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Sinclair Family Saga #4
Beauty in Black
Young widow Marianne Hughes is to chaperone the even younger Louisa Crookshanks to London for her come-out. But, in a most awkward happenstance, it turns out that the one gentleman Louisa has set her sights on only has eyes for the darker, more demure beauty of Mrs. Hughes. Soon this Marquess of Gillingham finds himself entangled in a web of desire and deception--and begins to understand that Hell hath no fury like a debutante scorned.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 2004
3 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Nicole Byrd
25 books19 followersCheryl Byrd was born on 9 June 1947 in Clarksville, Tennessee, USA, daughter of Nancy, a sales manager, and Smith Henry Byrd, a military officer. As an army brat, she has lived in Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Kentucky, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, southern California, Great Britain, and Germany. Growing up, she changed schools ten times in twelve years. She has been an Anglophile since she discovered the Dr. Dolittle books at about the age of seven. After enduring serious frustration when she could not learn to talk to the animals, she stuck to reading and devoured the Mary Poppins series, the Borrowers, and anything else English she could find, enjoying, as she grew, many British writers including the wonderful Jane Austen and even the Bard himself. And somewhere along the way, the writing bug bit, as well.
On 2 June 1967, she married Q. J. Wasden, a sales manager. They had two children: Quinton John and Michelle Nicole, and divorced in September 1979. On 20 June 1982, she married Charles O. Zach Jr., the president of a die casting company, who died on 1990. She obtained a BA (1968) and MA (1977) in English Literature at Austin Peay State University. She worked as high school English teacher in Harrison County, MS, 1970-71; as freelance journalist, 1976-77; high school English teacher in Dyersburg, TN, 1978-82; before stopping to write full time.
As Cheryl Zach, she wrote Young Adult and romance novels, she also used the pseudonym of Jennifer Cole. So after publishing over thirty books in various genres, she was thrilled to write books. But, she loves history, most of all English history, and most wanted to write historical adventure set in the English Regency period–Jane Austen’s era. The first books as Nicole Byrd were written with her daughter Michelle Nicole Wasden Place. When Michelle became too busy with a growing family to do more than function as the world’s best critique partner, the later books were written on her own. The books in the Sinclair Family Saga have been a delight to write, and the characters have become as familiar and beloved as old friends.
Her book Benny and the No-Good Teacher was a nominee for the South Carolina Children’s Book Award and her book, The Class Trip was an International Reading Association/Children’s Book Award. Zach is the first young adult writer to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America’s Hall of Fame. She was also the first recipient of Young Adult Network’s Silver Diary Award. Her historical novel, Hearts Divided, won the 1996 Virginia Romance Writer’s Holt Medallion in the Young Adult category. Her articles have appeared in The Writer magazine, Children's Writer, and the Writer's Handbook. She is the current chairperson of the SCBWI Regional Advisors.
On 2 June 1967, she married Q. J. Wasden, a sales manager. They had two children: Quinton John and Michelle Nicole, and divorced in September 1979. On 20 June 1982, she married Charles O. Zach Jr., the president of a die casting company, who died on 1990. She obtained a BA (1968) and MA (1977) in English Literature at Austin Peay State University. She worked as high school English teacher in Harrison County, MS, 1970-71; as freelance journalist, 1976-77; high school English teacher in Dyersburg, TN, 1978-82; before stopping to write full time.
As Cheryl Zach, she wrote Young Adult and romance novels, she also used the pseudonym of Jennifer Cole. So after publishing over thirty books in various genres, she was thrilled to write books. But, she loves history, most of all English history, and most wanted to write historical adventure set in the English Regency period–Jane Austen’s era. The first books as Nicole Byrd were written with her daughter Michelle Nicole Wasden Place. When Michelle became too busy with a growing family to do more than function as the world’s best critique partner, the later books were written on her own. The books in the Sinclair Family Saga have been a delight to write, and the characters have become as familiar and beloved as old friends.
Her book Benny and the No-Good Teacher was a nominee for the South Carolina Children’s Book Award and her book, The Class Trip was an International Reading Association/Children’s Book Award. Zach is the first young adult writer to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America’s Hall of Fame. She was also the first recipient of Young Adult Network’s Silver Diary Award. Her historical novel, Hearts Divided, won the 1996 Virginia Romance Writer’s Holt Medallion in the Young Adult category. Her articles have appeared in The Writer magazine, Children's Writer, and the Writer's Handbook. She is the current chairperson of the SCBWI Regional Advisors.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 16, 2018
I'm very reluctant to give this book 2 stars because it's so very cliche. This is probably the biggest reason why I loathe romance books. Almost every single one that I read follows along the same lines. I mean, how many ways can you tell a romance story anyway?
A marquess is looking for a bride to produce him an heir so that he will not have to pass on his title to his brother. Miss Crookshank has decided to come along with her aunt that lives in London to explore the social lifestyle and perhaps find a man to ask her hand in marriage. The marquess is disfigured from a bout with smallpox that leaves him less than social. He winds up dating Miss Crookshank but finds he is more enamored with her aunt.
Characters kind of pop up out of nowhere and we are supposed to already know their back story and what has driven them to what they do,i.e. the ending of this story. I felt nothing for any of these characters and found myself, more than once, rolling my eyes. Don't waste your time with this one unless you like cliched romance books.
A marquess is looking for a bride to produce him an heir so that he will not have to pass on his title to his brother. Miss Crookshank has decided to come along with her aunt that lives in London to explore the social lifestyle and perhaps find a man to ask her hand in marriage. The marquess is disfigured from a bout with smallpox that leaves him less than social. He winds up dating Miss Crookshank but finds he is more enamored with her aunt.
Characters kind of pop up out of nowhere and we are supposed to already know their back story and what has driven them to what they do,i.e. the ending of this story. I felt nothing for any of these characters and found myself, more than once, rolling my eyes. Don't waste your time with this one unless you like cliched romance books.
January 16, 2016
When it comes to Nicole Byrd I have mixed feelings. Some books I loved and some books were just "skimmers". Skimmers is the term I use for the books that I will start to read and a few chapters in I get bored and start skimming ahead. This particular book was a skimmer. I don't know why but I just couldn't get into it. Even though it was my favorite kind of character(imperfect hero/heroine). The main hero in this book is scarred due to smallpox as a child.
October 11, 2020
This was my first book from Nicole Byrd and unfortunately, I disliked it. Actually, I more than disliked it… I hated it.
The main characters are a marquess (John or Marquess of Gillingham) who is scarred from smallpox and a widowed 32 year old woman (Marianna Hughes) who’s chaperoning her young, beautiful, incredibly selfish niece in London.
My first hint that I would hate this book is the niece, Louisa. She’s a total brat. Selfish, immature, self centered. She goads her aunt into taking her to London, brags about a nickname she has in Bath as being “Comely Miss Crookshanks”, has NO knowledge of social etiquette… HOW did they think it would be a good idea to take her to London for a husband?? She runs right up to John without being introduced, introducing herself - and then asks him to dance… both are huge no-no’s in early 1800’s etiquette. She trips over a dog in the park and yells at Lady Jersey, who was a real Almack’s patroness and countess… who RIGHTFULLY puts Louisa in her place for being a brat with no social grace.
Secondly, John doesn’t realize Marianne is a widow and not married until 1/3 of the way through the book. Page 105 out of around 320. He’s drawn to her and yet he pursues her bratty niece for… what? A marriage of convenience is one thing but to court someone while lusting after their aunt? Gross.
Books need to be able to be standalone, or work in a series. This didn’t work for me because there was clearly Sinclair family drama I didn’t understand between John and his brother, Gabriel. They barely went into it, even after they made up.
Did John even propose or did Louisa just say interpret that and then he went along with it? I have no idea.
Did John and Marianne truly have sex WHILE HE WAS ENGAGED TO HER NIECE? DISGUSTING!
The main characters are a marquess (John or Marquess of Gillingham) who is scarred from smallpox and a widowed 32 year old woman (Marianna Hughes) who’s chaperoning her young, beautiful, incredibly selfish niece in London.
My first hint that I would hate this book is the niece, Louisa. She’s a total brat. Selfish, immature, self centered. She goads her aunt into taking her to London, brags about a nickname she has in Bath as being “Comely Miss Crookshanks”, has NO knowledge of social etiquette… HOW did they think it would be a good idea to take her to London for a husband?? She runs right up to John without being introduced, introducing herself - and then asks him to dance… both are huge no-no’s in early 1800’s etiquette. She trips over a dog in the park and yells at Lady Jersey, who was a real Almack’s patroness and countess… who RIGHTFULLY puts Louisa in her place for being a brat with no social grace.
Secondly, John doesn’t realize Marianne is a widow and not married until 1/3 of the way through the book. Page 105 out of around 320. He’s drawn to her and yet he pursues her bratty niece for… what? A marriage of convenience is one thing but to court someone while lusting after their aunt? Gross.
Books need to be able to be standalone, or work in a series. This didn’t work for me because there was clearly Sinclair family drama I didn’t understand between John and his brother, Gabriel. They barely went into it, even after they made up.
Did John even propose or did Louisa just say interpret that and then he went along with it? I have no idea.
Did John and Marianne truly have sex WHILE HE WAS ENGAGED TO HER NIECE? DISGUSTING!
Did not finish
May 7, 2023Nudne, za dużo męczących opisów i dziwnych rozmyślań głównego bohatera. Zbyt przekartkowane bym mogła z czystym sumieniem wystawić ocenę :(.
January 31, 2024
DNF. The niece is so annoyingly stupid, you can’t even see the love story unfolding.
January 28, 2014
John Sinclair, Marquess of Gillingham, dikenal suka menyendiri dan anti sosial dikarenakan wajahnya yang buruk akibat bekas smallpox yang dia derita sewaktu kecil. Tapi karena dia harus mempunyai penerus, mau tak mau dia harus datang ke London untuk mencari seorang istri. Dan dia bertemu dengan Miss Louisa Crookshanks yang sepertinya sangat menyukai dirinya. Louisa gadis muda yang energik, cantik dan begitu ceria, akan tetapi dia sama sekali tak mempunyai perasaan tertarik sedikitpun pada gadis itu malahan dia jatuh cinta pada Marianne Hughes, bibi Louisa sekaligus pendamping Louisa selama Season. John pun mengesampingkan perasaannya dan berfokus untuk menikahi Louisa untuk melahirkan seorang pewaris Gillingham, dia tak mau gelar itu jatuh ke tangan adiknya, Gabriel.
Saat Louisa dan John memutuskan untuk bertunangan, John baru mengetahui bahwa Marianne adalah seorang janda. Makin bertambahlah rasa cinta John pada Marianne, tapi John takut kalau Marianne tidak mencintai John karena wajah John yang buruk. Di samping itu, muncul kejadian-kejadian yang membahayakan nyawa Louisa dan puncaknya John tertembak di saat perkelahiannya dengan Gabriel. Masih belum terungkap siapa yang menembak John, mereka pun memutuskan untuk meninggalkan London dan sementara tinggal di rumah John di Kent. Akan tetapi bahaya ternyata juga mengikuti mereka sampai ke sana.
--
Awal aku ingin membaca ini dikarenakan sinopsisnya yang singkat itu menarik perhatianku. Tapi ternyata ceritanya bertele-tele banget.. T_T
Bikin boring abiss... Geregetan ama sikap John, yang jelas-jelas udah tau kalau dia sukanya sama si Mariane, udah tau kalao si Mariane itu janda jadi Mariane itu available, tapi tetep juga kekeuh mau nikahin si Louisa. Sewaktu ditanya Gabriel, cuma bisa jawab "habisnya si Louisa befikir kalau aku mau menikahi dia".. helloow ??? jadi laki koq ndak tegas sama sekali..!!
Pertengkaran antara John dan Gabriel ternyata hanya karena rasa iri terhadap kasih sayang ibu mereka dan itu dibawa dendam sampai bertahun-tahun lamanya.. *facepalm*
Yang bikin aku bertahan, hanya untuk mengungkap misteri siapa yang mengincar nyawa Louisa selama ini, dan ternyata sungguh tak diduga, ternyata bukan Louisa yang diincar, tapi John lah yang jadi target selama ini. Dan lagi-lagi karena alasan yang gak masuk akal, hanya karena dia anak dari ayahnya, John harus menanggung dosa si ayah. Hadeeh, pemikiran orang-orang di cerita ini aneh banget..
Buat penggemar 'uhuk-uhuk' sayang banget di novel ini cuma ada satu kali, hampir di akhir cerita dan itu pun nggak panas seperti novel-novel HR lainnya.. hehehehehe..
Saat Louisa dan John memutuskan untuk bertunangan, John baru mengetahui bahwa Marianne adalah seorang janda. Makin bertambahlah rasa cinta John pada Marianne, tapi John takut kalau Marianne tidak mencintai John karena wajah John yang buruk. Di samping itu, muncul kejadian-kejadian yang membahayakan nyawa Louisa dan puncaknya John tertembak di saat perkelahiannya dengan Gabriel. Masih belum terungkap siapa yang menembak John, mereka pun memutuskan untuk meninggalkan London dan sementara tinggal di rumah John di Kent. Akan tetapi bahaya ternyata juga mengikuti mereka sampai ke sana.
--
Awal aku ingin membaca ini dikarenakan sinopsisnya yang singkat itu menarik perhatianku. Tapi ternyata ceritanya bertele-tele banget.. T_T
Bikin boring abiss... Geregetan ama sikap John, yang jelas-jelas udah tau kalau dia sukanya sama si Mariane, udah tau kalao si Mariane itu janda jadi Mariane itu available, tapi tetep juga kekeuh mau nikahin si Louisa. Sewaktu ditanya Gabriel, cuma bisa jawab "habisnya si Louisa befikir kalau aku mau menikahi dia".. helloow ??? jadi laki koq ndak tegas sama sekali..!!
Pertengkaran antara John dan Gabriel ternyata hanya karena rasa iri terhadap kasih sayang ibu mereka dan itu dibawa dendam sampai bertahun-tahun lamanya.. *facepalm*
Yang bikin aku bertahan, hanya untuk mengungkap misteri siapa yang mengincar nyawa Louisa selama ini, dan ternyata sungguh tak diduga, ternyata bukan Louisa yang diincar, tapi John lah yang jadi target selama ini. Dan lagi-lagi karena alasan yang gak masuk akal, hanya karena dia anak dari ayahnya, John harus menanggung dosa si ayah. Hadeeh, pemikiran orang-orang di cerita ini aneh banget..
Buat penggemar 'uhuk-uhuk' sayang banget di novel ini cuma ada satu kali, hampir di akhir cerita dan itu pun nggak panas seperti novel-novel HR lainnya.. hehehehehe..
October 21, 2013
Diverting. Damaged hero; contrast between charming, superficial, self-centered, energetic young lady & an only-slightly-older, but more level-headed, self-disciplined, intellectual woman with depth. Everyone ends up happily paired off, of course.
May 19, 2009
One of my top five favorite romances! I loved that it featured older mai characters. This is a very touching book.
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January 9, 2010headless woman cover
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews