Tempting Sarah

by Gayle Buck

Sarah and Margaret may be country misses, but they can recognize a true gentleman when they see one. When a handsome lord aids them on the road to London, he becomes smitten by Margaret, although it is Sarah who has secretly fallen in love. Now, with suitors at every turn, a scandal brews, as Sarah finds herself in the lords arms...not as the woman he courts, but as the woman he desires...

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical

220 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Gayle Buck has freelanced for regional publications, worked for a radio station and as a secretary. Until recently, she was involved in public relations for a major Texas university. Besides her Regencies, she also writes fantasy and romantic suspense. She lives in Bandera, Texas.

Reviews

[Catsalive]

An entertaining read although most of the characters were a bit irritating. I have absolutely no idea why Sarah Sommers fell in love with Lord Gilbert Eustace, I just didn't feel a real connection there, although it did seem inevitable. Lady Alverley, the Sommers grandmother, is a bit hardened by her experience with her own daughter & her practical approach to matrimony was to be expected, yet she had no intention of forcing the girls into distasteful matches. Margaret Sommers needed a good spanking & Captain Henry Jeffries was old enough to know better - given the state of his older brother, the Marquis, I'd say his prospects were quite good, at the very least he could have approached her father as heir presumptive. 2.5★

[Kitcatscratch]

I find Gayle Buck's books vary wildly from REALLY well written and engrossing to WTF did I just read. This book falls into that one category that I dislike, the ones that start out engrossing but as you go along you start to think WTH? Was that supposed to be a satisfying ending? Was I supposed to buy that the H loves the h? And then I get consumed with irrational hate for a fictional story. Life is stressful enough you know?

THEN I think "Did the author truly believe that the H loved Sarah and tried to write the story in a way she thought made his 'revelation' believable and simply missed the mark?" Because I've read stories of hers where she was able to subtly reveal a lot of different character motivations throughout a story and left me thinking "Wow, she really put a lot of stuff in there that brought the characters to life without hitting me over the head with it." Lord Darlington's Darling and Cupid's Choice are 2 that come to mind. Characters with real family flaws and dynamics that impact how their children grow up and act. But enough of those. Back to Tempting Sarah.

Here is where I think Buck missed the mark and if you don't want spoilers....don't read....
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1) At the party when Sarah asks Lord Eustace if he sees Vivian Leander, his old love, in her sister Margaret. In other words, because her sister resembles Vivian, is he transferring that love to her mistakenly. Sarah, and rightly so, wants to make sure that his feelings for her sister is REALLY for her and not because he is seeing her through his memories of Vivian. He is outraged and stays away from Sarah for awhile. He comes back and apologizes and says he is sorry and she was right to question him. So I think, ok, helping him to question his feelings for Margaret will make him start to realize that it is not Margaret he loves.

Yet, he continues to be a "friend" with Sarah and court Margaret. o....kay...

2) He comes across Sarah in what he mistakenly thinks is an assignation with Captain Jeffries and then takes it out by kissing Sarah. Ok. He's jealous and now will realize his feelings for Sarah.

No. No and no and no. How do I know this? Because of number 3...

3) He finds out from Sarah that Margaret has run off with Captain Jeffries to get married and tells Sarah that he will go find Margaret immediately. Sarah tells him it is not his affair but the family's. He states that Sarah must be aware of the marked attention that he has given Margaret and Sarah quietly agrees that she has noticed. In other words, he still carries a torch for Margaret and is very upset that she has run off on him. THEN he immediately proposes to Sarah (and instantly regrets it) and Sarah, smart in some ways (but gawd so stupid in others) tells him no because he is only doing it out of hurt.

Much later he tells her that he DID offer her marriage because he was hurt that Margaret chose Jeffries over him. And that he instantly regretted it. (To which I say, you know, if you've had a change of heart, probably best not to bring up how you initially really regretted your marriage proposal because you were still in love with the sister). And then he goes on to say how he didn't love Vivian Leander because she was beautiful on the outside but not on the inside. But that he THOUGHT he was in love with Margaret because she was beautiful on the outside but ALSO beautiful on the inside. Everything that he had wanted. Now, this doesn't sound like he THOUGHT he was in love with her. It sounded like he REALLY REALLY DID love her and would have had her if she hadn't run off with Jeffries. But she did. So now, he's left with Sarah. And then says "but you know, I really love you now. My eyes have been opened."

I don't know how Sarah could stomach it. Even if I loved him, I would always think "he chose me because all other options were gone and I was last in the running." Cause I think his initial proposal to her probably was accurate. He thought well of her, she was handsome and he liked her disposition and thought they'd do well together.

Nice.

Yeah. Sorry, once you CONTINUED to harbor feelings for the sister right up until she ran away with the other guy, that did it for me. Because there were so many opportunities along the way to show his change in feelings towards Sarah but they were TEENY TINY to pick up on. Not enough to make up for the feeling that Sarah was an "also ran" to coin a term.

[Judy]

I enjoyed the story of Sarah and Margaret's coming out to the London Ton.

It was only written from Sarah's view and I prefer the different views.

[Alexandra St'Siege]

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