Was this book brilliant? No, it wasn’t. But it was definitely the picker-upper that I needed. And enjoyable, too.I enjoyed the setting, the time period, and the characters. The heroine, Maria, is strong willed, independent and stubborn woman. The hero, Phillip is hard working, intelligent, controlling and somewhat of a snob. He’s desperate to control his desire for Maria, because she’s not for him, and she is completely clueless of his desires. She’s still rilling about the loss of his friendship. Although the story moves well along the book, I found that the ending was rushed and abrupt. And a lot of questions came to mind with the ending. Which I'm not going to mention...because I don't want to give anything away. Philip Hawthorne, Marquess of Kayne was serious, even as a child. He and his brother, Lawrence were taught to be true gentlemen and to uphold the strict guidelines of society. Thank goodness for Miss Maria Martingale, the daughter of the family's chef. Maria precocious, she is lively and is determined even at a young age to become a famous pastry chef. When Maria is sent away to finishing school, Philip and Lawrence are amazed at the change in her when she returns. At 17 when her father dies, although she is hoping to find comfort from Philip, it is Lawrence who makes her laugh, who comforts her and decides he wants to run off to Greta Greene with her. When Philip finds out, he threatens Lawrence and then pays Maria off, sending her away. Twelve years later, he thinks that he has forgotten all about her, but when they bump into each other and he learns she is planning to open a bakery in the building right next to the place he is living, he fights to get her evicted. Lawrence, who has returned from America with a fiancee practically in tow, intervenes. Part guilt, part fond memories, Lawrence convinces Philip to let her stay. Philip is rigid in his stance that they can't associate with each other. He MUST stick to society's expectations of him and this makes him aloof, stuffy, and most certainly a snob. She as a person may not be beneath him, but her social status, her position and place in life is. A passionate encounter between the two makes Philip propose marriage. Unfortunately he makes it sound more like he is bending over backwards in order to sleep with her in hopes to get her out of his system. This makes her very nervous, plus, she wants a marriage of equality, comfort and most importantly love. So... she refuses. Eventually, fate brings them together once again and this time, they spend a passionate night together, but are caught by a maid. He thinks she will marry him and he begins to dictate to her their life together, which includes giving up her life long dream of having a bakery. She refuses him once again. Knowing she has to see him later on as she is helping to cater an event of his, she is lost in thought when some of her desserts is returned to the kitchen with a demand that she go and explain herself to the party. But when Maria asks Philip what is wrong with them, he claims it was just a ruse to get her up there and he tries to prove his love for her by declaring himself and his intentions to marry her in from on the luncheon party. The book was certainly readable. The bantering and humor between Maria and Philip was fun to read. Learning about their past history made the book interesting and Maria herself kept the story going; she was very likable. Once you got past the snobbishness, Philip had some pretty good qualities. The half smiles, the remembering stories about their childhood even if he denied it, the fact that he realized every other woman in his life was a substitute for Maria, and then finally giving in to his passions and choosing love over society's expectations of him make the book a pleasant escape from real life.
Do You like book Il Segreto Di Un Gentiluomo (2011)?
Nice, but Philip was broody I wanted hit him. I loved Maria and her bakery. Really good stuff.
—Lil7ly
I skimmed the last half of this one, and I liked Lawrence better than Phillip.
—tmenda24
