Whitney, My Love (edition 1999)

This is a blueprint for abusive relationships. The father and the betrothed are destructive of Whitney, each in his own way. Read it to see how much we have learned, since the '80's, about what is healthy and what is not. ( )

This was a fantastic book that I have read over and over again. It's necessary to read it more than once since there's so much going on in this historical romance. I love the strong, independent nature of Miss Whitney Stone, and when I had lived in Holland, I special ordered the book and paid a hefty price for it because I had to have it in my permanent collection. Five stars! ( )

This book was four stars right until Whitney discovered Clayton's identity. McNaught had a good thing going. Clayton was everything charming and sexy and the banter between him and Whitney was neither cheesy, spiteful, nor stilted. The sexual tension was built high enough to hang. I was genuinely enjoying learning about their developing relationship. With his patience and good humor (and firm hand, let's not forget) and her honest, down-to-earth nature (no TSTL moments), the hero and heroine actually seemed meant for each other, as many grand romances purport, especially as the hero seemed the one person who could understand Whitney. McNaught has a unique, entrancing way of conveying emotion that is all in the details. For example, one of the characters describes her happiness on her wedding day, "She bent her head and tried to pray. But all her prayers began with 'Thank you' instead of 'Please.'" As many clichés as I've read in romance, I don't find myself touched very often. McNaught can certainly write humility. I just wish it wasn't required so very often of her poor heroine later. Because then Whitney discovers the truth, and the book swiftly becomes a melodramatic soap opera that rehashes again and again the same hangup of the hero: his delusion that Whitney is a deceiving bitch (his favorite choice of words). His explosive, violent reaction to this seems entirely out of character for the very sane, very levelheaded man we meet in the first half of the book. If we're not convinced of his motivation, however, we at least have a complete grasp of the emotions that move Clayton, thanks to McNaught's talent with emotion.My main gripe with the book is that this same conflict is repeated, if not verbatim then close enough, twice more before the book ends. As I had trouble crediting this device once, I really began to take issue when I saw it not once but twice more. At this point, one would expect some explanation for Clayton's continued, nearly pathological obsession with Whitney's imagined betrayals. Certainly there must be some incident in his past to explain his bizarre fixation, but there seems to be none in his otherwise normal family and normal life. These eruptions arrive with painful predictability when McNaught takes too much exaggerated care to paint the couple in happily wedded bliss, transparently setting them up for a fall.The dynamics between the couple are wildly unbalanced and never truly even, as one would expect. The hero spends the first half of the book pursuing the heroine, while he seems to spend the second half of the book making Whitney grovel (almost literally) and pay in every conceivable way for everything, including the crimes she is wrongfully accused of. This is the other extreme of the scale. Rather than the man apologizing endlessly for his existence, it is the woman. I don't particularly care for either scenario. So, while I was fully ready to revise my opinion of McNaught to a hearty recommendation in the first half of the book, the rest of the book unfortunately wearied me. ( )

Whitney Stone is an unruly, spontaneous, frustratingly strong-willed child. Her restless pursuit of Paul, the object of her romantic obsessions, earns her ridicule from her peers and disapproval from her father. At the age of 15, she is sent to Paris to be with her beloved aunt and uncle. Whitney's life changes greatly during the 4 years she spends in France. She has been taught the social graces and is now a grown woman with impeccable taste and graceful manners who has taken the ton by storm. When her father summons her home to England, she willingly leaves her ardent admirers, set on convincing Paul to wed her.

When Whitney returns home, she is now the belle of the ball. However, she is getting more attention from her neighbor, Clayton, than Paul. Whitney decides to encourage Clayton's attentions to further Paul's interest in her, but her father reveals a terrible truth: he has accepted a betrothal arrangement on her behalf from Clayton Westmoreland, the Duke of Claymore. This begins a game of cat-and-mouse. At this point, I actually liked Clayton. Although he has no reason to try to "win" her (due to her father's acceptance of his money and the arrangement), he sets out to woo her. He doesn't want to force her; he's hoping Whitney will develop a tendre for him. However, Whitney is still obsessed with getting Paul to marry her, and when she succeeds in getting him to make a declaration, things only get worse for her. Whitney realizes she does not love Paul and wants to marry Clayton willingly. Just when it seems Clayton and Whitney are in love and will find a happily-ever-after ending, things take a turn for the worse in two chilling instances.

At the risk of posting spoilers, I will only say this: just when you are ready to consider forgiving Clayton for his first misunderstanding (and cruel punishment of Whitney), he makes the same mistake again. At the end, we are left to believe that he has learned his lesson and they will live happily for the rest of their days. However, it is unsatisfying to end with a hero that behaves with such little control and who so readily turns his anger toward his wife. Judith McNaught is a fantastic, talented storyteller. I could not tear myself away from this 708-page story, staying up late into the night to finish it. The twists and turns, the suspense, and the entertaining secondary characters make this a fascinating read. And don't get me wrong, there is plenty of romance to appease most fans of historical romance. But be forewarned: Clayton has his share of faults, and rooting for him is sometimes a very great challenge indeed. ( )

Guilty pleasure here. As a feminist, I know I am supposed to despise this book, but nope.... I love it! The heart-pounding, twists & turns. I thought Whitney was a great character....bright and funny without being annoying. Clayton was a little more bland, a classic regency hero who is mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Ho-hum. Still, mix Clayton with Whitney and you get fabulous chemistry. That's what I love.

I also like that this book covers a lot of territory.....spanning almost a year as Whitney grows up and figures out what she really wants out of life. This gives the characters a little more room to become attracted, fall in love, then have the inevitable falling out (at least, it is inevitable in McNaught-land!) ( )