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The Trophy Girl
When Lucy Carter lands a job in a stately home she feels that all her dreams have come true. Not only is she in fabulous surroundings deep in the country but she is also working for the Earl of Arden. He was once married to the beautiful Becca Hetherington, a gold-medal-winning three-day eventer, and together they wereBritain's golden couple -- until Becca was killed in a tragic accident. Now a widower, the Earl is a brooding, romantic figure and there are many women, one in particular, who have their sights set on becoming the next Countess. As Lucy settles into her new job, she finds herself increasingly drawn to the Earl, and she isn't alone; all the staff adore him and are fiercely loyal. But as Lucy glimpses behind the money and glamour, she realises that the Earl's past isn't the fairytale everyone believed...
320 pages, Paperback
First published November 13, 2008
About the author
Kate Lace
22 books18 followersCatherine Lace studied in different all girls schools from there until she left at eighteen. She joined the army, where she served eight years rose to the rank of Staff Captain. In the army, she met and married her husband. When she fell pregnant, the rules of the time meant that she had to leave. With three kids under four and a half, she was invited to help out with a magazine for army wives and she decide to want write.
Co-authored with a fellow army wife, she wrote a non-fiction book "Gumboots and Pearls" as Annie Jones. After it, she decided wrote romance novels. She wrote six Army romance novels as Catherine Jones, she said: "I loved being in the army. I love writing about it. I was in the army for eight years and I had a great time. I hope this is reflected in my books and I hope all my readers enjoy reading them." Her novel "Praise for Sisters in Arms", shortlisted for the 1999 Romantic Novelists' Association's Award. Now she decided change the type of romance novels and started to used the pseudonym of Kate Lace. Her novel "The Chalet Girl" was nominee to Romantic Novel of the Year Award Best.
She was elected the twenty-fourteenth Chairman (2007-2009) of the Romantic Novelists' Association, and she was also the captain of the RNA "University Challenge - The Professionals" team which made it to the final of the 2005 series.
Her husband has left the army and their kids have grown up.
Co-authored with a fellow army wife, she wrote a non-fiction book "Gumboots and Pearls" as Annie Jones. After it, she decided wrote romance novels. She wrote six Army romance novels as Catherine Jones, she said: "I loved being in the army. I love writing about it. I was in the army for eight years and I had a great time. I hope this is reflected in my books and I hope all my readers enjoy reading them." Her novel "Praise for Sisters in Arms", shortlisted for the 1999 Romantic Novelists' Association's Award. Now she decided change the type of romance novels and started to used the pseudonym of Kate Lace. Her novel "The Chalet Girl" was nominee to Romantic Novel of the Year Award Best.
She was elected the twenty-fourteenth Chairman (2007-2009) of the Romantic Novelists' Association, and she was also the captain of the RNA "University Challenge - The Professionals" team which made it to the final of the 2005 series.
Her husband has left the army and their kids have grown up.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 9, 2023
This book isn't going to change your life. It's not got any crazy message that makes you think about your existence. However, you won't be able to put it down. This is honestly just a fun read. It's quick, it's easy, and it's gripping. You can't ask for much more from the romantic thriller genre. I liked the narrative. I liked the characters. I liked the story.
It tells us about a woman who begins babysitting an Earl's son. There's a pretty good plot twist towards the end that I wasn't expecting but it is still quite easy to guess if you read closely enough. I thoroughly enjoyed being transported into this world and would read a sequel to this book if it existed.
It tells us about a woman who begins babysitting an Earl's son. There's a pretty good plot twist towards the end that I wasn't expecting but it is still quite easy to guess if you read closely enough. I thoroughly enjoyed being transported into this world and would read a sequel to this book if it existed.
April 22, 2020
BORING
I would not recommend this book, the story was very slow and boring with not much really happening until the last few chapters.
I would not recommend this book, the story was very slow and boring with not much really happening until the last few chapters.
February 12, 2015
i would rate this a NO STAR if I could. Vvomit inducing, trite, tedious drivel. This is brilliant for people who lack imagination and brain cells. Its so light that it floats. Its pathetic.
DUMB. DUMB. DUMB. SO DUMB IT HURTS.
You would expect to see this in American "historical" romances. I don't know many aristocrats who can marry for love when they have a pile in the country to support - so this is pretty pathetic. The book makes fairytales like Cinderella seem realistic. Its utterly ghastly.
This is trite, clichéd pathetic and TEDIOUS. There is NO chemistry.
I agree with the below assessment of the book:
the nanny falls in love with the master of the house who happens to be an earl and is rolling in cash. she is from a more common background and is unsure of her feelings. there is no real connection between them or any chemistry that makes u think that they should be together. also the nemesis to the nanny seems to back off rather easily which as her character is made out to be an uber bitch wasnt really realistic. the ending is rather lame and predictable.
JUST SHUT UP. YOU'RE STUPID.
NO MORE PLEASE! YOU DUMB.
i only read 2 pages before I knew how rubbish it was. I couldn't finish the book so I read the middle and the end. That was bad enough. If I wasn't forced to write a review for our reading group- i would NOT have touched this trite fluff.
DUMB. DUMB. DUMB. SO DUMB IT HURTS.
You would expect to see this in American "historical" romances. I don't know many aristocrats who can marry for love when they have a pile in the country to support - so this is pretty pathetic. The book makes fairytales like Cinderella seem realistic. Its utterly ghastly.
This is trite, clichéd pathetic and TEDIOUS. There is NO chemistry.
I agree with the below assessment of the book:
the nanny falls in love with the master of the house who happens to be an earl and is rolling in cash. she is from a more common background and is unsure of her feelings. there is no real connection between them or any chemistry that makes u think that they should be together. also the nemesis to the nanny seems to back off rather easily which as her character is made out to be an uber bitch wasnt really realistic. the ending is rather lame and predictable.
JUST SHUT UP. YOU'RE STUPID.
NO MORE PLEASE! YOU DUMB.
i only read 2 pages before I knew how rubbish it was. I couldn't finish the book so I read the middle and the end. That was bad enough. If I wasn't forced to write a review for our reading group- i would NOT have touched this trite fluff.
August 24, 2011
Lucy Carter is a nanny, and she's just gotten a fantastic job in the country side to the only child of the Earl of Arden. The Earl of Arden is a widower, who lost his glamorous equestrian wife over a year ago. He's a very eligible bachelor and as much as Lucy enjoys taking care of Teddy, his son, she can't help but long for the Earl, even though she knows there is a huge difference in their social stations.
This is my favorite Kate Lace book. I've read all of her others, except the latest, and I have got to say that while she's a fantastic writer, I haven't always enjoyed all of her books. The story was realistic for the most part. I'm not really a huge fan of May-September romances, so the age difference between the two bothered me. I was also bothered by how naive Lucy was when it came to Zoe and her vindictiveness and how the end was sort of forced to wrap up quickly. I must say though, it was very easy to get drawn into the book, and so I didn't even notice time passing by as I read.
This is my favorite Kate Lace book. I've read all of her others, except the latest, and I have got to say that while she's a fantastic writer, I haven't always enjoyed all of her books. The story was realistic for the most part. I'm not really a huge fan of May-September romances, so the age difference between the two bothered me. I was also bothered by how naive Lucy was when it came to Zoe and her vindictiveness and how the end was sort of forced to wrap up quickly. I must say though, it was very easy to get drawn into the book, and so I didn't even notice time passing by as I read.
March 10, 2012
I just couldn't like this book. I love chic romances, and this had all the right boxes ticked: mousy heroine with the potential to grow, tick! Brooding hero with a sad past, tick! Jealous female type with all the qualities the heroine thinks she wants, tick! Plenty of scenes to get those romantic juices flowing, sure, but neither hero nor heroine take advantage of them. It just felt so forced, like you were watching the romance through a mirror. They just could have done so much more with the setting and the supporting characters, even the 'great mystery' but it was like the whole thing was done half-assed. Even the romance was boring...
Oh well, even a boring book is better then no book
Oh well, even a boring book is better then no book
February 7, 2009
I found this a very enjoyable read. Little Black Dress is a publishing phenomenon, IMO, bringing out romance novels of originality, intelligence and wit.
This one cheered me up on a cold winter's day, and I'm beholden to it. The plot revolves around the heroine as a nanny, who takes up a post in an aristocratic home in the country. She takes on a sad and solemn child who has lost his mother, teaches him to love life again, and becomes entwined in the family in many ways ...
I loved the way the plot reached back through Rebecca to Jane Eyre in a way that emerged very subtly, and in no way would disadvantage a reader who did not know these works. Impressive.
This one cheered me up on a cold winter's day, and I'm beholden to it. The plot revolves around the heroine as a nanny, who takes up a post in an aristocratic home in the country. She takes on a sad and solemn child who has lost his mother, teaches him to love life again, and becomes entwined in the family in many ways ...
I loved the way the plot reached back through Rebecca to Jane Eyre in a way that emerged very subtly, and in no way would disadvantage a reader who did not know these works. Impressive.
February 19, 2016
I've read "the Chalet Girl" and that was a fairly good book. But this one was just so... it was so hard to read. I couldn't bring myself to get past chapter 7. Maybe I'll pick it up later and try reading it again, but this book was just boring. I'm sorry, I couldn't comprehend the words because it was just going too slow, and the character, Lucy, was just hard to picture as well.
February 14, 2019
The plot was cute and believable BUT the romance in it was sooooooo hygienic - platonic doesn't even cut it - I could not help wondering if it had been written for a teen.
And it spoils that there was a rush to end the book: in 15 pages all is done and settled.
And it spoils that there was a rush to end the book: in 15 pages all is done and settled.
April 19, 2009
easy read - kind of cheesy.
Read
August 7, 2011I think the ending was rushed and could have been more interesting.
Other than that it was a fair read.
Other than that it was a fair read.
August 8, 2011
F.L.A.T
December 13, 2011
Flat! ALL THE TIME...
April 6, 2012
Just a nice book to read, the kind of book you pick up when you're bored, nothing compelling about it.It it was alright.
September 18, 2013
I finished it. Nothing stood out and it didn't make me feel anything in particular. But I finished it.
June 25, 2014
No offense to the writer but this book is so boring, whenever I tried reading it I fell asleep. I regret buying it.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews