hard he fought to free Isabel even though he wasn’t planning on being with her afterwards. I didn’t like how low he thought of himself and I was very happy when Isabel told him how silly he was being about it.
Now Isabel wasn’t a character that I hated or loved. I feel that I tolerated her for Darius’s sake but never got her and found her to be annoying and contradicting at times. I do feel for her that she lived such a hellish life with her husband and I understood why she was so fearful of men but I felt that with Darius one second she was fearful of him and the next she was falling into his bed. I wish that the two would have taken more time for her to emotionally and mentally heal before starting their love affairs. I didn’t get how she got over everything so quickly and it really bothered me that after having amazing sex they have lengthy conversations about her husband and his evilness while basking in their afterglow.
I had some issues with the book but it wasn’t a horrible story it just didn’t hold my attention like others did. I can’t wait for the Michael’s book and hopefully find out who is after the Jaded once and for all!
haleiyoung's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death
ingypingy2000's review against another edition
3.0
This was a cute story, but I think reading the others that came in the series would probably would have been helpful because they mentioned a few things that just seemed out of place and didn't have the right effect without it. I also thought that he jumped into liking her a little bit quickly considering how crazy she was acting. Otherwise, a cute and easy fun read.
gonturans's review against another edition
1.0
DNF
It’s tricky for white histrom writers to center a story on 19th c white British heroes and heroines while also acknowledging imperialism and integrating it into the plot. Most do it awkwardly and badly, such as in this book and I presume the rest of the series. Most, I strongly suspect, don’t give a flying fuck about the racist implications of the “an exotic jewel from ~exotic India~” plots they’re writing, especially when it seems the only Indians in the book are antagonists. The heroes’ wealth comes from colonial plundering, no matter how long they were held prisoner!
Our heroine was outright abused and raped by her husband (abuse we see on page during flashbacks!), suffering from ptsd, and after two days of being around the hero, she’s ok physically touching and kissing him?? The writing was awkward, the housekeeper and driver characters grating, the usual glaring error of the heroine washing her hair in the course of a normal bath, and excessive exclamation points! The flirting through chess was cute, but the pacing just tripped over itself.
I truly wanted to like this, since academic beta heroes are real catnip, but I’m starting to think I’ve scraped the bottom of the barrel of well-written, interesting, plot-driven romance, given how annoyed all of my most recent reads have made me.
Honestly as much as Kerrigan Byrne’s books annoy me in other, and yet sometimes similar ways, at least she had the hero of HER book deal with the abusive husband by shooting him between the eyes. Murder: in this case, it is absolutely a solution!
It’s tricky for white histrom writers to center a story on 19th c white British heroes and heroines while also acknowledging imperialism and integrating it into the plot. Most do it awkwardly and badly, such as in this book and I presume the rest of the series. Most, I strongly suspect, don’t give a flying fuck about the racist implications of the “an exotic jewel from ~exotic India~” plots they’re writing, especially when it seems the only Indians in the book are antagonists. The heroes’ wealth comes from colonial plundering, no matter how long they were held prisoner!
Our heroine was outright abused and raped by her husband (abuse we see on page during flashbacks!), suffering from ptsd, and after two days of being around the hero, she’s ok physically touching and kissing him?? The writing was awkward, the housekeeper and driver characters grating, the usual glaring error of the heroine washing her hair in the course of a normal bath, and excessive exclamation points! The flirting through chess was cute, but the pacing just tripped over itself.
I truly wanted to like this, since academic beta heroes are real catnip, but I’m starting to think I’ve scraped the bottom of the barrel of well-written, interesting, plot-driven romance, given how annoyed all of my most recent reads have made me.
Honestly as much as Kerrigan Byrne’s books annoy me in other, and yet sometimes similar ways, at least she had the hero of HER book deal with the abusive husband by shooting him between the eyes. Murder: in this case, it is absolutely a solution!
teaandbooklover's review against another edition
3.0
I read another one in this series and loved it but not this one. I didn't really buy the depravity of Richard after being so sweet to her during their engagement (although a quick one) and only during the latter half of the book did I realize he could, I guess, be that depraved. So because he was so wicked to her, I found it hard to believe that she would fall in love so quickly with Darius and trust him so thoroughly.
Also, I just found it very boring! There wasn't much action at all, and most of it took place in his house in the country, where there were only two other people around. It just didn't thrill me and I almost didn't finish the book .
Lastly, I didn't like the ending where Richard didn't suffer much at all, after she enlightened us to his true character. I wanted him to suffer and lose much more than he did.
Also, I just found it very boring! There wasn't much action at all, and most of it took place in his house in the country, where there were only two other people around. It just didn't thrill me and I almost didn't finish the book .
Lastly, I didn't like the ending where Richard didn't suffer much at all, after she enlightened us to his true character. I wanted him to suffer and lose much more than he did.
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