A Lily Among Thorns

I reviewed this on my blog www.bookworm2bookworm.wordpress.com


Rose Lerner had me at a title of this book. “Like a lily among the thorns, so is my darling among the maidens.” No doubt you’ve heard this quote at least once in your life. It’s from Song of Solomon 2:2 and sets a perfect plot for this love story. Make no mistake; this is one heart pounding, heart wrenching all out heartwarming love story.

Solomon Hathaway’s friends from Cambridge thought it was time he lost his virginity, so they brought him to the best whore house in London. Young Solomon dreaded as much as he anticipated this encounter. Once left alone with a young woman who to his keen eye looked almost pathetic, he couldn’t go through with it and as he’s show more about to bolt out of the room, he throws to her his whole allowance and heads for the proverbial ‘hills’!

Seven years later, Solomon is in a need of help recovering stolen earrings that belong to his family, and he’s pointed in a direction of Lady Serena, who is known to have been a bed partner of many, but now is an inn owner with a lot of ties to the underworld of London. Solomon needs only one look of her in the dark to realize that in front of him is a beautiful woman and not that pathetic girl from long ago.

Lady Serena made a mistake seven years ago by falling in love with a young footman in her father’s house and by trying to run way with him she sealed her fate and took a hold of the rains of her future by becoming a prostitute. On that long ago, but never forgotten night, when a young man showed her compassion by giving her his purse filled with a lot of money, she makes the decision to become her own person, however flawed.

Seven years later, she remembers it all like it happened the day before and her feelings are confusing her. This woman is not a meek person. She’s strong, fiercely independent and she never wants or needs any man to lord over her. She’s not used to showing her feelings and affections not because she can’t or won’t but because she doesn’t know how. She’s never received hugs or words of love, so once she gets exposed to it, she’s literally in a panic and her physical reaction of being suffocated is something she is unable to control.

No way in hell can you read this love story and not feel for these two. Their HEA is fraught with intrigue, pain, regrets and suffering, but neither was willing to give up on each other until they faced the only enemy that stood in their way-Serena’s fear of losing her self-worth.

Everything in this book was superb, from the writing, the dialogue, and the plot and secondary characters. It all flowed seamlessly with a perfect pace. Speaking of secondary players, I loved them all. From Rene, the French Spy to Sophy, her right hand at the ‘Arms’; from his family to her ‘family’ of misfits! All of them pulled at my heartstrings, especially the secondary love story of two spies. Even that was pulled off with grace and such wonderful care!

If you’re in a mood for a character driven love story full of intrigue, passion and plenty of suspense, I recommend this book with all my heart! Now, I need to get me Ms. Lerner’s first book “In For a Penny”. I have no doubt that I’ll love it as much as this one.


Melanie show less

Rose Lerner had me at a title of this book. "Like a lily among the thorns, so is my darling among the maidens." No doubt you've heard this quote at least once in your life. It's from Song of Solomon 2:2 and sets a perfect plot for this love story. Make no mistake; this is one heart pounding, heart wrenching all out heartwarming love story.

Solomon Hathaway's friends from Cambridge thought it was time he lost his virginity, so they brought him to the best whore house in London. Young Solomon dreaded as much as he anticipated this encounter. Once left alone with a young woman who to his keen eye looked almost pathetic, he couldn't go through with it and as he's about to bolt out of the room, he throws to her his whole allowance and heads show more for the proverbial `hills'!

Seven years later, Solomon is in a need of help recovering stolen earrings that belong to his family, and he's pointed in a direction of Lady Serena, who is known to have been a bed partner of many, but now is an inn owner with a lot of ties to the underworld of London. Solomon needs only one look of her in the dark to realize that in front of him is a beautiful woman and not that pathetic girl from long ago.

Lady Serena made a mistake seven years ago by falling in love with a young footman in her father's house and by trying to run way with him she sealed her fate and took a hold of the rains of her future by becoming a prostitute. On that long ago, but never forgotten night, when a young man showed her compassion by giving her his purse filled with a lot of money, she makes the decision to become her own person, however flawed.

Seven years later, she remembers it all like it happened the day before and her feelings are confusing her. This woman is not a meek person. She's strong, fiercely independent and she never wants or needs any man to lord over her. She's not used to showing her feelings and affections not because she can't or won't but because she doesn't know how. She's never received hugs or words of love, so once she gets exposed to it, she's literally in a panic and her physical reaction of being suffocated is something she is unable to control.

No way in hell can you read this love story and not feel for these two. Their HEA is fraught with intrigue, pain, regrets and suffering, but neither was willing to give up on each other until they faced the only enemy that stood in their way-Serena's fear of losing her self-worth.

Everything in this book was superb, from the writing, the dialogue, and the plot and secondary characters. It all flowed seamlessly with a perfect pace. Speaking of secondary players, I loved them all. From Rene, the French Spy to Sophy, her right hand at the `Arms'; from his family to her `family' of misfits! All of them pulled at my heartstrings, especially the secondary love story of two spies. Even that was pulled off with grace and such wonderful care!

If you're in a mood for a character driven love story full of intrigue, passion and plenty of suspense, I recommend this book with all my heart! Now, I need to get me Ms. Lerner's first book "In For a Penny". I have no doubt that I'll love it as much as this one.


* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* show less

I love the pretty dresses that grace the covers of many historical romances. I also hate them, because every book tends to look the same. When I spotted this in Samhain's New Releases section, the author's name sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember whether I'd heard bad things or good things. Then I spotted a post on Gossamer Obsessions, describing Solomon as “one of the sweetest, handsomest, smartest, amazingest, chemist-tailor-detective Beta heroes EVER,” and decided that I at least needed to read the excerpt. I love sweet romance heroes. And, oh, was he ever.

Serena is an ex-prostitute turned inn keeper and has a reputation for knowing all sorts of criminal types. Solomon, a chemist with a passion for dyes and clothing, asks show more for her help in finding a family heirloom, a pair of earrings, without which his sister refuses to get married. Serena takes the job, hoping that this will be enough to repay her debt to Solomon. Five years earlier, a young, drunken Solomon saved her by giving her 125 pounds, and she has been looking for him ever since. Part of her is besotted with him, and part of her just wants the debt repaid and him out of her life. Even if he doesn't remember her or the debt she owes him.

That's just the very beginning. Later, there are threats from Serena's horrible father, threats from Serena's former business partner, spies, and a few enormous secrets.

The beginning of this book was crammed incredibly full of stuff. It was overwhelming. What carried me through was my instant love of Solomon and Serena, and I'm so glad about that. But, wow, that beginning. Serena had been looking for Solomon for years, and he finally showed up on her doorstep. Not long after that, Serena's father, who hadn't visited her in years, showed up on her doorstep. And, not long after that, Serena's friend and former business partner, Rene, suddenly showed up and threatened her. All this time, and suddenly everyone showed up all at once. It was enough to make my head spin. And, oh yes, there were still the earrings to worry about.

There was more to come, but I can't talk about most of it because of spoilers. I can at least say that everything turned out to be related in the end. At the time, though, it seemed like an awful lot to keep track of and remember, and I wasn't sure I was up to the challenge.

But, like I said, I loved Solomon and Serena. Especially Solomon. He was so incredibly adorable. He was proud of his work but sure that a lovely woman like Serena would be repulsed by his scarred hands. He wasn't good at speaking up for himself but jumped in to defend others, even though the confrontations made him feel a bit shaky afterward. He'd spent a year and a half mourning the death of his twin in the Napoleonic Wars, had occasionally felt suicidal, and sometimes wished that it had been him that had died instead, because he thought his brother was better, more charming, and all-around more wonderful than himself. He admired and enjoyed Serena's strength and fire.

When I realized that Serena was both an ex-prostitute and an aristocrat, I was confused and wondered how that had happened. As it turned out, it happened due to the choices of both Serena and her father. Young Serena, in love and feeling stifled, did something monumentally stupid, and her horrible father opted not to lift one finger to help her. Serena was left with a boatload of trust issues and a desire to be as independent as possible. She couldn't trust her father, and she soon learned she couldn't trust Rene, her oldest and dearest friend. Solomon was a sweet man who defended her, even knowing about her past, but he might destroy her too, if she let him in too much.

I hurt for these characters, and I haven't even mentioned the book's other couple. I can't say much about them, because spoilers. I will mention that it was a gay couple, and that I was sad that, while Serena and Solomon had the option of getting married and being open about their relationship with their families, this couple couldn't. As nerve-wracking as Serena and Solomon's relationship could be, I preferred it to the other couple's, with its boatloads of lies, secrets, and angst. So painful.

Friends and family did an excellent job of hurting each other in this book. Thankfully, they also did an excellent job of helping each other and making up for the hurts they caused. All in all, I loved A Lily Among Thorns, even though I sometimes had trouble following what was going on in terms of the history and all the many things Serena had to remember to take care of. I need to see about picking up one of Lerner's other books.

(Original review, with read-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

I reviewed this book for my blog at www.bookworm2bookworm.wordpress.com

Rose Lerner had me at a title of this book. “Like a lily among the thorns, so is my darling among the maidens.” No doubt you’ve heard this quote at least once in your life. It’s from Song of Solomon 2:2 and sets a perfect plot for this love story. Make no mistake; this is one heart pounding, heart wrenching all out heartwarming love story.

Solomon Hathaway’s friends from Cambridge thought it was time he lost his virginity, so they brought him to the best whore house in London. Young Solomon dreaded as much as he anticipated this encounter. Once left alone with a young woman who to his keen eye looked almost pathetic, he couldn’t go through with it and as show more he’s about to bolt out of the room, he throws to her his whole allowance and heads for the proverbial ‘hills’!

Seven years later, Solomon is in a need of help recovering stolen earrings that belong to his family, and he’s pointed in a direction of Lady Serena, who is known to have been a bed partner of many, but now is an inn owner with a lot of ties to the underworld of London. Solomon needs only one look of her in the dark to realize that in front of him is a beautiful woman and not that pathetic girl from long ago.

Lady Serena made a mistake seven years ago by falling in love with a young footman in her father’s house and by trying to run way with him she sealed her fate and took a hold of the rains of her future by becoming a prostitute. On that long ago, but never forgotten night, when a young man showed her compassion by giving her his purse filled with a lot of money, she makes the decision to become her own person, however flawed.

Seven years later, she remembers it all like it happened the day before and her feelings are confusing her. This woman is not a meek person. She’s strong, fiercely independent and she never wants or needs any man to lord over her. She’s not used to showing her feelings and affections not because she can’t or won’t but because she doesn’t know how. She’s never received hugs or words of love, so once she gets exposed to it, she’s literally in a panic and her physical reaction of being suffocated is something she is unable to control.

No way in hell can you read this love story and not feel for these two. Their HEA is fraught with intrigue, pain, regrets and suffering, but neither was willing to give up on each other until they faced the only enemy that stood in their way-Serena’s fear of losing her self-worth.

Everything in this book was superb, from the writing, the dialogue, and the plot and secondary characters. It all flowed seamlessly with a perfect pace. Speaking of secondary players, I loved them all. From Rene, the French Spy to Sophy, her right hand at the ‘Arms’; from his family to her ‘family’ of misfits! All of them pulled at my heartstrings, especially the secondary love story of two spies. Even that was pulled off with grace and such wonderful care!

If you’re in a mood for a character driven love story full of intrigue, passion and plenty of suspense, I recommend this book with all my heart! Now, I need to get me Ms. Lerner’s first book “In For a Penny”. I have no doubt that I’ll love it as much as this one.

* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* show less

There were things I liked and things I didn’t like. I’ll begin with what I did like.

Solomon. He is one of my favorite characters ever. He’s so precious with his wacky interest in chemistry and matching colors. He spends the entire book trying to find a color to match Serena’s eyes. I also love how he surprises Serena constantly with curiosity about the men she’s been with, because he wants to know about their stays. Or his horror at some of the waistcoats men wear. He cracks me up constantly in this book. I love all the little things about him that Serena falls in love with. He’s just amazing. I wouldn’t say he holds the weight of the book, but he holds a lot of it.

The truth about Elijah. I was pretty surprised when the show more truth about Elijah (Solomon’s twin brother) came to light. I was also glad. I loved Elijah. There wasn’t nearly enough of him in the book and he was a pretty complicated character.

The things I didn’t like so much…

Serena. Okay, so that’s not totally true. I did like Serena. I thought she was even a great character sometimes. She was just so stubborn, and I hate that. I hate watching a woman ignore what’s right in front of her because she thinks things will be better that way. They’re never better that way. It makes everyone miserable, including this reader. I was so annoyed every time she shut Solomon down. It took almost all 317 pages for her to get herself together and admit how she felt. Though, I have to say that was one of the sweetest speeches ever. For the most part though, she drove me insane.

It was pretty slow. I’m not saying that there are things I’d cut out. It just wasn’t as fast paced as I wanted it to be. It didn’t really pick up until about 210 pages in, and that’s a long time for a 317 page book. I really like things to take off in the beginning. But if they don’t, I like for them to pick up within the first seventy or so pages. It took me far too long to get invested in this one. Still, if you like historical romances and a to-die-for guy, you should consider picking this one up. show less

A Lily Among Thorns is the second book I've read by Rose Lerner. Back in January, I read and loved her first book In For A Penny. So, when I saw that A Lily Among Thorns was available on NetGalley I jumped at the chance to review it. I'm actually jumping the gun a little bit, because the book isn't set for release until September.

The plot of this book didn't appeal to me quite as much as her first book. Here we have Serena and Solomon. When Solomon was younger, his friends tried to get him to lose his virginity via prostitute. Yep, you guessed it - the prostitute was Serena. Well, he couldn't go through with it so he just shoved his little purse of money at her and took off like the terrified little virgin he was. This changed the whole show more course of Serena's life y'all, because that money? There was a lot of it. She ends up opening her own inn. Years later, she and Solomon cross paths again and chaos ensues - lost jewelry, spies, long lost brothers...you name it. As they become more involved in the events going on around them, they also become more involved with each other. They have some fierce chemistry.

I usually don't pick up too many historical romance novels featuring prostitutes, mistresses and the like. For Rose Lerner I made an exception. Even though the plot is fairly complex and non-stop...I still found myself losing interest in what would happen next - just didn't get that involved with the action side of the story. I'm not saying it wasn't exciting...but spies and family drama aren't exactly rare plot lines in the world of historical romance.

That being said, I was about halfway through the book when I realized that no way was I putting it down until I was finished. Rose Lerner has a way of making her characters matter. Serena was vibrant and self-confident, Solomon was slightly nerdy and much less self aware. I couldn't get enough of them together - their interactions and dialogue. Even though I didn't care as much about what was happening in the background of the plot, I was still crazy invested in these characters.

So, if you're a fan of the genre and/or stories that are very much character driven - this is the book for you! While I had a few more issues with this book than I did her first release, I still very much believe this book is worth reading. I can't wait to see what Rose writes next! show less

2.5 stars.I don't know why this book wasn't more successful for me. It had an unusual hero and heroine (a tailor and former courtesan/innkeeper); it was well enough written and had some amusing moments ("does the Regent used French holes?"), but for some reason, I found this story completely put-downable. Looking at my Goodreads, I can see that it took me 7 days to read this. Normally a book this length would take me about 2 days. What this tells me is that I found other things to do rather than pick this book up. While I was actually reading, I enjoyed it well enough, but I was in no rush to keep reading. For the life of me, I can't articulate why. For some reason I didn't connect sufficiently with the characters and/or the story and show more so this one ended up being kind of "meh" for me. I suspect I'm an outlier though, so don't take my word for it! :) I feel bad that I can't explain why this one didn't grab me. show less