Rating: 
Summary: More! I just want more!
Review: It's hard to believe this is only Liz's second book! I just want MORE books to read by her! She writes with such passion & feeling that you are in love with her characters from the first pages. Jonet & Cole are wonderful, their feelings for each other are there from the beginning & they take you along for the ride of your life. I'm generally not a mystery reader but Liz's ability to mix romance with mystery has made a fan out of me. I resented each & every thing (like work & family) that took me away from this book! The children are touching & believable, the mischief they get into is delightful to read, you have no trouble imagining the looks on their faces as they plot & plan the next prank! This book kept me on the edge of my chair from the beginning. Cole is a blonde hero to die for & you'll be in love with him just as Jonet is!
Rating: 
Summary: another great book by Carlyle
Review: Jonet, the very recently widowed marchioness of Mercer, is twenty-eight and the mother of two children. Rumor has it she murdered her philandering husband to be with her lovers, among which Lord Delacourt is her favorite. Her late husband's brother would like nothing better than to take the children away from Jonet, and enlists his nephew, Captain Cole Amherst, as reluctant help. Cole arrives at Jonet's house to find a very different woman from that shy bride he met a decade ago, and is furious when he realizes his uncle has not explained the situation to Jonet - as far as she knows, Cole is there to spy on her, and once he has proof of her unsuitability as a mother, he will help take her children away. The mutual lust ignited at their first meeting smolders throughout this book, but it must take a backseat to the danger that envelops Jonet and her children. If Jonet seems excessive in protecting her children - believe me, she isn't, and once Cole realizes that she is not the hysterical murderess that his uncle (who is also the children's ward) claims she is, he, too, becomes not only the children's steadfast protector, but Jonet's as well. Although the villain's identity is clear to the reader early on, it is not obvious to Jonet, Cole, or anyone else in the Mercer household. Danger lurks everywhere, the targets are many, and the author manages to instill suspense until the very end, although the timing of the climactic scene was a little too perfect and the outcome was never in doubt. Jonet started off arrogant, rude, nearly hysterical, and I spent much of the first part of the book disliking her - until it became clear just how justified she was in her feelings. If anything, she was too trusting in one instance, which proves nearly fatal to her and her children. What I did not understand was her reasoning for keeping a secret from Cole until the very end. Once she realized how much she loved the man and how much he loved her in return, it seemed unnecessary. Cole was a delightful hero. He was sweet and honorable, unwilling to be his uncle's pawn, persistent where others might have told Jonet to go to hell, unwavering in his mission to keep the family safe, and that rare hero who has to be seduced by the heroine. Although his station in society (he is a second son and a soldier) is lower than Jonet's, do we really doubt this will be resolved by the end? The secondary characters are well drawn. Jonet's children are typical boys who pound the heck out of whomever gets in their way, yet, at the same, we see the difference in their ages. The innocent, carefree younger child is tempered by the slightly older brother who understands more than he should. There are some pacing problems, though, which make the book flow unevenly. A simple conversation will get "interrupted" by paragraph after paragraph describing the characters' thoughts and what the situation is, so that when dialogue resumed I had to go back and check what the last spoken line had been. I like introspection, but here, it occasionally gets in the way. Nevertheless, the characterization and plotting were quite strong, and make this a worthy follow up to Carlyle's successful debut, My False Heart.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the "Jewel" of the summer!
Review: Liz Carlyle has arrived! Well, she actually did with "My False Heart" but she's has made a second VERY GRAND entrance with "A Woman Scourned". This book is a sterling example of what "romance" ought to be. An incredibly strong and believable heroine, a hero to DIE for, a plot that grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go - even after you've turned the last page. The sex in this book can only be described as EXQUISITE. Oh, it IS hot but is appropriate to the story and the couple and is NOT just thrown in for the sake of titillation (although it most certainly is exquisitely titillating). If I were to make comparisons I would give this author my hightest compliment by comparing her to Julie Garwood, Linda Needham and LaVyrle Spencer. IMHO, the best in the genre, and Ms. Carlyle is right up there with them. DON'T miss this book!
Rating:
Summary: From: A romance reading vetran
Review: Oh my, my! Once again Ms. Carlyle proves her books are not for the faint of heart! The suspense in this one kept me up till 3 a.m. and the passion about melted the paint off my walls. Thank heaven this book is no trite, over-romanticized love story. If you only read sweet fantasy stories with virginal heroines (and I sometimes do) then move on, because this book is about real love, in all its complexity, depth, and passion. Like her other book, which I also loved, the prose is rich and descriptive. You see and feel what the characters see and feel. And to my shock (pleasently!) the hero is a strong, hunky, and extremely devout christian, who is striving to be a better person. And yes, the sexual tension still sizzles. The heroine is strong, brave, and always in control, (well almost always, she was a woman in love and like most of us strong women, the men we love can always melt our control). Speaking as a woman, I felt So wonderfully empowered after reading this book, I gave it to my teenage daughter.
Rating:
Summary: Finally a woman with some backbone!
Review: Okay, one of the main reason I bought this book is because my mother's maiden name is Rowland and I was curious as to how the family name is portrayed. I wasn't prepared for such a wonderful time. I like a book that grips me, propels me into the pages and transforms me for those moments of pleasurable reading, into one of the main characters. I found myself understanding the heroine rather well. At first, I thought Rachel was going to be sappy. Thank heavens she wasn't. Once again, Carlyle, scores high on character development. Rachel Rowland, Lady Mercer finds her elderly husband dead. Trying to raise two sons alone she is fearful of the misguided control and interference of her husband's brother. Enter Cole Amhearst. Caught between the family feud, he has to set things aright without loosing his heart. Does he prevail? Another good read!...
Rating:
Summary: Finally a woman with some backbone!
Review: Okay, one of the main reason I bought this book is because my mother's maiden name is Rowland and I was curious as to how the family name is portrayed. I wasn't prepared for such a wonderful time. I like a book that grips me, propels me into the pages and transforms me for those moments of pleasurable reading, into one of the main characters. I found myself understanding the heroine rather well. At first, I thought Rachel was going to be sappy. Thank heavens she wasn't. Once again, Carlyle, scores high on character development. Rachel Rowland, Lady Mercer finds her elderly husband dead. Trying to raise two sons alone she is fearful of the misguided control and interference of her husband's brother. Enter Cole Amhearst. Caught between the family feud, he has to set things aright without loosing his heart. Does he prevail? Another good read!...
Rating:
Summary: Great read from cover to cover
Review: Once again Liz Carlyle has written a page turner that will keep the reader coming back for more. After the murder of her husband, the marquis of Mercer, Jonet Rowland is an outcast. It is rumored that she is an adultress and a murderess. When Captain Cole Amherst's scheming unlce asks him to pose as her son's tutor at first he declines, but soon changes his mind when he realizes that two young boy's safety is at stake. Lady Mercer, Jonet Rowland, is an outcast. Her only concern is the safety of her children, but who can she turn to when it is apparant that somebody is trying to hurt her children? She turns to Cole Amherst. A Woman Scorned is one of those books that grabs the reader from the beginning and doesn't let go until the end. Is Jonet really the femme fatale she is rumored to be? Can Cole deny his attraction to her? And who is trying to hurt Jonet's two young boys? The author of My False Heart is back with another wonderful regency that is sure to please. Highly Recommended
Rating:
Summary: Liz Carlyle Does It Again!
Review: Once again, Liz Carlyle offers a story that is hard to put down--I thought I'd have to miss work to finish it! What a delight to find a writer that creates a strong heroine and not another "shrinking violet" that must depend on a man for survival! Yes, Jonet Rowland desires Cole Amherst, both him and his assistance (though a hesitantly at first on both counts), but it is nice to see a purposeful, intelligent leading lady with real-life responsibilities. How tiring are the "virginial flower" dependent on the whim of a man one so often encounters in romance novels. Women today are strong, independent, and empowered and need heroines with whom they can identify. I know I lose patience with "needy" female leading characters offered in some romance stories, but that certainly is not the case here! In the same vein, woman today are comfortable with their sexuality and it is nice to see that reflected in a book, as well. And while everyone has their own particular preference, Ms. Carlyle handles Jonet's sexuality realistically, yet tastefully. Intimacy in this book is healthy & imaginative, not the general "breathy fluff" that is offered up. REAL women like REAL sex. Kudos to Carlyle for stepping out of the "comfort zone" of the "accepted" that so many others hesitate to challenge. I eagerly await "Beauty Like the Night."
Rating: 
Summary: Well-written, but only a lust story...
Review: That about sums it up. A disappointing read for both the "love" story and the mystery. The mystery I figured out the first time the "villain" was introduced, the love story was nonexistent. Both h/h disliked/hated each other through most of the book, yet lustful thoughts (which the author makes us privy to ad nauseum) abound. I could buy that Jonet & Cole wanted to screw each other senseless; what the author NEVER made me believe was that they loved each other. Also, I like strong heroines as much as the next person, but Jonet was just a plain witch. A grown woman throwing temper tantrums? Please. Tossing any object not nailed down and attacking people with riding crops does not denote strength--just hysteria, arrogance and lack of self-control. I will say the hero was a likable fellow. He deserved a better heroine--and a better story.
Rating: 
Summary: BORING
Review: This is more like an excuse for soft porn than a romance novel. The hero and heroine have nothing in common and there's just no way that they seem meant for each other. In this novel, it's all about lust not love.
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