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Ladies in Disgrace #1
Un conte da sedurre
Londra, 1815
Quando il marito la lascia, Lady Emily si reca a Londra pretendendo una spiegazione e scopre sconvolta che Adrian è diventato cieco. Decide quindi di sedurlo fingendo di essere una sconosciuta, nella speranza che il conte conceda a un'amante la confidenza e l'intimità che ha negato a lei. Lo stratagemma le permette di stabilire con il marito un rapporto di complicità che prima non aveva, di aiutarlo a ritrovare interesse per la vita e di accendere tra di loro la passione. Ma dopo un'infuocata notte d'amore, improvvisamente Adrian capisce di voler tornare da Emily, sua moglie. Come reagirà quando scoprirà che l'amante e la sua sposa sono la stessa persona?
Quando il marito la lascia, Lady Emily si reca a Londra pretendendo una spiegazione e scopre sconvolta che Adrian è diventato cieco. Decide quindi di sedurlo fingendo di essere una sconosciuta, nella speranza che il conte conceda a un'amante la confidenza e l'intimità che ha negato a lei. Lo stratagemma le permette di stabilire con il marito un rapporto di complicità che prima non aveva, di aiutarlo a ritrovare interesse per la vita e di accendere tra di loro la passione. Ma dopo un'infuocata notte d'amore, improvvisamente Adrian capisce di voler tornare da Emily, sua moglie. Come reagirà quando scoprirà che l'amante e la sua sposa sono la stessa persona?
315 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2011
About the author
Christine Merrill
205 books208 followersChristine Merrill has wanted to be an author for as long as she can remember. But one thing stood in her way: touch typing.
Six weeks spent on an IBM Selectric in her Sophomore year of high school proved that she would never be able to produce one readable page of manuscript, much less several hundred.
Twenty years passed, and she found ways to pass the time: marrying her high school sweetheart; having two sons; and taking an assortment of jobs in professional theater costume shops, including a miserable year and a half spent styling wigs for a certain hamburger-selling clown (who shall remain nameless, since I don't want to incur the wrath of a major American corporation) and a couple of weeks working on a TV movie with one of the sexiest men alive (whose name I'm happy to drop: Mark Harmon!).
During that time, someone invented word processing, and a reliable spell checker.
Christine returned to her childhood dream, only to discover that there was more to the whole writing thing than accurate typing. The next years were spent learning to tell stories that people might want to read, and trying to find someone who wanted to buy them. Her chance came when she won the RWA's Golden Heart Competition for unpublished manuscripts. The winning story, soon to be known as THE INCONVENIENT DUCHESS, was bought by the contest judges, the delightful editors at Mills & Boon, in Richmond, Surrey.
Christine is now busy writing her fifth book, and is more than slightly jealous that her manuscripts get to visit England, while she stays home in Wisconsin
Six weeks spent on an IBM Selectric in her Sophomore year of high school proved that she would never be able to produce one readable page of manuscript, much less several hundred.
Twenty years passed, and she found ways to pass the time: marrying her high school sweetheart; having two sons; and taking an assortment of jobs in professional theater costume shops, including a miserable year and a half spent styling wigs for a certain hamburger-selling clown (who shall remain nameless, since I don't want to incur the wrath of a major American corporation) and a couple of weeks working on a TV movie with one of the sexiest men alive (whose name I'm happy to drop: Mark Harmon!).
During that time, someone invented word processing, and a reliable spell checker.
Christine returned to her childhood dream, only to discover that there was more to the whole writing thing than accurate typing. The next years were spent learning to tell stories that people might want to read, and trying to find someone who wanted to buy them. Her chance came when she won the RWA's Golden Heart Competition for unpublished manuscripts. The winning story, soon to be known as THE INCONVENIENT DUCHESS, was bought by the contest judges, the delightful editors at Mills & Boon, in Richmond, Surrey.
Christine is now busy writing her fifth book, and is more than slightly jealous that her manuscripts get to visit England, while she stays home in Wisconsin
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
May 7, 2020
Solid 4* for being surprisingly, so good!
Despite the thoughtless abandonment and cheating by the H, this book and characters stand out because they behave and talk like ... adults?
No, seriously and strangely it's the first time ever I had that thought about the main characters of a book.
Full review later on.
Despite the thoughtless abandonment and cheating by the H, this book and characters stand out because they behave and talk like ... adults?
No, seriously and strangely it's the first time ever I had that thought about the main characters of a book.
Full review later on.
April 30, 2017
OK... reresding this and had to give it another star as I still like it so much despite his cowardly cheating ways... so 4 ; )
#########
Emily and Adrian. Essentially the H is a cheater. There's just no if and or buts about it.
Emily marries Adrian, whom she's loved for years. He up and disappears in London for no reason leaving her behind. A snake in the grass cousin is becoming more and more of a bully and she longs for children, so 3 years later, she goes to London to demand his help. When she finds him, she realizes that he is almost entirely blind and turned himself into a drunken wastrel.
She figures that to get him to love her, she will pretend to be a stranger and become his mistress.
Adrian, begins to have feelings for her but he still has feelings for his wife...
You can see how his morals are in question?! He leaves his wife because he is too vain and full of pride to let her know about his illness. But he still sleeps with the occasional courtesan after leaving her behind. SO even though he does redeem himself in the end, it just kinda stuck in my craw.
The story isn't so simple and the affair between him and his mistress/wife leads to some erroneous conclusions that lead him to realize how selfish he has been. It really could've used an epilogue.
#########
Emily and Adrian. Essentially the H is a cheater. There's just no if and or buts about it.
Emily marries Adrian, whom she's loved for years. He up and disappears in London for no reason leaving her behind. A snake in the grass cousin is becoming more and more of a bully and she longs for children, so 3 years later, she goes to London to demand his help. When she finds him, she realizes that he is almost entirely blind and turned himself into a drunken wastrel.
She figures that to get him to love her, she will pretend to be a stranger and become his mistress.
Adrian, begins to have feelings for her but he still has feelings for his wife...
You can see how his morals are in question?! He leaves his wife because he is too vain and full of pride to let her know about his illness. But he still sleeps with the occasional courtesan after leaving her behind. SO even though he does redeem himself in the end, it just kinda stuck in my craw.
The story isn't so simple and the affair between him and his mistress/wife leads to some erroneous conclusions that lead him to realize how selfish he has been. It really could've used an epilogue.
November 21, 2021
Se me hizo todo muy apresurado, pero al final me gustó ♥️.
August 10, 2011
I feel like I shouldn't have liked this book as much as I did. After all, there were plenty of things that were really kind of wrong with it. The whole using-Adrian's-blindness thing was really kind of shitty, and I'm not sure that, after all was said and done, it should have been excused the way it was. Yes, he neglected her for three years and kept his blindness a secret from her. But two wrongs don't make a right, you know? Also, the "virgin-to-her-own-pleasures" sex. Hurl. And he actually said he would 'make her submit to him' with pleasure. I had to forcibly set that one aside and 'excuse' it as being probably pretty fairly accurate for this relationship's situation, as well as the ignorance of the times.
The biggest crime of the story, however, was that I just - didn't quite believe that they had really loved each other originally, before all the separation and crap. I mean, maybe I missed a chapter where we were shown how Adrian had secretly lusted after his friend's sister but it was indecent and he was ashamed and she was just a shy, innocent young thing so he couldn't touch her, blah blah blah. Instead, his 'unrequited' love for his wife, whom he voluntarily abandoned, just kind of got dropped in there towards the end. Convenient yet not quite believable.
And yet, despite its flaws, I did enjoy it. A lot. Even though I think maybe I shouldn't have. I mean, maybe it's hormones again, but I totally got a little teary about Emily's insecurities and feelings of abandonment. So, yeah - between how much I *did* enjoy it and how much I think maybe I shouldn't have, it gets a solid 3 stars.
The biggest crime of the story, however, was that I just - didn't quite believe that they had really loved each other originally, before all the separation and crap. I mean, maybe I missed a chapter where we were shown how Adrian had secretly lusted after his friend's sister but it was indecent and he was ashamed and she was just a shy, innocent young thing so he couldn't touch her, blah blah blah. Instead, his 'unrequited' love for his wife, whom he voluntarily abandoned, just kind of got dropped in there towards the end. Convenient yet not quite believable.
And yet, despite its flaws, I did enjoy it. A lot. Even though I think maybe I shouldn't have. I mean, maybe it's hormones again, but I totally got a little teary about Emily's insecurities and feelings of abandonment. So, yeah - between how much I *did* enjoy it and how much I think maybe I shouldn't have, it gets a solid 3 stars.
January 2, 2015
I really liked this book. When Emily came to London to finally confront her husband about his neglect, she did not expect to find him blind and doing his best to kill himself. He didn't recognize her when she found him in the tavern, so she decided to take advantage of that and become his mistress in an attempt to make him fall in love with her. She also couldn't stand to see him in such a hopeless condition and decided to use her position to show him that he could still have a good life. At the same time, Adrian had spent the last couple years avoiding everyone and drinking to dull the pain of losing his independence. When Emily rescued him, she bullied him into making changes in his lifestyle, and he began to see that perhaps his life wasn't ending after all. He also began to realize that he still loved his wife, and what he had done to her by abandoning her. I loved seeing her efforts and the way they paid off, even though I could see where it was going to cause problems when the deception ended. The confrontation brought me to tears, but the ending was worth it. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.
August 20, 2012
This was a tough book to rate. I wanted to take it as a brainless and even whimsical story...Lady Emily hasn't seen her husband in three years and when she finds him to try to talk him into getting her pregnant, only to discover that he's gone blind and doesn't recognize her.
Here's what I finally realized the problem was: It's hard to take a story as simple and brainless when it deals with serious and complex issues, then treats them very lightly.
This book was just too easy. It was too easy that Adrian didn't recognize his wife, too convenient. It was even unbelievable. And then a week with his "mistress" (actually his wife) was enough to convince him his life was worth living after all, and that he can get along as a blind man. Then when he learned the truth that his mistress and his wife were the same woman, it was again, far too easy.
Here's what I finally realized the problem was: It's hard to take a story as simple and brainless when it deals with serious and complex issues, then treats them very lightly.
This book was just too easy. It was too easy that Adrian didn't recognize his wife, too convenient. It was even unbelievable. And then a week with his "mistress" (actually his wife) was enough to convince him his life was worth living after all, and that he can get along as a blind man. Then when he learned the truth that his mistress and his wife were the same woman, it was again, far too easy.
July 26, 2020
2.5* Well written, it didn't play out as I thought it might, and we get a view early on as to why the H is a cheater, and there's some sympathy for him. I guess it softens the reader up for the ride, which time and again shows us his self absorption. While I could understand some of the H's behaviours, the manner in which he treated his wife is played off as his burden of guilt and that he really cared for her. But then in other places it's clear he hardly knew her. That picture didn't fit and in the end the pieces felt forced together so the obligatory ILY's between the H and the h wife were not so believable, but more so between the H and the h lover. I liked the h, she took control when she needed to.
January 2, 2018
leído en Oct 2012
August 29, 2011
Lady Emily Longesley married the man she had loved all her life, Adrian, and hoped for a happy marriage. Only several days after they were married, however, he removed to London, and she hasn't seen him in the three years since.
Discontent with the state of her marriage, Emily goes to London to meet with her errant husband, and bring some kind of resolution to her situation. When she arrives, though, she finds that he is blind, and does not know her voice. So, she schemes to hide her identity, and trick her husband into falling for her, while he believes that he has found an irresistible mistress.
Lady Folbroke's Delicious Deception by Christine Merrill is a regency romance, heavy on sensuality and light on plot.
Not being a regular reader of romance, I was a little shocked at the bluntness of it--scarcely thirty pages in, Merrill casually writes that Adrian "sagged against [Emily] so that he could suck and bite at the tops of her breasts . . . as though he could not wait a moment longer to bare them, and take the nipples between his lips." This sets the tone for the whole book, which is a series of such scenes, interspersed with some development of the characters or the plot.
The character development is, until the end, fairly good. Emily is swept up in her scheme and Adrian, all unknowing, falls for it completely, in a very believable progression. There is perhaps an anachronistic degree of modern sensibilities toward the treatment of the blind, but that is easily forgiven. Sadly, Adrian's realization (or, perhaps, revelation) that he loves Emily, who he does not realize is the same woman as his new mistress, is not so believable. If we are to judge the man by his actions, he has given little indication of such feelings, and we have not been sufficiently privy to his thoughts to learn of his feelings in that way.
The plot is very thin--the summary I gave earlier is essentially complete, save for a few events and minor details. Emily masquerades as a nameless married woman, seeking to have an affair with Adrian since her own husband is inattentive. The bulk of the remaining events are either the two of them meeting or arranging to meet. It is not a plot worthy of either the characters it contains or the three hundred pages that contain it.
Despite the weakness of its plot, Lady Folbroke's Delicious Deception is a fairly entertaining read. It seems that the Kindle edition is only available outside the United States, so the rest of us will have to get the paperback edition, instead. Read it if the premise interests you, but otherwise, give it a miss.
Disclosure: This review is based on a copy acquired free in a promotional giveaway.
Discontent with the state of her marriage, Emily goes to London to meet with her errant husband, and bring some kind of resolution to her situation. When she arrives, though, she finds that he is blind, and does not know her voice. So, she schemes to hide her identity, and trick her husband into falling for her, while he believes that he has found an irresistible mistress.
Lady Folbroke's Delicious Deception by Christine Merrill is a regency romance, heavy on sensuality and light on plot.
Not being a regular reader of romance, I was a little shocked at the bluntness of it--scarcely thirty pages in, Merrill casually writes that Adrian "sagged against [Emily] so that he could suck and bite at the tops of her breasts . . . as though he could not wait a moment longer to bare them, and take the nipples between his lips." This sets the tone for the whole book, which is a series of such scenes, interspersed with some development of the characters or the plot.
The character development is, until the end, fairly good. Emily is swept up in her scheme and Adrian, all unknowing, falls for it completely, in a very believable progression. There is perhaps an anachronistic degree of modern sensibilities toward the treatment of the blind, but that is easily forgiven. Sadly, Adrian's realization (or, perhaps, revelation) that he loves Emily, who he does not realize is the same woman as his new mistress, is not so believable. If we are to judge the man by his actions, he has given little indication of such feelings, and we have not been sufficiently privy to his thoughts to learn of his feelings in that way.
The plot is very thin--the summary I gave earlier is essentially complete, save for a few events and minor details. Emily masquerades as a nameless married woman, seeking to have an affair with Adrian since her own husband is inattentive. The bulk of the remaining events are either the two of them meeting or arranging to meet. It is not a plot worthy of either the characters it contains or the three hundred pages that contain it.
Despite the weakness of its plot, Lady Folbroke's Delicious Deception is a fairly entertaining read. It seems that the Kindle edition is only available outside the United States, so the rest of us will have to get the paperback edition, instead. Read it if the premise interests you, but otherwise, give it a miss.
Disclosure: This review is based on a copy acquired free in a promotional giveaway.
November 13, 2018
Es el primero que leo de la autora y no me ha desagrado.
La premisa es interesante, sobre todo, teniendo en cuenta que rompe con los estereotipos de héroes perfectos. Adrian es ciego, por lo que le da otro toque diferente a la novela.
La novela es entretenida y se hace amena, a pesar de que a lo largo de la historia no hay muchos acontecimientos pues todo transcurre en pocos días y sus encuentros son algo repetitivos.
Los personajes se quedan un poco planos, algunos acontecimientos son absurdos y el desenlace final lo considero precipitado y poco elaborado.
La pluma de la autora es ligera aunque en algunos momentos consigue confundirte en las explicaciones.
A pesar de todo es una novela diferente que te hace pasar un rato agradable.
Seguiré leyendo novelas de la autora para encontrar su estilo de forma definida.
La premisa es interesante, sobre todo, teniendo en cuenta que rompe con los estereotipos de héroes perfectos. Adrian es ciego, por lo que le da otro toque diferente a la novela.
La novela es entretenida y se hace amena, a pesar de que a lo largo de la historia no hay muchos acontecimientos pues todo transcurre en pocos días y sus encuentros son algo repetitivos.
Los personajes se quedan un poco planos, algunos acontecimientos son absurdos y el desenlace final lo considero precipitado y poco elaborado.
La pluma de la autora es ligera aunque en algunos momentos consigue confundirte en las explicaciones.
A pesar de todo es una novela diferente que te hace pasar un rato agradable.
Seguiré leyendo novelas de la autora para encontrar su estilo de forma definida.
January 22, 2016
I enjoyed this book very much, in part due to engaging characters. The author does a fine job of describing life as a man of very limited sight would experience it. In addition, the social constraints on both men and women are very evident in this plot, showing that even though Emily is a very bright and capable manager of the estate, her position remains dependent on her husband's status. A sign of the times, but irritating nonetheless, is the fact Adrian can visit prostitutes with no loss of status, but his wife can't take a lover of her own class without scandal. Of course they get past his infidelities in the course of the story, but he's very lucky she took him back.
August 30, 2011
This creative romance gives the reader a different twist by having the couple married. Emily loves her estranged husband and wants to have him back in her life. Unfortunately to do this she pretends that she is someone else. While she is pretending to be her husbands mistress, she falls in love again with the love of her life. But will have have her back in his life? Are things really what she thought they were when he left her?
August 4, 2012
Is it just me, or has Harlequin Historical kicked up the 'heat' notch a bit? I'm not complaining, in fact, the extra sizzle I have been reading lately really adds to the stories. As it does here. I enjoyed Christine's Merrill's book. Yes, the heroine snares the hero in a 'deception', but it works. Also loved Folbroke with his failing vision. Well-crafted with believable emotions and love scenes, I heartily recommend this story, and book 2 in this series~
October 10, 2014
I thought this was a thoroughly lovely story; yes, some of the plot did ask the reader to suspend disbelief but isn't that what we expect of all novels? I thought it was well written, an unusual storyline, but made believable by the characters drawn by the author.
February 21, 2015
A delicious story line though I do believe she acted more than a bit childishly on more than one ocassion. He of course could have manned up and owned to his disability rather than wallow in self-pitty and shame. The ending left you a little wanting but for a romance novel, it was quite good.
June 14, 2015
I loved this and thought it was a different angle on this genre of books. I thought it held a humor that I found myself chuckling though the book. Poor Hendricks. This is just what I needed to help myself recover from "choking down" the last book series I was reading.
August 11, 2016
Tired of being harassed by her husband's ambitious cousin, Lady Emily Longesley travels to London to find her absent husband.
Merrill story addresses vision loss in an era when very little resources were available.
Merrill story addresses vision loss in an era when very little resources were available.
March 22, 2012
Loved how she seduced her husband, and he didn't even know that she was his wife.
May 30, 2012
Hero and heroine are married--he's been lying to her about an illness--that he's been going blind, and doesn't recognize her when she comes to confront him about his absence.
February 2, 2016
It's a long complicated and interesting story of a blind peer and his wife whom he leaves behind in the country. The story is about how she changes his life.
April 3, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. I thought Emily’s behavior and reactions were realistic and justified given the circumstances and Adrian grew as a person and redeemed himself by the end. When the book closes out their relationship is one of mutual love and respect such that I believe they’ll live happily ever after. There were a few plot holes and anachronisms that might have bugged me in normal circumstances but since the story was so well done I didn’t pay them any attention.
Ok so the story goes that Adrian and Emily are married but haven’t seen each other for three years. Their families have adjoining estates and the two of them were betrothed at birth. Emily has been in love with Adrian for years but so in awe of him that she could barely speak in his presence. He avoided the marriage for as long as he could, even joining the military and going off to war, but eventually did wed her as he was expected to. However, after only visiting the marriage bed on three very unsatisfying occasions, he took off for London and never returned.
Emily assumed that the reason he’d abandoned her in the country was because he’d found her so terribly lacking in some way and has spent the last three years desperately lonely. However, she’s also blossomed into a more confident woman than the girl he’d married, taking on the running of his estate and making all the decisions. The one thing she hasn’t been able to take care of, however, is Adrian’s cousin, Rupert, who will inherit the title and lands if Adrian dies without producing an heir. Since Adrian hasn’t been seen in public for years and is always “out” whenever Rupert or anyone else goes to see him, Rupert has started suggesting that Adrian is actually dead and Emily is attempting to hide that fact in order to maintain her position as countess. In order to get rid of Rupert and disguise the fact that her husband refuses to see her, Emily lies and says that not only is Adrian alive and well, but that she’s expecting his child.
While that gets rid of Rupert temporarily, Emily now has to produce a baby in a few months or the jig will really be up so she packs up and heads for London unannounced so that her husband won’t have a chance to avoid her. When she makes this trip, Emily is very angry with Adrian for his selfish behavior. She expects to find him drinking and whoring full time while she, his faithful wife who still carries a torch for him, has been rusticating in the country and responsibly handling all his affairs. And she intends to demand he do his duty to her and the estate by begetting her with child.
I liked the way Emily behaved in this scenario. She had every reason to be angry with Adrian for abandoning her the way he did and avoiding all contact with her for years. And she’s thinking about what will happen to her if, through no fault of her own, she fails to produce the next Folbroke male and the title passes to Rupert. She’d be driven out of her own home and forced to live as a dowager, alone and childless.
When she arrives in London it’s to find that her worst fears were true and Adrian is indeed drinking and whoring his way through life. When she finds him, he’s drunk and in one of the worst sorts of establishments where he apparently lets a room so that he can just stumble upstairs in his drunken stupor and then start again the next morning without having to bother with going home. She also realizes at this meeting that Adrian is mostly blind. And much to her dismay, he doesn’t even recognize her as his own wife. He’s extremely forward with her, however, and makes no secret of the fact that he wants to get her into bed. She’s torn between hurt at his lack of recognition and elation that he’s finally responding to her as a woman, the way he failed to do in their marriage bed.
She manages to get him back home, with the help of his faithful secretary, Hendricks, and tells him that if he wants to see her again and hopes to bed her, then he’d best be washed, shaved and sober the next time they meet. As she heads home that night she thinks about the events and how her erstwhile husband thinks she’s another man’s wife and yet is so keen to get her into bed. In a way, she’s disgusted by the notion that he’s so free with his favors and so immoral as to desire such an affair, but in another, she feels it might be the only way to reach him. He’s so convinced that his blindness makes him worthless as a husband and man that he’s trying to kill himself through his behavior. Deliberately drinking and gaming in rough places, knowing that someday he’ll get a knife in the ribs or a bullet to the back of the head. Emily still loves him, but is so angry that she feels her first priority must be to get with child by him, so she decides to continue the charade of being this other woman and allow her husband to unknowingly seduce her.
I liked the way this played out. After reading the back of the book, I was curious as to how the author would be able to establish things so that they were believable for a husband, even a blind one, to be unknowingly sleeping with his wife. And what scenario would prompt a wife to perpetuate such a ruse. And Merrill’s explanation did a nice job of giving me that believable scenario. I did find it a little hard to believe that Adrian couldn’t recognize his wife’s voice when he had no trouble identifying other people he’d known for far less time and much less intimately, but Merrill did give the explanation about Emily always being breathlessly tongue-tied in Adrian’s presence so we’ll let that slide.
The rest of the book also plays out believably with Emily and Adrian having romantic trysts while also confiding in one another about their marriages. Adrian fails to recognize his own behavior when Emily explains that her husband has abandoned her, which is a little hard to believe. As time passes, Emily works to get Adrian to realize that his life doesn’t have to end just because he’s blind. He meets most of her efforts with hostility because he fears being pitied above all else, but usually reconsiders that position after his initial outburst. In just a few days Emily has gotten him to rejoin society and start thinking of the future. As part of that revelation, however, is the notion that he needs to reconcile with his wife and therefore must give up his mystery lover.
Along the way there is some drama over Adrian believing that his wife has finally cracked under the years of loneliness and taken another man as a lover. Particularly as he suspects the man in question is none other than his trusted secretary, Hendricks. And of course there is the inevitable showdown when Emily finally reveals that his wife and mistress are one in the same. It was all handled very well and people had believable reactions throughout.
The one place where I felt the anachronisms really got out of hand was in how blatantly sexual Emily behaved. When she played the part of this mystery woman she greeted Adrian in either her robe and nightdress, or a gown under which she was stark naked. For a well-bred Englishwoman in the early 1800’s that’s a level of wantonness that just can’t be believed. She also engaged in overt sexual acts with Adrian in the middle of the doorless sitting room with servants running around the house, and even had sex up against the wall in her brother’s salon with him just down the hall. It’s too much to be believed. Also, she received Hendricks, a man who is not her husband or a relative, in nothing but her robe and nightgown and was so scantily clad that she flashing him not just a view of ankle, but of her naked calf as well. It’s completely unbelievable for a respectable woman to even consider receiving a gentleman caller dressed that way.
Ok so the story goes that Adrian and Emily are married but haven’t seen each other for three years. Their families have adjoining estates and the two of them were betrothed at birth. Emily has been in love with Adrian for years but so in awe of him that she could barely speak in his presence. He avoided the marriage for as long as he could, even joining the military and going off to war, but eventually did wed her as he was expected to. However, after only visiting the marriage bed on three very unsatisfying occasions, he took off for London and never returned.
Emily assumed that the reason he’d abandoned her in the country was because he’d found her so terribly lacking in some way and has spent the last three years desperately lonely. However, she’s also blossomed into a more confident woman than the girl he’d married, taking on the running of his estate and making all the decisions. The one thing she hasn’t been able to take care of, however, is Adrian’s cousin, Rupert, who will inherit the title and lands if Adrian dies without producing an heir. Since Adrian hasn’t been seen in public for years and is always “out” whenever Rupert or anyone else goes to see him, Rupert has started suggesting that Adrian is actually dead and Emily is attempting to hide that fact in order to maintain her position as countess. In order to get rid of Rupert and disguise the fact that her husband refuses to see her, Emily lies and says that not only is Adrian alive and well, but that she’s expecting his child.
While that gets rid of Rupert temporarily, Emily now has to produce a baby in a few months or the jig will really be up so she packs up and heads for London unannounced so that her husband won’t have a chance to avoid her. When she makes this trip, Emily is very angry with Adrian for his selfish behavior. She expects to find him drinking and whoring full time while she, his faithful wife who still carries a torch for him, has been rusticating in the country and responsibly handling all his affairs. And she intends to demand he do his duty to her and the estate by begetting her with child.
I liked the way Emily behaved in this scenario. She had every reason to be angry with Adrian for abandoning her the way he did and avoiding all contact with her for years. And she’s thinking about what will happen to her if, through no fault of her own, she fails to produce the next Folbroke male and the title passes to Rupert. She’d be driven out of her own home and forced to live as a dowager, alone and childless.
When she arrives in London it’s to find that her worst fears were true and Adrian is indeed drinking and whoring his way through life. When she finds him, he’s drunk and in one of the worst sorts of establishments where he apparently lets a room so that he can just stumble upstairs in his drunken stupor and then start again the next morning without having to bother with going home. She also realizes at this meeting that Adrian is mostly blind. And much to her dismay, he doesn’t even recognize her as his own wife. He’s extremely forward with her, however, and makes no secret of the fact that he wants to get her into bed. She’s torn between hurt at his lack of recognition and elation that he’s finally responding to her as a woman, the way he failed to do in their marriage bed.
She manages to get him back home, with the help of his faithful secretary, Hendricks, and tells him that if he wants to see her again and hopes to bed her, then he’d best be washed, shaved and sober the next time they meet. As she heads home that night she thinks about the events and how her erstwhile husband thinks she’s another man’s wife and yet is so keen to get her into bed. In a way, she’s disgusted by the notion that he’s so free with his favors and so immoral as to desire such an affair, but in another, she feels it might be the only way to reach him. He’s so convinced that his blindness makes him worthless as a husband and man that he’s trying to kill himself through his behavior. Deliberately drinking and gaming in rough places, knowing that someday he’ll get a knife in the ribs or a bullet to the back of the head. Emily still loves him, but is so angry that she feels her first priority must be to get with child by him, so she decides to continue the charade of being this other woman and allow her husband to unknowingly seduce her.
I liked the way this played out. After reading the back of the book, I was curious as to how the author would be able to establish things so that they were believable for a husband, even a blind one, to be unknowingly sleeping with his wife. And what scenario would prompt a wife to perpetuate such a ruse. And Merrill’s explanation did a nice job of giving me that believable scenario. I did find it a little hard to believe that Adrian couldn’t recognize his wife’s voice when he had no trouble identifying other people he’d known for far less time and much less intimately, but Merrill did give the explanation about Emily always being breathlessly tongue-tied in Adrian’s presence so we’ll let that slide.
The rest of the book also plays out believably with Emily and Adrian having romantic trysts while also confiding in one another about their marriages. Adrian fails to recognize his own behavior when Emily explains that her husband has abandoned her, which is a little hard to believe. As time passes, Emily works to get Adrian to realize that his life doesn’t have to end just because he’s blind. He meets most of her efforts with hostility because he fears being pitied above all else, but usually reconsiders that position after his initial outburst. In just a few days Emily has gotten him to rejoin society and start thinking of the future. As part of that revelation, however, is the notion that he needs to reconcile with his wife and therefore must give up his mystery lover.
Along the way there is some drama over Adrian believing that his wife has finally cracked under the years of loneliness and taken another man as a lover. Particularly as he suspects the man in question is none other than his trusted secretary, Hendricks. And of course there is the inevitable showdown when Emily finally reveals that his wife and mistress are one in the same. It was all handled very well and people had believable reactions throughout.
The one place where I felt the anachronisms really got out of hand was in how blatantly sexual Emily behaved. When she played the part of this mystery woman she greeted Adrian in either her robe and nightdress, or a gown under which she was stark naked. For a well-bred Englishwoman in the early 1800’s that’s a level of wantonness that just can’t be believed. She also engaged in overt sexual acts with Adrian in the middle of the doorless sitting room with servants running around the house, and even had sex up against the wall in her brother’s salon with him just down the hall. It’s too much to be believed. Also, she received Hendricks, a man who is not her husband or a relative, in nothing but her robe and nightgown and was so scantily clad that she flashing him not just a view of ankle, but of her naked calf as well. It’s completely unbelievable for a respectable woman to even consider receiving a gentleman caller dressed that way.
November 1, 2018
Eu não esperava realmente não esperava
Eu comprei esse livro junto com todos os outros da Harlequin que eu havia comprado anos atrás acho que em 2016 ou 2017 e estava guardadinho no kindle.
Resolvi pegar para ler sem ler a sinopse e acabei me apaixonando. Que livro delicioso... eu não esperava que fosse tão bom. Não conhecia a autora e me surpreendi mais uma vez.
Adrian, conde de Folbroke, se escondeu da sociedade e se arriscava esperando a hora de acabar com a própria vida. Depois de ser atingido na guerra, uma doença de família que deixava cego alguns descendentes masculinos o atinge. Resolve então evitar a esposa e se esconder dela sem contar o problema que o aflige.
Emily, a irmã do melhor amigo de Adrian e que sempre foi apaixonada por ele, está desolada por ter sido abandonada pouco tempo após o casamento e estar a três anos sem contato com ele, apenas com seu secretário. Mas o primo de Adrian, que é o seu herdeiro, está atrás dela, incomodando-a, querendo saber onde seu primo está e insinuando que ela havia matado marido, pois ninguém o via a muito tempo. Ela então inventa que está grávida para afastá-lo e vai atrás do marido para tentar engravidar dele ou fazê-lo voltar para a propriedade no campo que é administrada por ela. Lá descobre a verdadeira condição do marido.
Eu tive sensações fortes com o enredo. Fiquei ansiosa, me emocionei com algumas partes, chorei (nenhuma novidade sou manteiga derretida mesmo...), ri e torci muito. Eu sempre gostei de mocinhos que tem algum problema e essa cegueira me emocionou demais.
Não consegui dar menos de cinco estrelas e recomendo para quem quiser e gostar desse tipo de livro. É muito bom e me surpreendeu mesmo.
Eu comprei esse livro junto com todos os outros da Harlequin que eu havia comprado anos atrás acho que em 2016 ou 2017 e estava guardadinho no kindle.
Resolvi pegar para ler sem ler a sinopse e acabei me apaixonando. Que livro delicioso... eu não esperava que fosse tão bom. Não conhecia a autora e me surpreendi mais uma vez.
Adrian, conde de Folbroke, se escondeu da sociedade e se arriscava esperando a hora de acabar com a própria vida. Depois de ser atingido na guerra, uma doença de família que deixava cego alguns descendentes masculinos o atinge. Resolve então evitar a esposa e se esconder dela sem contar o problema que o aflige.
Emily, a irmã do melhor amigo de Adrian e que sempre foi apaixonada por ele, está desolada por ter sido abandonada pouco tempo após o casamento e estar a três anos sem contato com ele, apenas com seu secretário. Mas o primo de Adrian, que é o seu herdeiro, está atrás dela, incomodando-a, querendo saber onde seu primo está e insinuando que ela havia matado marido, pois ninguém o via a muito tempo. Ela então inventa que está grávida para afastá-lo e vai atrás do marido para tentar engravidar dele ou fazê-lo voltar para a propriedade no campo que é administrada por ela. Lá descobre a verdadeira condição do marido.
Eu tive sensações fortes com o enredo. Fiquei ansiosa, me emocionei com algumas partes, chorei (nenhuma novidade sou manteiga derretida mesmo...), ri e torci muito. Eu sempre gostei de mocinhos que tem algum problema e essa cegueira me emocionou demais.
Não consegui dar menos de cinco estrelas e recomendo para quem quiser e gostar desse tipo de livro. É muito bom e me surpreendeu mesmo.
August 14, 2021
Un conte da sedurre è un romance che fa parte della trilogia The Three Lady, ambientato nella Londra del 1815.
Le vicende sono narrate attraverso due punti di vista: Emily e Adrian, la coppia protagonista.
Emily era una ragazza timida quando è stata abbandonata in campagna senza nessuna spiegazione dal marito, sono passati tre anni ed ora è diventata una donna piacente ma convinta che sia colpa sua se è stata abbandonata. Adrian, invece, è convinto di essere ormai solo un peso a causa della malattia che lo affligge per questo non vuole più vivere e conduce una vita solitaria e da debosciato.
Un livello di sensualità abbastanza alto ma mai volgare, una caratterizzazione dei personaggi abbastanza buona anche se non mi ha convinto molto, Adrian quando realizza che ama la moglie. Avrei preferito che l'autrice si soffermasse un po' di più sui suoi pensieri e i suoi sentimenti.
La trama presente sul retro del libro racconta quasi tutto salvo per qualche evento minore.
Ci sono, senza dubbio, elementi che non si trovano spesso nei Romance: la coppia già sposata e che il protagonista soffra di una malattia.
Nonostante tutto è un romanzo carino e leggero.
Le vicende sono narrate attraverso due punti di vista: Emily e Adrian, la coppia protagonista.
Emily era una ragazza timida quando è stata abbandonata in campagna senza nessuna spiegazione dal marito, sono passati tre anni ed ora è diventata una donna piacente ma convinta che sia colpa sua se è stata abbandonata. Adrian, invece, è convinto di essere ormai solo un peso a causa della malattia che lo affligge per questo non vuole più vivere e conduce una vita solitaria e da debosciato.
Un livello di sensualità abbastanza alto ma mai volgare, una caratterizzazione dei personaggi abbastanza buona anche se non mi ha convinto molto, Adrian quando realizza che ama la moglie. Avrei preferito che l'autrice si soffermasse un po' di più sui suoi pensieri e i suoi sentimenti.
La trama presente sul retro del libro racconta quasi tutto salvo per qualche evento minore.
Ci sono, senza dubbio, elementi che non si trovano spesso nei Romance: la coppia già sposata e che il protagonista soffra di una malattia.
Nonostante tutto è un romanzo carino e leggero.
November 27, 2018
Of the few novels I've read to give a character blindness, this one stands apart for not rendering the condition temporary. Plenty of sex, for those who do/don't like that in their light reads, but overall a well-drawn, well-told story for the genre.
Character- and plot-wise, my only quibbles came with the question of the assistant's true motives (which seemed more trumped up than legitimately developed, for me) and how rapidly the hero had a change of heart at the end. I expected him to take more time turning around, but maybe the author ran up against the end of her word-count limit. ;)
Not a book I'm proud to have read, but definitely a better drawn romance.
Character- and plot-wise, my only quibbles came with the question of the assistant's true motives (which seemed more trumped up than legitimately developed, for me) and how rapidly the hero had a change of heart at the end. I expected him to take more time turning around, but maybe the author ran up against the end of her word-count limit. ;)
Not a book I'm proud to have read, but definitely a better drawn romance.
April 13, 2021
Une bonne surprise.
L’heroine, Emily, mariée jeune à Adrian, lord Falbrooke, n’a pas revu ce dernier depuis trois longues années, et cela sans aucune explication.
Lassée de la situation et des pressions subies par l’héritier de son mari, l’horrible cousin Rupert, elle décide de se rendre à Londres à la recherche de son mari qu’elle découvre dans un tripot ivre et aveugle.
Se dessine alors un plan de séduire son mari sans qu’il le sache.
L’histoire est étonnamment plaisante, les personnages principaux et secondaire (ce brave valet Hendricks!) attachants.
L’heroine, Emily, mariée jeune à Adrian, lord Falbrooke, n’a pas revu ce dernier depuis trois longues années, et cela sans aucune explication.
Lassée de la situation et des pressions subies par l’héritier de son mari, l’horrible cousin Rupert, elle décide de se rendre à Londres à la recherche de son mari qu’elle découvre dans un tripot ivre et aveugle.
Se dessine alors un plan de séduire son mari sans qu’il le sache.
L’histoire est étonnamment plaisante, les personnages principaux et secondaire (ce brave valet Hendricks!) attachants.
July 30, 2024
4,5 - Mi mancava questa serie delle Ladies in disgrace ed è stata una piacevole scoperta.
Lady Emily, ad esempio, è stata mollata in campagna dal marito, subito dopo le nozze, libera e con poteri di amministratrice, ma anche sola e con il terrore di non poter generare un erede.
Quando gli altri parenti cominciano a essere una vera minaccia, alla nostra non resta che andare a Londra e persuadere Adrian a dare ad entrambi una seconda chance.
Molto originale, con in più l'elemento della disabilità (lui è divenuto cieco) trattato con delicatezza.
Lady Emily, ad esempio, è stata mollata in campagna dal marito, subito dopo le nozze, libera e con poteri di amministratrice, ma anche sola e con il terrore di non poter generare un erede.
Quando gli altri parenti cominciano a essere una vera minaccia, alla nostra non resta che andare a Londra e persuadere Adrian a dare ad entrambi una seconda chance.
Molto originale, con in più l'elemento della disabilità (lui è divenuto cieco) trattato con delicatezza.
June 27, 2018
When I read the synopsis on the back of this book, I was expecting a 3 star book at best. This book has been a great romance read from start to finish. Very adult plus some humour. You just need a quiet place to read the book so you can enjoy it to the full. Great ending I just wish I could of seen Rupert face...
July 9, 2017
This was a good read. But there were points at which I was a little bored. I knew what was coming. It was predictable, but none the less I completed it. This is moslty because of Merrill's easy writing style. Also, I'm a sucker for injured lord novels.
A nice way to pass the time.
A nice way to pass the time.
February 18, 2019
Really enjoyed this couple, the lady's scheme, his struggle yet ability to relax with his 'mistress' showing what future fun may be like if this couple ever got their act together n poor Hendricks. Hopefully his perceptions of the matter is mentioned in his story. Which is next on my reading list
July 21, 2021
This is just stupid, I can't comprehend Adrian's thought process. Emily on the other hand was very sweet and understanding though I bet she wanted to slap Adrian on the face for his inferior complex issue. Just get a f-ing divorce if you want to let Emily go!! arghhh
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