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Last Man Standing #3
Secrets of a Proper Lady
Lady Cordelia Bannister refuses to wed the man she has not chosen herself, no matter what her father decrees. So, pretending to be her own companion, she seeks out information about the designated groom by meeting with his secretary — a man who soon beguiles her. But Lady Cordelia doesn't know the truth — the man she can't resist is really her intended, Daniel Sinclair.
375 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
81 people are currently reading
1040 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Alexander
65 books1,331 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and is still shocked it worked out.
Since the publication of her first book in 1995, she has written thirty-one full length novels and six novellas. The Perfect Wife—originally published in 1996 and reissued in March 2008—hit #1 on the New York Times list. Sixteen of her books are bestsellers hitting the New York Times, USA Today and/or Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. With books translated into more than a dozen different languages she has readers around the world and has twice been nominated for Romance's Writers of America prestigious RITA award. In 2009 she was given a Career Achievement Award from RT Bookclub and was named Historical Storyteller of the year in 2003. In 2008 she was the keynote speaker for the Romance Writers of American annual conference in San Francisco. Victoria credits much of her writing success to her experiences as a reporter.
Her years as a broadcast journalist were spent in two radically different areas of the country: Nebraska and West Virginia. In West Virginia, she covered both natural and manmade disasters. She was on the scene when a power plant construction accident in a small town left 52 men dead. She once spent the night on a mountain waiting to learn of the fate of coal miners trapped in a mine collapse. Victoria was producing a newscast when her husband (who worked at the same television station) and several other journalists were held hostage by a disturbed Vietnam veteran. In Nebraska, she reported on the farm crisis and watched people lose land that had been in their families for generations. She covered the story that was the basis of the movie BOYS DON’T CRY and once acted as the link between police and a gunman who had barricaded himself in his home. Her investigative work exposed the trucking of New York City garbage to a small town dump in rural Nebraska.
During her journalism career, Victoria covered every president from Ford to Clinton. She knows firsthand what it feels like to be surrounded by rising floodwaters and inside a burning building. She’s interviewed movie stars including Kevin Costner, ridden an elephant and flown in a governor’s helicopter. She’s covered a national political convention and Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Denver as well as small town festivals celebrating everything from walnuts to Glen Miller. Her work was honored by numerous organizations including the Associated Press who called a feature about a firefighter’s school "story telling genius". It was the encouragement she needed to turn from news to fiction. She’s never looked back.
Victoria claims her love of romance and journalism is to due to the influence of her favorite comic book character: Lois Lane, a terrific reporter and a great heroine who pursued Superman with an unwavering determination. And why not? He was extremely well drawn.
Victoria grew up traveling the world as an Air Force brat. Today, she lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband and her dogs. Victoria had two bearded collies, Sam and Louie (named from characters in one of her books). Sam (on the left), the best dog in the world for 13 ½ years, passed away in September 2010. Louie took on the position of loyal companion and did a fine job even though he doesn't understand that kitchen counter surfing is not allowed!
Now he's been joined by Reggie, also a faithful companion.
They all live happily ever after in a house under constant renovation and the accompanying parade of men in tool belts. And never ending chaos. Victoria laughs a great deal—she has to.
New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and is still shocked it worked out.
Since the publication of her first book in 1995, she has written thirty-one full length novels and six novellas. The Perfect Wife—originally published in 1996 and reissued in March 2008—hit #1 on the New York Times list. Sixteen of her books are bestsellers hitting the New York Times, USA Today and/or Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. With books translated into more than a dozen different languages she has readers around the world and has twice been nominated for Romance's Writers of America prestigious RITA award. In 2009 she was given a Career Achievement Award from RT Bookclub and was named Historical Storyteller of the year in 2003. In 2008 she was the keynote speaker for the Romance Writers of American annual conference in San Francisco. Victoria credits much of her writing success to her experiences as a reporter.
Her years as a broadcast journalist were spent in two radically different areas of the country: Nebraska and West Virginia. In West Virginia, she covered both natural and manmade disasters. She was on the scene when a power plant construction accident in a small town left 52 men dead. She once spent the night on a mountain waiting to learn of the fate of coal miners trapped in a mine collapse. Victoria was producing a newscast when her husband (who worked at the same television station) and several other journalists were held hostage by a disturbed Vietnam veteran. In Nebraska, she reported on the farm crisis and watched people lose land that had been in their families for generations. She covered the story that was the basis of the movie BOYS DON’T CRY and once acted as the link between police and a gunman who had barricaded himself in his home. Her investigative work exposed the trucking of New York City garbage to a small town dump in rural Nebraska.
During her journalism career, Victoria covered every president from Ford to Clinton. She knows firsthand what it feels like to be surrounded by rising floodwaters and inside a burning building. She’s interviewed movie stars including Kevin Costner, ridden an elephant and flown in a governor’s helicopter. She’s covered a national political convention and Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Denver as well as small town festivals celebrating everything from walnuts to Glen Miller. Her work was honored by numerous organizations including the Associated Press who called a feature about a firefighter’s school "story telling genius". It was the encouragement she needed to turn from news to fiction. She’s never looked back.
Victoria claims her love of romance and journalism is to due to the influence of her favorite comic book character: Lois Lane, a terrific reporter and a great heroine who pursued Superman with an unwavering determination. And why not? He was extremely well drawn.
Victoria grew up traveling the world as an Air Force brat. Today, she lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband and her dogs. Victoria had two bearded collies, Sam and Louie (named from characters in one of her books). Sam (on the left), the best dog in the world for 13 ½ years, passed away in September 2010. Louie took on the position of loyal companion and did a fine job even though he doesn't understand that kitchen counter surfing is not allowed!
Now he's been joined by Reggie, also a faithful companion.
They all live happily ever after in a house under constant renovation and the accompanying parade of men in tool belts. And never ending chaos. Victoria laughs a great deal—she has to.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
November 3, 2015
A steaming pile of DNF.
Seriously, this book was excruciatingly dull. Endless conversations. ENDLESS. ENDLESS CONVERSATIONS...and that's not to mention the incomprehensible bullshit from which springs 350+ pages of Big Misunderstanding & Battle of the Sexes.
Here's our premise: Generic Independent Heroine is not necessarily opposed to an arranged marriage with Generic American Dude, but she refuses to allow her father to marry her off without knowing if the man is worth her sacrificing herself to the shackles of matrimony. Okay, fair enough. But how does she decide to get to know him? Not by simply, y'know, writing to the guy, as her parents have encouraged, but by pretending to be her own companion & stalking him through his male secretary & arranging to meet him in all sorts of public places like the park, the bookshop, etc, so they can discuss each other -- except she doesn't realize the secretary is actually the fiance, who has lied about his identity to learn about her...
...No. I can't.
It's ridiculous. It's not in the same zip code as ridiculous. It's so far gone that it can't even see ridiculous. I've swallowed some goofy whoppers when it comes to torrid globetrotting bodice-rippers, but this? No. It's the unholy trifecta of pain: illogical for no good reason, entirely reliant on spoonfed dialogue, & boring as sin. (Gee, you think Generic Independent Heroine & Generic American Dude will end up married? I WONDER!)
N.B.: This review constitutes half a snooze-worthy Alexander buddy read with BAVR. (And yes, the pain was mutual.)
Seriously, this book was excruciatingly dull. Endless conversations. ENDLESS. ENDLESS CONVERSATIONS...and that's not to mention the incomprehensible bullshit from which springs 350+ pages of Big Misunderstanding & Battle of the Sexes.
Here's our premise: Generic Independent Heroine is not necessarily opposed to an arranged marriage with Generic American Dude, but she refuses to allow her father to marry her off without knowing if the man is worth her sacrificing herself to the shackles of matrimony. Okay, fair enough. But how does she decide to get to know him? Not by simply, y'know, writing to the guy, as her parents have encouraged, but by pretending to be her own companion & stalking him through his male secretary & arranging to meet him in all sorts of public places like the park, the bookshop, etc, so they can discuss each other -- except she doesn't realize the secretary is actually the fiance, who has lied about his identity to learn about her...
...No. I can't.
It's ridiculous. It's not in the same zip code as ridiculous. It's so far gone that it can't even see ridiculous. I've swallowed some goofy whoppers when it comes to torrid globetrotting bodice-rippers, but this? No. It's the unholy trifecta of pain: illogical for no good reason, entirely reliant on spoonfed dialogue, & boring as sin. (Gee, you think Generic Independent Heroine & Generic American Dude will end up married? I WONDER!)
N.B.: This review constitutes half a snooze-worthy Alexander buddy read with BAVR. (And yes, the pain was mutual.)
November 1, 2017
Bir Amerikalı iş adamı ile Kont kızını iş anlaşması için evlenmeye teşvik edilirse ne olur? Hele bu kadın Cordelia gibi bir kadınsa?
Evleneceği adamı araştırmak için kendini kuzeni olarak tanıtan Cordelia’nın, oyunun iki kişilik oynandığını öğrenmesini okumak çok eğlenceliydi. Kitapta her şeyin ortaya çıktığı kısımları pek beğenemedim, daha sağlam yazılabilirdi. Ama bu seriyle ilgili asıl rahatsızlık veren iki şey var: Birincisi epilog olmayışı ikincisi iddiaya tutuşmuş bu dört adamın benim umduğum kadar samimi yansıtılmaması. Bence insanlar böyle bir iddiaya sadece en yakınlarıyla girer ama yazar burada olayları çok eksik bırakmış.
Geriye bir tek Oliver kaldı. Kendisi, kazanan olarak kalsa da onun içinde serinin son kitabında bir şeyler var sanırım.
Evleneceği adamı araştırmak için kendini kuzeni olarak tanıtan Cordelia’nın, oyunun iki kişilik oynandığını öğrenmesini okumak çok eğlenceliydi. Kitapta her şeyin ortaya çıktığı kısımları pek beğenemedim, daha sağlam yazılabilirdi. Ama bu seriyle ilgili asıl rahatsızlık veren iki şey var: Birincisi epilog olmayışı ikincisi iddiaya tutuşmuş bu dört adamın benim umduğum kadar samimi yansıtılmaması. Bence insanlar böyle bir iddiaya sadece en yakınlarıyla girer ama yazar burada olayları çok eksik bırakmış.
Geriye bir tek Oliver kaldı. Kendisi, kazanan olarak kalsa da onun içinde serinin son kitabında bir şeyler var sanırım.
August 9, 2020
Entertaining and lighthearted listen while driving.
September 19, 2023
The ending isn't perfect but COME ON. the beginning and middle was like candy. Delicious. Sweet. And soft.
September 14, 2023
3.5 stars. Not bad , though I preferred book two. I thought it got a bit silly near the end. Mistake identity’s went on to long.
July 2, 2024
I was lost in the name switcheroos most of the time. So it was hard to really enjoy the big picture of this story. Definitely interesting moments and potential. My opinion might be colored by current distracted state. Daniel and Cordelia may deserve a reread 🤷♀️
October 28, 2021
Ik heb de Nederlands talige uitgave gelezen : Geheimen in het spel - Candlelight Historische roman 732 .
De Amerikaanse zakenman Daniel Sinclair wordt door zijn vader als onderdeel van een zakelijke transactie gekoppeld aan Lady Cordelia Bannister , een vrouw die hij nog nooit heeft ontmoet . Hij heeft echter helemaal geen zin in een huwelijk en het blijkt dat Cordelia evenmin zin heeft om te trouwen met een volslagen vreemde . Daarom doen zij zich beide voor als iemand anders om de ander beter te leren kennen .
Met humor geschreven maar ik hou niet van dit type verhaal .
De Amerikaanse zakenman Daniel Sinclair wordt door zijn vader als onderdeel van een zakelijke transactie gekoppeld aan Lady Cordelia Bannister , een vrouw die hij nog nooit heeft ontmoet . Hij heeft echter helemaal geen zin in een huwelijk en het blijkt dat Cordelia evenmin zin heeft om te trouwen met een volslagen vreemde . Daarom doen zij zich beide voor als iemand anders om de ander beter te leren kennen .
Met humor geschreven maar ik hou niet van dit type verhaal .
June 28, 2021
Victorian England. Paperback edition.
Lady Cordelia's parents found a mate for her,
Daniel, an American businessman. Both fathers
would intertwine their business interests ie
shipping. Lady C + Daniel, both in London (for
now) decided to correspond with each other
before meeting. Lady C received modest com-
pensation for successfully submitting her travel
experience stories to a lady's magazine.
Lady C posed as her companion/ cousin Sarah to
gather intel from Daniel's secretary Warren who
took a daily early walk. Unknown to her, Warren
was actually Daniel. These two exchanged clever
word-play. I liked that each felt 'at loose ends'
over developing emotions. They earned their HEA.
Lady Cordelia's parents found a mate for her,
Daniel, an American businessman. Both fathers
would intertwine their business interests ie
shipping. Lady C + Daniel, both in London (for
now) decided to correspond with each other
before meeting. Lady C received modest com-
pensation for successfully submitting her travel
experience stories to a lady's magazine.
Lady C posed as her companion/ cousin Sarah to
gather intel from Daniel's secretary Warren who
took a daily early walk. Unknown to her, Warren
was actually Daniel. These two exchanged clever
word-play. I liked that each felt 'at loose ends'
over developing emotions. They earned their HEA.
March 10, 2024
This rating still stands upon reread. These characters created a mess for themselves and while humorous for a while, it made for a lackluster ending when it became apparent that all the rapport the characters had in their other “identities” didn’t translate to any commitment or trust when it counted as their true selves. Just didn’t quite believe in the HEA for two impulsive, spoiled people unfortunately even if it was rather funny for a lot of it.
August 15, 2015
I finally got to this book!! And I was sort of disappointed. I liked this the least of the series (I read this and the next today. It is 115 degrees out and did not leave the house) Daniel, who I have enjoyed in other books, was just too ridiculous in this one. Too many misunderstandings and lying. Sort of like Richard Shelton in one of her other books, they pretend to be someone else and then get jealous when the heroine falls in love (or pretends to) with the alter ego. Then they take forever to tell the truth. I think I just don't like that plot point. But the banter is still clever and Cordelia a strong and clever woman.
October 4, 2018
Adın Bende Saklı (Last Man Standing Serisi 3)
Victoria Alexander
Üçüncü kitabı da bitirdim. Kendimi daha iyi hissettiğim için belki de. Kitap hakkında yorumum çok beğenmedim ama sonunu iyi buldum diyebildiğim.
Konu olarak kızları hep güçlü istediğini yapan biri yazan ve evlilik istemeyen bir o kadar inatçı erkekler.
Birbirini kandıran iki karekter. Evlenecek olduğu adamı tanımak için uzaktan kuzeni olduğu Sarah rolüne girip Amerikalı damat adayının Kahyasi ile konuşmaya gider ve olaylar böyle başlar.
İlk iki yüz sayfa fazla uzatıldı diye düşündüm. Sonra komik ama çok basit hataları var diyerek devam ettim ama sonunda sanırım eh en iyisi böyleydi diyerek bitirdim. Şimdi en çok evlilik isteyen arkadasa geldim bakalım onun aşkı beni tatmin edecek mi?
Victoria Alexander
Üçüncü kitabı da bitirdim. Kendimi daha iyi hissettiğim için belki de. Kitap hakkında yorumum çok beğenmedim ama sonunu iyi buldum diyebildiğim.
Konu olarak kızları hep güçlü istediğini yapan biri yazan ve evlilik istemeyen bir o kadar inatçı erkekler.
Birbirini kandıran iki karekter. Evlenecek olduğu adamı tanımak için uzaktan kuzeni olduğu Sarah rolüne girip Amerikalı damat adayının Kahyasi ile konuşmaya gider ve olaylar böyle başlar.
İlk iki yüz sayfa fazla uzatıldı diye düşündüm. Sonra komik ama çok basit hataları var diyerek devam ettim ama sonunda sanırım eh en iyisi böyleydi diyerek bitirdim. Şimdi en çok evlilik isteyen arkadasa geldim bakalım onun aşkı beni tatmin edecek mi?
January 9, 2008
Book 3 in Victoria Alexander's Last Man Standing quartet.
Okay, my review might sound a bit strange, but just hold in there. I LOVED this book--I wanted to rate it 4.5 stars... but I can't.
Okay, so the premise. Okay, so the book starts out with Lady Cordelia Bannister talking with her parents about a marriage that her father (Earl of Marsham) has apparently set up between her and a guy named Daniel Sinclair. Daniel's father is a wealthy American businessman who Cordelia's dad wants to merge companies with or some such. So she's like, "DAD! Arranged marriages are SOOOO 18th century! No WAY am I gonna marry the dude!!" Except then her dad says, "But, my most favorite daughter, we're actually in some financial trouble...." and so she agrees to begin corresponding with Daniel to see if he's at ALL the kind of person she could marry.
BUT, that's not good enough for her, so she devises this BRILLIANT plan to get her companion, Sarah Palmer, to talk to Daniel's secretary, Warren Lewis, so she can find stuff out about him. Except that Sarah doesn't want to play along, so she decides she'll just pretend to BE Sarah Palmer and ask Mr. Lewis stuff about Mr. Sinclair.
So, she goes up to this tall, dark, handsome, pirate-looking (this is a good thing) guy who she presumes is Mr. Lewis and is like, "Mr. Lewis? Mr. Warren Lewis?" So, the guy turns around and sees this beautiful brunette woman (she's 25) with the prettiest green eyes... (he's a sucker for green eyes, you see..) and thinks, "Honey, I can be whoever you want me to be!" So he's all like, "And if I am?" which he's totally not. He's actually Daniel Sinclair himself.... *Bahahahahaha!!*
So, they talk for a bit, and then she's like, "We didn't get a lot of information about our respective bosses, so we need to meet again." So they do the next day... and they start falling for one another. He thinks she's Sarah and she thinks he's Warren, and each of them thinks their feeling "inappropriate things" for the wrong person.
It's just so funny. And the lies... the tangled web of lies goes on and on and gets more and more tangled... It's freaking HILARIOUS. My favorite part of the whole book is just how COMPLETELY STUPID both main characters were. I kept thinking, "JUST TELL HIM/HER ALREADY!!!" but no. It dragged on and on, in a good way. And with every step forward in their relationship, it just gets worse and worse (also in a good way). The lying...
It was just... hilarious. :)
Okay, my review might sound a bit strange, but just hold in there. I LOVED this book--I wanted to rate it 4.5 stars... but I can't.
Okay, so the premise. Okay, so the book starts out with Lady Cordelia Bannister talking with her parents about a marriage that her father (Earl of Marsham) has apparently set up between her and a guy named Daniel Sinclair. Daniel's father is a wealthy American businessman who Cordelia's dad wants to merge companies with or some such. So she's like, "DAD! Arranged marriages are SOOOO 18th century! No WAY am I gonna marry the dude!!" Except then her dad says, "But, my most favorite daughter, we're actually in some financial trouble...." and so she agrees to begin corresponding with Daniel to see if he's at ALL the kind of person she could marry.
BUT, that's not good enough for her, so she devises this BRILLIANT plan to get her companion, Sarah Palmer, to talk to Daniel's secretary, Warren Lewis, so she can find stuff out about him. Except that Sarah doesn't want to play along, so she decides she'll just pretend to BE Sarah Palmer and ask Mr. Lewis stuff about Mr. Sinclair.
So, she goes up to this tall, dark, handsome, pirate-looking (this is a good thing) guy who she presumes is Mr. Lewis and is like, "Mr. Lewis? Mr. Warren Lewis?" So, the guy turns around and sees this beautiful brunette woman (she's 25) with the prettiest green eyes... (he's a sucker for green eyes, you see..) and thinks, "Honey, I can be whoever you want me to be!" So he's all like, "And if I am?" which he's totally not. He's actually Daniel Sinclair himself.... *Bahahahahaha!!*
So, they talk for a bit, and then she's like, "We didn't get a lot of information about our respective bosses, so we need to meet again." So they do the next day... and they start falling for one another. He thinks she's Sarah and she thinks he's Warren, and each of them thinks their feeling "inappropriate things" for the wrong person.
It's just so funny. And the lies... the tangled web of lies goes on and on and gets more and more tangled... It's freaking HILARIOUS. My favorite part of the whole book is just how COMPLETELY STUPID both main characters were. I kept thinking, "JUST TELL HIM/HER ALREADY!!!" but no. It dragged on and on, in a good way. And with every step forward in their relationship, it just gets worse and worse (also in a good way). The lying...
It was just... hilarious. :)
November 30, 2018
Too much lying and deception. Just spit it out already.
July 7, 2021
It was a fun book and undoubtedly the seduction scene alone is worth reading. The game of cat and mouse is real! It was hilarious and double edged and WARREN!!!
However, the game of cat and mouse lasts too long by about 60 pages and the conclusion is the weakest part. Miscommunication and not telling the truth tropes are not my fav.
However, the game of cat and mouse lasts too long by about 60 pages and the conclusion is the weakest part. Miscommunication and not telling the truth tropes are not my fav.
December 31, 2020
Not my favorite by this author , but I still really enjoyed it. Would like to read the rest of this series
September 10, 2022
This is a story of mistaken identity. She passes herself off as her own companion to get info on her betrothed, and he is her betrothed except she assumes he is his man of business. Assumptions and misunderstandings... not my favorite tropes. However, I did enjoy this story but I would have enjoyed it so much more if the cat and mouse chase had ended when it needed to... as soon as Daniel figured out she was really his betrothed. He knew but he kept up the ruse, then she found out and wanted to teach him a lesson for humiliating her. Ugh. The author had a good thing going but took it way too far. Oh well.
3 solid stars. I don't recall what the stream level was ... 2/5 I think. And the ending was weak. Meh.
3 solid stars. I don't recall what the stream level was ... 2/5 I think. And the ending was weak. Meh.
August 28, 2012
Bu yorum aynı zamanda Romancekolikte yayınlanmıştır.
Kitap benim için çok çelişkiliydi. Kahkahalarla güldüğüm yerlerle, yazara "Aman şu yer değiştirme olayını uzatmasan olmaz zaten, okuru süründüreceksin mutlaka!" dediğim yerlere eşitti. Birde kitapta, hani komedi filmlerinde olur ya, adam bir şey konuşur, en yakın ama muzur arkadaş zeki ve alaycı laflarla cümleyi toparlar, bu tip durumlar çok vardı ve eğlenceliydi bu yüzden. Hele kitabın sonundaki cümbüş !
Amerikalı karakterleri okumayı seviyorum. Neden derseniz bir kere sevmek konusunda İngilizler kadar kibirli değiller. Çabuk kabullenen bir yapıları var. İnsanın içinden diğerlerine "Hah sende şöyle olsana!" diyesi geliyor. Ama bu oğlan olayı abarttı. Tam bir aptal aşığa dönüştü sonunda. Bu hali bir nevi sürünmesine, e tabi kızımızında kalbini kazanmasına ön ayak olmadı değil hani hakkını yemeyelim.
Kızımız ise zeki, yeri geldiğinde kurnaz, bağımsızlığına düşkün, şımarık - aman ha karıştırılmasın mızmız değilmiş! - ailenin en küçüğüdür. Gelmiş 26 yaşına evlenmeye niyetli ama doğru kişiyi bulamamış biri. Daniel ise malumunuz iddiaya girmişti hiç evlenmeyeceğim demese de yakında da demiyordu. Ama tabi planlar babaların kafa kafaya verip bu iki evlenmeye tövbeli hale gelmiş kişiyi evliliğe zorlamışlardır. Eğer bu evlilik olmazsa Cordelia'nın ailesi dara girecektir. Ama sevgili babası onu bir satış malzemesi gibi nasıl takas etme cüretinde bulunur ! Ah burdan anladığınız gibi işe büyük bir gurur karışınca bu aşıkların işi epey zordadır. Tabi bizim hin akıllı Cordelia bu "Amerikalı" Bay Sinclair hakkında bilgi almanın en iyi yolunun çalışanını sorgulamak gibi bir fikre kapılmasıyla cümbüş başlar.
Karşısında ki Bay Sinclair'in katibi sandığı adam aslında kendisidir ve Daniel bu parlak yeşil gözlü alımlı bayanıda düzeltme gereği duymamıştır. Tabi Cordelia'nında kendini refakatçisi olan kuzeni diye tanıtması olayı iyice karıştırır ve güya çalıştıkları kişiler hakkında bilgiler toplarken kendileri arasında bir şeyin filizlenmesine sebep olurlar. Cordelia ve Daniel bugün, yarın gerçeği açıklayacağım derken açıklama günü geldiğinde herşey için çok geçtir. - Olmasa şaşardım! -
Kitap benim için çok çelişkiliydi. Kahkahalarla güldüğüm yerlerle, yazara "Aman şu yer değiştirme olayını uzatmasan olmaz zaten, okuru süründüreceksin mutlaka!" dediğim yerlere eşitti. Birde kitapta, hani komedi filmlerinde olur ya, adam bir şey konuşur, en yakın ama muzur arkadaş zeki ve alaycı laflarla cümleyi toparlar, bu tip durumlar çok vardı ve eğlenceliydi bu yüzden. Hele kitabın sonundaki cümbüş !
Amerikalı karakterleri okumayı seviyorum. Neden derseniz bir kere sevmek konusunda İngilizler kadar kibirli değiller. Çabuk kabullenen bir yapıları var. İnsanın içinden diğerlerine "Hah sende şöyle olsana!" diyesi geliyor. Ama bu oğlan olayı abarttı. Tam bir aptal aşığa dönüştü sonunda. Bu hali bir nevi sürünmesine, e tabi kızımızında kalbini kazanmasına ön ayak olmadı değil hani hakkını yemeyelim.
Kızımız ise zeki, yeri geldiğinde kurnaz, bağımsızlığına düşkün, şımarık - aman ha karıştırılmasın mızmız değilmiş! - ailenin en küçüğüdür. Gelmiş 26 yaşına evlenmeye niyetli ama doğru kişiyi bulamamış biri. Daniel ise malumunuz iddiaya girmişti hiç evlenmeyeceğim demese de yakında da demiyordu. Ama tabi planlar babaların kafa kafaya verip bu iki evlenmeye tövbeli hale gelmiş kişiyi evliliğe zorlamışlardır. Eğer bu evlilik olmazsa Cordelia'nın ailesi dara girecektir. Ama sevgili babası onu bir satış malzemesi gibi nasıl takas etme cüretinde bulunur ! Ah burdan anladığınız gibi işe büyük bir gurur karışınca bu aşıkların işi epey zordadır. Tabi bizim hin akıllı Cordelia bu "Amerikalı" Bay Sinclair hakkında bilgi almanın en iyi yolunun çalışanını sorgulamak gibi bir fikre kapılmasıyla cümbüş başlar.
Karşısında ki Bay Sinclair'in katibi sandığı adam aslında kendisidir ve Daniel bu parlak yeşil gözlü alımlı bayanıda düzeltme gereği duymamıştır. Tabi Cordelia'nında kendini refakatçisi olan kuzeni diye tanıtması olayı iyice karıştırır ve güya çalıştıkları kişiler hakkında bilgiler toplarken kendileri arasında bir şeyin filizlenmesine sebep olurlar. Cordelia ve Daniel bugün, yarın gerçeği açıklayacağım derken açıklama günü geldiğinde herşey için çok geçtir. - Olmasa şaşardım! -
December 22, 2014
In silly mistaken identities like Shakespeare, Cordelia 25 p 13 rushes up to American Daniel Sinclair 31 p 24. She greets him as his secretary Warren Lewis, poses as her companion Sarah Palmer. Overcome by her green eyes, "rather a convenient height" p 25, "nose just pert enough to be charming" p 28, he falls in with the ruse.
He follows her to Brighton, then she follows him back to London. Their fathers insist that refusal to wed would cause "a detrimental reversal of family income" p 13. They fall in love, but misunderstandings intervene, including opinions of real Warren and Sarah, whose sprained ankle slows her down.
He admires her forthright manner. Being well-traveled, she "loved Egypt" p 229, she attributes his independent nature to his country of origin. "Americans have different attitudes about such things than the English" p 93.
They soon know the truth. But their bodies scramble their brains. A masked ball is a silly way to sort out difficulties. He is "a befuddled confused shell of a man" p 321. She is right about name meanings. Warren means loyal in German. Daniel means God is my judge. I had to skip pages where they are confused.
Typos:
p 185 "eek out a meager living" is eke
He follows her to Brighton, then she follows him back to London. Their fathers insist that refusal to wed would cause "a detrimental reversal of family income" p 13. They fall in love, but misunderstandings intervene, including opinions of real Warren and Sarah, whose sprained ankle slows her down.
He admires her forthright manner. Being well-traveled, she "loved Egypt" p 229, she attributes his independent nature to his country of origin. "Americans have different attitudes about such things than the English" p 93.
They soon know the truth. But their bodies scramble their brains. A masked ball is a silly way to sort out difficulties. He is "a befuddled confused shell of a man" p 321. She is right about name meanings. Warren means loyal in German. Daniel means God is my judge. I had to skip pages where they are confused.
Typos:
p 185 "eek out a meager living" is eke
August 1, 2020
This book is crazysauce! If you go in expecting pleasant silliness or any type of logical story line, you WILL be disappointed. If, however, you expect a Shakespearean comedy (without the fairies) and 3rd party interference, well, this book is there. The only truly "good" characters are the sisters & step-mother. Everyone else is dumb or evil or at least chaotic neutral. Turns out the only reason the MC really has to get married is because her aunt didn't and regretted it, which seems like a terrible reason to force someone into a marriage. I don't believe for one minute that the MC & love interest will actually have a HEA. If the plot had been less ridiculous, it would have been unreadable.
The tea party epilogue is even weirder than the story. You would have to be a hardcore Victoria Alexander fan to enjoy it. I was just lost and gave up less than halfway through.
Audiobook narrator Charlotte Parry really struggles. Her inflection is usually good, but she uses two voices for all the characters, which means the male love interest sounds the same as the female best friend, which is... offputting. I would rather she didn't do any voices at all.
The tea party epilogue is even weirder than the story. You would have to be a hardcore Victoria Alexander fan to enjoy it. I was just lost and gave up less than halfway through.
Audiobook narrator Charlotte Parry really struggles. Her inflection is usually good, but she uses two voices for all the characters, which means the male love interest sounds the same as the female best friend, which is... offputting. I would rather she didn't do any voices at all.
May 24, 2010
There seems to be a lot of mixed reviews but I really enjoyed this story. Cordelia wanted to get information about the man her father wanted her to marry. It started out with Cordelia pretending to be her companion and a "mistaken identity" that Daniel never corrected. These two put on such a farce that they dug themselves deeper and deeper into a hole. Neither of them wanted to be the first to admit the truth even though they had already fallen in love with one another. I loved the little game the two of them played and when they finally met properly, in front of the family, I thought it was cute how they put on a show for both their families. They acted as if, in fact, it was the first time they met when that was far from the truth. The story was cute and the dialogue was funny.
April 14, 2010
I see that reviews are all over the place for this book, but I have to say that I enjoyed this. There were lots of parts that made me chuckle out loud and I didn't mind the ridiculous escalation of the "mistaken identities" plot at all, it was almost to the level of comic farce stage play towards the end. I found the main characters funny and likeable. Sometimes the story seemed a little jumpy and there were quite a few grammatical errors (that I would have no doubt skimmed by without noticing had some helpful soul not taken it upon themselves to correct them with a pen!) but I thought the funny light-hearted story more than made up for it. This was my first Victoria Alexander book and I will probably read more of her in the future. Maybe books one and 2 of this series since i didn't realize it was a series until I was half-way through the book.
January 6, 2010
Considering that the plot was so over the top silly and ridiculous, I'm amazed that I ended up enjoying this book as much as I did. It truly is a testament to the talent of Alexander, who has single-handedly been the catalyst for my new-found love for the historical/Regency romance genre.
Alexander's trademark dash of humor, and the sheer likability of her characters saved this novel for me. Especially towards the end, when the absurdity of the H&H's situation began to spiral out of control and had me wishing she had wrapped things up a bit faster.
All in all, once again a highly enjoyable, if slightly wacky, romance.
Alexander's trademark dash of humor, and the sheer likability of her characters saved this novel for me. Especially towards the end, when the absurdity of the H&H's situation began to spiral out of control and had me wishing she had wrapped things up a bit faster.
All in all, once again a highly enjoyable, if slightly wacky, romance.
December 30, 2011
İlk iki kitabından dolayı bu kitaba beklentim düşük başladım.Fakat beklentimin üstünde çıktı. Beni güldürdü.Sonlara doğru biraz baysada eğlenceliydi.Serinin okuduğum en güzel kitabıydı.
August 6, 2015
Loved it! Though I'm a fool for a good romance this novel was witty and surprising. It certainly overided my expectations.
July 31, 2023
Giggling. Kicking my feet. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I normally hate secret keeping as a plot device, but this was so ridiculously convoluted that it worked. It was so fun and cute! The side characters were everything. I adored this.
December 5, 2020
Sanırım seriyi tamamlayıp yeniden okumam gereken bir kitap. Aslında toplamış ama daha sonrasında bir kitap arkadaşım istiyor diye vermiştim. Şimdi okusaydım da öyle verseydim diyorum. Çünkü kitaba adapte olamadım, bir bağlantı kontak bulamadım. Mantıken de oturmayan yanları vardı, belki de ben serinin ortasından daldığım için öyle hissetmiş de olabilirim.
Kitap kahramanımızın babasının Daniel Sinclair ile arasında geçen anlaşma hakkındaki konuşmayla başlıyor. Daniel'in babası, Cordelia'nın babasının şirketiyle birleşmek istediği zengin bir Amerikalı iş adamı. Burası geçmişten günümüze miras kalan klişelerden biri. Hani, baba kızını istediği kişiyle belli bir karşılık beklentisi ile evlendirir, heh tamamen o.
Cordelia Bannister, babasının baskısına rağmen kendi seçimi sonunda istediği adamla evlenmek ister. Ama şartlar buna pek de elverişli değildir. Bu yüzden Daniel'in evlenmek isteyeceği biri olup olmadığını görmek için refakatçisi Sarah'ın yerine geçer. Böylelikle Daniel hakkında bilgi toplayabilecektir. Yalnız bir tuhaflık vardır. Bilgi toplamak istediği adam şimdiye kadsr gördüğü en çarpıcı kişidir. Bay Lewis sandığı gibi Bay Lewis midir?
Daniel Sinclair ise arkadaşlarıyla (Londra'nin gözde bekarları bu kişiler) girdigi iddiayı kazanmak ister ve iddiayı kazanmasına çok az kalmıştır ki hiç planları dahilinde olmayan bir durum çıkar. Leydi Cordelia ile evleniyordur! Eh elinden geleni yapmadan teslim olmaz, bir plan yapar, kendisini bir başkası gibi göstererek kız hakkında fikir edinecektir.
Birbirlerine olan güçlü duygularla karşı karşıya kalan çiftimiz gerçek kimliklerini ne zaman söyleyeceklerdir? Bunun cevabını bulmak için kitabı okumak gerekir.
Yazarın kalemini sevdim mi sevmedim mi emin değilim ama seriye ilk kitabıyla başlayıp okumam gerektiğini iyi biliyorum. Size de ben gibi seri ortasından başlamak, serinin ilk kitabıyla okumanızı öneririm.
Kitap kahramanımızın babasının Daniel Sinclair ile arasında geçen anlaşma hakkındaki konuşmayla başlıyor. Daniel'in babası, Cordelia'nın babasının şirketiyle birleşmek istediği zengin bir Amerikalı iş adamı. Burası geçmişten günümüze miras kalan klişelerden biri. Hani, baba kızını istediği kişiyle belli bir karşılık beklentisi ile evlendirir, heh tamamen o.
Cordelia Bannister, babasının baskısına rağmen kendi seçimi sonunda istediği adamla evlenmek ister. Ama şartlar buna pek de elverişli değildir. Bu yüzden Daniel'in evlenmek isteyeceği biri olup olmadığını görmek için refakatçisi Sarah'ın yerine geçer. Böylelikle Daniel hakkında bilgi toplayabilecektir. Yalnız bir tuhaflık vardır. Bilgi toplamak istediği adam şimdiye kadsr gördüğü en çarpıcı kişidir. Bay Lewis sandığı gibi Bay Lewis midir?
Daniel Sinclair ise arkadaşlarıyla (Londra'nin gözde bekarları bu kişiler) girdigi iddiayı kazanmak ister ve iddiayı kazanmasına çok az kalmıştır ki hiç planları dahilinde olmayan bir durum çıkar. Leydi Cordelia ile evleniyordur! Eh elinden geleni yapmadan teslim olmaz, bir plan yapar, kendisini bir başkası gibi göstererek kız hakkında fikir edinecektir.
Birbirlerine olan güçlü duygularla karşı karşıya kalan çiftimiz gerçek kimliklerini ne zaman söyleyeceklerdir? Bunun cevabını bulmak için kitabı okumak gerekir.
Yazarın kalemini sevdim mi sevmedim mi emin değilim ama seriye ilk kitabıyla başlayıp okumam gerektiğini iyi biliyorum. Size de ben gibi seri ortasından başlamak, serinin ilk kitabıyla okumanızı öneririm.
December 15, 2018
I can easily see why people would either really love this book or hate it. The premise is ridiculous as hell, but I’m the type of person that’s usually all about romances where the characters are pushed together by some crazy circumstance, no matter how farfetched it may be. If you go into this not expecting a lot of depth or substance, it’s super entertaining. I laughed a lot. Just the way the initial lies evolved over time was super funny.
Up until the 75% mark, I was all about the fake identities and the hero and heroine lying to each other about who they truly were. It started to feel a little drawn out once . The whole part with Daniel was hilarious, but there just wasn’t any real reason for him to do these things. It seemed very forced and made zero sense, considering the fact that . Honestly, his plan was the dumbest thing I’d ever read.
Overall, this wasn’t the most memorable book. I sat down to write a review and already forgot the specifics of what happened in the middle portion. That said, I did really like it though. I’m not dying to go pick up any other books by this author, but it was a fun read for what it was.
Up until the 75% mark, I was all about the fake identities and the hero and heroine lying to each other about who they truly were. It started to feel a little drawn out once . The whole part with Daniel was hilarious, but there just wasn’t any real reason for him to do these things. It seemed very forced and made zero sense, considering the fact that . Honestly, his plan was the dumbest thing I’d ever read.
Overall, this wasn’t the most memorable book. I sat down to write a review and already forgot the specifics of what happened in the middle portion. That said, I did really like it though. I’m not dying to go pick up any other books by this author, but it was a fun read for what it was.
March 7, 2020
2.5-3 stars/5. Audiobook.
I see why there’s so many low ratings. First like 3 ratings I saw all 1 star. Basically Daniel and Cordelia lie to each other about their identity (Friends style, “they don’t know that we know that they know that we know.”)
But in this novel the lies bordered on ridiculous.. totally unnecessary. Their reasons for lying were soo dumb, you’d think this was between 12-14 year olds not “adults.”
There were some funny laugh out loud parts for me, cause it was so bizarre. The identity lies were too much and lasted WAY too long. The information that did make more sense was near the end, the inheritance omission, which could have played a bigger part in the story, maybe extending the “idk if he really cares about me for me” after she finds out about the inheritance.
Anyway, Here are some notes as I read:
53% Funny when secret comes out(Cordelia’s secret to Daniel). But seems that Daniel won’t be honest now..I see why people are frustrated with the ongoing lies (referencing reviews I saw.)
65% Cordelia finds out the truth, but I feel like the lies will keep going..and they do.
72% they are both dumb
74% Daniel so fucking dumb “fall out of love with me to fall in love with me”
84% the lies are ridiculous and ongoing and almost want to DNF this damn book.
Bye.
I see why there’s so many low ratings. First like 3 ratings I saw all 1 star. Basically Daniel and Cordelia lie to each other about their identity (Friends style, “they don’t know that we know that they know that we know.”)
But in this novel the lies bordered on ridiculous.. totally unnecessary. Their reasons for lying were soo dumb, you’d think this was between 12-14 year olds not “adults.”
There were some funny laugh out loud parts for me, cause it was so bizarre. The identity lies were too much and lasted WAY too long. The information that did make more sense was near the end, the inheritance omission, which could have played a bigger part in the story, maybe extending the “idk if he really cares about me for me” after she finds out about the inheritance.
Anyway, Here are some notes as I read:
53% Funny when secret comes out(Cordelia’s secret to Daniel). But seems that Daniel won’t be honest now..I see why people are frustrated with the ongoing lies (referencing reviews I saw.)
65% Cordelia finds out the truth, but I feel like the lies will keep going..and they do.
72% they are both dumb
74% Daniel so fucking dumb “fall out of love with me to fall in love with me”
84% the lies are ridiculous and ongoing and almost want to DNF this damn book.
Bye.
August 11, 2017
Puan vermekte zorlandığım bir kitap oldu. Güzel olmasına güzeldi ama nedense kitabın ilk yarısı çok durgun geçti. Nedense karakterlerimiz çok az zaman geçirdiler ve bu yüzden de birbirlerine aşık olmaları bana pek gerçekçi gelmedi aynı şekilde Danielin üvey annesiyle tanışması ve daha tanışır tanışmaz üvey annesinin sözüne göre davranması da aynı gerçeklikten uzak geldi. Diğer yarısıysa çok daha hareketliydi. Karakterlerin birbirlerini kandırmaya çalışmak ve itiraf ettirmek için oynadıkları oyunlar o bölümlerdeki diyaloglar çok eğlenceliydi tam birbirlerine uygun bir çift olarak düşünebildim onları. Warren ile Danielin konuşmaları da kitap boyunca beni çok eğlendirdi Danielin fikirlerinin saçmalığını her fırsatta vurgulamasına ve Daniele sataşmasına çok güldüm. Keşke ilk yarısında çiftimiz daha çok yer alsaydı onları birbirlerine yaklaştıran tutku dolu olaylar yaşasalardı o zaman tam puan verebilirdim ama ikinci yarısı hatrına bu puanı uygun buldum.Yazarın okuduğum ilk kitabı ve yazarın dilini de sevdim rahat okunan hiç sıkmayan bir anlatım dili var yazarın. Kitabı çok öneremeyeceğim hali hazırda çok daha okunası tarihi aşk romanları bulunmakta yine de kafanızı boşaltmak isterseniz okuyabilirsiniz.
February 23, 2021
Suffice to say as seen from my rating of this book, I did not enjoy as much as I hoped I would. While I absolutely loved the 2nd book, Nigel’s book, this one hit me in the wrong places because they fell in love under deception and I didn’t like that. I felt it was unbelievable.
Since reading another author’s books, I have realized that this author has a tendency to dump many sentences in a long paragraph which turns me off as I skip those. I like short and sweet sentences and paragraphs.
Also, I feel the author spent too much time allowing the hero and heroine to think and have conversations with other people (the side characters), except between the hero and heroine themselves.
how much I like a book depends mostly on whether I liked the characters or not. I found it hard to like either the hero or heroine because they were lying to one another.
I dislike how they had many chances to tell one another the truth and while Cordelia did own up pretty quickly, Daniel did not and I did not like how he gave another lie, instead of confessing the truth. He was postponing the inevitable & it did snowball on him, when Cordelia got angry at him. I’d say he deserves it.
A good book to read to pass the time but not something I will re read.
Since reading another author’s books, I have realized that this author has a tendency to dump many sentences in a long paragraph which turns me off as I skip those. I like short and sweet sentences and paragraphs.
Also, I feel the author spent too much time allowing the hero and heroine to think and have conversations with other people (the side characters), except between the hero and heroine themselves.
how much I like a book depends mostly on whether I liked the characters or not. I found it hard to like either the hero or heroine because they were lying to one another.
I dislike how they had many chances to tell one another the truth and while Cordelia did own up pretty quickly, Daniel did not and I did not like how he gave another lie, instead of confessing the truth. He was postponing the inevitable & it did snowball on him, when Cordelia got angry at him. I’d say he deserves it.
A good book to read to pass the time but not something I will re read.
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