Friday, January 8, 2016

Review - - The Lie and the Lady

The Lie and the Lady
By Kate Noble
Publisher: Pocket
Release Date: December 29, 2015



The Lie and the Lady picks up with the story of Letitia Herzog, the widowed Countess Churzy, and John Turner, who is NOT the Earl of Ashby, two secondary characters from The Game and the Governess who did not get their HEA in that book. Letty’s sister has refused to allow Letty to continue to live with her until the scandal surrounding Letty’s relationship to the man who lied dies down. Letty moves to London then on to Brighton, Manchester, York, and north to Edinburgh in an effort to escape the gossip that is destroying her chance for remarriage, but the scandalmongers are relentless. As a last resort, she leaves for the Continent. In Paris, at the Louvre, she meets Sir Bartholomew Babcock, an older English widower. Letty plays Sir Barty like an expert angler until he proposes. Thrilled to accompany Sir Barty to Lincolnshire as his affianced bride, Letty is unprepared for what she finds there. First, Sir Barty’s daughter, Margaret, is no child but an Amazonian nineteen-year-old who loathes Letty at first sight. Moreover, John Turner is a neighbor and friend of Sir Barty. Perhaps Letty has not found the security she sought.

The Turner Grain Mill is almost ready to begin operating again, the goal for which John has long worked and the reason he spent three years as secretary to his friend the Earl of Ashby. John has no wish to be distracted by Letty. The last time he saw her, on a Dover dock, she insisted that she never wanted to see him again. Since then, he has thrown himself into getting the mill rebuilt, working so hard that he has had no time to think of Letty. But she is more difficult to ignore when he sees her in the churchyard, across the sitting room in Sir Barty’s home, and in her room where he tracks her down for a much needed talk. Letty fears John will tell Sir Barty about her past. John fears Letty will turn Sir Barty against him. Between their suspicions of one another and their feelings that refuse to fade, life is interesting, made more interesting by a lively cast of secondary characters.

Noble does an amazing job of turning a heroine who at first seems quite shallow into a pragmatic character with a broad streak of kindness and her own sense of honor. The taciturn Turner from the first book is an interesting and unusual hero, a miller in a subgenre rife with assorted aristocrats in that role. I thought it delightful that Letty, the miller’s daughter, finds happiness as Mrs. Turner, the miller’s wife, her title becoming merely a memory. The villain of the piece might comfortably fit into a classic melodrama, but the appealing humor and intelligence that characterize Noble’s voice makes him work in this story. I also found Rhys Gray an immensely engaging character. I hope Noble writes his story next.

The Lie and the Lady lacks the rave-worthiness that made The Game and the Governess (read Janga's review) one of my top ten romance novels of 2014, but on its own merits, it is an entertaining book with some surprises and characters I thoroughly enjoyed. It is a must-read for anyone who liked the earlier book, but Noble provides sufficient detail about “the lie” and Letty and John’s relationship in the first book to read this one as a standalone. I recommend historical romance readers give it a try.

~Janga


Have you read any of Kate Noble's books yet? Do you have a favorite?

Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of The Game and the Governess. (U.S. only)



Kate Noble is the national bestselling author of The Game and the Governess and the critically acclaimed, RITA Award-nominated Blue Raven series. Under the name Kate Rorick, she writes for television, as well as novels based on the Emmy Award-winning web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, for which she is also a writer and producer. She lives in Los Angeles. 






18 comments:

  1. I have read The Blue raven Series. The Game and The Governess sounds captivating and wonderful. thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope you enjoy it, petite. I love Kate Noble's writing!

      Delete
  2. Okay, will have to read this series now...Janga! YOU DID IT AGAIN. Just started with Ms Noble this past year and love her writing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Read them in order, Hope. I'm with you on Kate Noble's writing. Love it!

      Delete
  3. I've enjoyed her books but haven't read this series as yet - sounds good!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I enjoyed Compromised and look forward to picking up her other books. raquel36m(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  5. This delightful novel interests me greatly. I have not as yet read this author's books but would love to.

    ReplyDelete
  6. She's really a terrific writer, y'all. I have every one of her books on a keeper shelf. I fear my review doesn't do this book justice because I loved The Game and the Governess so much that it was almost inevitable the next one would suffer in comparison.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I haven't read any of this author's work yet, but the review was intriguing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have not read any of this authors books as of yet, but they sound interesting and I will definitely have to check them out.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I absolutely loved If I Fall, a friends to lovers story!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have read one of her stories in an anthology and have 2 or 3 of her books in my TBR Mountain. By the sound of the review, I must dig them out and read them soon.
    Thank you for offering her book that was one of your top ten romance novels of 2014. Reading it will set up this story perfectly. I look forward to reading many of her books.

    ReplyDelete
  11. No, I have not tried one of this author's books, but have long heard good things from friends.
    Lil

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have not read a Kate Noble book. I did read Janga's review of the book you are giving away, THE GAME AND THE GOVERNESS. It sounds like a book I would enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm a huge fan of Kate Noble and really enjoyed "The Game and the Governess." I am looking forward to reading "The Lie and the Lady." Congratulations, Kate Noble!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Terrific synopsis and review. Wish I had written it. Just so-not as good as the Game and the Governess which made me cry, but "The Lady" certainly grows on you. Ms. Noble truly grew her "plant/flower."

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love Kate's books, my very favorites of hers - The Summer of You and Revealed, check these out also. (not in contest, have all of Kate's books)

    ReplyDelete
  16. love her books! Haven't been able to find the new one locally. Looks will have to order it.

    ReplyDelete