IMPORTANT: This review has initially been written on my own site back in the day (2009) when I was not a goodreads member.I'll refrain from writing a summary and simply point out the ups and downs from my perspective. I'll also be most careful on how much I will be revealing; my desire is to make an overall inspection with minor inquiries, instead of a thorough dissection of the story.Not being my first regency novel yet not having read hundreds, I was a bit confused whereas the situations in this book were a tad bit too cliché generally speaking or if simply the way the author delivered the story wasn't to my liking.I must be sincere and admit that one of the aspects I've appreciated most was the refreshing introduction, where the author avoided going into detail regarding the origins of the main characters, preferring to plunge straight into the present time of her enchanting personages. As a reader, I delight in unraveling their history step by step throughout the book, leaving their secrets hidden as much as possible, without making me lose interest.Lady Regina Ashton, beloved niece of four versatile uncles, is a very enjoyable heroine, yet I simply couldn't grow to love or understand her completely. A rather linear character, Regina is the epitome of beauty and over-indulgence, a "fitting" pair of traits. Having lost her parents young, she has been raised into a spoiled lady by her uncles, with whom she has very strong bonds. Endowed with both wit and a handful of good humor, the heroine balances in a very bizarre manner the other set of features outlining her character: a very short temper, a rather unnerving thoughtlessness topped only by her willfulness in all the wrong situations. Though far from being a spinster at the fragile age of 19, she had already encountered her share of gents and while some had caught her interest along the way, she swiftly abandoned each suitor if told to do so by her dear uncles. One might find that understandable, seeing how the four men are entitled to finding the perfect husband for their orphan niece and for one who has yet to experience true love, as Regina is; I don't fault her for having let go as easily as she has, but when confronted with a maiden who chooses a husband due to lack of interest in the search of a suitable candidate I can no longer find her an excuse.All in all, I've found the roguish count Nicholas Eden and spoiled Lady Regina Ashton quite entertaining, if at times a bit obvious. On the other hand, the secondary characters, Anthony and James Malory, to be more precise, were sheer delight when taking up the stage. These two were like a breath of fresh air, leaving me both curious to see what hilarious behavior they donned next or what other mysteries regarding their pasts would be unraveled. Overall, the character development seemed promising, though sometimes it lacked originality (Nicholas' stigma seemed rather infantile to me for the extent he took his actions to and Regina's lack of imposing personality features - besides being able to control her dearest uncles' decisions - was another short-lived happiness for me). The evolution of their relationship also lacked what I'd like to call "spunk and mugsy". What started out as mere fascination and lust ended up as love, though the two main leads were often apart at the beginning (once even for 2 months and when married up to 6 months) and the happenings that bring out such a deep feeling in one's heart were far from numerous. Though one could predict most of their reactions, the twists and turns in the whirl of events brought the story into a better light in my eyes.Having come across the subject regarding the thread of occurrences in J. Lindsey's tale, I must say that it was satisfying to see that the author brought out an arsenal of mishaps in the road towards happiness for these two. Another low, though, was when these situations found their solutions with far from enough detailed explanation or hardly any delay between antithetic scenes - one moment the characters were in a major dilemma not knowing how to proceed, yet the next it all seemed solved out by a mere ruffle of the sheets or a peck on the cheek, followed by a brief explanation from one of them. Moments such as the one where the count comes at peace with his "major" parental issue or the one where they clear the impediments stranding their love relationship were not as fluid as they should have been and I believe that, if the author had only outlived her desire to bring this story to a brief end, it could have had a wonderful result.Though J. Lindsey's "Malory" series was vastly appreciated by readers, I found myself expecting far more from her story telling and I was more than once left with the feeling that something was adrift in her romantic tale. Where the witty dialogs and the magnetic secondary characters seemed to succeed in impressing me, some of the sudden somersaults in the red string of events failed to deliver the same pleasing sentiment.Personal Rating: 2/5Ratings: 5/5 = Excellent 4/5 = Very good 3/5 = Good 2/5 = Mediocre 1/5 = Bad 0/5 = Not worth reading at all
O enredo? Simplesmente encantadoramente surpreendente. Uma jovem solteira muito cobiçada, proveniente de uma família muito caricata é raptada, por engano, por um conhecido libertino que jurou nunca de casar. Com a sua reputação condenada e com falta de vontade iniciar a nova temporada, esta decide que a melhor solução é mesmo aproveitar e obrigar o irresistível libertino a casar. A autora transformou um enredo considerado banal em algo completamente divinal, repleto de muito humor, cenas caricatas e descobertas inesperadamente sedutoras. As personagens? Regina, para além de ser bastante bela, é verdadeiramente inteligente, muito perspicaz e também uma manipuladora nata, conseguindo levar a sua avante de forma hábil e subtil, no entanto, depara-se com um Nicholas, um sedutor brilhante com ego enorme, mas verdadeiramente teimoso e casmurro. O confronto entre os dois, o confronto com a família dela torna esta leitura muito descontraída. A escrita? É simples como era de esperar para este tipo de livro, no entanto, a não separação física da narração de cada personagem pode causar alguns momentos ligeiramente confusos. Conclusão? Adorei! Estou enfeitiçada por esta família, são divinais! Os Malory são uma família que cativa qualquer leitor dos romances deste genero, muito pouco convencionais, têm um sentido de protecção adorável, para além de personagens verdadeiramente intrigantes.
What do You think about Love Only Once (2005)?
Written July 19, 20153 Stars - Charming "oldish" and undoubtedly entertaining sweetLove Only Once is a quite old (1985) both loved and disliked historical. I couldn't resist when I saw it was just a few bucks for the kindle book including the 7:50 hrs audiobook narrated by Laural Merlington. We'll see if it is a dreadful miss or a happy winner for me. LOL!! I'm not sure... was it a miss?Ridiculously fun - I'm almost ashamed but I actually smiled and giggled in nearly eight hours. This, despite all these silly twists, too cheesy emotional statements, a grumpy hopeless hero and so many amazingly incredible events. Either way, Love Only Once is a heart-warming sweet, very predictable but nevertheless really amusing HR. Who can resist a brave young heroine like this one? Not to mention her family and lovely uncles.Summary: Two stars for an outdated (but amusing oldish) HR and an added extra shining star for a well done and very fitting narration by Laural Merlington.*********************************************************London, England 1817« Regina Ashton is outraged over her abduction by the arrogant, devilishly handsome Nicholas Eden, Viscount of Montieth - and is determined to make the rogue pay with his heart. »‘It had been said of Nicholas that he didn’t particularly care who got hurt while he pursued his pleasures. Perhaps that was true, perhaps not. No one really knew Nicholas well enough to be sure. Even he wasn’t sure why he did some of the things he did.’You might guess the rest. ~ As I mentioned in an status update, it made me think of those lovely old Errol Flynn movies. Imagine hunk-looking heroes, pirates, heartbreaking scenes, brave beautiful heroines, stolen kisses, man fighting, deceitful evil female rivals, sizzling hot secret encounters and thousands of unnecessary misunderstandings. ~ But as it shall in a true historical, it all ended grand and wonderful. The good ones won their wanted HEA and the bad guys fled with a tail between their legs*********************************************************I LIKE - so many kind of romances******And all these lovely old HR covers:
—Ingela
Lindo!! lolOra bem, acho (tenho a certeza) de que a saga Malory veio para ficar e para conquistar um lugar nos corações dos leitores portugueses. Foi, sem sombra de qualquer dúvida, uma excelente aposta da ASA, que já nos habituou a grandes famílias e a grandes histórias, o grande exemplo sendo a nossa querida família Bridgerton.Regina Malory é, no mínimo, uma personagem *deliciosa*. Tem personalidade forte, tem piada e tem muita inteligência, bem como uma força interior do tamanho da Arca de Noé. Foi criada pelos seus tios *ma.ra.vi.lho.sos*.Opinião Completahttp://sinfoniadoslivros.blogspot.pt/...
—Vera Neves (Sinfonia dos Livros)
I absolutely adore the Malory family. Strangely enough I almost love them more than the plots. Lol!I actually danced around my apartment, that's how happy this book made me! We get to meet Regina aka Reggie who is an orphan with four overprotective uncles. She is strong, beautiful, clever and funny. Add Nicholas Eden who is the worst rake and has a secret. He is a bastard and his "mother" threatens to tell the world. Therefore, he will never marry. Regina borrows Lady Selena's carriage to go to her brother Anthony. Selena was Nicholas mistress and when Nicholas sees her carriage he mistakenly kidnap Regina. Their first meeting is hilarious. However, scandal is upon them and they have to marry. So yes, this is a "compromised" story. In the middle I was so angry but even though they could have resolved some issues if they talked it made sense why they didn't. And the HEA... *Happy sigh*I actually read this book after reading #3 Gentle Rogue and #4 Magic of You. I kind of regretted it but after reading it now I think it might actually be the perfect order because I already know James and Anthony and all the others. It definitely didn't hurt. I can't wait to read Tender Rebel to finally get Anthony's story.
—Susanne
