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131st out of 191 books
—
94 voters
Return of the Viscount (Brides of Redemption #1)
by
Gayle Callen
Her marriage of convenience seems far too convenient . . .
Desperation drove Cecilia Mallory to seek a union with a stranger--one who would wed her sight unseen and grant her full access to her inheritance with no expectations whatsoever. She anticipated, perhaps, an older, undesirable, equally desperate husband--never the young, vibrant, and devastatingly attractive man wh...more
Desperation drove Cecilia Mallory to seek a union with a stranger--one who would wed her sight unseen and grant her full access to her inheritance with no expectations whatsoever. She anticipated, perhaps, an older, undesirable, equally desperate husband--never the young, vibrant, and devastatingly attractive man wh...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
July 31st 2012
by Avon
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Rating: C+ ... Heat: Warm
It all starts with a letter. Cecilia Mallory receives a letter from Sergeant Blackthorne with condolences on the loss of her father—who was Blackthorne's fellow comrade-at-arms and mentor. From there they spend nearly two years corresponding, sharing their lives with each other. Then, after a few months of no letters from Cecilia, Michael finally hears from her. That letter changes both of their lives.
Cecilia needs access to her inheritance, for the money itself and fo...more
It all starts with a letter. Cecilia Mallory receives a letter from Sergeant Blackthorne with condolences on the loss of her father—who was Blackthorne's fellow comrade-at-arms and mentor. From there they spend nearly two years corresponding, sharing their lives with each other. Then, after a few months of no letters from Cecilia, Michael finally hears from her. That letter changes both of their lives.
Cecilia needs access to her inheritance, for the money itself and fo...more
As book blurbs go, the above one is just perfect in setting up this story of redemption, respect and love.
Ms. Callen gave a wonderful characterization of two very strong people who knew what they wanted out of life very early on in their lives. Both had carried much of the baggage passed on to them from their respective parents and were determined never to repeat the mistakes their parents made, and in doing so made sure to stay away from situations that would have them merry.
At eighteen, Lord M...more
Ms. Callen gave a wonderful characterization of two very strong people who knew what they wanted out of life very early on in their lives. Both had carried much of the baggage passed on to them from their respective parents and were determined never to repeat the mistakes their parents made, and in doing so made sure to stay away from situations that would have them merry.
At eighteen, Lord M...more
I was excited to read this book. The premise of being married in abstention appealed to me, then to have one's spouse show up at one's door seemed like a good setting for lots of romance set-up. However, there was just something about this book that just didn't get the job done for me. First, the hero that returns is a good egg. Callen could have made him come in and try to take over his wife's life, and be a real jerk. But he didn't. He was patient and kind, and really was good to his wife. I h...more
Lovers of historical romance will want to check this one out! Taken from my review at RomanceJunkies.com:
After the death of her father, Lady Cecelia ‘Cecily’ Mallory had consistently exchanged letters with Sergeant Blackthorne, telling him of the problems she faced now that her father was no longer there. It did not even look as if she could get her inheritance until she reached the age of twenty-five, or she married. She had never wanted to marry and end up being controlled by a man, but she de...more
After the death of her father, Lady Cecelia ‘Cecily’ Mallory had consistently exchanged letters with Sergeant Blackthorne, telling him of the problems she faced now that her father was no longer there. It did not even look as if she could get her inheritance until she reached the age of twenty-five, or she married. She had never wanted to marry and end up being controlled by a man, but she de...more
For many, romances are perfect summer reads whether it is on the beach or on the porch. Historical romances can be extremely enjoyable. If those type of books interest you, you might want to check into Gayle Callen’s Return of the Viscount.
A young woman finds herself needing her inheritance but knows she’ll never get it. Her guardian controls it unless she gets married. The men courting her want to marry her for her fortune and to be the brother-in-law of an earl. She decides to marry a man who...more
A young woman finds herself needing her inheritance but knows she’ll never get it. Her guardian controls it unless she gets married. The men courting her want to marry her for her fortune and to be the brother-in-law of an earl. She decides to marry a man who...more
THE RETURN OF THE VISCOUNT by Gayle Callen is a wonderful Victorian historical romance. Book 1 in "The Brides Redemption" trilogy. Out of desperation Cecilia Mallory,seeks a mail order groom. Enter, Viscount Michael Blackthorne,a military man who unbeknownst to Cecilia owes her father a debt of honor. What follows is danger,romance,passion,secrets,forgiveness,grief,a marriage of convenience,and of course love. Fast paced and intriguing story that will have you turning pages as this delightful,se...more
I liked the overall tone of this story, although I wasn't really convinced by the mystery sub-plot or its resolution. I thought the author had built up a wonderful relationship between Cecilia and Michael, based on an undercurrent of mutual trust and caring (despite the odd wobble!) - so that I didn't actually want to have to divert my attention from it. I could quite happily have read a story about how Michael - who was so beautifully sensitive to Cecilia's needs and moods - gradually and quiet...more
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Good story. Heroine marries father's sergeant by proxy, then he comes back from India & turns out to be a viscount. And younger than she thought. I did have a problem with this Lord joining the army as an enlisted man to make money to support his estate. Soldiers--even officers didn't make that much money. There were a couple of other things in the history that bothered me, but, I wasn't quite sure of the date of the story, or of the date of the change-- like when the British army switched t...more
Lady Celia Mallory exchanged a few letters with Sergeant Michael Blackthorne after her father's battlefield death. When she needs her independence from her guardians, and access to her substantial inheritance, she asks him a great favor.
After all, he's an old sod like her da, and a career soldier, so it's not like he'll come claim his marital rights or anything. He even agrees to let her keep her money—no dowry or anything. What a deal, until…
Viscount Michael Blackthorne is decidedly NOT an old...more
After all, he's an old sod like her da, and a career soldier, so it's not like he'll come claim his marital rights or anything. He even agrees to let her keep her money—no dowry or anything. What a deal, until…
Viscount Michael Blackthorne is decidedly NOT an old...more
I really liked the hero in this book, I thought he was incredibly level headed, strong and likeable. The heroine got quite frustrating at times, stubbornly clinging to everything that was rather than everything that could be, but she got there in the end. I felt the ending was quite rushed, it seemed that the h/h went around in the same circle a couple of times, where they could have moved forward and the ending could have been built a little better. It just seemed like everything got resolved i...more
Nov 04, 2012
The Window Seat
added it
Sometimes the problem with a romance book is that while all of the pieces of a good story are present, something gets lost in either the pacing or the emotional impact to make it just an average read. Unfortunately this was the impression that I got as I was reading Return of the Viscount by Gayle Callen; all of the magic should have been there, but I never really felt it.
One of the major problems for me was how much the heroine, Lady Cecilia Mallory, fought against the idea of actually falling...more
One of the major problems for me was how much the heroine, Lady Cecilia Mallory, fought against the idea of actually falling...more
This book was so bland bordering on boring. Cecilia spend more than half of the book mistrusting her husband and keeping him at arms length.
The most interesting aspect of the story was who was trying to kill Cecilia.
Michael was a patient gentleman throughout and sometimes I wished he wasn't. Cecilia was so skittish all the time.
When all the secrets were reveled I was shocked specially with Oliver. At least he man up.
Penelope being the almost killer of Cecilia was very odd but a nice twist.
The most interesting aspect of the story was who was trying to kill Cecilia.
Michael was a patient gentleman throughout and sometimes I wished he wasn't. Cecilia was so skittish all the time.
When all the secrets were reveled I was shocked specially with Oliver. At least he man up.
Penelope being the almost killer of Cecilia was very odd but a nice twist.
Celia's army father dies, leaving his soo as his heir. Celia won't receive her portion until she marries. She wants control of her money now, so she can help her wayward, inexperienced brother. She offers marriage to her father's army friend, Micheal, unknowing that he is a Viscount. He agrees so that he can repay his debt to her father. I was disappointed that he didn't take the younger brother more firmly inhand and teach him a few lessons.
Oct 21, 2012
Amanda
added it
Very much a plot driven, I suspected the villain from the beggining but I dont know why though... I did doubt myself though so in the end when it was revealed who it was I wasnt much surprised but some revelations did surprise me the heroine took up much of the angst than the hero, they resolved all their issues though and had a HEA the endin was sad but I do want to know what happens with their respectipive families
netgalley
Slow pacing make this one difficult to get through. The plot left something to be desired. I was irritated with the secondary characters and the way the heroine was portrayed as strong and capable but mocked by the men of business she dealt with. The romance between the hero and heroine took over 100 pages to even get started. This was just not the best examplen of Callen's work.
Slow pacing make this one difficult to get through. The plot left something to be desired. I was irritated with the secondary characters and the way the heroine was portrayed as strong and capable but mocked by the men of business she dealt with. The romance between the hero and heroine took over 100 pages to even get started. This was just not the best examplen of Callen's work.
This is a rare miss for me from Callen. I couldn't connect with the characters. H/h were boring. I couldn't see any reason for either of them to fall for each other. It seemed like all they talked about was how handsome he was or how beautiful she was. Who cares? I am a Gayle Callen fan girl and will still be eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.
This book mostly worked for me. I loved Michael and how much he worked to make Cecilia fall in love with him. I didn’t care much for Cecilia’s reluctance to allow her emotions to rule for once, fighting almost to the bitter end to admit her feelings for her husband. I also think the suspense subplot was handled a bit unevenly, as the tension and danger levels never felt as terrible as the characters made them out to be. It seemed like the author telegraphed the villain, but the reason for their...more
Loved the hero and the heroine. Gayle Callen does a wonderful job conveying the hero's innate decency which makes him super sexy! She also drops a red herring along the way making it difficult to predict who is out to get our heroine and what their motivation might be.
Nothing outstanding. Everything about it was just okay. It lacks excitement and the chemistry between the characters are just alright. It has some mystery but it was pretty straightforward. Overall, I thought the entire story was mellow and steady.
The story grew in me to the point that I couldn't put it down. I was really surprised when I found out about the villain. I usually can guess way before they are revealed, not this time, I didn't figure it out at all. Good going, 2 thumbs up to the author in that respect!
Sep 20, 2012
Michelle
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
If you like Candace Camp, Julia London, Julia Quinn
Recommended to Michelle by:
no one
Shelves:
2012
This one was slow going. As long as Ceclia wasn't trusting anyone it dragged. Once she opened up and started working with Micheal it moved along. The ending was okay. After a very longish sort of intro the ending went quickly.
I don't read many romantic suspense books, but this one I was really glad I read it. I love both of the main characters and was so happy when they got their HEA.
I will wait to publish my review until the book comes out in July. I received a review copy from Edelweiss.
3.5 really! I liked the way the relationship developed but the ending felt a bit rushed to me.
Only 2.5 stars really. I found it very slow moving and almost boring until the last few pages.
Maybe 3 1/2 stars - I love Gayle Callen but this book lacked something. It was still a good read though.
Jan 22, 2013
Heather Fischer
added it
I really enjoyed this book!
I adored this book!
Review courtesy of Romance Junkies: http://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artm...
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It all began in Erie, PA, when I was 13. My parents, Fran & Renee Kloecker, had no problem letting me bury myself in the basement with an old typewriter. I started writing science fiction short stories and novellas about teenagers (naturally) who always managed to fall in love. Then at a high school slumber party, I borrowed a friend's copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss's SHANNA. While everyone else s...more
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Aug 07, 2012 05:18am