Published: July 25, 2009
Words: 80336 (approximate)
Language: English

Short description

A Regency Romance. Marshall Godfrey the 8th Viscount Raynham needs a wife, but all efforts to acquire one through normal channels have failed. Time has run out. His twin sisters are being launched into society, but he can only hear sounds close by. He plans to hire a woman to hover at his shoulder and repeat into his ear what people are saying, but he can’t take a secretary into polite society.

Extended description

Marshall Godfrey the 8th Viscount Raynham is in need of a wife, but his strenuous efforts to acquire one through normal channels have failed. He's out of patience and out of time. His twin sisters are being launched into society, but he can only hear within a very short distance. How can he protect them if no one tells him what people are saying? His plan is to hire a woman to hover at his shoulder and repeat into his ear what people are saying, but he can't take a secretary into polite society.

The fourteenth applicant is a thin bonneted creature in old ill-fitting clothes. She slowly unties the ribbons and removes the hideous hat hiding her face. She isn't ugly, but. Marshall's unfavourable assessment is suspended as the small window behind the solicitor's desk becomes a golden square. Sunshine breaks through the overcast sky, bends around several corners and showers the woman with light. She looks like she's stepped out of the Dutch paintings he saw on his grand tour. Poetic words... (Read more) Marshall Godfrey the 8th Viscount Raynham is in need of a wife, but his strenuous efforts to acquire one through normal channels have failed. He's out of patience and out of time. His twin sisters are being launched into society, but he can only hear within a very short distance. How can he protect them if no one tells him what people are saying? His plan is to hire a woman to hover at his shoulder and repeat into his ear what people are saying, but he can't take a secretary into polite society.

The fourteenth applicant is a thin bonneted creature in old ill-fitting clothes. She slowly unties the ribbons and removes the hideous hat hiding her face. She isn't ugly, but. Marshall's unfavourable assessment is suspended as the small window behind the solicitor's desk becomes a golden square. Sunshine breaks through the overcast sky, bends around several corners and showers the woman with light. She looks like she's stepped out of the Dutch paintings he saw on his grand tour. Poetic words sprout through his melancholy like brightly coloured tulips. She's plain, but there's something pleasing about the woman with honey coloured hair.

She can't possibly be the one. She probably has an irritating voice. She's probably in love with some Vicar. She probably smells like a close stool. She'll probably be unfit for purpose. He meets her curious expression with a scowl, she looked hungry. If she passes all the tests she'll be more inclined to become a temporary wife.
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Tags

romance, regency romance, romance story, romance stories, romance and love, romance novel, cari hislop

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Reviews

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Review by: Gloria Cartwright on Jan. 31, 2012 :
I enjoyed this story.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Susan Bischoff on May 04, 2010 :
I really enjoyed this story. I am a huge sucker for "plain" (or unattractive) characters falling in love in a world (ours, and the romance world) where beauty is so important. In this story, this is both main characters.

Due to his disability, the hero has a habit of shouting and a general lack of refined manners that cause most of society to consider him a brute. (The author handles the hero's challenges, his problems, and way they have shaped his character in a way that shows and excellent understanding of the handicap and great sensitivity as a writer. There is no heavy-handedness in this area.) The heroine's social position is far below his, and on top of that is not ravishing young beauty. Yet this couple soon discover something society will never look close enough to see: that there is so much more beneath the surface.

Who doesn't love a story like that?

To carry this unfolding of character and romance, Hislop tells a very competent tale of silly females on the husband hunt that turns to intrigue and even multiple murder. There is plenty of storyline to keep the characters and the reader occupied.

I won't say that I /couldn't/ put it down--it's not really that kind of story. But I didn't /want/ to put it down, and felt compelled to read on and see these characters through to their Happily Ever After.

I recommend The Hired Wife to those who enjoy light period romance and especially to those who enjoy the Ugly Duckling motif. Download the free portion and give it a chance.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Crookie on April 16, 2010 :
I liked this book needed a little more storyline
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

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