Rating: 
Summary: Delightful
Review: Lady Gillian Marley doesn't want a husband but unfortunately she will inherit her late uncle's estate ($600,000 pounds, 8 ships and land in America!) only if she is married before she turns 30 in two months. She turns to her two life-long friends who each give her a "HUSBAND LIST" of marriable men. Only one name is on both lists - Richard Shelton, the Earl of Shelbrooke. Gillian decides to invite him to her home and propose a marriage of convenience. Richard (goodlooking and a hunk) was once a rake but had to settle down when his father died leaving the family almost penniless. Despite his new stability, he has a deeply guarded secret he must keep from everyone. This is a delightful book, full of fun and enjoyment.
Rating:
Summary: The Husband List
Review: Lady Gillian Marley searched for the perfect husband by writing a list of potential candidates. She had narrowed her choices to those she thought were perfect. The perfect choice, in her opinion, was the elusive Richard Shelton, Earl of Shelbrooke. Richard, who had lived under the guise of a French painter, would marry Gillian but only in a marriage of convenience. He would continue his secretive life until Gillian convinced him in a unique way the marriage meant much more than convenience. Victoria Alexander's funny and clever writing takes the old, tired marriage of convenience plot to a new, different twist. Her characters are strong and engaging, but most of all, they, and Ms. Alexander's sense of humor, make this 4 ½ star book a lot of fun to read.
Rating:
Summary: Light-hearted and humorous Regency romance
Review: Lady Gillian, a widow who has vowed never to marry again, suddenly finds herself with two months to get married, or else she forfeits a very large inheritance. What's a woman to do? So she asks her two best (male) friends to compile a list of suitable men for her to consider as possible husbands. They don't take the task at all seriously, and present her with a list of completely unsuitable men... and one Richard, Earl of Shelbrooke, a reformed and impoverished rake. So Gillian proposes a marriage of convenience to Shelbrooke; he is tempted to accept, since he desperately needs money to restore his estate and provide his sisters with dowries. However, he refuses to contemplate a platonic marriage: after all, what's the point of owning an estate unless he has a son to pass it on to? So he tells Gillian that he will only marry her if she is willing to agree to a full marriage in every sense. Unfortunately, he then has the idea of seeing whether she could be tempted to passion, and in a moment of madness he approaches her as his nominal _alter ego_, Etienne-Louis Toussaint. This is Richard's pseudonym: in the guise of Toussaint he has been earning a living as an artist for the past several years. And so Gillian finds herself attracted to both Shelbrooke and Toussaint, and becomes hopelessly confused. Alexander has a light touch with this novel; plenty of humour, especially with the secondary characters - Gillian's friends, Shelbrooke's sisters and aunt. The misunderstandings aren't dragged out interminably, either, and there are some very unexpected twists at times. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read!
Rating:
Summary: The Husband List
Review: Not as good a the Wedding Bargin, but it was still ok.
Rating: 
Summary: Very entertaining!! My idea of a romantic hero!
Review: Richard of Shelbrooke is my idea of a romantic hero. A great read....After I read it the first time, I had to go back and read this again. Lots of fun and twists and turns.
Rating: 
Summary: not that great
Review: So if you had only 2 months in order to pick a husband and convince him to marry you in name only, and he would not ever have you in his bed, without telling him why you must marry before the 2 months is over, what would you do? It's quite simple. Make a list of eligible men, or if you're not sure who to place on a list have your friends do it for you. And that is exactly what Lady Gillian Marley does so that way she may receive a HUGE inheritence from an uncle that recently passed away. Well who better to marry than Richard Shelton, Earl of Shelbrooke? The Earl has a great, old, noble title, but is in need of funds to undo the damage his father did before he died. Surly he will say yes once he hears about it all right? NO! Richard knows that he needs the money but refuses to marry for convenience. So he proposes to court Gillian for 2 months and see how things go once they know each other better. If you were like me and expecting tons of excitment like the first book throughout the entire book I'm afraid you'll be greatly disappointed. The majority of the book was quite honestly boring. Most of the exciting action was in the last 4 chapters. Now I'm not saying that this was a HORRIBLE book because it wasn't. It just was far from great. In this book I couldn't get into the characters at all where as in the first book I was there with them by the end of the first chapter. If it wasn't part of a series that I really wanted to finish then I would've put it down and probably not have picked it back up. Better luck next time!
Rating:
Summary: Amusing.
Review: The plot is rather simple and I will spare you yet another summary of it. The plot is not that original. I feel that this novel would have been sunk if it were not for the sheer amazing number of entertaining supporting characters. The main characters don't share so much as a kiss for over a hundred pages. Often their motives aren't well explained, realistic, or even believable. Each time the two of them argued I felt like the author had a desired outcome in mind and no real plan to get there;the end of their arguments were so at variance with the start. The most dramatic moments were written in such a way that they were barely speed bumps in the sequence of events in the story. Lady Gillian and Richard are likeable characters. The story is amusing. Not laugh out loud but amusing. This is the first book I've ever read by Victoria Alexander. I can see that she has talent and I would like to read another book by her. Hopefully next time I will pick one that delivers more excitement.
Rating:
Summary: Lighthearted Romantic Comedy
Review: The widowed Lady Gillian Marley never intended to remarry, but circumstances now lead her to search London for a suitable mate. A rather unconventional condition of her late uncle's will states she must be married, before her thirtieth birthday in two months, in order to inherit a sizable fortune. Her inheritance would include 600,000 pounds, eight ships, and land in America. Certainly an amount no one in her right mind would ignore. Gillian turns to her two closest friends, who happen to be male, for assistance in choosing an appropriate husband. They each draw up a list of candidates for her to consider. She quickly decides upon the impoverished Earl of Shelbrooke, Richard Shelton. Inviting him to a gathering in her home, she proposes marriage, but in name only. Richard is stunned, but refuses to agree to a chaste marriage, no matter how badly he and his family could use the money. He wants to have children to carry on his name and title, and he quickly recognizes the spark of desire between he and Gillian. But Richard has a deep, dark secret. He's been earning money by painting in oils under an assumed Frenchman's name. A great scandal for an aristocrat should his secret be revealed. During their courtship, Richard becomes curious to the extent of Gillian's feelings for him. To find out, he poses as the French painter (himself) and invites her to pose for him. What will the wicked Earl discover about his lady fair? This was my first read by Ms. Alexander, but it won't be my last. THE HUSBAND LIST was a cute, warm, and humorous story. It's refreshing to sometimes read lighthearted romances that are just plain enjoyable, and don't send you on an emotional roller coaster. The only reason I didn't award this selection five stars is because while the book is very good, there are some occurrences that stretch the imagination for believability. The most blatant for instance would be Richard posing as the French painter, whose identity is actually Richard, to discover Gillian's true feelings for him. He doesn't even speak French, and she doesn't figure out who he really is. Even with scenes such as this, I was basically able to just accept it and continue enjoying the ongoing adventure. The humor was probably the biggest reason scenes such as this didn't take on the importance of a major flaw. If you like light, romantic comedies, then this book is for you!
Rating:
Summary: too many ???????
Review: This book could have a lot shorter. A significant part of the book is about the characters' thinking and the ones about Gillian are filled with question marks because she is doubtful about whether she would fall in love with anyone besides her late husband. There is at least 3 pages with more than 10 question marks in a page. After reading the first one, I just skip a page when I see the question mark. The story could have flow better with reduction of these pages.
Rating:
Summary: Lighthearted fun
Review: This is a familiar story. A gentile widow - Lady Gillian - cannot inherit a massive fortune unless she marries by her 30th birthday. She asks her two male childhood friends to come up with a 'husband list'. They do it with tongue in cheek; she takes the list seriously. At the top of the list is the Earl of Shelbrooke - an impoverished lord who is keeping his head above water by selling his paintings under an assumed name. Lady Gillian approaches him, but he is hesitant because he wants her to love him. Secrets and seduction abounds. It was a delightful book and I would recommend it as a quick and easy read.
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