Did people really *talk* like this? When one word would have done, they used 15. I really got tired of Kate and Brandon’s endless negotiations. Kate wants a love match. Brandon does too, but can’t seem to admit it. Then he does. Then Kate doesn’t believe it. Along the way they “banter” endlessly. Too much “swollen”, “raw”, “submissivness” for my taste. Thanks for the chance to review!

I'm not sure if it matters but I didn't read the other books in this series. It doesn't seem like it's necessary to read those. The other characters that are already matched, I'm assuming from the previous books, are mentioned and you get a couple lines of summary about those relationships when they appear. This story revolves around Katherine and Brandon. Katherine is a bit of a matchmaker and it looks like she matched up all the other couples in the previous stories and now it's finally her chance. In a reverse kind of My Fair Lady story, Katherine is going to turn Brandon into a gentleman and help him navigate the ton and find a bride. It comes out in the beginning that they have a history where they shared a kiss many years ago and then she had tried to seduce him by appearing naked in his bed. I had trouble liking Katherine right from the beginning. She's supposed to teaching Brandon about propriety but I don't see how she goes from 1 shared kiss to thinking she'll seduce him like that. Her character confused me a bit but that's probably because she was confused herself. For much of it seemed like she couldn't make up her mind if she wanted him or not. I did not find the writing to be the most engaging and at times the dialogue felt bland. The storyline itself was cute but the book wasn't one that I just couldn't put down.

Got halfway, decided I had better things to do

I would like to thank Nicole Jordan, Ballantine Books/Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t finish the book. I started it two weeks ago (three weeks ago? I don’t remember) and kept telling myself I needed to read it and get it over with (not what a reader should think, huh?), so yesterday I picked it up again and tried to get into it, but I couldn’t. I was just about halfway, trudging along, when I suddenly thought—I don’t have time to read a story about characters I couldn’t care less about. So, I stopped.

It may not be fair to judge a book I didn’t read in its entirety, but I figure an error can only be corrected if it’s known that an error occurred. If I just shrug off the book, I feel like I’m taking the publisher’s ARC for granted and not being a productive member of the NetGalley community. So, for what it’s worth, here’s what I thought of the almost-half I read.

The plot’s simple enough—two old flames reignite after years apart. I didn’t have a problem with the basic premise itself… I was more exasperated by the characters, particularly the hero, and the choices they made. I felt Brandon Deverill was an insufferably selfish, arrogant prick. And Kate…*sigh* Conceptually, Kate Wilde was a great heroine, except her personality and professed attitudes were rather contrary to her actions, and I became impatient with her.

So they knew each other as late teens/young adults, like eighteen or twenty, and spent some time together. She developed a major crush on him, thought she loved him—but the war (of 1812, I believe) comes between them, sending him home to fight as an American. The night before he was to leave, she made a desperate attempt to demonstrate how much she loved him—by stripping down and climbing into his bed, ready and willing. With honorable intentions, he rejects her, obliterating her pride and her heart with a few simple words. She vows to get over the SOB, and he goes off to war.

Six years pass. The war’s over, and Deverill, despite being American, has inherited a title in England (I never did understand how that happened; admittedly it may have been a part I skipped because I was bored.) In order to become a proper English gentleman and gain the respect of society, he needed an advantageous marriage. Kate, as it happens, is something of a successful matchmaker, so she’s asked to set him up. When she meets him again, she realizes she’s just as in love with/turned on by him as ever, and she’s determined to ignore her feelings because, last she knew, he didn’t want anything more from her than casual friendship. Deverill, on the other hand, decides this is his opportunity to be with Kate after saving her virtue six years ago and thinking about her every moment since.

Sounds solid, right? Logically, Deverill would ascertain her availability, apologize, and announce his intentions to court her with the object of marriage. She’d have rejected him in turn, of course, but if handled with maturity and a bit of perseverance on his part, I am 100% certain she’d have come around and they’d have lived happily ever after.

But that would have been faaaaaar too easy and rational. Instead, while Kate tries to ignore her attraction to him—as anyone would; fool me once and all that—and match him with an ideal bride, Brandon begins to scheme. See, he can’t simply apologize and try to move forward, saving everyone time and effort. No, he doesn’t believe he’s capable of love, because of some crap about his parents’ marriage being a cold business arrangement—somehow he got it in his head that he’d inherited their coldness… I don’t know, it was really stupid. But because he doesn’t think he can love her, he knows he’s not good enough for her—but he still wants her and only her. I don’t know why; I can only guess he figures she’s hot, they’re already acquainted, and she’s advantageously positioned in society, so why not?

Wait, excuse me, it’s NOT about conveniece. He even says so himself: “You would hardly be convenient.”

Except…in the same paragraph he concludes: “And in some ways, you would be the easiest choice for my bride. For one thing, you could effortlessly assume the role of my baroness.”

No, she was not convenient at all.

So he creates this game for himself, one where he’s the only player and there are no rules. The goal: to win Kate (ie, get her to marry him). He ferrets out information through conversation and learns that romance is important to her and she won’t marry for anything less than true love. That doesn’t help his goal, so he ignores her wishes and does his best to seduce her, because she’d pant at his heels once she’d had a taste of his prowess. Yeah, essentially, he tries to get her to marry his dick. Then he’d have her, just like he wanted, never mind all that love crap she’s always spewing. But Kate spits out that taste of prowess—thank god—and insists she wants his love, not just sex. So he finally resigns himself to the whole love thing, because at that point, his entire focus is getting in her pants. Or under her chemise, as it were.

He laments society’s double standard for men and women regarding casual sex, though only because it’s cock-blocking him. At the same time, he expects sex to make her fall in love with him, though he’s never loved anyone he’s had sex with, creating his own double standard regarding sex. Do you see what I mean about the selfishness and arrogance?

That’s where I stopped, so I’m not sure how it ended up, and honestly I don’t care. His ego was suffocating me. And unfortunately, Kate wasn’t blameless. I know I made it sound as though she stood her ground and held firm conviction in her beliefs, and she did…sometimes. Like I said, Kate seemed to have the right attitude, but her actions often contradicted it. Though she was determined to resist him at the beginning, when she thought he didn’t care about her, she sure didn’t seem to try very hard. She was ready to make babies as soon as he kissed her, she missed him with complete preoccupation when he was away, and got into cat fights when other women showed interest in him.

But before all that, I have a hard time believing that a heroine as supposedly strong, driven, and independent as Kate would forsake all other relationships after he rejected her. It’s self-defeating and incongruous with her personality. A strong, driven, independent woman who values love and romance would have had a good cry, maybe wallowed in self-pity for a couple weeks, then she’d have picked herself up and moved on with another heart-melting gentleman far sooner than six years. She might have always loved Deverill in one small compartment of her heart, but she wouldn’t allow his rejection to scar her like that. Heck, she’d have appreciated his rejection eventually, recognizing in hindsight the really rash, potentially disastrous decision she’d made.

Speaking of contradicting actions and personalities—maybe Deverill was more of a gentleman six years ago, because the present Deverill would have never turned away from a naked, willing Kate. It’s almost like, at the beginning, Jordan had decent characters in mind. But when she needed to create tension and add stuffing to the story, she made them do stupid things, effectively changing them into other people.

I tried to hold out for the promise of adventure when they went in search of the shipwreck, but I just couldn’t. Not for those characters.

Oh, this could probably be read as a stand alone. I hadn’t read any of the other Legendary Lovers books and noticed minimal fan service in the first half. I could tell there were other stories, but I wasn’t beaten over the head with them.

noapologybookreviews.com

Loved this story: a matchmaker is set up help a crush from her past. She is reluctant but still duty-bound to her family's wishes for a favor. She devises a plan to help him find a wife in exchange for his help; he agrees knowing he'd rather be matched to her than another and hopes to change her mind. They devise a fake engagement in order to travel abroad. Between desire and peril, these two must decide whether or not to make a real engagement and plan for a future together. I enjoyed this story and highly recommend it!

Lady Katherine is a young woman who leads the ton in matchmaking. She has helped friends and family find happiness. She was rejected when she was young by a man who she believes is the love of her life. Now that man has come back and Kate has been asked to help him become someone the ton will welcome and someone who can find the “right“ kind of wife.
Brandon Deverill is a new baron. He has returned to England after fighting for the Americans in the War of 1812. He is the man who rejected Kate, and he did it all in order to be noble and not ruin a young woman for whom he cares. Brandon is back in England to take over his duties as a baron. But, he also hopes to marry Kate. He has never forgotten her sense of adventure and her willingness to take risks on behalf of others.
Both Kate and Brandon are interesting characters. She starts out as a strong character who seems like a powerful woman. At times, I felt that she dithered. She was subject to Brandon's charms and knew she was unable to resist his advances. But, she continued to put herself in situations where he was able to take charge. That may have been because she desperately loved him.
Brandon hides his emotions. He continually states he does not believe in love. But, the reader is not given much of his history until very near the end of the story.
There is adventure. Kate needs Brandon's help in trying to find the answers to her parents' deaths. They will sail to France and try to solve the puzzle of a sunken ship and lost jewels. While in France, they deal with pirates and both Kate and Brandon are put in mortal danger.
For this reader, it would have been more interesting if there were more parts of the book which dealt with the mystery and Brandon's history. I felt there were too many long descriptions of sexual encounters. I am all in favor of couples having sex, but I just felt there were other options for adding interest to the story.
This is part of a series and though I have not read the other books in the series, I had no problem following the action.
I received the book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review, and all opinions are my own.

My Fair Lover is the first book I have read by Nicole Jordan but it won’t be the last. I have been in a historical romance mood lately and this book came to my attention at just the right time. Even though this is the 5th book in the Legendary Lovers series, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything by not having read the first four.

Lady Katherine Wilde is well known among the rich and titled of London. She is rich and beautiful but holding out for the one thing she isn’t sure she will ever find...true love. Katherine is also still single. When she took a chance on Brandon Deverill six years ago and he spurned her, she realized that she wouldn’t compromise on her wish for true love. Now, Brandon is back in London and Katherine has made a deal with him that will make them both realize how right they are for each other.

When Brandon left England, he was headed into battle and knew he couldn’t compromise Katherine and just leave. Now that Brandon is back to claim his title, he needs help to be more of an English nobleman and less of a privateer. This includes his need for a wife. When Brandon comes face to face with Katherine, he knows she is the one he wants…he just has to convince her of the same thing.

The relationship and banter between these two characters was good and the overarching story was about more than just the romance. Part of the deal was that in exchange for Katherine helping Brandon be more of a gentleman, Brandon was going to help Katherine hunt down the ship her parents died on so she could see if she could recover some family treasure. It is during the trip where we see the relationship between these two characters change / progress and they also come to realize just how much they care about each other.

There were a number of other characters who helped to move the story along. While in France they had to work closely with someone who Brandon knows from his privateer days and of course, they don’t have a good relationship which makes for some interesting turns within the story. Katherine’s family members involved in helping Brandon win her over were a great add as well.

Overall I enjoyed the story that Jordan wrote and I will definitely be checking out other books by her. If you are looking for a quick historical romance that will have you wondering how things will go, check this one out.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

have enjoyed prior books by the author, including ones in this series and the concept of 2nd chance with a Pygmalion (My Fair Lady) twist meant I was quite pleased to get an arc from Net Galley of this book. Unfortunately, it just didn't quite work for me. The POV heavily focused on the heroine leaving little insight into the hero to understand his motives or actions (though what you did get to see seemed pretty one-tracked to get heroine to wed him because he felt she'd be the one to best suit). Meanwhile, the heroine managed to be both haughty opinionated spinster & naive spooled chit at the same time but not in a particularly charming or endearing manner. She's suppose to a bright, witty, charming belle beloved & admired by the ton -- I didn't really see more than the occasional glimpse of this, rather I found myself rolling my eyes or wanting to tell her to get over herself as I was reading. The romance itself felt somewhat forced and drawn out and play upon the tale of Pygmalion it was barest hint early and lost. While the writing itself was well done it was not enough to bring me to care about the H/h and their story. Instead I was increasingly anticipating the end as it approached.

Nicole Jordan never disappoints! I loved this book, it has everything I like in a historical romance - a possessive, determined hero, a smart, equally determined heroine, hot love scenes, action, adventure and a soulmate type love!

Lady Kate Wilde has been recruited to help Brandon Deverill, newly minted Baron Valmere find a bride. Six years ago Kate had hoped to be that bride, but Deverill made it clear that she was not the woman for him. Kate has convinced herself that she is over Deverill and she will prove it by finding him the perfect bride. So Kate agrees to help him find a bride and settle into society, but she wants him to take here to France and help her finally put her parents to rest. Deverill agrees to her terms, but what she doesn't know is Deverill has already chosen his bride...Kate.

Six years ago Deverill turned Kate away in an attempt to be honorable, he was leaving for war and with the uncertainty of his fate, he couldn't leave her ruined if he did not return. But now he is ready to claim her. When he begins his sensual onslaught, she informs him that she will not marry without love. Taken aback, Deverill has to change tactics - he knows he wants Kate, but he doesn't know if he is capable of love.

The first half of the book is entertaining, with Deverill trying to seduce Kate and Kate trying to resist and find him a bride. Finally, she accepts that she wants him for herself and agrees to a temporary betrothal. She hopes that when they spend time together in France, she will be able to make him fall in love with her. Deverill also has a plan, he will use the time to woo Kate and hopefully make her agree to marry without the promise of love.

When they get to France an old nemesis is the only one who can help them find the shipwreck they seek and Deverill has to form a truce with him to keep his promise to Kate. Kate and Deverill spend their time growing closer and Kate hopes that love will bloom, but once their mission is over, she knows that she is in love with him, but he does not return those feelings, so with a heavy heart she tells him that she cannot marry him. Surprisingly Deverill accepts the broken betrothal without any argument and proceeds to settle their affairs in France.

With their business settled, Deverill's nemesis strikes out at him and when Kate attempts to save him, she too is captured. It seems like the end for them until help comes from a most unlikely source.

I really loved this book, it is well written, flows perfectly, it's steamy, it has a lot of witty banter, pirates, shipwrecks, likable characters, action and a well earned HEA. I am sorry that this series is over, but I can't wait to see what Ms. Jordan has in store for us next! I would happily recommend this book, it is the fifth book in a series, but it could easily be read as a stand alone title.

This is my first Nicole Jordan book, and I really enjoyed the story. Just imagine a retelling of My Fair Lady, only with the roles reversed. The progression of their friendship comes across as believable since they already know each other. They're also each stubborn and strong-willed individuals. The reason why their back in each other's orbit is a legitimate one, but the idea that comes about could either be extremely beneficial or detrimental to the both of them. I enjoyed this book so much I plan on going back and reading the previous books in the series.

This author always surprises me with her talent. I have read both her contemporary and historical romances. Some authors have a particular voice that does not change with the genre, this author amazed me with My Fair Lady. From the first sentence you are transported back in time. And this couple! So in love and so oblivious. Chained to their friendship and not willing to change their stubborn minds on what love actually looks like! I got a little emotionally involved in the disagreements and the cheering when they go for more. I adored the inclusion of the guardians and the meshing of her matchmaking made extended family. The plot was interesting and keeps you busy, but the joy of this story is Kate and Brandon.

Lady Katherine Wilde has vowed she will not marry unless she finds true love. After being turned away from his bed and humiliated by pirate Brandon Deverill 6 years ago, no man has captured her attention. When Brandon inherits an English title from a distant relative, he returns to England and the woman he hasn't been able to forget for the past 6 years. He's determined to claim Kate as his wife, but Kate wants nothing to do with him, or so she says to him.

Back and forth these two bicker and banter, each striving to protect their heart and not give an inch in their game of wits. Their sexual chemistry has never been in question, but Kate wants a husband who loves her unconditionally. Brandon can't promise that, but does agree to accompany her to France so Kate may give her parents a proper burial.

Throw in a perilous ocean voyage, pirates and a sunken treasure and this regency romance takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Ms. Jordan is a talented writer and does an excellent job of keeping up the tension between Kate and Brandon. Will they finally succumb to their growing feelings for each other and admit they're in love? Fans of Regency romances will definitely enjoy this story.

My Fair Lover, by Nicole Jordan is a regency historical romance. Even though it's the fifth book in the Legendary Lovers series, it's not necessary to read the books in order.

Six years ago, Brandon Deverill denied Katherine Wilde's romantic advances, since he had to leave the country. Now, he's back in England and looking for a wife with Katherine in mind. However, she's determined not to make the same mistake, even though her attraction is still evident.

Katherine offers her matchmaking skills to Brandon, if he agrees to assist her attempts to recover her family's fortune and search for details regarding her parents' death. Despite her attempts at a business arrangement, both Katherine and Brandon continue to fall in love throughout their adventures together.

My Fair Lover is geared towards those who enjoy reading historical romances.


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Admittedly, I have not read the previous books in this series and I didn't realize they are re-tellings of fairy tales. They were some good moments in this story: snappy banter; lots of steamy scenes; and adventure across land and sea. Unfortunately, I found a good portion of the story to be repetitious and slow moving.

This is the fifth book in the serious, but is the first that I have read. I did not have any trouble following along with the story or the concept of the "legendary lovers". I started out enjoying the story and its premise, but I ended up just not really caring about this couple. Their love story felt contrived to me and even the adventure with pirates and a shipwreck wasn't enough to really invest in the story. I actually was a bit more interested in some of the secondary characters more than the main couple.

Rejected by Brandon Deverill, six years past, Lady Katharine Wilde, then 18, is still nursing an injured pride.

It's 1817, Brandon, Lord Valmere is back on English soil, having inherited a ancient barony. Deverill, despite being a rich American merchant and former privateer whose fleet of ships battled the British Navy, look uncivilised and unrefined, unfit to join the discriminating ton.

Kate is turning him into a bona fide lord and find him a worthy bride. In return, she would require his expertise as a seasoned sailor. She needs him to accompany her to France to visit her mother's grave, , to give her a decent burial and search for the shipwreck. Kate's parents were aboard the ship Zephyr, which sunk more than a decade ago. The complication are the pirates occupying the nearest villages and along the coast where the wreckage was.

Thus began their perilous journey. Deverill, intended to seduce Kate and make her his bride but Kate wouldn't settle for anything less than love. They professed their mutual affection when their lives were in jeopardy!

They are utterly attracted to each other. They set each other aflame. Their intimate moments are wickedly sensual. They are perfect for each other and they unreservedly deserve their happy-ever-after.

This is the first novel I've read by Nicole Jordan. I definitely will be reading more of her books.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. This is my honest review. All opinions are mine.

I fell in love with the Legendary Lovers series from the start, giving each character a small piece of my heart. Each story made me want more of this cast. But of course, as a redhead, Lady Katherine always intrigued me more than the others. I just couldn’t wait for this installment to read her experience. Unfortunately, despite my desire to the contrary, <u>My Fair Lover</u> didn’t keep my interest.
The strong, opinionated Lady Katherine I’d come to love had fallen apart at the seams- becoming a character wholly unlike the woman readers met in previous installments. After the first few chapters, she wasn’t the brazen, independent girl I’d seen myself in so many times before. She was gone, and in her place was a woman that not only I did not know, but couldn’t seem to get myself to care about.
Add to that, the novel came off as lackluster at best. The overall story, with its second chances and adventure fit the characters. However, at times, it felt like the author was adding unnecessary scenes just to increase word count. It came across as irritatingly untrue to the characters, creating a lack of much-needed chemistry in this romance. I felt like I was slogging through large portions of the book- not what I was expecting from this tale.
Overall I give this novel 2.5 stars. Condensed into a novella, I’m sure it would have resonated better, as well as given Brandon and Katherine their much anticipated story, with less chance to fall flat. <u>My Fair Lover</u> just didn’t work for me, so I won’t be passing it around in any circle. I’ll probably just tell others to pass on this one.
I received a copy of <u>My Fair Lover</u> by Nicole Jordan from <i> Random House- Ballantine</i> via <b>Netgalley</b> in exchange for an honest review.

It’s been a while since I read something from Nicole Jordan and I didn’t even remembered how much I liked her stories.

I liked that there was a bit of an inversion of roles. With so many books where the heroines go after the heroes to try and get them to fall in love with them, here we have our hero trying to convince the woman he chose to marry him. Yes, to marry him, not fall in love with him. Because he believes that he can’t feel such strong feelings after his time in the war. But as we read the book, we see their attraction and love grow, in a romantic and seductive way.

Brandon Deverill is, like most heroes, charming and sexy, but he realizes that he needs to be a romantic to marry Katherine Wilde, the family Wilde matchmaker.

Kate had a crush on Brandon and tried to stop him from going to war, but she failed. Now that he’s back, she tried to stay impartial and immune to his charms, but without success. But Kate doesn’t want a marriage of convenience, and she will only marry someone who is in love with her, just as much as she is in love with that man. And she believes that Brandon can never be that person, sadly.

With pirates, sea voyages, and lots of romance, as well as a family that gets together to help this union, this book was a breath of fresh air.

I cannot believe I have read so many good books lately and this is one is added to that list. It is a fun story with matchmaking, pirates, sunken treasure, and seduction. Brandon and Katherine are wonderful characters. Brandon wants Katherine but not love, Katherine is secretly in love with Brandon but does not want to tie herself down to a man who does not want love. Can Brandon find love, will Katherine give in? And the sexy times are quite good. I thought this might be the last of the legendary lovers…but maybe not!

3.75 stars
Lady Katherine Wilde believes she has crushed any lingering romantic feelings toward Brandon Deverill, who spurned her six years ago. And now that the rough-edged rogue needs polishing to claim his inheritance, she’s willing to strike a practical bargain: Kate will mould the brash privateer into an acceptable English nobleman if Deverill will safeguard her from brigands on a voyage to recover lost family treasure. However, the soul-melting kiss that seals their agreement just may reignite blazing passion.
A reworking of My Fair Lady, a well written book, the characters were good. However although I normally like the author’s books I found my attention wandering & even began to skip some pages. I just found it very slow to begin with & almost gave up but I’d received a copy from NetGalley so only fair that I finish reading. The plot did increase further into the book when they left London & so in the end I was pleased I had persevered but it wasn’t an engrossing read, I found it OK & probably won’t read again