Love Only Once

As I plow my way through the books in this genre I am seeing such a range. Some, say Georgette Heyer or Joan Aiken, write with such verve and veracity and humour-- so much care given to getting the details RIGHT. And there. Knowing the difference between a curricle and phaeton. No one would ever wear muslin to a grand ball. Then there is the danger of the high school mean girl/boy obsession thing. Maybe that is all that Almack's ever was in the day, but in this genre the marriage mart has become something far more--it's about young women holding out for love--rebellious and wonderful. Which leads to getting the sexy bits right too. There is what amounts to marital rape in this one -- I guess you could still do that in the 80's but there show more is one scene that goes against all that I have come to love about the sexier books in this genre. They encourage and instruct and show what is normal, what to expect and require from a man in the way of respect and reciprocity, what to explain about yourself and your needs, what to ask for, that you should be listened to. And if you aren't getting any of those from a man in your real life, well get thee hence. Empowering. So I wasn't impressed. Part of my problem was also the narrator of the audiobook, an American who, I swear, had some Hollywood voice coach from the forties for the English accents. Ouch. I hate to give a book one star, so **. But really. show less

Puntuación: 8.00/10.00

El drama de la novela es perfecto, me divierte y me hace sufrir muchísimo. Siento que las decisiones, aunque a veces tontas, tienen cierta lógica que me hace entender cada vez más a los personajes. Muy fan de la familia Malory, y los dramas familiares, siento que habría sido perfecto si el personaje de Nicholas fuera más desarrollado. Sin embargo estoy bastante satisfecha con la novela en sí.

I actually liked this book because the heroine was fabulous. She was innocent without being too naive. I also loved how much she loves her family. I liked the love interest though his stubbornness started to get a little old by the end of the book.

The author did a great job describing the people, places and clothing and it helped bring the book to life. For the first in a series, she also gave enough of teasers to really keep you wanting to read more of this endearing family.

This is a re-read for me. I still enjoyed the story and I still loved characters. This is the first book in the Malory series and I love how she introduces the Malory family to you. This time around I did notice that the author jumps POV a lot! In my previous re-reads I hadn't noticed this, however by the end of the book I had gotten used to it.

Regina and Nicholas made me shake my head at times. So close to happiness, yet neither can see it. I really liked when Nicholas would set out to woo Regina. Kinda wish there was a bit more of that. I do like how the author puts so much into all the characters in the story. I really enjoy falling in love with secondary characters as well as the first.. I find them all so full of life that I want show more to read all of their stories as well. All in all a good first book for what I know is a great series. Up next is one of my all time Favourites!!! Anthony Malory!!! show less

I do enjoy reading family series, for example, Mary Balogh's Slightly series, and I had hoped the Malory family might be similarly engaging. And I still hope so, but this first book in the series was not as good as I wished for.

I liked the hero and heroine; he was a charming rake, and she was a beautiful spitfire. His mistaken abduction of her was a fun start to the book. I loved all of the uncles and their backstories. And although a pirate story suddenly appears about halfway into the book, it all fit together nicely.

We've all read romances that involve the so-called Big Misunderstanding, but this was a book with dozens of big and little misunderstandings. Really, the miscommunications and misunderstandings between Regina and Nicholas show more were immensely frustrating.

There were also lots of secrets, which typically irritate me, but Ms Lindsey threw in some well-executed surprises, which I won't describe so as to avoid spoilers.

It's an entertaining story, though, and I like Ms Lindsey's style. The sex is pretty tame by today's standards, but that's okay. I will try the next book in the series.

And finally, I can't help but complain about something that really bugs me, namely the misuse of English titles. Nicholas is called the Viscount of Monteith, which is completely wrong. Dukes are always "of" something; earls sometimes are, but not viscounts. Reggie, as the wife of a viscount, is referred to as a countess. Also, she's an earl's daughter, and earlier the author called her Lady Ashton when it should be Lady Regina. If Americans insist upon writing about English nobility, they should at least do their research. It's really so easy. (I was about to point out that it's all explained on Wikipedia, but of course this book was written in 1985, so perhaps I should cut the author some slack.)

I especially liked Uncle Anthony, so I'll move on to his book next. show less

Nicholas is jaded and often an ass, Regina is fun and light hearted and fiesty. I liked her a lot. Nicholas doesn't feel he can marry because of his parentage but is backed into a corner and forced to marry Regina or else.

I'm bummed. This one had a good rating on GR so my expectations were such. I struggled to finish this and it's a sad day where I'm moaning to myself "crap, I have to finish that book." And I wouldn't have if I hadn't identified it as part of a challenge I'm doing. Monteith was a complete ass. He really had no redeeming qualities to him whatsoever. Oh, yes, he was supposed to be good looking and all and in my opinion he epitomized the old "beauty is skin deep" thing. As for Reggie, ok, she was sweet, I guess. But I couldn't even grasp on to her character. This is my first time reading this author and I'm not going to give up and will try her again. Later. I'd rate this one "meh".