This book was ok. It felt very long. I kept waiting for something to happen and the pace to pick up but it really didn't. However, the ending was satisfying.

This story was exciting and everything I want in a historical romance. Mary Jo Putney writes intrigue and romance effortlessly.

This was enjoyable and also you could tell it was a re-release from the late 80s.....And I liked the heroine quite a lot!

Thanks to Kensington Books, Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.

This book started a bit slow for me, while Alex and Christa's history is set up. It's nearly a quarter of the way through the story before the two even encounter one another. Whilst this lends depth of context, it also throws off the pacing of the rest of the story in my opinion.

Some of the characters seemed a little unrealistic, such as the Pomfrets. The 'meet-cute' is all that a reader would expect, charming and funny. I like Christa's impetuous nature and Alex's sweetness. Everything between them starts off really well but in the end the romance between the two just didn't resonate with me.

There was a lot going on in this story and I think the relationship between the two main characters got mixed up in the various plot twists.

I really liked Annabelle and Charles as characters and the way everything wraps up is exciting right until the end.

This was a 3 star read for me.

This book was slow-going to the point that I found it easy to skim several pages at a time and not feel like I had missed anything (especially when it came to Alex working at the admiralty and all of the talk about his time in the Navy). And while I enjoyed both Christa and Alex as characters when they were together, I didn't feel anything in particular for them one way or another. It was easy to see they had chemistry, but the build-up to them actually getting together took forever.

This novel also requires you to suspend disbelief on more than one occasion. I mean, I get it; stories are, after all, mere figments of an author's imagination, but come on! First, they have Christa performing (what they call a minor surgery) on a man to remove a piece of shrapnel from a long-ago injury that has worked its way closer to the surface without any type of pain med, laudanum, nothing, but then we are expected to believe that after being on his "death bed" for at least one day before the surgery, and not out of the woods whatsoever after the surgery, he is able to make love to Christa not once but TWICE the same night/next day? I don't think so.

There was a lot of drama surrounding not only these two (including a lot of things that could have been worked out much sooner had they only confronted one another instead of running away), but also surrounding most of the secondary characters as well. I am still confused as to why the author chose to make the uncle out to be some sort of brute of a man only to have him be perfectly normal later on.

I know this story originally came out in the 80s, and the writing style obviously reflects that, I just feel as though it could have undergone another edit or two to make it shorter before the kindle version was published. The story wouldn't have lost anything, and in fact, it would have been more enjoyable (at least for me).

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

When French countess Christa flees France during the French Revolution she ends up in seeking refuge with a distant relation, Lord Raicliffe in England. When he proposes marriage Christa escapes to London, determined to make her own way regardless of position or status. When Christa literally gets thrown out into the street she falls into the arms of Lord Alex Kingsley. He offers her a position as his sister’s lady’s maid and Christa gratefully accepts. Happy in her new household, Christa helps Annabelle get introduced to London society for the season and can’t deny the feelings developing for her new master. Alex does not know her full story and who Christa was back in France and remains adamant he does not find out. Lord Radcliffe is looking for her and Annabelle has a suitor Christa is resolved to protect her from. Will Christa’s past be revealed to Alex and will Lord Radcliffe end up finding her? Will Annabelle make it through her first season without making a grave mistake?

This historical romance had connecting characters and storylines making it an exciting and enjoyable story the reader quickly gets invested in. I definitely recommend this for historical romance fans!

Thank you to Kensington Books Zebra and NetGalley for the ARC.
This re-issued Mary Putney historical romance novel has everything, as Stefon would say. There is a comtesse heroine undercover as a lady’s maid, a hero who is a war hero, a villainous uncle, more than one fortune hunter, and a perilous scramble to make things right and get to the HEA.
Definitely more on the “old-school” side, but I enjoyed it enough to look for others in the series at the library.

Thank you to Kensington Books, Zebra, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. I did enjoy this re-issue. I had not read the book previously, but I have enjoyed other books by Mary Jo Putney in the past. Overall, the story was interesting but the pacing was a bit slow and presented new obstacles one-after-the-other just when it seemed that the plot might be resolving. I enjoyed the characters but would have appreciated the story if it were tightened up a little bit.

Could not get into this book at all. I tried, I really, really tried. The writing was very dull, bland, and the pacing was very slow. It took me forever to get thru the first quarter of the book and nothing really happened. The two main characters did not even interact with each other until almost half way thru. When they finally did I kinda sighted with relief, thinking for sure now it would get interesting and the pace would pick up-wrong, I was! I am sorry I could not bring myself to finish, a very two dimensional book if I ever saw one. I do not recommend unless you are looking for a sleep-aid!!
Thank you to Kensington Books and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

A slightly different start to a British romance novel as Christa, her half-brother Charles, and her mother are fleeing France with two family servants. Christa is the only one who makes it across the channel to England. A year later she is fleeing the house of Charles' uncle who is supposed to be providing for her, but he is threatening her for marriage. She gets a position as a ladies maid but has to flee the house of her first employer, only to end up literally in the arms of Captain Lord Alexander Kingsley, Lord Kingsley is home from the war to recover from an injury and take care of his younger brother Jonathan and sister Annabelle. He hires Christa to be his sister's ladies maid. Even though Christa is a Countess in her own right she does a great job of being a maid and all in the houshold like her. Alex falls in love with her, but he can't marry her because of her station so becomes tricked into an engagement to another. So, Christa flees again. This time to work as a modiste with another French emigree. Will Alex realize he loves her enough to marry her? Will Christe quit fleeing?

I read this one a while ago… not sure when, BUT I knowww I did 🙃 & the soap opera drama is H E A V Y in this one. 🤣🤣🤣

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Drama in London
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿: Charles
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Normal
𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲: Novel
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Historical romance
4/𝟱

🌱THE EXCELLENT
~ Rounded characters with challenges
~ LOTS of soap opera level drama (if you likey)
~ Fluid writing and flowing story
~ HEA for characters :) (sometimes we just need to see things working out for people)

Christa is going through the gears. Having recently lost her noble brother & mother to the ‘off with their heads’ French peasants, she mourns with an uncle overcome with his own grief. When the uncle threatens her desire to marry for love, Christa flees.

In fleeing, she lands a job as an ‘abigail’ for some London nobles & in turn helps the family to mend, learn & grow. This is a story about landing in unexpected places & BEING the change/support that was needed.

✨𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

🌱THE MEH
~ too much drama 🤣
~ some unnecessary observations & comments
~ an obsession with the ‘Gallic shrug’

♡🌱 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲 ;)

4.5 stars

A reissue of an older book. I actually prefered this to some of Mary's more recent work. It starts with Christa fleeing France with her Mother and her step-brother. She sees Charles shot and assumes that her mother has been captured. She reluctantly continues on to England to stay with Charles's uncle. Lewis tells her there's no dowry so perhaps she ought to marry him. She's a bit worried that he will coerce her into marriage so leaves and aims to become a governess at Mrs Harrington's agency. Christa has references created by her french emigre cousin, Suzanne, who's a seamstress. Mrs Harrington says this is not going to work,she's too young and too pretty. A footman arrives demanding that Mrs Harrington provide a maid for his demanding employer. Mrs Harrington says its not a good idea but Christa goes to work for the cruel Lady Pomfrey. Lord Pomfrey tries it on and Christa gives her honest opinion and gets chucked out literally to our Naval hero, Alex. He's returned to London to meet with his siblings and knows Annabelle needs a maid.

Lots of characters, lots of fun. A bit rushed at the end with the denouement and getting Alex out of an ill judged engagment but I enjoyed it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The pacing of this really dragged at times and I couldn’t push any further to finish. The MCs didn’t meet until after 20% and I thought it would pick up with a bit of spark between them. By 40% I was bored out of my wits and there was not enough connection for me to care or continue. I skipped to the end and while I liked it enough to go back and try again, my eyes kept glossing over. I know this is a rerelease but I’ll try a more recent MJP pick instead, perhaps it’ll keep my attention better. The MCs individually were likable enough (even though the FMC was a bit too much of a Jack of all trades) and they were cute together but I was looking for a bit more chemistry.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance reader copy via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

This felt a little old-fashioned. Times have moved on a bit in terms of the way women are presented and it was all very chaste. Nevertheless, still a fun Regency Romp!

I liked this book when i learned that i was a republishing of one the author's first works, so i like it, because it was so interesting how was to write in 1988 vs how it is now.

This was a pleasant, easy to read book and I liked the premise of it. However, all of the characters seemed a bit simple and one-dimensional, and they all seemed way too good for the world that they were living in. Christa seemed to be very innocent despite the knowledge that she had of the world, and certain elements of her character just didn't match up with other characteristics she possessed; this was also true about how Alex was written because he seemed to not have very good judgement in reading those around him even though his career was based in interpersonal skills. The plot was also a bit basic in that all of the story points were highly anticipated and not very exciting when they came to pass due to the character elements that I previously mentioned. It was a nice novel and it was really interesting to compare with Putney's newer novels to see how far her writing has come, but I was frustrated with the plot and the characters at times.

Love knows no bounds and it shows. When the Contesse Marie - Christine has no choice but to become a simple servant her whole life changes, She soon finds herself in the employ of the Kingleys,
Captain Lord Alexander Kingsley had to return home due to medical problems & has now
found himself head of family, and with it all the responsibilities. Then by chance he happens to find a maid for his sister who very quickly becomes much more to everyone in the household, including the staff. It doesn't take long for hearts to connect but will the difference in social station keep then apart,
You will love this heart warming historical romance. Mary Jo Putney's such an amazing author & my one of my favorites. Her attention to details always makes me feel part of the story & so drawn in that I can't put it down, She has such a way with words that you feel like you are there. And with quote like "With
my body I thee worship" You know it's going to be an amazing, sizzling romance your going to love.
I highly recommend and give this story more than 5 ★

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lady Of Fortune is a novel by Mary Jo Putney. This book is a re-issue of a 1985 release. I did not realize this, but I felt although you could tell this was an earlier work, that it still was a wonderful romance. Both Alex and Christa were vivid, well-developed, likable characters. The storyline was intricate and told a lovely romance. This is a medium paced plot that kept my attention. The romantic connection between Alex and Christa was strong. I liked this book immensely. This was an epic love story filled with romance and intrigue. Lady Of Fortune is classic Mary Jo Putney.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Well, first off, I always enjoyed reading Ms Putney's books. She writes a spectacular story with lots of feeling and good story line. The characters were fully developed with thoughts of their own. It was a dramatic and engaging from start to finish.
Comtesse Marie-Christine D'Estelle is alone now that her family is gone and she leaves France to sail to England. She is penniless and searches for work whatever it may be. She is hired by a man who needs her to be his sister's ladys maid. He takes a chance on Marie to help his shy sister enter her first season.
Captain Lord Alexander Kingsley is now back on shore after leaving the Navy for a normal life after being wounded during a battle. He barley know his younger siblings and hopes he can reconnect with them. He knows he has much to learn, and hires a woman to be with his sister.
I felt that Alex and Marie were perfect for each other. Even if they are not on the same social level, I knew they felt a strong attraction. I believe fate holds the key to a happy ever after and it's called love.
I appreciate Net Galley for this ARC title in which I gave a honest review.

This flight is definitely not the case of a frying pan to fire, it's quite the reverse.  Pretty Christa lands in the arms of a handsome young nobleman when she flees from her workplace after being abused by the master, mistress and footman. A servant's lot in regency England is definitely not pretty. For a woman raised in privilege and forced to be a servant it's definitely quite a few degrees of hell. 
Christa, a young noblewoman is forced to flee from France during the French revolution. While she makes it safely to her brother's country estate in England, her brother and mother are both killed during the escape attempt. After her year of mourning ends, she finds that she has been left penniless and her brother's uncle who inherited the title wants to force her into marriage. What is a young woman to do but run away to London and take a job as household help.
Then rapidly she moves from a horrible situation into one where she might be forced to live below stairs, but she is treated quite well. As it turns out, Alex doesn't know too much of running a noble household or bringing his sister out for the season and Christa's expertise and experience stands them in good stead. As is inevitable despite the difference in their stations, romance is definitely in the air between this master and maid. Can Alex bridge the gap and make a maid his wife? 
There are many obstacles in the path of true love such as a fiancée who games Alex into offering for her, a fortune hunter who preys on the debutante and a younger brother who wants to join the military and serve his country. The story takes some interesting twists and turns before the path to true love can run smooth and a few interesting shenanigans to get rid of the persistent fiancée and fortune hunter. 
I know this is a reprint of an old story, but I read it for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it.