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The London Trilogy #2

by Sherry Thomas, Isabel Merino Sánchez (Translator)

En la esplendorosa y refinada Inglaterra de finales del siglo xix, lord y lady Tremaine encarnan un matrimonio perfecto, basado en el respeto y la libertad, sobre todo porque cada uno vive a un lado del Atlántico. Sin embargo, cuando ella le pida el divorcio a fin de poder volver a casarse, él le pondrá una condición: que permanezcan juntos un año más para que le dé un heredero. Y, sin duda, un año dedicado a tales menesteres puede dar mucho de sí.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Second Chance, Fiction, Second Chance Romance

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 25, 2008

About the author

USA Today-bestselling author Sherry Thomas decided years ago that her goal in life is to write every kind of book she enjoys reading. Thus far she has published romance, fantasy, mystery, young adult, and three books inspired by the martial arts epics she grew up devouring. Her books regularly receive starred reviews and best-of-the-year honors from trade publications, including such outlets as the New York Times and National Public Radio.

A Study in Scarlet Women, A Conspiracy in Belgravia, and The Hollow of Fear, the first three entries in her gender-bending Lady Sherlock historical mystery series, are all NPR best books of the year. The Magnolia Sword, her 2019 release, is the first young adult retelling of the original Ballad of Mulan in the English language.

Sherry emigrated from China at age 13 and English is her second language.

“Sherry Thomas has done the impossible and crafted a fresh, exciting new version of Sherlock Holmes. From the carefully plotted twists to the elegant turns of phrase, A Study in Scarlet Women is a splendid addition to Holmes’s world. This book is everything I hoped it would be, and the next adventure cannot come too soon!” —Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author

“Thomas weaves a lush, intricate fantasy world around a gorgeous romance that kept me riveted until the very last page. What a breathtaking journey!” (Marie Lu, New York Times bestselling author of the Legend series )

"Sherry Thomas is the most powerfully original historical romance author writing today."—Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author



Visit Sherry at her website

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Reviews

[Rachel (BAVR) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Warning: GIFs and major spoilers ahead!

Private Arrangements is the tedious story of horrible people being horrible to each other in horrible circumstances. After reading Sherry Thomas's Ravishing the Heiress, I figured that wangst was her schtick. I hate wangst. I'd rather read about things happening than about people complaining all the time. But since Sherry Thomas has so many glowing reviews, I thought, "Well, maybe some of her wangst is more tolerable than the wangst I just read. Everyone deserves a second chance."

And then this book was like:

September 19, 2012: The day I decided, NEVER AGAIN.

Lessons have been learned, my friends.

It wasn't all bad, I suppose. Mostly bad, of course, but a few glimmers of hope in the text kept me reading. Thomas has a very distinctive prose style. She excels at creating an atmospheric sense of despair. This would be well-suited to a horror or suspense novel - or maybe one of those depressing books people like to read about kids with deformities or terminal illnesses (you know the ones) - but really drags down the mood in a romance novel. Every time happiness glimmered on the horizon, the characters dutifully fucked it all up. And the worst thing is that they never really have to fuck it up. They just do. Apparently for the LULZ. It's like the main characters took a blood oath at birth to stand in the way of their own happiness, and in turn, the happiness of all the characters around them and the happiness of any innocent person who happens to read their book.


I am the kangaroo. This book is the fucking bird.

The Story:
Gigi Rowland comes from a family that's mega-rich in trade but not so high in the aristocracy. Her mother, never one to pursue anything but the loftiest ambitions, makes it her life mission to marry Gigi off to a duke. Indeed, Gigi does catch a duke, through less than noble but totes clever means of buying up all his debt and blackmailing him into marriage. Unfortunately, the poor sod dies shortly before the wedding. Or lucky sod, depending on how you look at it. Gigi and her mum think that they're back to square one, but miracle of miracles! The dead duke has a cousin who will inherit the dukedom when his daddy kicks the bucket. The cousin is poor-as-dirt Camden Saybrook, who hogs what Gigi lacks in blue blood but starves for cash where Gigi is rich. Fortunately for Gigi's until then dormant little heart, Camden is super hot and all educated and cultured 'n stuff because his parents had to sweep their kids all over the continent as a result of not having enough money to have a home of their own. She falls in love with him the very day they meet. Okay, so this is looking good. Boy needs money. Girl needs title. They both want to do the horizontal tango. Hearts and butterflies and mix tapes are in their future! Right?

Hell to the no. This is a Sherry Thomas book, you naive fool.

Naturally, Camden has promised his heart to some boring, fickle girl from some European country I can't bother remembering. The girl's about as inspiring as dry toast, okay? She isn't worth the trouble her presence brought to this book. Even though this girl's actively seeking a wealthy, titled husband in England, Camden feels honor-bound to uphold his adolescent pledges of eternal love. When Gigi points out all the reasons he should insert his Tab A into her Slot B in the marriage bed, Camden's still like, "Even though I masturbate to you, like, constantly, my heart has been pledged to another. Just friends, 'kay?"

And Gigi's like:

"Oprah and I are NOT buying your shit."

So, like any other enterprising Victorian girl, Gigi takes matters into her own hands. With the help of a poorly forged letter and a slight lack of ethics, she tricks Camden into doing exactly what he wants. They promptly set a wedding date. Everything's GLORIOUS, for like a minute, until Camden discovers Gigi's betrayal a day before the wedding.

Now, instead of behaving like a fucking HUMAN BEING and confronting Gigi about the deceit directly, Camden literally runs across the village in a fit of angst like an infinitely less cool Forrest Gump and then decides that he must have REVENGE. I'm not sure if Camden got more upset over Gigi's forged letter from the "other woman" saying that Miss Boring was betrothed to another or if he was pissed at himself for being stupid enough to believe it in the first place. Either way, Miss Boring really does get betrothed to someone else, so all the whinging in the world wouldn't have brought Camden to any other place than into Gigi's willing arms. What Gigi did was crappy, but at least she did it out of LOVE for Camden. If he had confronted her before the wedding and talked or yelled it out, I'm sure they still would have decided to fuck like rabbits. What I'm trying to get across is this: The wangst in this book was easily avoidable!

Like a romance hero after my own fantasies, Camden pretends that everything's totes cool until the wedding night. He tries to act all dickish but can't quite pull it off until after he screws the daylights out of Gigi. You know, to rid himself of his disgusting lust for her. They have sex, and it's earth-shattering while angels probably cry tears of joy in the heavens, and Gigi's incredibly happy.

Enter: Camden taking a massive dump on all things happy the morning after. He curses Gigi, refuses to accept her apologies, and leaves her high and dry for ten years. Yes, because abandoning the wife that you DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO MARRY IN THE FIRST PLACE is totes nobler than the actions of a freaking teenager forging a letter and releasing you from an ill-suited marriage.


Even Neil Degrasse Tyson can't make sense of this shit.

Ten long, painful years pass until Gigi decides that she's had ENOUGH of her absentee husband. She wants a divorce so she can remarry a younger man who naively worships the ground she walks on. At the age of 29, Gigi is now a seasoned cougar, apparently. If we lived in a fair world, Camden would have granted the divorce and released us from the torturous inanity of this plot. But this is a very UNfair world, so Europe's Wettest Blanket (AKA Camden) returns to London from America to make one last demand of his dear wife.

Camden wants an heir before he'll grant her a divorce. Yes, an heir. And then he'll grant her a divorce. Let that sink in. Camden, an educated marquess, wants to knock up the wife he doesn't like, get an heir, and then sentence the kiddo to a life of shame and humiliation by granting a scandalous divorce to the baby's mother. Camden is just like a soap opera villain, only not interesting at all because he's a whiny bitch.

I got incredibly bored with the story at this point. It was just a lot of pain and whinging to reach a foregone conclusion.

Hate sex ... hate sex ... hate sex ...

Sorta/kinda like sex with all the erotic appeal of this:


Pointless, boring scenes dedicated to Gigi's mum having not very clever conversations with the single duke down the street. Because the ONE THING this stupid-fest needed was a secondary love story.

I love her. I love her not. I love her. I love her not.

I love him. I love him not. I love him. I love him not.

Stupid angsty quotes that totally don't fit the actual problems these people have, like ...
Camden slapped down the towel and caught his own reflection in the mirror above the washbasin. He looked about as happy as the citizenry of Paris on the eve of the Storming of the Bastille, primed for violence and mayhem.

Painful separation.

Stupid quotes that confirm that this IS NOT romance ...
True, there were all sorts of ways he could bludgeon her, with the diminished but still powerful husbandly prerogatives granted him under English law. But in the end, what would it accomplish?

A gratuitous scene of Camden hob-nobbing with the Vanderbilts, Astors and Morgans.

A rushed and unsatisfactory reunion.

And then, god help me, this ...
"She turned onto her back and slid a knuckle across her lower lip. "Won't you come to bed and make me pregnant?"



The. Fucking. End.

I know that Sherry Thomas has a lot of fans. If this kind of story floats your boat, that's great. Sadly, this is just NOT my cup of tea.

My reading of this book is a result of a devious Buddy Square Read. Check out Karla, Kerrie, and Sarah's reviews for some more wacky perspectives into the books of Sherry Thomas.

[new_user · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Feather called this book, "enchanting...An extraordinary, unputdownable love story." You would think a fellow author could conjure up better praise than "unputdownable," but Mary Balogh puts it better. She calls Private Arrangements "a love story of remarkable depth," and that's certainly true.

In fact, the first half of Private Arrangements reads very much like a beautiful, artistic indie film. The first moments glimpsed between Gigi and Camden are intimate and sweet and summon a tone of magic. From the moment these two meet we feel the impression that they are soulmates, the kind of kindred spirits who finish each other's sentences and share silent exchanges. Sherry Thomas skillfully conveys their bond by capturing the real life nuances between a man and a woman, the instant connection that a man and a woman feel when they can share a joke in a glance. The silences are as telling as the words. This act in the story is possibly the most romantic I've seen in a romance. So I loved these flashes back. They're integral to the rest of the story, and they were placed ideally in the book to describe current events. (Don't worry, the flashbacks stop, they're not endless, LOL.)

So it's all the more tragic when that communion is shattered. Both parties are to blame, but when we see, as we must, the sad straits to which the Tremaines come, two people once in love now unable to stop hurting each other, we feel the pain that Gigi and Camden must feel.

Again, the author is brilliant at proving all her claims (aka "showing"). Gigi is meant to be intelligent and strong, and we see this in her actions and words, in the vulnerable heart of her that she protects so carefully. She is a real woman that we have all met at one point, not a manufactured heroine too stubborn or stupid to live or ridiculously naive. She is a proud woman, at once her strength and weakness. Likewise, we come to know Camden with his intelligence and calm, his humility and humor, his quiet dignity and strength. He's not arrogant or overbearing (though he can surely be aggressive/firm when the needs calls for it) and not led by the nose into the heroine's tricks or drama. At one point, he even makes light of a man flying into a jealous rage when a rival for the heroine's attentions is dangled before him-- which I found amusing, because we all have seen that device in historical romance. He is a very real hero, whom we probably all have met at one point or another. He makes mistakes and despite himself he's not invulnerable, though he's not a rake or resistant to love for the sake of resistance. Their histories have made the characters who they are, and they are not overdramatic or contrived.

The ice between Camden and Gigi, the cold, polite relationship is Victorian British to the core and the barbs traded between them intelligent and biting. This is the first time I've seen this done right. This is the cut direct delivered with a smile, but the book is prevented from becoming too bleak or depressing because not only we do read about the longing and undying attraction, despite all, between these two, but we're promised an end in sight, a HEA.

Needless to say, Thomas has done her research-- if you need proof, she drops a paragraph on the economics of the times, the only point in the novel where she reveals her research outright. She also roots us in the period with little windows into the time in a way that we can relate. We read a telegram from Camden to his mother-in-law, and it is as long-suffering as any modern man could be. At another point, instead of a description, we read a building plaque directly, Thomas illustrating the story herself.

However, she remains firmly in the period. I particularly like that she doesn't try to make Gigi a modern woman from 2008 suffering the 1800s. In fact, Camden even looks back at medieval times as we would his time, saying something along the lines of, "Too bad we've made so much progress." That was a brilliant touch. Gigi exploits her advantages as much as he. Thomas also reminds us that the Victorians were human. Many authors research the strict accepted social norms of the times, but few realize they were flaunted just as the norms of today are. They laughed, they loved. Oscar Wilde would have approved.

Thomas' style is another point in favor. She has a very elegant, spare style that suits the story far better than the purple prose we often find in romance. She is concise without verging into colloquial or informal, she's succinct in the way that Hemingway was, never too wordy. I also loved her physical descriptions of the characters because instead of using vague descriptors like "deep-set eyes" or a "bright eyes," she tells us a character has a chin like "Michelangelo's David" and we immediately have a concrete visual. She writes clever dialogue too, if I haven't mentioned that yet, that modern readers can understand without feeling dumbed down or too anachronistic.

As for the plot, this is a relationship drama. There is no suspense or action to power the plot, but Thomas makes smashing-good drama of these characters' lives. The book is emotional not because of any manufactured devices, but because of the real pains that these characters suffer, the depths to which they plumb the human character when they're breaking up, when they're loving, hurting, parting, all of it, almost like Susan Wiggs if she wrote historical.

In short, Thomas brings subtlety, a touch of realism, and human drama back into romance. She's a breath of fresh air in the romance genre, and I just hope I enjoy her next book as much.

I should also mention that there's a current of heated tension between Gigi and Camden. However, while there are bedroom scenes, they are short and sensual. They are definitely not pages long, but enough details are conveyed to move the story as they are meant to do (and satisfy most readers, LOL). ;)

[Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not your typical Regency/Victorian romance, and it will not appeal to all readers of this genre.

It is not a heart-warming story of two people falling in love and making a life together, but rather a story of the devastation that can occur when the happily-ever-after is shattered and seems forever out of reach.

Gigi Rowland is young, rich and uncompromising. Her experience with fortune-hunters, coupled with her mother's unswerving determination to see her marry a duke, has left her pragmatic and ruthless - both towards herself and others.

When she fortuitously meets Camden Saybrook, who has recently inherited the lands adjoining her family's holdings, Gigi wastes no time in proposing a union - Camden has need of her finances, Gigi has need of a future Duke for marriage. But Camden is not so easy to convince; he is a man of honor who has different ideals, and desires a marriage that is more that just a convenience.

The attraction between the pair, however, is undeniable. Gigi finds herself unexpectedly emotionally involved and is determined that Camden be hers. They soon find themselves falling in love, and planning their lives together with all the passionate sweetness of first love.

Marry they do, but Gigi has committed an act of extreme deceit and betrayal, to which Camden responds in an equally reprehensible manner. The repercussions leave a trail of devastation and destruction that is still alive 10 years later when they are reunited for the first time upon Gigi's request for a divorce.

The author presents characters that are layered and confronting. She embraces the shades of gray we have within us and presents real characters with undeniable flaws.

There is animosity on a scale such as you would never expect to see in a romance novel. Camden and Gigi are often brutal and callous in their interactions with each other, but the author allows us to also recognize the deep and abiding love they have for each other, could they only find their way back

Never has the line between love and hate been finer. These are characters you condemn even while your heart breaks for them. Heart-wrenching is a term that is often overused - I am guilty of that myself - but if you look it up in the dictionary you might just find a picture of Private Arrangements.

Gigi and Camden are unable or unwilling to recover from the mistakes they made a decade ago, either due to their own self-righteousness, or at times the capricious hands of fate.

The prose is evocative, captivating and unpretentious, as is necessary given the subject matter. The author provides moments of poignancy, particularly toward Camden, to lure the readers sympathy toward these often unlikable characters. Thankfully, she also inserts charming snippets of humor and wit to lighten the sense of bleakness that never manages to overpower the novel.

Private Arrangements is not a pleasant read. It is at times disturbing, but always compelling. There were times I found myself reading this book with my head in my hand, covering one eye as if I couldn’t bear to see what was going to happen.

Unfortunately, I felt a little short-changed by the ending. It felt almost rushed and anti-climactic. Having borne witness to 10 years of angst and anguish, surely we deserved better than a handful of pages worth of resolution. If ever we needed to see a couple living their HEA, Camden and Gigi are that couple.

But... A book that not only engages your emotions but physically manifests them through frowns, sighs, tears, gasps, and fist-clenching-nails-digging-into-palms tension deserves no less than 5 stars from me.

[Pepa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reseña completa: http://masromance.blogspot.com.es/201...
Esta segunda vez le he encontrado más peros que la primera
Ese período tan largo separados
La parte física sí que me ha parecido fría. Pero creo que justo esa es la intención de la autora porque choca totalmente con los fuertes sentimientos que intentan evitar ambos pero ninguno consigue.
Pese a la aportación divertida de la historia secundaria me ha dado rabia porque me restaba espacio para la principal.
PERO
Pese a esos puntos me parece una novela deliciosa, muy bien escrita. Hay frases geniales. Es una estupenda novela de segundas oportunidades, porque pese a que lo que hace Gigi, que es muy fuerte, no hay que olvidar que es una niña caprichosa, egoísta y muy joven. Y la autora equipara bastante su personaje con el de Candem cuya reacción es desmesurada. Aquí se ve la lucha entre ambos orgullos. Me ha encantado su pausada educación y la sutil ironía de cada letra!!!
Los personajes tienen tanta fuerza que es un claro ejemplo de cómo una novela puede ser genial sin tener una trama compleja
Es una historia en la que el reencuentro y esas pequeñas escenas que van desvelando los sentimientos de ambos se suceden sin pausa pero sin prisa. Refleja muy bien la diferencia entre sentimiento y sexo (algo que últimamente se está olvidando)
Quizás ahora ya hay en el mercado más novelas con una trama similar, pero cuando se publicó por primera vez en España, si no estoy equivocada, fue una trama muy muy original. Aún ahora me lo parece.
Es posible que a muchas no guste pero yo la he vuelto a disfrutar como una niña pequeña y sé que en algún momento la volveré a releer!!!

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a beautifully poignant and heartbreaking story about lost love, betrayal and a cruel punishment way beyond the said crime. And the writing is simply sublime and completely reels you in.But it is one of those books done in by their endings.

*Major spoilers*Young Gigi is a headstrong and independent daughter of a rich tradesman who, primed by her ambitious mama is set on marrying a duke. So she does ensnare an impoverished duke who was inconsiderate enough to conk off weeks before the wedding. And when she meets the H, the son of the heir, she genuinely falls for him and in her intemperate style proposes to him. Camden, though very intrigued refuses as he is waiting for his childhood love to make up her mind about him. Gigi with her characteristic cunning is unwilling to let such minor things ruin her plans, sends a forged letter purportedly from the said lady telling the H of her impending nuptials. The H accepts the h’s proposal and wedding is on. Just a day before, the H gets to know about Gigi’s deceit but he goes on with the wedding seething with rage, only to dump her cruelly after the wedding night.

What follows is a heartbreaking separation of ten years. Gigi tries to win him back for first few months but is cruelly abused and rebuffed. She finally gives up after he takes another woman to his Paris apartment and rubs her face in it. She is no doormat - she picks herself up and lives her life to the fullest including having affairs while he goes to New York and builds ships. The adultery on both h/H’s part was not off-putting to me as it is implied rather than actually shown. And ten years is a long time. The way the H treated her, I was actually glad that she didn’t pine away but lived her life as she deemed fit.
Ten years on, with no direct contact from him, she decides enough was enough and sends him a divorce petition. She wants to get married to this sweet uncomplicated guy before life passes her by. So the missing Marquis finally arrives and says gimme an heir and you get a divorce and so the story rolls on..

So what’s the catch? (Besides the obvious)
The punishment went on for TEN years??!! That’s a lifetime, man. Are you crazy or what? And this is when he knows she loves him and that that no one compares to her in his life either. He admits it was never about the other girl - when he gets to know about the ow’s wedding, he was actually relieved. So why this unyielding and excessive cruelty? Did he never have a calm and lucid moment in all these years?

His calm and friendly acceptance of the om was disappointing and nauseating to say the least.
And I did not like the perfunctory, unfeeling h/H sex scenes!

Did not like the sly references about his earlier ships either - 'The Marchioness' sinking while 'The Mistress' proving to be a sea worthy success. Hated him!

When she refuses his second chance offer (*clap clap*), he should have persevered rather than taking his sorry ass back to NY. Gawd what a wimp! Why is she always doing the running after?

And the ending is so abysmal and unsatisfying.
No grovel, no sorry, no remorse from him for wasting ten years of their lives and for what? It was almost as if the author lost interest towards the end. This book deserved an ending which wrenches your heart out before putting it back, not drollery and bedtime banter.

A/N:
Secondary romance of mom and her duke is okay.
On the two om- the suave Lord Wrenworth gets his own book and dear Freddie is aww so adorable and adoptable.
Croesus the dog deserved a bigger role in reconciliation.

[Kinga · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best historical romance novel I have read in my entire life ever. If all historical romances were like this one I would just apply for an unemployment benefit, sit at home and read them all day every day. I wouldn’t even have showers. And I’d only eat what hungryhouse.co.uk can deliver to my door. I really would need nothing else in my life, so maybe it’s a good thing not all historical romance novels are like this one.

If you are to read only one historical romance, because, I don’t know, it’s on your list of 1001 things to do before you die, make sure it’s this one. It had everything I'd ever wanted from a historical romance.

I didn’t think I was into reunion romances. It’s what we in Polish call “reheating old cutlets”. But I should’ve trusted Sherry Thomas. I should’ve known Sherry Thomas was a genius. This book made me giddy. I couldn’t stop reading it and I wanted to stop reading it because I didn’t want it to end. I want to erase my whole memory of this book, so I can read it again. That truly must be the only advantage of suffering from anterograde amnesia. Imagine! I could read this book every day!
Sherry Thomas is a very intelligent and erudite writer; her books are full of those fantastic little historical details. She mastered the ‘show not tell’ rule. She doesn’t have to tell us her characters are so smart and educated – she shows us by the conversations they’re having.

What I love most about Sherry Thomas and this book is the authenticity of the characters’ emotional struggle. The obstacles are not there to fill out the pages before the grand finale; they are there because the hero and heroine genuinely need to overcome certain things in order to be happy and it’s not something that makes you think “I’m sorry but what’s your problem exactly?” And I like that they are not perfect, it makes it all that much easier to identify with them.

As a matter of fact, I might have liked this book so much because it reminded me of my own story that spanned over almost 10 years, two continents, five countries and involved disappearing without a trace, five year long separation, valentine postcards with no return address, presents arriving from different countries, jumping on the plane before saying what you really meant to say and regretting it afterwards and shitloads of really bad timing. If this place were less public, I’d tell you the whole story.

‘Private Arrangements’ made me think of this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSFbfB... Just change ‘three days’ to ‘three weeks’ and it’s perfect.
I've been loving you
Without you even knowing
I'll never forget those days
Three days in a row
You were mine alone
And I haven't seen you since that day
I'm sorry baby
Baby boy, when I saw you the first time
I knew right away that you and I
Were connected in a way
I believed that there was a way something more
That I could ever express in my own words
I just knew at the time
I belonged to you but it all felt so wrong
To do the things my heart gave in
Baby I'm telling you
With loads on our minds
A few goodbyes
We could never have given it a real try
But you were in my head always
And at this point of my life I just know
That if you let me back in
I won't let go of you and me spending our lives
I just know it's a matter of time
Before it all falls back into place
Baby believe me
I walk the line and for you I will shine
Just be prepared for a hell of a ride
Don't ever doubt 'bout the way I feel
For heaven sake boy I'm beggin' you

This is probably the cheesiest review I have ever written, but bite me. See if I care.

I didn’t even know what to cook for the food tie-in for this review. I do remember they drank extremely posh wines and cognacs (Lafite, Romanee Conti, Remy Martin) but I only have some vague recollection of some game meat dishes. I decided to do something elegant, not too extravagant, loosely British-French and found this recipe: Pan-fried pork medallions with leeks and flageolet beans (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pan...). The recipe is by the Hairy Bikers, so not the most elegant chefs out there but it looked like something that would go well with the book. Also to be perfectly honest with you, Tesco had pork medallions on special offer. The sauce proved to be heavenly – try it!



I’m quite upset because my best photo turned out to be blurry, so had to use not so good of a shot that makes the pork medallions giant and potato rosti petite, when they were actually the same size.

As a side note, the recipe uses Calvados which is the title of one of my favourite Polish songs about lost love from the past. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9ypHw...).

[Mei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me say first that I don't like cheating in my romance novels... I thought that I wouldn't mind it here, since the MCs were separated for almost 10 years, but it was not thus... So, I gave it 3 stars. But please do not let my opinion influence you: if you don't feel about cheating so strongly as I do, or if you're more understanding than me, you will surely like it.

I just couln't overcome the idea that two, so much in love, people could do what Gigi and Cam did to themselves.

And you can feel their love on each page! Their feelings are so strong that they shine from this book. That made it impossible for me to understand why...

I don't think that pride is more important than love, so maybe I'm not the most capable person to judge them, but I did it all the same.

Gigi's obstinate convinction that Freddy is the man for her was ridiculous. It's obvious that poor Freddy will be very, very unhappy with Gigi. That he'll be the doormat husband and that, sooner or later, she will destroy him. And poor Freddy does not deserve it, because he's genuinely nice and good person. So why Gigi, being the intelligent woman, didn't want to acknowledge such a simple truth? She states that she loves Freddy, so why she wants to destroy him?

Also Cam... why Theodora was so important? She seemed to me like a mommy's little girl, without any will or intelligence. She didn't love Cam as much as she needed his help and care because I got the feeling that she was simple-minded...

So Gigi forged the letter and hide the fact from Cam... OK, it was not the most clever thing to do, but she was young and in love... and I didn't get the feeling that Cam was so reticent! So why did he punished her for 9 years??? Did he think he was not at least a little bit guilty too?!

And they both have lovers during this 9 years... How did they managed it? If the love was so strong, how did they managed it? How???!!!

The story stressed the fact that trust is important, but here trust is more important than love and I don't agree with that. Isn't love a feeling that forgives all faults? I always thought so...

Still, apart all of these grievances, the writing was really good!

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time enjoying this book despite how well-written it is. The characters, setting, and plot are all excellently well-done and very immersive. Which is part of the problem, I think. The story we're immersed in, here, has darkly tragic roots with a very raw betrayal at its heart.

The story is spread out over ten years, though really, we only experience the bookends directly (with the occasional short, often irrelevant interlude). In the early section, we have a proud, self-assured Gigi as a take-charge woman with advantageous matrimony in mind. Camden is a noble youth of unexpectedly risen fortune who wants to be naïve, even though that ship sailed when he took over the finances for his hippie parents (they're too noble to be true vagabonds, but that's what it amounts to). In this section, we have two forms of pride clashing in the most horrible way imaginable—with the result of a decade of separation that follows.

For all that they're portrayed as more or less equally culpable, I had a really hard time buying into this moral claim. Unfortunately, Camden's core character is based on him being the wronged party here and I just can't see it that way. mild spoilers here: Gigi's actions were foolish and high-handed. They were reprehensible in their own way, but more or less natural for a head-strong girl with a shaky moral foundation—all things Camden knew characterized her (remember, he is not naïve and the narrative depends as much on this as on his "honor").

Unfortunately, in terms of moral calculus, Camden takes her offense and blows it completely out of the water with his own. It's like if one person farted in a room after a burrito lunch and their companion took out a gun and shot them for it. Yeah, the initial offense is unpleasant, but it's also not completely unexpected and can better be dealt with by encouraging more circumspect behavior. Again, mild spoiler (Thomas drags out the full reveal to about the quarter or third point and there's some emotional artistry in the presentation so I don't want to rob her of how well it's setup to deliver the emotional charge) While Gigi's offense is aimed towards manipulating Camden into something he wants to do anyway, Camden's offense is to hijack the intimacy and trust of sex and use it as a weapon against her—to take her love and reforge it into his own instrument of retribution. To marry her knowing of her manipulation and to do so with the intent of giving her one night of bliss (and I mean emotional as well as sexual) just to yank it back afterward as painfully as possible is beyond merely villainous. It is iniquitous to the point of outright evil. That's enough to create a right horrendous hang-up all on its own and something that should have left emotional scars that would take more than a little effort, luck, and time to heal.

So by the middle of the book I literally couldn't stand Camden and only tolerated him because I could see how much Gigi still loved him (fool girl). I kind of wanted someone else to enter from left field (definitely not her swain, Freddie) and give her the trust, love, and comfort she had gone a long way towards earning. I mean kudos to Gigi that she let that event soften her and lead to an examination of motives and kindness that you could see had a real positive effect on who she became. But how much better if that had been accomplished by loving kindness and respect from the husband who vowed to cherish, protect, and love?

Anyway, Camden kind of turns it around in the end, at least insofar as Gigi puts him through the wringer (without malice or artifice), so I'm okay with how things turned out. It helps that there are secondary plotlines that are entertaining as well (not least some unexpected wisdom from the idiot swain, Freddie) to keep me going through some of the darker times. I laughed out loud a few times and had a hard time putting it down throughout, so it did its job. I just wish the moral foundations of their quarrel hadn't been so dark and so unequal.

A note about Steamy: On the high side and with a disturbing twist. There are a handful of explicit scenes of moderate length, but the disturbing part of them is that sometimes they are the truly vicious retribution inflicted on Gigi by Camden (and I don't mean the one plotted in the past). This is not fun or flirtatious or anybody's fantasy, but rather a raw vengeance darkly and determinedly perpetrated with malice and planning. I tell you, Camden crosses a line into evil here and I didn't recover from it nearly as quickly as Gigi did...

[Didi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like everything I've read so far by Sherry Thomas, this was evocative and beautifully written. Her stories are so rich in her trademark prose, her characters are endearingly flawed and her sexual tension is always maddening. Here we get the story of lord and lady Tremaine, a couple exceedingly adept at fooling society into thinking their marriage to be a peaceful and rewarding Union. Nothing is farther from the truth. But what is true is the passion that still lives between them despite being separated for 10 years.
Gigi Rowland--lady Tremaine--had pulled a very selfish and damning move, a move that was the catalyst for the breakdown of her marriage. But lord Tremaine--Camden Saybrook--has returned a decade later in response to Gigi requesting a divorce. But their attraction and love still burns deep despite all the bitterness. Can they salvage their union and forgive past transgressions?

I really liked this of course! The reasons behind their troubles, what Gigi did, what Camden did in response...it was all so hurtful to read. Their pain was palpable but at the same time their love was there underneath it all. My heart was pained with several scenes and I felt so helpless just reading about it. I loved the ending, loved how they both came to their senses and only wished we got an epilogue.

[María Ángeles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pero qué bonito!!!!! Qué bonito!!!!!!! Ainss, qué bonito!!!!!
Es el ejemplo perfecto de cómo una historia de amor te hace perder el día: leyéndola hasta que la termines!!! De cómo una historia bonita, no demasiado larga, te hace feliz.
Dos protagonistas que irradian fuerza, con un humor inteligente y con una química alucinante.
-Hola Camden.
-Hola Gigi.
Y ya está!!!
Por poner algún pero...
1) La historia de la madre no me convence, pero la cena de los 4 es ¡magistral!
2) Un epílogo!!!! Qué daría yo por un epílogo!!!!

Reseña en el BLOG: http://unablogueraeventual.com/acuerd...

[Eastofoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally well-written with a brilliantly fresh feeling plot that will take you up and down the emotional roller coaster ride from hell smashing your heart to smithereens only to come crashing down and smack it all back together again at the end. I loved this book :D

The writing here is so good that I would even go as far as to say that Thomas is better than Lisa Kleypas who in her own right can pack a really good gut punch. Sherry Thomas manages to weave together a story where the h/h aren’t always the focus and with quite a bit of narration –two things I absolutely hate in a romance novel-- but here her talent with the pen doesn’t even make you think twice about it all and you’re sucking back the pages like a vacuum cleaner.

Gigi and Camden married when they were quite young and on their wedding night they went their separate ways. Gigi has filed for divorce from her husband (who now lives in America) who she hasn’t seen in over 10 years. Now you know this is going to happen but you keep wanting to know the why and the how and as the secrets unravel you cringe, you squirm, you OMG no s/he didn’t (!), you get all uncomfortable and really feel like someone is pulling out your insides and mashing them all up. The things the h/h say to hurt each other will just leave you wanting to cry and physically shudder. It’s not just jabs and barbs either it’s that biting cold snap that just shuts the other person up into either a kind of passive aggressive stance or they just turn around and leave the room seething with fury or poised to cry rivers. I’ve never come across a romance like this one. The love that the two have for each other is there but they’re both too stubborn to set aside 10 years of hate and distrust. They feel like very real people which is why their story packs such a wallop I think. This is no light romance. It’s not miserable either and it easily could’ve have been. Underneath the ice of politeness is an inferno of heart-wrenching love that they both feel but it’s not one of those “oh just tell him/her already” kind of stories that frustrates the reader. The story has a smartness to it that is rarely seen in other novels.

What I especially liked was the heroine. She’s one of those rare women who doesn’t act flighty, silly, idiotic etc. She takes charge when life has handed her lemons and she does quite well for herself in the process until the hero returns and those long dead feelings start stirring again. The hero is a man of power but not an “I don’t care what you want or say” kind of alpha. At the beginning I wondered if I’d even like him during the flashback scenes where the author tells how they met and what led up to their marriage. He’s all action though when he gets back telling his wife he’ll grant her the divorce she wants on one condition and later when he changes his mind you feel so sad for them. Towards the end when he makes a last ditch effort to get her back your heart can’t help but crumble into tiny little itty bitty pieces (**sigh sigh** and **big sigh**).

The secondary story between Gigi’s mother and her neighbor the Duke at first is borderline annoying and you think it’s just filler but it has its own story that’s really good. As for the steam it’s very good but it’s the tension building between Gigi and Camden that really steals the show.

If you like a romance that will really grab you by the collar, shake you around ‘til your head hurts, throw you up against the wall and then do it all over again all in the name of getting to a fabulous ending, then this book is a definite must-read and it looks like you’d better get shopping ;-)

[Vintage · Rating 1 out of 5]

I went into this with some reservations which ended up correct for me. I don't mind a little revenge, but this was not a little revenge. It was A LOT OF REVENGE and somewhat out of proportion to the initial act. Or maybe not, the heroine was kind of despicable as well.

Bottom line, the h has been raised by a rampantly ambitious society mama and it shows. The h is ruthless in getting what she wants. No spoiler here to say she forges and sends the object of her infatuation a letter where his fiancee cries off and marries another. The H finds out the night before the wedding and decides to extract the ultimate revenge. He beds her then leaves her, rubbing in the fact what a lowlife, dishonorable piece of scum she is. She follows him all around Europe where he proceeds to humiliate her further for Y-E-A-R-S.

Bottom line, I just did not care for these characters. Petty, mean-spirited, unfaithful, and, yes, dishonorable on both counts, there was not much for me to love.

[Hannah B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly it made me feel a “fuck it five stars” type of way


I did wish she shoved that ring up her hooha because I would have perished and no you’re getting absolutely zero context for this statement

[Alba Turunen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Estrellas. Ha sido uno de esos casos en que esperaba mucho de ésta novela, por críticas, opiniones, recomendaciones etc., y éste 2018 ha sido el año en que decidí leerme todos esos libros del género que merecen leerse. Algunos han tenido la suerte de convertirse en algunas de mis novelas favoritas, pero “Acuerdos privados” no ha sido el caso.

Sí, las malditas expectativas. Cuando ves opiniones de un libro y a todo el mundo parece gustarle, piensas que no puede ser malo, que te estás perdiendo un gran libro que deberías leer. Ése fue mi entusiasmo al abrir este libro, pero lo cierto es que no me ha gustado. Ojo, no todo, como siempre iré por partes.

Lo que sí me ha gustado del libro es que está muy bien escrito y se nota la labor de investigación de la escritora y sus conocimientos sobre arte ¿Para qué voy a negarlo? Es uno de mis puntos débiles y sé cuando encuentro un espíritu afín. El que no me haya gustado se lo lleva el romance y Gigi, la protagonista femenina.

El libro trata un tema delicado, de los que suelen atraerme mucho, y es un caso de segundas oportunidades, un matrimonio que se casó, tuvieron sus diferencias, se separaron y vuelven a unirse, pero el caso de “Acuerdos privados” es el siguiente. Gigi y Camden se casaron muy jóvenes y muy enamorados, pero Gigi cometió un error fatal que sentenció el respeto, la confianza y el amor que Camden la profesaba. Debido a ése error él puso un océano de por medio, ahora Gigi vive en Inglaterra y Camden en Nueva York.

Han pasado diez años y Gigi está rehaciendo su vida en Londres, entre otras cosas ha conocido a un joven artista con quien desea casarse, pero está casada. Siendo como es una mujer moderna de finales del siglo XIX, no la importaría, ni a ella ni a su nuevo prometido, el escándalo que pueda provocar un divorcio a la alta sociedad londinense. Cuando le llega a Camden la petición de divorcio a Nueva York, no lo piensa dos veces y embarca en el primer buque que encuentra. En Londres le hará una proposición a su esposa, si quiere conseguir el divorcio, pasarán un año juntos y ella deberá darle un heredero, solo así la librará de su compromiso.

Lo demás es lo que suele pasar en éste tipo de historias, pero que a mí me ha sabido a poco o me ha resultado muy frío. En las primeras escenas saltan chispas, y no se soportan. También hay una serie de capítulos intercalados en el que la autora nos va dando pinceladas de la historia del pasado de Camden y Gigi, cuando se enamoraron y el error que Gigi cometió; sólo así vas entendiendo a donde quiere llegar la historia de ambos. Pero si debo ser realista, su historia actual me ha sabido a poco o nada, sí, estuvieron enamorados, luego pasaron a detestarse durante diez años, y ahora de repente ¿vuelven a enamorarse cuando el simple acto les repele? No me lo he creído.

Otros libros de éste estilo me han llegado a lo más hondo y me han emocionado si han tenido algo más que me haya atraído, pero no lo he hallado en éste libro. Estoy segurísima de que no ha sido por culpa de Camden, él ha sido correctísimo durante todo el libro, y ha actuado como debía actuar, pero con el personaje de Gigi no he podido, ni con su pasado, ni con su presente, no he visto ni cambio ni evolución; cometió un error en el pasado que es imperdonable, para mí lo más condenable que puede existir en una relación romántica, y ahora está dispuesta a unirse a un petimetre al que ni siquiera ama, por mucho que se vea moderna o independiente. En fin, que no me he creído su proceder.

Básicamente ha sido eso, que no he podido creerme el romance porque ha sido prácticamente inexistente hasta el final y no le he visto nada. No niego que cuando un protagonista no me gusta suele aguarme el libro, aquí no ha sido una excepción. Pero sí debo ser positiva con otra historia, y ha sido una breve historia secundaria, la de Victoria, la madre de Gigi, y el duque de Perrin, ésa pareja madura sí que me ha gustado, y la he mirado con más simpatía que a la historia principal, una lástima porque al ser secundaria se ha quedado en poco, pero al menos ha compensado el desastre de la principal.

Me apena mucho haber llegado a ésta conclusión con la novela, pero es que no le he encontrado el qué. Me pasó hace años con otra novela, “Abandonada a tus caricias” de Loretta Chase, otra del género que está llena de elogios, y a mí no me dijo gran cosa, me pareció una novela más; “Acuerdos privados” ha sido para mí una novela más, así que lo lamento por no haberla disfrutado, a la vez que lo lamento por aquellas personas que me recomendaron el libro y me lo pusieron por las nubes, para que al final no lo haya apreciado como quizás se merece. El aprobado lo tiene, desde luego, pero ha sido por lo bien escrito que está.

No dudo en volver a leer algo más de Sherry Thomas, para mí ha sido mi primera incursión con ésta escritora, pero si vuelvo a leerla espero que sea con una novela que me sea más satisfactoria.

[Nσҽɱí · Rating 5 out of 5]

No tengo palabras para describir este libro, me ha encantado!
Esta entre mis lecturas favoritas de este año. Gracias al #RetoIntimo he descubierto a esta autora y esta historia!
Como he sufrido con los personajes, como me han tenido enchochada hasta el último minuto, sobre todo con el final, no podía parar de leer.
Entiendo la postura de los dos, pero veía lo cabezones que eran y como se hacían daño, que me dolía hasta a mí. Pero aún así te tiene enganchada y disfrutas muchísimo!!

[Lacey (laceybooklovers) · Rating 4 out of 5]

M E S S Y. But still so good.

[Kat · Rating 1 out of 5]

This...what do I even say about this? Spoilers ahead.

The Good:

This is beautifully written, absolutely lovely. Under other circumstances, it would have been a treat to read. The characters are strong and well written, the relationships are in depth and complex, and the prose flows beautifully. Under normal circumstances, I'd have loved every instant of this novel.

The Bad:

Technically speaking, the only thing that leapt out at me was the heroine's nickname, Gigi. Since Gigi is a very French name and the heroine isn't, that was the one piece of this that could have been an author-on-board moment of "I really like this name so I'm using it." But, while I have some idea of what types of names were used in this era (and how the French were viewed) I am by no means an expert, so maybe it's use is legit. And if it isn't, while it bothered me, it certainly wasn't that big a deal.

Story-wise...well, you can skip to The Ugly below for that.

The Lovely:

The romance between the Heroine's mother and the other Duke was absolutely magical. I wish everything in the book could have been like that. It was the one good takeaway, and if I could cut the rest of the book and cobble together only those passages I'd be recommending the read to everyone I know.

The UGLY:

Spoilers NOW.

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Okay, here it is. This man is an emotionally abusive twat. Seriously. I can't believe this relationship is being touted as romantic--if anything, this girl should take to the hills and never look back. This man is TERRIFYING.

So, our Heroine writes a letter pretending her greatest rival has married another man. As deceptions go this is dishonorable and was wrong of her, but was still a very small one. Our Heroine had met the girl in question and was already aware that, no matter how much the girl loved the Hero, she'd never stand up to her mama with the defiance needed to marry him. She had already seen the two were not suited (something even the Hero admits towards the end of the book). And, though neither Hero nor Heroine knew this, the girl was already engaged to another at the point the letter went out.

Our Hero discovers the Heroine's duplicity THE DAY BEFORE THEIR WEDDING. He still has time to back out. What does he do upon discovering her duplicity? Well, his first thought is this:

"He wanted to violate her then, to assert his power over her in the crudest, foulest manner, to crush her and snuff that lovely light."

Yes, you read it right, kids, his first urge IS TO VIOLENTLY RAPE HER UNTIL SHE BREAKS.

Don't talk to me about era and patriarchal societies and what-not, there are and have always been men for whom rape was never even a consideration, EVEN IF a female did them wrong. You can see it in the records of historical eras and you can see it now even in societies where women have few to no rights. THIS MAN, our HERO, is NOT one of those men. He honestly and truly considers raping her until she's a broken, sobbing wreck as a viable next move.

Then he changes his mind:

"It would have been too easy for her. Shattering, yes, but shattering all at once. He did not want that. He did not want her to recognize the beast in him. He wanted her to panic, to despair, but to still want him, still think him the most perfect man that ever lived. That was how he would go on tormenting her, after his physical departure from her life."

So he decides not to physically violate her, but instead spend a lifetime emotionally abusing her. WHICH HE DOES.

As the book goes on to show their broken marriage, some moments are genuinely poignant, like where they see each other in Venice.

But most are terrible:

"Annulment was one thing. Divorce, however, quite another. When she'd actually gone ahead and petitioned for divorce, he'd been jolted with wrath, a massacre-the-peasants-and-salt-the-earth blood rage. This marriage was their devil's pact, begun in lies and sealed in spite. How dare she try to break free of this chain of acrimony that bound them?"

Our Hero spends over a decade punishing our Heroine for that one deceitful letter, all the while his own deceit of her is not once brought up. He could have walked away. He could have confronted her right away. He could have, at any moment, done the right thing. But the author never points this out or deals with his bad actions, never even seems to see them as wrong. Instead, the entire book is a redemption arc for the HEROINE and the letter she sent all because she was terrified of losing a man she was in love with.

And the "my hormones overrode my head" might just be the worst part of it. When relied on to get around insurmountable issues between a Hero and Heroine, it's just lazy writing. Instead of tackling the issues between them or having the heroine react in a believable manner, she just gets swept away by hormones. Then, later, when her head clears (because, let's face it, we've all given in to sex at the wrong time at some point), she never once calls him to heel for his high handed handling of her. Instead she just goes with it, no matter how badly he treats her.

I forced myself to read to the end, and every second I was expecting the hero to have his own arc, to wake up to what a shit he was being, to be called to heel by his VERY strong willed wife, anything. Instead, the whole book mooned over how his pride was hurt, as if his pride were more important than the emotional well being of his WIFE.

Would I Recommend This Book To A Friend?:

No. NO. A THOUSAND TIMES, NO! Oh, holy gods, any friend of mine would first tear this book to shreds, then get me in a help program, stat! This is NOT a healthy book. This is NOT a healthy relationship.

This is a good author. Maybe try her other stuff if you like her writing; I have noticed an unfortunate tendency even among my favorite authors to write a stinker or two. As prolific as most romance authors are, it's kind of a law of averages that eventually something wouldn't hit. It's possible that maybe, possibly, this is just one of those books where someone ham-handedly tried to write a complicated hero and just did it so badly he wandered into asshole territory by accident. It wouldn't be the first time I've seen this.

Just...don't expect me to join you.

[Yolanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

#RetoÍntimo2
Es la 3ª vez que lo leo y no soy objetiva con este libro, lo sé, tampoco quiero serlo porque me gusta tantísimo... Es una de mis delicias lectoras.
La manera de Sherry Thomas de escribir esta historia me parece espectacular, igual que me lo parecen los dos protagonistas. Gigi y Camden me parecen magníficos, tan "imperfectos". La frialdad, la arrogancia y seguridad de Gigi me parecen magníficas, igual que el sentimiento de engaño y traición que siente Camden y su frialdad, también. Siento con ellos su amor y desamor, hay momentos en los que siento el dolor de Gigi (no por sentirse rebajada, si no por lo que ha hecho y por las consecuencias). El dolor de Camden, sus ganas de venganza, sus ansias de querer "arrancarse" eso y cómo se da cuenta de que tampoco lo hizo de la mejor manera. Me parecen dos personajes adultos, cínicos, seguros, distintos y con ese anhelo. Con toda la frialdad que demuestran el uno hacia el otro, hay una pasión y un sentimiento tremendos en los dos.
Ese primer:
-Hola Gigi
-Hola Camden
AWWWWWW
y cada vez que leo la última parte pienso "sí señor Gigi, así entramos nosotras, seguras y a por todas. Así lo hacemos y, si no sale bien, ya cargaremos mañana con las consecuencias"
Cada vez que lo leo me gusta más, lo vivo, lo siento y lo disfruto tremendamente. Eso es lo bueno ¿no?
Adoro este libro.


Se que me repito pero..... para mi, este libro es una auténtica delicia. Es una historia maravillosa de segundas oportunidades. Gigi es una maravilla de personaje y también Camden. Está escrito con estilo, elegante, con clase. Me encanta. He disfrutado muchísimo volviéndolo a leer, es de esos libros que disfrutaré un poco más cada vez que lo lea.
Una auténica delicia.

[Grecia Robles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me gustó y a la vez no me gustó, la historia se me hizo de lo más interesante y novedosa en el género o será que no estoy acostumbrada a leer de estos temas en este tipo de libro.

La historia me gustó, se me hizo en unas partes triste y dolorosa, pero no simpaticé con los protagonistas sobre todo con Gigi que en la mayor parte del libro me cayó súper mal y Candem muchas veces me desesperó pero por lo general fue mejor que ella.

Lo que si no pude entender y creo que es lo que no me gustó es que estuvieran tan frescos y sobre todo por la época, que él la haya dejado pero seguía siendo su marido y ella tuviera amantes hasta un pretendiente y pues la sociedad ni siquiera decía nada según lo que mencionaba el libro y ni siquiera un poco de celos de Candem en fin.

La subtrama de la historia de la mamá fue bastante tierna y divertida yo creo que un hubiera estado mejor que le hubieran hecho un relato corto, ya que en muchas ocasiones cortaba la línea de la trama principal.

Yo con esas historias me pongo súper cursi, así que por supuesto que me gustó el final y me hizo falta un epílogo, ¿Por qué las autoras son así y nos torturan de esa manera? No les cuesta nada complacernos y darnos un lindo y acaramelado epílogo que tanto nos gusta a las lectoras.

3.5 estrellas

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 to 4 stars. The 4 stars are for the excellent writing, but I couldn't fully love this book because it's so angsty, which isn't my preferred type of romance. Camden and Gigi are a perfect match, but they met each other when they were too young. Both of them behaved badly (especially Gigi) and their marriage quickly collapsed. For the next ten years they are separated (on different continents!) and the book begins when they reunite after all these years. Still in love, but not (yet) able to recognise it or communicate it to each other.

Thomas is very good at conveying the deep emotions felt by her protagonists, and in this book the guilt, anguish, loneliness, regret felt by both Camden and Gigi was intense. A bit too much so for this reader. You know they will (eventually) get their HEA, but the journey there is pretty tough. So while I liked aspects of this book, and I have enormous respect for Ms Thomas's writing skills, I can't really say I enjoyed this read.

[D. Barger · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read a review of this book that was good. I think they were on crack while reading it. Every other chapter is a flashback. I HATE flashbacks. I dislike of both the Hero and Heroine. The Heroine lied in order to marry the hero he found out and left her ass for ten years. She decides to marry again so she files for a divorce, He will only grant it if she gives him an heir. Not only that but she has had numerous lovers during their separation. I really don't like that in my romance books. I'm on Page 193 and wont read another page because I have no more breaks today. In fact I only made it that far because I had nothing else with me to read BAH on this book Crap Crap Crap.

[Marisa Sauco · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historia no me convenció del todo y no me emocionó. Por momentos me costó empatizar con los protagonistas, y no sentí química entre ellos. Sin embargo, le pongo tres estrellas (aunque dudé bastante) porque la leí en horas, lo que significa que me tuvo muy enganchada, y me pareció una historia original y bien contada.

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second re-read 1/20/25
I wanted to read something that will completely consume me and I can finish in a day. This re-read didn’t disappoint. I stayed up till 4 am to finish it.
It’s absolutely amazing how the plot is weaved together. There is not one dull moment.
Loved this couple.

[Alejandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

MAGNÍFICO!!! 😍

Estoy en una nube ahora mismo. Solo he logrado soltar el libro para lo estrictamente imprescindible.
Enamorada me hallo de Camden, de su historia y de las letras de Sherry Thomas 😍

[Chels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both times I've read this, it's been in a single sitting. Incredible.

(Lol at past me saying, "I hate marriage in trouble.")

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This! Book! I'm losing my fucking mind.

There are a lot of things I feel like I won't tolerate in a romance novel, and then Sherry Thomas proves me wrong. I hate marriage in trouble. I also want to reread this book immediately. This book makes me feel feral.

Lord and Lady Tremaine have been living separate lives for ten years. When Lady Tremaine files for divorce so she can marry her new beaux, Lord Tremaine returns to London and demands an heir. If he gets an heir after a year of trying, Lady Tremaine, or Gigi, is free to go.

This didn't hurt my feelings the way that Not Quite a Husband did, but it's just as high angst. While the Marsdens were quietly pining for each other, the Tremaines are obsessed with their estranged spouse. They have a wild, vase-shattering type of love, and the only way they could escape these types of histrionic feelings was for Lord Tremaine to put an ocean between them.

Perfect. Perfect book.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una novela romántica ambientada a finales del siglo XIX sobre consecuencias, anhelos y segundas oportunidades. Lo maravilloso ha sido sufrir con ellos, porque la autora consigue que sientas a través de sus palabras ese dolor que ellos experimentan. Es como una lucha continua entre lo encorsetado de la sociedad inglesa de la época, su manera de relacionarse, su hipocresía y los sentimientos.

Ella es un gran personaje, desde esa niña caprichosa, inteligente y decidida hasta esa mujer madura, atractiva y firme; pero yo me quedo con él, por el dolor, por la separación, por haberse excedido y por su moralidad. Me quedo con él porque siente de una manera visceral e, incluso, animal pero sin olvidar esa corrección inglesa. Creo que llegué a odiarlo en algún momento.
Mención especial para esos secundarios increíbles, y en especial la señora Rowland y su filosofía de vida, además de esa rapidez de palabra.

Opinión completa en el blog

[Sam I AMNreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

More later,maybe. For now I can say I was absolutely forgetting I was reading in print and trying to highlight with my finger... And too lazy to mark the passages...

She's so good. Ugh. And makes these romances I cannot put down. And these one-liners that slay me.

[Crystal's Bookish Life · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Sherry Thomas. I love her writing and how she writes angst. But there have been a few of her books that, for me, went past angst into misery and cruelty. This was one of them.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a lot for me to finally suck it up and read this book. I bought it because I had seen rave reviews for it on various review sights. Once I got it I couldn't seem to force myself to read. Even though everyone said it was good, I couldn't get over the fact that these people were bitter and angry and cheated on each other. I like to read romance for the warm, uplifting feelings it inspires as I watch two people fall in love. I like to believe that they'll stay together despite the odds. I don't have a problem watching them have huge problems and break ups before they make a real commitment, but for some reason once they're married I have a whole different set of standards for them. Weird, huh?

Even though I'm not the biggest fan of Gigi and Cam, I still think that the book is well written. I liked the supporting characters, especially Gigi's mom and the duke, and thought that the story flowed well. At first I liked the flashback chapters, but after a while I was tired of it. I was ready to have more time focused on the main protagonists. I really feel that not enough time was spent developing their current relationship. Added to the flashbacks was a secondary romance. Now I liked Gigi's mom and the duke, but there was a lot of page time devoted to them considering they weren't the main characters. I feel like this book was split up into thirds. One third was devoted to Gigi and Cam in the past, another third was devoted to Gigi's mother and her reclusive duke, and the last third was left for Gigi and Cam to repair their relationship and become a functioning couple again. That short amount of time was really not enough to devote to two people who are supposed to be the main characters.

I didn't really understand why Gigi's actions necessitated 10 years of separation. I know Cam was upset, but that was a bit over the top. I think their encounters with each other throughout those 10 years were supposed to be touching and heart wrenching but they came off as silly. Go after each other if you really want to make it work! I don't blame Gigi for that because she had already tried multiple times in the beginning to apologize and he became petty and cruel to drive her off. I wouldn't try again either.

The person I had the most sympathy for in the story was Gigi's suitor. While Cam and Gigi indulged in their love/hate relationship he was left to wander in the wings looking trusting and dim. Poor guy. Not only did Gigi cheat on him, she also didn't trust him enough to tell him what was really going on. What kind of love was that supposed to be?

I ended this book with a lot of doubt as to the strength of Gigi and Cam's commitment. I'll definitely read more of this author's work though. I liked her writing, but I really hope she lays off on the flashbacks.

[Floripiquita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es difícil encontrar en la romántica histórica historias diferentes, con personajes reales, alejados de los clichés que tanto abundan en este subgénero. Esta novela es buen ejemplo de ello. Gigi y Camden son dos grandes e imperfectos personajes, a los que a veces odias y otras quieres, pero siempre acabas entendiendo. Y ese es el gran mérito de esta autora, además de la maravillosa ambientación. Lástima que le falte algo más de emoción, por lo menos para mí, para ser redonda.

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#Campañaromantica: la protagonista no pertenece a la nobleza