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Blackshear Family #2
A Gentleman Undone
A seductive beauty turns the tables on a gentleman gaming for the guiltiest of pleasures in this rich and sensual Regency romance.
Lydia Slaughter understands the games men play—both in and out of the bedroom. Not afraid to bend the rules to suit her needs, she fleeces Will Blackshear outright. The Waterloo hero had his own daring agenda for the gaming tables of London’s gentlemen’s clubs. But now he antes up for a wager of wits and desire with Lydia, the streetwise temptress who keeps him at arm’s length.
A kept woman in desperate straits, Lydia has a sharp mind and a head for numbers. She gambles on the sly, hoping to win enough to claim her independence. An alliance with Will at the tables may be a winning proposition for them both. But the arrangement involves dicey odds with rising stakes, sweetened with unspoken promise of fleshly delights. And any sleight of hand could find their hearts betting on something neither can afford to love.
Lydia Slaughter understands the games men play—both in and out of the bedroom. Not afraid to bend the rules to suit her needs, she fleeces Will Blackshear outright. The Waterloo hero had his own daring agenda for the gaming tables of London’s gentlemen’s clubs. But now he antes up for a wager of wits and desire with Lydia, the streetwise temptress who keeps him at arm’s length.
A kept woman in desperate straits, Lydia has a sharp mind and a head for numbers. She gambles on the sly, hoping to win enough to claim her independence. An alliance with Will at the tables may be a winning proposition for them both. But the arrangement involves dicey odds with rising stakes, sweetened with unspoken promise of fleshly delights. And any sleight of hand could find their hearts betting on something neither can afford to love.
350 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
Cecilia Grant
5 books663 followersI write Regency-set historical romance with a high angst-to-plot ratio. I specialize in hard-headed heroines and good-hearted heroes. So far.
A word about the "reviews" I post here: Please think of them as recommendations rather than reviews. If I like a book, I'll list it here and scrawl a few sentences about why I liked it. I've gone back and forth about whether to use stars (it feels like a sledgehammer approach to something pretty intricate), and at the moment I'm back to using them. Mostly because I'm slow about writing reviews, and there were a lot of books I wanted to go on record as having enjoyed!
A word about the "reviews" I post here: Please think of them as recommendations rather than reviews. If I like a book, I'll list it here and scrawl a few sentences about why I liked it. I've gone back and forth about whether to use stars (it feels like a sledgehammer approach to something pretty intricate), and at the moment I'm back to using them. Mostly because I'm slow about writing reviews, and there were a lot of books I wanted to go on record as having enjoyed!
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May 23, 2019
Here after all was their condition, perched on their separate wind-whipped summits, in view of each other, but too distant to reach.
I slowly made my way through the beginning of this book, realizing it's not your usual. Nor was the story for Martha, Will's older sister, so this came a no surprise, but somehow I was surprised. It's stunning how brilliant this series is. How quietly rich and subversive, how oddly fresh. How terribly difficult too.
I'd tell you to expect plots more like Sherry Thomas than any other, and I think that's true. I don't want to compare either author, really.
Will and Lydia were both incredible. Both full characters, consistent and challenging. Both able to hurt one another, to cause angst-completely understandable angst.
Will repeatedly tries to rescue Lydia from her gentleman protector and is repeatedly told she's not in need of it. They forge friendship and intimacy through cards and probabilities, along with a shared goal of a good deal of money for their goals.
There's this scene, barely matched in any novel for its intimacy, in which Lydia watches Will drink his coffee. It's incredible and one little example of how we feel intimacy as people but rarely ever find this level of everyday in relationships in our books.
I'm running out of Cecilia Grant's novels, but I know I can happily reread them and I'll be gifted with more enjoyment and understanding of these rich plots and characters.
I slowly made my way through the beginning of this book, realizing it's not your usual. Nor was the story for Martha, Will's older sister, so this came a no surprise, but somehow I was surprised. It's stunning how brilliant this series is. How quietly rich and subversive, how oddly fresh. How terribly difficult too.
I'd tell you to expect plots more like Sherry Thomas than any other, and I think that's true. I don't want to compare either author, really.
Will and Lydia were both incredible. Both full characters, consistent and challenging. Both able to hurt one another, to cause angst-completely understandable angst.
Will repeatedly tries to rescue Lydia from her gentleman protector and is repeatedly told she's not in need of it. They forge friendship and intimacy through cards and probabilities, along with a shared goal of a good deal of money for their goals.
There's this scene, barely matched in any novel for its intimacy, in which Lydia watches Will drink his coffee. It's incredible and one little example of how we feel intimacy as people but rarely ever find this level of everyday in relationships in our books.
I'm running out of Cecilia Grant's novels, but I know I can happily reread them and I'll be gifted with more enjoyment and understanding of these rich plots and characters.
July 11, 2012
Apparently, all it takes is a mistress with rough sexual appetites and an ex-military hero without all the woobie rake angst to squeeze 5 stars from my cold, dead hands. Granted, A Gentleman Undone is barely a literary masterpiece, but it ranks worlds above the rest of the regency crap I've been reading lately. If more authors would write like Cecilia Grant, then maybe I wouldn't bitch so much about the tepid quality of historical romance these days.
SUMMARY:
When Will Blackshear (former lieutenant) returns to London after experiencing the nightmare of Waterloo, he has no intentions of getting involved with any ladies. A man of modest means and the youngest son in the Blackshear family, Will has decided to spend his military commission on a business venture to help the widow of one of his deceased subordinates from the war. He can't afford much more than his tiny bachelor lodgings, so there's no way he can afford a mistress. Even if he can't stop thinking about some other dude's mistress he keeps encountering at a gaming hall. Lydia Slaughter, former prostitute at some anything-goes House of Horrors (Whores) and current mistress to a wealthy gentleman who can also perform mighty well in bed, is content with her circumstances at the moment. Sure, she doesn't want to be a mistress forever, but her current protector has the good sense to take her to gaming halls and falls asleep so she can take part in some gambling. Lydia has a very mathematical mind, so she ends up as something of a 19th-century card counter. At first, Will and Lydia start up a tentative friendship to achieve a common goal. He needs money and doesn't understand that odds trump luck. She needs money and understands the importance of odds but can't gamble high stakes because she's a woman. They team up in order to make a killing at vingt-et-un, no hanky-panky allowed.
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But please. This is a romance. You know the hanky-panky's just around the corner. Can a man without the means to provide for a wife or mistress win the heart of a distant woman who only wants her independence?
Lydia is an amazing character. She was raised among the gentry, but her ruination and the deaths of her remaining family members thrust her into desperate straits. So Lydia becomes a prostitute and remarkably never bitches about it. She sees the world through a very logical lens, so she considers her current profession a means to an end. All Lydia desires is a quiet life with a little home that she can afford to keep. Fortunately for Lydia, being a mistress doesn't bother her too much because she genuinely enjoys sex. I know! The absence of slut-shaming! It's a miracle! Her biggest problem with being a "kept woman" stems from having to cater to her protector's beck and call all the time. It was very refreshing to read about a heroine who didn't leave her reasoning skills at the door (or lose them along with her goddamn maidenhead). Women are so rarely portrayed in these stories as rational characters, so Lydia's a bit of a treasure to me.
Will's definitely my type of hero. He's a bit beta yet incredibly sexy. The war really messed him up emotionally. Don't read this spoiler if you plan to read the book! So aside from the requisite tortured soul stuff, Will's a pretty honorable guy. He resists coming onto Lydia because he doesn't want to step on her protector's toes. I liked that Will didn't have the entire world at his fingertips. He isn't wealthy, probably never will be wealthy, and doesn't harbor any delusions that he could be wealthy. No long-lost titles deux ex machina into the plot like some ill-place karate warrior and provide Will and Lydia with a happily-ever-after. The ending, which I refuse to spoil, is satisfying but realistic. Will is a character who has to sacrifice a great deal to get his happy ending.
The romance is rather exceptional. There's a lot of build-up between Will and Lydia. They truly get to know each other, circling around their mutual attraction, before they even kiss. And then, thank the romance gods, the sex isn't some boring exercise in (take your pick) teaching the heroine how nipples work, comparing each other to past lovers to prove that this is TWU LOVE, taking a page-long break so the hero can apologize to the heroine for breaking her maidenhead, etc. The sex has just as much to do with the characters and where they are emotionally as it does with bumping uglies. The love-making isn't always easy, and it makes Will and Lydia even more interesting as characters.
I'll definitely try out Cecilia Grant's other novel, but that one will have to wait. I don't want to consume all of her books at once. These characters are just different enough from the romance standards of the day that I don't want to rush a good thing.
SUMMARY:
When Will Blackshear (former lieutenant) returns to London after experiencing the nightmare of Waterloo, he has no intentions of getting involved with any ladies. A man of modest means and the youngest son in the Blackshear family, Will has decided to spend his military commission on a business venture to help the widow of one of his deceased subordinates from the war. He can't afford much more than his tiny bachelor lodgings, so there's no way he can afford a mistress. Even if he can't stop thinking about some other dude's mistress he keeps encountering at a gaming hall. Lydia Slaughter, former prostitute at some anything-goes House of Horrors (Whores) and current mistress to a wealthy gentleman who can also perform mighty well in bed, is content with her circumstances at the moment. Sure, she doesn't want to be a mistress forever, but her current protector has the good sense to take her to gaming halls and falls asleep so she can take part in some gambling. Lydia has a very mathematical mind, so she ends up as something of a 19th-century card counter. At first, Will and Lydia start up a tentative friendship to achieve a common goal. He needs money and doesn't understand that odds trump luck. She needs money and understands the importance of odds but can't gamble high stakes because she's a woman. They team up in order to make a killing at vingt-et-un, no hanky-panky allowed.
[image error]
GIFSoup
But please. This is a romance. You know the hanky-panky's just around the corner. Can a man without the means to provide for a wife or mistress win the heart of a distant woman who only wants her independence?
Lydia is an amazing character. She was raised among the gentry, but her ruination and the deaths of her remaining family members thrust her into desperate straits. So Lydia becomes a prostitute and remarkably never bitches about it. She sees the world through a very logical lens, so she considers her current profession a means to an end. All Lydia desires is a quiet life with a little home that she can afford to keep. Fortunately for Lydia, being a mistress doesn't bother her too much because she genuinely enjoys sex. I know! The absence of slut-shaming! It's a miracle! Her biggest problem with being a "kept woman" stems from having to cater to her protector's beck and call all the time. It was very refreshing to read about a heroine who didn't leave her reasoning skills at the door (or lose them along with her goddamn maidenhead). Women are so rarely portrayed in these stories as rational characters, so Lydia's a bit of a treasure to me.
Will's definitely my type of hero. He's a bit beta yet incredibly sexy. The war really messed him up emotionally. Don't read this spoiler if you plan to read the book! So aside from the requisite tortured soul stuff, Will's a pretty honorable guy. He resists coming onto Lydia because he doesn't want to step on her protector's toes. I liked that Will didn't have the entire world at his fingertips. He isn't wealthy, probably never will be wealthy, and doesn't harbor any delusions that he could be wealthy. No long-lost titles deux ex machina into the plot like some ill-place karate warrior and provide Will and Lydia with a happily-ever-after. The ending, which I refuse to spoil, is satisfying but realistic. Will is a character who has to sacrifice a great deal to get his happy ending.
The romance is rather exceptional. There's a lot of build-up between Will and Lydia. They truly get to know each other, circling around their mutual attraction, before they even kiss. And then, thank the romance gods, the sex isn't some boring exercise in (take your pick) teaching the heroine how nipples work, comparing each other to past lovers to prove that this is TWU LOVE, taking a page-long break so the hero can apologize to the heroine for breaking her maidenhead, etc. The sex has just as much to do with the characters and where they are emotionally as it does with bumping uglies. The love-making isn't always easy, and it makes Will and Lydia even more interesting as characters.
I'll definitely try out Cecilia Grant's other novel, but that one will have to wait. I don't want to consume all of her books at once. These characters are just different enough from the romance standards of the day that I don't want to rush a good thing.
May 30, 2012
I'm envisioning Grant sitting down to work on this and musing to herself, "Hmmm, what romance convention shall I skewer today?" Our heroine Lydia is a courtesan, formerly a prostitute. She's a courtesan who enjoys her work -- or at least, some aspects of it.
"With all the insolence she swallowed, it was a wonder her corsets still laced. Retort after rejoinder after sharp-edged remark: Why do you address me? What can I possibly have to say to a man who would split a pair of fives? Be quiet. Go to sleep. Go away. Come back when you have another erection."
And she's a courtesan who is currently employed. Yes, for a good portion of this story, the heroine is having sex with a man other than the hero. If the uncomfortable sex in Grant's A Lady Awakened was too much for you, this one is going to tie you in knots. We even have a reversal of the classic bodice ripper scene in which the innocent heroine spies on the hero having sex with another woman -- except in this case, it's Will spying on Lydia with her "protector."
Will Blackshear is carrying around a terrible burden of guilt and responsibility. A promise to a dying man under his command at the Battle of Quatre Bras means he needs a lot of money fast, and the only way he can earn it is through gambling. This brings him in direct competition with Lydia, who's trying to earn enough money gambling to support herself independently -- and who has the card skills and math chops to beat Will and everyone else. What she doesn't have is a respectable man to represent her business interests. So she and Will team up in secret to help each other -- a somewhat dangerous undertaking, since Lydia is involved elsewhere, Will can't afford a mistress, and they're very attracted to each other.
Will is a conventional hero in that he's protective, loving and giving (also, hung) but he's constrained in his ability to help Lydia by many forces, including the fact that he's incredibly messed up himself. The relationship that forms between them is complicated and sometimes painful, reflecting how damaged they both are. Grant does a beautiful job of pulling everything together to make a happy ending possible for this pair.
As with A Lady Awakened, the title here is very telling, and there's more to it than meets the eye. With his tremendous sense of honour and responsibility toward others, Will is the essence of a true gentleman -- but he may have to discard the trappings of gentlemanly living to achieve true happiness.
Although beautifully crafted, A Gentleman Undone is hard to rate. For the first part of the book I admired it, but felt a certain distance from the characters; the elegance of the writing sometimes felt a little forced to me, carefully articulating more than always needed to be told.
"Her smile subsided. He'd said something wrong, or perhaps she'd simply moved from remembering her brother to remembering his loss."
But when things become intense between Will and Lydia, I was swept along powerfully.
(Reviewed from e-arc provided by netGalley)
"With all the insolence she swallowed, it was a wonder her corsets still laced. Retort after rejoinder after sharp-edged remark: Why do you address me? What can I possibly have to say to a man who would split a pair of fives? Be quiet. Go to sleep. Go away. Come back when you have another erection."
And she's a courtesan who is currently employed. Yes, for a good portion of this story, the heroine is having sex with a man other than the hero. If the uncomfortable sex in Grant's A Lady Awakened was too much for you, this one is going to tie you in knots. We even have a reversal of the classic bodice ripper scene in which the innocent heroine spies on the hero having sex with another woman -- except in this case, it's Will spying on Lydia with her "protector."
Will Blackshear is carrying around a terrible burden of guilt and responsibility. A promise to a dying man under his command at the Battle of Quatre Bras means he needs a lot of money fast, and the only way he can earn it is through gambling. This brings him in direct competition with Lydia, who's trying to earn enough money gambling to support herself independently -- and who has the card skills and math chops to beat Will and everyone else. What she doesn't have is a respectable man to represent her business interests. So she and Will team up in secret to help each other -- a somewhat dangerous undertaking, since Lydia is involved elsewhere, Will can't afford a mistress, and they're very attracted to each other.
Will is a conventional hero in that he's protective, loving and giving (also, hung) but he's constrained in his ability to help Lydia by many forces, including the fact that he's incredibly messed up himself. The relationship that forms between them is complicated and sometimes painful, reflecting how damaged they both are. Grant does a beautiful job of pulling everything together to make a happy ending possible for this pair.
As with A Lady Awakened, the title here is very telling, and there's more to it than meets the eye. With his tremendous sense of honour and responsibility toward others, Will is the essence of a true gentleman -- but he may have to discard the trappings of gentlemanly living to achieve true happiness.
Although beautifully crafted, A Gentleman Undone is hard to rate. For the first part of the book I admired it, but felt a certain distance from the characters; the elegance of the writing sometimes felt a little forced to me, carefully articulating more than always needed to be told.
"Her smile subsided. He'd said something wrong, or perhaps she'd simply moved from remembering her brother to remembering his loss."
But when things become intense between Will and Lydia, I was swept along powerfully.
(Reviewed from e-arc provided by netGalley)
November 8, 2012
4.5 stars…Eloquent, natural, sensual…Sympathetic, daring, imperfect characters…You must read Cecilia Grant!
After a second read, I still love this book! Cecelia Grant is sitting pretty on a custom-made pedestal! Why? She provides compelling relief in a sea of monotonous romance novels. If you think you’ve read it all and believe you can predict what will happen next in a romance, then you haven’t read A Lady Awakened or A Gentleman Undone! The only thing guaranteed is a happy ending.
June 1815
Like most war heroes Will Blackshear carries a heavy emotional burden. No longer a carefree young man, he’s unable to connect with his brothers and sisters and avoids his family. Will has two goals: providing restitution to a fallen comrade’s wife and securing funds for a shipping investment.
Lydia Slaughter was a victim of unfortunate circumstances. She chose her route in life and makes no apologies. Her head for numbers and skill at cards will earn the independence she desires. Will and Lydia will form a tentative partnership. Lydia will tutor Will in cardsharp tricks and prepare him for high stakes vingt-et-un at the gaming hells. As another man’s mistress and the second-youngest son neither have anything to offer the other or so they believe; sometimes luck presents itself in the most surprising ways.
After years of reading romance novels of various sub-genres, I was the fortunate winner of A Gentleman Undone through a Goodreads First Reads contest and serendipitously stumbled upon an author who has earned my steadfast devotion. It seems as if Ms. Grant’s purpose is to defy all the usual historical romance plot devices such as, frigid women, naïve whores, acceptable flaws, and alpha males. In Awakened, the hero’s sexual prowess does not win the heart of the heroine, and Undone’s heroine has the audacity to luxuriate in pleasures of the flesh while the hero’s deeply ingrained moral integrity extends to her person despite her diminished status amongst his peers. I absolutely treasure this book and author!
I’ve read this book twice. The first time I was over the moon like, Julie Andrews’ hillside twirling the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music! Tra-la-la la la! The second read, I took a critical view of the book. I’m still very happy with myprecioussss little treasure, but I do see where this book stumbled for other readers. The extensive telling of card tricks, probability and vingt-et-un lessons carried on a bit too long. Lydia’s mathematical genius is not embraced by all. It proved negligible to me.
The unforgiving characterization of Lydia Slaughter captivated me! Lydia is a mistress who loves sex before making love with the hero! Will has nothing on her skills. Her backstory is relevant and the circumstances leading to her present situation are what I’ve come to expect for a woman like Lydia. Yet even her backstory has its own unique qualities you have to read to appreciate. Lydia doesn’t need a man to save her. She will save herself via her own means. Will is the means, as she maintains her amorous relationship with her keeper. Ms. Grant doesn’t spare the reader Lydia’s sexual congress with ‘Prince Square-Jaw’ by manufacturing an affliction. I knew this going into the book and wondered how I would feel about it. The entire situation is executed very well. The characters’ behaviors are consistent and the story progresses naturally. Lydia and Will’s happy ending is perfect, settling all doubts that the author could make it credible.
Cecilia Grant’s writing is sophisticated and, in my opinion, superior to other romance novels. Her unconventional characterizations are a breath of fresh air. Here’s an author to break the ennui of predictable plots and similar dramatizations. Maybe other writers and/or publishing houses will take note. I’m anxiously awaiting the next novel in this series, which features older brother Nick Blackshear. What new ground will be broken in A Woman Entangled? For sure, I will find out!
Blackshear Series in Order:
I was lucky enough to buddy read with the following readers: new_user – 3 stars , Willowfaerie – 5 stars , Madame X – 4 stars.
After a second read, I still love this book! Cecelia Grant is sitting pretty on a custom-made pedestal! Why? She provides compelling relief in a sea of monotonous romance novels. If you think you’ve read it all and believe you can predict what will happen next in a romance, then you haven’t read A Lady Awakened or A Gentleman Undone! The only thing guaranteed is a happy ending.
”I begin to think honor is just another kind of vanity, ...
-Will Blackshear
June 1815
Like most war heroes Will Blackshear carries a heavy emotional burden. No longer a carefree young man, he’s unable to connect with his brothers and sisters and avoids his family. Will has two goals: providing restitution to a fallen comrade’s wife and securing funds for a shipping investment.
Lydia Slaughter was a victim of unfortunate circumstances. She chose her route in life and makes no apologies. Her head for numbers and skill at cards will earn the independence she desires. Will and Lydia will form a tentative partnership. Lydia will tutor Will in cardsharp tricks and prepare him for high stakes vingt-et-un at the gaming hells. As another man’s mistress and the second-youngest son neither have anything to offer the other or so they believe; sometimes luck presents itself in the most surprising ways.
After years of reading romance novels of various sub-genres, I was the fortunate winner of A Gentleman Undone through a Goodreads First Reads contest and serendipitously stumbled upon an author who has earned my steadfast devotion. It seems as if Ms. Grant’s purpose is to defy all the usual historical romance plot devices such as, frigid women, naïve whores, acceptable flaws, and alpha males. In Awakened, the hero’s sexual prowess does not win the heart of the heroine, and Undone’s heroine has the audacity to luxuriate in pleasures of the flesh while the hero’s deeply ingrained moral integrity extends to her person despite her diminished status amongst his peers. I absolutely treasure this book and author!
I’ve read this book twice. The first time I was over the moon like, Julie Andrews’ hillside twirling the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music! Tra-la-la la la! The second read, I took a critical view of the book. I’m still very happy with my
"Um." Her eyes came to his, soft and uncertain. "Can you go in very slowly?"
It was beautifully done. But he knew her too well...."Flattering minx.... You say that to every man."
The unforgiving characterization of Lydia Slaughter captivated me! Lydia is a mistress who loves sex before making love with the hero! Will has nothing on her skills. Her backstory is relevant and the circumstances leading to her present situation are what I’ve come to expect for a woman like Lydia. Yet even her backstory has its own unique qualities you have to read to appreciate. Lydia doesn’t need a man to save her. She will save herself via her own means. Will is the means, as she maintains her amorous relationship with her keeper. Ms. Grant doesn’t spare the reader Lydia’s sexual congress with ‘Prince Square-Jaw’ by manufacturing an affliction. I knew this going into the book and wondered how I would feel about it. The entire situation is executed very well. The characters’ behaviors are consistent and the story progresses naturally. Lydia and Will’s happy ending is perfect, settling all doubts that the author could make it credible.
Cecilia Grant’s writing is sophisticated and, in my opinion, superior to other romance novels. Her unconventional characterizations are a breath of fresh air. Here’s an author to break the ennui of predictable plots and similar dramatizations. Maybe other writers and/or publishing houses will take note. I’m anxiously awaiting the next novel in this series, which features older brother Nick Blackshear. What new ground will be broken in A Woman Entangled? For sure, I will find out!
Happiness still felt, at odd moments, like something with which she oughtn’t to be trusted. A delicate and costly music box put into the hands of a maladroit child. Yet happiness felt, too, like a prize she and Will had fought for and seized. An edifice they’d build with their own bare hands out of the scrap heap of mistake and misadventure.
- Lydia Slaughter
Blackshear Series in Order:
I was lucky enough to buddy read with the following readers: new_user – 3 stars , Willowfaerie – 5 stars , Madame X – 4 stars.
November 2, 2012
OMG, Michael Ende, you were wrong. This is the neverending story. My lament for the better part of A Gentleman Undone receded at four-star moments, leaving me to scratch my head now.
Cecilia Grant's voice remains intelligent and insightful. She understands and fleshes her characters better than most and with impeccable prose and such a human familiarity. Couples from A Lady Awakened and A Gentleman Undone respectively, Theo, Martha, Will, and Lydia never mimic cardboard. They're three-dimensional and complex. Strong, practical, and sometimes removed, Martha and Lydia stand out in a sea of earth-mother, Mother Teresa protagonists without the ball-busting or damage inexplicably linked to cooler heroines, as if Saint-Bernard-friendly or harpy are the only two options available to women. These two women just are, no explanations necessary.
As for the men, Grant reinvigorated old tropes in A Lady Awakened by finding humanity in womanizing hero Theo Mirkwood. In Undone, she approaches the tortured hero trope. Will Blackshear returns from war shamed because he failed to save a man. If this doesn't sound vain, weak, and borderline arrogant to you, you will probably like Will better than I. Will's bemoaning and re-centering of George Talbot's painful death in war around himself when the man presumably chose service, presumably believed his service honorable, and Will has no control over death- irritated me.
Again and again, everything came back to Will and Will's painohno! rather than Talbot or Mrs. Talbot, even when sitting across from that woman. While he's proverbially crying into his hanky and singing himself an aria about his pain, Talbot's widow is brave and quiet. He was insulting Talbot's memory by appropriating his death ("I caused it"). I just wanted to say, STFU, it's not about you!
Even Lydia, who absorbs his pain with strength rather than wangsting, comments on Will's savior complex, his need to be needed and save everyone. His hangup leads to irresponsibility and a megaton of screw-ups but also admittedly some successes. So Will frustrated me, but he was characterized well. My Hulk rage probably speaks to Grant's talent, in fact, and Lydia and Will each complement the other's strengths and weaknesses, especially in hindsight. Grant is just too convincing, LOL.
I also liked Grant's realistic treatment of Will and Lydia as a couple. Back then, "I'm N Luv [with a stripper]" wasn't a song, it was cause for shunning, Amish-style, and Will's scene with his family is painful. I'm looking forward to A Woman Entangled starring Will's politically-minded brother, Nick. Props for Jack Fuller and Mrs. Talbot too, who didn't want to sop her grief with another husband.
Props for Lydia's sexuality too. Her demands were inspiring. Even contemporary romance heroines are apologetic or passive. But I have to note irony/ambivalence about Will when he repeatedly thought of courtesan Lydia, she's so corrupted, not like those respectable ladies, yay! Uh... good? LOL.
In reality, her shame about her occupation and her discrimination prevent her characterization as a "succubus," as he calls her. Despite Will's initial typical greed/dismay regarding Lydia's experienced past, both Martha and Lydia are empowered by their men in the bedroom. Yes, you will need a fan. "You try to act the gentleman, but you've got sin in your blood and your bones," Lydia says to Will. The woman knows what she's talkin' 'bout!
Tedium's my main complaint. Blackjack scenes can only be so interesting, and that was the plot. No movement. More plot plz, kthanx! And the self-loathing. But Grant is clearly talented! I'm reading #3 for sure. Did I mention card sharp Lydia's super awesome?
Cecilia Grant's voice remains intelligent and insightful. She understands and fleshes her characters better than most and with impeccable prose and such a human familiarity. Couples from A Lady Awakened and A Gentleman Undone respectively, Theo, Martha, Will, and Lydia never mimic cardboard. They're three-dimensional and complex. Strong, practical, and sometimes removed, Martha and Lydia stand out in a sea of earth-mother, Mother Teresa protagonists without the ball-busting or damage inexplicably linked to cooler heroines, as if Saint-Bernard-friendly or harpy are the only two options available to women. These two women just are, no explanations necessary.
As for the men, Grant reinvigorated old tropes in A Lady Awakened by finding humanity in womanizing hero Theo Mirkwood. In Undone, she approaches the tortured hero trope. Will Blackshear returns from war shamed because he failed to save a man. If this doesn't sound vain, weak, and borderline arrogant to you, you will probably like Will better than I. Will's bemoaning and re-centering of George Talbot's painful death in war around himself when the man presumably chose service, presumably believed his service honorable, and Will has no control over death- irritated me.
Again and again, everything came back to Will and Will's painohno! rather than Talbot or Mrs. Talbot, even when sitting across from that woman. While he's proverbially crying into his hanky and singing himself an aria about his pain, Talbot's widow is brave and quiet. He was insulting Talbot's memory by appropriating his death ("I caused it"). I just wanted to say, STFU, it's not about you!
Even Lydia, who absorbs his pain with strength rather than wangsting, comments on Will's savior complex, his need to be needed and save everyone. His hangup leads to irresponsibility and a megaton of screw-ups but also admittedly some successes. So Will frustrated me, but he was characterized well. My Hulk rage probably speaks to Grant's talent, in fact, and Lydia and Will each complement the other's strengths and weaknesses, especially in hindsight. Grant is just too convincing, LOL.
I also liked Grant's realistic treatment of Will and Lydia as a couple. Back then, "I'm N Luv [with a stripper]" wasn't a song, it was cause for shunning, Amish-style, and Will's scene with his family is painful. I'm looking forward to A Woman Entangled starring Will's politically-minded brother, Nick. Props for Jack Fuller and Mrs. Talbot too, who didn't want to sop her grief with another husband.
Props for Lydia's sexuality too. Her demands were inspiring. Even contemporary romance heroines are apologetic or passive. But I have to note irony/ambivalence about Will when he repeatedly thought of courtesan Lydia, she's so corrupted, not like those respectable ladies, yay! Uh... good? LOL.
In reality, her shame about her occupation and her discrimination prevent her characterization as a "succubus," as he calls her. Despite Will's initial typical greed/dismay regarding Lydia's experienced past, both Martha and Lydia are empowered by their men in the bedroom. Yes, you will need a fan. "You try to act the gentleman, but you've got sin in your blood and your bones," Lydia says to Will. The woman knows what she's talkin' 'bout!
Tedium's my main complaint. Blackjack scenes can only be so interesting, and that was the plot. No movement. More plot plz, kthanx! And the self-loathing. But Grant is clearly talented! I'm reading #3 for sure. Did I mention card sharp Lydia's super awesome?
December 12, 2017
Cecilia Grant certainly doesn't shy away from gritty reality. With her you don't get fairy tales about beautiful virgins and handsome dukes, and I, for one, am happy to have her as a new favorite HR author, right up there with Meredith Duran and Courtney Milan.
In Grant's debut novel, A Lady Awakened, she gives us a young widow so desperate to keep her late husband's estate out of the hands of his incompetent heir that she hires someone to impregnate her. Not the most romantic of themes, to say the least. In this new novel, the heroine, Lydia Slaughter, has been a "fallen" woman for maybe 3 years. Devastating circumstances forced her to this position and now she is a courtesan under the protection of an upper class man, Edward Roanoke, who likes to frequent gaming clubs with her.
It is at a gaming club that she meets hero Will Blackshear, ex-soldier and veteran of the Battle of Waterloo, who has his own troubled past. Because of an incident at Waterloo Will is tortured and feels responsible for the family of a soldier who was killed there, but he's not flush with money and needs to accumulate 3000 pounds quickly, money he will invest in a friend's company and thus make himself and the family he wants to help solvent. Will thinks that gambling is the only quick way to amass these funds.
Lydia is also trying to accumulate funds in the hopes that she will be able to make herself financially independent and leave her life of "shame". It turns out that Lydia is quite the card sharp, very adept at figuring out odds and counting cards, and the first night she and Will play each other she cheats him of 180 pounds, money he can't afford to lose.
From there, their acquaintance with each other turns into a collaboration since she, as a woman, can't walk into just any gaming hell on her own and he doesn't have the savvy to win without her help. They work together at first without revealing their past secrets but little by little the barriers go down.
Now, all this time, Lydia is still being kept by Roanoke and having sex with him, so some readers may find this objectionable. I found it to be just the way things were when one had few choices in life.
The book is beautifully written, has all the angst you could want without being pathetic, with no stupid actions on the part of the characters and no annoying plot contrivances on the part of the author. The love story is realistic, poignant, heartwrenching and also hot, if you like hot. (BTW, if you like tie-ins to other stories, the hero of this novel is the brother of Martha, the heroine of Grant's first book. Martha and her love Mirkwood and the rest of Will and Martha's family are secondaries in this book.)
In Grant's debut novel, A Lady Awakened, she gives us a young widow so desperate to keep her late husband's estate out of the hands of his incompetent heir that she hires someone to impregnate her. Not the most romantic of themes, to say the least. In this new novel, the heroine, Lydia Slaughter, has been a "fallen" woman for maybe 3 years. Devastating circumstances forced her to this position and now she is a courtesan under the protection of an upper class man, Edward Roanoke, who likes to frequent gaming clubs with her.
It is at a gaming club that she meets hero Will Blackshear, ex-soldier and veteran of the Battle of Waterloo, who has his own troubled past. Because of an incident at Waterloo Will is tortured and feels responsible for the family of a soldier who was killed there, but he's not flush with money and needs to accumulate 3000 pounds quickly, money he will invest in a friend's company and thus make himself and the family he wants to help solvent. Will thinks that gambling is the only quick way to amass these funds.
Lydia is also trying to accumulate funds in the hopes that she will be able to make herself financially independent and leave her life of "shame". It turns out that Lydia is quite the card sharp, very adept at figuring out odds and counting cards, and the first night she and Will play each other she cheats him of 180 pounds, money he can't afford to lose.
From there, their acquaintance with each other turns into a collaboration since she, as a woman, can't walk into just any gaming hell on her own and he doesn't have the savvy to win without her help. They work together at first without revealing their past secrets but little by little the barriers go down.
Now, all this time, Lydia is still being kept by Roanoke and having sex with him, so some readers may find this objectionable. I found it to be just the way things were when one had few choices in life.
The book is beautifully written, has all the angst you could want without being pathetic, with no stupid actions on the part of the characters and no annoying plot contrivances on the part of the author. The love story is realistic, poignant, heartwrenching and also hot, if you like hot. (BTW, if you like tie-ins to other stories, the hero of this novel is the brother of Martha, the heroine of Grant's first book. Martha and her love Mirkwood and the rest of Will and Martha's family are secondaries in this book.)
September 10, 2012
As much as I loved the first book in the series, this one almost became a DNF. I'm glad I stuck it through as it ended up being better than I feared, but it wasn't a win for me.
Why? This book includes a plot line that I particularly don't like: a courtesan as the heroine. But I love this author's writing and I had hoped she could make it work for me. Unfortunately, I really didn't care for the heroine, or about the romance.
Then there was the card playing. On...and on...and on. I struggled with boredom. Plus
What did work for me was the hero, he was a wonderful guy with a real solid story i could relate too. So despite not liking this story i have to say the writing voice was amazing. I will read more by this author, definitely.
Why? This book includes a plot line that I particularly don't like: a courtesan as the heroine. But I love this author's writing and I had hoped she could make it work for me. Unfortunately, I really didn't care for the heroine, or about the romance.
Then there was the card playing. On...and on...and on. I struggled with boredom. Plus
What did work for me was the hero, he was a wonderful guy with a real solid story i could relate too. So despite not liking this story i have to say the writing voice was amazing. I will read more by this author, definitely.
December 8, 2023
I think that Cecilia Grant’s début book, A Lady Awakened was one of the best historical romances I’ve read in a long time. Not only was it very well-written, but the plotline was original, something that can be hard to find in the genre. (I’m not knocking the tried-and-tested plotlines; some of them are incredibly well done, it’s just refreshing to find something different for a change!) So naturally, I’ve been looking forward to her follow-up novel ever since I finished the first one.
Once again, the author has put an original spin on what might, at first glance, seem a familiar story - that of the courtesan redeemed by true love. But this is no fairy-tale romance; in fact it’s rather a dark story, quite different in tone to her début.
In this book, we meet Will Blackshear, formerly a Lieutenant of the Thirtieth Foot and brother to Martha, the heroine of A Lady Awakened. He has recently sold his commission and is endeavouring to add to it at the gaming table as he has vowed to provide for the widow and child of one of his fellow combatants. The novel opens as Will, having discovered Talbot, half-dead on the battlefield, is struggling to get his wounds tended at the makeshift field hospitals, only to be told by the doctors that it’s a hopeless case and that he may, in fact have worsened the man’s injuries by moving him.
The action then jumps forward several months and Will is back in London. He’s not rich; he’s not a member of the aristocracy, and in order to make good on his promise to Talbot’s widow, he turns to gambling in an attempt to build up a suitable sum to invest to provide her with an income.
Will is a very attractive hero. He’s handsome (of course!), honourable and intuitive, with a wry sense of humour – but underneath that he’s filled with self-loathing for having hastened the death of a husband and father by his own foolish actions, and worse besides.
And one night, at the gambling club, he becomes intrigued by Lydia Slaughter, the mistress of one of his opponents at the card table.
Lydia is a difficult heroine to like. She’s fiercely independent of spirit and, it transpires, somewhat of a mathematical genius, a talent she utilises to good effect at cards when she gets the opportunity. She also is looking to build herself a nest-egg, but unlike Will, it’s for herself, so that when the time comes, she will not need to depend on a man to support her. They come together through this mutual need to make money. Will wants Lydia to teach him about odds and wagers and how to count cards so that he can make what he needs quickly; and she needs him to help her to gain access to some of the less salubrious gambling establishments.
Lydia carries just as dark a secret as Will does, is filled with even more self-loathing, and unlike him, also has a destructive streak. She blames herself for the death of her parents; following her disgrace at the hands of the young man with whom she was in love, her parents stood by her and were preparing to retire to the country when they were robbed and killed. Alone in the world, Lydia turns to one of the few means of support open to her, and goes to work in a brothel, using sex and degradation as a way to lose herself, a means to escape the deeds that haunt her.
She is taken from the brothel by Mr Roanoke and becomes his mistress. He’s not a very pleasant man and insults and mistreats Lydia on several occasions in the book, but she’s a kept woman and has to put up with it. In fact, she makes no secret of the fact that she enjoys sex; it gives her a sense of power which she’s not above using to her advantage. There are a couple of times in the book where she desperately wants Will to take her to bed, wanting to use him to help her to forget – but he knows what she’s about and manages to refuse her, despite the fact that he’s (by now) in love with her.
The sex in the book is pretty explosive, but it’s also quite harsh at first. Lydia doesn’t want consideration or tenderness; she wants to be treated roughly as she once more tries to lose herself in the act, not believing herself worth of kindness or love.
A Gentleman Undone was somewhat darker in tone than much of my usual reading material, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The story gripped me, and I adored Will, but I have to admit that if I have a complaint it’s that I found Lydia difficult to really like or sympathise with. I enjoyed her humour, and the flirtatious, sexually charged back-and-forth with Will, but I can’t help but think that she was perhaps just too damaged to be “redeemed by love” in the end. Will shares his “terrible secret” with her late in the book, but even after that, there was never any doubt in my mind that he was worthy of love; but I didn’t get that feeling about Lydia. I think she’s going to need a lot more TLC if she’s going to be able to leave the past well and truly behind her.
That said, I’m still giving the book four stars. It’s well-written, the story itself is original and the characterisation is strong and consistent. Even though this book wasn’t exactly what I expected after A Lady Awakened it was still a terrific read and I’m eagerly awaiting Cecilia Grant’s next book – A Woman Entangled – next year.
With thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the review copy.
Once again, the author has put an original spin on what might, at first glance, seem a familiar story - that of the courtesan redeemed by true love. But this is no fairy-tale romance; in fact it’s rather a dark story, quite different in tone to her début.
In this book, we meet Will Blackshear, formerly a Lieutenant of the Thirtieth Foot and brother to Martha, the heroine of A Lady Awakened. He has recently sold his commission and is endeavouring to add to it at the gaming table as he has vowed to provide for the widow and child of one of his fellow combatants. The novel opens as Will, having discovered Talbot, half-dead on the battlefield, is struggling to get his wounds tended at the makeshift field hospitals, only to be told by the doctors that it’s a hopeless case and that he may, in fact have worsened the man’s injuries by moving him.
The action then jumps forward several months and Will is back in London. He’s not rich; he’s not a member of the aristocracy, and in order to make good on his promise to Talbot’s widow, he turns to gambling in an attempt to build up a suitable sum to invest to provide her with an income.
Will is a very attractive hero. He’s handsome (of course!), honourable and intuitive, with a wry sense of humour – but underneath that he’s filled with self-loathing for having hastened the death of a husband and father by his own foolish actions, and worse besides.
And one night, at the gambling club, he becomes intrigued by Lydia Slaughter, the mistress of one of his opponents at the card table.
Lydia is a difficult heroine to like. She’s fiercely independent of spirit and, it transpires, somewhat of a mathematical genius, a talent she utilises to good effect at cards when she gets the opportunity. She also is looking to build herself a nest-egg, but unlike Will, it’s for herself, so that when the time comes, she will not need to depend on a man to support her. They come together through this mutual need to make money. Will wants Lydia to teach him about odds and wagers and how to count cards so that he can make what he needs quickly; and she needs him to help her to gain access to some of the less salubrious gambling establishments.
Lydia carries just as dark a secret as Will does, is filled with even more self-loathing, and unlike him, also has a destructive streak. She blames herself for the death of her parents; following her disgrace at the hands of the young man with whom she was in love, her parents stood by her and were preparing to retire to the country when they were robbed and killed. Alone in the world, Lydia turns to one of the few means of support open to her, and goes to work in a brothel, using sex and degradation as a way to lose herself, a means to escape the deeds that haunt her.
She is taken from the brothel by Mr Roanoke and becomes his mistress. He’s not a very pleasant man and insults and mistreats Lydia on several occasions in the book, but she’s a kept woman and has to put up with it. In fact, she makes no secret of the fact that she enjoys sex; it gives her a sense of power which she’s not above using to her advantage. There are a couple of times in the book where she desperately wants Will to take her to bed, wanting to use him to help her to forget – but he knows what she’s about and manages to refuse her, despite the fact that he’s (by now) in love with her.
The sex in the book is pretty explosive, but it’s also quite harsh at first. Lydia doesn’t want consideration or tenderness; she wants to be treated roughly as she once more tries to lose herself in the act, not believing herself worth of kindness or love.
A Gentleman Undone was somewhat darker in tone than much of my usual reading material, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The story gripped me, and I adored Will, but I have to admit that if I have a complaint it’s that I found Lydia difficult to really like or sympathise with. I enjoyed her humour, and the flirtatious, sexually charged back-and-forth with Will, but I can’t help but think that she was perhaps just too damaged to be “redeemed by love” in the end. Will shares his “terrible secret” with her late in the book, but even after that, there was never any doubt in my mind that he was worthy of love; but I didn’t get that feeling about Lydia. I think she’s going to need a lot more TLC if she’s going to be able to leave the past well and truly behind her.
That said, I’m still giving the book four stars. It’s well-written, the story itself is original and the characterisation is strong and consistent. Even though this book wasn’t exactly what I expected after A Lady Awakened it was still a terrific read and I’m eagerly awaiting Cecilia Grant’s next book – A Woman Entangled – next year.
With thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the review copy.
April 28, 2023
After taking a series of L's, Lydia Slaughter is living as a feckless (albeit symmetrical) man's mistress. Determined to have a source of income that is not dependent an a man's appendage (and the whims of said appendage), she takes up counting cards in a gaming club while her protector sleeps off his brandy nearby. That's where she meets - and fleeces- Will Blackshear, a veteran who is almost as desperate for quick money as she is. Trouble is, he's not as good at winning. Nobody is.
Lydia isn't just good. She's transcendent. She's the second strike of lightning. She overmatches men with them none the wiser, because men aren't obliged to read into the motivations of women. What do they see when she's sitting at the cards table? An idle mistress? A coquette? A mild irritant? Lydia wraps their lack of imagination around her like a cloak, disappearing from their memory just as quickly as she makes off with their coins.
Unfortunately (and fortunately) for Lydia, Will is paying attention. How could he not be impressed with someone so singular? They team up to work the gaming hells together, but it's an uneasy alliance, because she's another man's mistress and he is rapidly falling in love.
Get in line, pal.
Lydia isn't just good. She's transcendent. She's the second strike of lightning. She overmatches men with them none the wiser, because men aren't obliged to read into the motivations of women. What do they see when she's sitting at the cards table? An idle mistress? A coquette? A mild irritant? Lydia wraps their lack of imagination around her like a cloak, disappearing from their memory just as quickly as she makes off with their coins.
Unfortunately (and fortunately) for Lydia, Will is paying attention. How could he not be impressed with someone so singular? They team up to work the gaming hells together, but it's an uneasy alliance, because she's another man's mistress and he is rapidly falling in love.
Get in line, pal.
October 25, 2012
This book was an excellent surprise. I did not think I would enjoy it as much as I did. In fact, I’m a little surprised I decided to read it considering I wasn’t too crazy about A Lady Awakened. One thing I can say though, Cecilia Grant writes some of the most intriguing characters in romance fiction.
Basically the story is about an ex-soldier and a courtesan working together to make some fast money at cards. Lydia Slaughter has a mathematical gift and can count cards like a pro, but she needs a front man, since women back then weren’t supposed to be card sharks. Will is happy to help her, but he also wants to get her into bed. He is too gentlemanly to pounce on her.
One of the problems I had with A Lady Awakened is that hardly anything happens. It’s mostly Martha and Theo getting to know each other. And I suppose Gentleman Undone is the same way, but there was a lot more suspense. I had no idea how Grant was going to work everything out. There are some major obstacles with Will and Lydia getting together, the main one being is that if Will marries Lydia, his reputation will be dragged down into the mud. I wasn’t quite sure how Grant would get to the happy ending. There was also a lot of suspense with the gambling (would they win?) and what about Lydia’s protector?
I think Lydia Slaughter is cool character. She’s smart, ambitious and proactive. She longs to be independent, having been caught up before in a current of events that were out of her control. I got the feeling she felt she deserved what happened to her. So even though she’s unashamedly brazen, Will Blackshear bothers her. He’s a proper and decent guy and he makes her uncomfortable. And for that reason, she wants to defile him a little bit, knock him down a peg or two so he will be on the same level as her. I say this because of the way it hurt her when he wouldn't pounce on her. But then she starts to fall in love with him and her feelings change.
Little does she know that Will does not think of himself as being proper and decent. In fact, he has a lot of self loathing because of what happened in the war. This is why he wants so badly to treat her like a lady. He wants her to trust and need him. I think he pretty much fell for her from the beginning. Maybe he recognizes someone who won’t judge him?
Of course, Cecilia Grant never says that outright. I think that’s one of the things I like about her writing. She doesn’t have to explain EVERYTHING. She leaves some stuff up for conjure, and her characters are complex enough to make it easy to debate about them.
I also thought it was cool how Martha and Theo (from the first book) made an appearance in this book. As I’ve always said, Grants characters are great!
The beginning of the book was kind of slow (like A Lady Awakened) with lots of tidbits on cheating at blackjack, but then things picked up in the middle. For that reason, I was originally going to give four stars, but then I thought about it. Wait, this book is wildly different! There’s much to admire in it. For one thing, Will is not a rich man. Lydia is not a blushing virgin. Lydia cannot have children, and to my surprise she didn’t miraculously become pregnant at the end. She was still barren. Is Grant saying that two highly flawed characters, neither rich, virtuous, or fertile can have a happy ending of their own? Wow, what a beautiful idea!
Basically the story is about an ex-soldier and a courtesan working together to make some fast money at cards. Lydia Slaughter has a mathematical gift and can count cards like a pro, but she needs a front man, since women back then weren’t supposed to be card sharks. Will is happy to help her, but he also wants to get her into bed. He is too gentlemanly to pounce on her.
One of the problems I had with A Lady Awakened is that hardly anything happens. It’s mostly Martha and Theo getting to know each other. And I suppose Gentleman Undone is the same way, but there was a lot more suspense. I had no idea how Grant was going to work everything out. There are some major obstacles with Will and Lydia getting together, the main one being is that if Will marries Lydia, his reputation will be dragged down into the mud. I wasn’t quite sure how Grant would get to the happy ending. There was also a lot of suspense with the gambling (would they win?) and what about Lydia’s protector?
I think Lydia Slaughter is cool character. She’s smart, ambitious and proactive. She longs to be independent, having been caught up before in a current of events that were out of her control. I got the feeling she felt she deserved what happened to her. So even though she’s unashamedly brazen, Will Blackshear bothers her. He’s a proper and decent guy and he makes her uncomfortable. And for that reason, she wants to defile him a little bit, knock him down a peg or two so he will be on the same level as her. I say this because of the way it hurt her when he wouldn't pounce on her. But then she starts to fall in love with him and her feelings change.
Little does she know that Will does not think of himself as being proper and decent. In fact, he has a lot of self loathing because of what happened in the war. This is why he wants so badly to treat her like a lady. He wants her to trust and need him. I think he pretty much fell for her from the beginning. Maybe he recognizes someone who won’t judge him?
Of course, Cecilia Grant never says that outright. I think that’s one of the things I like about her writing. She doesn’t have to explain EVERYTHING. She leaves some stuff up for conjure, and her characters are complex enough to make it easy to debate about them.
I also thought it was cool how Martha and Theo (from the first book) made an appearance in this book. As I’ve always said, Grants characters are great!
The beginning of the book was kind of slow (like A Lady Awakened) with lots of tidbits on cheating at blackjack, but then things picked up in the middle. For that reason, I was originally going to give four stars, but then I thought about it. Wait, this book is wildly different! There’s much to admire in it. For one thing, Will is not a rich man. Lydia is not a blushing virgin. Lydia cannot have children, and to my surprise she didn’t miraculously become pregnant at the end. She was still barren. Is Grant saying that two highly flawed characters, neither rich, virtuous, or fertile can have a happy ending of their own? Wow, what a beautiful idea!
November 10, 2020
Just shortly. Great writing and great topic. But it was much darker book than the first one. Heroine was cold and guarded for most of the book. Our hero on the other hand, was open and vulnerable even though he carried dark secrets within himself.
July 29, 2017
If I want to read a comfortable, fluffy, sweet romance book, Cecilia Grant's books would be the last I would turn to. A Gentleman Undone, especially. I must admit that I was reluctant to write a review.
But it seems that I must have masochistic tendencies, because this book is as painful as it gets. I know, it doesn't sound endearing, but it's challenging.
I won't go too much into the plot. There are other reviews which did a wonderful job explaining it. A Gentleman Undone is for all those who know what it means to make a terrible mistake and pay for it - to the point of self-destruction. So many stories deal with tortured heroines and heroes, but most of the time we're being told, not shown. With Cecilia Grant it's like someone's hit me with a sledgehammer, saying 'This is what pain feels like. Take that!' But, and I mean this as a big but, we're not being treated to a self-pitying whine-fest. Grant's storytelling is way too accomplished and clever for that, her characters way too complicated and well-drawn.
And once again, she's created two lead characters who are not automatically likable. One has to read their journey to understand their pain and motivations, but once the story unfolded, I rooted and cheered for them. That being said, Grant seems to make the hero always a tad bit more likable than her heroines. Will Blackshear, Martha's brother from A Lady Awakened, has all the characteristics of a HR hero. He's honourable, understanding, willing to fight for Lydia. It is only towards the end of the book that we come to understand what lies underneath and it isn't pretty. However, I wouldn't call him morally ambiguous, rather a flawed man who is painfully aware of his mistakes.
Lydia, on the other hand...Oh, Lydia! Hardened by her own mistakes, the following guilt and the life she leads as a whore/mistress.
At this point, I have to refer to the general culture of Historical Romances regarding prostitution. How many times do we read about heroes who keep mistresses or pay for courtesans/whores, and it seems perfectly acceptable to not waste a moment's time on those women who are nothing but a background to the hero's lifestyle before he meets his, mostly virginal, heroine? I know that prostitution existed back in those times, just as much as it does today. What bothers me, though, is the underlying connotation. Prostitutes = meh. Hero paying for sex = fine. Whores are mostly still portrayed as the lesser women. Well, Lydia is one of those women. I know it's been done before and the most recent book I've read with this trope was Unclaimed, but Grant again shows us, not tells us, what it means to be a kept woman. And that's why I found this book so painful to read.
It is heartbreaking to watch Lydia. Lydia is intense, to say the least. Strong, hardened and at times cold, I understood, based on her background, what made her tick. I adored Lydia, for the woman she had become. I love reading about women who have had and lived a life before they meet their heroes, even if it includes difficult topics such as prostitution and infidelity. Again, I have to refer to Sherry Thomas and Courtney Milan who picked up these topics and turned them into wonderful stories, just like Cecilia Grant.
It is an immensely bumpy ride Will and Lydia have to endure to get to their HEA. Their past mistakes, the harsh reality, people who will never let them forget their history. But most of all, they must overcome their own deep insecurities when faced with their feelings for each other. Grant executed these moments extremely well. I am grateful that their HEA reflected the problems they had to overcome. It's not a sigh-worthy, 'all is well' HEA, but I had no doubt that these two were meant for each other.
But it seems that I must have masochistic tendencies, because this book is as painful as it gets. I know, it doesn't sound endearing, but it's challenging.
I won't go too much into the plot. There are other reviews which did a wonderful job explaining it. A Gentleman Undone is for all those who know what it means to make a terrible mistake and pay for it - to the point of self-destruction. So many stories deal with tortured heroines and heroes, but most of the time we're being told, not shown. With Cecilia Grant it's like someone's hit me with a sledgehammer, saying 'This is what pain feels like. Take that!' But, and I mean this as a big but, we're not being treated to a self-pitying whine-fest. Grant's storytelling is way too accomplished and clever for that, her characters way too complicated and well-drawn.
And once again, she's created two lead characters who are not automatically likable. One has to read their journey to understand their pain and motivations, but once the story unfolded, I rooted and cheered for them. That being said, Grant seems to make the hero always a tad bit more likable than her heroines. Will Blackshear, Martha's brother from A Lady Awakened, has all the characteristics of a HR hero. He's honourable, understanding, willing to fight for Lydia. It is only towards the end of the book that we come to understand what lies underneath and it isn't pretty. However, I wouldn't call him morally ambiguous, rather a flawed man who is painfully aware of his mistakes.
Lydia, on the other hand...Oh, Lydia! Hardened by her own mistakes, the following guilt and the life she leads as a whore/mistress.
At this point, I have to refer to the general culture of Historical Romances regarding prostitution. How many times do we read about heroes who keep mistresses or pay for courtesans/whores, and it seems perfectly acceptable to not waste a moment's time on those women who are nothing but a background to the hero's lifestyle before he meets his, mostly virginal, heroine? I know that prostitution existed back in those times, just as much as it does today. What bothers me, though, is the underlying connotation. Prostitutes = meh. Hero paying for sex = fine. Whores are mostly still portrayed as the lesser women. Well, Lydia is one of those women. I know it's been done before and the most recent book I've read with this trope was Unclaimed, but Grant again shows us, not tells us, what it means to be a kept woman. And that's why I found this book so painful to read.
It is heartbreaking to watch Lydia. Lydia is intense, to say the least. Strong, hardened and at times cold, I understood, based on her background, what made her tick. I adored Lydia, for the woman she had become. I love reading about women who have had and lived a life before they meet their heroes, even if it includes difficult topics such as prostitution and infidelity. Again, I have to refer to Sherry Thomas and Courtney Milan who picked up these topics and turned them into wonderful stories, just like Cecilia Grant.
It is an immensely bumpy ride Will and Lydia have to endure to get to their HEA. Their past mistakes, the harsh reality, people who will never let them forget their history. But most of all, they must overcome their own deep insecurities when faced with their feelings for each other. Grant executed these moments extremely well. I am grateful that their HEA reflected the problems they had to overcome. It's not a sigh-worthy, 'all is well' HEA, but I had no doubt that these two were meant for each other.
August 17, 2023
Will, who unlike everyone else had a fab time at Waterloo and suffered no lasting trauma whatsoever, is trying to take care of a widow by gambling. He’s not super great at it, so he teams up with a mean sex worker. Lydia is the mistress of a churlish fellow and is just, like, really over all of it, honestly and needs money so she can go live in a cottage by the sea or something. Unfortunately, Will has a gap in his front teeth so she’s doomed from the start. When he wins a night with her via pool game, she’s understandably pissed and he’s appropriately regretful and apologizes by gently waking her from nightmares and making us all cry. His family is incredibly not down with him marrying her but that’s a problem for Later Will because first he has to survive a duel. Oof.
March 11, 2024
I want to savour every sentence Cecilia Grant writes; I want to eat it with a small spoon, to make it last. A Gentleman Undone is so good at being a regency romance, in all its particulars, while also rejecting the well-worn grooves of the genre. It feels entirely itself, which is something I’m always on the lookout for - when a writer makes a romance feel like only they could have written it? That’s when you know you’ve got a winner.
October 19, 2023
reread july 2022
This book is amazing and has stood up to the multiple rereads I've done over the years. The hero and heroine do not so much as touch for the first half of the novel, and the tension between them reaches such a fever pitch that I found myself, even on this third or fourth reread, anticipating their every breath in the hopes that one of them would finally say something or make a move.
Even once they did slake their lust, I grew so anxious for them to acknowledge their feelings, to realize they deserve happiness and each other, that I couldn't put my book down. Lydia and Will are tense, intelligent, damaged, filthy 🥵 characters, like no others I've seen in this genre.
The angst, the drama, the love in this story has remained exquisite, even though I already know every beat.
One of my top 5 romance novels (The Shadow and the Star, The Dream Hunter, Not Quite a Husband, and Again the Magic round out the list). It's not a feel-good book, but it makes me feel *a lot*.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
original 2015 review
Take a bow, Cecilia Grant! This is one of the best historical romances I've read. Though I liked A Lady Awakened well enough, I was a little disappointed by it, if I'm going to be honest. I think I'd over-hyped it in my head because so many friends had read and recommended it. It was good, the writing fantastic, but I think it was a case of it not being the right book for me. I have a weakness for fucked up heroines and Melissa was spot-on when she said I'd probably wind up liking the second Blackshear book best of the lot.
Lydia Slaughter is totally messed up and I really enjoyed reading about her.
"She looked the way she would surely look if she should ever be pilloried in a public square: neither shamed nor defiant, but willfully absent, rolling all her sensibilities smaller and smaller until she need feel nothing at all. Any crowd pelting her with fruit would be pelting a mere empty shell."
"She'd sought to eradicate herself and she'd failed to even wipe out the witless, useless part that wept in a hackney when a man didn't want her."
I was listening to The Very Best of En Vogue last night, as one does, and Whatta Man came on during that dinner scene where Lydia defended her own honor to her protector and Will Blackshear leapt in to help a sister out. This guy has attained book boyfriend status. The ways in which these characters schemed and helped each other were often sordid and entirely twisted but they were on each other's side, no matter what, even if their attempts to do right by each other sometimes backfired. That is what I like to see in my HRs!
In many regards, this book is quite like the Jo Goodman novel I read a couple weeks ago, The Price of Desire. I recommend that book as well, but it wasn't quite the catnip for me that this book was. A messed up hero, a messed up heroine, heavier subject matter for the HR genre, beautiful literary prose, incredibly erotic and well-written sex scenes, and most importantly honesty, connection, and true teamwork between the hero and heroine.
This book is amazing and has stood up to the multiple rereads I've done over the years. The hero and heroine do not so much as touch for the first half of the novel, and the tension between them reaches such a fever pitch that I found myself, even on this third or fourth reread, anticipating their every breath in the hopes that one of them would finally say something or make a move.
Even once they did slake their lust, I grew so anxious for them to acknowledge their feelings, to realize they deserve happiness and each other, that I couldn't put my book down. Lydia and Will are tense, intelligent, damaged, filthy 🥵 characters, like no others I've seen in this genre.
The angst, the drama, the love in this story has remained exquisite, even though I already know every beat.
One of my top 5 romance novels (The Shadow and the Star, The Dream Hunter, Not Quite a Husband, and Again the Magic round out the list). It's not a feel-good book, but it makes me feel *a lot*.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
original 2015 review
Take a bow, Cecilia Grant! This is one of the best historical romances I've read. Though I liked A Lady Awakened well enough, I was a little disappointed by it, if I'm going to be honest. I think I'd over-hyped it in my head because so many friends had read and recommended it. It was good, the writing fantastic, but I think it was a case of it not being the right book for me. I have a weakness for fucked up heroines and Melissa was spot-on when she said I'd probably wind up liking the second Blackshear book best of the lot.
Lydia Slaughter is totally messed up and I really enjoyed reading about her.
"She looked the way she would surely look if she should ever be pilloried in a public square: neither shamed nor defiant, but willfully absent, rolling all her sensibilities smaller and smaller until she need feel nothing at all. Any crowd pelting her with fruit would be pelting a mere empty shell."
"She'd sought to eradicate herself and she'd failed to even wipe out the witless, useless part that wept in a hackney when a man didn't want her."
I was listening to The Very Best of En Vogue last night, as one does, and Whatta Man came on during that dinner scene where Lydia defended her own honor to her protector and Will Blackshear leapt in to help a sister out. This guy has attained book boyfriend status. The ways in which these characters schemed and helped each other were often sordid and entirely twisted but they were on each other's side, no matter what, even if their attempts to do right by each other sometimes backfired. That is what I like to see in my HRs!
In many regards, this book is quite like the Jo Goodman novel I read a couple weeks ago, The Price of Desire. I recommend that book as well, but it wasn't quite the catnip for me that this book was. A messed up hero, a messed up heroine, heavier subject matter for the HR genre, beautiful literary prose, incredibly erotic and well-written sex scenes, and most importantly honesty, connection, and true teamwork between the hero and heroine.
March 7, 2013
When I read Cecilia Grant's debut novel I decided she was the author I should keep tabs on. And she proved my initial assessment was correct. While Sherry Thomas is still God of historical romance to me, Cecilia Grant is now hot on her heels.
If she keeps improving with every book like that, she might very well soon find the romance genre too limiting for her and end up winning a Pulitzer or something. I kid you not. If there is such a thing as a 'literary romance', this is it. None of the auburn hair and emerald eyes bullshit here. The physical appearance descriptions are kept to minimum but paint a better picture than endless banging on about people's eyes.
Cecilia Grant basically took every rule and cliche in historical romance and flipped it upside down.
Take the heroine - her main hobbies are numbers and sex. And for once the heroine is allowed a satisfying sex life before she gets it on with the hero. It's the hero who remains celibate until they hit it off.
They are both down and out. He is not her saviour, he doesn't have a title, in fact, with her head for numbers, she has a better chance of reversing their fortunes. She tries to teach him the rudiments of the theory of probability so they can gamble smartly and is exasperated when he keeps on talking about things like luck, hunches, intuition, or the worst of all - feelings.
They are both damaged goods, broken, messed up and full of self-hate. She uses sex like one might
use alcohol - a friend and an enemy, to give her pain and pleasure, reward and punishment, and to make the world disappear for a few moments. And don't you think that it will be different when he touches her, that she will be transformed the first moment. No, sir, doesn't work that way. She drags him to her own hell first. Those are not love scenes, those are sex scenes. And good God, they are hot. If I ever meet Cecilia Grant, I will blush, knowing that she wrote all that, and I read all that, and the things I saw with my mind's eye.
So do they get a happy ending? It is a romance novel, so of course they do. But it is not your traditional happy ending. They are given love and nothing else. That will have to be enough. No beautiful coincidences, all round forgiveness, fame, fortune and good health. Still, love though. And they should be happy with that, because according to the theory of probability, the odds were not on their side.
And this concludes my bodice ripper reading for this season.
One more might just send me over the edge.
If she keeps improving with every book like that, she might very well soon find the romance genre too limiting for her and end up winning a Pulitzer or something. I kid you not. If there is such a thing as a 'literary romance', this is it. None of the auburn hair and emerald eyes bullshit here. The physical appearance descriptions are kept to minimum but paint a better picture than endless banging on about people's eyes.
Cecilia Grant basically took every rule and cliche in historical romance and flipped it upside down.
Take the heroine - her main hobbies are numbers and sex. And for once the heroine is allowed a satisfying sex life before she gets it on with the hero. It's the hero who remains celibate until they hit it off.
They are both down and out. He is not her saviour, he doesn't have a title, in fact, with her head for numbers, she has a better chance of reversing their fortunes. She tries to teach him the rudiments of the theory of probability so they can gamble smartly and is exasperated when he keeps on talking about things like luck, hunches, intuition, or the worst of all - feelings.
They are both damaged goods, broken, messed up and full of self-hate. She uses sex like one might
use alcohol - a friend and an enemy, to give her pain and pleasure, reward and punishment, and to make the world disappear for a few moments. And don't you think that it will be different when he touches her, that she will be transformed the first moment. No, sir, doesn't work that way. She drags him to her own hell first. Those are not love scenes, those are sex scenes. And good God, they are hot. If I ever meet Cecilia Grant, I will blush, knowing that she wrote all that, and I read all that, and the things I saw with my mind's eye.
So do they get a happy ending? It is a romance novel, so of course they do. But it is not your traditional happy ending. They are given love and nothing else. That will have to be enough. No beautiful coincidences, all round forgiveness, fame, fortune and good health. Still, love though. And they should be happy with that, because according to the theory of probability, the odds were not on their side.
And this concludes my bodice ripper reading for this season.
One more might just send me over the edge.
July 25, 2021
I loved this book, and at the same time everything I loved about it made it a struggle to read. This isn't a light, happy story, but one about human imperfection and finding love after tragedy. The darkness also felt very real - full of human tragedy and frailty, but not in the fantastical ways. The characters are not perfect, and never become so. Redemption and love doesn't come from a sudden windfall or character reveal, it is found simply through acceptance, and trust that each is worthy of love despite their "sharp and broken edges."
Will returns from war, feeling responsible for the death of a fellow soldier, and trying to raise enough money to provide for the man's widow. He is burdened with guilt, compounded by his nature of rescuing, taking care of others, and living a life guided by honor. While noble in intention, he cannot seem to grant himself the same grace and compassion he has for others. Thus, he feels he has lost his soul and unworthy of love.
He first encounters Lydia while playing cards at a club. She is the mistress of another man, and as it turns out, a mathematical whiz trying to win her own independence by playing cards. They form an uneasy friendship, where Lydia coaches Will in vingt-et-un so they can team up to get the money they both need.
Lydia came from a respectable family, and then through a series of tragic events, finds herself both ruined and orphaned. She has deemed herself incapable of loving anyone again.
This story really was quite a tragic tale of two broken people finding each other and somehow trusting one another. The HEA was never a guarantee, and in fact, I don't think I've ever read a book that kept me wondering for so long if these two would make it. Spoiler: it doesn't happen until the EPILOGUE, people. Even then, it's clearly not the tidy HEA you would normally expect.
I'm so glad I read this book. It tugged at my heart, and I love the imperfection of everything. It reminded me how life and love are messy and not everything turns out as you want it to, or how it should, or even how you deserve. But there's still space for finding happiness. That said, I don't know if I'll ever re-read this one, despite my love for it. It was a whole mood, and melancholy in tone, which I don't normally love.
Will returns from war, feeling responsible for the death of a fellow soldier, and trying to raise enough money to provide for the man's widow. He is burdened with guilt, compounded by his nature of rescuing, taking care of others, and living a life guided by honor. While noble in intention, he cannot seem to grant himself the same grace and compassion he has for others. Thus, he feels he has lost his soul and unworthy of love.
He first encounters Lydia while playing cards at a club. She is the mistress of another man, and as it turns out, a mathematical whiz trying to win her own independence by playing cards. They form an uneasy friendship, where Lydia coaches Will in vingt-et-un so they can team up to get the money they both need.
Lydia came from a respectable family, and then through a series of tragic events, finds herself both ruined and orphaned. She has deemed herself incapable of loving anyone again.
This story really was quite a tragic tale of two broken people finding each other and somehow trusting one another. The HEA was never a guarantee, and in fact, I don't think I've ever read a book that kept me wondering for so long if these two would make it. Spoiler: it doesn't happen until the EPILOGUE, people. Even then, it's clearly not the tidy HEA you would normally expect.
I'm so glad I read this book. It tugged at my heart, and I love the imperfection of everything. It reminded me how life and love are messy and not everything turns out as you want it to, or how it should, or even how you deserve. But there's still space for finding happiness. That said, I don't know if I'll ever re-read this one, despite my love for it. It was a whole mood, and melancholy in tone, which I don't normally love.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 5, 2017
2.5 stars
I finished this book yesterday and still can't settle between a 2 and a 3 stars' rating. The first half was noticeably better than the second IMO, even though there was little to no romance there. Still, the writing was very good and both main characters were likeable until that point. However, when the heroes let go of blackjack and 21 lessons, and start indulging in their passion and need, the book surprisingly took a turn for the worse for me. The hero who was nice until then, if a little maudlin, became a self-righteous martyr without compare. He's an honorable gentleman with no room for mistakes, caring and selfless to boot; at least that's what he thinks. Instead, he makes one stupid action after the other, dragging the heroine through the mud in the process while trying to 'help' her. Well, the motto 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions' certainly applies in his case.
The heroine was more likable than the hero and much more practical too. However, she treats sex as a weapon to control men and through all their sex scenes (I refuse to call them love scenes), she didn't seem able to change that. Thus, their sex scenes became unerotic, almost repulsive for me, in their lack of emotion.
All in all, a strange book with a definitely original plot and execution (the heroine is another man's mistress for the most part and we even read their sex scenes together and how she enjoyes them). Emotionally though it didn't touch me and I blame the focus on the card games and the lack of emotion in the sex scenes for that. I'm intrigued enough to read another book by the same author, but I have to make sure the plot is to my taste first.
I finished this book yesterday and still can't settle between a 2 and a 3 stars' rating. The first half was noticeably better than the second IMO, even though there was little to no romance there. Still, the writing was very good and both main characters were likeable until that point. However, when the heroes let go of blackjack and 21 lessons, and start indulging in their passion and need, the book surprisingly took a turn for the worse for me. The hero who was nice until then, if a little maudlin, became a self-righteous martyr without compare. He's an honorable gentleman with no room for mistakes, caring and selfless to boot; at least that's what he thinks. Instead, he makes one stupid action after the other, dragging the heroine through the mud in the process while trying to 'help' her. Well, the motto 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions' certainly applies in his case.
The heroine was more likable than the hero and much more practical too. However, she treats sex as a weapon to control men and through all their sex scenes (I refuse to call them love scenes), she didn't seem able to change that. Thus, their sex scenes became unerotic, almost repulsive for me, in their lack of emotion.
All in all, a strange book with a definitely original plot and execution (the heroine is another man's mistress for the most part and we even read their sex scenes together and how she enjoyes them). Emotionally though it didn't touch me and I blame the focus on the card games and the lack of emotion in the sex scenes for that. I'm intrigued enough to read another book by the same author, but I have to make sure the plot is to my taste first.
September 4, 2022
Wonderfully different couple, he's not titled and she doesn't hide that she's a man's mistress. I found the plot difficult, it was too close to reality for me. The OTT angsty H is trying to atone for something terrible, clearly he has PTSD. Their love story is a forlorn hope, but I really liked it. I couldn't rate it 5 stars, too sad.
April 21, 2022
Lydia Slaughter has become an expert at all the games men play, and she has no qualms outright fleecing newly returned Waterloo hero Will Blackshear at the card table. Will has his own reasons for attempting to earn coin at the gaming tables and now that he’s noticed Lydia, he can’t seem to steer clear of her, even as she works to keep her distance from him.
Lydia is completely beholden to her protector and longs to parley her thorough understanding of the mathematics of probability into enough gambling winnings to establish her independence. She just has to be careful that no one notices her efforts. Teaming up with Will to work the tables makes sense for both of them, despite the risks, but each will have to remember that they can’t afford to risk their hearts in this scheme.
I wanted to like this book so much and yet, I just didn’t. Will is a former soldier having survived Waterloo and returned home to try to resume a normal life in England carrying his PTSD burdens with him. This sort of hero is usually a hands down winner for me but not in this case. There was nothing inherently the matter with Will as a hero, but he just didn’t captivate me. Perhaps my issue with him is that he was open and vulnerable with Lydia, no matter how closed off she was, and his level of besottedness with her was just not very endearing. Now, despite the fact that Will didn’t really do much for me, it was Lydia with whom I found a problem. I’ve read and enjoyed courtesan books before, but the fact that Lydia was actively with someone else (her protector) for so long and actively enjoying his attentions, even while Will was working on courting her, made it hard to like her. Her circumstances and the decisions she made to get there made sense and I didn’t have any issues with condemning her for them; rather, it was her behavior that got me. Lydia was incredibly rude and often downright mean to Will when he was only ever trying to be a good man and see that she was being respected. Then it was like the worse she treated him, the more Will wanted her and that in turn made me not a fan of him as a hero. Even Lydia herself admits to her tendency towards a foul temper.
Perhaps my biggest issue is Lydia’s weaponization of sex. Sure, men do this all the time, but those men are the villains, rather than the heroes and I have a hard time making this sort of behavior fit in with what I want out of a romance. Lydia uses sex to manipulate her protector, who does admittedly deserve it, but she also uses Will’s desire for her to manipulate him into the sort of behavior he’s been trying his best not to sink to, after which, she berates him for not really being a good man. I just really couldn’t like her for this, especially considering that it happened several times such that it was apparently that sex was Lydia’s answer to everything, and this was a part of her character. Even when Will is seeking solace from Lydia, she makes it about sex, ostensibly as a way to help him overcome his pain, but I’m not so sure I really bought that. Taking all of this into consideration, it was hard to really believe it when Lydia said she loved Will because none of that behavior around their sexual relationship felt like love. This was also not helped by the fact that outside of a physical relationship Lydia and Will’s interactions consisted of her trying, very impatiently, to teach him the odds of cards and the art of counting cards. And there were so. Many. Cards. This was very nearly a DNF for me several times just because of how little interest I could muster in the many, many times cards were discussed, but for some reason I struggle to label something a DNF. I know I’m meant to admire Lydia’s prowess and take no prisoners attitude, but this was just another instance of her shrewish and mean spirited behavior putting me off.
All that said, this book was exceedingly well written, but that lovely prose just didn’t come with characters I could get behind, nor with a story that really grabbed me or made me feel like I was truly reading a romance. This was my first time reading this author and her writing was strong enough to make me perhaps try another of her stories, but this one was a flop for me and, though I bought it because of the beautiful cover, I don't think I'll be keeping it on my physical shelves.
Blog link: https://mustreadalltheromance.blogspo...
Lydia is completely beholden to her protector and longs to parley her thorough understanding of the mathematics of probability into enough gambling winnings to establish her independence. She just has to be careful that no one notices her efforts. Teaming up with Will to work the tables makes sense for both of them, despite the risks, but each will have to remember that they can’t afford to risk their hearts in this scheme.
I wanted to like this book so much and yet, I just didn’t. Will is a former soldier having survived Waterloo and returned home to try to resume a normal life in England carrying his PTSD burdens with him. This sort of hero is usually a hands down winner for me but not in this case. There was nothing inherently the matter with Will as a hero, but he just didn’t captivate me. Perhaps my issue with him is that he was open and vulnerable with Lydia, no matter how closed off she was, and his level of besottedness with her was just not very endearing. Now, despite the fact that Will didn’t really do much for me, it was Lydia with whom I found a problem. I’ve read and enjoyed courtesan books before, but the fact that Lydia was actively with someone else (her protector) for so long and actively enjoying his attentions, even while Will was working on courting her, made it hard to like her. Her circumstances and the decisions she made to get there made sense and I didn’t have any issues with condemning her for them; rather, it was her behavior that got me. Lydia was incredibly rude and often downright mean to Will when he was only ever trying to be a good man and see that she was being respected. Then it was like the worse she treated him, the more Will wanted her and that in turn made me not a fan of him as a hero. Even Lydia herself admits to her tendency towards a foul temper.
Perhaps my biggest issue is Lydia’s weaponization of sex. Sure, men do this all the time, but those men are the villains, rather than the heroes and I have a hard time making this sort of behavior fit in with what I want out of a romance. Lydia uses sex to manipulate her protector, who does admittedly deserve it, but she also uses Will’s desire for her to manipulate him into the sort of behavior he’s been trying his best not to sink to, after which, she berates him for not really being a good man. I just really couldn’t like her for this, especially considering that it happened several times such that it was apparently that sex was Lydia’s answer to everything, and this was a part of her character. Even when Will is seeking solace from Lydia, she makes it about sex, ostensibly as a way to help him overcome his pain, but I’m not so sure I really bought that. Taking all of this into consideration, it was hard to really believe it when Lydia said she loved Will because none of that behavior around their sexual relationship felt like love. This was also not helped by the fact that outside of a physical relationship Lydia and Will’s interactions consisted of her trying, very impatiently, to teach him the odds of cards and the art of counting cards. And there were so. Many. Cards. This was very nearly a DNF for me several times just because of how little interest I could muster in the many, many times cards were discussed, but for some reason I struggle to label something a DNF. I know I’m meant to admire Lydia’s prowess and take no prisoners attitude, but this was just another instance of her shrewish and mean spirited behavior putting me off.
All that said, this book was exceedingly well written, but that lovely prose just didn’t come with characters I could get behind, nor with a story that really grabbed me or made me feel like I was truly reading a romance. This was my first time reading this author and her writing was strong enough to make me perhaps try another of her stories, but this one was a flop for me and, though I bought it because of the beautiful cover, I don't think I'll be keeping it on my physical shelves.
Blog link: https://mustreadalltheromance.blogspo...
June 18, 2012
***Upon reread of select parts:
This book did not immediately engage me, neither did the characters. Cecilia Grant has written a very different story from her debut novel A Lady Awakened, a 5star novel that I absolutely adored. In this second novel, the tone is far more bleak and ominous, the circumstances are darker, and the characters are flawed to a frustrating degree. However, I have grown to appreciate the characters and their dark circumstances. The book is thoughtful and well-written, but not necessarily a "fun" read. And indeed, I am more intrigued because A Gentlenan Undone was a difficult story that somehow drew me in, even when I disliked it. Before I realized it, I came to care for the characters, to understand them and to wish for their happiness. Funny thing is I still cannot say that I like them. How Bizarre! This author has a tremendous gift for the subtle. But I want to stress that for all that I write, there is no getting around it: These are very frustrating and broken characters. This is not a fun, quick book. But it is worth your time.
Because Cecilia Grant is a very unique author, this story is not at what I expected and followed no "rules" to which I am accustomed after reading so many Lisa Kleypas novels. I have often read that fans of Joanna Bourne and Courtney Milan will love Cecilia Grant. I don't have much experience with Joanna Bourne and I have mixed feelings about Courtney Milan, but I do understand that each is a unique story-teller with a discerning fan base. After this book, I agree that Cecilia Grant's writing puts her in a different category of historicals than mainstream authors like Lisa Kleypas or Eloisa James (I love both authors. This is not for better or worse, just different). After the sheer pleasure I took in her last book, this story was definitely not what I expected. Though I appreciate it more for that.
I hope to read more uplifting and outrageous work from this author, more along the lines of her first novel. Regardless, I will read whatever she publishes. I have only praise for this author.
Quick Summary:
Far more serious than A Lady Awakened, this sequel is the story of Martha's brother, Will, nicknamed "Captain Waterloo" by the mistresses of the gambling establishment he frequents. Will is a man of frustrating principles, similar to his sister, though not nearly as rigid. As for his love interest, Lydia is not a particularly likable female character. She's a kept woman, a mistress for a wealthy man, however she desires her freedom and connives schemes to save and invest money she wins at casinos or steals from her protector. Trained as a courtesan, Lydia was orphaned as a young girl, and lost her brother in the war. Will is a war survivor with a bit of PTSD and an irritating, misguided sense of right and wrong. He overthinks everything, and has an incomparable amount of shame. Together they seem like a black hole!
But they both have gifts: Lydia is a math genius with a dream of winning her freedom at the Blackjack tables, and Will is a man of seemingly impeccable Honor, who works doggedly to get the money to care for the widow of one of his soldiers. Because of a dual common purpose: Money, the two pair up to win their fortunes at blackjack. Will becomes so taken with the skittish courtesan, that he desires to be a man worthy of Lydia's complete trust, though never really thinking to be much more than her friend. In Cecilia Grant's world, friends make the best lovers. Eventually....
Their odd pairing due somehow drew me in, but their relationship was never as I expected. When they do find their version of HEA, they have certainly worked hard for it. And the reader has too!
This book did not immediately engage me, neither did the characters. Cecilia Grant has written a very different story from her debut novel A Lady Awakened, a 5star novel that I absolutely adored. In this second novel, the tone is far more bleak and ominous, the circumstances are darker, and the characters are flawed to a frustrating degree. However, I have grown to appreciate the characters and their dark circumstances. The book is thoughtful and well-written, but not necessarily a "fun" read. And indeed, I am more intrigued because A Gentlenan Undone was a difficult story that somehow drew me in, even when I disliked it. Before I realized it, I came to care for the characters, to understand them and to wish for their happiness. Funny thing is I still cannot say that I like them. How Bizarre! This author has a tremendous gift for the subtle. But I want to stress that for all that I write, there is no getting around it: These are very frustrating and broken characters. This is not a fun, quick book. But it is worth your time.
Because Cecilia Grant is a very unique author, this story is not at what I expected and followed no "rules" to which I am accustomed after reading so many Lisa Kleypas novels. I have often read that fans of Joanna Bourne and Courtney Milan will love Cecilia Grant. I don't have much experience with Joanna Bourne and I have mixed feelings about Courtney Milan, but I do understand that each is a unique story-teller with a discerning fan base. After this book, I agree that Cecilia Grant's writing puts her in a different category of historicals than mainstream authors like Lisa Kleypas or Eloisa James (I love both authors. This is not for better or worse, just different). After the sheer pleasure I took in her last book, this story was definitely not what I expected. Though I appreciate it more for that.
I hope to read more uplifting and outrageous work from this author, more along the lines of her first novel. Regardless, I will read whatever she publishes. I have only praise for this author.
Quick Summary:
Far more serious than A Lady Awakened, this sequel is the story of Martha's brother, Will, nicknamed "Captain Waterloo" by the mistresses of the gambling establishment he frequents. Will is a man of frustrating principles, similar to his sister, though not nearly as rigid. As for his love interest, Lydia is not a particularly likable female character. She's a kept woman, a mistress for a wealthy man, however she desires her freedom and connives schemes to save and invest money she wins at casinos or steals from her protector. Trained as a courtesan, Lydia was orphaned as a young girl, and lost her brother in the war. Will is a war survivor with a bit of PTSD and an irritating, misguided sense of right and wrong. He overthinks everything, and has an incomparable amount of shame. Together they seem like a black hole!
But they both have gifts: Lydia is a math genius with a dream of winning her freedom at the Blackjack tables, and Will is a man of seemingly impeccable Honor, who works doggedly to get the money to care for the widow of one of his soldiers. Because of a dual common purpose: Money, the two pair up to win their fortunes at blackjack. Will becomes so taken with the skittish courtesan, that he desires to be a man worthy of Lydia's complete trust, though never really thinking to be much more than her friend. In Cecilia Grant's world, friends make the best lovers. Eventually....
Their odd pairing due somehow drew me in, but their relationship was never as I expected. When they do find their version of HEA, they have certainly worked hard for it. And the reader has too!
January 9, 2018
Okay, is there a legit reason why Cecelia Grant has stopped publishing romance novels? Because I read a lot of them, and both of the books I've read by her so far stand apart. It's a little hard to explain, but her voice is so unique. 2013 is now five years ago (gross), and that is when she published her last book, so it is high time*.
*Some Google-fu has revealed that her once-dormant blog is now semi-active, and she is apparently writing again! No idea what she is writing, though. Apparently it's "not on brand"?
So, like with A Lady Awakened, the first book in this series, Grant takes a common romance novel trope and does her thing with it. Her thing is hard to explain, but it basically involves taking a trope, teasing you with it, then refusing to give you want out of it. Spoilers ahead for her first book, but that was the sexual relationship of convenience, where a widow needed to get pregnant quickly to secure her footing as the lady of the household, and she needed someone besides her dead husband to impregnate her. Your standard (and still enjoyable and even quality) romance novel would immediately have them sizzle in the bedroom and fall in love that way. But that doesn't happen! It's frustrating. But also, so intriguing. Instead, they only start to work in the bedroom after a long and involved meeting of the minds.
This is the second time she's done that, and in A Gentleman Undone, she takes two characters who need to team up for monetary reasons, and puts them through hell, once again teasing you with your own expectations. Will Blackshear is a veteran of Waterloo (and we see his trauma firsthand in the prologue, and honestly, it surprised me by being one of the most harrowing descriptions I've read of war, ever, and not just in a romance novel). Because of what happened there, he feels he owes the widow of a fellow soldier enough money to set her and her young son up for life. Lydia Slaughter is currently the mistress of a wealthy gentleman with a head for numbers and an enjoyment for winning at cards (really, this is an understatement). But she knows this isn't a permanent position, and wants to earn enough money (or win enough) to set herself up an annuity, and insure her own financial independence. After she fleeces Will at vingt-et-un (21 aka Blackjack), they eventually decide to team up and win their needed moneys together.
Except that's such a small part of the plot! And you expect certain things from a romance novel, which she gives you, but like all backhanded and stuff. For instance, the sex scenes. NOT usual sex scenes in a novel. They were actually a bit dark and involved, and complicate the plot rather than bring the characters together. It's hard to explain, and I don't want to spoil it. Her language is also more dense than I'm used to with romance novels, and the whole thing feels more weighty than you would expect by looking at that cover.
I have the third (and final, sigh) book ready to go, and will be reading it next. I fully expect it to also tease me mercilessly and then give me what I want in a backhanded and thoroughly sneaky fashion.
*Some Google-fu has revealed that her once-dormant blog is now semi-active, and she is apparently writing again! No idea what she is writing, though. Apparently it's "not on brand"?
So, like with A Lady Awakened, the first book in this series, Grant takes a common romance novel trope and does her thing with it. Her thing is hard to explain, but it basically involves taking a trope, teasing you with it, then refusing to give you want out of it. Spoilers ahead for her first book, but that was the sexual relationship of convenience, where a widow needed to get pregnant quickly to secure her footing as the lady of the household, and she needed someone besides her dead husband to impregnate her. Your standard (and still enjoyable and even quality) romance novel would immediately have them sizzle in the bedroom and fall in love that way. But that doesn't happen! It's frustrating. But also, so intriguing. Instead, they only start to work in the bedroom after a long and involved meeting of the minds.
This is the second time she's done that, and in A Gentleman Undone, she takes two characters who need to team up for monetary reasons, and puts them through hell, once again teasing you with your own expectations. Will Blackshear is a veteran of Waterloo (and we see his trauma firsthand in the prologue, and honestly, it surprised me by being one of the most harrowing descriptions I've read of war, ever, and not just in a romance novel). Because of what happened there, he feels he owes the widow of a fellow soldier enough money to set her and her young son up for life. Lydia Slaughter is currently the mistress of a wealthy gentleman with a head for numbers and an enjoyment for winning at cards (really, this is an understatement). But she knows this isn't a permanent position, and wants to earn enough money (or win enough) to set herself up an annuity, and insure her own financial independence. After she fleeces Will at vingt-et-un (21 aka Blackjack), they eventually decide to team up and win their needed moneys together.
Except that's such a small part of the plot! And you expect certain things from a romance novel, which she gives you, but like all backhanded and stuff. For instance, the sex scenes. NOT usual sex scenes in a novel. They were actually a bit dark and involved, and complicate the plot rather than bring the characters together. It's hard to explain, and I don't want to spoil it. Her language is also more dense than I'm used to with romance novels, and the whole thing feels more weighty than you would expect by looking at that cover.
I have the third (and final, sigh) book ready to go, and will be reading it next. I fully expect it to also tease me mercilessly and then give me what I want in a backhanded and thoroughly sneaky fashion.
January 20, 2022
I liked this one considerably less than the first in the series.
What failed to seduce me in the plot or the characters was made up by the exquisite and particular writing so this wasn't a total loss.
I absolutely adored the heroine, Lydia, whose life left her little to no choice but the selling of her body to survive. Despite her lack of station—maybe even in spite of it, Lydia proved to have agency, she continously thrives, plots and schemes to secure her own financial independence. However, she doesn't renege on her life choices, she enjoys sex, she's good at it, she's not ashamed of it and she knows how to use it to her advantage.
She's all around a truly unconventional HR heroine.
Will, on the other hand, proved to be annoying in the long run. For all his good intentions he continously made it a struggle for Lydia to remain safe. His wants more than once proved to be selfish, despite his honest benevolence. I also grew tired and indifferent to his moral obligation and excessive sense of duty toward the widow of one of his men who died on the war front. The guilt act took too much space and made for a contrived reason he couldn't be with Lydia.
I'm usually such a slut for pining in historical romance but can't say that the pining in this story felt satisfying.
Will pining for Lydia 90% through the book while she remains employed by her protector prevented me to invest myself completely. I liked their flirting a lot, I liked it a little less when they fell into bed together because of what I've mentioned above.
I also felt aggravated by the main characters spending so much time stating all the reasons they couldn't be together only to end up exactly doing what they said the ought to avoid in the first place.
Overall an entertaining story, but the heroine's and hero's burdens made for a tad bit darker read than I was in a mood for. Too much gambling, not enough chemistry and overdrawn drama.
2 stars? 2.5 stars?
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
What failed to seduce me in the plot or the characters was made up by the exquisite and particular writing so this wasn't a total loss.
I absolutely adored the heroine, Lydia, whose life left her little to no choice but the selling of her body to survive. Despite her lack of station—maybe even in spite of it, Lydia proved to have agency, she continously thrives, plots and schemes to secure her own financial independence. However, she doesn't renege on her life choices, she enjoys sex, she's good at it, she's not ashamed of it and she knows how to use it to her advantage.
She's all around a truly unconventional HR heroine.
Will, on the other hand, proved to be annoying in the long run. For all his good intentions he continously made it a struggle for Lydia to remain safe. His wants more than once proved to be selfish, despite his honest benevolence. I also grew tired and indifferent to his moral obligation and excessive sense of duty toward the widow of one of his men who died on the war front. The guilt act took too much space and made for a contrived reason he couldn't be with Lydia.
I'm usually such a slut for pining in historical romance but can't say that the pining in this story felt satisfying.
Will pining for Lydia 90% through the book while she remains employed by her protector prevented me to invest myself completely. I liked their flirting a lot, I liked it a little less when they fell into bed together because of what I've mentioned above.
I also felt aggravated by the main characters spending so much time stating all the reasons they couldn't be together only to end up exactly doing what they said the ought to avoid in the first place.
Overall an entertaining story, but the heroine's and hero's burdens made for a tad bit darker read than I was in a mood for. Too much gambling, not enough chemistry and overdrawn drama.
2 stars? 2.5 stars?
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
May 30, 2016
It's darker than the first book but I loved it even more for it! So powerful, so raw and beautifully written!
On the next in the series - A Lady Entangled!
Full review:
This second book in the series is my favourite. It's much darker and more intense than the first one and I loved every minute of it.
We have two broken characters fighting their demons who come together despite all the odds and this is just my favourite kind of romance story.
Broken war hero and courtesan may be a familiar trope in historical romance but nothing about Will and Lydia was stereotypical or predictable. Their dramatic story on many levels but it was also fitting. There was not much room for tenderness and being gentle and tentative and slow. Life had been far too harsh to both of them making it difficult for Will and Lydia to believe in love and a happy ending.
The romance in the story is unforgettable but there is also a lot more going on in plot and all of it mixed together made this a very powerful and delightful read.
There is a a strong sensual element, which is not particularly common with regard to heroines in historicals. Here is the feminist in me speaking and I can say that I very much appreciate how both the hero and heroine are portrayed as human beings equally entitle to enjoy themselves, to experience carnal pleasures. Yet, it the romance went much deeper than lust and physical attraction, Will Lydia shared secrets which they never before told anyone, they forged a bond that was really unbreakable and were truly able to give and take love to each other, to provide each other with comfort and support.
I absolutely loved the ending and found it very fitting. Things couldn't have turned perfect for everyone and some people got hurt but that was the reality of the times. That is not to say there was no HEA for the hero and heroine, rather it was the best for them.
On the next in the series - A Lady Entangled!
Full review:
This second book in the series is my favourite. It's much darker and more intense than the first one and I loved every minute of it.
We have two broken characters fighting their demons who come together despite all the odds and this is just my favourite kind of romance story.
Broken war hero and courtesan may be a familiar trope in historical romance but nothing about Will and Lydia was stereotypical or predictable. Their dramatic story on many levels but it was also fitting. There was not much room for tenderness and being gentle and tentative and slow. Life had been far too harsh to both of them making it difficult for Will and Lydia to believe in love and a happy ending.
The romance in the story is unforgettable but there is also a lot more going on in plot and all of it mixed together made this a very powerful and delightful read.
There is a a strong sensual element, which is not particularly common with regard to heroines in historicals. Here is the feminist in me speaking and I can say that I very much appreciate how both the hero and heroine are portrayed as human beings equally entitle to enjoy themselves, to experience carnal pleasures. Yet, it the romance went much deeper than lust and physical attraction, Will Lydia shared secrets which they never before told anyone, they forged a bond that was really unbreakable and were truly able to give and take love to each other, to provide each other with comfort and support.
I absolutely loved the ending and found it very fitting. Things couldn't have turned perfect for everyone and some people got hurt but that was the reality of the times. That is not to say there was no HEA for the hero and heroine, rather it was the best for them.
June 26, 2019
This one took me a while to get into, but once I did, I did.
The first third of the book is Lydia teaching Will how to count cards and improve his gambling skills. I'll admit I occasionally got bored during this part because it felt repetitive (and I was recovering from a reading slump), so it took an embarrassingly long time to get through. However, once the two of them started going to the gaming hells and getting emotionally closer to one another, I was sucked in and didn't want it to end!
What I loved most were the characters. Will and Lydia are fully fleshed characters with backstories that make sense and explain why they are the way that they are. Will is driven by guilt over the death of one of his soldiers. As a result, he needs to be needed. This need is what pulls him into Lydia's orbit, causing the two of them to hatch a scheme that will enable them to win as much money as possible at the card tables, so they can fulfill their individual motives. Lydia is a courtesan and another man's mistress. Due to her misfortune filled past, she prides herself on being cold, calculating, and indifferent, and her mathematical mind gives her a great advantage at cards.
Both MCs have their deep dark secrets that consume them. It brings them together yet keeps them apart as well, and that's what frustrated me the most about this book, especially with Lydia. She pushed Will away and continuously shut him out/distracted him sexually whenever he tried to talk about feelings or show her any tenderness, and I understand why she did it, and it made sense characterization-wise, but I still didn't like it. That's why I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5.
However, I did appreciate that the book had a realistic ending. The story didn’t end with a nice shiny bow on top, and some things didn’t go the way the characters originally planned. We don’t often get endings like that in romance novels, and I found it refreshing.
I don't know how to end reviews without sounding corny so... THE END
The first third of the book is Lydia teaching Will how to count cards and improve his gambling skills. I'll admit I occasionally got bored during this part because it felt repetitive (and I was recovering from a reading slump), so it took an embarrassingly long time to get through. However, once the two of them started going to the gaming hells and getting emotionally closer to one another, I was sucked in and didn't want it to end!
What I loved most were the characters. Will and Lydia are fully fleshed characters with backstories that make sense and explain why they are the way that they are. Will is driven by guilt over the death of one of his soldiers. As a result, he needs to be needed. This need is what pulls him into Lydia's orbit, causing the two of them to hatch a scheme that will enable them to win as much money as possible at the card tables, so they can fulfill their individual motives. Lydia is a courtesan and another man's mistress. Due to her misfortune filled past, she prides herself on being cold, calculating, and indifferent, and her mathematical mind gives her a great advantage at cards.
Both MCs have their deep dark secrets that consume them. It brings them together yet keeps them apart as well, and that's what frustrated me the most about this book, especially with Lydia. She pushed Will away and continuously shut him out/distracted him sexually whenever he tried to talk about feelings or show her any tenderness, and I understand why she did it, and it made sense characterization-wise, but I still didn't like it. That's why I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5.
However, I did appreciate that the book had a realistic ending. The story didn’t end with a nice shiny bow on top, and some things didn’t go the way the characters originally planned. We don’t often get endings like that in romance novels, and I found it refreshing.
I don't know how to end reviews without sounding corny so... THE END
April 20, 2013
DNF.
I had trouble getting into this story. The hero is a gambler and the heroine a whore.
The first chapter, about the hero (an officer) carrying one of his dritically injured men to the battle field hospital, didn't ring true to me.
As an officer, he would have had had the authority to organize the chaos around him, such as comandeering transportation and ordering uninjured men to move the injured men. He behaved like a foot soldiar, not like an officer.
And then he's in a gambling establishment prepareing for a night of heavy betting while leering at the expensive whores. I expect that one of those whores is the heroine. That didn't sound appealing.
The desceiption of her from her current "protector" gave me no additional reasons to stay around for an introduction.
So, I got as far as the middle of the second chapter, then sought another story to read.
I had trouble getting into this story. The hero is a gambler and the heroine a whore.
The first chapter, about the hero (an officer) carrying one of his dritically injured men to the battle field hospital, didn't ring true to me.
As an officer, he would have had had the authority to organize the chaos around him, such as comandeering transportation and ordering uninjured men to move the injured men. He behaved like a foot soldiar, not like an officer.
And then he's in a gambling establishment prepareing for a night of heavy betting while leering at the expensive whores. I expect that one of those whores is the heroine. That didn't sound appealing.
The desceiption of her from her current "protector" gave me no additional reasons to stay around for an introduction.
So, I got as far as the middle of the second chapter, then sought another story to read.
October 25, 2021
This is a very delicate and deliberate book. The writing is beautiful and tender, despite the characters wanting nothing to do with tenderness or romanticism. These are two broken birds who want to survive and be honorable. They've erected a fragile strucutre of life and relationship around themselves in order to do that.
The heroine, Lydia, is clever and smart and hard and tough. The hero, Will, is hanging by a thread and does all he can so that he can look at himself in the mirror.
This book is not perfect but it is like holding two broken baby birds in your hands while reading.
CWs: deaths of family and friends, disparaging talk of prostitution and kept women
The heroine, Lydia, is clever and smart and hard and tough. The hero, Will, is hanging by a thread and does all he can so that he can look at himself in the mirror.
This book is not perfect but it is like holding two broken baby birds in your hands while reading.
CWs: deaths of family and friends, disparaging talk of prostitution and kept women
June 4, 2024
Love, love, love Cecilia Grant's writing, which gives me Mary Balogh and Sherry Thomas vibes, and yet, is completely unique. Another angsty gem and one of a kind story.
October 20, 2023
Well written, but so dark. Not much of a happily ever after.
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