Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing after Husband List
Review: The first warning bell was the choice of hero and heroine, siblings of the protagonists in The Husband List. There's nothing wrong with using previously well-defined characters in subsequent books, but a little fresh blood somewhere would be nice, even if only in the supporting cast.The second alarm was the insistent reference to Thomas as a rake when he seemed to be a fairly normal and decent guy. Aside from drinking, it didn't seem he had a vice, and yet the requisite mentions of his "reputation" litter the first half of the book. Is there something wrong with being handsome, wealthy, intelligent, AND a decent human? The final problem was Marianne's motivation. She claims that she wants nothing less than adventure and excitement, but when it comes down to it, she refuses to marry him because he won't say he loves her. If she's such a brave and forward lass, why doesn't she just ask him how he feels about her? Does it not occur to her that a man who will climb the ivy to her bedroom, holding a bouquet of flowers and comparing her to Juliet, might harbor some affection? When someone mentions to her that adventure might be a state of mind instead of a dog-eared passport, it completely bounces off her. Instead of appreciating that she's found a man who will BECOME adventurous- somewhat against the grain- solely for her sake, Marianne mopes along, waiting for him to hold out his heart on a platter. It seemed as though the characters were meant to be original, but had a stock plot forced on them. Instead of an independent girl, longing for adventure, finding that her happiness lies with a very ordinary man whose every attempt at intrigue goes endearingly wrong, it's a typical "I'll say I love you if you say it first" story. The writing saves it from being average, but it's nothing like the Husband List for strength of plot and character.
Rating: 
Summary: A Lesson Worth Reading About
Review: The Marriage Lesson is the humorous story of Thomas Effington, Lord Helmsley, who becomes the keeper of his sister's three young sisters-in-law. His hopes are to marry them off as quickly as he can so his life can get back to it's normal routine. But the sisters have a different idea. Marianne, the oldest of the three, has no desire to get married. The two younger sisters tell Thomas they themselves won't marry until their older sister does. Herein lies the challenge...he must find a husband for the adventure-seeking Marianne. This story is romantic and funny at the same time. The character of Thomas is so typical male that it's hilarious to read about him. When it comes to love he seems to be rather dense. I think in the end his friends even feel sorry for him because of his lack of smarts where Marianne is concerned. Marianne is truly a heroine to fall in love with. She is smart and full of wit. She is not going to let any man stand in her way. She is very independent and imaginative. She keeps Thomas on his toes. And the romantic things Thomas does to win Marianne's heart are so funny. The secondary characters are also very well developed and likable. I would like to see more written about Pennington and Berkley. Marianne's sisters were also very enjoyable characters. Especially when they teamed up to help Thomas with Marianne. And the whole idea of Marianne writing the "Absolutely True" stories definitely added some spice to the book. This book is very enjoyable and is easy to read. I found myself reading faster and faster to get to the end to see what happened. It was definitely a great way to spend a few hours.
Rating:
Summary: A Lesson Worth Reading About
Review: The Marriage Lesson is the humorous story of Thomas Effington, Lord Helmsley, who becomes the keeper of his sister's three young sisters-in-law. His hopes are to marry them off as quickly as he can so his life can get back to it's normal routine. But the sisters have a different idea. Marianne, the oldest of the three, has no desire to get married. The two younger sisters tell Thomas they themselves won't marry until their older sister does. Herein lies the challenge...he must find a husband for the adventure-seeking Marianne. This story is romantic and funny at the same time. The character of Thomas is so typical male that it's hilarious to read about him. When it comes to love he seems to be rather dense. I think in the end his friends even feel sorry for him because of his lack of smarts where Marianne is concerned. Marianne is truly a heroine to fall in love with. She is smart and full of wit. She is not going to let any man stand in her way. She is very independent and imaginative. She keeps Thomas on his toes. And the romantic things Thomas does to win Marianne's heart are so funny. The secondary characters are also very well developed and likable. I would like to see more written about Pennington and Berkley. Marianne's sisters were also very enjoyable characters. Especially when they teamed up to help Thomas with Marianne. And the whole idea of Marianne writing the "Absolutely True" stories definitely added some spice to the book. This book is very enjoyable and is easy to read. I found myself reading faster and faster to get to the end to see what happened. It was definitely a great way to spend a few hours.
Rating:
Summary: Sequel is better than the original
Review: The Marriage Lesson is the sequel to the Husband List. In The Marriage Lesson, Marianne and Thomas, sister and brother to Richard and Gillian (the male and female protagonists of the original book), are thrown together. Thomas is left holding the debut bag for Marianne and her 2 younger sisters when his parents leave England to visit Richard and Gillian in America. Thomas originally wants to marry Marianne (he cannot even remember her name at the outset of the book and calls her "Merry something") and her sisters off asap. To that end he attempts to persuade a friend to "take" Marianne off his hands and subsequently sends notes to the same effect, complete with dowry information, to the dullest, most respectable bachelors in the ton. Of course between the time he does that and the sisters' come-out ball, he begins to fall in love with Marianne. Meanwhile Marianne longs for adventure, travel and to meet a swashbuckling hero and therefore has no interest in accepting the dull suitors more interested in her dowry than herself. In this book, the author does a far better job of developing the characters' personalities than in the original book. Each has their own believable quirks and irrationalities; Thomas' excruciatingly bad poetry sets him apart from the typical Regency rake characters. The use of Marianne's serialized newspaper story as a slightly fictionalized account of her own life is a nice prelude to each chapter and proves that she does in fact have talent. Even the love scenes are better written in this book, although again I will quibble with the casual attitude toward unmarried sex and its potential repercussions which would not have been typical for the time period. As a former bridal fitter I was slightly annoyed by the ease with which Thomas is able to pull down Marianne's low cut bodice on the balcony of her mansion during her come-out ball (no pun intended): if the garments of this period were properly fitted, it would have been nearly impossible to pull them down unless the neckline were cut almost to the nipple. And would he have really done this in a house literally swarming with guests and servants, any of whom could have walked onto the balcony at any time, thereby forcing them to marry immediately? There is no indication that this was his unspoken intent and the author does not do a sufficient job of convincing us that they were THAT swept away by passion. These are small quibbles, and I would recommend this book as a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Sequel is better than the original
Review: The Marriage Lesson is the sequel to the Husband List. In The Marriage Lesson, Marianne and Thomas, sister and brother to Richard and Gillian (the male and female protagonists of the original book), are thrown together. Thomas is left holding the debut bag for Marianne and her 2 younger sisters when his parents leave England to visit Richard and Gillian in America. Thomas originally wants to marry Marianne (he cannot even remember her name at the outset of the book and calls her "Merry something") and her sisters off asap. To that end he attempts to persuade a friend to "take" Marianne off his hands and subsequently sends notes to the same effect, complete with dowry information, to the dullest, most respectable bachelors in the ton. Of course between the time he does that and the sisters' come-out ball, he begins to fall in love with Marianne. Meanwhile Marianne longs for adventure, travel and to meet a swashbuckling hero and therefore has no interest in accepting the dull suitors more interested in her dowry than herself. In this book, the author does a far better job of developing the characters' personalities than in the original book. Each has their own believable quirks and irrationalities; Thomas' excruciatingly bad poetry sets him apart from the typical Regency rake characters. The use of Marianne's serialized newspaper story as a slightly fictionalized account of her own life is a nice prelude to each chapter and proves that she does in fact have talent. Even the love scenes are better written in this book, although again I will quibble with the casual attitude toward unmarried sex and its potential repercussions which would not have been typical for the time period. As a former bridal fitter I was slightly annoyed by the ease with which Thomas is able to pull down Marianne's low cut bodice on the balcony of her mansion during her come-out ball (no pun intended): if the garments of this period were properly fitted, it would have been nearly impossible to pull them down unless the neckline were cut almost to the nipple. And would he have really done this in a house literally swarming with guests and servants, any of whom could have walked onto the balcony at any time, thereby forcing them to marry immediately? There is no indication that this was his unspoken intent and the author does not do a sufficient job of convincing us that they were THAT swept away by passion. These are small quibbles, and I would recommend this book as a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: A wicked smart book!
Review: This book had me laughing out loud - no one does witty dialogue better than Victoria Alexander. Come to think of it, no one does witty Regency historicals better than she does. The Marriage Lesson is a worthy follow-up to The Husband List, and I can't wait to see what she does next! I'm hoping that this series of connected stories just goes on and on. It's so refreshing to find an author of humorous romances who is genuinely clever and funny. Definitely a keeper!
Rating:
Summary: Romantic, funny, sensual and witty.
Review: This is the 5th book of this series I have read,(preceded by "The Wedding Bargain", "The Husband List", "The Prince's Bride",and "Her Highness my Wife", although not precisely in that order) and I can say without a doubt that it is my favorite of them all. Thomas is charming, sensual, strong, masterful and an accomplished lover , as any romantic novel hero should be, but at the same time has flaws,and makes mistakes and even gets himself in ridiculous situations sometimes. Surprisingly, that doesn't take away from him, on the contrary, makes him even more endearing and believable. Marianne is bold, romantic, intelligent and a dreamer. I liked the fact that she wears glasses, its kind of different. I enjoyed the sex scenes in this book, they were passionate, and well written and balance a story that otherwise would have been too "light". A nice surprise in a Victoria Alexander book, that sometimes tend to not include enough or not develop well this type of scenes. The story is funny and romantic, althogh there are some things I had trouble believing, like the fact that Thomas needed a clue from Marianne sisters to figure out the stories were about them. Hello? It was pretty obvious. One thing I have noticed about Alexander's novels is that the characters sometimes tend to act in a maner more appropiate to this century than the rigid English society of that time. The heroines are far too bold and the tolerant and even encouraging attitude of the older people (specially the Dowager Duchess)is a little unbelievable. But in general is a good story, fast paced, passionate and charming. A real page turner (I could barely put it down) I strongly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, Romantic, Delightful
Review: This was not only witty and delightful, but romantic and sexy as well. The relationship between poor Thomas and his Marianne was layed our masterfully in a lovely story that was had to put down. Like The Wedding Bargain, the characters and the storyline receive a lot of attention from Ms. Alexander and even the secondary characters are charming and well thought-out. A very enjoyable escapade. Can't wait to see what comes next from this polished, clever writer.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Enjoyable Summer Read
Review: What a fun escape to Regency England! I loved Alexander's dialog--witty, fast-paced, and mischievious. A few minor problem's with motivation and misunderstandings, but overall it was a fun read that I finished the day I started it. I would love to see sequels featuring other characters, particularly Pennington, a rake in need of reform if ever there was one!
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