As the sole remaining heir to the Earl of Daventry, Alexander Randall knows his duty: find a wife and sire a son of his own. The perfect bride for a man in his position would be a biddable young girl of good breeding. But the woman who haunts his imagination is Julia Bancroft a village midwife with a dark secret that thrusts her into Randall s protection. Within the space of a day, Julia has been abducted by her first husband s cronies, rescued, and proposed to by a man she scarcely knows. Stranger still is her urge to say yes. A union with Alexander Randall could benefit them both, but Julia doubts she can ever trust her heart again, or the fervent desire Randall ignites. Yet perhaps only a Lost Lord can show a woman like Julia everything a true marriage can be...
Never Less Than A Lady (Lost Lords)
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Review
"Entrancing characters and a superb plotline..." - Publishers Weekly, starred review"
About the Author
Mary Jo Putney graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in eighteenth-century literature and industrial design. A New York Times bestselling author, she has won numerous awards for her writing, including two Romance Writers of America RITA Awards, four consecutive Golden Leaf awards for Best Historical Romance, and the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Historical Romance. She was the keynote speaker at the 2000 National Romance Writers of America Conference. Ms. Putney lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Visit her Web site at www.maryjoputney.com.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I love this author and have rarely been disappointed. This book was no exception. Mary Jo is a sensitive writer and this story of a woman who has been sexually traumatised by her late husband is riveting. She is in hiding from an assassination squad who blame her for his death. Although safe in a different part of the country, she has vowed never to put herself in the hands of another man. But circumstances force her to marry -- and to a man we would all love. He is sensitive, alert to her fears, desperate to make her love him but terrified he will overstep the mark and make her run. The story kept me absorbed, worried, fearful ... and of course at the end, happy. To experience the flowering of a person under the skilled hands of her husband is a joy. It is never over-written, never makes you cringe and the love scenes are sensuous rather than rapacious. I rate this book a keeper.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Helen Hancox
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I haven't read any of the previous Lost Lords series but found this book easy to follow and very much enjoyed it. Our hero, Major Alexander Randall, sells out from the army in order to find a wife and settle down as he has unexpectedly become the heir to an Earldom. He just needs to find the right wife.
But Alexander has to come to the rescue of midwife Julia Bancroft, a woman he met the previous year and to whom he felt an unexpected attraction. There's a lot more to Julia than meets the eye, and he quickly decides they should marry.
But Julia's past marriage threatens their happiness, as do the people who seem to be trying to kill her. Can she and Randall find some sort of balance in their life?
The author had a good grasp of the historical setting but she did make a rather amusing mistake, saying that someone had a `slice of shepherd's pie' when shepherd's pie isn't something with pastry but is minced lamb with mashed potato on the top, not something one can slice but has to be served with a spoon. There were a few Americanisms that slipped in but overall the setting felt realistic and the characters true to their time.
What I liked about this book was that both Randall and Julia were very engaging characters, people who thought about others rather than being selfish aristocrats that one so often reads about. I was slightly irritated by a plot thread where Randall worried Julia didn't want to remain married to him, for which there was no apparent evidence in her behaviour following their marriage, but overall the story was well written and I will enjoy reading other books in this series.
But Alexander has to come to the rescue of midwife Julia Bancroft, a woman he met the previous year and to whom he felt an unexpected attraction. There's a lot more to Julia than meets the eye, and he quickly decides they should marry.
But Julia's past marriage threatens their happiness, as do the people who seem to be trying to kill her. Can she and Randall find some sort of balance in their life?
The author had a good grasp of the historical setting but she did make a rather amusing mistake, saying that someone had a `slice of shepherd's pie' when shepherd's pie isn't something with pastry but is minced lamb with mashed potato on the top, not something one can slice but has to be served with a spoon. There were a few Americanisms that slipped in but overall the setting felt realistic and the characters true to their time.
What I liked about this book was that both Randall and Julia were very engaging characters, people who thought about others rather than being selfish aristocrats that one so often reads about. I was slightly irritated by a plot thread where Randall worried Julia didn't want to remain married to him, for which there was no apparent evidence in her behaviour following their marriage, but overall the story was well written and I will enjoy reading other books in this series.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars
34 reviews
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lost Lords #2. Better than #1.
28 April 2010
By Old Latin teacher
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Oh, where to begin? I'm a Mary Jo Putney fan from way back, THE RAKE being one of my all-time favorite romances and the Fallen Angels series a favorite too. On the other hand, LOVING A LOST LORD, the previous book in this new Lost Lords series, was, IMO, awful and didn't seem like a Putney novel at all. This new one is better, closer to what I'm used to from Putney, but... It's fairly well written and pleasant enough to read BUT reading it is like watching a Hallmark or Lifetime made-for-TV movie. With the exception of one over-the-top villain and the blustery, intractable Earl of Daventry (and his deceased son), everyone in this book is so darned wonderful, perfect, good, honorable, noble, understanding, etc. and everything works out so perfectly, well, honorably and nobly, etc. Should one dislike a book because of this? Not if you're needing inspiration and the feeling that all is right with the world and that most people are intrinsically good, I guess.
As for the story, it's been done before and often. Hero rescues damsel in distress and they marry to keep her safe. They know each other (not well) from the previous book and the hero has always felt an attraction to the heroine. She, on the other hand, is skittish about love and sex because of the violent past of her first marriage. In spite of this he manages consensual sex with her by page 160, making the reader wonder how she could block out so easily all that violation and physical abuse by her first husband. I think even the hero was surprised at how soon he managed to bed her, when all she had agreed to was a white marriage. And all the other problems that the H and H have to confront together are solved just as easily. Bad guy defeated, mean Earl turned nicer, heroine back to her rightful place in society (she's a member of the upper class, living in hiding as a midwife in a small village at the beginning of the story), illegitimate son of her evil, deceased husband found and cared for, and many other HEA tie-ups.
The problem for me, with this book, wasn't the writing ability of Putney. It's the fact that the book has no edge, no spice, no unpredictable moments. It's so sweet I may have even gained a few pounds reading it. Now I have to go out looking for a book to read with a really rakish, devilish, maybe even boorish alpha male hero and a pain-in-the-neck, feisty heroine to get rid of those extra pounds.
As for the story, it's been done before and often. Hero rescues damsel in distress and they marry to keep her safe. They know each other (not well) from the previous book and the hero has always felt an attraction to the heroine. She, on the other hand, is skittish about love and sex because of the violent past of her first marriage. In spite of this he manages consensual sex with her by page 160, making the reader wonder how she could block out so easily all that violation and physical abuse by her first husband. I think even the hero was surprised at how soon he managed to bed her, when all she had agreed to was a white marriage. And all the other problems that the H and H have to confront together are solved just as easily. Bad guy defeated, mean Earl turned nicer, heroine back to her rightful place in society (she's a member of the upper class, living in hiding as a midwife in a small village at the beginning of the story), illegitimate son of her evil, deceased husband found and cared for, and many other HEA tie-ups.
The problem for me, with this book, wasn't the writing ability of Putney. It's the fact that the book has no edge, no spice, no unpredictable moments. It's so sweet I may have even gained a few pounds reading it. Now I have to go out looking for a book to read with a really rakish, devilish, maybe even boorish alpha male hero and a pain-in-the-neck, feisty heroine to get rid of those extra pounds.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Something seems missing
30 April 2010
By Jacqueline
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Something seemed missing here. I've read all of Ms. Putney's books except the few dealing with magic. Almost all are on my keeper shelf. I don't think this one will be.
This one did not have the great historical details of the Fallen Angels series or the Silk Trilogy. This seemed like a plain old regency anyone could have written by throwing in a carriage, a long dress and a trip to Gretna Green. The characters seemed static not growing or changing realistically. Alexander was a grump in the last book, but here that was dealt with by a few sentences saying "That was just because I didn't want you to know I liked you." I would have liked to see him change before my eyes.
SPOILERS!!!
Julia has a fear of men from having an abusive first husband bad enough that she demands the ability to divorce Alexander after a year. Yet she is over it almost the first time they get together. Whoops non issue. It seemed there were too many irons in the fire. Was it the story of woman learning to trust again? The story of him saving her from bad guys? No real sense of danger was ever developed. Introducing her to society? We skipped most of the only ball/social outing. None of these issues was developed fully, leaving them all feeling underdone.
It was really only when they went to find her first husband's bastard son that I got interested. I liked that kid. I could have used a lot more of the three of them learning to be a family. And it would have been a stronger story if Julia had indeed been barren, making this part of the story more important.
Most of the book was formulaic and predictable. Of course Julia is really the daughter of a duke. Of course the boy was decent. Of course her brother didn't hate her. Of course the Earl of Daventry had a daughter and of course Julia, who thought she was barren, ended up pregnant.
This was just missing the depth of emotion that I have become accustomed to in Ms. Putney's works. Most of her works get 4 or 5 glowing stars from me. Sadly not this one. I will read the next one though because everyone is entitled to a not so good book now and then and Ms. Putney has long been one of my favorite authors.
This one did not have the great historical details of the Fallen Angels series or the Silk Trilogy. This seemed like a plain old regency anyone could have written by throwing in a carriage, a long dress and a trip to Gretna Green. The characters seemed static not growing or changing realistically. Alexander was a grump in the last book, but here that was dealt with by a few sentences saying "That was just because I didn't want you to know I liked you." I would have liked to see him change before my eyes.
SPOILERS!!!
Julia has a fear of men from having an abusive first husband bad enough that she demands the ability to divorce Alexander after a year. Yet she is over it almost the first time they get together. Whoops non issue. It seemed there were too many irons in the fire. Was it the story of woman learning to trust again? The story of him saving her from bad guys? No real sense of danger was ever developed. Introducing her to society? We skipped most of the only ball/social outing. None of these issues was developed fully, leaving them all feeling underdone.
It was really only when they went to find her first husband's bastard son that I got interested. I liked that kid. I could have used a lot more of the three of them learning to be a family. And it would have been a stronger story if Julia had indeed been barren, making this part of the story more important.
Most of the book was formulaic and predictable. Of course Julia is really the daughter of a duke. Of course the boy was decent. Of course her brother didn't hate her. Of course the Earl of Daventry had a daughter and of course Julia, who thought she was barren, ended up pregnant.
This was just missing the depth of emotion that I have become accustomed to in Ms. Putney's works. Most of her works get 4 or 5 glowing stars from me. Sadly not this one. I will read the next one though because everyone is entitled to a not so good book now and then and Ms. Putney has long been one of my favorite authors.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite what I was hoping for, but redeemable
21 May 2010
By Rebecca Amez
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
"Never Less Than A Lady" was much, much better than "Loving A Lost Lord." The first book in the series was so unlike MJP's classic style that I was actually concerned. This book is more like classic MJP, but with a larger dash of sugar than her usual pound of spice (pardon the pun).
This book is engaging for the first few chapters, has some occasional flashes of greatness, but has a lot of strange plot holes and some unexplained characters. The main issue that I had with this book is that the plot line is so recycled. Independent heroine, abused, genophobic, and being pursued. Cue emotionally wounded, still-waters-run-deep, awkwardly positioned hero. MJP has used this plot line several times in different stories and different ways, but I was mostly disappointed that she didn't make the characters as multi-dimensional as she has in other books.
On the positive side, Julia is an indomitable woman and the most fully-developed character in the book. Her genophobia wasn't explored as much as I expected (in fact, as another reviewer noted, I was shocked at how quickly she overcame her fears, and I think the hero was, too), but she had some surprising qualities. This book is more "old school" MJP than her other recent books; yes, she's returned to regencies and has left out the magic aspects, but "Never Less Than A Lady" is a very light, sweet read. Simultaneously contains and lacks some of her usual dark elements, but has a very sweet romance story when you erase the other plot points. Definitely worth reading, although I'll leave it up to you if it will remain on the shelf. It's staying on mine!
This book is engaging for the first few chapters, has some occasional flashes of greatness, but has a lot of strange plot holes and some unexplained characters. The main issue that I had with this book is that the plot line is so recycled. Independent heroine, abused, genophobic, and being pursued. Cue emotionally wounded, still-waters-run-deep, awkwardly positioned hero. MJP has used this plot line several times in different stories and different ways, but I was mostly disappointed that she didn't make the characters as multi-dimensional as she has in other books.
On the positive side, Julia is an indomitable woman and the most fully-developed character in the book. Her genophobia wasn't explored as much as I expected (in fact, as another reviewer noted, I was shocked at how quickly she overcame her fears, and I think the hero was, too), but she had some surprising qualities. This book is more "old school" MJP than her other recent books; yes, she's returned to regencies and has left out the magic aspects, but "Never Less Than A Lady" is a very light, sweet read. Simultaneously contains and lacks some of her usual dark elements, but has a very sweet romance story when you erase the other plot points. Definitely worth reading, although I'll leave it up to you if it will remain on the shelf. It's staying on mine!
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3.8 out of 5 stars
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