My Lady's Pleasure

The Spymaster #2

by Julia Justiss

A Virgin Widow and an Enigmatic Rogue

New to the passion galloping in her veins, Lady Valeria Arnold was shocked by the wanton impulses that drew her to Teagan Fitzwilliams. The stunning rake was nothing more than a wastrel with the devil's own luck at cards—surely not the kind of man that a woman could trust her heart to.

Orphaned as a young boy, Teagan Fitzwilliams despised the role that Society had forced upon him. Yet, until his stolen moments with the Lady Valeria, no woman had ever made him feel his own worth. Nor set him on a desperate course to change his life forever—and claim this woman of uncommon grace his own for a lifetime.

Genres: Romance, Historical, Historical Romance, Regency, Harlequin

292 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

About the author

Julia Justiss grew up breathing the scent of sea air near the colonial town of Annapolis, Maryland, a fact responsible for two of her life-long passions: sailors and history! By age twelve she was a junior tour guide for Historic Annapolis, conducting visitors on walking tours through the city that was a hotbed of revolutionary fervor. (Annapolis hosted its own tea party, dispensing with the cargo aboard the "Peggy Stewart," and was briefly capital of the United States.) She also took tourists through Annapolis's other big attraction, the United States Naval Academy. After so many years of observing future naval officers at P-rade and chapel, it seemed almost inevitable that she eventually married one.

But long before embarking on romantic adventures of her own, she read about them, transporting herself to such favorite venues as ancient Egypt, World War II submarine patrols, the Old South and, of course, Regency England. Soon she was keeping notebooks for jotting down story ideas. From plotting adventures for her first favorite heroine Nancy Drew she went on to write poetry in high school and college, then worked as a business journalist doing speeches, sales promotion material and newsletter articles. After her marriage to a naval lieutenant took her overseas, she wrote the newsletter for the American Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia and traveled extensively throughout Europe. Before leaving Tunis, she fulfilled her first goal: completing a Regency novel.

Children intervened, and not until her husband left the Navy to return to his Texas homeland did she sit down to pen a second novel. The reply to her fan mail letter to a Regency author led her to Romance Writers of America. From the very first meeting, she knew she'd found a home among fellow writers--doubtless the largest group of people outside a mental institution who talk back to the voices in their heads.

Her second goal was achieved the day before her birthday in May, 1998 when Margaret Marbury of Harlequin Historicals offered to buy that second book, the Golden-Heart-Award winning novel that became THE WEDDING GAMBLE. Since then, she has gone on to write fourteen novels, three novellas and an on-line serial, along the way winning or finalling for historical awards from The Golden Quill, the National Reader’s Choice, Romantic Times, and All About Romance’s Favorite Book of the Year.

Julia now inhabits an English Georgian-style house she and her husband built in the East Texas countryside where, if she closes her eyes and ignores the summer thermometer, she can almost imagine she inhabits the landscape of "Pride and Prejudice." In between travelling to visit her three children (a naval officer son stationed in Washington, DC, a textiles and design major daughter who cheers for University of Texas at Austin, and a mechanical engineering major son also at UT Austin) keeping up with her science teacher husband and juggling a part-time day job as a high school French teacher, she pursues her first and dearest love--crafting stories.

To relax, she enjoys watching movies, reading (historical fiction, mystery, suspense) and puttering about in the garden trying to kill off more weeds than flowers.

Reviews

[Desi · Rating 3 out of 5]

leído en Nov 2012

[Bookcrazy · Rating 3 out of 5]

-



Solide 3 Sterne würde ich sagen mit ein wenig Tendenz nach oben.

Meine Meinung:
--------------
Das Buch hat mich gut unterhalten, auch wenn der Beginn ein wenig seltsam war.
Valeria folgt ihrer Magd in eine Heuscheune um sie zu erwischen bei einem Stelldichein. Sie erwischt sie dann, aber anders als vermutet mit einem äußerst attraktiven Gentleman, der dann (als die Magd weg war) Interesse an ihr bekundet.
Nicht gerade die idealen Kennenlern-Umstände.

Inhalt:
Kleine Inhaltsangabe für mich:
Valeria ist ja verwitwet (sie hat ihren Gatten geliebt, er hat aber am Sterbebett den Namen einer Frau ausgesprochen die er anscheinend mehr liebte). Jedenfalls ist sie keine reiche Witwe, unpraktisch für Teagan Fitzwilliams, der durch sein Kartenspiel auch nicht gerade im Überfluss lebt, dennoch hat sie ihn fasziniert und er kann sich nicht von ihr fernhalten als er in der Nähe wegen einer Gesellschaft ist.
Später reist Valeria nach London mit der Hoffnung ihn wiederzusehen, zur Großmutter (od. Mutter?) ihres verstorbenen Gatten, die sie bei sich aufnimmt und mit der sie sich gut versteht.
Sie erbt schließlich von ihr während Teagans Geldprobleme immer ärger werden, sie siehen sich natürlich wieder, er will aber ihren Namen nicht in den Schmutz ziehen und verlässt sie.
Als sie London wegen der aufdringlichen Verehrer verlässt, rettet er sie vor einem Überfall und sie verbringen nachdem er ein paar Tage abgewartet hat ob sie von ihm erwarte sich zu ihr zu legen (verrückt) ein paar Tage zusammen.
Bis er beschließt doch sein Schicksal in die Hand zu nehmen und ihm seine Tante einfällt. Seine verwitwete Tante eine Lady, die sich auch dann noch als reich herausstellt und ihn als Erben einsetzt.

Okay, so rasch zusammengefasst klingt die Geschichte natürlich auch absurd, war aber trotzdem unterhaltsam und konnte mein Interesse halten. Ja, ein paar Wendungen haben mich gestört, aber ich mochte wie offen Valeria war auch zum Schluss hin als sie dachte er würde jetzt als reicher Kerl einer anderen den Hof machen und als der verständnisvolle Witwer ihr einen Antrag machen will.
Sie wollte nicht mal seinen Antrag hören, weil ihr Herz einem anderen gehört und sie es ihm gegenüber unfair fand.

Nachgedanken:
-------------
Beim Eingeben hab ich festgestellt, dass Küsse vor Sonnenaufgang der zweite und mittlere Band der "The Spymaster"-Trilogie ist. Ich hab mal kurz die Inhaltsangaben überflogen, aber da mir keiner der anderen Hauptcharaktere bekannt vorkommt bzw. mich besonders anspricht, werd ich das Buch auch als Einzelband behandeln.

Alles in allem darf es mein Bücherregal aber trotzdem verlassen, da ich nur die wirklich tollen Bücher in einer physischen Ausgabe behalten möchte.

[Trenchologist · Rating 2 out of 5]

2+

Fine. I liked the characters and how they were unconventional (for their time and a for a Regency) but the book's pacing was uneven, stalled out in the third act, and I thought the final emotional turmoil rang false (given the heroine's continued, and celebrated as unique faith in the hero, she just wouldn't suddenly worry he'd thrown her over especially after they had the rare on-the-page convo to avoid exactly such). I liked that the rake was a character he had to play, and the heroine's 'only a front' backstory to match it, leading them to finding first-real-thing with one another.

Due to the character/emotional betrayal in the final pages the ending was abrupt. I would have enjoyed even five-some pages giving us a glimpse of settled life together, reestablishing their happiness in their HEA.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was a prize book from fresh fiction it was not a fast read,however the historical events and references were well explained. the characters were well written to show their rebel like nature and differences. this time in history makes this couple's love and marriage quite different. they have to justify their romance at times seems to parallel his parents their motives thru out the story seem to keeping them apart.

[Susan Beamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Regency romances best of all romance sub-genres. This one is a good example of the style. It had just the right amount of spice and angst. I especially liked the way the hero second guessed himself and his motives until he could find the truth of his family's past.
I won my copy of this book through a Fresh Fiction contest with the author.

[Elena · Rating 1 out of 5]

Storia assurda, non mi è piaciuto per niente.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story. Valeria was not worldly, but not some innocent hick, either. Taegan was a better man than he believed himself to be (although his "if my father was a bounder than I'm totally a bounder, too" attitude was a bit much for me; be your own man, dude). I liked the message of not allowing society's perceptions to color one's own, and the value that both characters placed on independent thought. While none of this seemed particularly anachronistic, the value placed on depending on one's own counsel made this historical more relateable for me than most other novels set in this time period.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I preferred the first book in this series, My Lady's Trust. Valeria and Teagan seemed too perfectly matched - I never had any doubts that they would end up together. The story was nice but overall, too neat. For a novel where the hero calls the heroine Lady Mystery, I would have expected a little more mystery!

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice tale of the reformed rake and his virgin conquest. I love these books, even if it is like the same story over and over of discovered fortunes and what not. Everyone ends up happy, or unhappy, depending on whether they are a 'good' or a 'bad' character. So read it if you like romance, and losing yourself in a simple story.

[Camy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book with good characterization. I especially liked that the hero and heroine were very intelligent and their reasons for their actions were usually logically thought out and explained. There was only one small "misunderstanding" scene that I thought was a little out of character.

The romance is sexy and has good pacing.

Overall, an entertaining book.