What do you think?
Rate this book
Guilty #1
Guilty Pleasures
For prim and shy Daphne Wade, the sweetest guilty pleasure of all is secretly watching her employer, the Duke of Tremore, as he works the excavation site on his English estate. Anthony hired Daphne to restore the priceless treasures he has been digging up, but it's hard for a woman to keep her mind on her work when her devastatingly handsome employer keeps taking his shirt off. He doesn't know she's alive, but who could blame her for falling hopelessly in love with him anyway?
Anthony thinks that his capable employee knows all there is to know about antiquities, but when his sister decides to turn the plain young woman in gold-rimmed glasses into an enticing beauty, he declares the task to be impossible. Daphne is devasted when she overhears...and determined to prove him wrong. Now a vibrant and delectable Daphne has emerged from her shell, and the tables are turned. Will Anthony see that the woman of his dreams has been there all along?
Anthony thinks that his capable employee knows all there is to know about antiquities, but when his sister decides to turn the plain young woman in gold-rimmed glasses into an enticing beauty, he declares the task to be impossible. Daphne is devasted when she overhears...and determined to prove him wrong. Now a vibrant and delectable Daphne has emerged from her shell, and the tables are turned. Will Anthony see that the woman of his dreams has been there all along?
373 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 27, 2004
About the author
Laura Lee Guhrke
50 books1,762 followersFrom the publication of her very first historical romance, Laura Lee Guhrke has received numerous honors and critical acclaim for her novels and her writing style. She has been honored with the most prestigious award of romance fiction, the Romance Writers of America Rita Award, and she has received additional awards from Romantic Times and All About Romance. Romantic Times has proclaimed her, “One of the most natural voices in historical romance to be found today”. Her books routinely hit the USA Today Bestseller List, and Guilty Pleasures has been honored with the Romantic Times Award for Best European Historical Romance of 2004. Among her publishing credits are twelve historical romances, including her latest, And Then He Kissed Her, now available from Avon Books.
Laura is currently hard at work on her thirteenth historical romance for Avon Books. She has also written articles for various publications, including the Romance Writers Report, The British Weekly , and the Irish-American Press.
Laura is currently hard at work on her thirteenth historical romance for Avon Books. She has also written articles for various publications, including the Romance Writers Report, The British Weekly , and the Irish-American Press.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 733 reviews
August 22, 2024
The blurb sold me because it mentioned— archeology, spectacles and a Duke. Sadly not enough of the first, too much attention taken off the second and way more than the third deserved (sad to say his arrogance stopped being attractive).
Despite getting a little better in the last third, all I can say is there was the guaranteed loved up ending. Le sigh!!
(Reviewed 8/15/24)
Despite getting a little better in the last third, all I can say is there was the guaranteed loved up ending. Le sigh!!
(Reviewed 8/15/24)
February 7, 2022
3.5 stars
I literally found this by searching Goodreads lists of books that are angsty and have the unrequited love trope.
Did it live up to those descriptions? I’d say only about 50% or so.
I didn’t dislike this, quite the opposite. The writing was quite beautiful, the dialogue flowed and the heroine was absolutely everything I could have wanted her to be. The problem: I wasn’t thrust into quite the emotional turmoil I was expecting.
Anthony, the hero, proved to be quite a good guy. I mean, sure, he was a little entitled and could be annoyingly stubborn about his very wrong beliefs but overall I’d say he was quite good as a hero.
I loved how gradually he became more and more obsessed with her while her overall reaction was “ok, so?” (imagine that said with the most indifferent facial expression).
So, yeah, this was a cute little story but I just didn’t get the emotional damage I wanted.
I literally found this by searching Goodreads lists of books that are angsty and have the unrequited love trope.
Did it live up to those descriptions? I’d say only about 50% or so.
I didn’t dislike this, quite the opposite. The writing was quite beautiful, the dialogue flowed and the heroine was absolutely everything I could have wanted her to be. The problem: I wasn’t thrust into quite the emotional turmoil I was expecting.
Anthony, the hero, proved to be quite a good guy. I mean, sure, he was a little entitled and could be annoyingly stubborn about his very wrong beliefs but overall I’d say he was quite good as a hero.
I loved how gradually he became more and more obsessed with her while her overall reaction was “ok, so?” (imagine that said with the most indifferent facial expression).
So, yeah, this was a cute little story but I just didn’t get the emotional damage I wanted.
October 31, 2021
4 stars
This was such a sweet romance about an overlooked heroine who have a cute crush on the self absorbed duke who barely notice her. I loved how it all started with an unrequited love, then how the heroine decided to give up on him, then watching him notice her and how amazing she is and trying to win her over. I loved the heroine and her stubbornness and knowing her self worth. I also really liked how she didn’t give in to the hero so easily. And how Anthony redeemed himself by the end. Anthony and Daphne were just great and I really enjoyed this.
This was such a sweet romance about an overlooked heroine who have a cute crush on the self absorbed duke who barely notice her. I loved how it all started with an unrequited love, then how the heroine decided to give up on him, then watching him notice her and how amazing she is and trying to win her over. I loved the heroine and her stubbornness and knowing her self worth. I also really liked how she didn’t give in to the hero so easily. And how Anthony redeemed himself by the end. Anthony and Daphne were just great and I really enjoyed this.
February 27, 2010
5 stars – Historical Romance
This is a delightful, entertaining, feel-good romance about a Plain Jane antiquities restorer who secretly lusts/loves her boss Anthony, the dashing Duke of Tremore, and finally manages to turn his cynical, conceited head her way (and twist his emotions in the process) when she up and quits after overhearing his crushing, unpleasant personal appraisal. It’s a charming, fun, and uplifting read that will have you cheering when Anthony finally begins to see Daphne for the swan and treasure that she truly is! 5 stars!
This is a delightful, entertaining, feel-good romance about a Plain Jane antiquities restorer who secretly lusts/loves her boss Anthony, the dashing Duke of Tremore, and finally manages to turn his cynical, conceited head her way (and twist his emotions in the process) when she up and quits after overhearing his crushing, unpleasant personal appraisal. It’s a charming, fun, and uplifting read that will have you cheering when Anthony finally begins to see Daphne for the swan and treasure that she truly is! 5 stars!
March 12, 2023
(4.5 stars) Guilty Pleasures was an absolutely delightful read, just like all the other times I've read it. Having reread And Then He Kissed Her recently - one of my all-time favorite historical romances - I noticed much more, this time around, the similarities between the two books. They both feature often-overlooked heroines, who are always very much in control of themselves and their desires, and who work in unusual female employment under male bosses who have heretofore ignored them when it comes to anything other than business (and even then, the heroines have kind of just been ... there, seen more as diligent worker bees than actual human beings).
One of the things that Guhrke does so well in both these books is that she doesn't have an "ugly duckling" heroine who is dressed in pretty clothes, gets a haircut, and turns into a beautiful swan, at whose feet the hero then falls. In this aspect, both women remain throughout the book the women they essentially were at the beginning, but how the men view them changes. The heroes are "awakened" - basically jolted into realizing that what they assumed was wrong and that they had dismissed/overlooked them when they shouldn't have.
Of course, through Daphne's relationship with Anthony and Emma's relationship with Harry, both women also have their own set of changes. They idealized/worshiped and generalized/stereotyped (respectively) their bosses, and through their respective relationships they begin to actually see the man beneath the facade, very human and having both virtues and vices. As Anthony and Harry's views change, Daphne and Emma also gain more confidence and learn to demand from others their due.
RECOMMENDATIONS
(1) And Then He Kissed Her (Girl-Bachelor Series, Book 1) by Laura Lee Guhrke - 5 stars
(2) Dreaming of You (Gamblers of Craven's, Book 2) by Lisa Kleypas - 5 stars
(3) One Kiss From You (Switching Places, Book 2) by Christina Dodd - 5 stars
(4) Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran - 5 stars
(5) Love in the Afternoon (The Hathaways, Book 5) by Lisa Kleypas - 5 stars
(6) The Proposition by Judith Ivory - 5 stars
(7) Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Bridgerton Series, Book 4) by Julia Quinn - 5 stars
(8) Seven Secrets of Seduction by Anne Mallory - 4.5 stars
(9) Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (?, Book 1) by Sarah Maclean - 4.5 stars
One of the things that Guhrke does so well in both these books is that she doesn't have an "ugly duckling" heroine who is dressed in pretty clothes, gets a haircut, and turns into a beautiful swan, at whose feet the hero then falls. In this aspect, both women remain throughout the book the women they essentially were at the beginning, but how the men view them changes. The heroes are "awakened" - basically jolted into realizing that what they assumed was wrong and that they had dismissed/overlooked them when they shouldn't have.
Of course, through Daphne's relationship with Anthony and Emma's relationship with Harry, both women also have their own set of changes. They idealized/worshiped and generalized/stereotyped (respectively) their bosses, and through their respective relationships they begin to actually see the man beneath the facade, very human and having both virtues and vices. As Anthony and Harry's views change, Daphne and Emma also gain more confidence and learn to demand from others their due.
RECOMMENDATIONS
(1) And Then He Kissed Her (Girl-Bachelor Series, Book 1) by Laura Lee Guhrke - 5 stars
(2) Dreaming of You (Gamblers of Craven's, Book 2) by Lisa Kleypas - 5 stars
(3) One Kiss From You (Switching Places, Book 2) by Christina Dodd - 5 stars
(4) Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran - 5 stars
(5) Love in the Afternoon (The Hathaways, Book 5) by Lisa Kleypas - 5 stars
(6) The Proposition by Judith Ivory - 5 stars
(7) Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Bridgerton Series, Book 4) by Julia Quinn - 5 stars
(8) Seven Secrets of Seduction by Anne Mallory - 4.5 stars
(9) Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (?, Book 1) by Sarah Maclean - 4.5 stars
Shelved as 'dnf'
April 4, 2018DNF @ 24%. No rating
This is a case of 'It's me, not you.' I hate DNF'ing a book, and this is a particularly painful one, knowing how much my friends loved it.
I'd been enjoying this book up until this:
Had I read this book when it was published in 2004, I would have probably simply rolled my eyes and moved on. If only we didn't live in the crazy times we do. I have become older, more aware, more cynical or maybe simply more sensitive, maybe even overly sensitive. But as it stands now, as the person that I am now, I know I can't overlook that. Some things are simply too raw at the moment.
But, and I mean it, this is me. Up until that part, I was thoroughly enjoying this book, especially Daphne. So many of my GR friends enjoyed it and I trust them enough to know that the problem is me. I don't want to deter anyone from reading this book.
I may very well come back to this and pick it up again, when certain aspects inside me have calmed down, take into account when it was written, and simply enjoy a very well crafted story.
This is a case of 'It's me, not you.' I hate DNF'ing a book, and this is a particularly painful one, knowing how much my friends loved it.
I'd been enjoying this book up until this:
Daphne, accustomed all her life to desperately thin, ragged Arabs who looked far older than their years, had never seen anything quite like the Duke of Tremore.It was made clear that she and her father had spent their winter months in Rome, thus she must have met other men from a different culture. Besides, I simply can't believe that in the 24 years of her life, she hasn't come across at least one Arab who didn't look desperately thin and ragged. And here we have the handsome, dashing English duke as a direct comparison.
Had I read this book when it was published in 2004, I would have probably simply rolled my eyes and moved on. If only we didn't live in the crazy times we do. I have become older, more aware, more cynical or maybe simply more sensitive, maybe even overly sensitive. But as it stands now, as the person that I am now, I know I can't overlook that. Some things are simply too raw at the moment.
But, and I mean it, this is me. Up until that part, I was thoroughly enjoying this book, especially Daphne. So many of my GR friends enjoyed it and I trust them enough to know that the problem is me. I don't want to deter anyone from reading this book.
I may very well come back to this and pick it up again, when certain aspects inside me have calmed down, take into account when it was written, and simply enjoy a very well crafted story.
May 3, 2020
Una delicia de novela. He leído bastante a Laura Lee Guhrke como para saber que sus argumentos son, en general, bastantes simples. Pero el encanto viene de la mano de sus personajes, sus diálogos y las geniales situaciones que crea, donde es imposible no emocionarse o esbozar una sonrisa en más de una ocasión.
En este libro, el fuerte es el juego de seducción, muy bien desplegado por Anthony, el estirado duque de Tremore, cuando descubre que su asistente no es la tímida, recatada e invisible joven que él pensaba. El tira y afloja para lograr que Daphne siga trabajando para su proyecto arqueológico es de lujo... y qué decir hacia el final, cuando su objetivo es convertirla en su duquesa (hay que ver que LLG es muuuuy ingeniosa!!).
Creo que esta es una de las pocas veces en que sentí que a los diálogos no les faltó nada, contrariamente a aquellas novelas que cuando los personajes discuten sólo logran enredarse más. ¡Mil hurras por Daphne!
Recomendadísimo si quieres leer una historias fresca, dulce, entretenida y muy, muy romántica.
Reto #36 PopSugar 2020: Un libro con una portada rosa
En este libro, el fuerte es el juego de seducción, muy bien desplegado por Anthony, el estirado duque de Tremore, cuando descubre que su asistente no es la tímida, recatada e invisible joven que él pensaba. El tira y afloja para lograr que Daphne siga trabajando para su proyecto arqueológico es de lujo... y qué decir hacia el final, cuando su objetivo es convertirla en su duquesa (hay que ver que LLG es muuuuy ingeniosa!!).
Creo que esta es una de las pocas veces en que sentí que a los diálogos no les faltó nada, contrariamente a aquellas novelas que cuando los personajes discuten sólo logran enredarse más. ¡Mil hurras por Daphne!
Recomendadísimo si quieres leer una historias fresca, dulce, entretenida y muy, muy romántica.
Reto #36 PopSugar 2020: Un libro con una portada rosa
July 28, 2014
Really now, this has to stop. I sense a pattern in Guhrke's books that I don't quite like - it doesn't matter which book I read first, because it's bad in any book, and fact is - she repeats these things in most her books.
First of all: Girl only gets noticed when she refuses guy (for some reason) and/or gets pretty (like she was totally ugly in the first place)? Really? It's the most cliche of cliches. Don't get me wrong. I like cliches; I even like Cinderella prettified cliches, and I have no qualms about heroines who stand up for themselves. Problem is, they have to be fantastically and believably written, otherwise they just fall flat and I hate 'em. Sorry, Guhrke, you're flat - perhaps not flat as a pancake flat, but you're pushing it pretty hard. It was dreadful to peel back the characters and find that all there was between them was physical beauty and lust - not much more. Oh, it sells itself as love and all that deeper stuff, and maybe it passes, for a bit, but there's nothing much there afterwards.
Second point of contention? The main-guy-candy always *just* toes the line between jackass and not-jackass. (Not like not-jackass is even a compliment, it simply means the guy isn't a jackass rather than the guy is a dreamboat.) While doing this, the guy has the nerve to act as if he isn't in the wrong/isn't a jackass/is the top of the world/the woman's gotta love him, really, who wouldn't??!! It's like the guys start off blind to their faults and end up even more so, because at the end of the book he always comes off as justifiably getting the girl. Not sure how to describe this better, but: Dear LLG heroes, piss off. I'm finding that I don't like any of you.
Third thing that I'm slightly uncomfortable with: the heroines....they certainly have a *facade* of resistance. But it's just that - a facade, and it's flimsy, horrible, and degrading. Look, they even admit it - they can't resist him and blah blah blah, even though he's a mean bastard and blah blah blah. And then they pretend to argue with the hero, and blah blah blah, and then they fall in his arms and it's all beautiful...blah blah blah. Why!? Why do I even bother!? If this trope is to be used, it is to be milked properly for all its angsty/dramatic/romantic worth. Oh, certainly I understand not being able to resist TallDarkandHandsome, but write it convincingly, please. Ultimately resistance may be futile (and we know it to be so!) but must it be so dreadfully weak resistance?! Make that man work for it, I say. It's not good enough until he begs, because he's been a dreadful jackass. Worse, because he doesn't *think* he's a jackass. Oy, it's just a circle of annoyances all around.
Look - I finished the book. I read every page. I'm usually a nice reviewer, I usually give what a book is worth, I love my smutty regencies as well as anyone, and I certainly LOVE Kleypas' [Wallflowers] Sebastian - so I feel very cheated by this read, which has been touted as 'for-people-who-love-Lord-Sebastian-and-Evie!'
No. Urgh, I don't even know why I'm so worked up by it, because it's pretty much the standard of regencysmut these days, but after I put it down I felt a very niggling feeling to write a scathing review instead of an average one. Perhaps you might want to give this book a try, and if it doesn't work for you, like it didn't for me, then skip the rest of the Guhrke novels, and move on.
First of all: Girl only gets noticed when she refuses guy (for some reason) and/or gets pretty (like she was totally ugly in the first place)? Really? It's the most cliche of cliches. Don't get me wrong. I like cliches; I even like Cinderella prettified cliches, and I have no qualms about heroines who stand up for themselves. Problem is, they have to be fantastically and believably written, otherwise they just fall flat and I hate 'em. Sorry, Guhrke, you're flat - perhaps not flat as a pancake flat, but you're pushing it pretty hard. It was dreadful to peel back the characters and find that all there was between them was physical beauty and lust - not much more. Oh, it sells itself as love and all that deeper stuff, and maybe it passes, for a bit, but there's nothing much there afterwards.
Second point of contention? The main-guy-candy always *just* toes the line between jackass and not-jackass. (Not like not-jackass is even a compliment, it simply means the guy isn't a jackass rather than the guy is a dreamboat.) While doing this, the guy has the nerve to act as if he isn't in the wrong/isn't a jackass/is the top of the world/the woman's gotta love him, really, who wouldn't??!! It's like the guys start off blind to their faults and end up even more so, because at the end of the book he always comes off as justifiably getting the girl. Not sure how to describe this better, but: Dear LLG heroes, piss off. I'm finding that I don't like any of you.
Third thing that I'm slightly uncomfortable with: the heroines....they certainly have a *facade* of resistance. But it's just that - a facade, and it's flimsy, horrible, and degrading. Look, they even admit it - they can't resist him and blah blah blah, even though he's a mean bastard and blah blah blah. And then they pretend to argue with the hero, and blah blah blah, and then they fall in his arms and it's all beautiful...blah blah blah. Why!? Why do I even bother!? If this trope is to be used, it is to be milked properly for all its angsty/dramatic/romantic worth. Oh, certainly I understand not being able to resist TallDarkandHandsome, but write it convincingly, please. Ultimately resistance may be futile (and we know it to be so!) but must it be so dreadfully weak resistance?! Make that man work for it, I say. It's not good enough until he begs, because he's been a dreadful jackass. Worse, because he doesn't *think* he's a jackass. Oy, it's just a circle of annoyances all around.
Look - I finished the book. I read every page. I'm usually a nice reviewer, I usually give what a book is worth, I love my smutty regencies as well as anyone, and I certainly LOVE Kleypas' [Wallflowers] Sebastian - so I feel very cheated by this read, which has been touted as 'for-people-who-love-Lord-Sebastian-and-Evie!'
No. Urgh, I don't even know why I'm so worked up by it, because it's pretty much the standard of regencysmut these days, but after I put it down I felt a very niggling feeling to write a scathing review instead of an average one. Perhaps you might want to give this book a try, and if it doesn't work for you, like it didn't for me, then skip the rest of the Guhrke novels, and move on.
May 12, 2024
“I fell in love with you that day in my gardens, when I saw you standing in the rain. I have loved you since first sight, Daphne, for that moment when I saw you standing in the rain was the first time I ever truly saw you.”
Guilty Pleasures was everything I was in the mood for: a sweet, no fuss, no muss romance with some good groveling. I loved all the main characters as well as the secondary ones. The plot was straightforward and there were some many sweet and wholesome moments. This is my first Laura Lee Guhrke book and it definitely won't be my last.
I loved everything about our bespectacled heroine, Daphne. She's kind of a unique HR heroine, having spent the majority of her life accompanying her father on excavations. She's lived an adventurous life, unlike the other prim and proper ladies around her. She's not conventionally pretty and even humiliatingly overhears the hero, the very man she has a crush on, insult her appearance. How soul crushing... But Daphne is not a timid pushover, I couldn't help but cheer her on the moment she realized her worth and started standing up for herself.
Anthony, being the arrogant duke that he is, is so used to always getting his way. Manners are basically nonexistent in his book and he was definitely a bit of a shallow twat. Due to his rather difficult childhood, he wants to marry for practicality and scoffs at any romantic notions. But when Daphne decides to leave, he does everything he can to make her stay. It was funny to see the sudden change in his demeanor, acting all cordial and using his manners. Although at first it's because he needs her skillset in order to finish his project but of course, he starts to fall for her.
I loved Daphne and Anthony as a couple. The flirting and their witty banter was one helluva fun ride... especially when they were bargaining for time! While I hated Anthony for making so many stupid mistakes, he easily won my heart over with his groveling and wooing. The way he relentlessly pursued her, not giving a damn about all the societal pressures he had to face, made me swoon. And good on Daphne for not making it easy for him!
At the end of the day, I'm a sucker for plain Jane heroines that don't have to go through physical transformations in order for the hero to notice them. Can't a girl just be average in peace? I loved when Anthony began to notice what he had been overlooking all along. One thing I did find absolutely hilarious was how the hero was always taking off her glasses!
“Why?” He bent his head to kiss her neck. “I want to look at you. Do you not want to look at me?”
“I can’t see anything,” she whispered. “You took my glasses. Again.”
Guilty Pleasures is a wonderfully written tale of romance that ticked all my boxes. While I can't say that it's anything original or unique, it's a charming story I know I'll return to soon. If you're in the mood for a snuggable romance, look no further!
Rating: 5/5
March 29, 2020
I am re-reading all my 5 star rated romance novels. There are 60 on my shelf. This is book 13.
(Tropes: Boss and Employee, Wallflower/Spinster, Unrequited Love, Enemies to Lovers, Starched (hero) gets Unstarched)
This is how my 13th re-read held up.
**********
“With that horrible bun she wears and those dreary clothes, the girl’s as noticeable as a stick insect on a twig. She is so much a part of the background, I doubt any man would even see her unless she were standing a foot in front of him, and even then, he would forget her the moment she was out of his line of vision. I know I do.”
**********
No matter how painful overhearing those unflattering words fall from her employer’s (unrequited crush) lips, I love how they gave Daphne the backbone to take a hard look at her life, and decide enough is enough.
- ”I am leaving.” She reached into the pocket of her heavy work apron and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. ”I have here my letter of resignation.”
He stared at the folded sheet of paper she held out, but he did not take it from her hand. Instead, he folded his arms across his chest, and said the only thing he could think of. ”I refuse to accept it.”
A flicker of consternation crossed her face, a hint of emotion from the machine. He was even more taken aback.
”But you can’t refuse,” she said, frowning. ”You can’t.”
”Unless the king tells me no, I can do anything I want,” he said, hoping he sounded quite smug. ”I am a duke, after all.”
That reply only disconcerted her for a moment. ”Is your lofty rank supposed to intimidate me, your grace?” she asked in her quiet voice, a surprising hint of anger in it he had never heard before.
She slapped the letter against his chest, and when he did not take it, she pulled her hand back and let the paper float to the floor.
”I am resigning my position. I will be leaving one month from now.”
And once she has her backbone, she keeps it (ok he manages to talk her into 3 months’ notice). Rightly putting Anthony in his place, at any opportunity that presents itself.
- ”Miss Wade, can you and I not make peace?” When she did not reply, he added, ”After all, you are here for at least the next three months. Therefore—”
”Two months, three weeks, and three days,” she could not resist correcting him. ”And there is no at least about it.”
- ”What a convenient way to prevent anyone from getting close to you,” she murmured, and resumed her sketching. ”You can always pull rank.”
”I do not think how I treat my servants is your concern.”
”No,” she shot back without looking up. ”It is yours.”
”Are we quarreling again, Miss Wade?” He drew a deep breath and raked a hand through his hair. ”How is it that you and I seem to be doing that so much of late?”
”Because I no longer allow you to treat me like a nameless servant, perhaps?”
”Have I been doing that?”
She looked over at him, her face as unreadable as those of the marble statues behind them.
”Yes.”
While he scrambles not only to keep her for his important work, he is also forced to notice her. And notice her he does.
- Daphne gasped as his fingertips brushed against her skin, too startled to continue arguing with him.
”Now what are you doing?” She reached up to pull his hands away, but her efforts were futile.
”That bun is almost as hideous as the apron,” he answered as he began removing pins from her hair, the pads of his thumbs brushing against the sides of her neck.
”Since we are alone and there is no one here to stop me, I am ridding you of it. I have wanted to do this for days.”
- He shoved the last hairpin in place and lowered his arms. As he stepped back to survey his handiwork, Daphne felt that horrid ache of vulnerability. Fading into the wallpaper was so much safer than being noticed.
His lips tightened. If he said one horrid thing, just one, their bargain was off. His museum and her future could both go to the devil.
”Much better, Miss Wade.” He broke off and took a deep breath. ”You look . . .very pretty.”
There was something in those words, or perhaps in the almost unsteady note of his voice as he said them, that caught at her heart, that made her want to believe he meant more by it than he really did, but she would not delude herself ever again to think he set any store by her.
I loved while Anthony over several weeks tries different approaches to get her to stay, they are forced not only to get to know each other, but also realize they like each other.
- ”I also have a picnic. Would you care to join me?” She moved her hat out of the way for him to sit down beside her. ”Your cook is generous with your larder, and I have far too much for one person.”
He remained standing. ”Are you certain you want me to do so? After all,” he added softly, ”you do not like me. Remember?”
”If you are still waiting for that apology, you can just go away,” she answered with spirit.
”If you are prepared to be nice, you may stay.”
”Thank you.” He bowed to her. ”I shall endeavor to be as charming as my nature will allow.”
She looked at him with doubt. ”I do not know if that is enough, your grace.”
Anthony gave a shout of laughter.
- He let her go, took a step back from her and bowed. She suspected an answering bow was required of her, and she crossed one ankle behind the other and dipped a short curtsy.
”No, no, Miss Wade,” he said, smiling. ”You must give a deeper bow than that to me. I am a duke, after all. A knee almost to the floor is expected.”
She dropped down again in a deeper curtsy. ”You are just loving this, aren’t you?”
”Well, yes,” he admitted, as she straightened again.
Of course, all that time together leads to where we all want it to go.
- ”What do you want?”
His gaze moved to her mouth, lingered there. ”What are you offering?”
Daphne licked her lips, and she heard his sharp intake of breath. ”Three days,” she whispered. ”You may have three more days.”
”Three days? You are a miser, Miss Wade.”
She had to stick to her guns. She had to be strong. ”Three days. No more.”
”A week.”
”Three days.”
”No, then. What else do you have to offer?”
He bent his head, moving closer, just a little bit closer.
- ”If a kiss from me is what you desire, Miss Wade, all you need do is make your wishes clear.”
It wasn’t as if she were in love with him anymore. She no longer cared what he thought. She had no doubt he’d kissed dozens of women, and he would know how to do it properly. She would so hate her very first kiss to be disappointing. She knew this was a game between them now, and he was giving her an opening.
Daphne took it.
She drew in a deep breath and turned around to face him. She curled her fingers around the edge of the shelf behind her, raised her chin and looked him in the eye. ”I should like it very much if you would kiss me.”
- Still touching her face, he bent his head to rest his forehead close to hers.
”You see,” he said, his breathing ragged as he looked into her eyes, ”how much power you have when you choose to wield it?”
Doubting Anthony’s motives, Daphne sticks to her plan of leaving for London to enjoy a season before finding a post as a governess.
- ”What, no temptations to make me stay, your grace? No talk of our friendship and my beautiful eyes?” Her voice cracked. ”No farewell and good wishes for a faithful member of your staff?”
He shoved away from the door and started toward her, a shadow of black and gray.
”God, Daphne, what do you think?” he demanded as he circled the table to stand behind her. ”That I am made of stone?”
”Is that not what you think I am made of?” she countered and tried to step around the table, but he would not let her.
- He pulled the pieces of her apron away and tossed them over her head onto the table behind her.
She heard a rocking sound, followed by a shattering crash, and she knew he had just smashed that priceless ancient vase to smithereens. Her last day’s work wasted.
She began to laugh against his mouth. ”You broke it.”
”What was it?” he asked, tearing away from her kiss to bury his face against the side of her neck.
”Samarian vase,” she gasped, ”made at Trier. Priceless.”
He jerked at the ribbon of his cloak, and the heavy garment slid from his shoulders to land on the floor. ”I shall mourn the loss tomorrow.”
Unfortunately, a clumsy gesture deepens Daphne’s resolve, and she goes to London, forcing Anthony to think outside the box.
She makes it quite clear what she thinks of his ideas.
- He lifted a potted plant from its tissue-paper wrappings, a pathetic-looking thing to be sure, its succulent leaves wrinkled and blackened. The plain clay pot in which it was contained was ice cold in his hands. Anthony burst out laughing.
- ”Words cannot express how happy I was to receive a dead, frozen ice plant. It shows me how much you care.”
**********
4.5
(Tropes: Boss and Employee, Wallflower/Spinster, Unrequited Love, Enemies to Lovers, Starched (hero) gets Unstarched)
This is how my 13th re-read held up.
**********
“With that horrible bun she wears and those dreary clothes, the girl’s as noticeable as a stick insect on a twig. She is so much a part of the background, I doubt any man would even see her unless she were standing a foot in front of him, and even then, he would forget her the moment she was out of his line of vision. I know I do.”
**********
No matter how painful overhearing those unflattering words fall from her employer’s (unrequited crush) lips, I love how they gave Daphne the backbone to take a hard look at her life, and decide enough is enough.
- ”I am leaving.” She reached into the pocket of her heavy work apron and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. ”I have here my letter of resignation.”
He stared at the folded sheet of paper she held out, but he did not take it from her hand. Instead, he folded his arms across his chest, and said the only thing he could think of. ”I refuse to accept it.”
A flicker of consternation crossed her face, a hint of emotion from the machine. He was even more taken aback.
”But you can’t refuse,” she said, frowning. ”You can’t.”
”Unless the king tells me no, I can do anything I want,” he said, hoping he sounded quite smug. ”I am a duke, after all.”
That reply only disconcerted her for a moment. ”Is your lofty rank supposed to intimidate me, your grace?” she asked in her quiet voice, a surprising hint of anger in it he had never heard before.
She slapped the letter against his chest, and when he did not take it, she pulled her hand back and let the paper float to the floor.
”I am resigning my position. I will be leaving one month from now.”
And once she has her backbone, she keeps it (ok he manages to talk her into 3 months’ notice). Rightly putting Anthony in his place, at any opportunity that presents itself.
- ”Miss Wade, can you and I not make peace?” When she did not reply, he added, ”After all, you are here for at least the next three months. Therefore—”
”Two months, three weeks, and three days,” she could not resist correcting him. ”And there is no at least about it.”
- ”What a convenient way to prevent anyone from getting close to you,” she murmured, and resumed her sketching. ”You can always pull rank.”
”I do not think how I treat my servants is your concern.”
”No,” she shot back without looking up. ”It is yours.”
”Are we quarreling again, Miss Wade?” He drew a deep breath and raked a hand through his hair. ”How is it that you and I seem to be doing that so much of late?”
”Because I no longer allow you to treat me like a nameless servant, perhaps?”
”Have I been doing that?”
She looked over at him, her face as unreadable as those of the marble statues behind them.
”Yes.”
While he scrambles not only to keep her for his important work, he is also forced to notice her. And notice her he does.
- Daphne gasped as his fingertips brushed against her skin, too startled to continue arguing with him.
”Now what are you doing?” She reached up to pull his hands away, but her efforts were futile.
”That bun is almost as hideous as the apron,” he answered as he began removing pins from her hair, the pads of his thumbs brushing against the sides of her neck.
”Since we are alone and there is no one here to stop me, I am ridding you of it. I have wanted to do this for days.”
- He shoved the last hairpin in place and lowered his arms. As he stepped back to survey his handiwork, Daphne felt that horrid ache of vulnerability. Fading into the wallpaper was so much safer than being noticed.
His lips tightened. If he said one horrid thing, just one, their bargain was off. His museum and her future could both go to the devil.
”Much better, Miss Wade.” He broke off and took a deep breath. ”You look . . .very pretty.”
There was something in those words, or perhaps in the almost unsteady note of his voice as he said them, that caught at her heart, that made her want to believe he meant more by it than he really did, but she would not delude herself ever again to think he set any store by her.
I loved while Anthony over several weeks tries different approaches to get her to stay, they are forced not only to get to know each other, but also realize they like each other.
- ”I also have a picnic. Would you care to join me?” She moved her hat out of the way for him to sit down beside her. ”Your cook is generous with your larder, and I have far too much for one person.”
He remained standing. ”Are you certain you want me to do so? After all,” he added softly, ”you do not like me. Remember?”
”If you are still waiting for that apology, you can just go away,” she answered with spirit.
”If you are prepared to be nice, you may stay.”
”Thank you.” He bowed to her. ”I shall endeavor to be as charming as my nature will allow.”
She looked at him with doubt. ”I do not know if that is enough, your grace.”
Anthony gave a shout of laughter.
- He let her go, took a step back from her and bowed. She suspected an answering bow was required of her, and she crossed one ankle behind the other and dipped a short curtsy.
”No, no, Miss Wade,” he said, smiling. ”You must give a deeper bow than that to me. I am a duke, after all. A knee almost to the floor is expected.”
She dropped down again in a deeper curtsy. ”You are just loving this, aren’t you?”
”Well, yes,” he admitted, as she straightened again.
Of course, all that time together leads to where we all want it to go.
- ”What do you want?”
His gaze moved to her mouth, lingered there. ”What are you offering?”
Daphne licked her lips, and she heard his sharp intake of breath. ”Three days,” she whispered. ”You may have three more days.”
”Three days? You are a miser, Miss Wade.”
She had to stick to her guns. She had to be strong. ”Three days. No more.”
”A week.”
”Three days.”
”No, then. What else do you have to offer?”
He bent his head, moving closer, just a little bit closer.
- ”If a kiss from me is what you desire, Miss Wade, all you need do is make your wishes clear.”
It wasn’t as if she were in love with him anymore. She no longer cared what he thought. She had no doubt he’d kissed dozens of women, and he would know how to do it properly. She would so hate her very first kiss to be disappointing. She knew this was a game between them now, and he was giving her an opening.
Daphne took it.
She drew in a deep breath and turned around to face him. She curled her fingers around the edge of the shelf behind her, raised her chin and looked him in the eye. ”I should like it very much if you would kiss me.”
- Still touching her face, he bent his head to rest his forehead close to hers.
”You see,” he said, his breathing ragged as he looked into her eyes, ”how much power you have when you choose to wield it?”
Doubting Anthony’s motives, Daphne sticks to her plan of leaving for London to enjoy a season before finding a post as a governess.
- ”What, no temptations to make me stay, your grace? No talk of our friendship and my beautiful eyes?” Her voice cracked. ”No farewell and good wishes for a faithful member of your staff?”
He shoved away from the door and started toward her, a shadow of black and gray.
”God, Daphne, what do you think?” he demanded as he circled the table to stand behind her. ”That I am made of stone?”
”Is that not what you think I am made of?” she countered and tried to step around the table, but he would not let her.
- He pulled the pieces of her apron away and tossed them over her head onto the table behind her.
She heard a rocking sound, followed by a shattering crash, and she knew he had just smashed that priceless ancient vase to smithereens. Her last day’s work wasted.
She began to laugh against his mouth. ”You broke it.”
”What was it?” he asked, tearing away from her kiss to bury his face against the side of her neck.
”Samarian vase,” she gasped, ”made at Trier. Priceless.”
He jerked at the ribbon of his cloak, and the heavy garment slid from his shoulders to land on the floor. ”I shall mourn the loss tomorrow.”
Unfortunately, a clumsy gesture deepens Daphne’s resolve, and she goes to London, forcing Anthony to think outside the box.
She makes it quite clear what she thinks of his ideas.
- He lifted a potted plant from its tissue-paper wrappings, a pathetic-looking thing to be sure, its succulent leaves wrinkled and blackened. The plain clay pot in which it was contained was ice cold in his hands. Anthony burst out laughing.
- ”Words cannot express how happy I was to receive a dead, frozen ice plant. It shows me how much you care.”
**********
4.5
August 12, 2021
"Daphne accustomed all her life to desperately thin, ragged Arabs who looked far older than their years, had never seen anything quite like the Duke of Tremore. His powerful build and demeanor exuded strength, vitality, and power."😑🙄
Some context:
So I was quite enjoying this regency romance by Laura Lee Gurkhe but it's hard to get past the excerpt above and not take offense.
Hard to believe in her years traipsing all over —I quote—'Palestine, Petra, Syria, Mesopotamia, Tunis, Morocco' with her father, a reknown antiquarian in the 1800s, excavating and hunting for historical artifacts, Daphne Wade, born on the island of Crete twenty-four years ago, never caught sight of anything but emaciated men.
"...he was like no man she had ever seen before"Daphne says about the hero, Anthony, Duke of Tremore.
Perish the tought an Arab would look the image of health and dare exude strength, vitality, and power as British Dukes so commonly do!🙄
The inherent racism and classism—the latest is expected in the genre, the former is sadly, common— in this quote is startling and I'm highly disturbed by the fact none of the thousands readers seemed perturbed by this disturbing observation (at least to my knowledge, I haven't read all reviews). Also troubling is the fact that out of all the countries she visited (adding Italy to this list), the heroine choses to focus on the Arabs only in her slander against male population. Nothing you would expect from the cosmopolitan and intelligent heroine the author has taken great effort to portray.
Guhrke could have easily listed any other physical attributes to explain the heroine's attraction to the duke but she went there and opposed characteristic such as strength, vitality and power to ragged, thin and decrepit looks to describe an entire —elected—population. Alright.
If I'm reading a Historical Romance I try to keep in mind that societal rules standards were different then and that I shouldn't push my 21st centurty agenda on characters or events. For exemple I wouldn't begrudge a woman character for being less daring and carefree than what was acceptable some centuries ago compared to what my ideals are as a woman in 2021.
However, it's an author prerogative to portray a character—that is nor villain nor antihero or a sociopath— as racist when they choose to deliberately have them spew racial slurs. This isn't character-building but rather the author unconciously expressing what she deems acceptable values.
I'm honestly surprised this wasn't caught by the editorial team, this book first published back in 2004. Was it ever acceptable for the publisher and author that they turned a blind-eye or is it that they just didn't catch it? Could be the white-priviledge of not seeing what the offense is. In any case, as good as this book has been for me as a whole, it left a bad taste and I won't actively seek out any of Guhrke's other titles. A shame.
I did persevere my reading because to be fair the premise was good and the setting, especially in the beginnning was truly captivating. I was enjoying myself dearly! I love how the author built on Daphne's infatuation with the Duke only to have her accidentaly overhear him say such hurtful things about her. She put the angst level so HIGH in the first chapters I thought I had found the unrequited love trope's book of a lifetime. The heroine sobering up and dressing down the Duke from his established pedestal was a glorious thing even if in the long run Daphne became a tad much obstinate and silly in her efforts to refuse Anthony.
The hero was... alright. I mean he was what one would expect from historical romance Duke to be. Good looking, powerful, honorable, haughty, infuriating, provoking... Yes all that but also a CONDESCENDING MISOGYNIST ASSHOLE in more than one occasion. Ugh. I hated when he would confiscate the heroine's glasses declaring the heroine was better looking without them. Didn't matter that Daphne would remain uncomfortable and literally blind for the Duke prefered to see her without the necessary spectacles! Was the Duke of Tremore afraid Daphne would see through his bullshit? Eh.
…He reached out and jerked off her spectacles. "Much better. Miss Wade, you have beautiful eyes. To distort them behind a pair of thick glass lenses is a shame at any time. When you are with a gentleman, it is unpardonable."
Overall, a great execution of the love unrequited trope, good banter and alluring slow burn but tainted with horseshit racism. What a disappointment!
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
May 3, 2018
ME HA ENCANTADOOOO!!!
Benditos libros históricos, pensé que iba a durar algo desengancharme de la serie Psi/Cambiantes ya que estuve casi un mes con ella, pero este libro me salvó.
Desde que leí Y entonces él la besó quedé prendida de la pluma de Laura y sobre todo de sus protagonistas femeninas que no son muy típicas de este tipo de libros al menos las que he leído son chicas que trabajan o tienen su propio negocio.
Daphne es una chica tímida de aspecto común y no muy agraciado que trabaja como Arqueóloga y reparadora para el Duque Tremore, ella en secreto está enamorada de él y uno de sus grandes placeres es observarlo y dibujarlo sin camisa. Para Anthony ella no es más que una persona del servicio una máquina eficiente que hace todo bien y que no muestra emociones, una chica simple que tiene de atractivo al igual que un insecto pegado en un papel. Daphne lo escucha decir todas esas cosas desagradables de ella le rompe el corazón y está decida a irse, pero Anthony la necesita para poder tener listo su museo en unos meses, le va costar a Anthony persuadirla y convencerla pero para eso ella muestra otra cara más decidida y fuerte y él la empieza a ver más que a una simple empleada.
Me encantó la dinámica y las conversaciones de estos dos, fueron muy divertidas llenas de tensión sexual, coqueteo y pujas. Y el cortejo de Anthony hacia Daphne con el lenguaje de las flores fue de lo más original que he leído quedé encantada.
Daphne es una muy buena protagonista, fuerte, independiente, franca aunque también es tímida romántica y muy soñadora.
Anthony es tan DUQUE, egocéntrico, engreído, estirado, pero también era un amor cuando se lo propone, es encantador, simpático uuuy YO ME ENAMORO.
El único pero que le pongo a este libro es mi falta de epílogo, Laura eres MALA!!
Benditos libros históricos, pensé que iba a durar algo desengancharme de la serie Psi/Cambiantes ya que estuve casi un mes con ella, pero este libro me salvó.
Desde que leí Y entonces él la besó quedé prendida de la pluma de Laura y sobre todo de sus protagonistas femeninas que no son muy típicas de este tipo de libros al menos las que he leído son chicas que trabajan o tienen su propio negocio.
Daphne es una chica tímida de aspecto común y no muy agraciado que trabaja como Arqueóloga y reparadora para el Duque Tremore, ella en secreto está enamorada de él y uno de sus grandes placeres es observarlo y dibujarlo sin camisa. Para Anthony ella no es más que una persona del servicio una máquina eficiente que hace todo bien y que no muestra emociones, una chica simple que tiene de atractivo al igual que un insecto pegado en un papel. Daphne lo escucha decir todas esas cosas desagradables de ella le rompe el corazón y está decida a irse, pero Anthony la necesita para poder tener listo su museo en unos meses, le va costar a Anthony persuadirla y convencerla pero para eso ella muestra otra cara más decidida y fuerte y él la empieza a ver más que a una simple empleada.
Me encantó la dinámica y las conversaciones de estos dos, fueron muy divertidas llenas de tensión sexual, coqueteo y pujas. Y el cortejo de Anthony hacia Daphne con el lenguaje de las flores fue de lo más original que he leído quedé encantada.
Daphne es una muy buena protagonista, fuerte, independiente, franca aunque también es tímida romántica y muy soñadora.
Anthony es tan DUQUE, egocéntrico, engreído, estirado, pero también era un amor cuando se lo propone, es encantador, simpático uuuy YO ME ENAMORO.
El único pero que le pongo a este libro es mi falta de epílogo, Laura eres MALA!!
May 11, 2018
This was good! This is the first book that I’ve read by Laura Lee Guhrke and it won’t be the last. I really enjoyed her writing and characterization!
Both main characters in Guilty Pleasures were wrote well!
Anthony Courtland, the Duke of Tremore is the typical overbearing, conceited and cynical Duke. He doesn’t want to marry for love due to what happened to his parents’ marriage.
Daphne Wade is a smart, orphaned and independent young lady who has a huge infatuation in the beginning of the book for the Duke of Tremore due to working on his excavation site. She knows excavation and archaeology information from her Dad and she’s one of the best in the business. Both of her parents have passed away and she’s alone in the world.
I really loved this character. Daphne made this book for me! And I loved it when she was no longer infatuated with the conceited and charming Duke of Tremore.
The witty dialogue between Anthony and Daphne was wonderful!
I read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen when I was a young girl, and since then, historical romance has always been a guilty love of mine.
I love great dialogue between smart characters, steamy love scenes and a great overall plot to the story.
If a story has at least those three things, I’m going to love it and Guilty Pleasures had it in spades.
4 stars!!
Both main characters in Guilty Pleasures were wrote well!
Anthony Courtland, the Duke of Tremore is the typical overbearing, conceited and cynical Duke. He doesn’t want to marry for love due to what happened to his parents’ marriage.
Daphne Wade is a smart, orphaned and independent young lady who has a huge infatuation in the beginning of the book for the Duke of Tremore due to working on his excavation site. She knows excavation and archaeology information from her Dad and she’s one of the best in the business. Both of her parents have passed away and she’s alone in the world.
I really loved this character. Daphne made this book for me! And I loved it when she was no longer infatuated with the conceited and charming Duke of Tremore.
The witty dialogue between Anthony and Daphne was wonderful!
I read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen when I was a young girl, and since then, historical romance has always been a guilty love of mine.
I love great dialogue between smart characters, steamy love scenes and a great overall plot to the story.
If a story has at least those three things, I’m going to love it and Guilty Pleasures had it in spades.
4 stars!!
March 25, 2021
ღ 4.5 stars ღ
Brief summary
Daphne Wade had travelled to many countries with her father to excavation sites and before his death her father signed a contract to work for the Duke of Tremore (Anthony) who had just uncovered a site of Roman artefacts on his property. So Daphne ends up working in her father's place and in her 5 month period at Anthony's home she finds herself infatuated with him. But then she overhears a conversation between Anthony and his sister that shatters her heart and changes her feelings completely so that she is determined not to work there anymore - and obviously as a duke, Anthony is used to getting what he wants, and he does not want Daphne to leave.
Review
This was so great!!! Anthony and Daphne were such a great match and I loved their interactions together. There were also some great side characters who always add so much to HR's. Although I wasn't a major fan of Anthony at the start (there will probably be a little rant below hahah) he definitely redeemed himself by the end and the romance was so sweet.
ღ Daphne ღ
I loved Daphne's character so much - she was so perfect and such a realistic heroine. At the start of the book she thinks herself to be completely in love with Anthony and is really quiet but after she overhears Anthony basically insulting her everything changes and she realises how rude and arrogant he is.
Absolutely loved the scene when she stood up for herself and insulted Anthony - who, as a duke, was completely shocked by both the fact that someone would dare to insult him but also by her sudden change in attitude. Also when Daphne chastised Anthony for not knowing the name of his groom - I loved it, as part of the staff Daphne was not a servant but still treated everyone as her equal and honestly she was just the reality check that Anthony needed to sort out his attitude. She was also completely unaware of certain rules of society, like how to dance and how to act in certain situations, and as someone who has read wayyy too many HR's that really made her stand out to me.
Honestly such an AMAZING, strong character who wanted to find love but knew that she deserved to be loved in return and wouldn't settle for anything less.
ღ Anthony ღ
This guyyyy...
Anthony is the classic arrogant, rude duke who was used to having everything that he wanted. He had problems understanding the concept of love and never wanted to love anyone romantically, believing that a marriage of convenience would be much better based on his childhood experience. At first I felt a tiny bit sorry for him BUT THEN he went and insulted Daphne for absolutely NO REASON - it was so uncalled for and even though he was meant to be having a private conversation with his sister you just don't say things like that!! I don't get how he never suspected that Daphne might've overheard his conversation with his sister though because surely you would make that link considering the fact Daphne handed in her letter of resignation THE DAY AFTER he insulted her - this lowkey made me mad at Anthony because it showed how what he said about Daphne meant so little to him and he didn't realise the power that his words could have.
Anyway, as Daphne wants to leave, Anthony ends up desperate for her to stay, probably mostly because of his pride initially and also because she's amazing at her job. His personality did a full 180 (he tries to be nice!! *gasp*) and they basically make bargains, for example, she stays for an extra 2 weeks or so if he teaches her to dance so that she can enter society and so on. All these arrangements lead to Daphne and Anthony spending more time together and I loved reading about Anthony developing his feelings for Daphne. He was in a CONSTANT state of denial though and he just didn't want to love her but couldn't stop thinking about her.
I just really enjoyed it when he realised the amazing person Daphne was and how she deserved so much out of life. He also had little care of society and once he realised how much he wanted Daphne he would not give her up and I did love that determination about him.
ALSO much appreciation for Anthony's sister Viola who captained this ship and started it all off by offering to introduce Daphne to society.
Overall I just loved this book soo much, the story was amazing and so was the romance, I loved Anthony's attempts to win back Daphne and their chemistry was so great!
THANK YOU Ren for recommending!! ღ
"What does a duchess do exactly?"
He took a step toward her. "Love the duke. Love him with all the passion she hides within her, love him each and every day of her life."
Brief summary
Daphne Wade had travelled to many countries with her father to excavation sites and before his death her father signed a contract to work for the Duke of Tremore (Anthony) who had just uncovered a site of Roman artefacts on his property. So Daphne ends up working in her father's place and in her 5 month period at Anthony's home she finds herself infatuated with him. But then she overhears a conversation between Anthony and his sister that shatters her heart and changes her feelings completely so that she is determined not to work there anymore - and obviously as a duke, Anthony is used to getting what he wants, and he does not want Daphne to leave.
Review
This was so great!!! Anthony and Daphne were such a great match and I loved their interactions together. There were also some great side characters who always add so much to HR's. Although I wasn't a major fan of Anthony at the start (there will probably be a little rant below hahah) he definitely redeemed himself by the end and the romance was so sweet.
ღ Daphne ღ
I loved Daphne's character so much - she was so perfect and such a realistic heroine. At the start of the book she thinks herself to be completely in love with Anthony and is really quiet but after she overhears Anthony basically insulting her everything changes and she realises how rude and arrogant he is.
Daphne decided it was time to stop believing she had no choices for her future. It was time to begin deciding her own destiny. Perhaps it was even time to have a bit of fun
Absolutely loved the scene when she stood up for herself and insulted Anthony - who, as a duke, was completely shocked by both the fact that someone would dare to insult him but also by her sudden change in attitude. Also when Daphne chastised Anthony for not knowing the name of his groom - I loved it, as part of the staff Daphne was not a servant but still treated everyone as her equal and honestly she was just the reality check that Anthony needed to sort out his attitude. She was also completely unaware of certain rules of society, like how to dance and how to act in certain situations, and as someone who has read wayyy too many HR's that really made her stand out to me.
Honestly such an AMAZING, strong character who wanted to find love but knew that she deserved to be loved in return and wouldn't settle for anything less.
ღ Anthony ღ
This guyyyy...
Anthony is the classic arrogant, rude duke who was used to having everything that he wanted. He had problems understanding the concept of love and never wanted to love anyone romantically, believing that a marriage of convenience would be much better based on his childhood experience. At first I felt a tiny bit sorry for him BUT THEN he went and insulted Daphne for absolutely NO REASON - it was so uncalled for and even though he was meant to be having a private conversation with his sister you just don't say things like that!! I don't get how he never suspected that Daphne might've overheard his conversation with his sister though because surely you would make that link considering the fact Daphne handed in her letter of resignation THE DAY AFTER he insulted her - this lowkey made me mad at Anthony because it showed how what he said about Daphne meant so little to him and he didn't realise the power that his words could have.
Anyway, as Daphne wants to leave, Anthony ends up desperate for her to stay, probably mostly because of his pride initially and also because she's amazing at her job. His personality did a full 180 (he tries to be nice!! *gasp*) and they basically make bargains, for example, she stays for an extra 2 weeks or so if he teaches her to dance so that she can enter society and so on. All these arrangements lead to Daphne and Anthony spending more time together and I loved reading about Anthony developing his feelings for Daphne. He was in a CONSTANT state of denial though and he just didn't want to love her but couldn't stop thinking about her.
“You see, Daphne? Honor is not my only motivation, for I feel quite dishonorable at this moment. I want you more than I have ever wanted anything in my life.”
I just really enjoyed it when he realised the amazing person Daphne was and how she deserved so much out of life. He also had little care of society and once he realised how much he wanted Daphne he would not give her up and I did love that determination about him.
ALSO much appreciation for Anthony's sister Viola who captained this ship and started it all off by offering to introduce Daphne to society.
Overall I just loved this book soo much, the story was amazing and so was the romance, I loved Anthony's attempts to win back Daphne and their chemistry was so great!
THANK YOU Ren for recommending!! ღ
May 12, 2017
Overall, an enjoyable read. Miss Daphne Wade works for the Duke of Tremore, restoring antiquities from a Roman site. She fancies herself in love with Anthony (the Duke). He, of course, barely sees her. She overhears him talking about her to his sister and is horrified by what she hears.
She decides to leave his employment but he tells her she cannot. He is a Duke, for goodness sake and always gets his own way!! Well, now, Miss Wade will make sure that this time you might just not get your own way.
I enjoyed their story and how Anthony came to realise that he did need love in his life and he did need Miss Daphne Wade.
I also liked how Daphne's appearance didn't alter. She didn't suddenly become "beautiful"! She was pretty, in her own way, but not outrageously beautiful.
She decides to leave his employment but he tells her she cannot. He is a Duke, for goodness sake and always gets his own way!! Well, now, Miss Wade will make sure that this time you might just not get your own way.
I enjoyed their story and how Anthony came to realise that he did need love in his life and he did need Miss Daphne Wade.
I also liked how Daphne's appearance didn't alter. She didn't suddenly become "beautiful"! She was pretty, in her own way, but not outrageously beautiful.
September 12, 2022
**3.5/5 estrellas
Estuvo bastante entretenido pero se fue poniendo flojo ya en los últimos capítulos... y sentí que muchas cosas quedaban en el aire. Además que le faltó un epílogo... aquí era muy necesario porque con ese ultimo capítulo la novela quedó como incompleta. O debe ser que a mi me gusta que pongan que pasó después de que se declaran. :/ Siento que un epílogo era más que necesario!!
Y con respecto al protagonista....pues, no me convenció mucho Anthony, ni me quedó muy claro su amor por ella... la verdad.
Aunque se puede entender el miedo que carga él a enamorase, pero creo que ahí lo que él necesitaba era un psicólogo para resolver su problema, porque lo que tiene son traumas, y por supuesto, justificados
Estuvo bastante entretenido pero se fue poniendo flojo ya en los últimos capítulos... y sentí que muchas cosas quedaban en el aire. Además que le faltó un epílogo... aquí era muy necesario porque con ese ultimo capítulo la novela quedó como incompleta. O debe ser que a mi me gusta que pongan que pasó después de que se declaran. :/ Siento que un epílogo era más que necesario!!
Y con respecto al protagonista....pues, no me convenció mucho Anthony, ni me quedó muy claro su amor por ella... la verdad.
Aunque se puede entender el miedo que carga él a enamorase, pero creo que ahí lo que él necesitaba era un psicólogo para resolver su problema, porque lo que tiene son traumas, y por supuesto, justificados
May 3, 2021
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5 rounded to 5 stars
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖 4 books
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋 4 butterflies
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔 3 broken hearts
Sexual Tension: ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ 4 lightnings
Romance: 💞💞💞💞💞 5 hearts
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋💋5 kisses
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑/🍑 3 to 4 peaches
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 2 fires
Hero Jerk Scale: 😠😠😠 3 of 5 angry faces
Humor: 😆 A bit
Content warnings at end of review.
This is my 3rd Laura Lee Guhrke and by far my favorite. I actually jumped into book 3 of this series and was not a fan. But meeting Viola in this book has made me want to give it another try. Hopefully reading the series in order will make me like it more when I get there :)
So Daphne is the daughter of Sir Henry Wade – one of the world’s best Roman antiquarians. After his death, she was left to fend for herself and survived by securing work for Anthony, the Duke of Teymore. He has an excavation team and is working on collecting artifacts for the opening of his museum.
Daphne is utterly in love with Anthony, but Anthony has no idea and is quite ignorant about the woman right in front of him. He crushes Daphne’s love and spirit when she overhears a hurtful conversation between him and his sister. Done with him, she’s ready to have a season in London and experience life – she just has to finish a few months of work left with the Duke.
Give this book a try if you are in the mood for:
- Late Regency time period – 1830
- A bit of a slow burn
- Low to mid steam – there’s a handful of kisses and sex scenes, but lots of touches and almost kisses that sustain you :) Exact number of kisses/sex scenes at end of review
- A touch of ugly duckling fairy tale
- A bit of a jerk hero – but he overcomes! He grovels, he redeems, he wins the heroine.
- Unrequited love trope – heroine has fallen in love with the hero when she started working for him 6 months prior
- Wallflower/bluestocking/working heroine – Daphne knows her antiques but doesn’t have society experience
I really enjoyed this story. I wasn’t expecting much because I haven’t really loved LLG from what I’ve tried. But, I enjoyed Daphne. It was refreshing to watch her try to take her life back, her confidence, her independence after her illusions about Anthony are shattered.
Anthony I wasn’t sure I’d be able to fall for him in the beginning. I didn’t find much likable about him. But, as the book went on, I just got roped in tighter and tighter with my feelings for him. When he had “the conversation” with Viola about Daphne and she overheard, oh it gripped my heart. I was hoping he would prove himself worthy of the heroine and make up for this mistake. And I adored watching him realize his mistake, watching him fall further and further in love with someone he didn’t even see a few weeks before even though she was right in front of him.
Once Anthony realizes what he wants, there is wooing. There is gentle touches, there is word play, there is internal battles about what he should do and what he wants to do. There’s so much sweetness.
Locations of kisses/sex
Content warning:
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖 4 books
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋 4 butterflies
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔 3 broken hearts
Sexual Tension: ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ 4 lightnings
Romance: 💞💞💞💞💞 5 hearts
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋💋5 kisses
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑/🍑 3 to 4 peaches
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 2 fires
Hero Jerk Scale: 😠😠😠 3 of 5 angry faces
Humor: 😆 A bit
Content warnings at end of review.
This is my 3rd Laura Lee Guhrke and by far my favorite. I actually jumped into book 3 of this series and was not a fan. But meeting Viola in this book has made me want to give it another try. Hopefully reading the series in order will make me like it more when I get there :)
So Daphne is the daughter of Sir Henry Wade – one of the world’s best Roman antiquarians. After his death, she was left to fend for herself and survived by securing work for Anthony, the Duke of Teymore. He has an excavation team and is working on collecting artifacts for the opening of his museum.
Daphne is utterly in love with Anthony, but Anthony has no idea and is quite ignorant about the woman right in front of him. He crushes Daphne’s love and spirit when she overhears a hurtful conversation between him and his sister. Done with him, she’s ready to have a season in London and experience life – she just has to finish a few months of work left with the Duke.
Give this book a try if you are in the mood for:
- Late Regency time period – 1830
- A bit of a slow burn
- Low to mid steam – there’s a handful of kisses and sex scenes, but lots of touches and almost kisses that sustain you :) Exact number of kisses/sex scenes at end of review
- A touch of ugly duckling fairy tale
- A bit of a jerk hero – but he overcomes! He grovels, he redeems, he wins the heroine.
- Unrequited love trope – heroine has fallen in love with the hero when she started working for him 6 months prior
- Wallflower/bluestocking/working heroine – Daphne knows her antiques but doesn’t have society experience
I really enjoyed this story. I wasn’t expecting much because I haven’t really loved LLG from what I’ve tried. But, I enjoyed Daphne. It was refreshing to watch her try to take her life back, her confidence, her independence after her illusions about Anthony are shattered.
Anthony I wasn’t sure I’d be able to fall for him in the beginning. I didn’t find much likable about him. But, as the book went on, I just got roped in tighter and tighter with my feelings for him. When he had “the conversation” with Viola about Daphne and she overheard, oh it gripped my heart. I was hoping he would prove himself worthy of the heroine and make up for this mistake. And I adored watching him realize his mistake, watching him fall further and further in love with someone he didn’t even see a few weeks before even though she was right in front of him.
Once Anthony realizes what he wants, there is wooing. There is gentle touches, there is word play, there is internal battles about what he should do and what he wants to do. There’s so much sweetness.
Locations of kisses/sex
Content warning:
August 19, 2009
Daphne Wade has a guilty pleasure...she can't keep herself from lusting after her super sexy boss. She fell in love with Anthony Courtland at first sight, but although they have worked together for five months, he doesn't know she exists. Anthony pays little attention to the homely woman who does restoration work on the artifacts at his excavation site. He does appreciate her work, but as far as the woman under the unattractive clothes and eyeglasses, Anthony couldn't care less.
Daphne is content to worship him from afar, until one day she overhears Anthony discussing her with his sister Viola. Her world is turned upside down when she hears what Anthony really thinks of her. He doesn't see her as a woman at all...she's nothing more than a mousy, unattractive, subservient person that Anthony refers to as a "unfeeling machine" and a "bug on a stick". Daphne is crushed. She decides right then and there that she can't work for him any longer, so she turns in her resignation.
Daphne's resignation makes Anthony stand up and take notice. He needs her to complete the restoration in time for his museum opening. And besides, he's a duke. He said she can't quit, and what he says goes...or does it? As Anthony tries to convince Daphne to stay, everything he believed to be true about this meek little woman is turned upside down.
The characters in Guilty Pleasures bring this story to life. Although Anthony was arrogant and self-important, his difficult childhood gave him a touch of vulnerability that made him a sympathetic hero. As far as Daphne is concerned, who doesn't root for the plain Jane heroine who turns things around and captures the hero's heart? I know I do!
Daphne is content to worship him from afar, until one day she overhears Anthony discussing her with his sister Viola. Her world is turned upside down when she hears what Anthony really thinks of her. He doesn't see her as a woman at all...she's nothing more than a mousy, unattractive, subservient person that Anthony refers to as a "unfeeling machine" and a "bug on a stick". Daphne is crushed. She decides right then and there that she can't work for him any longer, so she turns in her resignation.
Daphne's resignation makes Anthony stand up and take notice. He needs her to complete the restoration in time for his museum opening. And besides, he's a duke. He said she can't quit, and what he says goes...or does it? As Anthony tries to convince Daphne to stay, everything he believed to be true about this meek little woman is turned upside down.
The characters in Guilty Pleasures bring this story to life. Although Anthony was arrogant and self-important, his difficult childhood gave him a touch of vulnerability that made him a sympathetic hero. As far as Daphne is concerned, who doesn't root for the plain Jane heroine who turns things around and captures the hero's heart? I know I do!
March 28, 2022
The banters between the hero and heroine were really lovely. I could particularly hear them in my head. And the grovelling. Oh the grovelling! One of the best I've ever read. I've always feel that the grovelling is never enough in most books but you won't find it in this one. Ms. Guhrke is becoming one of my fav authors. A solid 5 stars.
May 12, 2024
This book had the honour of being the recipient of the Romantic Times Award for Best European Historical Romance of 2004. It was also the first book I read by Laura Lee Guhrke and it established her as a firm favourite of mine and, over the years, I have read and loved many of her books.
I adore Daphne because it is easier to relate to someone who is plain, wears spectacles and, by the standards of the time, is firmly on the shelf at the age of twenty-four. She had an unconventional upbringing, having lived and worked abroad all her life assisting her father Sir Henry Wade, one of the foremost Roman antiquarians in the world, on his excavations. After her father dies suddenly, she is left all alone, unwanted by her mother’s family in England, and virtually penniless. Her decision to travel to England and take her father’s place shows real courage and I also love her response when Anthony questions her suitability for the position.
"I am the daughter of Sir Henry Wade, and he was the best. I was trained by him, and now that he is gone, there is no one more qualified for this post than I."
Anthony is arrogant inconsiderate, selfish and, in typical ducal fashion, expects to be obeyed without question, and whenever he wants anything particularly difficult or unreasonable done, he can be persuasively charming. His cynical attitude to love and marriage does not sit well with his sister, Viola, but Anthony is adamant that he intends to marry someone who will make no emotional demands on him
I did admire him for the sympathetic way he treats his estate workers who are unable to pay their rent, and for his determination that the museum should be for everyone, not just the wealthy.
It wasn’t hard to believe that a quiet, shy young woman like Daphne, who had spent all her life around excavations, without any social interactions, would develop an infatuation for someone like Anthony. I really felt her heartbreak when she hears his derogatory comments, but I admired the way she refuses to wallow in self-pity. She has always tried to please other people, first her father and then Anthony, but now she is determined to decide her own future and enjoy life, with encouragement from Anthony’s sister, Viola, who has offered to introduce Daphne into society.
Expecting everyone to cow-tow to his every command, I enjoyed seeing Anthony’s outraged reaction when Daphne tells him she is resigning and his usual coolness and self-possession totally deserts him. And I love the way she stands up to him and is not afraid to speak her mind.
“You may be a duke, but you are not the sun around which the world revolves. In fact, you are quite the opposite, for you are the most selfish man I have ever known.”
Now Anthony must find a way to persuade Daphne to stay long enough to finish his project. It was fun watching the various bargains Anthony contrives to gain extra time from Daphne – verbal duels, midnight dances, kisses – and the camaraderie that develops between them as they dance, flirt and laugh together seems so believable. Their witty repartee was enjoyable too.
“Contrary to certain reports, I have been known to be kind on occasion.” Laugh lines appeared at the corners of his eyes, though he did not smile. “But I confess I am not being kind just now.”
“Yes, I know, and it is not going to work.”
He tried to look innocent. “What is not going to work?”
“This blatant attempt to trick me into staying with charm and—and other such tactics.”
“I know you are far too intelligent to be fooled by charm or trickery, Miss Wade. Can we not just say I am using the only weapon I have?”
“”Persuasion?”
“Temptation. If I can tempt you with the fruits of my garden of Eden, you might stay.”
I applaud Ms. Guhrke for not transforming Daphne into some ravishing beauty. She remains the same person she always was, but Anthony begins to see the real Daphne beneath the drab clothes, tight bun and spectacles – a woman who is intelligent, funny, tender-hearted and passionate.
It is clear that the circumstances surrounding Anthony’s father’s death and having to shoulder the burden of ducal duties at such a tender age have had a profound effect on him, and have clearly shaped him into the man he has become. Having seen first-hand the tragic consequences of love, he has always been master of his emotions, never letting his heart rule his head until Daphne comes into his life. I love how he uses the language of flowers to court her, his determination not to give up and how he finally opens up his heart to Daphne.
There is such a charmimg ending which left me with a lovely warm glow.
“What does a duchess do, exactly?”
He took a step toward her. “Love the duke. Love him with all the passion she hides within her, love him each and every day of her life.”
MY VERDICT: I still love this book as much as I did the first time of reading it. A delightful, entertaining and romantic love story which I can highly recommend.
Guilty series (click on the book covers for more details):
This review was first posted on the Rakes and Rascals blog:
https://rakesandrascals.wordpress.com...
I adore Daphne because it is easier to relate to someone who is plain, wears spectacles and, by the standards of the time, is firmly on the shelf at the age of twenty-four. She had an unconventional upbringing, having lived and worked abroad all her life assisting her father Sir Henry Wade, one of the foremost Roman antiquarians in the world, on his excavations. After her father dies suddenly, she is left all alone, unwanted by her mother’s family in England, and virtually penniless. Her decision to travel to England and take her father’s place shows real courage and I also love her response when Anthony questions her suitability for the position.
"I am the daughter of Sir Henry Wade, and he was the best. I was trained by him, and now that he is gone, there is no one more qualified for this post than I."
Anthony is arrogant inconsiderate, selfish and, in typical ducal fashion, expects to be obeyed without question, and whenever he wants anything particularly difficult or unreasonable done, he can be persuasively charming. His cynical attitude to love and marriage does not sit well with his sister, Viola, but Anthony is adamant that he intends to marry someone who will make no emotional demands on him
I did admire him for the sympathetic way he treats his estate workers who are unable to pay their rent, and for his determination that the museum should be for everyone, not just the wealthy.
It wasn’t hard to believe that a quiet, shy young woman like Daphne, who had spent all her life around excavations, without any social interactions, would develop an infatuation for someone like Anthony. I really felt her heartbreak when she hears his derogatory comments, but I admired the way she refuses to wallow in self-pity. She has always tried to please other people, first her father and then Anthony, but now she is determined to decide her own future and enjoy life, with encouragement from Anthony’s sister, Viola, who has offered to introduce Daphne into society.
Expecting everyone to cow-tow to his every command, I enjoyed seeing Anthony’s outraged reaction when Daphne tells him she is resigning and his usual coolness and self-possession totally deserts him. And I love the way she stands up to him and is not afraid to speak her mind.
“You may be a duke, but you are not the sun around which the world revolves. In fact, you are quite the opposite, for you are the most selfish man I have ever known.”
Now Anthony must find a way to persuade Daphne to stay long enough to finish his project. It was fun watching the various bargains Anthony contrives to gain extra time from Daphne – verbal duels, midnight dances, kisses – and the camaraderie that develops between them as they dance, flirt and laugh together seems so believable. Their witty repartee was enjoyable too.
“Contrary to certain reports, I have been known to be kind on occasion.” Laugh lines appeared at the corners of his eyes, though he did not smile. “But I confess I am not being kind just now.”
“Yes, I know, and it is not going to work.”
He tried to look innocent. “What is not going to work?”
“This blatant attempt to trick me into staying with charm and—and other such tactics.”
“I know you are far too intelligent to be fooled by charm or trickery, Miss Wade. Can we not just say I am using the only weapon I have?”
“”Persuasion?”
“Temptation. If I can tempt you with the fruits of my garden of Eden, you might stay.”
I applaud Ms. Guhrke for not transforming Daphne into some ravishing beauty. She remains the same person she always was, but Anthony begins to see the real Daphne beneath the drab clothes, tight bun and spectacles – a woman who is intelligent, funny, tender-hearted and passionate.
It is clear that the circumstances surrounding Anthony’s father’s death and having to shoulder the burden of ducal duties at such a tender age have had a profound effect on him, and have clearly shaped him into the man he has become. Having seen first-hand the tragic consequences of love, he has always been master of his emotions, never letting his heart rule his head until Daphne comes into his life. I love how he uses the language of flowers to court her, his determination not to give up and how he finally opens up his heart to Daphne.
There is such a charmimg ending which left me with a lovely warm glow.
“What does a duchess do, exactly?”
He took a step toward her. “Love the duke. Love him with all the passion she hides within her, love him each and every day of her life.”
MY VERDICT: I still love this book as much as I did the first time of reading it. A delightful, entertaining and romantic love story which I can highly recommend.
Guilty series (click on the book covers for more details):
This review was first posted on the Rakes and Rascals blog:
https://rakesandrascals.wordpress.com...
December 5, 2017
Thank God for the older HR!!!
I enjoyed very, very much this book and this story!
I was cheering for the heroine like crazy!
She took a bad situation and turned it against the hero, who, in the beginning, was a real ass!
And she didn't change her mind even when the hero started changing! WOW! Talk about the ugly duckling! LOL
The hero, an arrogant man as only a duke can be (as we all know from our deep knowledge of these behaviours ;-) ), is bewildered but such an incredibly daring and irrespectable behaviour!!!
How dare she refuse him? Him??!! A duke???!!! Where the world is going??!!!
And so their little war starts!
It was excellent to see how she thwarted his every attampt to lure, blackmail, barter her to stay and finish her job! She's so, so, so great at that!!!!
Excellent book that everybody who loves HR should read!!
I enjoyed very, very much this book and this story!
I was cheering for the heroine like crazy!
She took a bad situation and turned it against the hero, who, in the beginning, was a real ass!
And she didn't change her mind even when the hero started changing! WOW! Talk about the ugly duckling! LOL
The hero, an arrogant man as only a duke can be (as we all know from our deep knowledge of these behaviours ;-) ), is bewildered but such an incredibly daring and irrespectable behaviour!!!
How dare she refuse him? Him??!! A duke???!!! Where the world is going??!!!
And so their little war starts!
It was excellent to see how she thwarted his every attampt to lure, blackmail, barter her to stay and finish her job! She's so, so, so great at that!!!!
Excellent book that everybody who loves HR should read!!
March 10, 2021
Awn this was a sweet read and a very slow burn. They don't even kiss until chapter 16 (out of 26!) I liked the story line and how things were played out. And loved that he wooed her through the book "the language of flowers". Super sweet. I only wish we had an epilogue.
February 11, 2019
Entre 2.5 y 3
November 20, 2021
No one in the history of fiction dukedom has pulled the “i’m a duke” card more than this guy lmao. Enjoyable enough, but kinda slow at times.
October 22, 2019
No sé ni por donde empezar a hablar de este libro. Laura Lee Guhrke se ha convertido en una de mis autoras predilectas desde que leí su serie anterior (Los Bachelor) y ahora con esta nueva que empiezo solo puedo decir que...me ha encantado de principio a fin.
Sé que tiene alguna pega y que, según mis criterios normales no sería un libro de 5 estrellas. Pero lo bien que me lo he pasado leyendo y lo bonito que la autora cierra la historia compensa cualquier desliz que la historia haya podido tener.
Si nos atenemos a la época, sería casi imposible que una nieta de un barón estuviera trabajando por medio mundo como restauradora de antigüedades y menos aún que fuera la única restauradora trabajando al lado de un todopoderoso duque. Pero es lo que tiene esta autora. Te presenta situaciones que en un principio no pegan ni con cola y te hace una historia que te hace suspirar, emocionarte y enfadarte desde el primero hasta el último capítulo.
Daphne es una chica normal y corriente, pero muy inteligente (habla 8 idiomas!!!!), que está enamorada secretamente de Anthony, nuestro duque "cegatón" (llamado así cariñosamente porque durante 5 meses ni siquiera le da una miradita a nuestra pobre protagonista).
Cuando ella escucha una conversación en la que el prota no la deja nada bien parada (ahí era para darle de tortas con toda la razón), sus sentimientos se cierran en banda y dimite, dejando a nuestro prota con cara de tonto y pensando en qué es lo que puede hacer para que su mejor restauradora no le abandone por una temporada social en Londres.
Dicho así parece una historia muy simple...y lo es...en parte. Me ha recordado mucho a la trama de Y entonces el la besó (solo que ella era su secretaria) y ahí fue lo que me tiró un poco para atrás (por las comparaciones y esas cosas). Pero a medida que iba viendo los esfuerzos de Anthony para que Daphne se quedara y las pullas que ésta le metía medio en broma medio en serio, me empecé a enganchar y a enamorar de ellos y de su romance.
Utilizar el lenguaje de las flores para que nuestros protas se comunicaran me ha parecido de lo más romántico y original y el utilizar a diferentes secundarios para que la trama tuviera un poco más de enganche no ha hecho si no mejorar una historia que, de por sí, y como vuelvo a repetir, engancha y mucho.
Ahora solo espero que el amigo de Anthony, el compositor, sea uno de los protas del siguiente libro, porque si son al mismo nivel que éste; definitivamente esta serie se va a convertir en las mejores que he leído este año.
Sé que tiene alguna pega y que, según mis criterios normales no sería un libro de 5 estrellas. Pero lo bien que me lo he pasado leyendo y lo bonito que la autora cierra la historia compensa cualquier desliz que la historia haya podido tener.
Si nos atenemos a la época, sería casi imposible que una nieta de un barón estuviera trabajando por medio mundo como restauradora de antigüedades y menos aún que fuera la única restauradora trabajando al lado de un todopoderoso duque. Pero es lo que tiene esta autora. Te presenta situaciones que en un principio no pegan ni con cola y te hace una historia que te hace suspirar, emocionarte y enfadarte desde el primero hasta el último capítulo.
Daphne es una chica normal y corriente, pero muy inteligente (habla 8 idiomas!!!!), que está enamorada secretamente de Anthony, nuestro duque "cegatón" (llamado así cariñosamente porque durante 5 meses ni siquiera le da una miradita a nuestra pobre protagonista).
Cuando ella escucha una conversación en la que el prota no la deja nada bien parada (ahí era para darle de tortas con toda la razón), sus sentimientos se cierran en banda y dimite, dejando a nuestro prota con cara de tonto y pensando en qué es lo que puede hacer para que su mejor restauradora no le abandone por una temporada social en Londres.
Dicho así parece una historia muy simple...y lo es...en parte. Me ha recordado mucho a la trama de Y entonces el la besó (solo que ella era su secretaria) y ahí fue lo que me tiró un poco para atrás (por las comparaciones y esas cosas). Pero a medida que iba viendo los esfuerzos de Anthony para que Daphne se quedara y las pullas que ésta le metía medio en broma medio en serio, me empecé a enganchar y a enamorar de ellos y de su romance.
Utilizar el lenguaje de las flores para que nuestros protas se comunicaran me ha parecido de lo más romántico y original y el utilizar a diferentes secundarios para que la trama tuviera un poco más de enganche no ha hecho si no mejorar una historia que, de por sí, y como vuelvo a repetir, engancha y mucho.
Ahora solo espero que el amigo de Anthony, el compositor, sea uno de los protas del siguiente libro, porque si son al mismo nivel que éste; definitivamente esta serie se va a convertir en las mejores que he leído este año.
February 23, 2021
Very sweet story about the quiet, shy girl who emerges from her shell and enchants the duke. That's a familiar story line in HR, but Laura Lee Guhrke gives it new life.
I didn't like it as well as And Then He Kissed Her, but that book is exceptional. I recommend this one and would give it 3.5 stars if I could.
I'll definitely be reading LLG again.
I didn't like it as well as And Then He Kissed Her, but that book is exceptional. I recommend this one and would give it 3.5 stars if I could.
I'll definitely be reading LLG again.
May 16, 2019
"Guilty Pleasures" is the story of Daphne and Anthony.
So this was just..OK.
Our h is Daphne Wade- sweet, prim, bespectacled, plain, shy and a superb antiquarian. She works for Anthony Courtland, the Duke of Tremore, and spends her leisure time ogling his abs, and Greek god like hot-bod. Anthony on the other hand is a pompous peacock. He does not acknowledge his staff, makes his butler wash his hair, preens in good clothes and heavily believes in social segregation.
When his sister Lady Viola Courtland visits him, starts liking Daphne, and attempts to match-make, he ridicules the latter, calling her a twig/ plain looking/machine etc etc, a conversation that the heartbroken Daphne overhears. She then approaches Lady Viola about her offer to provide her with a season, and tries to leave Anthony's employ.
However, Mr Peacock is not used to being refuse, or defied. His precious museum is opening in 6 months, and he needs Ms Daphne for the same to succeed. He attempts to appease her, but she sees through his every selfish plead. Soon after he sees HER hot bod when she's enjoying the rain, he starts lusting after her, and as the attraction is reciprocated, they bang while trading on the amount of time Daphne would stay.
But after hymen is discovered, Anthony insists on marrying Daphne. Will she relent?
Honestly, this book has it's pros and cons. The heroine was smart but besotted and she made the hero work for her affections. The hero is very selfish in the first half, but he does redeem himself in the second. Also I appreciated that he did not sleep with his mistress, or be with his to-be-betrothed when he was with the heroine. The overall story is mildly engaging, but there are many times which left me craving for more...angst, emotions and passions.
An average read.
Safe
3/5
So this was just..OK.
Our h is Daphne Wade- sweet, prim, bespectacled, plain, shy and a superb antiquarian. She works for Anthony Courtland, the Duke of Tremore, and spends her leisure time ogling his abs, and Greek god like hot-bod. Anthony on the other hand is a pompous peacock. He does not acknowledge his staff, makes his butler wash his hair, preens in good clothes and heavily believes in social segregation.
When his sister Lady Viola Courtland visits him, starts liking Daphne, and attempts to match-make, he ridicules the latter, calling her a twig/ plain looking/machine etc etc, a conversation that the heartbroken Daphne overhears. She then approaches Lady Viola about her offer to provide her with a season, and tries to leave Anthony's employ.
However, Mr Peacock is not used to being refuse, or defied. His precious museum is opening in 6 months, and he needs Ms Daphne for the same to succeed. He attempts to appease her, but she sees through his every selfish plead. Soon after he sees HER hot bod when she's enjoying the rain, he starts lusting after her, and as the attraction is reciprocated, they bang while trading on the amount of time Daphne would stay.
But after hymen is discovered, Anthony insists on marrying Daphne. Will she relent?
Honestly, this book has it's pros and cons. The heroine was smart but besotted and she made the hero work for her affections. The hero is very selfish in the first half, but he does redeem himself in the second. Also I appreciated that he did not sleep with his mistress, or be with his to-be-betrothed when he was with the heroine. The overall story is mildly engaging, but there are many times which left me craving for more...angst, emotions and passions.
An average read.
Safe
3/5
July 13, 2021
Hampshire England 1830. Gave this 3.5 stars.
Anthony, a duke, had a single-minded focus on Roman
antiquities found on his estate. Bennington served as
excavation architect & Daphne (dtr of antiquities scholar
made a knight) as restoration expert. She was stranded
in a foreign country w/ dwindling funds, when her da
died. The duke had provided 2 ship passages to England.
Upon arrival, she convinced the duke to hire her.
Anthony planned to open a museum with these artifacts.
Frumpy-dressing Daphne did her excellent work and did
not say much until she did. Mrs. B chaperoned the h.
Anthony later discovered Daphne had a goddess-like body
when she purposely stood out in the rain. She'd worked
mostly in arid climates & loved the rain.
Prior to her rain episode, Daphne overheard Anthony's
dreadful comments about her to his sister Violet. Anthony
acted too aloof+ perfect. Daphne found her voice & started
to verbally challenge Anthony. Their verbal exchanges were
one of the best aspects of the story.
She was more likeable than he. His love of her didn't seem
sincere. I wish Daphne had been more diplomatic when
meeting her grandfather the baron for the first time. She
verbally lambasted him.
Anthony, a duke, had a single-minded focus on Roman
antiquities found on his estate. Bennington served as
excavation architect & Daphne (dtr of antiquities scholar
made a knight) as restoration expert. She was stranded
in a foreign country w/ dwindling funds, when her da
died. The duke had provided 2 ship passages to England.
Upon arrival, she convinced the duke to hire her.
Anthony planned to open a museum with these artifacts.
Frumpy-dressing Daphne did her excellent work and did
not say much until she did. Mrs. B chaperoned the h.
Anthony later discovered Daphne had a goddess-like body
when she purposely stood out in the rain. She'd worked
mostly in arid climates & loved the rain.
Prior to her rain episode, Daphne overheard Anthony's
dreadful comments about her to his sister Violet. Anthony
acted too aloof+ perfect. Daphne found her voice & started
to verbally challenge Anthony. Their verbal exchanges were
one of the best aspects of the story.
She was more likeable than he. His love of her didn't seem
sincere. I wish Daphne had been more diplomatic when
meeting her grandfather the baron for the first time. She
verbally lambasted him.
October 8, 2020
4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this . Well written which is always the winning ingredient for me when connecting to a book. The hero was a totally self absorbed duke and the heroine cleaned the floor with him. I love that type of chemistry. The steaminess although reasonably tame was set perfectly within the story. Desire for each other was clear and I love that when it’s done properly. There was nothing too complex and the story focused mainly on the relationship between the MC’s and there wasn’t too many sub plots or ridiculous twists.
February 9, 2017
libro que se lee muy bien, no tiene una trama complicada y te divierte. Me encanta que la prota sorprenda
8.5/10
8.5/10
Displaying 1 - 30 of 733 reviews