Royal Regard

Wow! Intrigue, romance, murder. Lots to keep me interested. Bella copes with a cherished dying husband, a French duc that wants her fortune, an English Duke who wants her body and a ton that ridicules her. Never a dull moment.

absolutely awesome!
there is so much i could say about this book... but i wount.
i have read and re-read the prequell to this book sooooo many times it´s nearly criminal.... i finally had no other choice. i just had to read this, so i bougth it... startet reading wile on vacation and finished it on my second day! i waitet almost a week an re-read it... going to read it again sooon im sure! this book had me laughing, cringing, crying, hoping, shouting and deliriously happy! i dont know what to tell you exept i seldomly have enjoyed a book so much. i hereby salute and thank this fabulous Autor for her amazing mind and work.

(p.s.: apollogys for all the spelling and grammar Errors.)

Bella Holsworthy has much to be thankful for - having escaped an abusive family by marrying a much older gentleman (a gentleman she came to have a deep affection for) & having that husband teach her how to have confidence in herself. All while living at sea for fifteen years. Now back in London due to her husband’s failing health has Bella’s old insecurities of the ton warring with her confidence.

Myron, Baron Holsworthy, knows he is not long for this world and wants to die knowing he has done everything he can to protect Bella from fortune hunters upon his death. There’s one he would warn her away from & one he would push her towards.

Charmed by a rakish Duke & wooed by a charming Frenchman but staying loyal to her husband has Bella in a constant state of confusion. Evil rears its ugly head with the help of a deceitful maid, a kidnapping, interference from her ailing husband & the king have Bella fleeing. But will she flee to a life of loneliness or can her happy ever after find her and who will it be with?

A character yelling, heart stopping story by the talented Mariana Gabrielle. Just when you think Bella’s going to get her HEA Ms. Gabrielle turns you around. Love Bella’s strength, her devotion to her ailing husband, the hero being broadsided by his feelings and the final twist of the story. Looking forward to Ms. Gabrielle’s next tale!

This is a very enjoyable read. It kept my interest from start to finish.

Royal Regard by Mariana Gabrielle
Bella Clewes, Baroness of Holsworthy was never considered a pretty woman and people enjoyed telling her so. She hated Society and the one good thing about being sold as a bride to a much older man was that she got to sail away from all of it. Now after fifteen years away, Bella and Myron return to London due to his failing health. The strong woman she had become while away...was once again quiet and unsure.

Adolphe Fouret, Duc de Malbourne and Nicholas Northope, Duke of Wellbridge...both started to try and charm Bella. Only one of them cares more for the true woman she is. The other knows she is soon to be a very rich widow. Bella just wants to remain a good wife and caretaker to Myron.

This was a very unique story and I found it to be a definite page turner. Grabbing you and holding you from beginning to end. Bella is still a married woman and yet many around here seem to forget...or just ignore...that. Myron knows he is not long on this earth and wants to find Bella a protector.

The prequels are to follow: Shipmate is Bella and Myron's story. 'Tis Her Season is Charlotte's story, Bella's cousin. A Rose Renamed is John's story, Bella's brother.
**Sexual content and language
http://justjudysjumbles.blogspot.com/2015/11/mariana-gabrielle-book-list.html

I absolutely loved this book . Bella the heroine is someone that you wished was your best friend and you would just know that life would never be boring with her around . I have seen some reviews of Regency Era books and they complain about improper saying or modern ideas in the book. While I am no expert I found that this book was true to the era and situations that you would expect. I found that the author has an amazing talent for picking you up and putting right inside the story. There was never a moment that I was bored.It always felt like I was right there beside Bella , laughing, crying, wishing, wondering, and fuming. I should probably say something about the hero too so here it goes . He was gorgeous, stubborn, funny,sweet, and infuriating sometimes all at once ! I i admit I also feel the same about my husband lol. All of the characters were just as amazing as Bella and I hope to see them in a future book . I do believe it would be a spoiler to say the one character that I hope to read his love story about . *hint a last name change without a marriage . I will keep this book on my Kindle , will also reread , and will be hopefully adding it to my hands on library soon . ( *shh just don't tell my family , they are "saving" me from a hoarders life )

I'm used to writing reviews for books that fall into genres of usual preference: historical and literary fiction, history, and topical nonfiction. Reading Royal Regard, a Regency Romance novel, and writing a review have been ventures into the unknown and mysterious.

Happily, I can say that Royal Regard was a most enjoyable experience. Author Mariana Gabriele is a proven professional writer and editor, and my high expectations for quality of writing and editorial excellence were soundly met. The story is set in an era which was unfamiliar to me; some preliminary research revealed that the cast of principal characters are part of a world of rarefied aristocracy and wealth that makes the upstairs crowd at Downton Abbey look more to the middle-class side.

Story and character development proceed at a brisk yet comfortable pace. Female lead Isabella (Bella) Huntleigh, a member of the minor aristocracy cast out by her family but come to wealth and high social position by way of marriage to a good and sympathetic man of commerce twice her age, finds herself in the middle of the treacherous environment of the highest London society after a dozen years of traveling the world with her husband, assisting him with his business. To complicate Bella's new and unfamiliar circumstances, her husband Myron, Lord Huntleigh, is known to be dying and she known to be the sole beneficiary of his vast estate.

Bella is a complex young woman, shaped both by her grim childhood and her happy yet passionless marriage to Lord Huntleigh, beautiful of person and socially adept, but deeply lacking in confidence and seemingly unaware of her effect on the predatory male aristocrats who immediately begin to circle her like hungry sharks.

Suffice to say that Bella is in for a difficult life that will gradually bring her to new confidence, personal strength, and a lasting love, but test her to the utmost limits at every step. The author's own passion is revealed through the exposition of Bella's character and those of other principal characters, giving this 'romance novel' a quality of literary fiction seldom seen in the Romance genre. Highly Recommended!