| Title | : | Lord Despair (Beastly Lords #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 404 |
| Publication | : | First published November 23, 2018 |
How can a man embrace his birthright when he cannot leave his bedroom?
Lord Simon Devere returns from the Burmese War, haunted by the vivid memory of his slain cousin and powerless to know reality from dreams. Unable to sleep, lest he awaken in the cell of his nightmares, he sits in the dark, incapable of believing he is truly home—and safe—in England.
How can a clever young lady support her family after her father dies in debt?
Jenny Blackwood is determined not to let her mother and sisters succumb to an unkind fate. With a head for numbers, she becomes the skilled bookkeeper “Mr. Cavendish.” One unexpected client is the nobleman cruelly named by gossips as Lord Despair.
A damaged aristocrat and danger in disguise…
With the estate’s coffers mysteriously dwindling, Jenny goes where others fear to tread, into the darkened room of the unstable earl. As friendship quickly sparks into passion, they discover even greater peril lies ahead of them, and the biggest threat to Jenny may be Lord Despair himself.
Engaging characters, attention to period detail, and passionate romance with a touch of intrigue—you’ll find it all in the stories by USA Today bestselling writer Sydney Jane Baily.
Lord Despair (Beastly Lords #1) Reviews
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Good book
It started out strong but kind of lagged towards the end. The heroine was wonderful. I loved her pragmatism and her intelligence. The Hero was a sad man but he did love the h. I hated when he pushed her away because of his sleeping problem.
He had been held in a cell with his cousin Tobias in Burma for two years. His cousin is killed and he is haunted by what he saw. He hasn't left his room until A young lady, the h shows up to help one day with his niece and nephew. She brings -
Audio 5 Stars
Story dnf @46% -
This was a good book with the potential to be way better. I do appreciate that while the heroine was able to pull the hero out of his self-imposed isolation (he had major PTSD after being a POW for years in the jungle), the heroine was not expected to "fix" the hero. The hero actually found a professional to treat him.
HOWEVER...I think the book started to go awry halfway through. And the drama/tension around the climax/resolution was a big turn off for me, and utterly contrived. The hero, deciding rightfully that his violent nightmares were a major issue and impediment to their marriage and happiness, decided to resolve it by bringing up divorce and then disappearing on Jenny for months while he was seeing a doctor on the continent for his PTSD. Jenny was left to wonder what happened to her husband, where was he at, if or when he would he return, etc. I thought that was absolute bullcrap to be honest. I could not conceive of a situation where a couple who cared for each other would play out a scenario like this. What was the harm in her husband letting her know he was getting treatment and where he was at?
I liked Simon and Jenny, they had good chemistry, their interactions were a joy to read, and the beginning of the book was great. But I felt really frustrated by the unnecessary contrived drama and how the story began to drag about midway though. By the end I was more than ready to move on from this couple. -
An initially interesting story which dribbles away tension [and interest] in episodic stages by solving problems too quickly, then dashing off to the next, then the next, each less interesting than the last, and finally boring.
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I really enjoyed it. I rate it 4.5 stars and averaged down as the financial aspect was oddly resolved. The PTSD seemed realistic. I don't know if the treatment was being used during the Victorian era.
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Started out fine, but then I got bored.
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This was a great story, except for a lot of the middle. The part where Simon went to Germany for help with his PTSD was too long and drawn out. No way did it have to be 404 pages. BUT the first part of the book made up for the parts that got a little boring.
I thought Simon and Jenny were wonderful, as was Jenny’s mother and 3 sisters, as well as Lord Cambrey. BUT Ned was a real ass and so was Simon’s uncle.
I have to say, it was different that the hero was quick to tell Jenny of his brutal nightmares. Instead of a hero keeping them secret, as if he’s ashamed of them. I think that’s what made the book so much better. I hate when things like that are going on in a book and as I read I just keep telling the hero “tell her, for pete’s sake.” So annoying.
Okay! One reviewer said there wasn’t enough sex! Jeez, do some readers just read for the sex? There was plenty of sexual tension and lots of necking, petting, feeling and kissing that went on throughout the book. The only thing you didn’t read about was the screwing. It was not full of sex. There was just enough of everything, IMO.
As to the narration: You don’t get much better than Tim Campbell. He’s a wonderful narrator. -
2.5 stars. Pretty meh. Lord Despair is ‘healed’ too quickly, and there’s a whole lotta instalove going around. Probably won’t read any more of this series.
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❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋
Absolutely brilliant, loved every page, word and phrase .
The characters were so well thought out and the story was riveting.
Can’t wait to read more rom this author.
In this story our Lord Devere suffers from PTSD after being imprisoned , and witnessing the death of his cousin.
The only one who seems to be able to help him is Jenny , originally visiting him to sort his finances.
The two click , but I won’t say more , and there is so much more to this book .
The adventure is far from over with these two as their relationship flourishes and they move from country to town, and the ton get their claws out .
Other characters include Cam , Lord Devere’s best friend ,and Maggie, Jenny’s sister .
These two are so geared up for their own story .
This is one you really don’t want to miss .
I look forward to Cams story soon .
I received an advance copy of this book and chose to submit a review -
DNF at 56%. The beginning was interesting, but then it lagged. The romance was luke warm and I kept hoping it would become more because there was something there, but it always fell flat. I decided to give up when I realized this was all it was ever going to be.
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I thoroughly enjoyed Baily's book Lord Despair. Not going to go into the plot, but I do like that she tied up all the loose ends (and there were a few). I listened to the narrated version, read by Tim Campbell. I'll admit to searching for a book on Audible with a male narrator and this was the first to come up, so I downloaded it on a chance, but I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I stayed up late last night to finish it!
I'm giving the story 5 stars, but the narration 4 (even though I probably shouldn't rate the narration here) because the narrator seemed to speed up as the story went along. It didn't bother me enough not to continue listening...more like something I became aware of as the story progressed.
I'm off to download the next one in the series! -
FREE today on Amazon.
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This book had promise, and it had moments of levity that actually made my laugh, but it lacked tension between the H/h, and the one sex scene I read was over in a sentence. There should have been more push-pull before they declared their love for one another.
It fell flat.
--Shannon -
A nice vacation read.
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This book is dull.
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Prepare to be pulled into this well written story that captures the essence of a wounded hero and the demons he fights. Lord Simon Devere is in a dark place, literally, when he is unable to sleep due to the nightmares he has since he returned home from the Burmese war. He has what we call today PTSD and can only sit in the dark trying to tell himself he is home in England and needs to take up his responsibilities.
Jenny is desperate in her own way, needing to earn a living to help her mother and sisters. Using a man's name she is a skilled bookkeeper and obtains Simon as a client, the one they call Lord Despair.
As she starts to do the books, she ventures into the dark room of the earl. Thus the story takes off and somehow it seems Jenny might get through to Simon. But can she bring him back to himself?
This is the first book I have read by this author and I was totally enthralled with this book. My favorite trope is the damaged hero, because I always love to see them be redeemed and find their happy ever after. I cannot wait to read more by this author and in this series!! -
Lord Despair is book one in The Beastly Lords series by Sydney Jane Baily. I have to say that I feel I have discovered a treasure in Baily’s writing. She tackles tough issues and layers her characters with vulnerable depths. I think I fell in love with the hero Lord Simon Devere. Plagued by PTSD, he is a man wracked with pain, and yet he has a gentle, loving side too. Jenny Blackwood is a wonderful heroine - compassionate and wise. I absolutely loved this book, and I can’t wait to read the rest in this series.
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⭐4.5⭐
Una linda historia, donde se encuentra además de romance, su cuota de intriga. Eso hizo que la historia me atrapara. Me agradó como se da el encuentro entre los protas y como se va desarrollando su relación y sentimientos.
Es la primera vez que leo a la autora y la he disfrutado! 📚💖 -
DNF 33% I very much enjoy this trope but not when modern sensibilities are masquerading as being in any way the male and female MCs would ever dream of behaving in the Victorian era the story is set in.
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It's Okay
It's not very steamy. In fact, it's all so proper that one becomes rather bored by it. The antagonists aren't very threatening, the hero is too nice as is the heroine. It's rather sedate. -
My 5 thoughts:
1. I cringed inside so badly whenever Jenny called her mum 'mummy'.
2. Simon disappears to the continent for months without a word. Forgiven in the space of a page ...
3. Just all a bit drawn out and lacking in any real emotion.
4. Just not a fan of the writing style. It didn't feel particularly period accurate either.
5. I'd have punched that Ned in the nose. Annoying character with next to no purpose for the plot. -
Great read
I really enjoyed this book. At times it was quite sad though. Lord Simon Devere was held captive for two years in a Burmese cell and saw his cousin brutally slain. His sleep is haunted by his memories and he does not know what is real anymore, thus being dubbed Lord Despair.
Jenny Blackwood is a bookkeeper who is determined to not let her mother and sisters end up without a home. Simon's butler hires Jenny, or rather "Mr. Cavendish", to look over the estates ledger's.
Jenny finds missing entries and that the money is mysteriously dwindling. Jenny gives her findings to the estate and assumes she is done.
She is surprised when they want her to come to the estate and go over all the ledgers. She encounters Simon during one visit and when he asks her to come visit him again a friendship starts to form.
Can Jenny and Simon overcome his fears? Or will Jenny be in danger from Lord Despair? -
I read the series of the sweet shop ladies getting husbands, so I knew this would be another good one.
I like that things don’t always follow the same formula for her, but yet it felt a little like it did. But with the PTSD, it did make sense for an expert, but still...
Like that she doesn’t just put in a little between the characters but has more going on, too. Makes it a richer story. -
An astounding historical romance that gives its hero a horrible case of PTSD and its heroine a head for numbers.
Read full review in the
2019 March issue of InD'tale Magazine. -
What’s more, moreover , what’s more, moreover ..... this is what this book is made up of . Almost as bad as -furthermore- sooooo irritating. Cants go four sentences whiteout reading “whats more” or “moreover”
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Boring. Sweet. Needed more romance.
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Es la primera vez que leo a esta autora y honestamente me gusto.
Creo que el desarrollo de los personajes me gusto mucho sobre todo ella que no era la doncella en aprietos y que nunca venia la salida a pesar que en ocasiones fuera muy fácil de resolver, en esta ocasión no era así es un personaje que piensa, razona y cuando ve las salidas las toma, creo que eso me gusto mucho. De igual forma la familia de ella me encantaron sobre todo Maggie a excepto de su primo NED puff.
Lo que no me gusto mucho fue los problemas de él, de la cual de forma mágica se iban resolviendo como por ejemplo su recuperación que después de pasar muchas veces recluido en su casa , por arte de magia aparece Jenny y ya se empieza a recuperarse y la forma que fue a ver al psicólogo y se compuso de todo en dos o tres meses jjajaj si fuera así de fácil y las tramas, todo se resolvió todo muy ajetreado, para tanto que se hablo en el libro de tanta intriga y cuando se resuelve todo quedo entonces para que tanto secretismo si solo era esto, no le vi coherencia.
Creo que no era necesario tantas hojas pero cabe recalcar que llega un punto que empiezas a leerlo muy rápido que te llega atrapar.
Es cierto que es una historia de amor, con cierta intriga PERO si andas buscando ese tipo de novelas con escenas subidas de tono PASA estas no tienen todo te lo dejan a la imaginación de cierta manera. Sin embargo tengo que recalcar que disfrute la novela sin estas escenas.
Por lo tanto para mi es recomendable, no quiere decir que la ame, tratare de terminar la serie, pero honestamente no me veo buscando mas de esta autora para este instante.
