An Unlikely Alliance (The House of Renwick, #2.5)

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An Unlikely Alliance (House of Renwick #2.5)

by Rachel Van Dyken (Goodreads Author)

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 180 ratings · 32 reviews

Spoiled New York rogue Royce Mc Arthur lives a charmed life. He sees no reason to settle down, until his mother issues her decree that he must grow up, find a wife and produce some grandchildren…preferably before she dies of old age. But his choices are quite limited considering the only women of his acquaintance are ones of ill repute.

Meeting the beautiful Evelyn DeJarli...more

ebook, 82 pages

Published February 2012 by Astraea Press (first published 2012)

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Nov 30, 2012 Tracy Krauss rated it 4 of 5 stars

An Unlikely Alliance by Rachel Van Dyken is just that – the romantic escapades of a very unlikely couple. This regency romance follows Evelyn De Jarlais, a southern farm girl suddenly thrust into New York society, and Royce McArthrur, a wealthy merchant playboy used to having his way with women. When Royce sets his sights on Evelyn, he gets more than he was expecting. She is forthright and feisty – characteristics he is not used to, which of course, heightens his attraction. For her part, Evelyn...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, non-erotic

Originally posted at: http://www.longandshortreviews.blogsp...

'Classic' is the first word that pops into mind after so-happily reading An Unlikely Alliance by Rachel Van Dyken. This meets every expectation one might have for a romance.

Evelyn dreams of a glamorous life. Like "Belle" she wants 'so much more than this provincial life.' Hers is a middle class life however, not horrible...but far from her dreams. Then, almost magically, her circumstances change...although that might not be the gift i...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Dahlia (yadkny) rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Historical Romance Lovers

It was hard for Evelyn not to notice a man such as Royce and the same can be said for the reader. His commanding presence and verbal sparring leaves little doubt that this confident rake knows exactly what he wants and always gets it. Yet Royce never stood a chance where the charming southern lady is concerned. Evelyn surprises him at every turn with her quick wit, innocent beauty, and even her drinking habits, but perhaps most surprising was the way in which she infiltrated his heart. For Evely...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Romancing the Book rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, romance

Reviewed By~Judy
Review Copy Provided By~Author

Take four outrageous characters, place them in a setting somewhere in the past (think carriages and balls), concoct an absolutely unbelievable plot told with pithy, sparkling repartee, celebrate the clever intimations of passion without the graphic descriptions, sigh in relief as no ‘language’ assaults your eyes—and you have arrived at the brilliant sum of An Unlikely Alliance.

Evelyn De Jarlias: beautiful, resourceful, independent—and nouveau riche—...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Angela Blount rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

I'd put this novella somewhere between three and four stars—but ultimately I liked it just enough to round up.

The plot in short: A highly privileged man-whore meets the unconventional woman-of-his-dreams and has an introspective life change—almost immediately rendering him a new man.

In most cases, it takes a heck of a lot to get me to buy this sort of premise in the hero's story arc. But throw in the fact that the hero's mother appears to be secretly courting the heroine's father, and things go...more I'd put this novella somewhere between three and four stars—but ultimately I liked it just enough to round up.

The plot in short: A highly privileged man-whore meets the unconventional woman-of-his-dreams and has an introspective life change—almost immediately rendering him a new man.

In most cases, it takes a heck of a lot to get me to buy this sort of premise in the hero's story arc. But throw in the fact that the hero's mother appears to be secretly courting the heroine's father, and things got interesting enough to string me along for the ride. While it took a while for Royce to develop any convincing appeal, he did get there eventually. And in the meantime, I was treated to Evelyn's ill-mannered feistiness and skewering commentary.

The author's style presents a quirky hybrid, blending an array of contemporary terms with the elegance that makes so many historicals compelling. I suspect if one is a stickler for uncorrupted historical accuracy on all fronts, this isn't the author for you. But while this reviewer admittedly isn't an avid fan of meticulously researched historical romance, I am a fan of good pacing and a redemptive plotline—both of which, this story possesses.

From an editing standpoint I'll point out, as fair warning, that there was an abundance of exclamation points and a little bit of word repetition. However, clipped pacing, pithy dialogue, and clever bites of humor keep the reader well engaged.

I'll agree with those who felt the story was a bit rushed and the peripheral characters not as fleshed out as they could have been. Unfortunately, there simply wasn't room for embellishments. I think we all would have been better satisfied if this novella had instead been a full-length novel. But I will happily credit it with being an entertaining read, and one that introduced me to the charmingly unique voice of Ms. Van Dyken.

Note: I received this novella free via an epress promotion. There are several chapter teasers to be found at the back of the book, and as a direct result, I was intrigued enough to purchase one of Rachel Van Dyken's other books: The Seduction Of Sebastian St. James.

Well played, Astraea Press. Well played.
(less)

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Feb 25, 2012 Arlena rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-stars, ebooks, romance, my-reviews

Author: Rachel Van Dyken
Published By: Astraea Press
Age Recommend: 18
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Raven Rating: 4
Blog Review For: GMTA
Review:

"An Unlikely Alliance" by Rachel Van Dyken was a good short, humorous and romance read. This story was of a middle class working daughter(Evelyn) of a farmer from Louisiana when suddenly her life is completely changes and now she and her father are now rich.

For the other part of the story... Royce McArthur is from New York and he is rich and has been issued order...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young Adult Women/Women

Recommended to Emily by: ebook on Amazon

Shelves: chick-lit, favorite-historical-romance, favorites, historical-romance, novella, romance

I thought this was such a sweet historical romance. I savored every little chapter, and wished it was a full length novel.

Rachel Van Dyken is a very talented writer. I really look forward to reading more of her work. I really appreciated her writing style with this particular romance novella. She kept it very sweet and clean. She was able to maintain page-turning enthusiasm without being sexual explicit. While maintaining PG content, she was still able to create sexual tension between the the tw...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, read-2012, romance-yellow

This was a cute regency-ish novella. It actually takes place in New York, I wasn’t quite sure of the exact time frame, some of the conversations or statements seemed too modern at times. Royce is your typical rake, when he meets Evelyn he regrets his past and wants to make a change. Since the story is so short things moved along quickly (almost too quickly at times) it was a bit hard to believe he had truly changed. He admits that he gets bored with women after a month, and I wonder will he get...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Sophie Barnes rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a lovely novella by Rachel Van Dyken.
Determined to put his life of debauchery behind him in favor of pleasing his mother, Royce Mc Arthur agrees to get married and settle down. Newly arrived in New York City, Evelyn DeJarlias is a Southern beauty, and different from all the other woman that Royce has been used to. He quickly becomes enamored with her, but she is not as easily swayed by his charms as he had expected, and he soon discovers that it will take more than flowers and gifts to...more

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Mar 02, 2012 Tifferz rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this read. Ms. Van Dyken really knows how to create a fun read that you can't possibly put down. I liked how Evelyn has a just tell it like it is attitude. Oh, the things she says. I was smiling and laughing throughout the story. Royce is so spoiled but I liked him as well. They are a fun pair. This story also has a secondary romance in the story. Royces mother and Evelyn's father are really fun.

I only wish that Ms. Van Dyken had Evelyn hold out a little bit with the conflict tha...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, for-review, historical-romance

Rachel Van Dyken is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance authors! She's the author of The Ugly Ducking Debutante and The Seduction of Sebastian St. James, both novels in her House of Renwick series. When I heard about her short novella An Unlikely Alliance and its relation to the House of Renwick series, I jumped at the chance to review.

Royce Mc Arthur lives quite the life of luxury. Spoiled rich, he spends his days and nights gallivanting around New York without a care in the world. Howe...more Rachel Van Dyken is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance authors! She's the author of The Ugly Ducking Debutante and The Seduction of Sebastian St. James, both novels in her House of Renwick series. When I heard about her short novella An Unlikely Alliance and its relation to the House of Renwick series, I jumped at the chance to review.

Royce Mc Arthur lives quite the life of luxury. Spoiled rich, he spends his days and nights gallivanting around New York without a care in the world. However, all that is about to change after his mother hands down a decree: marry a respectable woman, settle down, and produce grandchildren. Unfortunately for him, all of the woman who Royce are acquainted with are not the kind of women you'd want to bring home to your mother. All of this changes, however, when he meets Evelyn DeJarlias at a ball. Slightly brash and outspoken, Evelyn is the kind of woman that Royce pines for, although she doesn't seem to return his attentions. Will Royce be able to convince Evelyn to give him a chance to show her that he is not as rakish as she originally surmises?

Van Dyken's novels always stand out to me for their unique male leads. Her "heroes" (if we can call them that) are all men in serious need of redemption and love from a good woman. They need someone who makes them want to change and be better men. Royce fits this pattern to a T, going from a spoiled selfish man to a man hopelessly in love, willing to do anything for the woman he loves. While I believe in his transformation, I think it would have worked better had it been fleshed out more. Yes, I understand that with novellas you don't get as deeply detailed character transformations as you would in a whole novel, but I truly believe that Van Dyken has the storyline and characters for a full-blown novel on her hands.

The brevity of the novella is really my only complaint. Everything happens at such a fast pace that you feel rushed through it. I guess you can't really call it a complaint - it's a compliment to Van Dyken's writing style and creativity that I want more! So, if you're in the mood for a quick and fun story that will hold you captive until the end, An Unlikely Alliance will definitely fit the bill. For those eagerly anticipating book three in the House of Renwick series, The Redemption of Lord Rawlings (out later this month), this will be a good quick fix to get you through the wait!

Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
http://wp.me/p18lIL-Qk (less)

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Apr 15, 2013 Jacque rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

An Unlikely Alliance is a short story about Evelyn and Royce. I found this story a very lite read that took me about 2 hours to finish. While I found their story cute, good girl from Louisiana meets bad boy from New York, I wish the author would have gone a little bit further in-depth with the characters. There is a secondary romantic story between Royce's mother and Evelyn's father that I found quite charming. I would like to have found out how their story panned out. Don't let the cover fool y...more

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Aug 30, 2012 Beckey rated it 3 of 5 stars

The edition that I got has editing errors & format issues.

Otherwise, the book is a historical romance.
Royce, leads what some would call a rake of a lifestyle. Royce's mother demands that he must settle down in 4 months time. There is no one in New York that he desires to tie the preverbal knot with.
That is until he meets Evelyn, who just moved into the area with her father.
The book has some laugh out loud moments and was an interesting enjoyable read.

In addition, it seems like a single boo...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Nellie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I like this series. Fun, romantic, clean. From the book.Spoiled New York rogue Royce Mc Arthur lives a charmed life. He sees no reason to settle down, until his mother issues her decree that he must grow up, find a wife and produce some grandchildren…preferably before she dies of old age. But his choices are quite limited considering the only women of his acquaintance are ones of ill repute.Meeting the beautiful Evelyn DeJarlias at a ball gives him hope he may have found the one. Her southern bl...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Elizabeth Collins rated it 5 of 5 stars

loved it

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Sep 26, 2012 Alanna Mooney rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, books-2012

An Unlikely Alliance is the story of Royce McArthur and Evelyn DeJarlias. Royce McArthur is a rich man whose father has recently died. He has sought comfort in the arms of random women, hoping that the responsibilities left to him will feel less pressured. When his mother demands that he marries before the end of the summer, Royce panics, as he has no wish to settle down and he doesn’t think anyone within his circles is worth settling down with; until he meets Evelyn DeJarlias at a ball. Evelyn...more An Unlikely Alliance is the story of Royce McArthur and Evelyn DeJarlias. Royce McArthur is a rich man whose father has recently died. He has sought comfort in the arms of random women, hoping that the responsibilities left to him will feel less pressured. When his mother demands that he marries before the end of the summer, Royce panics, as he has no wish to settle down and he doesn’t think anyone within his circles is worth settling down with; until he meets Evelyn DeJarlias at a ball. Evelyn comes from a working-class background, with her father only recently coming into money. She is unrefined and still learning the ways of the upper class, which Royce finds charming and refreshing, but she is clever enough to know that she can’t compromise herself in any way – which is why she refuses the attempted courtship of Royce from the very beginning. However, when Royce’s mother and Evelyn’s father start spending time together, the two must come together to keep an eye on their parents and end up finding common ground. The problem is that Royce’s past isn’t what Evelyn had hoped for, and she must decide whether or not she can trust Royce, or whether his past is just too much for her to deal with.

I found Evelyn’s character particularly endearing; her unrefined charm poured out of the pages and at times provided some humour. She was easily likeable, and I instantly wanted her to succeed. Her internal fight between wanting to protect her father and wanting to protect herself from Royce was amusing to read and also fairly relatable. Royce wasn’t the character I was expecting, in that he was almost instantly shown to be vulnerable (having not properly dealt with the death of his father) and portrayed as the more romantic of the two protagonists. He’s not the typical rugged, macho male hero, but I’ve found that Rachel van Dyken is very good at writing sensitive male leads; something that I really love reading.

Compared to some of her other novels, the story was a lot shorter and, in some ways, less developed. The ending, though very enjoyable, felt a little abrupt, as I was expecting more of a struggle before the two characters reached their conclusion. The sub-plot between the protagonists parents also felt a little rushed towards the end, and slightly out of place in the last few pages. Despite that, it was a sweet story, and great for a bit of easy reading – I’m looking forward to the next Rachel van Dyken read.(less)

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Feb 27, 2013 Tiffany rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-books-i-read, books-i-own

I enjoyed this story. It is somewhat clean. There are many discussions about seduction, mistresses, getting someone in bed, or checking out someone legs or "form". I loved Evelyn's personality she was super cute. Royce sure is a "Randy" fellow. I have not read a book with a character like him. Yet I found him very funny and likable.

I agree with many other reviews that the characters certainly were not in love yet. But since it is a novella I know we can't expect a great love story. A cute one n...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Danielle Williams rated it 5 of 5 stars

Once again transporting us into the lives of two lovely people. Evelyn is a middle class working daughter of a farmer living in Louisiana when her life is turned upside down and suddenly she and her father are rich. Royce is a spoiled rich boy whose mother has just told him he has to marry before Spring. When they meet it isnt quite love at first sight but it is an adventure to be sure. I most certainly recommened this book and all of the others :)

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Feb 08, 2012 Nada Abandah rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's a novella not a novel. I have to say that it's very fit for a short flight or a night where you're not looking for deep or lingering thoughts. The story is old, the plot is predictable, and there's a number of mistakes both in spelling and in some characters names.

In general, I like Rachel style, and in this one her style is enhancing over the previous ones. I still prefer the London-based stories to the New York based ones.

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Sep 10, 2012 Janille Dutton rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone!

Refreshing historical love story. I literally chuckled throughout this delightful book with its clever banter and word sparring between the characters. After reading so many stories about the typical "rake", Royce didn't disappoint. I'd love to meet him and laugh my way through a conversation! Contemporary, realistic characters in a Regency setting-a very comical situation, *smirk*. Can't wait to read more!

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Feb 20, 2012 Aly rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. At first when I saw the cover I was not sure if it was a clean read, but I was happy to find out that it mostly was. This was the first time I had ever read any books by this author but I came across one of her books on Goodreads that I wanted to read. I thought this was a good story to start with. I know want to read more of her books.

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Aug 19, 2012 Melissa Kendall rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this though it is not my favourite genre to read. My main complaint is that as you are reading you think you have so much of the book left to go but it finishes a 70% and then the remaining 30% is all advertisements for her other books would have loved more story maybe even an epilogue.

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Aug 30, 2012 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-irish-high-eng-scot-amer

Enjoyable read. I liked the humor in the mains, but I thought the male lead reformed way to easy when he was painted as he wouldn't. Other than that, not bad.

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Feb 10, 2012 Leah Sanders rated it 5 of 5 stars

My favorite thing about this book is the interaction between the characters. The banter is laugh out loud funny. Rachel's ease with dialogue and the plot development never ceases to amaze me. I can tell she had a good time writing this one.

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Dec 05, 2012 Cary rated it 2 of 5 stars

Short and sweet and set in the USA. A distance relative of the duke of tempest. Weird.

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Sep 19, 2012 Shannon Noelle rated it 1 of 5 stars

it was cute, but not up to snuff. moved too fast, poorly written, eh. unrealistic.

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Jan 03, 2013 Mandy Williford rated it 1 of 5 stars

Free

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May 15, 2013 Willi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure, drama, fiction, romance, series, sexual-content, victorian-romance

It was a cute read.Very quick and simple. No twists or turns.

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Dec 06, 2012 Janelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book, though I didn't read within the series, I wasn't lost.

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Sep 21, 2012 Kbee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, historicals, romance, favorites, a-bit-of-humor, no-sex-scenes, short-story

Liked it! But could of been a bit more spicy.
Only 126 pages.

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About Rachel Van Dyken

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her...more

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Books by Rachel Van Dyken

The Ugly Duckling Debutante (The House of Renwick, #1)

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An Unlikely Alliance (House of Renwick #2.5)

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