Book Review: A Gentleman Never Tells

Author: Juliana Gray
Publication Date: November 6, 2012
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Series: Affairs by Moonlight # 2

Six years ago, Elizabeth Harewood and Lord Roland Penhallow were London's golden couple, young and beautiful and wildly in love. Forced apart by her scheming relatives and his clandestine career, Lilibet and Roland buried their passion beneath years of duty and self-denial, until a chance holiday encounter changes everything they ever knew about themselves…and each other.

But Miss Elizabeth Harewood is now the Countess of Somerton, estranged wife of one of England's most brutal and depraved aristocrats, and she can't afford the slightest hint of scandal to her name. When Roland turns up mysteriously at the castle where she's hidden herself away, she struggles to act as a lady should, but the gallant lover of her youth has grown into an irresistibly dashing and dangerous man, and temptation is only a single kiss away…

 

 

“Her ladyship stood on the stairs, tall and imperious, her chestnut hair pulled with unnatural neatness into a smart chignon at the nape of her neck. She’d been a handsome girl several years ago, before her marriage to the Marquess of Morley, and was now an even handsomer woman, all cheekbones and glittering brown eyes. She wasn’t exactly to Roland’s taste, with her strong, bold-featured face, but he could appreciate her, rather as one appreciated the classical statuary in one’s formal gardens, without precisely wanting to embrace it.” – Finished Copy pg. 14

“Adulteress. Lilibet hoped the rain would wash away the word, which she could almost feel on her forehead, written in bold scarlet letters, like that poor lady in the book. What had she done?” – Finished Copy pg. 45

“People see what they expect to see, her mother had once told her, with a shrug.” – Finished Copy pg. 186

Elizabeth Harewood and Lord Roland Penhallow were to be married at one time, that is until he up and left without any word. Elizabeth, or Lilibet, did what was necessary and moved on with her life, marrying someone else and having a child. As with most romance novels, time brings Elizabeth and Roland back together again. The old flame is quickly ignited and these two are in a battle against the sexual, physical, and emotional tensions that are created between them. Elizabeth, however, has recently escaped the infidelities of her husband, and he is hot on her trail. Roland realizes quickly that his feelings are still apparent when it comes to Lilibet, and that he will do whatever it takes to protect her and her son.

I greatly enjoyed all of the characters that made up this book and I loved how this book coincided with Juliana’s first book, A Lady Never Lies. There were a few places that the story progressed really slowly for me and I found myself wanting to skip a few pages. I wasn’t as into this story as I was with the first one, but it still had its perks. I really enjoyed Roland’s character, at times maybe more than Elizabeth’s. All my readers know that this is odd for me because I am usually a strong feminist, and the male characters in romance novels like this one usually get on my last nerve. I found Roland to be rather charming and I liked his fun-loving nature.

This novel is quite humorous and had me laughing at times, especially during some rather heated conversations. I like the spunk that both Elizabeth and Roland had to offer at times, and I think that I enjoyed the scenes when they were together most of all. I just felt like this story too closely resembled many others and I found myself being able to predict a lot of what would happen next. If you read the first book in this series, then I would definitely say to give this one a try!

***Thank you to the publishers at Berkley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review***