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Wicked Deceptions#2
The Harlot Countess
Maggie, Lady Hawkins, had a debut she’d rather forget—along with her first marriage. Today, the political cartoonist is a new woman. A thoroughly modern woman. So much so that her clamoring public believes she’s a man…
FACT:Drawing under a male pseudonym, Maggie is known as Lemarc. Her (his!) favorite object of ridicule: Simon Barrett, Earl of Winchester. He’s a rising star in Parliament—and a former confidant and love interest of Maggie’s who believed a rumor that vexes her to this day.
FICTION:Maggie is the Half-Irish Harlot who seduced her best friend’s husband on the eve of their wedding. She is to be feared and loathed, as she will lift her skirts for anything in breeches.
Still crushed by Simon’s betrayal, Maggie has no intention of letting thetoncrush her as well. In fact, Lemarc’s cartoons have made Simon a laughingstock…but now it appears that Maggie may have been wrong about what happened years ago, and that Simon has been secretly yearning for her since…forever. Could it be that the heart is mightier than the pen and the sword after all?
FACT:Drawing under a male pseudonym, Maggie is known as Lemarc. Her (his!) favorite object of ridicule: Simon Barrett, Earl of Winchester. He’s a rising star in Parliament—and a former confidant and love interest of Maggie’s who believed a rumor that vexes her to this day.
FICTION:Maggie is the Half-Irish Harlot who seduced her best friend’s husband on the eve of their wedding. She is to be feared and loathed, as she will lift her skirts for anything in breeches.
Still crushed by Simon’s betrayal, Maggie has no intention of letting thetoncrush her as well. In fact, Lemarc’s cartoons have made Simon a laughingstock…but now it appears that Maggie may have been wrong about what happened years ago, and that Simon has been secretly yearning for her since…forever. Could it be that the heart is mightier than the pen and the sword after all?
333 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 28, 2015
About the author
Joanna Shupe
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USA Today bestselling author JOANNA SHUPE has always loved history, ever since she saw her first Schoolhouse Rock cartoon. Since 2015, her books have appeared on numerous yearly “best of” lists, including Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Kobo, and BookPage.
She currently lives in New Jersey with her two spirited daughters and opinionated husband.
http://www.joannashupe.com/newsletter/
USA Today bestselling author JOANNA SHUPE has always loved history, ever since she saw her first Schoolhouse Rock cartoon. Since 2015, her books have appeared on numerous yearly “best of” lists, including Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Kobo, and BookPage.
She currently lives in New Jersey with her two spirited daughters and opinionated husband.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 347 reviews
October 5, 2015
I guess if you like the heroine suffering and sacrificing for the slut-shaming douchebag "hero," while also succumbing to the power of his magic stick, then this is the book for you! The characters are inconsistent and their actions and words correlate not at all, saying one thing and then proceeding to do something completely different. This book was the very definition of:
And, one of the most annoying aspects is that heroine started off so well. Maggie was still angry with Simon when she saw him again. She drew caricatures of him, mocking him publicly. She also displayed a bit of smarts when she wondered why Simon and Quint had purchased her artwork. However, that all quickly fell to the wayside as soon as she reunites with Simon. I guess that's understandable considering Simon:
In the beginning of the book, we see Simon literally turning his back on Maggie. I was hoping he'd grovel during the book, but that doesn't happen. At all. Instead, he never apologizes for what he did all those years ago and just tries to woo her.
The author sold Maggie out so badly during the entire book, making her suffer again and again while Simon is just a-okay. Maggie is nearly sexually assaulted, but she escapes. Her attacker, Cranford, flips it and says she came onto him. Everyone turns their back on her, including Simon, and she's ruined in the eyes of society. Simon doesn't ask her side of it. She ends up marrying a man who's around fifty years old. What does Simon do?
Wait...sorry...am I supposed to feel sad for him because he went on a three-day fucking spree?
I really don't give a shit about your man-pain.
Over the last decade, Maggie has sex with two men: one is her sick, fifty year old husband (who ignored her most of the time to be with his mistress) and the other is some Frenchman in Paris. However, "both experiences had been disasters" and she actually comes to hate being intimate with men. Simon? Oh, he was just fine! Not only did he have that three day orgy above, but he also currently has a mistress, who we get to meet, and she's "an enthusiastic and adventurous lover." But worry not because “there haven’t been that many women in recent years and none who meant anything substantial.” (They never do mean anything, do they? Oh, but only when it's the man...when it's the woman who's promiscuous, then it's okay to slut-shame her for it, right?)
Maggie, who is known as the "Half-Irish Harlot" throughout society, is actually able to gain none of the benefits of being a "fallen woman." Despite the fact that she's an outcast, she's talked about behind her back and to her face, her father died disappointed in her, her mother believes the lies about her and the man she loved didn't bother asking her side...and she's not even allowed to enjoy sex. The author has her play up the role and doesn't even bother to give her the benefit of sexual freedom. While Simon's been having great sex for the last decade, she isn't even allowed to have ONE great sexual experience! What happens then? Simon ends up being her sexual salvation.
In fact, the very first time they have sex is fifteen minutes after he slut-shames her.
Oh, and this meeting follows on the heels of the previous night...where he'd also slut-shamed her. The previous night he said:
In both of these he's trying to shame her for the rumours of her being with many men, by saying she prefers "crowds" and that there are "many players." And she has sex with him. Holy fuck, woman. This is the same man who literally and figuratively turned his back on you and is now slut-shaming you. Love yourself even a little bit!!
Simon literally never apologizes to her for turning his back on her. He claims to love her and that he wanted to marry her (even though from Maggie's POV we're told he never courted her??? so he loved her and was ready to marry her--even approached his mother about it--but he never actually courts her...?!) but he listens to what Cranford tells him. Instead of approaching the woman he claims to love and was ready to marry, he believes another man's words and then publicly cuts her, along with the rest of society. It's not even that he didn't know her! Their mothers were friends from their own debut and he and Maggie grew up together. And, still, he believed her to be a deceitful whore.
When she tells him that not only was everything a lie, what Cranford said and the image she's played up, he NEVER EVER apologizes to her -- not for ditching her when she needed someone the most, not for cutting her publicly, not for never asking her side of things, not for slut-shaming her after they meet again, not for continuing to believe the lies...not for ANY of it. He's sleeping with her and he still believes she was a deceitful whore. He even has the audacity to act the victim and tell her at one point that he has "forgiven" her. Fuck him.
It makes no sense that he acts so protective and possessive of Maggie now when he didn't give a shit before, not even enough to ask her himself. It makes absolutely no sense that he claims to have loved her but couldn't even be bothered to talk to her about the gossip or accusations. He waylays her when he thinks she's meeting Markham and all but chases the man out of Maggie's house...and this is the same guy who claimed to love her but didn't even bother to ask her side of things?
The author uses subplots in order to prop up Simon rather than just making him a decent person. He slut-shames Maggie...but then helps assault victims and drafts bills for rape victims? Like...where is the consistency here? Why put these things in to make Simon seem like a better person? Why not...I dunno...MAKE him a better person, instead? A rather radical idea, huh? I feel the author just put this in there so Maggie would "forgive" him and he wouldn't have to apologize for his behaviour and be forced to grovel. He turned away from her when she needed him--needed SOMEONE--the most. As a result, she married a fifty year old man and was scorned by society. Sorry, but the least of what I'm going to need is a fucking apology.
I honestly don't care that he'd been deceived by those letters or that he was thinking about duelling. At the end of the day, he chose not to approach and ask Maggie about Cranford, choosing instead to believe the lies and cut ties with here. So, again, where's my apology at, you fucker?
Oh, and when she does tell him the truth about Cranford? I was hoping it would be Simon's big turn-around, his OH SHIT moment...but nope. Instead!
Yes, he blames it on her and tells her she should've come to him, should've told him the truth. When was she supposed to do that, btw? After you cut her publicly? Instead of feeling guilty or remorseful, he pushes it on her, blamesherfor not coming tohim,going allWHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS???on her and making it all about himself.
And in the end? I actually downplayed it in my status update. It was more than just Maggie sacrificing her career for his. She literally gave up her entire life's work for the man, crediting it to another man. Oh, and not just any other man! The man she credits her entire life's work and accolades to...is Cranford, the man who tried to sexually assault her and caused her ruination in the first place! Art was all she had when she was ditched by Simon and forced to marry another...and she resigns her life's work for him.
Oh, and there's more! She's signing away her life's work because someone not only started making forgeries of her work that were seditious, and now she might be arrested, but she's also being blackmailed. They find out that the person behind the plot is Simon's brother-in-law, Sir James, and Cranford. Simon chooses not turn him in because it'll reflect badly on his family. James went after both of them because he dislikes Simon, and Cranford only went after Maggie in the first place (a decade ago, when he assaulted her) because she was with Simon and he was jealous. So, the two men blackmailing her are only doing it because of the other man in her life, Simon.
And, because he wants to protect his useless, blackmailing, swindling brother-in-law, Maggie gives up her name and art because she doesn't want him throwing away his standing in parliament. Oh, and I forgot to mention thatHE DOESN'T EVEN CARE ABOUT POLITICS.She's doing art because she loves it and it's her passion, while he's doing politics because it's expected of him and he figures he's good at it. The one time we're shown him doing anything political is when he's drafting that fail rape victims legislation, which he fails to gain support for. Her art, on the other hand, is something she's good at and is praised for throughout the book. The author makes her give up her life's work for something he doesn't even particularly care about!!
Simon literally loses nothing in the end, acting like a complete POS throughout the story and just continuing to gain, gain, gain. Maggie, however, is forced to lose time and again by the author, up to and including her artwork and the reputation she's worked so hard for.
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And, one of the most annoying aspects is that heroine started off so well. Maggie was still angry with Simon when she saw him again. She drew caricatures of him, mocking him publicly. She also displayed a bit of smarts when she wondered why Simon and Quint had purchased her artwork. However, that all quickly fell to the wayside as soon as she reunites with Simon. I guess that's understandable considering Simon:
In the beginning of the book, we see Simon literally turning his back on Maggie. I was hoping he'd grovel during the book, but that doesn't happen. At all. Instead, he never apologizes for what he did all those years ago and just tries to woo her.
The author sold Maggie out so badly during the entire book, making her suffer again and again while Simon is just a-okay. Maggie is nearly sexually assaulted, but she escapes. Her attacker, Cranford, flips it and says she came onto him. Everyone turns their back on her, including Simon, and she's ruined in the eyes of society. Simon doesn't ask her side of it. She ends up marrying a man who's around fifty years old. What does Simon do?
And so he’d licked his wounds like any respectable twenty-three-year-old would: the day of her hasty wedding, Simon got stinking drunk in one of London’s most exclusive brothels. He’d stayed for three days, hiring enough women to keep him entertained round the clock.
Wait...sorry...am I supposed to feel sad for him because he went on a three-day fucking spree?
I really don't give a shit about your man-pain.
Over the last decade, Maggie has sex with two men: one is her sick, fifty year old husband (who ignored her most of the time to be with his mistress) and the other is some Frenchman in Paris. However, "both experiences had been disasters" and she actually comes to hate being intimate with men. Simon? Oh, he was just fine! Not only did he have that three day orgy above, but he also currently has a mistress, who we get to meet, and she's "an enthusiastic and adventurous lover." But worry not because “there haven’t been that many women in recent years and none who meant anything substantial.” (They never do mean anything, do they? Oh, but only when it's the man...when it's the woman who's promiscuous, then it's okay to slut-shame her for it, right?)
Maggie, who is known as the "Half-Irish Harlot" throughout society, is actually able to gain none of the benefits of being a "fallen woman." Despite the fact that she's an outcast, she's talked about behind her back and to her face, her father died disappointed in her, her mother believes the lies about her and the man she loved didn't bother asking her side...and she's not even allowed to enjoy sex. The author has her play up the role and doesn't even bother to give her the benefit of sexual freedom. While Simon's been having great sex for the last decade, she isn't even allowed to have ONE great sexual experience! What happens then? Simon ends up being her sexual salvation.
In fact, the very first time they have sex is fifteen minutes after he slut-shames her.
“Surprising, since you certainly prefer crowds for everything else.”
Oh, and this meeting follows on the heels of the previous night...where he'd also slut-shamed her. The previous night he said:
“I only play games when there aren’t quite so many players. I do not care to be one of many.”
In both of these he's trying to shame her for the rumours of her being with many men, by saying she prefers "crowds" and that there are "many players." And she has sex with him. Holy fuck, woman. This is the same man who literally and figuratively turned his back on you and is now slut-shaming you. Love yourself even a little bit!!
Simon literally never apologizes to her for turning his back on her. He claims to love her and that he wanted to marry her (even though from Maggie's POV we're told he never courted her??? so he loved her and was ready to marry her--even approached his mother about it--but he never actually courts her...?!) but he listens to what Cranford tells him. Instead of approaching the woman he claims to love and was ready to marry, he believes another man's words and then publicly cuts her, along with the rest of society. It's not even that he didn't know her! Their mothers were friends from their own debut and he and Maggie grew up together. And, still, he believed her to be a deceitful whore.
When she tells him that not only was everything a lie, what Cranford said and the image she's played up, he NEVER EVER apologizes to her -- not for ditching her when she needed someone the most, not for cutting her publicly, not for never asking her side of things, not for slut-shaming her after they meet again, not for continuing to believe the lies...not for ANY of it. He's sleeping with her and he still believes she was a deceitful whore. He even has the audacity to act the victim and tell her at one point that he has "forgiven" her. Fuck him.
It makes no sense that he acts so protective and possessive of Maggie now when he didn't give a shit before, not even enough to ask her himself. It makes absolutely no sense that he claims to have loved her but couldn't even be bothered to talk to her about the gossip or accusations. He waylays her when he thinks she's meeting Markham and all but chases the man out of Maggie's house...and this is the same guy who claimed to love her but didn't even bother to ask her side of things?
The author uses subplots in order to prop up Simon rather than just making him a decent person. He slut-shames Maggie...but then helps assault victims and drafts bills for rape victims? Like...where is the consistency here? Why put these things in to make Simon seem like a better person? Why not...I dunno...MAKE him a better person, instead? A rather radical idea, huh? I feel the author just put this in there so Maggie would "forgive" him and he wouldn't have to apologize for his behaviour and be forced to grovel. He turned away from her when she needed him--needed SOMEONE--the most. As a result, she married a fifty year old man and was scorned by society. Sorry, but the least of what I'm going to need is a fucking apology.
I honestly don't care that he'd been deceived by those letters or that he was thinking about duelling. At the end of the day, he chose not to approach and ask Maggie about Cranford, choosing instead to believe the lies and cut ties with here. So, again, where's my apology at, you fucker?
Oh, and when she does tell him the truth about Cranford? I was hoping it would be Simon's big turn-around, his OH SHIT moment...but nope. Instead!
He stiffened, his nostrils flaring. “Goddamn it. Why, Maggie? Why did you not tell anyone?”
...
“I would have believed you, Maggie.Me.I would have listened and tried to help you. You should have come to me with the truth.”
...
“I see,” he said, his voice flat. He almost soundedhurt.“So Cranford ruins you, you do not trust me enough to confess the truth, and prefer to marry Hawkins instead. So tell me how I am the one turned into a drunken wastrel in your cartoons? What in God’s name did I do to deserve it?”
Yes, he blames it on her and tells her she should've come to him, should've told him the truth. When was she supposed to do that, btw? After you cut her publicly? Instead of feeling guilty or remorseful, he pushes it on her, blamesherfor not coming tohim,going allWHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS???on her and making it all about himself.
And in the end? I actually downplayed it in my status update. It was more than just Maggie sacrificing her career for his. She literally gave up her entire life's work for the man, crediting it to another man. Oh, and not just any other man! The man she credits her entire life's work and accolades to...is Cranford, the man who tried to sexually assault her and caused her ruination in the first place! Art was all she had when she was ditched by Simon and forced to marry another...and she resigns her life's work for him.
Oh, and there's more! She's signing away her life's work because someone not only started making forgeries of her work that were seditious, and now she might be arrested, but she's also being blackmailed. They find out that the person behind the plot is Simon's brother-in-law, Sir James, and Cranford. Simon chooses not turn him in because it'll reflect badly on his family. James went after both of them because he dislikes Simon, and Cranford only went after Maggie in the first place (a decade ago, when he assaulted her) because she was with Simon and he was jealous. So, the two men blackmailing her are only doing it because of the other man in her life, Simon.
And, because he wants to protect his useless, blackmailing, swindling brother-in-law, Maggie gives up her name and art because she doesn't want him throwing away his standing in parliament. Oh, and I forgot to mention thatHE DOESN'T EVEN CARE ABOUT POLITICS.She's doing art because she loves it and it's her passion, while he's doing politics because it's expected of him and he figures he's good at it. The one time we're shown him doing anything political is when he's drafting that fail rape victims legislation, which he fails to gain support for. Her art, on the other hand, is something she's good at and is praised for throughout the book. The author makes her give up her life's work for something he doesn't even particularly care about!!
Simon literally loses nothing in the end, acting like a complete POS throughout the story and just continuing to gain, gain, gain. Maggie, however, is forced to lose time and again by the author, up to and including her artwork and the reputation she's worked so hard for.
[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>[ "br" ]>
June 10, 2016
3.5 Reseña completa:http://masromance.blogspot.com.es/201...
Siegue mucho la tono de la entrega anterior. Tiene cosas que se pueden mejorar pero a mi esta mujer me entretiene mucho, sobre todo, por la originalidad de las protagonistas y de algunas de las escenas que plantea
Cierto que el vocabulario, a veces, es demasiado trivial, pero no sé si es la autora o la traducción. Y es el mismo que me he encontrado en otras de autoras de éxito anglosajonas.
Maggie me ha gustado mucho, una buena combinación de fortaleza y debilidad, candidez y cuirosidad sexial... que Simon no duda en aprovechar, Porque hay algunas escenas picantes que sorprenden, no por que sean especialmente fuertes, sino porque no abundan en la histórica.
No es una trama profunda, pero tiene muchos giros ya que es una relación de muchos altibajos.
Quizás el amor se da demasiado por supuesto, como en la mayoría de reconciliaciones.... pero creo que el gran punto fuerte es Maggie y su forma de afrontar los problemas, esa mujer resolutiva e independiente
Tengo muchas ganas de leer la historia de Quick... y la protagonista, que tiene igual pinta que sus predecesoras, una mujer de armas tomar
Siegue mucho la tono de la entrega anterior. Tiene cosas que se pueden mejorar pero a mi esta mujer me entretiene mucho, sobre todo, por la originalidad de las protagonistas y de algunas de las escenas que plantea
Cierto que el vocabulario, a veces, es demasiado trivial, pero no sé si es la autora o la traducción. Y es el mismo que me he encontrado en otras de autoras de éxito anglosajonas.
Maggie me ha gustado mucho, una buena combinación de fortaleza y debilidad, candidez y cuirosidad sexial... que Simon no duda en aprovechar, Porque hay algunas escenas picantes que sorprenden, no por que sean especialmente fuertes, sino porque no abundan en la histórica.
No es una trama profunda, pero tiene muchos giros ya que es una relación de muchos altibajos.
Quizás el amor se da demasiado por supuesto, como en la mayoría de reconciliaciones.... pero creo que el gran punto fuerte es Maggie y su forma de afrontar los problemas, esa mujer resolutiva e independiente
Tengo muchas ganas de leer la historia de Quick... y la protagonista, que tiene igual pinta que sus predecesoras, una mujer de armas tomar
June 14, 2017
Flojo, muy flojo.
Simon me gustó mucho en el anterior libro y estaba deseando leer su historia, pero ha sido un despropósito total.
Falta de argumentos, enamoramiento instantánea, prejuicios a mansalva, escenas de cama propias de adolescente y un final apresurado.
Si siguiese con la serie, sería por Quinn, pero tampoco quiero arriesgarme y llevarme un palazo como con Simon.
Ay señor, llévame pronto.
Simon me gustó mucho en el anterior libro y estaba deseando leer su historia, pero ha sido un despropósito total.
Falta de argumentos, enamoramiento instantánea, prejuicios a mansalva, escenas de cama propias de adolescente y un final apresurado.
Si siguiese con la serie, sería por Quinn, pero tampoco quiero arriesgarme y llevarme un palazo como con Simon.
Ay señor, llévame pronto.
February 4, 2017
3'5 Estrellas, me ha gustado, pero no tanto como el primero. Lo que puedo decir a favor de la escritora es que tiene algunas originalidades, peculiaridades etc., como si fuese una reinventora de la novela de Regencia.
En ésta novela se toca un tema muy sensible, cómo puede afectarle a una mujer inocente una acusación totalmente infundada, y todo el daño que puede hacerle a su vida. Maggie era una joven irlandesa y adinerada con un futuro brillante, pero una acusación engañosa de un noble arruinó su vida, sus congéneres le dieron la espalda, y también el hombre al que ella amaba: Simon. Diez años después y viuda, disfruta de la libertad que su posición y el escándalo le han permitido. Es pintora y dibujante de profesión y se dedica a caricaturizar a personajes de la actualidad política, entre ellos Simon, por el que siente un profundo rencor.
En cuanto a Simon, es el noble perfecto, joven, atractivo, adinerado. Lo único que lamenta fue perder al amor de su vida al saberse engañado, y ahora, para colmo de males es la comidilla de la ciudad porque cierto dibujante se dedica a ridiculizarle. Ahí será cuando Simon se encuentre de nuevo con Maggie y le pida ayuda para desenmascarar al pintor Lemarc (que en realidad es Maggie).
Lo cierto es que he disfrutado más de la primera parte de la novela, me ha parecido más original y entretenida. Por lo demás, pienso que el pastel se descubre demasiado pronto, y podría haber dado más juego. A pesar de ello a la novela no le faltan detalles, hay una trama sobre un chantajista que pretende arruinar a Lemarc, y otro asunto sobre un noble que de dedica a maltratar y asesinar a prostitutas, esto último me da que continuará en el siguiente libro.
En cuanto al romance, me ha parecido algo flojo. Sí, fueron una pareja que se amó en el pasado, diez años después vuelven a coincidir y Simon es el que mayor interés guarda por relacionarse de nuevo con ella. Hay escenas bastante sensuales entre ellos, como en el primer libro, subiditas de tono. Pero no han conseguido enamorarme, dan demasiadas vueltas a lo mismo, demasiados sí, pero no, que me han cansado un poco.
Lo que más me ha gustado, repito, la primera parte, y el desenlace, aunque no me hubiera importado que éste se alargara un poco. Por mi parte tengo muchísimas ansias de saber qué ha pasado con Quint, y estoy deseando que nos publiquen su libro.
En ésta novela se toca un tema muy sensible, cómo puede afectarle a una mujer inocente una acusación totalmente infundada, y todo el daño que puede hacerle a su vida. Maggie era una joven irlandesa y adinerada con un futuro brillante, pero una acusación engañosa de un noble arruinó su vida, sus congéneres le dieron la espalda, y también el hombre al que ella amaba: Simon. Diez años después y viuda, disfruta de la libertad que su posición y el escándalo le han permitido. Es pintora y dibujante de profesión y se dedica a caricaturizar a personajes de la actualidad política, entre ellos Simon, por el que siente un profundo rencor.
En cuanto a Simon, es el noble perfecto, joven, atractivo, adinerado. Lo único que lamenta fue perder al amor de su vida al saberse engañado, y ahora, para colmo de males es la comidilla de la ciudad porque cierto dibujante se dedica a ridiculizarle. Ahí será cuando Simon se encuentre de nuevo con Maggie y le pida ayuda para desenmascarar al pintor Lemarc (que en realidad es Maggie).
Lo cierto es que he disfrutado más de la primera parte de la novela, me ha parecido más original y entretenida. Por lo demás, pienso que el pastel se descubre demasiado pronto, y podría haber dado más juego. A pesar de ello a la novela no le faltan detalles, hay una trama sobre un chantajista que pretende arruinar a Lemarc, y otro asunto sobre un noble que de dedica a maltratar y asesinar a prostitutas, esto último me da que continuará en el siguiente libro.
En cuanto al romance, me ha parecido algo flojo. Sí, fueron una pareja que se amó en el pasado, diez años después vuelven a coincidir y Simon es el que mayor interés guarda por relacionarse de nuevo con ella. Hay escenas bastante sensuales entre ellos, como en el primer libro, subiditas de tono. Pero no han conseguido enamorarme, dan demasiadas vueltas a lo mismo, demasiados sí, pero no, que me han cansado un poco.
Lo que más me ha gustado, repito, la primera parte, y el desenlace, aunque no me hubiera importado que éste se alargara un poco. Por mi parte tengo muchísimas ansias de saber qué ha pasado con Quint, y estoy deseando que nos publiquen su libro.
May 1, 2015
I like to thank the publisher and the author for kindly giving me an ARC. I sense you understood how badly I wanted to readThe Harlot Countessand I meanbadly.
Moving on.
I find it harder and harder every time to like the heroine of a good romance story because they’re either too whinny, too stupid, too boring, too exasperating— too something.
With Joanna Shupe’s books, it isn’t the case. Not only is the first bookThe Courtesan Duchessa brilliant romance story, it has a lovable heroine, whom I am more than happy to label under “kickass heroines.” Sure, I hated the hero to his rotten core, but the heroine rescued the book for me. Hence, I trusted Joanna to present another kickass heroine in the second bookThe Harlot Countess.Did I get one?
Oh, most definitely.
Even when her reputation was torn to shreds, Lady Margaret Hawkins held her head high for the last ten years, not allowing anyone to get the best of her. She buried the humiliation and pain, deflected the advances of men, overlooked the snubs of theton,endured the lost of an innocent and happy life. More than that, she buried old “Maggie” when she became Lady Hawkins. She was forced into marriage with a gentleman old enough to be her father, for crying out loud! I know this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence back then, but still, I got to give it up to her for not spending the rest of her life feeling sorry for herself.
It’s admirable that Maggie has somewhat made peace with her past, although she is still hurt by her friend Simon’s betrayal. He turned his back on her,literally to her.
So she turned to art. The growing passion helped her to deal with the past and release her buried emotions as another form (can't decide whether it's entirely healthy or not) and I quote one of my favorites:“No matter what chaotic mess tumbled down around her, there would always be art. Her way of bringing joy and beauty into such a harsh, violent, and oftentimes cruel world.”
From the beginning, I think I instantly had this connection to Maggie, seeing I have a passion/hobby I turn to that gets me through the bumpy times. I can put myself in her shoes: The crush of a betrayal. Being a young girl and having your innocence destroyed by someone else’s pride and greed. Living in a world where people take pleasure in thinking the worst of you. Knowing no one cares about your story and they only hear what they want to believe.
Stubborn (not infuriatingly stubborn) and tough (not too-stupid-to-live tough), Maggie is one of those individual heroines, who boldly reaches out for what she wants and takes matters into her own hands, instead of playing the damsel in distress. Even though she had permitted the scandal to define her; even if she does hide behind her scorned name “The Half-Irish Harlot” and fill her lonely nights with scandalous parties, she isn’t a coward or a widow who needs pity, especially from Simon.
Some people may rage on about why she didn’t just tell him the truth and then none of this would have happened, but I’m glad she didn’t. Why must she explain herself? Why must she justify her pain to people? Why must she seek forgiveness and approval? Why must she have to work to win her loved ones’ trust when they have so obviously relinquished their faith in her?
Besides, if she did explain her side (the truth), she (I) would have never experienced the satisfaction of an “A-ha!” to Simon’s face.
If you haven’t met Simon yet, he is also a character featured inThe Courtesan Duchess.He’s a close friend of the Duke of Colton and the Duchess. Upon learning Julia— the Duchess, that is— did something to help him in the past, I was terribly desperate to know what. What is this piece of juicy information that even Colton doesn’t know of? What of Simon’s history can possibly make me dislike him when I’m already very fond of his loyal and laid-back character?
Simon, Earl of Winchester, is more complicated than he appears and is equally as stubborn as Maggie. While women are naïve in their youth, men are stupid in their youth. And then some. Simon is clueless about Maggie’s resent for him, and while I can’t tolerate harassment and believe everyone should at least know why they’re administered to such hatred (no sarcasm intended), it’s hard to care about his feelings when I’m too familiar with the feeling of disappointment. Maggie is more than angry at Simon. She is disappointed, and I believe that is even worse than anger when someone you love let you down at the time you needed them most. Simon didn’t come to her defense when the scandal broke loose, breaking her heart and forming a drift between them ever since. It doesn’t take Simon long to realize he was stupid enough to believed the lies and “proof” presented to him all those years ago and allowed the woman he loves to slip from his grasp.
Maggie is not completely blameless because like Simon, she lacks the common sense to communicate (which is no loss on readers’ enjoyment since it gives us a good story). Therefore, she holds onto a grudge against his good character and bullies him through a political cartoon, dubbing him “Winejester." When he asks for her help to uncover the cartoonist’s identity, she jumps on the opportunity to set him back on his search and takes satisfaction in deceiving him. Basically, Maggie lives on deception, and as far as she’s concerned, no bodily harm has been done to others by being Lemarc and the Half-Irish Harlot.
But where does the deception truly lie?
In making him believe he isn’t anything to her before he breaks her heart a second time.
Speaking of harlots and broken hearts, there are a few details bugging me. In other words, these are my downsides with the book:
• The communication.
Miscommunication is a fundamental part of the formula to a romance story. While the misunderstanding is cleared up for readers as well as the characters inThe Harlot Countess,it’s really not. If you get where I’m going with this... For example, there’s a scene where Maggie asks Simon why he didn’t married and he answers there was once a girl, but it didn’t work out. Does he ever confess the girl is her? Of course, he will, but we don’t get to see it. Another example is when Maggie learns about Simon’s duel from Julia, but the two of them don’t ever talk about it and the story comes to an end. Then there’s the fact that Simon got pissed poor drunk on the day of Maggie’s wedding and didn’t leave the brothel for three days. Does she ever learn about that? How will I know? I’ll never see her reaction. So many unspoken things are left unsaid and it’s fairly unsatisfying.
• Is it just me or does everything has to do with three?
Three offers of marriage. Three people knew of Maggie’s hidden talents. Three young ladies entered the shop. Three mermaids. Three men singing. Three men laughing at Simon. Three girls wanted an apprentice. Three new wardrobes. Three years of sucking money dry. Three estates Simon owned. Three days Simon stayed at the brothel. Three young men surrounded the table. Three years of Cora’s employment. Three days ago of receiving an update of so-and-so. Three years ago (again) when the errand boy’s parents moved from Pruissa. Three locations searched. Three weeks Maggie spent in Paris. Three years since Maggie seen her last lover. Three nights since the masquerade ended. Three hours spent inside a touch. Three men being the number of men Maggie slept with. Three thousand pounds. Three o’clock.
No, I’m not being missish or critical about numbers. An author has the right to use whatever numbers she wishes! I’m merely pointing out an unnecessary observation. One can’t help but notice.
• Simon never apologizes. Events aren’t explained. (Refer to bullet point #1)
• Will Lady Amelia, Countess Cranford, learn that her husband is a lying douchebag who tarnished Maggie’s reputation for his own gains? How will Maggie react? Although I highly doubt Maggie will ever reconcile with old friends like Amelia.
• Simon is another alpha male whose lust outperforms his personality. And that’s not a fine quality.
• Maggie never tells Simon she loves him. She doesn’t need to, but I just thought to point it out.
More bullet points will be added later on.
In the meantime, let me regard the steam inThe Harlot Countess.Whoo! What a delicious experience!
Page 155 to 156 and beyond: I blushedhardand couldn’t read for a good few minutes. I don’t remember ever reacting this way before. Me? Blush? I haven’t blushed since high school. No, no, scratch that. I’ve read too many romance books to count and I only have the decency to blush now? Dear me.
Oh my, Joanna Shupe, you are stealing my heart with your exquisite writing, powerful heroines, and sensual heroes. You are officially on my “auto buy author list,” a list which so far had only one spot reserved for the fabulous Julia Quinn.The Wicked Deceptionsseries belong on my shelf and I can’t wait forThe Lady Hellion.I’ve been crushing on Viscount Quint sinceThe Courtesan Duchess.An intelligent, poorly dressed, adorkable man is my type, I daresay. He’s been helpful for the past two books, yet sometimes he can say the most unhelpful and surprising things. His lines are funny and charming, even when he isn’t even trying to be. He’s being unapologetically himself and I like that about him.
Here's my review ofThe Courtesan Duchessif anyone's interested.
Moving on.
I find it harder and harder every time to like the heroine of a good romance story because they’re either too whinny, too stupid, too boring, too exasperating— too something.
With Joanna Shupe’s books, it isn’t the case. Not only is the first bookThe Courtesan Duchessa brilliant romance story, it has a lovable heroine, whom I am more than happy to label under “kickass heroines.” Sure, I hated the hero to his rotten core, but the heroine rescued the book for me. Hence, I trusted Joanna to present another kickass heroine in the second bookThe Harlot Countess.Did I get one?
Oh, most definitely.
Even when her reputation was torn to shreds, Lady Margaret Hawkins held her head high for the last ten years, not allowing anyone to get the best of her. She buried the humiliation and pain, deflected the advances of men, overlooked the snubs of theton,endured the lost of an innocent and happy life. More than that, she buried old “Maggie” when she became Lady Hawkins. She was forced into marriage with a gentleman old enough to be her father, for crying out loud! I know this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence back then, but still, I got to give it up to her for not spending the rest of her life feeling sorry for herself.
It’s admirable that Maggie has somewhat made peace with her past, although she is still hurt by her friend Simon’s betrayal. He turned his back on her,literally to her.
So she turned to art. The growing passion helped her to deal with the past and release her buried emotions as another form (can't decide whether it's entirely healthy or not) and I quote one of my favorites:“No matter what chaotic mess tumbled down around her, there would always be art. Her way of bringing joy and beauty into such a harsh, violent, and oftentimes cruel world.”
From the beginning, I think I instantly had this connection to Maggie, seeing I have a passion/hobby I turn to that gets me through the bumpy times. I can put myself in her shoes: The crush of a betrayal. Being a young girl and having your innocence destroyed by someone else’s pride and greed. Living in a world where people take pleasure in thinking the worst of you. Knowing no one cares about your story and they only hear what they want to believe.
Stubborn (not infuriatingly stubborn) and tough (not too-stupid-to-live tough), Maggie is one of those individual heroines, who boldly reaches out for what she wants and takes matters into her own hands, instead of playing the damsel in distress. Even though she had permitted the scandal to define her; even if she does hide behind her scorned name “The Half-Irish Harlot” and fill her lonely nights with scandalous parties, she isn’t a coward or a widow who needs pity, especially from Simon.
Some people may rage on about why she didn’t just tell him the truth and then none of this would have happened, but I’m glad she didn’t. Why must she explain herself? Why must she justify her pain to people? Why must she seek forgiveness and approval? Why must she have to work to win her loved ones’ trust when they have so obviously relinquished their faith in her?
Besides, if she did explain her side (the truth), she (I) would have never experienced the satisfaction of an “A-ha!” to Simon’s face.
If you haven’t met Simon yet, he is also a character featured inThe Courtesan Duchess.He’s a close friend of the Duke of Colton and the Duchess. Upon learning Julia— the Duchess, that is— did something to help him in the past, I was terribly desperate to know what. What is this piece of juicy information that even Colton doesn’t know of? What of Simon’s history can possibly make me dislike him when I’m already very fond of his loyal and laid-back character?
Simon, Earl of Winchester, is more complicated than he appears and is equally as stubborn as Maggie. While women are naïve in their youth, men are stupid in their youth. And then some. Simon is clueless about Maggie’s resent for him, and while I can’t tolerate harassment and believe everyone should at least know why they’re administered to such hatred (no sarcasm intended), it’s hard to care about his feelings when I’m too familiar with the feeling of disappointment. Maggie is more than angry at Simon. She is disappointed, and I believe that is even worse than anger when someone you love let you down at the time you needed them most. Simon didn’t come to her defense when the scandal broke loose, breaking her heart and forming a drift between them ever since. It doesn’t take Simon long to realize he was stupid enough to believed the lies and “proof” presented to him all those years ago and allowed the woman he loves to slip from his grasp.
Maggie is not completely blameless because like Simon, she lacks the common sense to communicate (which is no loss on readers’ enjoyment since it gives us a good story). Therefore, she holds onto a grudge against his good character and bullies him through a political cartoon, dubbing him “Winejester." When he asks for her help to uncover the cartoonist’s identity, she jumps on the opportunity to set him back on his search and takes satisfaction in deceiving him. Basically, Maggie lives on deception, and as far as she’s concerned, no bodily harm has been done to others by being Lemarc and the Half-Irish Harlot.
But where does the deception truly lie?
In making him believe he isn’t anything to her before he breaks her heart a second time.
Speaking of harlots and broken hearts, there are a few details bugging me. In other words, these are my downsides with the book:
• The communication.
Miscommunication is a fundamental part of the formula to a romance story. While the misunderstanding is cleared up for readers as well as the characters inThe Harlot Countess,it’s really not. If you get where I’m going with this... For example, there’s a scene where Maggie asks Simon why he didn’t married and he answers there was once a girl, but it didn’t work out. Does he ever confess the girl is her? Of course, he will, but we don’t get to see it. Another example is when Maggie learns about Simon’s duel from Julia, but the two of them don’t ever talk about it and the story comes to an end. Then there’s the fact that Simon got pissed poor drunk on the day of Maggie’s wedding and didn’t leave the brothel for three days. Does she ever learn about that? How will I know? I’ll never see her reaction. So many unspoken things are left unsaid and it’s fairly unsatisfying.
• Is it just me or does everything has to do with three?
Three offers of marriage. Three people knew of Maggie’s hidden talents. Three young ladies entered the shop. Three mermaids. Three men singing. Three men laughing at Simon. Three girls wanted an apprentice. Three new wardrobes. Three years of sucking money dry. Three estates Simon owned. Three days Simon stayed at the brothel. Three young men surrounded the table. Three years of Cora’s employment. Three days ago of receiving an update of so-and-so. Three years ago (again) when the errand boy’s parents moved from Pruissa. Three locations searched. Three weeks Maggie spent in Paris. Three years since Maggie seen her last lover. Three nights since the masquerade ended. Three hours spent inside a touch. Three men being the number of men Maggie slept with. Three thousand pounds. Three o’clock.
No, I’m not being missish or critical about numbers. An author has the right to use whatever numbers she wishes! I’m merely pointing out an unnecessary observation. One can’t help but notice.
• Simon never apologizes. Events aren’t explained. (Refer to bullet point #1)
• Will Lady Amelia, Countess Cranford, learn that her husband is a lying douchebag who tarnished Maggie’s reputation for his own gains? How will Maggie react? Although I highly doubt Maggie will ever reconcile with old friends like Amelia.
• Simon is another alpha male whose lust outperforms his personality. And that’s not a fine quality.
• Maggie never tells Simon she loves him. She doesn’t need to, but I just thought to point it out.
More bullet points will be added later on.
In the meantime, let me regard the steam inThe Harlot Countess.Whoo! What a delicious experience!
Page 155 to 156 and beyond: I blushedhardand couldn’t read for a good few minutes. I don’t remember ever reacting this way before. Me? Blush? I haven’t blushed since high school. No, no, scratch that. I’ve read too many romance books to count and I only have the decency to blush now? Dear me.
Oh my, Joanna Shupe, you are stealing my heart with your exquisite writing, powerful heroines, and sensual heroes. You are officially on my “auto buy author list,” a list which so far had only one spot reserved for the fabulous Julia Quinn.The Wicked Deceptionsseries belong on my shelf and I can’t wait forThe Lady Hellion.I’ve been crushing on Viscount Quint sinceThe Courtesan Duchess.An intelligent, poorly dressed, adorkable man is my type, I daresay. He’s been helpful for the past two books, yet sometimes he can say the most unhelpful and surprising things. His lines are funny and charming, even when he isn’t even trying to be. He’s being unapologetically himself and I like that about him.
Here's my review ofThe Courtesan Duchessif anyone's interested.
July 3, 2021
Lady Maggie Hawkins hace diez años sufrió el desprecio por el que creía su amigo, Simon Barrett, conde de Winchester. Ahora es la famosa condesa libertina pero también es la autora secreta de unas caricaturas que ridiculizan al conde. Bajo el seudónimo de Lemarc, Maggie se dedica a ridiculizar a Simon que intenta hacerse un nombre en el Parlamento. Éste intentará descubrir al autor que se esconde tras las caricaturas y buscará la ayuda en la mujer que un día le traicionó.
Esta es la segunda novela de la serie “Wicked deceptions” que tiene como protagonista a Simon Barrett y Maggie Hawkins. Simon es un personaje que me gustó mucho en la primera novela, era atento, con un punto divertido pero sobre todo un buen amigo pero en su novela me decepcionó un poco con su actitud orgullosa y algunas de sus acciones.
La incógnita del desprecio de la sociedad y del propio Simon a Maggie lo iremos descubriendo poco a poco, la autora nos va dando retazos y vemos al protagonista masculino con otros ojos, unos ojos menos interesados y es que sufrimos la traición de Maggie que tampoco es nada de lo que aparenta.
En este sentido me ha gustado más Maggie como personaje por su gran evolución, desde esa chiquilla enamorada a una mujer con más mundo, quizás algo más cínica, poco rencorosa para lo que debería ser, pero con la decisión y la fuerza de seguir adelante y conseguir sus sueños.
Simon ha sido un...https://oceanodelibros.blogspot.com/2...
Esta es la segunda novela de la serie “Wicked deceptions” que tiene como protagonista a Simon Barrett y Maggie Hawkins. Simon es un personaje que me gustó mucho en la primera novela, era atento, con un punto divertido pero sobre todo un buen amigo pero en su novela me decepcionó un poco con su actitud orgullosa y algunas de sus acciones.
La incógnita del desprecio de la sociedad y del propio Simon a Maggie lo iremos descubriendo poco a poco, la autora nos va dando retazos y vemos al protagonista masculino con otros ojos, unos ojos menos interesados y es que sufrimos la traición de Maggie que tampoco es nada de lo que aparenta.
En este sentido me ha gustado más Maggie como personaje por su gran evolución, desde esa chiquilla enamorada a una mujer con más mundo, quizás algo más cínica, poco rencorosa para lo que debería ser, pero con la decisión y la fuerza de seguir adelante y conseguir sus sueños.
Simon ha sido un...https://oceanodelibros.blogspot.com/2...
Shelved as 'dnf-at-all'
August 6, 2018I would like to thank the Arizona City Public Library for the opportunity to (attempt) to read this book, without having to waste good money at a bookstore.
I made it to about page 48. Not very far into the book, I agree. But it was far enough to get to the part about the heroine's party that she throws with women dressed as mermaids in a small pool (in the ballroom) and some guys dressed as sailors that come in to sing a song to the oddly placed mermaids. Once that little skit was over, the heroine steps into the pool to do her own little dance number for her guests (???!!!) and then needs to go upstairs to change into a dry gown before catching a deathly chill. Maybe I quit reading too soon to figure out what her motive was behind that whole scene... But to me, it was just ridiculous. If I was a guest at the party, I would have given her the cut direct too...
I never made it far enough to get to the constant slut-shaming that so many other GR reviewers mention. But up until this point, I couldn't figure out what direction anyone was going in. It was confusing and.... silly.
I made it to about page 48. Not very far into the book, I agree. But it was far enough to get to the part about the heroine's party that she throws with women dressed as mermaids in a small pool (in the ballroom) and some guys dressed as sailors that come in to sing a song to the oddly placed mermaids. Once that little skit was over, the heroine steps into the pool to do her own little dance number for her guests (???!!!) and then needs to go upstairs to change into a dry gown before catching a deathly chill. Maybe I quit reading too soon to figure out what her motive was behind that whole scene... But to me, it was just ridiculous. If I was a guest at the party, I would have given her the cut direct too...
I never made it far enough to get to the constant slut-shaming that so many other GR reviewers mention. But up until this point, I couldn't figure out what direction anyone was going in. It was confusing and.... silly.
January 4, 2022
i dare say, thewicked deceptionsseries is decidedly one of the more superior joanna shupe publications
i’ve readthe rogue of fifth avenueandthe lady gets luckyand noticed a commonality, or rather some tid bits about the setting (ie the gilded age/new york/outside of regency england) that just didn’t really work for me. or maybe i’ve still yet to find a gilded age fiction that i actually like. even then, based on how much of shupe’s backlist i’ve managed to rummage through so far, i realised that i much prefer her regencies.
anyway, to the heart of the matter: i just wanted to point out i enjoyed reading about simon more as julia’s friend than i did reading about him as a love interest to maggie. don’t get me wrong, i did eventually come to grow fond of them together as a couple ie seeing them reconcile after years of miscommunication and heartbreak with some grovelling thrown in.
having said that, i kinda feel that my enjoyment was slightly stunted by it’s lack of originality. or rather the lack of an original feel (if that makes sense), tho not entirely a fault of its own tbh. its a whole other magical feeling when i revisit one of my favourite comfort trope and even if it’s the same formula of romance rewritten with a different font, i will still relish the hell out of it. sadly,thisbook didn’t really have that. also, it just didn’t hit quite as hard the waythe courtesan duchesshad.
and i know, it’s definitely not fair comparison to make of the two books simply based on this one account but it is what it is… i guess? also there were some OW/OM drama that i didn’t particularly care for. nevertheless the spicy scenes, and simon and maggie’s interactions still deserve all the love 🔥
other than that, to reiterate what i alluded to earlier, i think i’ve read enough of this idk trope/formula/style that somehow everything else i encounter now resembling said style just doesn’t seem to have a certain ✨pizzazz✨ anymore. anyway, the one thing that holds true is my love for simon, so regardless of the other issues, he is all that matters and nothing else. certainly nothing to do with the delectable visual of a certain earl of winchester donning the look of a certain war general from ancient roman times. now that’s certainly one for the history books 🤤
i’ve readthe rogue of fifth avenueandthe lady gets luckyand noticed a commonality, or rather some tid bits about the setting (ie the gilded age/new york/outside of regency england) that just didn’t really work for me. or maybe i’ve still yet to find a gilded age fiction that i actually like. even then, based on how much of shupe’s backlist i’ve managed to rummage through so far, i realised that i much prefer her regencies.
anyway, to the heart of the matter: i just wanted to point out i enjoyed reading about simon more as julia’s friend than i did reading about him as a love interest to maggie. don’t get me wrong, i did eventually come to grow fond of them together as a couple ie seeing them reconcile after years of miscommunication and heartbreak with some grovelling thrown in.
having said that, i kinda feel that my enjoyment was slightly stunted by it’s lack of originality. or rather the lack of an original feel (if that makes sense), tho not entirely a fault of its own tbh. its a whole other magical feeling when i revisit one of my favourite comfort trope and even if it’s the same formula of romance rewritten with a different font, i will still relish the hell out of it. sadly,thisbook didn’t really have that. also, it just didn’t hit quite as hard the waythe courtesan duchesshad.
and i know, it’s definitely not fair comparison to make of the two books simply based on this one account but it is what it is… i guess? also there were some OW/OM drama that i didn’t particularly care for. nevertheless the spicy scenes, and simon and maggie’s interactions still deserve all the love 🔥
other than that, to reiterate what i alluded to earlier, i think i’ve read enough of this idk trope/formula/style that somehow everything else i encounter now resembling said style just doesn’t seem to have a certain ✨pizzazz✨ anymore. anyway, the one thing that holds true is my love for simon, so regardless of the other issues, he is all that matters and nothing else. certainly nothing to do with the delectable visual of a certain earl of winchester donning the look of a certain war general from ancient roman times. now that’s certainly one for the history books 🤤
March 25, 2022
2.5 stars? I think I’ve figured out what I don’t like about this series. First, though the stories start with the female main characters, the men are the leads for the majority of the book. Their actions and POVs get more time. Maggie wasn’t even in the first book, so I guess it makes sense that Simon is the lead here.
Unusually, second chance romances charm me, but this one was entwined with an enemies to lovers plot. When the characters got together, it was too abrupt. There are time jumps in the story and employing one as the two MCs started working together would have made the relationship development more natural.
Also, using Irishness as a reason for everything from being stubborn to having a temper to have dark hair is just bizarre. If you drank every time Maggie’s “half-Irish” status was mentioned, you’d be ill.
There wind up being two villains and one doesn’t get caught. Perhaps that’s being left for the third book? I’ll read it, but I know Shupe’s more recent work is better.
Unusually, second chance romances charm me, but this one was entwined with an enemies to lovers plot. When the characters got together, it was too abrupt. There are time jumps in the story and employing one as the two MCs started working together would have made the relationship development more natural.
Also, using Irishness as a reason for everything from being stubborn to having a temper to have dark hair is just bizarre. If you drank every time Maggie’s “half-Irish” status was mentioned, you’d be ill.
There wind up being two villains and one doesn’t get caught. Perhaps that’s being left for the third book? I’ll read it, but I know Shupe’s more recent work is better.
October 16, 2022
Absolutely adored the heroine and loved the hero's character arc after being such a jerk throughout the entire first half of the book. Several chapters take place in Paris which was a fun and interesting change of setting, and the steam level in this book isveryhigh. Overall I'm loving going through Joanna Shupe's backlist and this was no exception!
June 16, 2016
Otro libro estupendo, entretenido y original de esta autora. Definitivamente va a mi lista de autoras prometedoras. La historia me a gustado, incluso odiandole a él hasta casi el final. Ella es una gran protagonista, su personaje me a encantado, creativa, inteligente, firme en sus decisiones y opiniones. El punto erótico de las novelas de Shupe también son un punto a su favor. Los secundario también muy destacables, tengo ganas de saber la historia de Quint y Sophia. Aunque el "misterio" de la trama para alguien que haya leído bastante de este genero no es nada "misterioso", porque resultaba evidente su resolución, no ha desmerecido la novela. Lo único que me ha enfadado y de lo cual no puedo culpar en absoluto a la autora es la traducción. He encontrado algunos errores garrafales y evidentes que no me han hecho ninguna gracia, espero más de editoriales como Titania. Espero que haya sido un simple desliz con este libro.
En definitiva, al igual que con La Duquesa Cortesana, recomiendo mucho este libro. Una pareja con química y una historia con ritmo.
En definitiva, al igual que con La Duquesa Cortesana, recomiendo mucho este libro. Una pareja con química y una historia con ritmo.
June 17, 2016
My Musings
I am so glad I found this amazing series. I read the first book and had to immediately purchase the second one. The Harlot Countess pulled me into the glittering world of Regency England with the vivid descriptions of the attire and setting.
Maggie, the widowed Lady Hawkins, is an artist known as Lemarc. Her drawings depict members of society in less than favorable light, especially Simon Barrett, the eighth Earl of Winchester, a man who wants to become prime minister someday.
The last thing Simon needs is for his peers to remember his reckless youth, but Lemarc is determined to sabotage his efforts to gain political support for a bill he wants to pass in Parliament, a bill that is near and dear to his heart. Never mind his goals to become prime minister.
When circumstances place him in the path of the woman who broke his heart many years ago, he has to decide whether revenge or love is more important. Can he trust this woman, or should he crush her?
This is a fast-paced, exciting read with great characters, even though, at times, I struggled to like the hero. Ultimately, he is a character I love to hate. He truly fought his feelings to the bitter end, holding onto his firm belief in Maggie’s perfidy. Even when faced with the true, he still wanted to hold onto his resentment. It may sound like I didn’t enjoy Simon, but I truly did. He’s deliciously flawed in the best way.
Maggie is also a flawed character. She is definitely feisty and independent, but while I understand she was deeply hurt when Simon turned his back on her without even giving her a chance to explain what really happened, her grudge against him seemed a bit too over the top. What about the blackguard who caused her ruination? She left him alone until he comes back into her life. Whether I truly fell in love with her character, I found her deliciously complex.
I listened to the audio version and the narrator is fantastic. I will definitely be looking for other books performed by Carmen Rose. She reads with a great deal of passion without becoming too dramatic, and she does an outstanding job on the male voices. She is a true delight to listen to.
If you like a romance with plenty of angst and passion, then you will enjoy The Harlot Countess as much as I did. This is a great series, so glad I found it. Happy reading!
I am so glad I found this amazing series. I read the first book and had to immediately purchase the second one. The Harlot Countess pulled me into the glittering world of Regency England with the vivid descriptions of the attire and setting.
Maggie, the widowed Lady Hawkins, is an artist known as Lemarc. Her drawings depict members of society in less than favorable light, especially Simon Barrett, the eighth Earl of Winchester, a man who wants to become prime minister someday.
The last thing Simon needs is for his peers to remember his reckless youth, but Lemarc is determined to sabotage his efforts to gain political support for a bill he wants to pass in Parliament, a bill that is near and dear to his heart. Never mind his goals to become prime minister.
When circumstances place him in the path of the woman who broke his heart many years ago, he has to decide whether revenge or love is more important. Can he trust this woman, or should he crush her?
This is a fast-paced, exciting read with great characters, even though, at times, I struggled to like the hero. Ultimately, he is a character I love to hate. He truly fought his feelings to the bitter end, holding onto his firm belief in Maggie’s perfidy. Even when faced with the true, he still wanted to hold onto his resentment. It may sound like I didn’t enjoy Simon, but I truly did. He’s deliciously flawed in the best way.
Maggie is also a flawed character. She is definitely feisty and independent, but while I understand she was deeply hurt when Simon turned his back on her without even giving her a chance to explain what really happened, her grudge against him seemed a bit too over the top. What about the blackguard who caused her ruination? She left him alone until he comes back into her life. Whether I truly fell in love with her character, I found her deliciously complex.
I listened to the audio version and the narrator is fantastic. I will definitely be looking for other books performed by Carmen Rose. She reads with a great deal of passion without becoming too dramatic, and she does an outstanding job on the male voices. She is a true delight to listen to.
If you like a romance with plenty of angst and passion, then you will enjoy The Harlot Countess as much as I did. This is a great series, so glad I found it. Happy reading!
April 9, 2016
1.5 stars...maybe.
Oh boy. This book...I don't even know where to begin. But let's start with the positives first, though there were very few. I absolutelylovedMaggie and her journey from fallen woman to independent lady. And I loved the way she used her art to take aim at the hypocritical people (SIMON) and coldhearted society that wronged her so horribly. Joanna's sharp prose and sex scenes were also, once again, very well done.
Unfortunately that's where my regard for this book ends. I had my fair share of problems with The Courtesan Duchess, but not as many as I had with The Harlot Countess, Simon being the main source of my disdain. It was a horrible realization too since I found Simon quite charming in the previous book but god he was INSUFFERABLE here and not worthy of Maggie at all. Not only did he turn his back on her when she needed him most and slut shamed her CONSTANTLY, but never ONCE did he apologize for any of it. How can I possibly be expected to root for a man like that? I really wish Maggie had been given a better story and hero, she deserved that much.
Oh boy. This book...I don't even know where to begin. But let's start with the positives first, though there were very few. I absolutelylovedMaggie and her journey from fallen woman to independent lady. And I loved the way she used her art to take aim at the hypocritical people (SIMON) and coldhearted society that wronged her so horribly. Joanna's sharp prose and sex scenes were also, once again, very well done.
Unfortunately that's where my regard for this book ends. I had my fair share of problems with The Courtesan Duchess, but not as many as I had with The Harlot Countess, Simon being the main source of my disdain. It was a horrible realization too since I found Simon quite charming in the previous book but god he was INSUFFERABLE here and not worthy of Maggie at all. Not only did he turn his back on her when she needed him most and slut shamed her CONSTANTLY, but never ONCE did he apologize for any of it. How can I possibly be expected to root for a man like that? I really wish Maggie had been given a better story and hero, she deserved that much.
June 11, 2016
No me gustó tanto como esperaba pero tampoco fue malo. Lo que pasa es que no conecte con ninguno de los protagonistas, no me enamoraron ni me hicieron esperar cada aparición. Como si lo hicieron los extras de esta historia. Ya estoy esperando con ansias el 3 libro. Espero que me guste tanto como el primero haha.
July 15, 2017
Si algo tienen estos libros es la originalidad dentro de las historias típicas de regencia y eso es algo que gana muchos puntos conmigo, además de hablar más abiertamente de temas que otras autoras no profundizan tanto.
En cuanto a la trama, me ha gustado mucho sobre todo a partir de la segunda mitad, cuando ya el pastel es descubierto y empieza una carrera contra reloj para poder llegar a una meta concreta. No digo más para no spoilear. Si de algo me tengo que quejar, es que todo se ha solucionado en apenas 10 páginas y el antagonista ha tenido un final demasiado suave para mi gusto.
Sobre los personajes, me han gustado mucho, pero había veces que me habría gustado darles un par de capones a ambos por tercos.
Los secundarios ya les conocemos del libro anterior, y aunque ya no me acordaba muy bien del primero, no han hecho que echara en falta nada.
Definitivamente seguiré leyendo esta serie y espero poder leer el de Quinn, el amigo de Simon y Colton muy pronto.
En cuanto a la trama, me ha gustado mucho sobre todo a partir de la segunda mitad, cuando ya el pastel es descubierto y empieza una carrera contra reloj para poder llegar a una meta concreta. No digo más para no spoilear. Si de algo me tengo que quejar, es que todo se ha solucionado en apenas 10 páginas y el antagonista ha tenido un final demasiado suave para mi gusto.
Sobre los personajes, me han gustado mucho, pero había veces que me habría gustado darles un par de capones a ambos por tercos.
Los secundarios ya les conocemos del libro anterior, y aunque ya no me acordaba muy bien del primero, no han hecho que echara en falta nada.
Definitivamente seguiré leyendo esta serie y espero poder leer el de Quinn, el amigo de Simon y Colton muy pronto.
Shelved as 'avoid'
June 26, 2019
February 6, 2023
I enjoyed this story as much as I could despite Winchester getting on my nerves.
May 31, 2015
I liked this book a lot more than I liked its predecessor (I never went back and updated my review on the first one, but I did finally go back and finish it and... ick. The versions of the Duke and Duchess of Colton we got in this book arefarsuperior to the Julia and Nick we got in The Courtesan Duchess). You know how Regency romances are always threatening Ruination on the heroine for events that may or may not be her fault, so of course she has to get married to the hero at some point and you're always left to wonder,How bad is this dreadedRuinromance novels always talk about? All the heroines are generally saved from it before you actually see its results -- is it really as bad as it sounds?
This book answers that question to a certain extent. It's pretty bad. After nearly being raped and then having her almost-rapist tell everyone that she was a Big Ho, everyone turned their backs on Maggie, including Simon, the hero. Maggie is still scandalous, but she was married off to an ancient Lord, who considerately died ten years later, so she's a somewhat acceptable scandal and a combination of her marriage and herRuinationis even enough to give her a certain amount of freedom other women don't have. She throws baudy parties, paints at all hours of the day or night, as she feels like it, selling them under a fake name, and, along with Pearl Kelly (Julia's rather awesome tutor in the first book) she secretly helps prostitutes who have been brutalized by their clients. Still, she's understandably pissed off at Simon for turning his back on her and she vents some of her hurt by making a joke of him under her assumed artist identity. Simon, of course, learns of the artist making fun of him and decides to hunt down the man's identity to make him knock it off. He runs into Maggie in the early stages, and from there, just can't seem to stay away.
I liked Maggie -- she seemed like a real person, faults and all. She had been through a lot and had to build a tough shell to put up with the barbs and snipes uttered about her by so-called "polite" society. This made her pretty awesome. This also made her a little frustrating because even when Simon was at his most earnest, she wouldn't allow herself to trust him, but I kind of loved that about her too because it made her seem real. I had some issues with Simon, considering he spent a good chunk of the book making not-so-veiled references to her ho-bag reputation (I'm sorry, sir, are you a virgin? No? Then STFU), but I thought he redeemed himself... somewhat. He started to fall for her while still believing she was a big ho, rather thanafterthe truth about her past was revealed (sorry, not only virgins are worthy of love and I, like many readers, get tired of the double standard in romance novels that a woman can't have sexual partners, but a man can be one partner away from syphilis and still be a stud), so that helped him out a little for me. He also had some good reasons... I guess... for believing the lies about her (although seriously? This whole book could have been resolved by a quick, "Yo, what the fuck, Maggie?" after rumors of her alleged ho-baggery were spread).
My biggest complaint about the book was the lack of epilogue. I would have liked to see some of the ramifications of their relationship, how Simon's political career is affected in the end, or what happens with Maggie's painting. I would have liked to see how they were with a kid or two running around because the idea seemed to scare Maggie (that could easily have been a result of her thinking of what society would do to her and a bastard as a result, but she didn't seem like she particularly wanted children throughout the book). Since there is a third book, I suppose I'll get to see additional glimpses into their lives, so I probably shouldn't complain too much, but the ending still seemed somewhat abrupt for me.
Still... For all the awesomeness that was in this book, I (and don't ask me why) didn't love it. It's not the book's fault, I just left the book wondering "Why didn't I like that more?" It wasgood,don't get me wrong, but I just didn't walk away with plans to go buy a copy (this was a library read) and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, I don't have any plans for a re-read.
This book answers that question to a certain extent. It's pretty bad. After nearly being raped and then having her almost-rapist tell everyone that she was a Big Ho, everyone turned their backs on Maggie, including Simon, the hero. Maggie is still scandalous, but she was married off to an ancient Lord, who considerately died ten years later, so she's a somewhat acceptable scandal and a combination of her marriage and herRuinationis even enough to give her a certain amount of freedom other women don't have. She throws baudy parties, paints at all hours of the day or night, as she feels like it, selling them under a fake name, and, along with Pearl Kelly (Julia's rather awesome tutor in the first book) she secretly helps prostitutes who have been brutalized by their clients. Still, she's understandably pissed off at Simon for turning his back on her and she vents some of her hurt by making a joke of him under her assumed artist identity. Simon, of course, learns of the artist making fun of him and decides to hunt down the man's identity to make him knock it off. He runs into Maggie in the early stages, and from there, just can't seem to stay away.
I liked Maggie -- she seemed like a real person, faults and all. She had been through a lot and had to build a tough shell to put up with the barbs and snipes uttered about her by so-called "polite" society. This made her pretty awesome. This also made her a little frustrating because even when Simon was at his most earnest, she wouldn't allow herself to trust him, but I kind of loved that about her too because it made her seem real. I had some issues with Simon, considering he spent a good chunk of the book making not-so-veiled references to her ho-bag reputation (I'm sorry, sir, are you a virgin? No? Then STFU), but I thought he redeemed himself... somewhat. He started to fall for her while still believing she was a big ho, rather thanafterthe truth about her past was revealed (sorry, not only virgins are worthy of love and I, like many readers, get tired of the double standard in romance novels that a woman can't have sexual partners, but a man can be one partner away from syphilis and still be a stud), so that helped him out a little for me. He also had some good reasons... I guess... for believing the lies about her (although seriously? This whole book could have been resolved by a quick, "Yo, what the fuck, Maggie?" after rumors of her alleged ho-baggery were spread).
My biggest complaint about the book was the lack of epilogue. I would have liked to see some of the ramifications of their relationship, how Simon's political career is affected in the end, or what happens with Maggie's painting. I would have liked to see how they were with a kid or two running around because the idea seemed to scare Maggie (that could easily have been a result of her thinking of what society would do to her and a bastard as a result, but she didn't seem like she particularly wanted children throughout the book). Since there is a third book, I suppose I'll get to see additional glimpses into their lives, so I probably shouldn't complain too much, but the ending still seemed somewhat abrupt for me.
Still... For all the awesomeness that was in this book, I (and don't ask me why) didn't love it. It's not the book's fault, I just left the book wondering "Why didn't I like that more?" It wasgood,don't get me wrong, but I just didn't walk away with plans to go buy a copy (this was a library read) and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, I don't have any plans for a re-read.
May 18, 2015
The Harlot Countess is the second in the Wicked Deception Series by new author, Joanna Shupe and features a couple who reunite after ten years following a traumatic and acrimonious parting.
Maggie has suffered a debutante's worst nightmare - scandal. Through no fault of her own she is shunned by the ton and as a result is rushed off to marry a man 30 years her senior. She is a resilient girl, however, and with resigned acceptance makes the most of a bad lot. Her elderly husband quickly loses interest in her and she, left to her own devices, pursues her love of art and perfects her talent.
Lady Maggie Hawkins reappears on the scene ten years later, by this time a widow and a successful artist, albeit not working under her own name. Using the pseudonym Lemarc, Maggie has begun a campaign to discredit Simon Barrett, Earl of Winchester. She is using her talents, and gaining some notoriety in the process, by drawing political cartoons of the Earl in his younger days and naming them The Earl of Winejester. Simon had been the only person whose opinion had mattered to her in the days of her disgrace, and given she was secretly in love with him, his public cutting of her had gone deep.
Following an unexpected meeting, Maggie and Simon are drawn together again. He is on a mission to hunt down the mysterious Lemarc and to ask him to stop his campaign as Simon's political career is suffering as a result.
Simon notices a beautiful landscape painting in her house, and on discovering that Maggie is the artist he hits on the bright idea of requesting her help in his search for Lemarc. This gives him an excuse to keep her close, while Maggie takes a perverse pleasure in agreeing to his request.
I had a few reservations which caused me to lower my final grade from 4 stars to 3, but on the wholeThe Harlot Countessis a solidly written story with well-defined characters. The writing flows and I can see Joanna Shupe has a future. Her protagonists are interesting and the romance between them is sweet and sensual, if just a little too much on the graphic side for my taste. I did, however, sometimes want to bang their heads together because of the Big – and it is BIG – Misunderstanding that develops between them. Simon makes assumptions about Maggie’s past but magnanimously decides he will ignore it - and she is so desperate to be with him that she just lets him think the worst. I liked the secondary characters too, although I wish I'd read her debut novelThe Courtesan Duchess,as I think it's really necessary to know their background, so involved were they in this story and plot. And speaking of the plot, it was quite confusing and not terribly well thought out at times. I knew who had done what without too much thought, but the one thing I did want to know – which had seemed to be an important plot point - was never disclosed. I was also irritated by the number of Americanisms dotted throughout this story set in Regency England.
On the whole,The Harlot Countessis a promising read from this new author and I would be interested to read the next in the series eventually.
I reviewed a review copy from Net Galley
Maggie has suffered a debutante's worst nightmare - scandal. Through no fault of her own she is shunned by the ton and as a result is rushed off to marry a man 30 years her senior. She is a resilient girl, however, and with resigned acceptance makes the most of a bad lot. Her elderly husband quickly loses interest in her and she, left to her own devices, pursues her love of art and perfects her talent.
Lady Maggie Hawkins reappears on the scene ten years later, by this time a widow and a successful artist, albeit not working under her own name. Using the pseudonym Lemarc, Maggie has begun a campaign to discredit Simon Barrett, Earl of Winchester. She is using her talents, and gaining some notoriety in the process, by drawing political cartoons of the Earl in his younger days and naming them The Earl of Winejester. Simon had been the only person whose opinion had mattered to her in the days of her disgrace, and given she was secretly in love with him, his public cutting of her had gone deep.
Following an unexpected meeting, Maggie and Simon are drawn together again. He is on a mission to hunt down the mysterious Lemarc and to ask him to stop his campaign as Simon's political career is suffering as a result.
Simon notices a beautiful landscape painting in her house, and on discovering that Maggie is the artist he hits on the bright idea of requesting her help in his search for Lemarc. This gives him an excuse to keep her close, while Maggie takes a perverse pleasure in agreeing to his request.
I had a few reservations which caused me to lower my final grade from 4 stars to 3, but on the wholeThe Harlot Countessis a solidly written story with well-defined characters. The writing flows and I can see Joanna Shupe has a future. Her protagonists are interesting and the romance between them is sweet and sensual, if just a little too much on the graphic side for my taste. I did, however, sometimes want to bang their heads together because of the Big – and it is BIG – Misunderstanding that develops between them. Simon makes assumptions about Maggie’s past but magnanimously decides he will ignore it - and she is so desperate to be with him that she just lets him think the worst. I liked the secondary characters too, although I wish I'd read her debut novelThe Courtesan Duchess,as I think it's really necessary to know their background, so involved were they in this story and plot. And speaking of the plot, it was quite confusing and not terribly well thought out at times. I knew who had done what without too much thought, but the one thing I did want to know – which had seemed to be an important plot point - was never disclosed. I was also irritated by the number of Americanisms dotted throughout this story set in Regency England.
On the whole,The Harlot Countessis a promising read from this new author and I would be interested to read the next in the series eventually.
I reviewed a review copy from Net Galley
February 3, 2023
I'm not sure If I liked this plot, 10 years is a long time. Why would the FMC want to get the hero's attention after that time? Why didn't the hero ever try to get close to her? If he knew her so well since he was a child, why did he trust someone else back then? And during the 10 years? I mean, if you have a mistress, pay for sex,... What was wrong with clarifying what happened with a "harlot"? These questions began to overshadow my reading...
I also expected a better-resolved FMC. Especially at the end, the FMC seemed out of character. I just don't like it when a FMC thinks that leaving is always the best solution; it is too dramatic for me.
2.5
I also expected a better-resolved FMC. Especially at the end, the FMC seemed out of character. I just don't like it when a FMC thinks that leaving is always the best solution; it is too dramatic for me.
2.5
February 17, 2023
Simon you slut-shaming git
March 6, 2015
I really enjoyed Maggie and Simon’s story. Maggie is a very different historical romance heroine, she is a widow, and she actually works, and enjoys working! Maggie’s debut almost 10 years ago was awful; she fell in love with Simon, but was then ostracized by society after a disreputable man ripped her dress. She had to marry an older man to remain somewhat respectable in order to not taint her younger sister’s chances of finding a husband. Maggie isn’t even unhappy with her first marriage, it gave her time to grow into the artist she wanted to be and her first husband pretty much left her alone.
Maggie is still hurt by Simon from all of those years ago. He didn’t stick up for her; he didn’t even ask her or give her a chance to explain her part in the scandal. He actually believed that she duped him and that she was carrying on with other men and leading him toward marriage.
Maggie cooks up a great scheme; she uses her art to make a fool of Simon. Simon is desperate to find the artist who is drawing caricatures of him and making him a laughingstock. Simon actually asks Maggie to help him find the artist, while spending more time with Maggie Simon remembers how much he had always wanted her and if she is willing he will take her. Maggie is the Half-Irish-Harlot anyway, but she only uses this to hide her true self behind.
Simon was definitely due to be knocked down a few pegs and I was really rooting for Maggie. He really hurt her and as a reader you know how much he hurt her because she isn’t over it after 10 years. The love scenes between these two are explosive and really hot. I really hope that Quint’s story is next. I can’t wait to read about the woman he falls in love with.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Maggie is still hurt by Simon from all of those years ago. He didn’t stick up for her; he didn’t even ask her or give her a chance to explain her part in the scandal. He actually believed that she duped him and that she was carrying on with other men and leading him toward marriage.
Maggie cooks up a great scheme; she uses her art to make a fool of Simon. Simon is desperate to find the artist who is drawing caricatures of him and making him a laughingstock. Simon actually asks Maggie to help him find the artist, while spending more time with Maggie Simon remembers how much he had always wanted her and if she is willing he will take her. Maggie is the Half-Irish-Harlot anyway, but she only uses this to hide her true self behind.
Simon was definitely due to be knocked down a few pegs and I was really rooting for Maggie. He really hurt her and as a reader you know how much he hurt her because she isn’t over it after 10 years. The love scenes between these two are explosive and really hot. I really hope that Quint’s story is next. I can’t wait to read about the woman he falls in love with.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
February 13, 2022
First half: I don't care about my reputation
Second half: but... your reputation!
Second half: but... your reputation!
August 13, 2024
Review from 2015
B for both content and narration.
This is the middle book in Joanna Shupe’s Wicked Deceptions trilogy, and having enjoyed the first book,The Courtesan Duchess,in print (I gave it a B at AAR), I decided to pick up the second in audio. The author impressed me with her storytelling and her ability to create strong, well-defined characters as well as to turn up the heat with some crackling sexual tension and steamy love scenes.The Harlot Countessis certainly no slacker in the steam department, and Ms Shupe has once more created a couple of interesting characters; but I can’t deny that the plotline – much of which revolves around the massive misunderstanding the couple experienced a decade earlier and their inability/unwillingness to talk about it until well into the book – is somewhat frustrating at times.
Owing to a malicious rumour circulated by a thwarted suitor, Lady Margaret Neeley is the subject of such cruel and outraged gossip that she is ruined at her début and dubbed “The Half-Irish Harlot”. Quickly rushed into marriage with a man several decades her senior, Maggie spends most of the next decade living quietly in Norfolk, but she has never forgotten – or forgiven – the cut direct given her by the one man she had thought would stand by her on that horrible night.
Moving forward almost a decade finds Simon Barrett, Earl of Winchester, a rising star in political circles, even tipped as a future prime minister. But for the past year, his standing has been constantly undermined by the merciless lampooning of a popular political cartoonist named Lemarc, whose illustrations depict Simon in his “illustrious, drunken youth”, and nickname him “Lord Winejester”. Simon wants to find Lemarc and persuade him to stop his attacks, but there is a snag: nobody knows who Lemarc is or how to find him.
When the widowed Lady Maggie Hawkins returns to London following the end of her mourning period, she is still the subject of unpleasant gossip. But this Maggie is a different woman from her younger self. Her marriage was not a dreadful one; her late husband allowed her the freedom to pursue her artistic studies and over the years, she has grown into a strong and self-assured young woman. Her widowhood allows her to live the life she chooses for herself, and not to bow to stifling convention. Her scandalous parties are legendary (and very popular), and she is assumed to have had a string of lovers over the years. She does nothing to refute that assumption, believing – quite rightly – that she doesn’t have to justify herself to anybody.
Simon is as immediately captivated by Maggie as he was ten years before – and, unfortunately, just as prone to making the wrong assumptions about her. He doesn’t understand why Maggie is so frosty towards him and so determined to avoid his company; and Maggie still doesn’t know why he literally turned his back on her when she needed him the most. But their meeting at the print-shop that displays Lemarc’s artwork gives Simon an idea; Maggie moves in artistic circles and perhaps is well-placed to help him to locate the artist, so Simon asks for her help to do just that.
Lemarc’s identity is disclosed early on in the story, so it’s not a spoiler to say that Simon is in for a shock!
As Simon and Maggie begin to spend more time together, the spark which had drawn them together the first time is re-ignited and this time, is irresistible. The relationship between them is highly sensual and well-developed; they begin an affair fairly early on in the book and there is no mistaking their overwhelming lust for each other. But as the story continues, Simon comes to realise that even though they are already lovers, what he really wants is to court Maggie properly, showing her tenderness and affection as well as physical passion. It’s easy – sometimes – to be annoyed with Simon for his persistence in believing the rumours that continue to circulate about Maggie and her supposed sexual voracity. Yet the author goes a long way towards redeeming him by the way in which she has him falling for Maggie in spite of that belief, and in the way she shows him gradually coming to realise that the woman he is coming to know cannot be the promiscuous trollop society paints her.
The secondary plotline in the book concerns Maggie’s involvement in a scheme that helps young women – mostly prostitutes – who have been brutalised and finds them safer places to live and work; and Simon’s attempt to get a bill through Parliament which would force men who violate women to make some sort of financial restitution. Having been a witness to sexual violence in his youth (he saw his nanny assaulted by one of the grooms when he was a boy), he is determined to do something to help women in similar situations. He and Maggie clash over his plans, which he fails to see are far from ideal, but ultimately, their aims are the same. The problem is that Maggie’s enquiries and her relationship with Simon are drawing the wrong sort of attention; the sort that could place her in great danger.
I enjoyed Carmen Rose’s narration in this book far more than in the last audiobook of hers I listened to (All the Ways to Ruin a Rogue). She captures the sensuality inherent in the central relationship very well, and I enjoyed her characterisations of the two principals, Maggie’s low, almost velvety speech contrasting strongly with Simon’s more clipped, authoritative tones. She differentiates well between all the characters, particularly between Simon and his friends, Colton and Quint, so that I was never confused when they all appeared in scenes together. In fact, I like the way Ms Rose portrays the male characters; her voice is naturally fairly deep, so she doesn’t need to drop the pitch very much, but she adds a slightly harder edge and brightness of tone to delineate the men which works well and sounds very attractive. The narrative is expressively read and well-paced, but her tendency to take breaths in odd places and thus add a strange emphasis to some words and phrases is still in evidence. I suppose I’ve listened to her enough times now to be used to it, and there are times at which it is more noticeable than others – but I still wish she didn’t do it, as all the other aspects of her performances are good enough to make her an A grade narrator.
Overall, I enjoyed listening toThe Harlot Countessin spite of my reservations about the set-up. The romance is well developed with both Simon and Maggie coming to understand the reasons behind their decade-long separation and reaching a new appreciation of each other. Ms Shupe is a new author in the genre, and I will definitely be looking to read and listen to more of her books.
B for both content and narration.
This is the middle book in Joanna Shupe’s Wicked Deceptions trilogy, and having enjoyed the first book,The Courtesan Duchess,in print (I gave it a B at AAR), I decided to pick up the second in audio. The author impressed me with her storytelling and her ability to create strong, well-defined characters as well as to turn up the heat with some crackling sexual tension and steamy love scenes.The Harlot Countessis certainly no slacker in the steam department, and Ms Shupe has once more created a couple of interesting characters; but I can’t deny that the plotline – much of which revolves around the massive misunderstanding the couple experienced a decade earlier and their inability/unwillingness to talk about it until well into the book – is somewhat frustrating at times.
Owing to a malicious rumour circulated by a thwarted suitor, Lady Margaret Neeley is the subject of such cruel and outraged gossip that she is ruined at her début and dubbed “The Half-Irish Harlot”. Quickly rushed into marriage with a man several decades her senior, Maggie spends most of the next decade living quietly in Norfolk, but she has never forgotten – or forgiven – the cut direct given her by the one man she had thought would stand by her on that horrible night.
Moving forward almost a decade finds Simon Barrett, Earl of Winchester, a rising star in political circles, even tipped as a future prime minister. But for the past year, his standing has been constantly undermined by the merciless lampooning of a popular political cartoonist named Lemarc, whose illustrations depict Simon in his “illustrious, drunken youth”, and nickname him “Lord Winejester”. Simon wants to find Lemarc and persuade him to stop his attacks, but there is a snag: nobody knows who Lemarc is or how to find him.
When the widowed Lady Maggie Hawkins returns to London following the end of her mourning period, she is still the subject of unpleasant gossip. But this Maggie is a different woman from her younger self. Her marriage was not a dreadful one; her late husband allowed her the freedom to pursue her artistic studies and over the years, she has grown into a strong and self-assured young woman. Her widowhood allows her to live the life she chooses for herself, and not to bow to stifling convention. Her scandalous parties are legendary (and very popular), and she is assumed to have had a string of lovers over the years. She does nothing to refute that assumption, believing – quite rightly – that she doesn’t have to justify herself to anybody.
Simon is as immediately captivated by Maggie as he was ten years before – and, unfortunately, just as prone to making the wrong assumptions about her. He doesn’t understand why Maggie is so frosty towards him and so determined to avoid his company; and Maggie still doesn’t know why he literally turned his back on her when she needed him the most. But their meeting at the print-shop that displays Lemarc’s artwork gives Simon an idea; Maggie moves in artistic circles and perhaps is well-placed to help him to locate the artist, so Simon asks for her help to do just that.
Lemarc’s identity is disclosed early on in the story, so it’s not a spoiler to say that Simon is in for a shock!
As Simon and Maggie begin to spend more time together, the spark which had drawn them together the first time is re-ignited and this time, is irresistible. The relationship between them is highly sensual and well-developed; they begin an affair fairly early on in the book and there is no mistaking their overwhelming lust for each other. But as the story continues, Simon comes to realise that even though they are already lovers, what he really wants is to court Maggie properly, showing her tenderness and affection as well as physical passion. It’s easy – sometimes – to be annoyed with Simon for his persistence in believing the rumours that continue to circulate about Maggie and her supposed sexual voracity. Yet the author goes a long way towards redeeming him by the way in which she has him falling for Maggie in spite of that belief, and in the way she shows him gradually coming to realise that the woman he is coming to know cannot be the promiscuous trollop society paints her.
The secondary plotline in the book concerns Maggie’s involvement in a scheme that helps young women – mostly prostitutes – who have been brutalised and finds them safer places to live and work; and Simon’s attempt to get a bill through Parliament which would force men who violate women to make some sort of financial restitution. Having been a witness to sexual violence in his youth (he saw his nanny assaulted by one of the grooms when he was a boy), he is determined to do something to help women in similar situations. He and Maggie clash over his plans, which he fails to see are far from ideal, but ultimately, their aims are the same. The problem is that Maggie’s enquiries and her relationship with Simon are drawing the wrong sort of attention; the sort that could place her in great danger.
I enjoyed Carmen Rose’s narration in this book far more than in the last audiobook of hers I listened to (All the Ways to Ruin a Rogue). She captures the sensuality inherent in the central relationship very well, and I enjoyed her characterisations of the two principals, Maggie’s low, almost velvety speech contrasting strongly with Simon’s more clipped, authoritative tones. She differentiates well between all the characters, particularly between Simon and his friends, Colton and Quint, so that I was never confused when they all appeared in scenes together. In fact, I like the way Ms Rose portrays the male characters; her voice is naturally fairly deep, so she doesn’t need to drop the pitch very much, but she adds a slightly harder edge and brightness of tone to delineate the men which works well and sounds very attractive. The narrative is expressively read and well-paced, but her tendency to take breaths in odd places and thus add a strange emphasis to some words and phrases is still in evidence. I suppose I’ve listened to her enough times now to be used to it, and there are times at which it is more noticeable than others – but I still wish she didn’t do it, as all the other aspects of her performances are good enough to make her an A grade narrator.
Overall, I enjoyed listening toThe Harlot Countessin spite of my reservations about the set-up. The romance is well developed with both Simon and Maggie coming to understand the reasons behind their decade-long separation and reaching a new appreciation of each other. Ms Shupe is a new author in the genre, and I will definitely be looking to read and listen to more of her books.
August 3, 2020
Ok/good. I just don’t like mystery/suspense/murder etc in my romances.
January 29, 2021
Лейди Маги Хокинс и лорд Саймън Уинчестър
По време на дебюта на Лейди Маги в Лондонското общество, тя бива нападната от мъж с неморални намерения. Маги успява да се спаси, но репутацията й е безвъзмездно разрушена. Всички вярват на лъжите на джентълмена, който твърди, че Маги му се е предложила, и че не е първият, който се възползва от неморалността й. Покрусено, младото момиче губи не само всичките си приятели, но и мъжа, в който се е влюбило. Магнетичният лорд Саймън Уинчестер вярва на лъжите за лекото й поведение и й обръща гръб в момент, в който тя има най-голяма нужда от него. Родителите й се принуждават да я омъжат на бързо за доста по-възрастен джентълмен и в следващите 10 години, Маги живее далеч от обществото, което не спира да клюкарства и да разправя лъжи по неин адрес. Когато съпругът й умира, тя е готова да се върне в обществото и щом всички искат да вярват най-лошото за нея, е на път да им покаже, че още нищо не са видели.
Цели 10 години Самън лекува разбитото си сърце, вярвайки, че Маги е една изпечена лъжкиня, която се е подиграла с чувствата му. Когато в Лондон започват да се появяват негови карикатури, показвайки го като пияница и развей прах, политическата му кариера е изложена на риск. По същото време той отново среща Маги, и макар тя да показва, че не иска да има нищо общо с него, той разбира, че чувствата, които е потискал цели 10 години са изплували на повърхността по-силни от всякога. Сега Саймън измисля дръзкия план да помоли Маги да му помогне да открие автора на карикатурите, имайки предвид познанията й по изобразително изкуство, без дори да подозира, че художникът който търси в действителност е самата Маги.
Книгата не беше това, което очаквах. От резюмето и от различни коментари бях стигнала до заключението, че Маги ще е някаква дразнеща, незачитаща нормите млада вдовица, която организира оргии в дома си. Истината не може да е по-далеч от тази представа. Вярно е, че Маги организира партита, за които се смятат, че са долнопробни, и безвкусни, но тя просто се опитваше да даде на хората нещо друго за което да говорят.Потънала в самота, пренебрегвана от всички, Маги се посвещава на единственото й любимо нещо, рисуването. Освен това, в обкръжението си, тя успява да се сприятели с няколко жени, които малтретирани от ужасните си съпрузи търсят начин да започнат нов живот, и Маги прави всичко по силите си да помага на такива жени с каквото може. Беше доста интересен факта, че Саймън също се бе посветил на това да помага на малтретирани жени, и някак не мисля, че беше обърнато достатъчно внимание на тази тема. Двамата по отделно бяха направили много, но авторката не направи така, че да се сближат повече заради общият интерес да помагат на жени изпаднали в беда. Това обаче доколкото ми е известно е нещо, което ще е засегнато и в следващата книга от поредицата, тъй че ще видим там как ще се справи авторката. Като цяло книгата не е лоша и се чете доста бързо.
По време на дебюта на Лейди Маги в Лондонското общество, тя бива нападната от мъж с неморални намерения. Маги успява да се спаси, но репутацията й е безвъзмездно разрушена. Всички вярват на лъжите на джентълмена, който твърди, че Маги му се е предложила, и че не е първият, който се възползва от неморалността й. Покрусено, младото момиче губи не само всичките си приятели, но и мъжа, в който се е влюбило. Магнетичният лорд Саймън Уинчестер вярва на лъжите за лекото й поведение и й обръща гръб в момент, в който тя има най-голяма нужда от него. Родителите й се принуждават да я омъжат на бързо за доста по-възрастен джентълмен и в следващите 10 години, Маги живее далеч от обществото, което не спира да клюкарства и да разправя лъжи по неин адрес. Когато съпругът й умира, тя е готова да се върне в обществото и щом всички искат да вярват най-лошото за нея, е на път да им покаже, че още нищо не са видели.
Цели 10 години Самън лекува разбитото си сърце, вярвайки, че Маги е една изпечена лъжкиня, която се е подиграла с чувствата му. Когато в Лондон започват да се появяват негови карикатури, показвайки го като пияница и развей прах, политическата му кариера е изложена на риск. По същото време той отново среща Маги, и макар тя да показва, че не иска да има нищо общо с него, той разбира, че чувствата, които е потискал цели 10 години са изплували на повърхността по-силни от всякога. Сега Саймън измисля дръзкия план да помоли Маги да му помогне да открие автора на карикатурите, имайки предвид познанията й по изобразително изкуство, без дори да подозира, че художникът който търси в действителност е самата Маги.
Книгата не беше това, което очаквах. От резюмето и от различни коментари бях стигнала до заключението, че Маги ще е някаква дразнеща, незачитаща нормите млада вдовица, която организира оргии в дома си. Истината не може да е по-далеч от тази представа. Вярно е, че Маги организира партита, за които се смятат, че са долнопробни, и безвкусни, но тя просто се опитваше да даде на хората нещо друго за което да говорят.Потънала в самота, пренебрегвана от всички, Маги се посвещава на единственото й любимо нещо, рисуването. Освен това, в обкръжението си, тя успява да се сприятели с няколко жени, които малтретирани от ужасните си съпрузи търсят начин да започнат нов живот, и Маги прави всичко по силите си да помага на такива жени с каквото може. Беше доста интересен факта, че Саймън също се бе посветил на това да помага на малтретирани жени, и някак не мисля, че беше обърнато достатъчно внимание на тази тема. Двамата по отделно бяха направили много, но авторката не направи така, че да се сближат повече заради общият интерес да помагат на жени изпаднали в беда. Това обаче доколкото ми е известно е нещо, което ще е засегнато и в следващата книга от поредицата, тъй че ще видим там как ще се справи авторката. Като цяло книгата не е лоша и се чете доста бързо.
April 26, 2015
When scandal strikes for Maggie, the one person she thought would stand up for her turns his back on her in her time of need, thus changing her life forever.
Years later, Maggie, now a widow trying to survive with the moniker of the Harlot Countess and a her unwillingness to bend to the rules of the ton who so easily shunned her. Necessity and talent have transformed Maggie's tragedy into a sort of triumph when she uses her art to build her life by reinventing herself as the artist Lemarc.
Simon Barrett, the Earl of Winchester has been plagued with political cartoons of himself making their way around London. These caricatures artfully making fun of "Lord Winejester" may wreak possible consequences on Simon's political career if the do not stop, therefore, he is determined to discover who the artist Lemarc is. After seeing Maggie for the first time in years in the art shop where the cartoons prominently adorn the front window, Simon enlist the help of his former love interest to seek out Lemarc. Will he be in for a surprise when he finds out the identity of Lemarc.
Maggie may have sought to discredit Simon as revenge for her treatment all those years ago, but the more she is in his company, it's apparent her feelings for him have only remained strong, even after her debacle of a marriage at the height of her scandal. In many ways, Maggie has arisen stronger from her adversity.
Simon truly has no idea what Maggie has been through. His determination to find the artist has him almost missing the treasure he has in front of his eyes and his rejection of Maggie when she needed him the most niggles at the back of my mind once they are reunited. I loved and hated him at the same time but to be honest, Maggie is the star of this show in the Harlot Countess by the brilliant Joanna Shupe.
The Harlot Countess by Joanna Shupe is a wonderful follow up to The Courtesan Duchess. Joanna Shupe is easily one of the best new authors out there and she has cemented herself as one of my favorites to date. The Harlot Countess is a solid read with a superb storyline. Ms. Shupe knows how to write the perfect strong female and Maggie is definitely that. Even though I would have enjoyed cuffing Simon in the head a few times, he is an enjoyable hero. Following the trials and tribulations of the ladies of the Wicked Deceptions series is a joy and I look forward to the next one.
Years later, Maggie, now a widow trying to survive with the moniker of the Harlot Countess and a her unwillingness to bend to the rules of the ton who so easily shunned her. Necessity and talent have transformed Maggie's tragedy into a sort of triumph when she uses her art to build her life by reinventing herself as the artist Lemarc.
Simon Barrett, the Earl of Winchester has been plagued with political cartoons of himself making their way around London. These caricatures artfully making fun of "Lord Winejester" may wreak possible consequences on Simon's political career if the do not stop, therefore, he is determined to discover who the artist Lemarc is. After seeing Maggie for the first time in years in the art shop where the cartoons prominently adorn the front window, Simon enlist the help of his former love interest to seek out Lemarc. Will he be in for a surprise when he finds out the identity of Lemarc.
Maggie may have sought to discredit Simon as revenge for her treatment all those years ago, but the more she is in his company, it's apparent her feelings for him have only remained strong, even after her debacle of a marriage at the height of her scandal. In many ways, Maggie has arisen stronger from her adversity.
Simon truly has no idea what Maggie has been through. His determination to find the artist has him almost missing the treasure he has in front of his eyes and his rejection of Maggie when she needed him the most niggles at the back of my mind once they are reunited. I loved and hated him at the same time but to be honest, Maggie is the star of this show in the Harlot Countess by the brilliant Joanna Shupe.
The Harlot Countess by Joanna Shupe is a wonderful follow up to The Courtesan Duchess. Joanna Shupe is easily one of the best new authors out there and she has cemented herself as one of my favorites to date. The Harlot Countess is a solid read with a superb storyline. Ms. Shupe knows how to write the perfect strong female and Maggie is definitely that. Even though I would have enjoyed cuffing Simon in the head a few times, he is an enjoyable hero. Following the trials and tribulations of the ladies of the Wicked Deceptions series is a joy and I look forward to the next one.
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