A Tale of Two Lovers (The Writing Girls, #2)

Feb 12, 2012 Tammy Walton Grant rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Tammy by: Eastofoz

Shelves: calibre, just-bought-it, kindle-or-ebook, 2012-february, hr-regency, i-freaking-loved-this, romance-historical, romance-series-not-so-much, tropes-bicker-banter, tropes-hate-to-love, tropes-marriage-of-convenience, tropes-rakes-reforming, tropes-secret-identity

My GR stats tell me I've read 27 books so far this year. Of those, I've given 5 stars to only 6 of them. A Tale of Two Lovers was one of those books.

Maya Rodale is a new-to-me author, but damned if she isn't going to become an autobuy. She is seriously good.

There are a number of really good reviews already on GR, so I'm not going to outline the plot (which was a novel spin on the gossipy ways of the ton and the strictures of 1820s England) or gush about the Hero (although he was extremely gush-...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Eastofoz rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Readers who like the Gossip Girl theme

Shelves: historical-regency

Strong heroine, alpha hero and they hate each other right off the bat because she’s spreading a nice tidbit of gossip about him ---something I haven’t seen yet in a straight up historical so I was VERY surprised at how well the scene that fuels the rumor was done.

Lady Julianna Somerset is a gossip columnist who was burned big time by her rake of a husband (now dead) so when she gets set to take down Lord Simon Roxbury (a charming love ‘em and leave ‘em rake and a nice piece of eye candy to boot...more

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May 12, 2011 Jess the Romanceaholic rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read, historical, historical-experienced-heroine, widow, bad-first-marriage, rumor-has-it, historical-working-woman, promiscuous-hero, family-issues, forced-marriage, marriage-to-avoid-scandal, marriage-of-convenience

This is a Quickie Review. For the full review, please visit The Romanceaholic.

Expected Release Date: Available Now!
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Avon
Author’s Website: http://www.mayarodale.com/
My Source for This Book: Amazon.com
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 2, Writing Girl
Series Best Read In Order: Worked well as a standalone
Steam Level: Hot

This book wasn’t quite what I expected, but in a good way. Simon is what I like to call, a man-ho. He loves women — their taste, their smell, the touch of t...more This is a Quickie Review. For the full review, please visit The Romanceaholic.

Expected Release Date: Available Now!
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Avon
Author’s Website: http://www.mayarodale.com/
My Source for This Book: Amazon.com
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 2, Writing Girl
Series Best Read In Order: Worked well as a standalone
Steam Level: Hot

This book wasn’t quite what I expected, but in a good way. Simon is what I like to call, a man-ho. He loves women — their taste, their smell, the touch of their skin, and one thing that sets him apart from other rakes is that he doesn’t make the mistake of thinking that women are all interchangeable. Instead, he enjoys falling in love. Over and over and over. For about a week or two at a time.

Julianna made the mistake of falling in love with a rake when she was 17, and even though he loved her as well, their love didn’t last and he went back to his promiscuous and scandalous ways. When he was killed trying to manage his drink, a prostitute, and a carriage (all at the same time), Julianna was left almost penniless because her horrible husband left the majority of his estate to previous mistresses and the illegitimate children he’d fathered by them. Julianna has turned to writing as not only a way to make money, but also a way to earn her own self-respect.

This book had a lot of what I like to call “exterior angst”, where things like societal opinions and familial ultimatums create most of the stress. There was Simon’s fall from grace, the revenge scandal he visited upon Julianna, his reasons for marrying, and Julianna’s employment issues which caused most of the trouble for these two, and yet in the end, the real issue was whether Simon could remain faithful, and whether Julianna could risk her heart with someone proven to be fickle.

Above all, though, this book was fun. The things repercussions of their ruined reputations aside, the banter and little revenge plots between Simon and Julianna were immensely entertaining, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them fall for each other. I still wish there’d been an epilogue so that we could see that Simon was really and truly faithful to her, but even so, 4/5 Stars.(less)

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Sep 07, 2011 Eastofoz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Readers who like the Gossip Girl theme

Shelves: 2011, historical-regency

Strong heroine, alpha hero and they hate each other right off the bat because she’s spreading a nice tidbit of gossip about him ---something I haven’t seen yet in a straight up historical so I was VERY surprised at how well the scene that fuels the rumor was done.

Lady Julianna Somerset is a gossip columnist who was burned big time by her rake of a husband (now dead) so when she gets set to take down Lord Simon Roxbury (a charming love ‘em and leave ‘em rake and a nice piece of eye candy to boot...more

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Mar 31, 2011 Kat rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, review, romance, read-2011

1.5 stars

My review cross-posted from Joyfully Reviewed: http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/new-r...

The rakish Lord Roxbury is a godsend to someone like Lady Julianna Somerset, gossip columnist for The London Weekly. And when Julianna spies Roxbury in a scandalous position with someone in men’s clothing…well, she’s sure she has the scoop of a lifetime! Only Roxbury doesn’t quite see it that way and he doesn’t take kindly to the lies the mysterious “Lady of Distinction” has written about him, particu...more 1.5 stars

My review cross-posted from Joyfully Reviewed: http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/new-r...

The rakish Lord Roxbury is a godsend to someone like Lady Julianna Somerset, gossip columnist for The London Weekly. And when Julianna spies Roxbury in a scandalous position with someone in men’s clothing…well, she’s sure she has the scoop of a lifetime! Only Roxbury doesn’t quite see it that way and he doesn’t take kindly to the lies the mysterious “Lady of Distinction” has written about him, particularly when his reputation is shredded and chances of marriage are ruined because of it. It’s not long before Roxbury and Julianna’s battle becomes public and all of London is agog. With both Julianna and Roxbury teetering on the ledge of complete ruination, there’s only one solution: the scandalous pair will wed. It’s supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but love and desire have a funny way of bringing together even the most reticent spouses.

Gossip and scandal pile up faster than a modern-day celebrity rumor-mill in A Tale of Two Lovers . Maya Rodale’s unique Writing Girls falters in its second installment, dragged down, as it were, by an incredibly unlikeable heroine. For the first third of A Tale of Two Lovers I attempted to find something to like about Julianna. After that, I simply tried (and failed) not to hate her. Julianna wears emotional scars thanks to her first husband, a vice-ridden rake. Because of this, and her eagerness to beat another gossip columnist, (view spoiler) Were this in another story, Julianna would be a halfway-decent villain. I don’t catalogue Julianna’s faults to belabor the point, but rather to explain why I was so disappointed in A Tale of Two Lovers . Perhaps what irritated me about her will not bother other readers. Roxbury, on the other hand, is a perfectly likeable hero. He’s amiable, sensual, and when he makes mistakes, he owns up to them. The only thing I didn’t entirely understand was why he fell in love with Julianna.

Roxbury and the cast of secondary characters bring charm to A Tale of Two Lovers . It was nice to revisit Sophie and Brandon (of the first Writing Girls book, A Groom of One’s Own), but what delighted me the most was the glimpses of the other two Writing Girls, Eliza and Annabelle, and the men I sincerely hope will be their heroes. Though A Tale of Two Lovers was not the story for me, I still liked Roxbury and the supporting characters enough that I am looking forward to Eliza and Annabelle’s books.(less)

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Dec 09, 2012 Mona rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

A Tale of Two Lovers was an absolute joy to read. It takes place in the late Regency period of 1823 and follows Lady Julianna Somerset as she secretly writes a gossip column about members of the ton. When she sees Lord Simon Roxbury seducing someone backstage - someone dressed like a man – she can barely contain her excitement. You see where this is going, don’t you?

Lord Roxbury is the ultimate rake, moving from woman to woman easily and with nary a backward glance. He’s completely unaware his...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Addictive rated it 4 of 5 stars

In Maya Rodale, I find distinctive writing and devilishly good plots. A Tale of Two Lovers is not to be missed as it involves both to wicked extremes.
Lady Julianna Somerset is a widow who was bequeathed virtually nothing in her husband’s will, and so to make ends meet she is forced to take up a gossip column in The London Weekly, a column in good running for another gossip column in the arch rival paper The London Times. Lady Julianna is called the Lady of Distinction in her widely talked about...more

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Nov 30, 2011 Rachel (BAVR) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: worst-person-ever-heroine, worst-person-ever-hero, when-stupid-things-are-stupid, spinsters-and-bluestockings-unite, regency-romance, historical-romance, feisty-heroine-nitwits, rakes-being-rake-y

A Tale of Two Lovers was a bit of a wall banger for me. Rodale's a good writer, so the prose flowed well and kept me invested in the story. Sadly, the main characters in this story are HORRIBLE PEOPLE (TM). I don't mind abrasive characters. I don't even mind characters with problematic personalities. But I do mind characters who intentionally inflict pain (physical or emotional) on others and never embark on a redemption arc. And on that note, meet our heroine, Julianna!

SUMMARY:
Julianna, Lady...more A Tale of Two Lovers was a bit of a wall banger for me. Rodale's a good writer, so the prose flowed well and kept me invested in the story. Sadly, the main characters in this story are HORRIBLE PEOPLE (TM). I don't mind abrasive characters. I don't even mind characters with problematic personalities. But I do mind characters who intentionally inflict pain (physical or emotional) on others and never embark on a redemption arc. And on that note, meet our heroine, Julianna!

SUMMARY:
Julianna, Lady Somerset, is a widowed gossip columnist trying to break the next big story by besting her nemesis, The Man About Time, a gossip columnist from another paper. In order to do this, Julianna writes a damning story about notorious rake Lord Roxbury that ends up getting the man all but shunned by the Ton. In turn, Lord Roxbury ruins Julianna, and the two crazy kids are left with no other option than to marry (naturally). Is it a spoiler to say that they end up being meant for each other?

YE OLDE DELIGHTS:
Rodale's writing is the real star in this book. She kept me reading even when I was angry. The mystery surrounding The Man About Town was a fun diversion from the angst between the two main characters. I never guessed the identity of the man, and that's rare.

YE OLDE GARBAGE:
Julianna. Julianna, Julianna, Julianna, why doth thou hateth me so-eth? (view spoiler) What she did was horrible, and she never took responsibility for it. While Roxbury wasn't much better, at least he stopped being a nincompoop halfway through the book when he was "redeemed by love." (view spoiler)

I thought that the focus on the gossip columns would lead to some type of moral awakening - like, oh I don't know, gossip can be really MEAN and DAMAGING. But no. Julianna loves her work, which is nice, I guess ... if I considered dragging peoples' names through the mud for money NICE. I just couldn't relate. It especially irked me when (view spoiler)

I wanted to like the characters. I really did. They even grew on me a few times, almost redeemed themselves by being charming. But in the end, I felt like they didn't learn anything other than how to love each other. That's great and all, but how am I supposed to believe that their love will last when they have so little respect for other people? (less)

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Aug 18, 2011 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Writing Girls continue to delight.

Lady Julianna Somerset (semi-)secretly reports on the Ton's scandals in her column for "The London Weekly" as "A Lady of Distinction." Lord Simon Roxbury, rake about town, is her richest fodder. ("Scandal equals sales," after all!) Her latest nugget has the entire Ton buzzing, and has put her rival, Man About Town, into the shade. But Lady Julianna does not always consider the consequence of her gossip, and perhaps she's gone a touch too far this time in que...more The Writing Girls continue to delight.

Lady Julianna Somerset (semi-)secretly reports on the Ton's scandals in her column for "The London Weekly" as "A Lady of Distinction." Lord Simon Roxbury, rake about town, is her richest fodder. ("Scandal equals sales," after all!) Her latest nugget has the entire Ton buzzing, and has put her rival, Man About Town, into the shade. But Lady Julianna does not always consider the consequence of her gossip, and perhaps she's gone a touch too far this time in questioning Lord Simon's manhood in print....

Unbeknownst to her, Lord Simon's father has just issued him an ultimatum: get married in a month, or get cut off. Lord Simon isn't sure he *wants* to knuckle under to his father's ultimatum, but he discovers that Lady Julianna's latest bit of rumormongering has taken the choice away from him. Overnight, he's become a figure to be shunned, and no decent woman will come close to him, much less accept his name. (For that matter, they won't come to his bed, either. It's hard to tell which infuriates him the more.) Lord Simon is determined to have his revenge-- if he can't get A Lady of Distinction to print a public retraction, he will expose her. Or at least use the *threat* of exposure to blackmail the beautiful Lady Julianna into dancing with him....

And when they've done their worst to each other and both of their reputations are in ruins, there's only one possible way out for these two bitterest of enemies: marriage.

Lady Julianna and Lord Simon make *quite* a pair-- fiery, determined (even stubborn), proud, witty, charming, and fiendishly clever, the both of them. And despite their mutual love of scandal (Simon in creating it, Julianna in gossiping about it), both have a strong sense of honor and a drive to make things right when they realize they have wronged someone. Though the attraction is certainly there, love is not certain for either of them (even after they marry), but as I said before... they are determined. And when Simon makes up his mind, nothing will stop him from getting what he wants, not even a 40-year-old mystery.(less)

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May 24, 2011 April rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance-regency-england

A TALE OF TWO LOVERS by Maya Rodale is an exciting historical romance set in 1823 London,England.It is the second in the "Writing Girl" series,but can be read as a stand alone.Book One," A Groom of One's Own". This is a fast paced,page turning story of misunderstandings,scandalous information,love,forgiveness,healing,romance,and love.When gossip columnist,Julianna,Lady Somerset, stumbles upon a taboo breaking affair,or so it appears,involving the rakish,handsome,sexy,rakish Lord Roxbury,who by t...more

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Apr 02, 2011 Cleffairy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Published at: Over A Cuppa Tea

Date reviewed: 8th Feb 2011

Review link: http://cleffairy.wordpress.com/2011/02/08/a-tale-of-two-lovers/

Ahah! Finally a historical romance with a slightly modern twist. A Tale of Two Lovers by Maya Rodale is a very interesting story where both of the protagonists are bull-headed. It’s all about battle of sexes in A Tale of Two Lovers, and I can’t help but smile at the quirkiness and irony that’s deliberately thrown in this story. I like this story very much. The stor...more

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Feb 08, 2012 Sara Pauff rated it 3 of 5 stars

Confession: I think I may become a fan of mass market historical romance novels, thanks to Maya Rodale. I'm usually a bit of a book snob and turn my nose up novels like this, but I read A Tale of Two Lovers because I was directed to an interesting and intelligent post on Rodale's website -- Dangerous Books for Girls: The Bad Reputation of Romance Novels, Explained
I figured I'd give one of Rodale's novels a read. Parts of the book and the writing can be repetitive, but overall, I was surprised a...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Lisa Becker rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, favorite-romance

A great story of two people who marry for all the wrong reasons but find that they want to stay together for all the right ones. At first they despised each other and would never be caught dead together. He has a horrid reputation as a rake and she is salvaging her tarnished name because her rake of a husband died in a rather sordid and scandalous manner. She has a secret life of a Writing Girl and writes the Fashionable Intelligence column for the London Weekly. When she writes a scandalous ent...more

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Oct 26, 2012 Jacob Proffitt rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, steamy

A romance where the main characters get married in the middle (instead of the end)?!? Tell me more, my friend. This is the second in a series and I highly recommend reading these in order. Not so much because you'll miss anything as that the first is a touch better book and will give you everything you need to know about how this author handles the near-Regency period.

This book is more of the same, and I mean that in a good way. Consistent, well-fleshed-out characters. A consistent, if not exact...more

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May 11, 2013 Lover of Romance rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: avon, historical-romance, regency

"You are stubborn, maddening, illogical and infuriating," Roxbury grumbled.
"I am a Lady," Julianna retorted, as she stepped behind a voluminous potted fern.
"Exactly.That's what I said," he said, following her. She gasped. He grinned.

Julianna is one of the four writing girls, and she is well known as the "Lady of Distinction" and she writes on all the latest scandals, to keep up with their rival. Julianna has worked hard to build up her section and have many resources at her disposal. One nigh...more "You are stubborn, maddening, illogical and infuriating," Roxbury grumbled.
"I am a Lady," Julianna retorted, as she stepped behind a voluminous potted fern.
"Exactly.That's what I said," he said, following her. She gasped. He grinned.

Julianna is one of the four writing girls, and she is well known as the "Lady of Distinction" and she writes on all the latest scandals, to keep up with their rival. Julianna has worked hard to build up her section and have many resources at her disposal. One night at the Opera, she spies Lord Roxbury in what would be the most popular scandal if she were to report it. So Julianna, not going to let this opportunity pass her by, announces what she has seen, and is has top rank among all the scandals, only she has no idea that this scandal would in the end change her life forever. Simon has no intention of settling down, he is more than content with his women and drinking, he has no issues with the way his life is going, until his father brings to him a ultimatum of the worst sort; get married or have no money at all and be poor? So Simon assuming that any woman would have him, thinks of this as no big deal. Well right after his father gives him this choice, the scandal of the year, that tops all scandals is about him, and no woman or man gives him the time of day apart from his closest friends. Now he is a world of trouble, because he has one week to find a wife. Well when he learns the identity of the woman that reported this scandal, he is out for retribution. Before Julianna knows it, she herself is embroiled into a scandal of her own, and she has no choice but to marry Simon or face the consequences, but what she doesn't expect is her distrust in this unlikeable man turn into a affair of the heart.

After falling in love with the first in the series "A Groom of One's Own" I was so excited to read Julianna's story. This series is about four women that write together for a newspaper and each book is their story. Now I have recently fallen in love with this author, and so I was really looking forward to reading more of her work. Now it was not my favorite, I think I enjoyed the first one a lot more, but Tale of Two Lovers was a very enjoyable read and there were many things I liked about it.

We begin with Julianna out on the town, looking for a new delicious scandal, to bring her ahead of her rival "Man About Town". Julianna then finds a shocking scandal, and can hardly wait to report it. So when we see this scandal (even I was surprised and a bit shocked but we find out the truth eventually but expect the unexpected in this story.) When she reports it, she expects her life to keep going great and getting better, only her life starts a spiral downward. Now Julianna at first seems a bit shallow being a reporter on scandal and all. We start to see more depth to her as you continue forward in the story. Then we turn to Simon, who is one of the top rakes, loves women, has had countless mistresses and affairs (more than anyone should ever have), and when his father hands him this ultimatum he is more than shocked and angry. However when the scandal reaches his ears, and everyone looks at him like he is a bug to stamp on, he knows that his life has been changed forever. So he vows on revenge, now I was kinda on his side at this point. And boy did I love the come back he did against Julianna, and it definitely had my laughing to the point I couldn't breathe. So if you want a good laugh, just read this story, it will crack you up to tears. There is a strong hate/love relationship we see develop here. They both despise each other in the beginning and the middle, but towards the end is where it really gets good.

Now I think I fell in love with Roxbury from the beginning, he is your average alpha male type rake, but he is very amiable and passionate and I love how he doesn't hide from his mistakes and doesn't blame it on others. He takes it all in stride, and I couldn't help but admire him for that. I found him to be way more noble than Julianna. Now Julianna, I really wanted to like her and I tried hard to, but there were so many things I didn't like about her, until the end. She seemed so, too proud and greedy at times. I understand her background and bad experience with men, but it just got on my nerves to the point I wanted to shake some sense into her. Don't get me wrong I didn't hate her, I just didn't like her. She seemed to me to have this superior attitude at times, and even though the second half of the book she slowly mellows down a bit, so I grew to like her a bit better, but overall she just didn't reach to me all that well.

Overall it was a good and solid read, and there were things I liked and things I didn't like too much. I felt like there was enough plot and tension and sensuality to be a strong book. I also liked how we see the secondary characters and their involvement in the story, and there were a few scenes that definitely won my heart over. There was charm and wit and a sense of playfulness to the story line that only added to the wickedly enticing story. There was some extreme measures put in play here, that I just soaked up toward the end. Even though there were a few things I didn't like, I felt like this was such a enthralling read, that just draws you in like a magnet, and I couldn't help but find a story that sent shivers down my spine and enough sizzling tension to curl your whole body.(less)

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Apr 15, 2012 Nadine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, stayed-up-way-too-late, 1820s

Wow, this is delicious and delightful! A true "stay up wayyyyy to late" book! :-) And then it turned into a "leave mommy alone, I NEED to finish this book!" kind of book. Such a pleasant surprise. This is one of the stupidest covers I've seen, the hero looks like he's about to sneeze on the heroine. Goes to show: don't judge a book by its cover! (And the artist must not have read the book, or even been given many details other than hair color, because at no point that I noticed does the heroine...more Wow, this is delicious and delightful! A true "stay up wayyyyy to late" book! :-) And then it turned into a "leave mommy alone, I NEED to finish this book!" kind of book. Such a pleasant surprise. This is one of the stupidest covers I've seen, the hero looks like he's about to sneeze on the heroine. Goes to show: don't judge a book by its cover! (And the artist must not have read the book, or even been given many details other than hair color, because at no point that I noticed does the heroine wear an emerald green gown, nor do they get hot and heavy out in a garden somewhere.)

It should be so rare to find a real plot with real characters who have real reasons to both (a) despise each other, and (b) be madly attracted to each other. While of course it WAS contrived, nothing FELT contrived.

Here we have the story of Julianna, Lady Somerset, noble widow, left penniless by her philandering husband. She supports herself by anonymously writing a gossip column for the local London weekly. She writes one of many columns about the scandalous rake, Lord Roxbury, and this particular scandal is such that he is shunned by polite society. He storms into the newspaper office, discovers her secret identity (Elastigirl! no, wait, wrong story ... anyway ...) and makes it his business to make her live a living hell. They both happen to be extremely attractive people who have never actually interacted before, and they are both rather astonished at this attraction, while they work hard to undermine the other. Characterization feels real and the dialogue is truly witty! Brava, Ms Rodale!! I especially love how both the hero and heroine are NOT ASSHOLES OR BIG WHINEY BABIES! So sick of THAT particular trope. I also love how both the hero and heroine have been around the block a few times, they are both independent ADULTS who interact accordingly. Julianna is not some simpering innocent fool, and Roxbury does not have to teach her how to kiss. Sick of THAT trope, too! And the book really makes you wait for the hot sex - that might be part of why I couldn't put it down.

Heard in my household this morning: "Mom can you make me breakfast?" "I'm almost done with this book, just let me finish!!!" and then later, "Mom can you wash this for me?" "yes, just a few more chapters, I'll be right down!" etc etc

I also find it interesting that the author seems to be related to the Rodales of Organic Gardening fame.

(less)

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Mar 14, 2013 Amylynn Bright rated it 3 of 5 stars

Maya Rodale has written a funny little story in A Tale of Two Lovers. Simon Roxbury is a charming character and I thought his reactions to the upheavals in his life to be realistic. I wasn’t as charmed by the heroine, Julianna. She seemed to have no problem whatsoever destroying a man’s life, but the minute he made her social standing precarious, she was incensed. While Julianna isn’t a horrible person, she is at times very unlikable.

That being said, I did enjoy the book as a whole. Ms. Rodale h...more

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May 28, 2011 Wendy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book! If you love a good scandal, this is the book for you! Simon's days as a rake are done and over with with the swipe of a pen when Juliana gossips about seeing him at the theatre with a paramour in trousers in the gossip sheets of the newspaper where she writes the gossip column anonymously. Simon's father issues his ultimatum in which Simon has 30 days to wed or be cut off financially. Unfortunately, with the gossip surrounding him no one wants to be seen in his company forcing...more

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Mar 31, 2011 Leanne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-books, e-books, historical-romance, mar-11, maya-rodale

This book was given to me to review and the following opinions are my own.

After catching a certain Lord Roxbury in a scandalous situation Lady Somerset has to write about it in her gossip column and what follows is his reputation in tatters and he has to make it right or risk losing everything. Of Lady Somerset doesn't abide by his wishes and gossips more about his character. Revenge is soon on his mind and he sets out to ruin Lady Somerset. That leaves them both in ruin and the only way to repa...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lord Roxbury is a notorious rake. As the "Lady of Distinction", Lady Julianna writes the gossip column in 'The Weekly' and Lord Roxbury is often the star of her column. But Lady Julianna catches Roxbury in what appears to be an extremely compromising position.
Roxbury's attempt to straighten out the mess results in Roxbury and Julianna being the stars of a rival paper's gossip column. With no other choice to save their reputations, the two enter into a marriage of convenience...or do they?

This i...more

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Apr 22, 2011 Carrie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

I loved the first "writing girls" book and was very excited to read the next one in the series. I didn't love A TALE OF TWO LOVERS as much as I did A GROOM OF ONE'S OWN. Julianna is a little immature at times and I couldn't get past the fact that although she reported something she knew was false, she wouldn't print a retraction. Simon is a bit of a jerk, too. I enjoyed him becoming a social pariah. Their relationship evolves slowly and I really liked how they went from enemies to lovers. The wr...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Natalie E. Ramm rated it 3 of 5 stars

Julianna (another one!) Somerset is a respectable widow who writes a gossip column to support herself. When she publicly accuses Lord Roxbury for having a questionable sexual orientation in her column, she opens the doors to a full-blown fight with the notorious rake.

Once their reputations are both in tatters, they decide to get married because together they are less scandalous? As Lord and Lady Scandal they uncover the identity of the Man About Town, Julianna’s rival gossip columnist. Oh, and t...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Jacqueline rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No one, it sucks.

Shelves: author-maya-rodale, classified-rec-rt, genre-romance-historical, genre-romance-historical-regency, series-the-writing-girls, trope-angst-ridden, trope-at-odds-couple, trope-enemies-to-lovers, trope-hero-alpha, trope-hero-rogue-or-rake, trope-heroine-across-the-tracks, trope-heroine-alpha, trope-heroine-bluestocking, trope-heroine-genius-or-cerebral, trope-heroine-hoyden-or-spirited, trope-heroine-job-writer, trope-heroine-misfit, trope-heroine-prim-and-proper, trope-heroine-widow-or-divorcee, trope-heroine-working-class, trope-in-deception, trope-marriage-of-convenience, trope-marriage-shotgun, trope-perfect-banter, trope-revenge-plot, trope-shhh-its-a-secret, classified-eagerly-awaiting-to-read, trope-hero-in-need-of-a-wife, trope-hero-job-political-or-peer, trope-heroine-scorned, trope-mystery-within

Pages Survived: 290

This book is a great big ball of NOPE. Seriously, literally, and honestly, I'm a tad baffled at the utter oh-humanity-why failings Maya Rodale achieved in the entirety of A Tale Of Two Lovers. And, I can say, with absolute certainty, confidence, and "Bitch, I ain't lying!" this book was a bomb-face; when one is only 80 pages away from completing a book, and it's a Wall Banger, you can trust that it sucks.

So, here's the low-down; there's this chick, there's this dude, shenaniga...more

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May 08, 2011 Dinjolina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: bad-boy-involved, adventure, in-the-closet-gay

Hm....I liked this book.
I am giving it only 3 stars because of all that unused chemistry! The hero and heroine made me pant with the need for them to come together but there was only one scene in which they do! And it was very mild. Also the hero in the beginning talked about brats. But we never get to know if they now wanted children or not. So, some of the things were underdeveloped and that stopped me from really investing myself in the characters.
Even so,this was an interesting read. The wa...more

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May 22, 2011 Nana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, it-entertained-me-ok

It's a light read and I enjoyed this book. Funny that the previous book I read before this was Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart and the names were both Julianna and Simon. Now there's a newfound appreciation for those names. lol

I was looking forward to reading this because I love stories that may revolve around gossip. It's too tasty to ignore. And this book provided just that

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Oct 23, 2012 Maya rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance

First half of the book: I really hate rogues because of what my decease husband put me through, but you're are very hot and I lust for you. Even though it got me into huge piles of trouble.

Second half: You still a hot man whore and our lustful banter disguised as hurtful dialogue is really humorous.

The whole time they tried to find out who the man about town was, and when he was found it was kind of a let down.

I was glad they got married at about half the book.

The part when Roxbury finds out s...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Lazy Jeff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-read, historical

Wow, Ms. Rodale, that’s another pair of shoes! I didn’t see it coming. So witty, funny, charming – the book is good, real good. I started to read The Writing Girls series because I wanted to read the third book, ‘The Tattooed Duke’ (because, hey, he’s a duke and he’s tattooed; it’s like a cherry on a tart!). The first one in the series, ‘A Groom of One’s Own’ proved to be a boring story of two cold fishes. However, I was determinate to get to the third one, following the correct order of the boo...more Wow, Ms. Rodale, that’s another pair of shoes! I didn’t see it coming. So witty, funny, charming – the book is good, real good. I started to read The Writing Girls series because I wanted to read the third book, ‘The Tattooed Duke’ (because, hey, he’s a duke and he’s tattooed; it’s like a cherry on a tart!). The first one in the series, ‘A Groom of One’s Own’ proved to be a boring story of two cold fishes. However, I was determinate to get to the third one, following the correct order of the books, so I proceed to the second one. It was pleasant read. Now I’m not sorry that I started the series.

‘A Tale of Two Lovers’ is a story of the second ‘writing girl’, Julianna Somerset, infamous rogue’s widow, and Simon Roxbury, a viscount and an infamous rogue. She ruined his life with her gossip writing and he ruined hers with his roguish behavior. They had to get married in order to save each other. They married and one day they discovered that love started to grow between them. I think they fell for each other on the second page of the book, though. Their path to happiness was hard because they had to destroy their ideas of life and love. She used to think all rogues are the same and her own rogue, her first husband, made her suffer a lot. He always thought he would die a bachelor in his mistress’ bad and it would be the perfect end. But love mixed all the cards as usual and made them win with what they considered as weak hands.

I loved the heroes. They were adorable and a bit crazy (she shot at him and he sang a dirty serenade to her in the middle of London!). ‘Roxbury’ sounds like Jane Austen, although I can’t recall a single charming rogue played a good guy role in her books. However, for me Roxbury became a strange mix of Jane Austen’s good guy and charming womanizer who knows exactly what a lady wants. Julianna was a bit hysterical. I think she was constantly making heavy weather of something. She made a huge, epic drama, that became the reason for their temporarily separation, of his, yes-not-so-very-decent behavior which explained by his struggles for their HEA. But I loved her as well. She was witty and intelligent, strong and fearless, independent and brave. What else can I say? Bravo, Ms. Rodale, your heroes are adorable!

I would give the book five stars if it contained more sex scenes. Don’t get me wrong, it was hot! But it was sexually frustrating rather than sexually satisfying. There’re one kiss and one sex scene during 370 pages. For me, spoiled by PNR erotica, it’s not enough. So, it’s four stars and applause as a bonus. I’m impressed by the book.(less)

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Dec 16, 2012 Alexis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, historical-romance, romance, my-reviews

Lord Simon Roxbury is a Rake with a capital R. The man loves women and can't see the point in settling down with just one, until his father issues him an ultimatum: marriage or poverty? His father's decree coincides with a piece of gossip that suddenly ruins all of his prospects...and makes him very, very desperate.

Lady Julianna Somerset fell for a rake, once. She married him, and he did her the favor of dying soon. Now she's an independent woman, and secretly one of the Writing Girls at The Lon...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, maya-rodale

Lady Julianna Somerset has worked hard after her husbands scandalous death to make her name proper and she has succeeded for the most part. Julianna reports on gossip and is the mysterious Lady of Distinction and one of her most reported on persons is the notorious rake, Lord Simon Roxsbury. Just after Simon is dealt an ultimatum from his father, Julianna reports a bit of gossip that makes Simons life much more difficult. In return to this nosy, attractive woman, Simon does something that makes...more

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May 23, 2011 Daisy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley

I had some issues with this book. It's just that I was disappointed a bit by it. See, I love romances where hate turns to passion which leads them to discover they are actually falling in love. I think it's my Pride and Prejudice loving heart that always brings me back to this. And after reading the summary, I expected this from the book. And it just didn't get there.

Julianna and Roxbury are interesting characters in their own right. But, well, after the first kiss behind a potted plan (if I rem...more

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A Tale of Two Lovers (The Writing Girls #2)

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