To Tempt a Viscount

Lady Laura Rosing, daughter of the Earl of Krant, is traveling with her irritating cousin, Miss Eleanor Ashford, who is the daughter of a Baron.  Eleanor is complaining that there may not be enough to keep her entertained at a house party that they will be attending.

While it is nice to attend the house party, Laura would rather spend her time reading and riding her horse.  Upon arrival, Laura is so tired she falls asleep.  Awakening late at night, she goes in search of some water to drink.  When she finds the library, she stops in for a book.  There she runs into Lord Gavin Farris, a known rake.  After exchanging some words where he flirts with her, she then quickly flees to her room.  Later, Lord Farris and his friend, Lord Collins are complaining how boring these soirees are.  

The next morning, Laura is enjoying her early morning ride which is something she does every day and she prefers going alone.  When Gavin interrupts her ride, she reacts angrily and puts him down.  She does not care for rakes but he continues to pester her.

Laura is and always has been plagued by Eleanor’s cattiness toward her.  She tries patiently to ignore her but it is difficult.  Eleanor is very self-centered.  Soon, Lord Collins tells Gavin that he is taken with Eleanor and is thinking of marrying her.  While Gavin wishes him well, she reiterates that he is not interested in getting married.

As Gavin and Laura get to know one another better, he realizes she is quite intelligent and witty and she realizes that under his rake facade, he is truly a gentleman.  Thus begins an attraction between them.  However, Laura soon feels that Gavin is not serious and she tries to back away from him but she cannot stop thinking about him.

Is there a way that Gavin can realize that marriage to this lovely woman with whom he is smitten would be a good idea or will his basic fear of marriage keep them apart?

I enjoyed this story and was delighted that it is a clean romance which is very refreshing.  I look forward to reading more books from this author.

Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This novel was a delightful read. I enjoyed the characters and the plot. The author's writing was good and described various scenes well. I enjoyed the combination of romance and how people can change.
Lady Laura Rosing wants to marry for love and does not like rakes. She and her cousin Eleanor travel to a house party. Eleanor is a rather shrewd character and likes to put Laura down. She has even turned men's attentions to her if she felt they were getting too close to Laura. Eleanor needed to be the center of attention.
Lord Gavin Farris meets Laura at the house party and is intrigued by her, a woman who does not give in to him. At first, he is asked to spend time with her so his friend can court Eleanor. However, he enjoys the time he spends with Laura. However, he has no intention to marry due to what his parents went through. 
Laura and Gavin fight their attractions to each other even though they both want to be with the other but cannot quite accept that fact. When Laura realizes she loves Gavin, but he will never marry, she gives him up and tries to find someone else. Gavin realizes he loves Laura but cannot give her marriage and needs some sense knocked into him. When he realizes he could lose Laura to another man, he does everything he can to win her back so he can marry her. However, there are those who have their own agenda and some will do whatever is necessary to get what they desire. Will Laura and Gavin realize they are meant to be together? Will Laura believe Gavin has changed his views on marriage? Can Gavin convince Laura he is the only man for her?

The book was written nicely and was entertaining. However Laura came across as rather rude to Gavin sometimes so it was hard to understand why he fell in love with her.  She was not a bad person but very short with him and changed her mind quickly on things.   Gavin's reasons for avoiding marriage were explained but more self realization on his part was needed.  I was relieved that her cousing did not cause major frama.  Thanks

Lady Laura Rosing knows two things: first, she will marry for love, and second, she detests rakes. When she meets Lord Gavin Farris, she understands immediately that he fails both her criteria, and worse yet, he is an absolute cad who refuses to leave her be but her brain & body are at odds
Lord Farris has always appreciated women and cannot understand why Lady Laura is so resistant to his charms. While pretty, she is not his usual type, but something about her intrigues him. Much to his chagrin, he finds himself desperately in love with her, but he may be too late. His adamant refusal to marry just might have planted her firmly in the arms of another.
A very accomplished first novel, the characters are well developed & the story very well paced. Gavin is everything you want in a rake charming, handsome & with a wicked twinkle in his eye & like all rakes when he falls he falls hard. Laura has a wicked wit she is pretty but no diamond of the first water. She has been constantly humiliated by her bitchy cousin Eleanor but has risen above it. The pair meet at a house party & Gavin’s friend asks him to single Laura out, which Gavin agrees to but soon finds himself wanting to be with her & when Laura catches a chill it is Gavin who insists on staying with her. There are misunderstandings along the road to their HEA. I thoroughly enjoyed the book & look forward to more novels from the author

I liked the couple in this book, but found portions of the story quite annoying. I detest the rake being totally averse to marriage gimmick. Quite common to the regency romance genre, it still irks me.  But there is nice chemistry between them and that was delightful.  There are some passionate kisses, but not overt sex. There is a HEA, which I must have.

I enjoyed reading this book and will probably read it again. It is a nice and charming story about oh-so-very-pretty-but-beastly stepsisters, insecurities, indifferent fathers and a couple of misunderstandings. A rake who turns out to be a wonderful person thus making him the love of our heroine's life but this rake doesn't wish to wed. Unfortunately a young lady has to marry - sooner rather than later. 

Torn between his wish to stay independent (and unmarried) and his love for Lady Laura, Lord Farris is running out of time, especially as other men start to court Lady Laura. Laura is being pushed into a marriage of convenience by her despicable cousin and Lord Farris risks losing her.
Will he realize soon enough how he really feels about her or will he lose her? And will Laura be able to trust him and believe in his honorable intentions?

There was a lot in this book but it was rather predictable despite some twists and turns and some decisions didn't really convince me. I liked the chemistry between the hero and the heroine but, well, let's say that I thought that it was a bit strange that some actions of Lord Farris' when Lady Laura was ill, didn't lead to scandal (and a proposal), especially as he wasn't very subtle about it.  There were several of those inconsistencies and I was bit annoyed how long it took him to realize the depth of his feelings. 

Nevertheless I really enjoyed reading this book and I will also look for other books by this author.

I loved the book! It was perfect, I have never read anything by this author so I was a bit skeptical at first. But from the first chapter it kept my attention! It was the perfect mix of romance, love and turbulence. The pace was perfect. The ending was well written. I would have just loved a epilogue saying they had a few kids, but its not a deal breaker. Gavin was just the perfect gentleman you loved to hate in the beginning who annoyed you but was too charming for his own good!
Fantastic book!

This is a fairly standard fare for a Regency; rake meets innocent debutante, falls in love with her unique beauty and wit, decides to reform and eventually convinces her to marry him.
 
It's nicely done and I liked both Laura and Gavin immensely, but there were some moments of awkward phrasing in the book that made me think that it could have benefited greatly from a working over by a good copy editor.
 
An example:
'Eleanor had a frustrating tendency to forget that the maid they shared was shared between them'.
 
I'd have re-written this 'Eleanor's tendency to forget that their shared maid was supposed to divide her labour equally between them was intensely frustrating' or something similar. Using the word 'shared' twice in three words is repetitive and reads awkwardly.
 
In addition, 'snuck' is never a word that should be seen in a Regency-era romance. It's a modern Americanism and one of my pet hates to find in historicals.
 
This is a pleasant enough story but there is nothing extraordinary here, and the editing issues mean I can rate it no higher than 3 stars.

Publisher's Description:

Lady Laura Rosing knows two things: first, she will marry for love, and second, she detests rakes. When she meets Lord Gavin Farris, she understands immediately that he fails both her criteria, and worse yet, he is an absolute cad who refuses to leave her be.

Lord Farris has always appreciated women and cannot understand why Lady Laura is so resistant to his charms. While pretty, she is not his usual type, but something about her intrigues him. Much to his chagrin, he finds himself desperately in love with her, but he may be too late. His adamant refusal to marry just might have planted her firmly in the arms of another.

My Thoughts:

I had never read anything by this author before and found myself intrigued by the storyline. While a sensual factor is implied there is nothing more than a shared kiss with no real sexual interaction in this sweet, clean regency romance.
When Laura meets the infamous rake, Lord Farris at a house party she is immediately drawn to him., although he meets none of her criteria for a suitor. She has two firm rules, she will marry for love and no rakes.
Lord Farris never intends to marry but he finds himself drawn to this young lady who is most definitely not his usual type.
Will these two be able to get past these obstacles and find love together?
This is a well written traditional Regency Romance with just enough twists to keep it interesting.
I gave it 3.75 of 5 stars for storyline and characterization and a sensual rating of 1 of 5 flames. This sweet, clean Regency has no sexual content.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I have voluntarily reviewed.

3.5 stars

Nice, clean romance. It's a historical romance, but aside from the mention of balls, country estates and Hyde Park, it's not very historical. That being said, it’s an entertaining read and a nice way to send a few hours.

I received an ARC of this book, via Net Galley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Good debut, needs a little more work on the writing but nearly there .Hated the bitchy cousin but thought she brought depth to the story. Nice chemistry between our couple but thought it took them a long time to realise how much they loved each other.

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley.

To Tempt a Viscount is a delightfully, clean debut novel that begins with our heroine, Lady Laura Rosing, being mistaken for a poor relation by our handsomely arrogant hero, Lord Farris.  They are among a group invited to a house party that includes her cousin, Lady Eleanor and his best friend Lord Collins. There are several romantic connections taking place at this house party and even after they all return to London that affect their relationship.  Some of them good, some of them not so much.  

Lady Eleanor frequently puts Laura down to build up herself.  She is very self-important and goes after what she wants no matter who gets hurt or gets in her way.  Laura seems to have lived her life placating Eleanor just to get along.  When it comes to men, Eleanor has selected Collins as her future husband.  

Farris spends the beginning of the house party pursuing Laura.  He finds her interesting and witty.  Although his pursuit of her was to help his friend be able to get Eleanor alone, he grows to care for Laura.  But, through their friendship, he is adamant that he will never marry.  Even when she becomes ill and he refuses to leave her bedside, it is obvious he cares for her, but will not let himself become attached.

Once he leaves the house party, along with Collins, Eleanor maliciously informs Laura of Collins request he keep Laura busy so Collins can pursue Eleanor.  This just reinforces Laura’s knowledge of being less than a man could want.  She finally gives up on the idea of marrying for love and decides to marry any eligible bachelor.

This is a sweet story of a second chance type relationship.  Even Laura finally gets enough of her cousin’s horrible behavior in a big way.  You will enjoy the way Farris finally comes around to realizing his past ideas were not so great.  I hope to see more of the secondary characters as they were well developed in this book, too.

3.75/5.00 stars
This book was something different than my usual Romance-Regency novel. I like Laura and Lord Gavin. They were the typical protagonists you normally find in these books. The girl is an innocent debutante who separates from the others through her unique beauty and wit. The guy is a rake who does not believe in love until he meets the heroine then he has a change of heart. (Pun intended.)
 Since these are my favorite tropes... I am not going to complain. For these things alone, I will give this book a green card.
The beginning was promising. We have cousin Eleanor who pretends to be a dove but she is a viper instead. I did not know how Laura could tolerate her throughout the whole book. I called her act and disliked - since hate is such a strong word - her from the moment she was introduced. Laura and Gavin have a wonderful chemistry. And the setting is the perfect place for romance to bloom.
After the tragic moment which - in general - separates the protagonists in all romance novel, things stared to slow down a little. It was not necessarily bad because we get to know potential great - and probably future - characters like Alexa, Lord Collins, and Lord Farris' mother. The lack of major interaction between the love interests was unexpected and a bit disappointing. Reading about their genuine attraction, I was expecting more steam... way more steam than the author offered. Surprisingly, I still had the drive to know what happens next.
 Overall the story was done nicely with a good writing. Well... probably with a few awkward phrases here and there. For a debate novel, this was pretty good. I can see that the author has great potential to grow. That is why I gave such a high star rating, for encouragement. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.
To Tempt a Viscount was my cup of tea with the tea a little under brewed.

This is my sole opinion. ^_^

I would like to say thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I also love the mistaken-identity story lines, so the beginning of this story is hilarious. Laura is an independent woman although still driven to find a husband (unfortunately for her). Gavin is a man who had vowed never to marry, but Laura intrigues him. The novel does a good job developing their relationship and chemistry, but I ultimately feel like the conflict is a little weak. I never really felt like she was truly interested in marrying anyone else (and not because of her interest in Gavin but mostly because there wasn't much development in her courtship with others). I did otherwise enjoy the book!