2020 Beat the Backlist challenge
Review: Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord (Love By Numbers #2) by Sarah MacLean
10:00
Series: Love By Numbers #2
Author: Sarah MacLean
Published May 1st 2014 by Piatkus
Goodreads Synopsis
“Lord Nicholas is a paragon of manhood. And his eyes, Dear Reader! So blue!” Pearls & Pelisses, June 1823
Since being named one of London’s “Lords to Land” by a popular ladies’ magazine, Nicholas St. John has been relentlessly pursued by every matrimony-minded female in the ton. So when an opportunity to escape fashionable society presents itself, he eagerly jumps—only to land in the path of the most determined, damnably delicious woman he’s ever met!
The daughter of a titled wastrel, Lady Isabel Townsend has too many secrets and too little money. Though used to taking care of herself quite handily, her father’s recent passing has left Isabel at sea and in need of outside help to protect her young brother’s birthright. The sinfully handsome, eminently eligible Lord Nicholas could be the very salvation she seeks.
But the lady must be wary and not do anything reckless…like falling madly, passionately in love.
Goodreads
Review
In Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord, Lord Nicholas St John, the twin brother of the Marquess of Ralston soon finds himself being surrounded by all of the matchmaking mama's, and debutantes, after being named one of the 'Lord's to Land'. To escape the pressures of the ton, he flees to the Lake District, searching for the lost sister of the Duke of Leighton, and stumble's - quite literally - upon the beautiful Lady Isabel Townsend. Isabel, as the daughter of an earl, should've had the perfect upbringing, a season in London, and be happily married by now. However, she was unlucky enough to have a wastrel as a father, who often bargained her as a gambling piece, and left her and younger brother, James, destitute. She's also hiding a secret - she's been running Minerva House, as home for needy women to escape poverty, cruelty, or scandal, and can not let anything, or anyone, discover the truth. When the young sister of the Duke of Leighton arrives, and in the family way, Isabel knows it's soon going to be discovered, and does everything she can to keep Nick from finding out the truth. Will she be able to continue running the House, or is it too late?
I loved the premise of this story so much. Isabel was an amazing heroine, and her charity and caring nature towards all the girls and women who landed on her doorstep was phenomenal. She had faced so much in her life, and now was responsible for a ten year old Earl, and all of the girls in the house. To keep them solvent, she thinks to sell off her personal collection of Greek and Roman marble statues, and when she falls into Nick in the local village, it's like fate. Yeah, so Nick is one of the 'Lord's to Land', but he's also a renowned historian, and can help to appraise her collection, and facilitate the sale of it all. Allowing him into her home was difficult for Isabel, especially when she cares so much about keeping the girls safe, but it's soon clear they are falling for each other, and Isabel is at risk of losing more than her home. For Nick, and his friend Rock, they are still dealing with the effects from their experiences in Turkey - in which Nick was left injured and scarred - and Nick readopting his persona of a hunter was difficult for him. He grows a little stoic, but with Isabel, and the interludes when little James pops in, he returns to his old self, and we see a different side to him to what we saw in Nine Rules. I really enjoyed their relationship together, though missed some of the easiness we saw between Callie and Gabriel in the previous book. All in all, still an enjoyable romance, and I'm looking forward to Juliana and Leighton's book.
Dates Read:
October 24, 2020
Rating
4 Stars
