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The Tales of the Jewelled Men #2
Had We Never Loved
Lord Horatio Glendenning must battle not only the sinister League of Jewelled Men, but also Miss Amy Consett, a gypsy hoyden determined to win Glendenning's heart and his purse. Original.
312 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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111 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Veryan
75 books100 followersPatricia 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.
At the time of her death, she was living in Bellevue, Washington, USA.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 5, 2018
I want to spend just one day with Morris and Falcon! Please, please. Has anyone magic power to do it for me? It doesn't have to be the whole day, perhaps a few hours of talking and some little adventure. Anyone?? Pleaseeeee...
Really, Morris and Falcon were the best part of 'Time's Fool' and also of this second book of series. And I am sure they are great in the other stories too. They were so funny and charming, they were such good and ridiculous friends.
Of course, I like the main plot, an adventure and a romance between Amy and Horatio too. The fast pace. Mysterious evil people. Fightings. Declarations of love that made me sigh.
If you are wondering why I gave 4 instead of 5 stars for this and previous book here is my answer:
1. Although I liked both love stories I was more interested in Gwen and Falcon story.
2. Although I found main characters in both novels quite entertaining I still prefer Morris, Falcon, and Gwen.
So, I have a feeling, that I will really like every book of series (4 stars), but I will love the last (5 stars) and I will rate the whole series as amazing (5 stars). I will verify this guess in two weeks, at the latest.
Really, Morris and Falcon were the best part of 'Time's Fool' and also of this second book of series. And I am sure they are great in the other stories too. They were so funny and charming, they were such good and ridiculous friends.
Of course, I like the main plot, an adventure and a romance between Amy and Horatio too. The fast pace. Mysterious evil people. Fightings. Declarations of love that made me sigh.
If you are wondering why I gave 4 instead of 5 stars for this and previous book here is my answer:
1. Although I liked both love stories I was more interested in Gwen and Falcon story.
2. Although I found main characters in both novels quite entertaining I still prefer Morris, Falcon, and Gwen.
So, I have a feeling, that I will really like every book of series (4 stars), but I will love the last (5 stars) and I will rate the whole series as amazing (5 stars). I will verify this guess in two weeks, at the latest.
April 27, 2018
I love parts of this book, mostly the friendship, family and adventure parts. The romance is a bit problematic because of the huge class difference, and also because of the depiction of „gypsies“.
It is of course wonderful that Amy has such an active role and saves the day time and again. But some of it felt contrived to me.
The desperate ride to Dover was amazing, and the big sacrifice scene was one of those heartwrenching moments Veryan so excells at.
It is of course wonderful that Amy has such an active role and saves the day time and again. But some of it felt contrived to me.
The desperate ride to Dover was amazing, and the big sacrifice scene was one of those heartwrenching moments Veryan so excells at.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2015
While this book is referred to as #2 in Jewelled Men series, this series actually starts with The Wagered Widow. The characters referred to include The Widow Parish and Trevelyan de Villars from that book. It also refers to all characters from series #1 Rossiter, Jamie, Augustus Falcon, the valet, various sisters, parents, dead jeweller and so on.
So if you haven't read the previous books I would suggest you start from there. For example I tried reading The Dedicated Villain by this same author. It is part of a series and I couldn't make the head or tail of the brief backgrounds given of past characters.
Still - while the other 2 books in this series were well-plotted with some truly humorous situations, intricate resolutions, and characters were memorable, this book is a let down.
Tio , Horatio Glendenning, a Viscount, is a Jacobite and his entire family would be hung if this secret from his past were known.
Yet, everyone in this book seems to know it one way or the other.
The League of Jewelled Men want to destroy aristros for some completely mysterious reason. So they pick Tio next and use a tortuously complex device, so you have people rushing off here and there making inquiries, getting beaten up etc.
Everyone in the past 2 books except the main characters who are on a honeymoon is involved in the chase. Plus there are a dozen new characters and a cockeyed plot.
Neither the hero - Tio nor his heroine - a gypsy of unknown origin are interesting.
While the Falcons are unaccepted by society for having slightly mixed blood, 2 generations ago, we are lead to understand that the ton would love this strangely behaved gypsy girl!
The reason for the revenge is silly. The villain was blackballed at a club by the Viscount's father eons ago. But the hero intelligently claims there is no way to find the real name of the villain, as he probably used a fake name!
As you can see, this book was not up to mark. Shall try going to the next book in this series and see if it is any better.
So if you haven't read the previous books I would suggest you start from there. For example I tried reading The Dedicated Villain by this same author. It is part of a series and I couldn't make the head or tail of the brief backgrounds given of past characters.
Still - while the other 2 books in this series were well-plotted with some truly humorous situations, intricate resolutions, and characters were memorable, this book is a let down.
Tio , Horatio Glendenning, a Viscount, is a Jacobite and his entire family would be hung if this secret from his past were known.
Yet, everyone in this book seems to know it one way or the other.
The League of Jewelled Men want to destroy aristros for some completely mysterious reason. So they pick Tio next and use a tortuously complex device, so you have people rushing off here and there making inquiries, getting beaten up etc.
Everyone in the past 2 books except the main characters who are on a honeymoon is involved in the chase. Plus there are a dozen new characters and a cockeyed plot.
Neither the hero - Tio nor his heroine - a gypsy of unknown origin are interesting.
While the Falcons are unaccepted by society for having slightly mixed blood, 2 generations ago, we are lead to understand that the ton would love this strangely behaved gypsy girl!
The reason for the revenge is silly. The villain was blackballed at a club by the Viscount's father eons ago. But the hero intelligently claims there is no way to find the real name of the villain, as he probably used a fake name!
As you can see, this book was not up to mark. Shall try going to the next book in this series and see if it is any better.
June 3, 2018
***spoilers***
This was never one of my favorites and had I not been on a mission to read all of the Veryan's in Chronological order, I probably would not have re-read it. I was never that enthralled with Tio Glendenning or Amy Consett and I pretty much skipped through the parts with them together. I did enjoy the parts with Falcon and Jamie. The ride to the coast was nail-biting. Veryan really knows how to write exciting action scenes whether it is a duel, or a chase or a showdown between the forces of good and evil. One of the things I remembered about this one was of the tense scene at the Bowers-Malden estate when they thought they could not produce the Comyn pin which would prove the family innocent. It just was not as good as I remembered! Nothing as good as the confrontation scene in Practice to Deceive and the courtroom scene in Love Alters not. I thought Amy running away at the end and then returning wasdumb pointless other than to torture poor Tio as if he needed to go through more misery. I really could not overlook the fact that Tio Glendenning fought for the Jacobite cause and became involved in the lists and treasure and then come home which put the lives and reputation of his family at great risk. Not to mention his good friends (see Love Alters Not) And then all he can do is feel terrible and say he is sorry he never meant it. He is far from the only Jacobite in Veryan's series' but it was different with them. They had the decency to be Scottish, or to run away to France to protect their families. Well, we'll just draw a veil over this one. 3 stars for Tio's Dad, his stepmother, the brief appearances of Falcon and Jamie, the ride to Dover, the appearance of Hilary Broadbent, Amy saving the day, and leading to the next one in this superb series.
This was never one of my favorites and had I not been on a mission to read all of the Veryan's in Chronological order, I probably would not have re-read it. I was never that enthralled with Tio Glendenning or Amy Consett and I pretty much skipped through the parts with them together. I did enjoy the parts with Falcon and Jamie. The ride to the coast was nail-biting. Veryan really knows how to write exciting action scenes whether it is a duel, or a chase or a showdown between the forces of good and evil. One of the things I remembered about this one was of the tense scene at the Bowers-Malden estate when they thought they could not produce the Comyn pin which would prove the family innocent. It just was not as good as I remembered! Nothing as good as the confrontation scene in Practice to Deceive and the courtroom scene in Love Alters not. I thought Amy running away at the end and then returning was
May 19, 2017
This is such a good series, on to the next one!
July 15, 2018
So we finally get to read Horatio's story in this second instalment. Since he was a big part of the previous series I thought his story would conclude this series. I was much more interested in the jewelled men narrative than the romance in this book. There is clearly a class difference between Amy and Horatio and there's no way things would have been resolved so easily or taken so lightly back in those days.
One thing I've noted, that I'm not a fan of, is the author's habit of having a character on the verge of saying something important then being interrupted. I'm big on getting straight to the point, which is probably why Falcon is my favourite character. Him and Jamie together make the perfect comedy duo.
On another note, I am looking forward to seeing how the series develops and eagerly anticipating Falcon and Gwen's story!
One thing I've noted, that I'm not a fan of, is the author's habit of having a character on the verge of saying something important then being interrupted. I'm big on getting straight to the point, which is probably why Falcon is my favourite character. Him and Jamie together make the perfect comedy duo.
On another note, I am looking forward to seeing how the series develops and eagerly anticipating Falcon and Gwen's story!
August 5, 2018
So, I discovered that one of the libraries for which I have a card, has a remarkable number of Patricia Veryan's novels as ebooks. I discovered these in high school and have never been the same. They look like trashy romance novels, but they are actually well-written, historical romance novels that are quite clean. In fact, I have been quite disappointed in so many other books in this genre as a result of reading these first. I thought about not recording my re-reading of them, but then it would look like I didn't read as many books.
Sometimes you just need to binge read historical romance novels. And this is that time.
This one is not a particular favorite of mine. A peer falling for a gypsy and then doing well by her, is not really believable.
Sometimes you just need to binge read historical romance novels. And this is that time.
This one is not a particular favorite of mine. A peer falling for a gypsy and then doing well by her, is not really believable.
January 7, 2026
Didn't make it far into this one. I like Veryan, but I couldn't like her gypsy heroine and the writing (or plot?) seemed more scattered and all over the place - hard to follow at the beginning, and the beginning is as far as I got.
November 3, 2022
All three stars go for supporting characters, the hero was anything but heroic.
March 14, 2017
The second book from the series was much weaker. The first 50 pages introduced us to the good guys so it was repetitive, the next 100 I skipped and in the end I wasn't much enlightened about the doings of the bad guys. I will try the next one.
December 16, 2016
I really enjoy Patricia Veryan books. These books are not meant to be read as a stand alone. Characters from her other books keep showing up and are mentioned often. 3.5/5 stars
October 12, 2013
“This is one of a series, set in mid 1700's - and it was ok but so full of intrigue and bad guys with their plot complications that I was glad to get to the end, and was not motivated to read the next in the series "Ask me no questions". Would rather stick to her Regency stories.”
May 6, 2008
This wasn't my favorite of the Tales of the Jewelled Men series. It was ok.
October 29, 2008
Loved it. Was actually Georgian time period, not Regency, second book in the Tales of the Jewelled Men series. :o)
April 19, 2012
Outstanding...
January 30, 2017
DNF -- It's a shame, too, as I liked the other book in this series I read!
Can I give a rating of ZERO stars?
Can I give a rating of ZERO stars?
July 30, 2016
Good overall. This one was better than the first book.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews