Pearl's World of Romance - Reviews with a Passion: The Lord Next Door

July 31, 2007

The Lord Next Door - Gayle Callen

5:58 PM |

To rescue her family from financial ruin, lovely Victoria Shelby has no choice but to marry. Her options for a bridegroom are limited...until she remembers the shy servant boy next door. Then she discovers that her childhood friend is actually Viscount Thurlow--ruthless businessman, future earl, and a man whose family is shrouded in scandal.

After two rejected marriage proposals, David Thurlow needs a wife who will give him an heir, someone who will not only overlook his past but also be above reproach. Victoria is the ideal candidate--quiet, unassuming, and in desperate need of funds. But even as she strives to be the perfect wife, David's
slow heated lessons in the art of seduction threaten to transform a convenient" marriage into a torrid and passionate affair.

The blurb sounded so promising but unfortunately the book did not quite live up to the promise.
Not that it was a bad book, just not very exciting or worldrocking, but still entertaining.
Secrets, misunderstanding and scandal rule their worlds but Victoria and David find each other in a nice average story. Their childhood fascination with each other, getting to know each other just by secret entries in a journal, grows into love despite all the scandals.
Scandals which are made bigger by themselves and which would weigh much less on their minds if they opened up earlier to each other.
But it's nice to read how Victoria’s low selfconfidence is developed and strenghtened by David's confidence in her and David's harsh exterior and behaviour changes when he marries Victoria.
The marriage starts as a means to and end for both of them but progresses to be strong and filled with their mutual love.

Despite the averageness of the book I'm still curious to learn the stories of Victoria's sisters, they will be told in book 2 and 3 of this trilogy and hopefully, the average start of book 1 will grow into stronger and better installements with the stories of Meriel and Louisa.

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