⇒ Descargar Free Mrs Drew Plays Her Hand Carla Kelly 9780451181817 Books

Mrs Drew Plays Her Hand Carla Kelly 9780451181817 Books

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Mrs Drew Plays Her Hand Carla Kelly 9780451181817 Books

I haven't been able to find enjoyable books lately, so I checked to see which of Carla Kelly's books I hadn't read and found this one.

Most of the story was enjoyable, if a bit over the top in the pathos department, but all that enjoyment was stopped short when the story blew up at the end.

Roxanna Drew, a beautiful widow, and her daughters, ages 6 and 4, are charming and realistic. Lord Winn, the hero, is warm, generous and noble.

Roxanna, recent widow of a vicar, is under the care of her husband's brother. This not-very-happily married gentleman turns into a monster, using his power to try to force Roxanna into moving with the girls to his home, where Roxanna will become a virtual sex slave. The story rolls along, with Lord Winn and Roxanna getting to know and love each other and working together to thwart the brother-in-law.

SPOILERS ahead: But as the story comes toward a happy ending, Lord Winn pressures Roxanna to "do the right thing" and forgive her brother-in-law. And that abusive sexual predator claims he doesn't know what came over him and instantly reforms. And Roxanna begins sending the girls to visit their uncle. Is she crazy? The story seems to advocate that "good" people forgive and forget the peccadilloes of abusive sexual predators to the point of risking the well-being of their children. I felt ill. My estimation of the book sank.


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Mrs Drew Plays Her Hand Carla Kelly 9780451181817 Books Reviews

This was unusual for a romance in that there was no sex -- or rather, the sex was merely alluded to. I think there were two or maybe three sex scenes in the book and at least one of them happened so quickly (almost like slight of hand) that I had to go back and read that particular paragraph, asking myself, "Wait a minute, did they just have sex?" The strength of this book lay in character development and in the telling of the story itself. Also good was the sense of place -- I really felt like I knew the Dower House and the Moreland manse and the surrounding plains. I did think it was a bit odd that there wasn't more staff at Moreland -- when the crisis of influenza came (and even before), it seemed odd that Roxanna was doing everything, and even at the end she was darning his lordship's socks. A nice cozy image, but still. And of course there is the blockheaded man who doesn't quite believe that the heroine loves him. Overall, it was extremely well-written, which is the main commendation for me. I'd read additional books by Carla Kelly.
I've been re-reading my Carla Kelly books and although "Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand" isn't one of my top ten most memorable books in my Kelly collection - to me, it's still five star worthy.

If you're a long time fan of Ms. Kelly's writing, you already know she often writes about down-and-out ladies and this book follows that storyline. Additionally, one of her more common themes is a cool hero type - not a perfect hero - but generally a good, hard working man, who is protective of his lady, more often than not a gent who's served time on behalf of his country, in some of type of military occupation.

***Spoilers***
Before I proceed with my review, I will give you an idea of some common themes that run through Ms. Kelly's books

One common theme within the storyline of her books that I've noticed is just when things seem to be moving right along toward a marvelous Happily Ever After, then lo and behold, the hero makes the choice to remove himself from the game temporarily for some reason that frustrates me to no end. Examples are The Admiral's Penniless Bride - the hero becomes angry and acts like a total jerk, in Mrs. McVinnie's London Season - after proposing to our heroine, the naval captain hero withdraws his proposal because he can't bring himself to leave the navy and to make matters worse, he was planning to return a beautiful little girl named Clare to Portugal because he determined he wasn't the father. This after Clare had lived with his family for months and he seemed truly fond of her - she was an orphan, no less??? The deal with Clare very nearly ruined the book for me. In The Wedding Ring Quest (Harlequin Historical), the hero has a serious case of PTSD which causes him to respond to the heroine in a horrid fashion. Needless to say, on some occasions, the main guys in her books have not been written in a manner that gave me a lot of satisfaction.

But, here's the deal, there really isn't another writer who can come close to what Carla Kelly offers in writing style, so if you're a fan, you willingly accept your dislikes to go along with your likes. I'm a huge fan and I purchase her books as soon as they come out.

In this book, we have the common theme of a young woman, Roxanna Drew, whose former vicar husband was sick for four years before he passed away. She has two beautiful little girls, Helen and Leticia and is shortly going to have to give up the parsonage to the new vicar. Her brother-in-law, Lord Whitcomb, holds the living and he has a most wonderful proposition for the lovely Roxanna - she and the girls are welcome to come and live in his home, but there is a price to pay. Roxanna will warm his bed. Roxanna is scared and sick at the thought, but he is a powerful man and also has the ability to restrict her stipend if she refuses him.

While out walking, she comes across a broken down dower house on a neighboring property and makes a deal with the kindly bailiff to allow her to live there - the owner, Fletcher Rand, Lord Winn - has long been absent from his many properties serving in the war and has a very sorry reputation. It seems his wife was not only unfaithful, she was unfaithful with a slew of men, even friends and Lord Winn had the gall to seek a very public divorce which involved her former lovers being brought into the mess and paraded as it were, before the House of Lords. He's not considered good ton, he's not marriage material and even if he were, he has no real desire to get married.

But, Lord Winn is checking out his properties and when he comes across his Moreland Park property, who does he find in the dower house on a cold and wintry night? Yep, Roxanna and her little ones. From here on out, we have a lovely romance, Roxanna needs a protector and she has one in Winn. Even though her brother-in-law continues in his nastiness, Winn and Roxanna formulate a plan which involves a horseback ride in freezing weather to the Scotland border resulting in a marriage of convenience. However, Winn didn't count on Roxanna being starved for the marriage bed, so that certainly adds some spice to the game.

But... and here we go again, Winn isn't sure what Roxanna wants out of the marriage - after all she loved her previous husband which results in Winn leaving Roxanna, Helen and Leticia - the little sweet daughters he's become attached to, departing Moreland Park to continue checking out his holdings. Then, a letter goes astray, and there's a big misunderstanding which goes on for a few months until the last few pages of the book. This stuff I hate. Still, it's a beautiful love story and it is Carla Kelly, so there you have it.
I haven't been able to find enjoyable books lately, so I checked to see which of Carla Kelly's books I hadn't read and found this one.

Most of the story was enjoyable, if a bit over the top in the pathos department, but all that enjoyment was stopped short when the story blew up at the end.

Roxanna Drew, a beautiful widow, and her daughters, ages 6 and 4, are charming and realistic. Lord Winn, the hero, is warm, generous and noble.

Roxanna, recent widow of a vicar, is under the care of her husband's brother. This not-very-happily married gentleman turns into a monster, using his power to try to force Roxanna into moving with the girls to his home, where Roxanna will become a virtual sex slave. The story rolls along, with Lord Winn and Roxanna getting to know and love each other and working together to thwart the brother-in-law.

SPOILERS ahead But as the story comes toward a happy ending, Lord Winn pressures Roxanna to "do the right thing" and forgive her brother-in-law. And that abusive sexual predator claims he doesn't know what came over him and instantly reforms. And Roxanna begins sending the girls to visit their uncle. Is she crazy? The story seems to advocate that "good" people forgive and forget the peccadilloes of abusive sexual predators to the point of risking the well-being of their children. I felt ill. My estimation of the book sank.