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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “The hero is a bastard son/war hero who returned from the war to discover that his noble father has sold all the paintings his mother left to him. So he's going to steal them all back again. He's only got a few left to go when the heroine surprises him in the act. He kisses her, to keep her from...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Could not get through this, skipped so much.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Could not get through this, skipped so much.”
Nymetalhead wrote this review Saturday, July 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Well-written, enjoyable, but did have a sadness to it that I found frustrating. Enoch is a good writer, no question, but so far her books have not been "keepers" for me.”
RS wrote this review Sunday, July 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is Sullivan’s story, he’s a sought after horse breeder, but he’s also the bastard son of a respectable Duke. Let’s say that Sullivan doesn’t get along with Dad and the rest of the family and wants revenge. In comes Isabel, she discovers his secret and wants to keep him close by, so she can keep an eye on him. Obviously they’re attracted to each other, but he feels that he’s beneath her station, and she doesn’t care…she wants him. But will that be enough for Sullivan?
Wandeca wrote this review Friday, July 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I loved the book! Yeah, doing the Wandeca happy dance!
I didn’t want to put the book down, I carried it along with me where ever I went…good I have a huge tote purse. Loved the setting, Regency England. Loved the characters, both Sullivan and Isabel are wonderful, but also the others were great, I cannot wait to read Bram’s story. The chemistry between the hero and heroine was sizzling. It was HOT! I had to fan myself a couple of times.
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“Sullivan Warring, a by-blow of a nobleman without par in the Society, is intent on revenge. His mother died while he was at war against the French in Spain and upon his return his father (who never acknowledged him) has stolen his inheritance – his mother's paintings. Sullivan is adamant at getting those paintings back and embarrassing his lordly father in the process.
Alathea Wright wrote this review Tuesday, April 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
So, in broad daylight he's the most respected and sought-after horse breeder in England, while at night he visits his father's friends' homes, stealing the paintings back. He has only four left to go, when the lady of the house he's currently robbing stumbled upon him. To prevent her from alerting the household, he silences her with a kiss...But the lady isn't idle, either, and rids him of his mask in the process.
Lady Isabel Chalsey comes face to face with the infamous Mayfair Marauder the very next day, accompanying her brother to a horse auction. Instead of turning him in, she concocts a crazy scheme. In order to learn why he is robbing the residents of Mayfair and to keep an eye on him, preventing him from further mischief, she buys a horse – despite her debilitating fear of the animals – and employs Sullivan as trainer.
It took me quite a while to get into this book. Mostly because of Isabel's character in the first few chapters. As most Society belles she was spoiled and firmly ensconced in her narrow little world, but it was her bossy manner and dramaqueenesque manner that really put me off. Only when, in the course of the story, she finally grew up and had her eyes (forcibly) open to the pettiness and fickleness of polite society, I started really enjoying the whole deal.
It's almost unheard of for a romance heroine to go through such a drastic change in personality and perspective as Isabel did in this book, but still the author never made her appear inconsistent. Whatever she did or said was always perfectly in tune with the mind frame Isabel was in at the moment.
Sullivan, like Isabel, also went through a great change in the process of the story, and his development was completely tied in with Isabel's change. It was by looking at her, processing her own change, that he realized not all members of the Society were alike, and his bitter quest for revenge against the aristocracy slowly and irrevocably morphed into desire to (at least) try to understand the aristocracy and forget his anger and betrayal for her, to make her happy and him worthy of her admiration and love.
They were both acutely aware of their differences and possible consequences of the clandestine affair, yet still persisted in their quest for happiness (kudos to Isabel in this instance).
I loved the entire premise of the book. Ms. Enoch paired two characters from completely different backgrounds. While Isabel was the darling of the Society, Sullivan, thanks to his lucrative business merely brushed against its outskirts. The pairing of a haughty, aristocratic woman with an aristocratic by-blow was this story lifesaver, if you ask me.
And the development of their romance (which was again an organic in growing affair) and their secret courtship was a real joy to read. It slowly built from initial attraction between "enemies", to a grudging trust, to friendship, and finally to passion and love.
Unlike many of her fellow author, Ms. Enoch didn't forget about the secondary characters. They weren't just figures creating a backdrop for the leading couple, but had a life of their own. Some bad, some good, some shady and in between, but still real and believable, making the reader want to read their stories as well.
So if you like your romance to have a pinch of realism, wonderfully developed and multidimensional characters, and some great depths, this is the book for you.”
“I am not sure how I feel about this book. After the first few chapters, I was thinking this may be a "DNF" which is rare for me. I kept at it and the characters started to grow on me. By the end of the book, I liked them both very much and was happy that they finally did get their HEA.
Kristine G wrote this review Sunday, November 2 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
That said, I still had a few problems with the book. Part of it is my own bias against very young heroines. Isabel was such a spoiled bratty character in the beginning which emphasized her youth and naivete. The good news is that she matured and developed into an admirable young woman by the end. I wasn't sure how realistically his position in society really was. I know as an unacknowledged bastard of a nobleman, he had many doors closed to him, But as a successful, respected horse breeder much sought after for his stock, would he have been such a pariah? Thankfully Sullivan also showed growth as a person which helped me warm up to him. IMHO, Bram was the most intriguing character in the book and I would love to read his story sometime in the future.
I never did quite figure out why Dunston stole the paintings in the first place; I just didn't see the point. I understood why Sullivan wanted them back but wasn't convinced it was worth the price he could ultimately pay. The resolution of his conflict with his father just didn't ring true; it seemed rather abrupt after nearly 30 years of hatred. Grade: C”
“Its a good book. I couldn't keep it down till i finished it.”
Rashida wrote this review Monday, September 1 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No1 of 1 members found this review helpful“The hero is a bastard son/war hero who returned from the war to discover that his noble father has sold all the paintings his mother left to him. So he's going to steal them all back again. He's only got a few left to go when the heroine surprises him in the act. He kisses her, to keep her from screaming, but she rips off his mask and sees his face. And when she sees him at Tattersall's the next day (he's a Very well-respected horse breeder and trainer), she decides to teach him a lesson, and blackmails him into teaching her how to ride. The lesson backfires, and she's tempted further and further from propriety, with little more than kisses, and he dances faster and faster with danger, trying to steal back all his mom's paintings. His father refuses to recognize him. His half-brother is courting the heroine (and of course hero and brother look remarkably alike), which makes things worse. This is just a lovely, lovely story. I liked it a lot.”
Gail Dayton wrote this review Monday, August 11 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“AFTER THE KISS is a cute story. I liked the idea of the story and I thought it was well done, but I just couldn't get in touch with Isabel and Sullivan's relationship. I really liked Sullivan, even though I was irritated with his insistence she would never be able to be truly happy living outside of the aristocracy. I also liked Isabel, I just found her rather dull in a spoiled annoying sort of way. I felt that the chemistry between them was kind a mediocre, I just couldn't feel the spark.
TrustMe2Forget wrote this review Monday, May 5 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I did find myself more intrigued by the secondary characters than the main characters of this book. I adored Isabel's brother Douglas, he was funny and a very typical boy, and came across as being so real to me. I also found myself wanting to hear more about Bram, he is going to make a great reformed rake, I'm thinking.”
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