Review: The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Hellions of Halstead Hall #1) by Sabrina Jeffries
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Series: Hellions of Halstead Hall #1
Author: Sabrina Jeffries
Published January 19th 2010 by Pocket Books
Goodreads Synopsis
They're the scandalous Sharpes, five hell-raising siblings tainted by a shocking family legacy. Now each faces a daunting ultimatum: marry by year's end—or kiss their inheritance good-bye.
In the two decades since a tragic "accident" took the lives of his parents, Oliver Sharpe, the Marquess of Stoneville, has survived the scandal surrounding that fateful night by living as an unrepentant rakehell. And with his grandmother vowing to disinherit him if he doesn't settle down and wed, he plans to fulfill the bargain in true Sharpe style—by bringing home a fake fiancée from a brothel! But his scheme is derailed when he rescues an American beauty in a dire predicament instead.
Maria Butterfield came to London to track down her groom-to-be, who's gone missing, but her engagement won't stop Oliver from getting what he wants: her, in his bed. His rebellious masquerade may call his grandmother's bluff, but it's soon made all too real—by a love that tempts him to be a hellion no more.
Goodreads
Review
After her daughter and son-in-law died years ago, the matriarch of the Sharpe family decided enough was enough, and she wouldn't let her five grandchildren keep ruining their lives the way that they are. Her solution, to give them an ultimatum - that all five need to marry by the end of a year, and start to settle down, or they would be cut off completely. Her first target is her oldest grandson, Oliver Sharpe, the Marquess of Stoneville, who is plagued by scandal and has fully embraced his rogueish ways. He thinks that if he finds a women who would be completely abhorrent to his grandmother, perhaps from a brothel, he can stop her in her tracks. Meeting recently orphaned American, Maria Butterfield outside a brothel, new to London, and needing to track down her own missing fiance, was perfect, and they agree to the scheme. As they are together more and more, pretending to be in love, and trying to fool Oliver's grandmother most of all, the feelings become less fake, and more real. Will finding Maria's fiancee make her come to her senses, or are Oliver and Maria fated to be together?
I read another of Sabrina's books, Who Wants to Marry a Duke, earlier in the year, and when I saw this book was available from my recently reopened library, I knew I would enjoy it. Both of the main characters were ones I loved from the get go. Maria, as the only daughter of a shipping magnate, knew that she would need to marry in order to retain any power in the business, and her father's young business partner was right for the role. However, years had passed since they became engaged, and now he was missing in England, and hadn't even realised that her father had passed. She was an heiress, but had very little cash readily available, so when she met Oliver outside the brothel, she was down to her last few pounds, and she had no way of finding him. She knew what she wanted, and wasn't someone who could be pushed over, and with Oliver she really proved this. Oliver was expecting her to be very naive, and though she wasn't fully up to date on how British high society worked, she pushed him, and made him want to be better. They were the perfect couple, and I loved them together, and with the rest of the Sharpe family. Hopefully I'll be able to get a hold of the other books in the series, because I can't wait to see how the rest of the family, especially younger sister, Celia, manage to find partners.
Dates Read:
August 3-5, 2020
Rating
4 Stars
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