No Regrets

by Michele Ann Young

Caroline Torrington is large, and she wears glasses. Beside the beauties of her day, she feels dowdy and unattractive. Since the death of her father the Vicar, she and her sisters have fallen on hard times.

Meanwhile, Lucas, Lord Foxhaven, a noted rake for his wild and reckless behavior, is once again in dispute with his father, who won't give him his grandmama's fortune unless he marries Caroline Torrington. Lucas and Caroline arrange a marriage of convenience and go off to London for the season.

Little does Caroline know that her voluptuous body is driving Lucas to distraction. Each time he pulls back, Caroline thinks that he is disgusted by her body.

In the midst of this deepening mutual attraction and misunderstanding, Caroline gets embroiled in a scandal and is kidnapped. Lucas comes to her rescue and in a dangerous escape they discover they are each other's true love.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Historical Fiction, Marriage Of Convenience, Fiction

403 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2007

About the author

Michele Ann Young who also writes as Ann Lethbridge was born and educated in England and has always been fascinated by history, particularly the Regency period. She lives and writes in Toronto Canada with her husband, two beautiful daughters and a Maltese terrier, known as Teaser. She travels to England every summer to add to her research and to see family.
"

Reviews

[Rachel (BAVR) · Rating 1 out of 5]

No Regrets has the dubious honor of featuring the most annoying heroine I've encountered since Bella Swan. Yay ... Small victories ... This poor book is a cliche-ridden fiesta of magnificent proportions. Everything is thrown into the convoluted plot, including the proverbial kitchen sink. I don't think I liked a single character in this book. If they didn't singularly offend me, then I don't remember them. This is bad. Very bad. And that's sad, because perhaps with a quarter of the plot tumors, No Regrets wouldn't have been awful. It could have been respectable.

Alas! Some things are never meant to be. I have major regrets about reading this book, and they all start with the plot.

SUMMARY:
So Caroline something or other is a frumpy-dumpy dumpling of a woman who will never marry because she's so frumpy and undesirable and WORTHLESS. Except that she will because her HAWT childhood friend (so we're told) Lucas, Lord Foxhaven, needs a wife, like, yesterday, and he happens to find good ol' Caro's curves all the rage. So the slutty scoundrel and the long-suffering martyr with certifiable self-esteem issues marry and spend the rest of the torturously long story making stupid decisions and being horrible people.

Let's go over the plot tumors in list form, eh? (SPOILERS AHOY!!!)
1. Spinster with the self-awareness of a gnat resists marriage to gorgeous boy she's loved since 4-eva ago.
2. Slutty scoundrel forces spinster friend into marriage for money. (It's always money with these guys.) Oh, and they're supposed to go a year or something without a scandal.
3. Self-flaggellation and self-imposed abstinence make horny guy horny. Also: Hero spends large quantities of time building a school for poor young boys to play music. Because nothing changes the course of poverty like encouraging young people to become famous musicians!
4. Miraculous makeover makes the frumpy-dumpy dumpling a swan.
5. Sexin'.
6. Nefarious villain is nefarious but still manages to trick the supposedly "intelligent" heroine. He encourages her to fall in with a bad crowd.
7. Uncomfortable cousin-on-cousin flirting.
8. Evil former mistress is evil.
9. ILL-ADVISED HORSE RACE!
10. "My husband doesn't really love me! This is a fate worse than death!"
11. "My wife just ran out on me! But I LOVE her, even though she's done everything under the sun to cause a scandal because she doesn't understand she lives in Regency England. WTF?"
12. Society hijinks in France.
....... Oh, there's still more .......
13. Reformed Rake finds his wife and decides to court her again.
14. Wife disappears.
15. Kidnapped by her cousin, heroine realizes that she's fallen into her own web of idiocy and can't get out. Evil villain / cousin stows her away in a castle and pledges to marry her.
16. Hero makes a pathetic attempt at a rescue, but card-carrying villain sniffs him out and traps him in a dungeon. Yes. A Dungeon.
17. Somehow, heroine comes up with a plan to rescue her husband. I don't know. My mind went kind of numb by this point.
18. RESCUE! Time to return to England like nothing stupid just happened!
19. I think the music school for boy pick-pockets happens. Probably.

Now, imagine having to read about all of that nonsense through the eyes of people you don't even like. Caro is horrible in the book. Just horrible. She has a debillitating martyr complex, which makes her do ridiculous things. Caro loves Lucas to distraction, but she decides to get a divorce. A divorce? Like it was supposed to be as easy as choosing a teacake for luncheon. And then she takes off to another country with a VIRTUAL STRANGER and acts all wounded about her husband not loving her. And Lucas is just as bad. He's really a decent guy, but because he refuses to actually talk to his wife about where he's taking off to all the time, she flees the coop. By the end, I was kind of hoping the villain would off the main characters and put them out of their misery. Not a good reaction to have when reading a romance novel.

Also: A music school for under-privileged boys. That is Lucas' big secret. Ack, I think I just got a cavity!

[BJ Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because it has so few ratings on Goodreads, sort of like a wallflower at a dance. My hope was that it was ignored because it was unseen, but alas! alack!, as the old poem says. The characters are flat, and there are more cliched situations than any one book should hold. Add a heroine who's ridiculously naive and yes, TSTL, and a hero who pretty much lies to everyone, and that's it.

[Sombra · Rating 3 out of 5]

No se como valorar este libro, la verdad. La historia no tiene nada que no hayan tenido otros anteriormente. Un protagonista que necesita de la ayuda de su mejor amiga para que se case con él por poderes porque su padre le ha obligado a tomar responsabilidades. Ella acepta, se casan y mientras ella se enamora perdidamente, él parece no importarle nada lo que ella haga y sigue tendiendo sus negocios. Pero en esta ocasión, la protagonista tiene un complejo más, está gordita y durante toda su vida la han puesto apodos ofensivos, excepto Lucas. Y a él no le importa su físico, todo lo contrario, desde que acepa casarse con él está continuamente pensando en llevársela al huerto, pero eso no impide que por culpa de malentendidos y conversaciones oídas a escondidas o personas que no hacen más que encizañar contra él (y que son los malos de la historia, que se ve a kilómetros), ella acabe siendo demasiado inocene y confiada y él demasiado orgulloso. Hasta casi el final o se resuelve todo, aunque debo decir que la forma que tuvo el portagonista de hacerlo me ganó totalmente (me encantan los portagonistas llorones). Por eso, no puedo decir que el libro no ma he gustado, solo que me ha hecho tener sentimientos contradictorios durante todo el libro, lo cual es bueno, porque eso significa que aunque es una historia típica en romántica, tiene algo que hace que sufras, llores y te emociones por igual,

[☽ Rhiannon ✭ Mistwalker ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chubby, insecure heroine and rake hero. Misunderstandings and angst ensue. That's my jam.

[Zeek · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the opening scene, the Hero makes a bold move. He swoops in and contrives a situation that forces his old friend, Caroline, to agree to marry him- a suit he had pursued for some time.

However from that moment on, there is miscommunications and misunderstandings that, despite the couple's obvious attraction, never gets resolved til the end of the story.

This book had a number things going for it. Fresh characters that we don’t see in your average Regency, sexual spark, kidnapping, intrigue,- but there in lies the problem. Just too much.

I believe the kidnapping was altogether unneeded- there was enough with her leaving him and fleeing to France. To make it worse, the conflict and misunderstandings felt forced, and I couldn’t understand why they just couldn’t get it together!

Frustrating because I sincerely liked these two! The author writes exceptional characters in Lucas and Caroline, but the manufactured conflict simply didn’t work for me.

So I’m giving it a 3 out of 5.

Regardless, I would read another book by this author because of her original voice. I truly like this line from Sourcebooks (The popular Mr. D'Arcy Takes A Wife among them!)-It's Austen's Regency with a sexy edge. I look forward to more releases from them!

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book taught me that there is never really any need for consistency when you're writing a novel. The heroine is named Caroline! (or Carolyn! not really sure!) She is smart! (But she makes mothing but stupid choices and cries approximately every other page.) The hero and heroine have been friends forever! (But they have no shared jokes, memories, etc.) He finds her sooooo attractive! (But she is, according to the book, fat and ugly. Gee, authoress, projecting your hopes and dreams onto the page much?) Vomit. Vomit, vomit, vomit. I'm going to have to go and read something else to get the taste of this one out of my mouth. Yuck.

[Calisto · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Vomit. Vomit, vomit, vomit. I'm going to have to go and read something else to get the taste of this one out of my mouth. Yuck." I have to steal this from another reviewer because it so true about this book. The premise was good but that's about it. What a waste of time! If you like stupid, boring, virginal heroine with low self-esteem and no confidence what so ever (much less a brain cell) or a stupid, boring, cad of a "hero", or a stupid, boring, one-dimensional villain and you feel like torturing yourself, then read this story. GRRRRR!!!!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of Ann Lethbridge's first 📚 if not her first novel. Because of that, I gave it some leeway for some of the cornyness And familiar tropes.. 4.5 stars rounded up due to the gratuitous violence near the end.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this one, although I felt it was lacking something to make it really good.

The hero and heroine are a great pair of characters, who grew up together, and were firm friends. They both have issues with their families.

Having said that, the plot was a bit convoluted at times, and although the heroine's insecurities about her appearance were obviously important to her, it was overplayed, I thought.

Things I liked about this one:

- The hero and heroine are very likeable. They both have the best of intentions, but rest on the laurels of their friendship instead of accepting what they have, even if it is a marriage of convenience.

- The misunderstandings between the hero and heroine actually work fairly well for me. They seem reasonable, since physical insecurities and overwhelming attraction are things which people do have misunderstandings about. Also, the hero's complete lack of understanding of the heroine's insecurities are totally credible. He genuinely doesn't get that she thinks she's not attractive - he thinks she is the most attractive woman. It doesn't enter his mind that she would feel that way, since what she sees as faults, he views as perfections.

- The action stuff is very exciting and well-written. Too often the old kidnap-rescue thing is a bit stale, but I enjoyed it here

- The "flashbacks" to their childhoods and early adulthood were fabulous. They were short, but really added to the plot and the characters

Things I didn't like so much:

- I didn't get that the heroine's father would keep such a significant secret from her, and if he had, she would have learned it on her marriage. Also, how did the hero's father know the secret, but not the heroine? It didn't really make much sense to me.

- I didn't understand the added complication of moving the plot to France. It seemed to add very little to the overall story, and almost came out of nowhere. If the heroine was half-French and spoke it at home, there was no indication of that until more than half-way through the book.

- The fat-girl-who-can't-believe-the-hero-loves-her theme is OK, but I just don't buy that you can hang a whole story on to it. It ended up being over-worked and tired by the end. I just struggle to believe that any woman can't tell the difference between overwhelming lust and disgust in the eyes of someone looking at her, and that she can't accept that physical attraction comes in all shapes and sizes. I'm not saying I don't understand her insecurities, but insecurities about your body can coexist with actually quite liking the way you are made.

- Equally, I didn't understand why the hero didn't actually try and convince the heroine that he thought she was the best thing since sliced bread. I got that he thought they would lose their friendship if they hit the sack, but that part just didn't work for me.

- A minor detail, but the kindle formatting was a little bit confusing in places. I think it was missing some hard returns in a few places to separate out the points of view.

Anyway, I did enjoy this read, although not as much as I had hoped. 3 stars.

[Krissy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another romance with a slightly curvier heroine. And she wore glasses. But for the life of me I just can't seem to recall much about the book. I guess it wasn't that good after all.

[Dexter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really loved The Lady Flees her Lord, but this one is a major disappointment. Everyone is annoying, the plot meanders and doesn't always make a bunch of sense, and every conversation/scene is written specifically so that Caroline and/or Lucas will misconstrue everything.

Honestly the biggest thing for me was... Caroline and Lucas were supposed to be childhood friends, right? And they want to stay just as friends while married, right?

There's like zero instances where they're friends. None of their flashbacks show them as actual friends, and every single conversation makes it seem like they hate each other and have always hated each other. There is zero friendship involved from start to finish.

[Desi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leído en Agosto 2009

Me encantó!! Los
Me pareció muy original, al momento en que lo leí, que la protagonista fuera así, gordita...porque en todos los libros son perfectas, con cuerpos perfectos y todo eso no había leído nada parecido. Y sí, los protagonistas me parecieron perfectos juntos y me gustó la relación entre ellos.

[Mishel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Son algo en esta historia no me convencía, en algunas partes la historia pasaba de un tema a otro y no terminaba de completarse.
En algunas partes las sentí demasiadas largas parecía que era un libro de mil hojas y no acabaría nunca.
Le dos estrellas por el protagonista que tiene un propósito, cumplir con un sueño.

[Cath · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the fact the heroin of this book for once isn't thin like a stick .
The story would have read better if I knew why Lucas behaves like he does.
It was an OK read but not a real memorable one.

[Phylisha Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK read. Big girls were not that popular dring regency times.

[Veronica Martin Corrales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ha empezado muy bien pero después se ha ido desinflando un poco

[Muriel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fellow Georgette Heyer fan recommended this book and after finishing it I frankly question whether she's actually ever read a Heyer novel. This book doesn't even come close to the glories of a Heyer novel... about the only thing they have in common is that they take place in the Regency era. This is really no more than a romance novel with very little charm or wit.

I'm not as fond of straight romance novels as I used to be (I lived for the next Sidney Sheldon when I was in junior high school although come to think of it, his novels tended to mix a lot of suspense with the romance) so this really didn't appeal to me that much even though I have read much worse which is the only reason this book gets two stars today.

It would have helped if these characters had any depth but it's all pretty superficial. Caro is a "spirited" dumpling of a girl with glasses (this is per the writer, all I saw read was a simpering foolish girl with serious self-image issues) and the dashing misunderstood rogue who appears to have some sort of weird fetish when it comes to his curvaceous wife... it's all hilariously silly!

[Darla · Rating 2 out of 5]

**POSSIBLE SPOILER**Damn this book! It was so full of ridiculous drama! All I could wonder is how Lucas and Caro could claim to be such great friends when clearly they really had no idea about the other! I mean Lucas couldn't tell how Caro really felt about him, Caro couldn't tell that Lucas really thought she was beautiful and desirable. I mean these were two of the ditsiest people possible! Lucas not telling even Caro about his music school was foolish, Caro running off to Paris and always waiting until "later" to discuss stuff, I mean, DAMN!!! 20 chapters of this raggedy ass back and forth between these two, only for them to finally have sex with like 6 pages left in the whole damn book! Pfft! Now after all that fussing, I couldn't really put the book down, but now I think that is because I was expecting something different right around the corner, and if I kept reading I'd get to it, but that something different never came! I am done with the book and I am glad for that. It wasn't the worst book I'd ever read, but it wasn't the best either. I think the storyline just really disappointed me by not being what I had expected;0(

[Aline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tertarik baca buku ini karena heroine-nya ga kya yg biasa.. ndut gitu loh.. ^--^

Heroine-nya Caroline, biasa dipanggil Caro, dideskripsikan sbg cewe bertubuh gede, berkacama mata dan karena kondisinya itu merasa tidak menarik bagi cowo.. dr kecil udah berteman ama si hero, Lucas, yg dideskripsikan spt hero2 biasa, tampan, kaya dan ber-title..

Gw suka awal2 cerita pas Lucas nyari2 Caro buat menawarkan pernikahan ala MOC, wkt itu Caro lg bantuin temennya yg jd pelayan di pesta org kaya, tau ga dlm kondisi apa dia ditemui ma Lucas?? lg nyuci piring!! hahahaha.. br kali ini gw baca novel HR heroine-nya lg nyuci piring ^--^

Awal2 Lucas cuma menganggap Caro sbg temen aja pdhl Caro dr kecil udah naksir dia.. lama2 Lucas bs melihat hati Caro yg baek dibalik tubuh yg gede itu.. cuma ada bagian yg ga enak pas Caro minta cerai dr Lucas cuma via surat aja trus dia malah kabur ke Perancis.. sgt "unladylike" gitu.. *kebanyakan baca novel2 HR* ;)

overall, kisahnya lumayanlah.. utk ukuran penulis baru, Michele Ann Young cukup berbakat klo menurut gw..

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, I really liked Caro and Lucas but they frustrated me to no end. I really couldn't understand how their strong childhood friendship didn't transfer into a stronger foundation for their marriage of convenience. However, for as much as they claimed to be honest with each other, they had a hard time communicating their love. Each was afraid; Caro because of her poor self-image and Luke for believing that loving her would mean being under her control. Their constant misunderstandings got old rather quickly, and got Caro into some seriously hot water. The kidnapping made for some good reading as the villains had the advantage. I was surprised by their meanness when finally revealed; they were truly malevolent. One aspect of Luke's background that I felt was underdeveloped was his dream of having a music school for youngsters. I thought he could have made some serious headway with Caro if he had just shared that aspect of his life. Overall this story had lots of promise, but their lack of communication, and the subsequent results, made the story over long. 3 stars.

[Ivy Deluca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a horrible story, but not memorable. The key point that could have elevated it from an ok story to a good one is making it believable that these two characters were actually friends once upon a time. Aside from a couple of little scenes that attempted to establish that the H/h were friends as children, I couldn't believe that these two ever knew/cared for each other at all, and it made investing in their story hard to do, since the premise is that they were good friends is what is supposed to make you believe that they love each other, even if you didn't see it. Too much of the story is spent with them apart from each other and being deceived by the villains. Both the H/h spent a whole lot of time having things done to them, and not a lot of time actually talking to each other.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with another reviewer in that I feel this book could have been a memorable one. Something is lacking in the fleshing out of characters, and development of the story line. The opening chapter had such promise, but sadly the rest of the novel went steadily downhill. There was an Austenesque feel about it at first, but the author misplaced those qualities somewhere along the way, especially in the graphic love scenes. I am no prude, but there is a lot to be said about subtle romance than porn... I had to force myself to finish the book.

[Olga · Rating 1 out of 5]

Libro que prometia por lo peculiar de la protagonista( gordita con complejos y con gafas todo lo contrario a las protagonistas de otros lobros) pero que se va desinflando a lo largo de la trama. Trama que llega un momento que no tiene ni pies ni cabeza en un intento de cerrar bien el libro... nada recomendable:(

[Celia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given it 4 stars except that a large portion of the character motivations was based on one really important thing that the hero, for absolutely no good reason, never mentions to the heroine. Worst plot motivator ever!

[Erotic Horizon]

No Regrets by Michele Ann Young (2007)

[FayAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very pleasant love story! The one thing I am irked about Regency novels is that most of the time there is only one sensual scene.

[Ivonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunque le dio muchas largas al asunto me gusto, tuvo sus altibajos y le falto un poco al final pero lo llevo bien

[Lore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frase Favorita 🦋
"Las razones son solo mías." ✨

[MJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This girl biggest fault was being annoying.

[Suzanne (Under the Covers Book blog) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

Review to come!