Give All to Love

Sanguinet Saga #11

by Patricia Veryan

Give All to Love is the long-awaited conclusion to The Sanguinet Saga, written at the urgent request of many readers who were anxious to learn the fates of some of Patricia Veryan’s most memorable characters. It completes the story of Josie Storm, the impishly lovely girl who was rescued from gypsy captors by Alain Devenish, a thoroughly respectable rake. No one is certain of Josie’s true parentage, and no one knows her real age—but the years she has spent at the isolated Devencourt estate have only added to her elusive charm. No longer the awkward waif Devenish took in from the streets, Josie has begun to attract an array of suitors—noble and otherwise—who have come to seek her hand.

When the truth about her origins comes out, there’s more than a little scheming to be done. But the single-minded Josie is not about to let notions of suitability stand in the way of love—even if that means traveling far from Devencourt to meet the demands of the only man who has ever won her heart. Give All to Love is sure to satisfy ardent Sanguinet fans—as well as newcomers to Veryan’s uniquely delightful Regency world.

Genres: Romance, Historical, Historical Romance, Regency, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Regency Romance

Hardcover

First published October 20, 2015

About the author

Patricia Valeria Bannister was born in London. After World War II, she married Allan Louis Berg and moved to the United States; she lived on the West Coast and was the author of many historical novels from 1978 until 2002, using the pen names Patricia Veryan and Gwyneth Moore.

At the time of her death, she was living in Bellevue, Washington, USA.

Reviews

[bookjunkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was good!! Very old school feel and apparently the 11th in a whole saga that I never read before (of course I would start with the final book of the series) but for all that I wasn't too lost. I liked it a lot... it's pretty much exactly what I'm looking for when I search out guardian-ward romances.

It was kind of meaty in that there was a lot of action going on instead of focusing only on the romance. But the romance was strong too, and it was charming and cute and funny. Josie was a perfectly likable heroine, but Dev was the real draw of the book. I liked that he was so honorable, and I loved that he had a good sense of humor.

Oh yeah, and there were SO. MANY. CATS!! And a pig, too. I'm not much of a sucker for cats but damn if it wasn't cute the way Dev was picking kittens off his shoes every two seconds. And that pig, LMFAO! That whole incident with Dev pretending Lady Godiva was a weird breed of dog killed me.

Great clean read, unexpectedly funny and all the characters were interesting, although there were a lot of names thrown around that made me aware that I was coming into an established series. I'm actually going to look for the other books now.

[Christa Schönmann Abbühl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am completely baffled that I apparently did not write a review for this book - and did not give it five stars. This is super strange as I ADORE Dev so much that the book where he loses his first love is among my least favorites by Veryan. So what happened here?
I know that there are two or three things about this book that I find a bit problematic, but for me the good outweighs this by a lot. Dev is such a wonderful hero, with his temper, his humor, his charm, his deep affections, his hidden worries, his incredible courage and his way with people and with animals.
He grows so much throughout this series, but all the good stuff in him is there from the start.

[Mela · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a way smooth, yet, also "with fireworks", ending of the wonderful series.

Like probably all readers of the series, I was rooting for Alain Devenish since I met him. And since The Noblest Frailty I couldn't wait for his HEA.

To me, this novel was most of all a comedy. There were many funny scenes and numerous brilliantly witty descriptions and ripostes.

Of course, the love story, action scenes, and the atmosphere of friendship were there too.

I liked how Patricia Veyran closed all important threads. She couldn't give all characters the HEA, because some of them just started to grow up. But the beloved men and their women got it and I feel content and happy. They all became my friends.

[4-4.5 as a standalone, 4.5-5 as a last part of the series]

[Mary23nm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good ending to the Sanguinet Saga. All of the previous characters were brought back and made appearances, so you wouldn't want to read this one as a standalone. Guardian/ward romances are not unusual, but this one has a little 'ick' factor, not because of the age difference, but because they were living together most of the time as papa and daughter (although he called her "Elf" a lot). The hero thought she was between 10 and 12 years old when he found her, but she was really about 14 years old and she was 19 when they became betrothed. 3.5/5 stars

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The real conclusion to the Sanguinet sequence, featuring the romance between hotheaded Alain Devenish and his ward, Josie Storm. And Guy gets his own romance, too. But the real heart of this sequence is the relationships between the heroes, and the circle of friendship they build amongst them. A lovely story in an older writing tradition, with mysterious identities revealed, reunions with long-lost relatives, and happy endings for all.

[Tweety · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent conclusion to the series!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review is for the whole series. I first found Love's Duet (The Lord and the Gypsy) at my library about 20 odd years ago. I loved the book and managed to find a couple more by this author. That used up all the available titles I could find. This author tells wonderful stories, romances laced with adventure, true friendship, and make a lasting impression. Fast forward to the internet age where E books mean much loved authors are suddenly available. I was delighted and overjoyed to return to this series and pick up all the remaining novels, Not all are available as E Books, but the world has shrunk and I have purchased the remaining from Thrift Books in the states. It still amazes me how easy it is do this these days! My point is the books I read 20 years ago stayed with me all that time, I have found very few other authors that could match the story telling ability of Patricia Veryan. This last book in the series met all my expectations. I loved Alain and Josie in all the books they appeared in and this was a beautiful, joyful ending to the series.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's funny that I was reading this when I heard a discussion of the fanfic trope "Ward to Lover" and how icky it was, but also that it was barely a trope because no one writes stuff like that anyway. AHA thinks I, because here it is.

But it's a fun later Sanguinet book (not a good start) with emotions looming all over the place, and oblivious men putting honor above everything and women being clueless about sex as hard as they can. It's definitely a strong and maybe acquired taste, but I like it.

[Frances · Rating 2 out of 5]

The heroin cried every other page all the way through the book, from the first page to the last page. But, this was not what I found most offensive about this book. I found the premise of it distasteful. I have read many books, and seen many movies about men falling in love with their wards, but this one there was just something about it that was just not quite acceptable.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like guardian/ward stories, but this one's too far off for me. Not to kink shame, but she calls him "papa" for 80% of the book. He says he's been in love with her since he rescued her (her age at time of rescue varies he thinks 12 she was actually 14). There is a 14 year age difference I believe at the end, with Dev being 33 and Josie 19.

The whole Isabella thing had me shaking my head too. Only one sex scene in the book and it's between Dev and Isabella (this was after she drugged/raped him to trap him into marriage). Then he tries to commit suicide by getting his leg amputated. *shakes head*

I liked the animals (Lady Godiva the pig and all the cats that followed Dev around) and the 6-way duel was amusing.