Rating: 
Summary: Blah.
Review: 384 pages of the same dialogue. Yes, she is beneath his station and he plans to marry someone of perfect bloodlines. Okay, can we move on now? Page after page of them telling themselves and friends that they can never be a match. How on earth could they even like each other-how annoying! Someone shoots at Drum at the very beginning of the book and Ally takes him in to care for him. Then for 200 pages, he recuperates from a broken leg over weeks and weeks. It was so silly. No discussion on who tried to kill him, or his supposed career with the War Office. Sigh. And he only had a broken leg, am I supposed to believe that he can't move at all for six weeks even though its splinted? Where was the suspense, the intrigue? The last 35 pages or so hold all the action, if you can actually call it that. The last couple of pages has Drum deciding that he loves her anyway so she has to marry him. And she ignores the fact that he treated her like dirt the whole time and agrees. Gag. The theory in my house is that this situation is one similar to V.C. Andrews. We think the original Edith Layton died and someone else is writing under her name. How else can you explain her phenomenal early books (Surrender to Love, Game of Love, Love in Disguise) compared to the latest, weak attempts at romance novels. Her first books had characters you loved, plots you couldn't wait to unravel and romance that made you sigh. Her latest series only served to make me roll my eyes. Too bad, because I have her early books and I've read them dozens of times and have recommended them to every reader I know. I must make sure to also tell them to avoid her new novels.
Rating: 
Summary: The best was the last .....
Review: A self-confessed admirer of Edith Layton, I wish to say only how very much I enjoyed this, the last of the 5 volume "C" series. I found it more introspective than the previous four stories with much of the book's action taking place in verbal and internal conversation. Indeed, the well done episode of the kidnapping and imprisonment of the hero, the Earl of Drummond, and the heroine, Alexandria Gascoyne, comes as somewhat of a surprise as it takes place in a novel which is largely of much internal anguish. It does, however, act as a catalyst for the hero and heroine manage to come to terms with their situations in life and, despite reluctant acknowledgement of the difficulties of turning on its head the social mores of the times, they find the courage to do so.There is a lot about love in this novel: the earl's love for his father which is indisputably returned; the love Alexandria has for her adoptive brothers; the love a woman who made a bad match had for her husband; the love of friends for each other. There is also a well drawn background here pointing to the social strictures of the times which too often in regency fiction are ignored allowing characters to behave like modern folk in costume. Drum, in finally getting his story told, seems to me to be the most credible, most rounded and most desirable of the "C" heros. He must, in this well crafted novel, address certain aspects of his own character and upbringing and, in largely credible way allow himself to love and be loved by a woman from an entirely different social class. How this happens is believeable and well told. This man is brilliant, kind, honest, caring and a good friend but it is, in the end, through the experience of helplessness following a serious injury, that he comes to see that love is the apsect of his life that is missing. How satisfying to see him find it with his spiritual if not social equal. Excellent stuff and a wonderful culmination to the "C" series.
Rating: 
Summary: Great!
Review: Derek, the Earl of Drummond, known as Drum, nearly dies from an assassin's bullet. Three young boys discover him lying beneath his horse. With the help of the horse and the local doctor, he is brought to the house of Alexandria Gascoyne, sister to the boys. She nurses him alone until Drum, in a rare moment of consciousness, points out the impropriety involved. He has been a target of marriage-minded misses long enough that he would see that tendency in anyone. Another woman comes to live as chaperon in this already cramped household, but as Drum recovers, he realizes that he has offended this good woman with his arrogance. He tries to make her life easier by bringing his servants and building onto her barn, but he has an accidental tendency to shame and embarrass her, especially when town buffoons follow his friends to her house and accost her. He fights his feelings for her, for he is very aware of his consequence and must present his father with a noble daughter-in-law. For Alexandria's part, she has fallen in love with Drum but knows that a relationship cannot be. Her bloodlines are entirely common. But when she gets an opportunity to visit London, she can't pass it up.... Edith Layton continues her string of fascinating characters who are lovable in spite of their flaws. She also creates a sense of time and place that is nearly unmatched.
Rating:
Summary: The one we all waited for: Drum's story!
Review: Described as the final book in Edith Layton's C series (and I hope it isn't!), this is at last Drum's story; the Earl of Drummond, friend of Ewen from The Cad, and the man on whom Gilly had such a crush in The Choice. Finally, we get to know Drum better, and to see him make his choice of bride. One thing I learned very quickly about Drum in this book is that he is the son and heir of a duke; so why is he an earl and not a marquess? Minor point; Layton please note, all the same. As the book starts, Drum is very conscious of his duty to his family; he needs to marry and carry on the line. His father has also impressed on him the need to marry *well*: he has a duty to the dukedom to consider a wife worthy of his own rank. But he doesn't know anyone he really cares about enough to marry; and he's seen all his friends marry for love. Drum believes that he just must not be capable of love; if he was, he surely would have fallen in love long ago, just as all his friends did. And he feels very reluctant to marry without love. He did, of course, propose to Gilly in The Choice, but he admits to himself (and Gilly acknowledges to Damon) that he only did it because she was there and in love with him and it was convenient. Now, though, he wonders whether he should just choose a suitable woman and be done with it. Someone like the Lady Annabelle, who has already been let down by his friends Damon and Rafe. Riding through the forest, mulling over all this, he is shot at. Almost killed, he is brought to a cottage belonging to Alexandria Gascoyne and her three adoptive brothers, and there nursed. But because he feels grateful, he starts trying to do things for Alexandria: he builds her a barn and tries to give her money, which she resents because it underlines their difference in status, she being merely a schoolmaster's daughter and by no means good enough for an heir to a dukedom. Alexandria is fighting against her feelings for Drum, knowing that he believes she might try to compromise him or make demands on him in return for her help. But ultimately he wants to help; back in London he misses her and he asks Gilly to invite her to London. He tells himself that he can give Alexandria a nice holiday and perhaps introduce her to a suitable husband. He hadn't counted on his own feelings suddenly being involved... Almost all our old friends appear in The Conquest: Ewen and Bridget, Gilly and Damon, Rafe and Brenna. Drum's father makes a couple of appearances too, and we meet again Brenna's brother Eric, and Lady Annabelle. I was disappointed, though, not to see Wycoff and Lucy. Given that Eric is left single and unhappy, though, I am very much hoping that this will *not* be the last C novel after all!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book
Review: Each time I read an Edith Layton book I make new friends, and this was no exception. As an added benefit, I got to spend time with old friends from her other books in the series. Drum and Ally's story is the latest in Edith's "C" series, and just as wonderful as the others. Drum is powerfully attracted to Ally, but his deep love for his "high in the instep" father, the Duke of Winterton, places what seems like an insurmountable wall between them. It's not very often than I can sympathize with a character who is afraid to love another because of "rank", but Drum's love for his father made this all very believable and sympathetic. And it is wonderful to read a story where the characters are not the epitome of perfection, either physically or in their characters. I appreciate Edith's knack for making her characters human, while still giving me great escapist reading ;o) You will fall in love along with Ally and Drum, experience their confusion and their temptations and their sufferings, and cheer when they grow and mature in their outlooks. AND (surprisingly enough) you will learn to love the arrogant Duke who is their "obstacle". This book has definitely made it to my "keeper shelf", and I will be anxiously awaiting the next one. Edith Layton just keeps getting better...
Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: Edith Layton does not disappoint in her latest "C" series romantic adventure, which is a Regency love story between two people of different social classes. The Earl of Drummond, heir to a Dukedom, meets Alexandria, a foundling of unknown origin, under less than auspicious circumstances. They strongly resist their attraction to each other: Drum, because his obligation to his family name has been ingrained in him since birth, and hence he must marry someone suitable of noble rank; Ally, because she knows that she could never be considered an socially-acceptable wife under strict class barriers that exist in Regency England. Along the way to the resolution of this and a few other problems, we get to revisit colorful characters from Layton's previous "C" novels, and there is the occasional villain thrown in for good measure. What makes Layton's books enjoyable is her skill in developing the characters slowly and her meticulous attention to detail in place and plot. I would highly recommend any of her books, and if you are a long-time Layton fan, as I am, you will be very satisfied with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: Edith Layton does not disappoint in her latest "C" series romantic adventure, which is a Regency love story between two people of different social classes. The Earl of Drummond, heir to a Dukedom, meets Alexandria, a foundling of unknown origin, under less than auspicious circumstances. They strongly resist their attraction to each other: Drum, because his obligation to his family name has been ingrained in him since birth, and hence he must marry someone suitable of noble rank; Ally, because she knows that she could never be considered an socially-acceptable wife under strict class barriers that exist in Regency England. Along the way to the resolution of this and a few other problems, we get to revisit colorful characters from Layton's previous "C" novels, and there is the occasional villain thrown in for good measure. What makes Layton's books enjoyable is her skill in developing the characters slowly and her meticulous attention to detail in place and plot. I would highly recommend any of her books, and if you are a long-time Layton fan, as I am, you will be very satisfied with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: Edith Layton does not disappoint in her latest "C" series romantic adventure, which is a Regency love story between two people of different social classes. The Earl of Drummond, heir to a Dukedom, meets Alexandria, a foundling of unknown origin, under less than auspicious circumstances. They strongly resist their attraction to each other: Drum, because his obligation to his family name has been ingrained in him since birth, and hence he must marry someone suitable of noble rank; Ally, because she knows that she could never be considered an socially-acceptable wife under strict class barriers that exist in Regency England. Along the way to the resolution of this and a few other problems, we get to revisit colorful characters from Layton's previous "C" novels, and there is the occasional villain thrown in for good measure. What makes Layton's books enjoyable is her skill in developing the characters slowly and her meticulous attention to detail in place and plot. I would highly recommend any of her books, and if you are a long-time Layton fan, as I am, you will be very satisfied with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful romance
Review: Edith Layton has a way with words that will make the most romantic heart swoon. Her couples come alive and dance the courtship dance with all the elegance of a waltz, whirling faster and faster as the music plays on. Beautifully done!
Rating:
Summary: THE CONQUEST-Drum and Alexandria-SPOILERS
Review: Favorite scene with Alexandria-
At the party before the kidnapping. Favorite scene with Drum-
Telling Alexandria he loves her and asks her to marry him. Together-
The whole kidnapping and love thing.
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