Download Five Star Romance - The Hidden Heart ePub

Read this one for the lovely heroine - both patient and kind, but strong willed and not prone to self-pity. She's an admirable, endearing sort, because her characterization is remarkably human - she has her strengths and weaknesses. The best thing is that she can give as good as she gets, without too much fuss or tears, and without being overly arrogant or prideful.
The side characters in this story are also very well-written, and I loved the hero's circle of friends as much as the heroine herself - the mama's boy, Nana, the wild debaucher, Carey, and the cynic, Sinjin are all characters which shine despite not being the main focus of the story. The interaction between the heroine and her sister-in-law is also pleasing to note, as it is very realistically portrayed. Even the nagging aunt, detestable as she may be, adds to the story and its plot.
Honestly, the heroine is written so well that its hard for the hero to match up! While there was nothing detestable about him (in fact he was pretty likable, besides the niggling fact that he wanted to fob off the Duchess with a sham engagement to the heroine), I felt that he didn't appreciate the heroine enough. His excuse for not offering for her during her first season was, all in all, a very weak, silly one, and I didn't quite feel him 'falling in love' with Caroline until we approached the very end of the book. Look, the lady's been in love for you for six years, you didn't notice, and you asked her for a very painful favor indeed. I would have liked to see some passionate apology, or adroit groveling, before he was allowed his HEA.
However, the friendship that existed between the Hero and the Heroine (and the Hero's circle of friends) was delightful.
Its a well-written book, and I honestly enjoyed it. Worth its price.

I had high hopes for this book, but found myself disappointed when I finished. When I first started I was instantly captivated by Caroline, the heroine. She's headstrong and witty, but isn't over the top. I also really enjoyed all of the dialogue in the book; it was all very believable. This book fell a bit short for me, because the book itself was too short! All of a sudden I was 90% of the way through it and the main characters still hadn't had much interaction, let alone enough to fall in love. I also thought that the hero's reason for not noticing Carolina was extremely weak and unrealistic. It was a captivating, well written story, with great characters, but I just wanted more.

No epilogue, lose a star! Good tension, but it never really went anywhere. Perhaps a rewrite with more interaction between H and h and less with side characters.

I was entranced by this story although it was frustrating beyond belief. The reason it was so frustrating is that one kept hoping and hoping and hoping there would eventually be some romance. I suppose I should have taken the hint in the book's description - you know the part that mentions "unrequited love?" Well, I didn't take the hint, believing there would be some understanding between the H/h before the last five pages of the book.

Alas, it was not to be. Our lovely, bright, pretty, Lady Caroline Eddington, had apparently fallen for her neighbor, Miles Trilby - the Earl of Walmesley, during her first Season. Although she thought he returned her affections and hoped for an offer, things just stalled and he never followed through. She then hoped and hoped for a few more years and then decided she would have to settle for a friendship. When she reminisces about what might have been between her and Miles, we're privy to how she felt over the intervening six years when she had heard about a couple of his mistresses. In her words, - she had "died inside a little each time." Our heart goes out to her and we wonder throughout the book why Miles didn't offer for her because it's obvious that Caroline had reason to believe he would - they had even shared a few kisses.

Caroline's parents have passed and she enjoys a fulfilling life taking care of the family estate for her brother. However, she has a huge thorn in the flesh. Her aunt has lived with the family for years and she is a nightmare of a nag/manipulator/bossy/nosy -an absolutely awful person. However, to Caroline's credit she handles her very well. A lot of the storyline is taken up with dialogue between the two which became more than a little tedious. Concurrently with everything else, Caroline's henpecked brother is bringing his new wife home from their honeymoon and it seems the lady may not be comfortable with Caroline in the house. So, Caroline's comfortable world is turning topsy turvy.

When Miles gets pressured by his aunt, the Grand-duchess of somewhere or other - I think it was the Netherlands - to get himself a fiancee, he asks Caroline to pretend to be his betrothed to get his aunt off his back because she's coming to his estate and bringing a young lady she thinks will fit the bill nicely - a stunningly beautiful girl - a man trap as Miles later describes her. Caroline refuses to go along but eventually she finds herself agreeing to the deception, mostly because Miles catches her at the wrong time shortly after her aunt has set her teeth on edge.

At this point, I thought the storyline would come together relative to the beginning of some type of buildup of the romance between Miles and Caroline, but honestly, even though Miles was a gentleman extraordinaire, the man was a stick. He has four friends who follow him from London to his estate. In fact, one of them Aubrey St. John, Viscount Weemswood, or Sinjin, as his friends called him, is easily recognized if you've read The Desperate Viscount: Marriage for wealth, a dream for love. They add a bit of flavor to the storyline along with some complications.

Miles and Caroline had hoped/thought/dreamed they would be able to keep their fake betrothal a secret from her family and his friends and the troublesome grand-duchess auntie would return to her part of the world and Miles could go on remaining a stick while Caroline remained a spinster - although it's for sure Caroline still harbors feelings for him. Their worlds collide with everyone showing up at the dinner Miles had planned - a kind of betrothal dinner at which time Miles would shore up the deception about his and Caroline's betrothal. He hadn't planned on his four friends and Caroline's brother and wife inviting themselves to dinner to complicate matters. Believe me, after reading a somewhat interesting book and waiting and waiting and waiting only to have absolutely no romance was frustrating. Finally, at the very end of the book, Miles and Caroline are finally able to have their talk in which he explains some things about his feelings and how and why he never offered for her. Of course they figure it out, but Way Too Little, Way Too Late!

Gayle buck has been compared to georgette heyer and I thoroughly agree. She always develops her characters and keeps the story moving. This one was simple and didn't have the usual kidnappings or such. Lol. More realistic than most historical romances in reality. Though it was full of a deception, which was the main plot. Overall an enjoyable clean read and as usual I have not been disappointed in by ms. Buck.

There were definitely good parts, and it was very well written. But it didn't have much to it over all. It would have been better to have half of the story and then continued on longer where the story ended. The ending was way too abrupt. And there was hardly any interaction between the two main characters.