Rating: 
Summary: 4 & 1/2 stars -- wonderful lead characters
Review: I actually liked this one better than the first one (A Necessary Husband). Meg (Margaret) was a secondary character in the first book, sister of hero Garrett. She is quite charming, delightful, witty. Her only big flaw is that she's still angry and hurt with her brother about his past choices (to go to sea); it doesn't really work with the past book--at least not until the very end when she finally voices her real fears. Justin is simply a dream--handsome, noble, honorable, mysterious, tender...but with a temper (he yells a lot when he's angry). You can't help but love these two right from the start. It's so obvious how good they'll be for each other.There are some moments of needless repetition and too many "she's/I'm American" excuses (Is there perhaps a lack of understanding of American culture during the period?), but this book is still enchanting, mainly because of the two leads. The mystery which has haunted Justin for years and made him the scourge of society is well-played. The resolution is perhaps a bit too speedy, but as a whole the mystery works. Meg's reasons for refusing Justin's offer of marriage seem silly at first. It takes a long time to discover the truth, in part because it takes her a long time to admit the truth, even to herself. It takes realizing just how much her refusal is hurting all those she cares about--a result of her not really understanding how English society works. once she admits the truth about her fears, she faces them and overcomes them. An excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant Reading
Review: In 1816 Justin St. James, better known as the "Devil Earl" by the ton, meets American Meg Stanton-Lynch at a wedding when she is the only person who does not cut him. Justin was exiled years ago when everyone including his uncle and cousin assumed he murdered his cousin's fiancée Ophelia who made a play for him. Justin made a fortune overseas and through a quirk of fortune inherited the earldom. Justin plans to find out who really killed Ophelia. He knows fourteen people were in the house when she died with three not having valid alibis. Harder on Justin than the way the Ton assumes he is guilty is raising his sister Emily who is angry with him for deserting her once before like her family did in death. Meg helps the two find a path together even as she wants to join them as part of their family as she loves Justin and Emily, but she knows he needs to prove he is not the killer A NECESSARY BRIDE is a fun romantic amateur sleuth tale that is at its strongest when Justin and at times Meg investigate the homicide. When the plot veers into Emily's woes, the tale shows deep teen angst, but detours from the prime theme of did he or did he not. Still readers will enjoy Debra Mullins Regency as the delightful lead couple investigates murder among the Ton. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: fun romantic amateur sleuth
Review: In 1816 Justin St. James, better known as the "Devil Earl" by the ton, meets American Meg Stanton-Lynch at a wedding when she is the only person who does not cut him. Justin was exiled years ago when everyone including his uncle and cousin assumed he murdered his cousin's fiancée Ophelia who made a play for him. Justin made a fortune overseas and through a quirk of fortune inherited the earldom. Justin plans to find out who really killed Ophelia. He knows fourteen people were in the house when she died with three not having valid alibis. Harder on Justin than the way the Ton assumes he is guilty is raising his sister Emily who is angry with him for deserting her once before like her family did in death. Meg helps the two find a path together even as she wants to join them as part of their family as she loves Justin and Emily, but she knows he needs to prove he is not the killer A NECESSARY BRIDE is a fun romantic amateur sleuth tale that is at its strongest when Justin and at times Meg investigate the homicide. When the plot veers into Emily's woes, the tale shows deep teen angst, but detours from the prime theme of did he or did he not. Still readers will enjoy Debra Mullins Regency as the delightful lead couple investigates murder among the Ton. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, quick novel
Review: Meg is American, visiting relatives (grandfather is a Duke) and when at her cousins wedding she sees Justin. Little does she know at the time that he is an Earl who almost everyone believes killed his cousins fiance. The relationship between them is sweet yet steamy. She helps him get closer to his ward and at the same time captures his heart. I did enjoy all the characters. The mystery is lite and far too simple. There really was no secret to the reader who the culprit in the story was. I liked the novel and found it enjoyable but I don't like how some novels conclude the story within the last few pages.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, quick novel
Review: Meg is American, visiting relatives (grandfather is a Duke) and when at her cousins wedding she sees Justin. Little does she know at the time that he is an Earl who almost everyone believes killed his cousins fiance. The relationship between them is sweet yet steamy. She helps him get closer to his ward and at the same time captures his heart. I did enjoy all the characters. The mystery is lite and far too simple. There really was no secret to the reader who the culprit in the story was. I liked the novel and found it enjoyable but I don't like how some novels conclude the story within the last few pages.
Rating: 
Summary: 90 pages too long
Review: Meg Stanton-Lynch is an American granddaughter of a Duke. Justin St. James is a deadly handsome Earl with a ward named Emily and he had been banished from England for 6 years as everyone thought he killed his cousin's fiance. Well, of course he didn't and of course Meg knows this and wants to help Justin clear his name. But here is the vastly annoying part of the book - even after sleeping with Justin, she won't marry him. Her denying his proposal was about a 100 pages and it was about 90 pages too long. She loved him! She knew he liked her, appreciated her, needed her. So he did out outright say he loved her, well, it was unrealistic that she would continue to say no even after it was apparent that her refusal caused a rift in his relationship with Pen and her husband. She was childish and frankly uninteresting. Also, everytime she did something a tad out of the common way for an English gal, it was always, well, I'm an American!
Rating:
Summary: 90 pages too long
Review: Meg Stanton-Lynch is an American granddaughter of a Duke. Justin St. James is a deadly handsome Earl with a ward named Emily and he had been banished from England for 6 years as everyone thought he killed his cousin's fiance. Well, of course he didn't and of course Meg knows this and wants to help Justin clear his name. But here is the vastly annoying part of the book - even after sleeping with Justin, she won't marry him. Her denying his proposal was about a 100 pages and it was about 90 pages too long. She loved him! She knew he liked her, appreciated her, needed her. So he did out outright say he loved her, well, it was unrealistic that she would continue to say no even after it was apparent that her refusal caused a rift in his relationship with Pen and her husband. She was childish and frankly uninteresting. Also, everytime she did something a tad out of the common way for an English gal, it was always, well, I'm an American!
Rating:
Summary: Amusing Regency With a Little Mystery
Review: The heroine Meg Stanton-Lynch is a transplanted American - granddaughter of a Duke, and of course not having been brought up within the pompous strictures of the English nobility did not know at first that the divinely handsome guest at her cousins wedding was so taboo! She saw only that no one seemed to be speaking or associating with him so she took it upon herself to act as a one-woman welcoming committee. Justin St. James, knew at once that this bright, beautiful and friendly young woman was running the risk of ruining her reputation by her innocent overtures of friendship towards him. He knew she did not know of his reputation which was why he kept telling her that she shouldn't be seen associating with him. Of course the more he tried to remove himself from her sphere the more the stubborn Miss would close in. He was known as the 'devil earl' unjustly accused of murder and banished by society and his own family for six years. He had returned, at the demise of his uncle and cousin, to inherit an earldom, guardianship of his young ward Emily, and also to try to find the person who had committed a murder that he had been accused of. Nothing however had prepared him for the unrelenting attraction for this very 'cheeky' young beautiful American. Other than wanting to slap the heroine silly for acting like such a ninny, I did enjoy this amusing romance. What I could not condone though, were the half-baked protests of the heroine after she 'gave' her innocence to Justin and would not marry him. They were too far-fetched and belabored for my tastes. Justin, on the other hand was a superbly drawn out hero. He was strong, yet vulnerable when he was so shaken over his inability to understand or be able to remedy his relationship with his ward Emily. He was also quite honorable and extremely patient with Meg's inability to understand the chaos she was creating by not accepting Justin's marriage proposal. The numerous secondary characters all blended in well and a couple were possibly introduced to be featured in their own stories down the road, especially the young ward Emily. The sensuality was extremely pleasant and very well done - definitely this is worth a recommended 'to be read' spot on your lists.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant Reading
Review: This is my first Debra Mullins book and I am now a fan! The plot was good, the characters well defined and the "chemistry" was just right. All in all a very pleasing read. I was mostly taken with the characters. Justin St James is the better of the two, accused of a murder he did not commit and banished from England for 8 years, he comes back to inherit the title and set the records staight. However, he is hurt at the rejection and slights he is forced to endure in society while he tries to clear his name for the sake of his ward for whom he cares deeply. He is one of the best heroes I have come across - strong, passionate and yet vulnerable.
Meg Stanton Lynch too is not the regular milk and water miss but a strong willed beautiful woman. I just wish there was less allusion to the fact that she is American though! She is strong-willed beacuse she is American! She wont' settle for a loveless marriage because she is American! It was rubbed in too much. And also given the fact that a lot of wealthy Americans during this period contracted marriages of convenience with the British aristocracy, the "Americans marrying for love" bit is strictly not true.
However, I was pleased with this book and will look out for more of Ms Mullins' work.
Rating:
Summary: Great Characters, Great Story!
Review: This was a fun story that I managed to consume over the weekend. The characters were fun and engaging and there was plenty of chemistry and sparks between Meg and Justin right from the start. Not only were the main characters fun, but old favorites came back for a visit. Not only was this a romance, but there was a whodunit mystery involved as well that was key to the plot of the story. Justin was wrongly accused of killing a young girl. As a result he was banished from England by his family no less. Meg is American and is a woman that knows her own mind or so she thinks. She finds herself drawn to the "Devil Earl" and nothing seems to be able to keep her away. As a result a great relationship is formed between these two strong willed people. But, there is a dark side to this budding romance. Meg will only settle for love, and Justin feels that love is something that could come in time, but not necessary for marriage, plus his reputation is not all that wonderful. Despite this Meg is compromised by the dashing Justin and he offers her marriage, but Meg turns him down (How could she????) But fear not Justin is a man that knows what he wants and he wants Meg. While he is busy sorting out his love life he also works to prove that he did not murdered Ophelia. Like I said it was a fun story with a lot of different twists and turns. Debra Mullins is an author I buy automatically and I highly recommend that you allow Ms. Mullins to entertain you with her wonderful characters and stories.
| 
