A Woman Scorned

Rating:
Summary: Hot! Hot! Hot!
Review: A Woman Scorned was one of those rare Regency romance novelswith a heroine who is as powerful as the hero. I loved it. Theheroine, Jonet, is the one with the powerful title, loads of money and hoards of admirer's before her 'fall'. The hero, Cole, while masculine and sexy is definitely the more naïve and not as socially prominent of the two.

Jonet Rowland is living under a cloud of suspicion after the mysterious death of her philandering husband. Her beauty, her power and her unrepentant relationship with a wild young lord (not Cole) all make her appear to be a heartless hussy. Enter Captain Cole Amherst, a soldier who has the heart of a Curate, and the body of a God. He is sent to watch over the lovely Jonet and her two sons by their scheming Uncle as their tutor. In the midst of their personal problems are several 'accidents' that threaten the life of Jonet and her sons.

A Women Scorned has a strong plot, some emotional depth, although it could use a bit more characterization, and some really great sex scenes. One in particular is wonderful. Jonet has a strong managing personality and throughout most of the book initiates and directs her and Cole's sexual encounters. Cole finally has enough and ties her up and has his 'wicked way with her'. Liz Carlyle manages to keep this scene from being a degradation of Jonet by inserting humor into the scene and having Cole stop to make sure she was all right with it before proceeding.

This was a great book, the first of Carlye's that I have read and I greatly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book!
Review: A wonderful story, richly told, with about the best hero ever!

Liz Carlyle has a wonderful talent - don't miss this book!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, fascinating read
Review: After reading "My False Heart" by Liz Carlyle, I couldn't wait for her second book to come out. It does not disappoint. It is a story of a man and a woman who are destined to be together despite many obstacles.

I fell in love with Cole. He's respectable - not a "rake" or a "rogue." He is the nephew of Jonet's brother-in-law, James. James suspects that Jonet poisoned his brother and wants Cole to spy on her and report back to him. Hence, Cole is hired to tutor Jonet's two young sons and moves into her house - and the attraction is immediate.

Jonet is a very strong heroine. There are many evil goings-on in her house. Someone is trying to bring harm to her two small sons but she will protect them at all costs. Cole is witness to this evil first-hand and joins with Jonet in protecting his two young charges.

This book is first-rate. You will find yourself really becoming involved with the characters, primary and secondary. This is one of those books that will make you want to stay home from work so that you can read it, uninterrupted. It is a book you will find humorous, mysterious and erotic - it has it all. Do yourself a favor and read it.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, fascinating read
Review: After reading "My False Heart" by Liz Carlyle, I couldn't wait for her second book to come out. It does not disappoint. It is a story of a man and a woman who are destined to be together despite many obstacles.

I fell in love with Cole. He's respectable - not a "rake" or a "rogue." He is the nephew of Jonet's brother-in-law, James. James suspects that Jonet poisoned his brother and wants Cole to spy on her and report back to him. Hence, Cole is hired to tutor Jonet's two young sons and moves into her house - and the attraction is immediate.

Jonet is a very strong heroine. There are many evil goings-on in her house. Someone is trying to bring harm to her two small sons but she will protect them at all costs. Cole is witness to this evil first-hand and joins with Jonet in protecting his two young charges.

This book is first-rate. You will find yourself really becoming involved with the characters, primary and secondary. This is one of those books that will make you want to stay home from work so that you can read it, uninterrupted. It is a book you will find humorous, mysterious and erotic - it has it all. Do yourself a favor and read it.

Rating:
Summary: A good, satisfying story
Review: As this story opens, the arrogant and lecherous sixth Marquis of Mercer, Henry Rowland, meets his Maker in an unexpected and untimely fashion. Months later, his embattled young widow Jonet, suspected but never proven to have murdered him, is desperate. Unexpected accidents befall herself and her two young sons, and she has surrounded herself with as many trustworthy servants from her native Scotland as she can find. However, she must resume their education and some semblance of normalcy - she cannot put this off any longer - and she undertakes to hire a tutor. Her co-guardian, who is unfortunately also her late husband's brother, would like nothing more than to prove her an unfit mother, and he endeavors to place his nephew, Captain Cole Amherst, into her household as both tutor and informant, to bolster his plans to seek sole custody of the boys. The Captain, who knows all too well what the boys would face if left to his uncle's rearing, agrees only to the role of tutor. For much of the first part of the book, he struggles with his ambivalent attraction to the widow Jonet, as well, until it becomes clear to all that her fears for her children are well-founded. Both Jonet and Cole flounder in a sea of dark uneasiness and sexual tension, not knowing where to focus their suspicions and neither sure of the other's affections. An unexpected but well-written household catastrophe finally galvanizes Cole to action, and and in the process, forces he and Jonet to deal with their feelings for one another. Secrets spill out fast and furious, mysteries and minds unravel, and the reader is left with the sensation of having read a solid, satisfying story.

LC's plot contained just the right amount of suspense for me, keeping me a little impatient and stringing me along to find out more. Every time I thought I had a character figured out, she'd also write a little twist that would throw me off. The characters are also prone to introspection, and Cole comes off as more likable than Jonet, but I have to say that she never stepped out of character - a lady toughened and made cynical by a loveless match to a man twice her age, she is something of a contrast to Cole, the scholar and cleric who found something unexpected in himself when he became a soldier. I delighted in LC's literary technique of introducing each chapter with a synopsis statement, as if we were watching a play unfold. It's nice to read a work of this genre in which as much attention is paid to the prose, as is to the sex. There are some very erotic and explicit scenes later in the book as Cole and Jonet's relationship deepens, although the tension is offset by some unexpected humor. If you are offended by them, skip them. Overall, this is a book I'd gladly recommend to others, and I look forward to reading more of LC's work.

Rating:
Summary: good read
Review: Captain Cole Amherst had been destined for the church, but events in his past led him to join the Army in the Peninsula. Now after several years, he is back in England gathering the courage to face his past. Jonet Rowland was a scorned woman after her late and not so lamented husband went to his great reward. All the ton and her brother-in-law assumed that she had poisoned the late Lord Mercer, but could not prove it. So her brother-in-law sent his former ward, Captain Amherst to spy upon Lady Mercer in the disguise as tutor for her young children. Captain Amherst went to Lady Mercer's abode for reasons he couldn't readily define, for he rather disliked his former guardian, but he soon became captivated by the beautiful, arrogant and indomitable Lady Mercer and the intrigue that surrounded her house. It seems that the murderer was not quite satisfied with the one life that had already been taken... In a house where no one can be trusted, Captain Amherst must determine who is the murderer and even more important who must be protected.

What follows is a well-written tale about two people that find love and and the ability to heal old wounds despite the treachery that abounds around them. This is the first novel I have read by Ms. Carlyle and I will not hesitate to try another. Her style is slighlty different than the usual regency/historical writers, and I found this very refreshing. Also, I've never read an historical where the hero is a very devout and religious gentleman whose real goal in life is to be a vicar. It provides quite a great break from all those novels about reforming rakes and libertines. And of course, I love the heroine because she is a very strong character who is not afraid to go after what she wants; her character is a great foil for the reserved Captain Amherst.

I would recommend this book to all readers. As I said, it is both refreshing and novel in its writing style and character choice. I couldn't put it down.

Rating:
Summary: good read
Review: Captain Cole Amherst had been destined for the church, but events in his past led him to join the Army in the Peninsula. Now after several years, he is back in England gathering the courage to face his past. Jonet Rowland was a scorned woman after her late and not so lamented husband went to his great reward. All the ton and her brother-in-law assumed that she had poisoned the late Lord Mercer, but could not prove it. So her brother-in-law sent his former ward, Captain Amherst to spy upon Lady Mercer in the disguise as tutor for her young children. Captain Amherst went to Lady Mercer's abode for reasons he couldn't readily define, for he rather disliked his former guardian, but he soon became captivated by the beautiful, arrogant and indomitable Lady Mercer and the intrigue that surrounded her house. It seems that the murderer was not quite satisfied with the one life that had already been taken... In a house where no one can be trusted, Captain Amherst must determine who is the murderer and even more important who must be protected.

What follows is a well-written tale about two people that find love and and the ability to heal old wounds despite the treachery that abounds around them. This is the first novel I have read by Ms. Carlyle and I will not hesitate to try another. Her style is slighlty different than the usual regency/historical writers, and I found this very refreshing. Also, I've never read an historical where the hero is a very devout and religious gentleman whose real goal in life is to be a vicar. It provides quite a great break from all those novels about reforming rakes and libertines. And of course, I love the heroine because she is a very strong character who is not afraid to go after what she wants; her character is a great foil for the reserved Captain Amherst.

I would recommend this book to all readers. As I said, it is both refreshing and novel in its writing style and character choice. I couldn't put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Apallingly bad
Review: Cole as a hero is easily the most dull man anyone could ever have the mistfortune to meet in a romance, and Jonet is a cow of the first order. She wants to have sex with him but doesn't trust him and is a most unpleasant person right the way through the book. Even her love for her sons does not redeem her.

As for the supposed villain of the peace, the whole thing is so flimsy and ridiculous as to be totally unbelievable, and ayone with half a brain would know her and Delacourt's secret. A light read for people who really don't care too much about anything other than plot.

The violent SM Bondage scene is really totally out of keeping with character and is not in the least sexy. In fact the book has about as much sizzle as a damp firework. Her debut novel was good, this was appallingly bad. She breaks the basic rule of any good writing, show not tell. She gives details about her characters and situations with all of the pompousness of Dickens and none of the flair or interest.

Rating:
Summary: A strong heroine, great hero......
Review: Cole tutors Jonet's children after the strange, mysterious death of Jonet's husband. Before too long, he becomes a bodyguard also, to Jonet and her children.

At first, Jonet suspect's Cole's motives. She's afraid he's a spy from her enemies. And, she has trouble trusting. At first, Cole suspects Jonet to be a possible murderess, seductress. As they overcome their suspicions, a romance develops.

Jonet is such an unusual and strong heroine. She loses control of her emotions, and her desire for Cole. It's an unusual slant, to read about a heroine pursuing a hero in the way Jonet does. Cole fights his attraction to Jonet; thus, he seems strong and vulnerable, at the same time. Both characters, help to make this book an excellent read.

My only problems with A Woman Scorned had to do with the wordiness, at the beginning of the book. However, with the great story, great characters, sexy love scenes--I'll keep the book anyway; and, I'll read it again.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent work
Review: His Uncle Lord James Rowland demands that Captain Cole Amherst spy on his "cousin," Jonet Rowland, who is the widow of his brother. Cole says no, but he agrees to tutor the two children for a few months while on military leave. Cole does not care what James wants. However, Cole feels a bit guilty due to his failure to keep abreast of the childrens' health and safety. His parents died when he was young, making it Cole's obligation to insure that the children are safe. Adding to his fears is that their father died from poison and their mother, the scorn of the Ton, remains the prime suspect.

With his credentials, Jonet has no choice but to hire Cole as a tutor even though neither trusts the other. As danger towards the children mount, Jonet and Cole protect their charges, start to know one another, and fall in love. However, he is a deeply religious and highly moral person while she flaunts her "young lover" in front of her children.

A WOMAN SCORNED is an interesting, well-written Regency romantic intrigue that will excite the audience and make them seek other works from Liz Carlyle (see MY FALSE HEART). The story line is very exciting with the who-done-it cleverly designed so that clues exist along side red herrings. The lead characters are noble individuals ready to sacrifice everything for the children. The support cast provides much depth and the colorful story line brings early nineteenth century England to life. If this novel is a sample of her works, Ms. Carlyle is a talented author who will rapidly rise to the top of the as a novelist worth reading.

Harriet Klausner