Cecilia Grant - A Gentleman Undone

Lydia Slaughter understands the games men play—both in and out of the bedroom. Not afraid to bend the rules to suit her needs, she fleeces Will Blackshear outright. The Waterloo hero had his own daring agenda for the gaming tables of London's gentlemen's clubs. But now he antes up for a wager of wits and desire with Lydia, the streetwise temptress who keeps him at arm's length.
A kept woman in desperate straits, Lydia has a sharp mind and a head for numbers. She gambles on the sly, hoping to win enough to claim her independence. An alliance with Will at the tables may be a winning proposition for them both. But the arrangement involves dicey odds with rising stakes, sweetened with unspoken promise of fleshly delights. And any sleight of hand could find their hearts betting on something neither can afford to risk: love.

Comment: In 2017 I read a book by this author, which I didn't enjoy as much as I hoped but that was still a little interesting. That book was the first in a set of stories centered in the Blakshear siblings and at the time I thought I would only read more books by the author after some time. Well, I decided to give it a go again and chose the second book in the series but perhaps I shouldn't have...

In this second book, the story is focused on Will, he is the youngest brother of Martha, heroine to the other book I've read and where the family is introduced.

Will is a war hero and he returns from Waterloo with a mission, to help the widow and the child of a fallen friend to overcome part of the difficulties they now face. Since his own family can't simply afford it and Will owns his own duties, he believes gambling might solve part of his problems but he wasn't counting on finding a fascinating courtesan on the tables. She is lovely, witty, smart but sadly a kept woman he feels he shouldn't be interested in.

Lydia has survived and she now lives the life she has to in order to gain the necessary funds to become independent. However, things change when she meets Will, a man she comes to care about very much but who can't "save" her even though they both look at it as something that could be special. Is there any hope for them despite the low odds?

I think this story has the ingredients to suit me: both characters are a little low in their luck but have very solid reasons to behave in a less than appealing manner and they fall in love despite what society sees in them as individuals.

As it happened with the previous book, the ingredients are there, the ideas too and even the path the characters take isn't that bad. However, for me, the writing style was certainly not inviting to marvel me and I ended up disliking the story.

The story has a good base and the characterization of the main couple has its positive aspects but the way this is written made me think they were consciously negative about too many things. Of course they had reason to, their lives didn't follow a smooth path at all, but the stress was so much on what was wrong for them, I just could not truly believe when they reached happiness. I mean, ok, they found love but would it last, considering the things they had to give up on?

I'd have liked the author to find a way to make their lives a little easier, to give them the hope of something else than love to sustain them. I felt the tone of the story was often too severely negative.

I feel bad, after all I like serious books, I like dramas to be realistic but I also desperately need the fun and the sweetness of redemption, of positivism. I don't think the author conveyed this, even if that was her intention. I'd have liked the end to be a bit more balanced, with a few more good things at least, to level things up with all the downcast and hopelessness the plot threw at the characters.

Will is clearly an honorable man, trying to the right thing but not always with the right method.  He just seemed to be so depressed, so lacking hope... I could not envision him being happy with a situation that would need some kind of uplifting routine to counterbalance that. Yes, I cared for him a little and I liked how he wanted to do what was right about Lydia but I could not see their romance being an everlasting one.

I felt pity for Lydia, she is the personification of how wrongly, unfairly and unkindly women were and have been are mistreated all the time, always being far more guilty of things out of their control than men. I hated her sexual nature had to be what made her survive but to know why and how she got in that situation enraged me. Even more so she felt she had to do it and when I discovered why, I felt even worse for I don't agree with why she did and I hate it when authors use this psychological question to justify why the character chose to behave that manner.

I also didn't like the fact both of them bet their fates on gambling. Yes, I'm aware this was what was possible considering their financial status but added to the fact the heroine was a courtesan and was involved with her keeper while developing feelings for the hero didn't make me like her that much.

I'm glad both Will and Lydia had honor, they still wanted to do the right thing and that is was what "saved" the overall story for me but I didn't connect with them and while reading kept thinking "were this to happen", "had the author chosen this idea" or "why can't they do this..." so I was redoing the plot in my head and I don't think that is the purpose.

I have to conclude the author's style isn't for me. The characters don't seem to have much hope nor the wonders of fiction to help them. 

Real life is hard, everyone knows, and we can't just ignore it or escape it whenever we want, we have to face it. So, I hoped these characters could find a way and it felt sad for me their HEA was achieved at the expense of so many other things.

The tone, the vibe...I don't think this is it for me. It ended up being quite a duty to keep going, to spend time with these characters. I didn't hate the book but I didn't like it either.

Unless something incredible happens, I think I'll remain here, in regards to this author.

Grade: 4/10

Cecilia Grant - A Lady Awakened

Newly widowed and desperate to protect her estate and beloved servants from her malevolent brother-in-law, Martha Russell conceives a daring plan. Or rather, a daring plan to conceive. After all, if she has an heir on the way, her future will be secured. Forsaking all she knows of propriety, Martha approaches her neighbor, a London exile with a wicked reputation, and offers a strictly business proposition: a month of illicit interludes . . . for a fee.
Theophilus Mirkwood ought to be insulted. Should be appalled. But how can he resist this siren in widow’s weeds, whose offer is simply too outrageously tempting to decline? Determined she’ll get her money’s worth, Theo endeavors to awaken this shamefully neglected beauty to the pleasures of the flesh—only to find her dead set against taking any enjoyment in the scandalous bargain. Surely she can’t resist him forever. But could a lady’s sweet surrender open their hearts to the most unexpected arrival of all . . . love?

Comment: This book got on my radar months ago and it was the pick for my buddy read of this month with my friend H.

This is the first book by the author I've tried so my expectations were as simple as wanting to have a good story.

In this book we meet Martha Russell, a recent widow who is worried about the future of her employees at the estate where she lives because having her and her husband no children, her husband's younger brother will inherit. The problem is that the brother is a rake and has attacked to maids when he was younger. Because Martha is pragmatic and wants to help and defend those she considers her responsibility, she has a plan: to find a man to get pregnant and pretend it's the heir her husband always wanted.

The "lucky" chosen is Theo Mirkwood, a man whose father sent to a sort of exile from the easy life of London, so he could cultivate some patience and interest for something rather than debauchery. Theo thinks his life in Sussex will be boring but after meeting Martha they immediately agree on trying for a pregnancy but as time goes and they get to know one another, Theo realizes life in Sussex is actually perfect for him. 

If only Martha thought the same...

I was quite eager to see how the read this book because I got the notion somewhere the heroine is stoic in adversity and she doesn't fall prey to the hero right away. I'm very fond of pragmatic heroines, or women who got themselves in a bad situation but with patience, intelligence and sometimes the help of the hero, they get back on their feet. I was quite eager to see how tis would happen in this novel. 

However, I got slightly disappointed because I feel the relationship lacks romance.

I didn't want the heroine to change completely just because she as being intimate with the hero. But their relationship evolved as too practical: they were intimate, she obviously wasn't fond of it, it was a sort of duty to her but while I didn't expect her to switch her behavior after one night, I also hoped their relationship outside the bedroom would change a bit more quickly so the bedroom scenes would develop at the same rhythm. 

Martha says at some point she would only love/easily welcome a man sexually if she could also admire him. And Theo isn't an admirable man at first. He grows up, he changes for the better but it's only at the end that things start to be easier with them and I guess I hoped for a more romantic plot, even maintaining the heroine's pragmatism in regard of the whole situation.

Martha's character is difficult to read. I know that is the oint and I liked how she didn't become a sex addict after one time with Theo. But when we read things from her POV it's not always understandable why she lacks emotions as much.

As for Theo, he is funny and easy going but we come to see his serious side and honestly, that was my favorite pat of the story, to see him slowly changing for better.

The end was also a bit too rushed and unromantic in my opinion. Things get to an acceptable point and when I imagined a lengthier epilogue, there was none, just the idea they were in love and would stay together despite those who wouldn't accept them. Ok, but an epilogue 5 years from then would have made things easier to visualize when it comes to the HEA.

I liked the idea of he heroine not being a silly woman scheming and I also really liked the notions there were people caring about servants and that they needed help and looking after. It was really amazing to see a story develop unlike most historicals out there. I was also great to see the book was not about who seduces whom the better, but I was instead a joining of forces and a gradual fall into love (but maybe a bit too subtle).

Maybe these ideas were focused on in an interesting way but then the lack of romance in some key moments and some other minor details just didn't make this story as engaging or addictive as I hoped for. Just my opinion, of course.

I still don't know if I'll read the rest of the series but so far this book didn't make me eager to get them...maybe after my TBR decreases a bit more..

This was mostly ok, interesting idea and details but overall, not as perfect for me.

Grade: 6/10