Reviewed for THC ReviewsA Woman Scorned is yet another worthy effort from Liz Carlyle, but in my opinion, not the strongest of her novels that I have read to date. As with her other books, A Woman Scorned also contained an intriguing mystery element, this one involving the murder of the heroine's husband. The mystery was a bit more prominent in this story though, and consequently, I felt that it overshadowed the actual romance, in some ways. Aside from a strong physical attraction and mutual loneliness, I found few reasons for Cole and Jonet to fall in love. The author simply did not build the lovely friendship element or include the more swoon-worthy scenes that are often found in her other works. While their love became more evident toward the end of the story, I just did not find their feelings for one another earlier in the book to be entirely convincing. I believe that the time devoted to the mystery simply left limited space for good relationship development which was a bit disappointing, since these two characters had absolutely sparkled as secondary characters in other books. While I like a good mystery, this one did not hold my interest as much as it perhaps could have, due to the fact that I discerned the culprit very early on, though at least I was way off base on the character's motive and did not really figure that part out until the reveal. In all fairness though, I went into this book having read a later book that ties in with it, and therefore already knew that a couple of the characters who had been set up as suspects could be eliminated. Without that information, I doubt that I would have solved this part of the mystery so easily. All in all, for this only being Ms. Carlyle's second book, it was a still a good read.I thought that the characterizations of the hero and heroine were well-done and full of interesting complexities. Cole had held a variety of positions including that of scholar, tutor and military captain, in addition to being an ordained minister. He is filled with guilt and regret over the death of his first wife with which he must come to terms. On the surface, he seems very controlled and reserved, but inside he is seething with unfulfilled passion that just the right woman can unlock. Cole is highly intelligent, regularly engaging in battles of wit with Jonet. Although she could be very willful, he never let her get the best of him and always gave back as good as he got. This made for some highly charged and amusing banter between these two characters. Jonet was not a woman who was afraid to let her passions be know, but also carried a certain reserve due to fear over her sons' safety in the wake of their father's murder. I thought her devotion to her two sons as well as other characters in the story was highly commendable, and I also liked that she lived her life according to what she thought was right instead of what society dictated. Once she began to trust Cole, she was very bold in her pursuit of him, even though he was below her in social status. I found her boldness and directness to be admirable, as well as fun and sensuous, leading to a delightful, burning hot love scene near the end of the book that one might playfully characterize as Cole's “taming of the shrew”. Also, both characters were very intuitive of the other's needs and feelings which I found quite endearing. Even though the actual romance between these two could have had a stronger foundation and they were near polar opposites, it became obvious by the end of the story that Cole and Jonet were made for each other. It was not difficult to imagine them living a long and happy life together with nary a dull moment, which is probably why they were such stand-out characters in future novels.While I do enjoy introspection, I felt that a bit too much of it became a partial contributor to some pacing issues in the narrative of A Woman Scorned. The other part I attributed to the lack of the spirited secondary characters that I so enjoyed in Ms. Carlyle's other books. There were no scene-stealers like Kem or Bentley, and the supporting characters who were present just didn't quite have the same lively quality as some that had appeared in other stories. Even if they were a bit more reserved, there were a few notables. David, Lord Delacourt was an enigma and I'm sure I would have enjoyed his presence in this story much more if I hadn't already known his secret from reading A Woman of Virtue in which he is the hero. He also put in an appearance in No True Gentleman. I found Stuart and Robert to be very charming children with opposite personalities, Stuart being rather shy and Robert being more outgoing. I thought that they were realistically rendered in that they often argued and misbehaved like young boys do, but yet they were never obnoxious. Stuart and Robert (though much more grown up) also appear in A Woman of Virtue and The Devil You Know. Edmund Rowland was a rather distasteful character who also pops up in A Woman of Virtue, as does Lady Delacourt, and Charlotte Branthwaite, David's mother and sister respectively. Just as she does in most of her books, Ms. Carlyle also uses a few animal characters to good effect, helping to set the tone for the human characters and overall story.As one might guess from the overlapping characters, A Woman of Virtue is the book most closely related to A Woman Scorned actually picking up the story precisely where this one left off. I personally, however, still recommend reading the books in chronological order to receive the full effect of all characters on the canvass, as I have come to the conclusion that Ms. Carlyle used her first three books, My False Heart, A Woman Scorned, and Beauty Like the Night to create three separate family groups who are then intermingled freely in subsequent books. Even though I didn't think it to be the author's best effort, I found A Woman Scorned to be a pleasant and enjoyable read. Ms. Carlyle remains one of my favorite authors and I look forward to continuing my exploration of her backlist.Note: While none of Ms. Carlyle's earlier books seem to be officially considered a series and each seems to stand well on it's own story-wise, I would caution that reading her later books first may give away spoilers to her earlier books. Such was the case when I skipped A Woman Scorned and was left wishing that I had read it first. My suggestion for readers like myself who don't like any spoilers would be to begin with Ms. Carlyle's first book, My False Heart, and continue reading them in the chronological order in which she wrote them. It is also my opinion that the reading experience would be greatly enhanced by doing this, because Ms. Carlyle's character web is so complex. The entire backlist, in order, can be found on her website.
I was a little surprised by who the villain was in this story. I read the story a number of years ago and I think I was surprised then as well. Ms. Carlyle does a good job of hiding the person’s identity until the very end of the book. This story also has the surprise in that there is a small mention of bondage and domination mixed in. I was very pleased to find that scene. This is a wonderful example of the complex writing style of Ms. Carlyle. She brings such life to her characters are the places that they inhabit. You want to know all about all the characters that are part of this story. In fact, I am left wondering why Lord Delacourt shows up at Cole’s house, in the Epilogue, needing a parson.Cole Amherst is a contradiction. He is a brilliant scholar and a first rate solider. He has taken orders to be a vicar but he decided to defend his country against Napoleon. Cole is honorable, compassionate, and stubborn. Cole is also a dominant in a much understated way. I liked Cole. I loved how he stood up to his “Uncle” when he wants to send Cole as a spy into Jonet Rowlands house. I also loved that Cole seems to be very good with children. He turns out to be the perfect person to protect Jonet and the children.Jonet Rowland has lived under the cloud of her husband’s death for months. She knows that everyone thinks that she killed her husband but she is more concerned for her sons than her reputation. I loved that Jonet was so fiercely protective of her children. I loved that she was smart and capable and brave. I also liked that she was willing to admit that she needed someone she could trust to help with protecting her children and herself. She can be a hellcat of the first order but that is mostly because of the strain she has been under. I also was very happy that Jonet isn't afraid to be a female with a very active carnal appetite as far as Cole is concerned.There are several things going in throughout this story and the throw the scent of the villain off on several different people. There are more than enough greedy arrogant people to fall into this category. I would love to find out what happens to Edmund Rowland. He is a vile, oily man that would probably sell his mother to keep his lifestyle. I would also love to find out what becomes of Lord Delacourt, as I mentioned above. Finally there are few love scenes in this book but what there is will burn up the pages. This is a great example of the historical fiction genre and those that love this genre will probably love this book.
Do You like book A Woman Scorned (2000)?
This Victorian (well, not really - it's set too late for a Regency but too early for a Victorian. A Williamian? :P) is so so so good! The hero is an officer in between postings who used to think about becoming a clergyman and the heroine is a widow into whose household he comes as a tutor to her two young sons (long story). There are murders and mysteries but the reason I love the book so much were Cole and Jonet - she is high-strung and brittle but so understandable in it and so strong, and he is such an incredibly good and patient and kind person without being weak. I loved them, separately and together, to bits.
—Dangermousie
It has been whispered that Jonet killed her husband in order to be with her younger lover. Captain Cole Amherst has been ordered by his uncle to find out if it is indeed true that Jonet murdered her husband. Instead what Cole finds is a beautiful woman pushed to the brink of sanity trying to keep her sons safe from an unknown evil. Cole, on the verge of taken his vows to God, finds himself pushed to the brink himself as he fights his overwhelming attraction to Jonet. For Jonet's part, no man or god is going to stop her from getting her hands on this tall, sexy, blond with the tiger's eyes. This was an awesome read. It had an emotional depth that put it in a different class than her usual books. It was refreshing to come across a woman who knew what she wanted from her man and was fearless about going about it. Poor Cole never had a chance. :-)
—Keri
Different coverIt's been a while since I've read the other books in this series, somehow this book just escaped me at the time and it was recently that I realised I hadn't read. Since I'm a Carlyle fan I decided to pick it up asap!Jonet Rowland, the Marchioness of Mercer is lovely, rich, and—it is rumored—an unrepentant adulteress. And when her philandering husband is murdered in his own bed, it's whispered that Jonet is a femme fatale in more ways than one. It will take a dashing and honorable soldier to get Jonet out of this one.When his scheming uncle begs Captain Cole Amherst to investigate the death of his brother, Lord Mercer, Cole flatly refuses. But it is soon apparent that treachery stalks Lady Mercer’s two innocent children. A man of God and a scholar, Cole reluctantly plunges into the viper’s pit that is Jonet Rowland’s life, and finds that nothing could have prepared him for the lust she inspires...or the danger which surrounds them. Jonet, the Marchioness of Mercer was once the toast of the ton but is now an outsider that most believe poisoned her husband. Cole Amherst is asked by his uncle, Jonet's brother in law, to go and work as a tutor to Jonet's sons so he can be aware of what is going on in that house. Wary at first he soon realises that someone is threatening them and that Jonet has been leaving with that fear for quite a while.I really enjoyed reading Cole and Jonet's story. I think I liked Cole more in the beginning but it's also true that we know more about him and his thoughts than about Jonet. Jonet is more complex and tortured and guards some secrets. They are both very attracted from the start but there's a lot of distrust between them and the tension slowly builds up. Besides Cole not knowing if Jonet killed her husband and Jonet's conviction that Cole came to spy on her there are also the moral issues that Cole has to deal with since he is a Curate and the fact that Jonet has a more powerful position in society. The distrust between them goes on for most of the book even after they give in to temptation and make love. I really enjoyed reading how they solve that and decide to be together despite their different backgrounds and personalities. Cole is a wonderful hero in the sense that he is an intelligent, sensible and loving man who tries to be honest with his feelings.There's a mystery subplot about who really killed Jonet's first husband and who is trying to kill her and her children. Although I had an immediately idea of the bad guy I wasn't really sure it was who I thought because I couldn't see the motive. Fortunately this works more to help with Jonet and Cole's relationship than to create a true mystery that might detract from the story.Grade: A-
—Ana T.
