Duel of Hearts

Title: Duel of Hearts
Author: Diane Farr
Copyright: 2002 (Signet); 342 pgs.
ISBN: 978-0-451-20720-3
Series: N/A
Sensuality: Kisses
Genre: Historical Romance
An only child, Delilah “Lilah” Chadwick is used to getting things her way. She’s stubborn and assertive, but not intentionally cruel or mean. She’s fond of her companion, Miss Pickney, loves her father, and plans to marry her father’s secretary –  a man as mild-mannered and manageable as his employer. Lilah doesn’t understand why her father plans to remarry. She’s convinced that the woman, Eugenia, must be a fortune hunter.  Lilah is determined to stop her father from making — she thinks — the biggest mistake of his life.

Adam Harleston, 9th Earl of Drakesley — known either as Drake or Drakesley — had planned on marrying his cousin Eugenia. Someday. He has no tolerance for managing females or fortune hunters. Eugenia is a quiet, unassuming lady and he is very fond of her. She is just the person he thinks will suit him. Having assumed the title practically from birth, Drake is used to having things his way. Though he clashes continuously with Lilah, he’s normally a polite and kind man, treating Miss Pinkney — a poor gentlewoman — with dignity and respect.  He is convinced that Sir Horace Chadwick is some sort of rascal, who has lured  the otherwise sensible Miss Mayhew astray. Like Lilah, Drake is equally determined to putting a stop to the marriage.

Lilah and Drake find themselves attracted to one another.  However, they are convinced that they wouldn’t be happy together, that the passion would be intense and die out quickly — what burns the brightest, burns the briefest.  Eugenia is the one who, by out-witting them both, makes them realize that they belong together.

It’s been over a year since I read this book.   Lately, I found myself re-reading whole chapters, here and there.  In fact, I read almost enough of the book to qualify as a re-read!  Lilah reminds me a little of Jane Austen’s Emma Woodhouse and Georgette Heyer’s Sophy Stanton-Lacy.  I found that I still liked Drake and Lilah, flaws and all, and I had forgotten how much I loved Drake’s great-aunt and uncle, Nat and Polly Peabody.  I would recommend this to those looking for nothing more than kisses — those looking for a lot of steam in their romances would be disappointed.

Started: 7 September 2009
Finished: 21 September 2009

Rating:

Liked A Lot

Disclaimer: I purchased this book.

The meme is hosted by Reading at the Beach.

The rules are very simple: spotlight a book written by an author whose first or last name begins with the featured letter. Include the book cover, title and author, a synopsis, and link(s) to retailer(s). If it’s a book you’ve already reviewed, link to the review. Return to Reading at the Beach and leave a link in the comments.

This week’s letter is: F

This week pick: Farr, Diane — The Fortune Hunter

The Fortune Hunter

From my review: George Carstairs is good-looking and charming. He’s far from rich, however. Having inherited a destitute estate at a young age, George has lived hand-to-mouth for many years. He has no servants, not even a valet — he must press his own linen and polish his own boots. And, at the start of the book, he doesn’t even own a carriage. So far, he’s kept his true financial plight from most of the ton. He has survived all these years by relying on his luck at the card table, developing a knack for economizing. But all his plans to turn the estate around require capital to implement. No one in his right mind would loan George the amount of money he needs for the project. George has only one choice. He must marry an wealthy heiress.

Comment: I chose this book because it was an older one (from 2002). It’s a historical romance, and I remember really liking the hero.  I’ve read another book by this author last year; however, I fell behind on writing posts (also crashed my blog), so I plan to re-read it.   If you’re looking for a subtle (not steamy) romance with likable characters, I would recommend this book.

Note:  The link below is to Fantastic Fiction, which has a variety of purchase options (including on-line secondary markets) for the US and UK.

The Fortune Hunter (Farr, Diane) at Fantastic Fiction.

Note: I scheduled this entry in advance so that it posts at 8:00 AM. Sometimes I’ll be late getting the link posted on the host’s blog.

It’s Tuesday. Where are you? asks:
Where is reading taking you today?

My name is Andrea Nash, Order of Knights of Merciful Aid.  My best friend is Kate Daniels, the normal narrator of these tales.  She’s out on medical leave and I’m filling in for her.  I live in an alternate reality Atlanta, where magic comes and goes, vampires are mindless and ugly — definitely not date material — and shape-shifting is caused by a virus.  My current assignment is to figure out why a three-headed dog is chasing a shape-shifter.

Visit Raigergirl3 and see where other readers have traveled to this week.

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Teaser Tuesdays asks you to:

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.  You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

The teaser:

I walked past them into the armory, opened the glass case, took Boom Baby out, grabbed a box of Silver Hawk cartridges, and walked out.

Nobody said a word.

– from page 206, “Magic Mourns” (Ilona Andrews), Must Love Hellhounds (Anthology)

Why I picked this book:

The book is an anthology featuring stories by Charlaine Harris, Nalini Signh, Ilona Andrews, and Meljean Brook. I’m not reading the stories in order, so it’s possible that the book will show up again in another Teaser post. I chose this story because I’m already familiar with the world it is set in and I love the series.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Extra:  I came across two more sentences from Duel of Hearts that I just had to share.

She may be allied with a lunatic, but at least he was an intelligent lunatic. (pg. 114)

Lilah was saved from falling into conversation with the sheep by Drake’s firm hand reconnecting with hers. (pg. 116)

Note: I scheduled this entry in advance so that it posts at 8:00 AM. I’ll be late getting the link posted on the host’s blog.

Teaser Tuesdays asks you to:

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

The teaser:

The older lady was a comfortable-looking woman in a shepherdess costume, who peered through her spectacles at Lilah with great interest.  She looked from Lilah to Drake and back again, for all the world as if they were on display at a zoo.
– from pages 157-158, Duel of Hearts (Diane Farr)

Why I picked this book: I didn’t. Random.org did it for me, for the Random Reading challenge. But seriously. . .I wanted to read a non-category historical romance for the Romance Reading challenge. I read one of Ms. Farr’s other books and enjoyed her writing. I was just lucky that the Random generator “picked” this book. I can’t wait to get to the part that explains why the lady is dressed as a shepherdess.

Before I get to the results, I want to explain what prompted me to go this route.

I’m currently participating in Naida’s Romance Reading Challenge. There are no official specifics regarding the type of romance, but I decided to make it more of a challenge by being more specific (a Georgette Heyer, a SHOMI, a category). The remaining two books were named specifically (a non-category contemporary and a non-category historical). I did really well with this, until I got to the historical romance.

I initially chose My Lord and Spymaster by Joanna Bourne. I couldn’t get into it. I then selected The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Again, couldn’t get into it. I really want the last book for the challenge to be a non-category historical. As stated above, I have only a few non-category, straight-forward (ie, no paranormal elements), historical romances. I’m not having any luck picking one, so I figured, let the computer do it.

And if this book doesn’t grab me. . . well, I have until December to finish the challenge and I may resort to a totally random romance book, regardless of the subgenre.

Without further ado. . .

Below is a picture of the stack. Please note: The list below the picture is random (I had Random.org randomize the list for me).

The Stack

The List:

1. Duel of Hearts (Farr)
2. Sweet Thunder (Ryan)
3. Fallen (Holby)
4. Goddess of the Hunt (Dare)
5. The Rules of Seduction (Hunter)
6. Dancing on the Wind (Putney)
7. Nothing But Velvet (Martin)
8. Unmasked (Cornick)
9. Bound by Your Touch (Duran)
10. A Rose at Midnight (Stuart)
11. Ashes of Dreams (Langan)

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Random.org picked. . . .#1

Duel of Hearts by Diane Farr

Duel of Hearts

The Fortune Hunter

Author: Diane Farr
Copyright: 2002 (Signet); pgs. 344
Series: N/A
Sensuality: Subtle

Who: Lady Olivia Fairfax and George Carstairs, Baron Rival

George Carstairs is good-looking and charming. He’s far from rich, however. Having inherited a destitute estate at a young age, George has lived hand-to-mouth for many years. He has no servants, not even a valet — he must press his own linen and polish his own boots. And, at the start of the book, he doesn’t even own a carriage. So far, he’s kept his true financial plight from most of the ton. He has survived all these years by relying on his luck at the card table, developing a knack for economizing. But all his plans to turn the estate around require capital to implement. No one in his right mind would loan George the amount of money he needs for the project. George has only one choice. He must marry an wealthy heiress.

Lady Olivia Fairfax is on the shelf. After her mother’s death, she never returned to society and has established a school in her mother’s memory with the inheritance from her mother’s estate. The inheritance from her father is substantial enough for her name to be on Lord Rival’s list. Because she was raised by a domineering father, she has no desire to allow another man control her life, and therefore she is not interested in marrying.

When they first meet, Olivia recognizes his name — and his reputation. She lets Lord Rival believe that she is someone other than the wealthy Lady Olivia — an obviously well-bred, educated, but not wealthy woman named Ivy. During the course of this deception, Lord Rival reveals to her that he is pursuing Lady Olivia primarily for her fortune and asks for any information she can give him (i.e., her personality, her appearance). Of course, Olivia lies.

Also during this short acquaintance, Lord Rival finds that he really likes Ivy, that he’s drawn to her. Learning that Olivia and Ivy are the same person is both amazing good fortune and very bad luck. Having his objective known means it will be an uphill battle for him, but because he already admires and respects Olivia, George is willing to make an effort to win her hand. George’s intentions are honorable. He has every intention of marrying her and he is willing to woo her properly.

For her part, Olivia’s dull life has been enlivened by her acquaintance with George. Olivia wants to have things both ways: she enjoys his attention, but she doesn’t want to be more than friends. She suggest that, if George can’t win her hand in five months, then he should give up and move on. He agrees.

One of the reasons for Olivia’s reluctance is that she was duped once before by a fortune hunter — a fortune hunter who had no interest whatsoever in her as a person. No matter how sincere George appears to be in his admiration of her, she doesn’t trust him. Because of this, it’s only when they are both in a similar financial situation before either can fully realize how much they really love each other.

I really enjoyed this book. I was charmed by George. His reasons for wanting to marry are no different from most of the ton, and he values Olivia for her abilities as much as he needs her money. And he loves her, though he doesn’t realize how much because it is tangled up with his desire to save Rye Vale. I thought that Olivia was behaving like a tease at times, but I could understand her predicament.

Started: 4 May 2008
Finished: 10 May 2008

Rating:

Liked A Lot