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The Pretender (2003)

The Pretender (2003)

Book Info

Series
Rating
3.6 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
0312984855 (ISBN13: 9780312984854)
Language
English
Publisher
st. martin's paperbacks

About book The Pretender (2003)

อกาธาเป็นลูกกำพร้า เมื่อพี่ชายของเธอหายตัวไป เธอก็ถูกบังคับให้แต่งงานกับเพื่อนบ้านที่หวังจะฮุบสมบัติของเธอ ดังนั้นเธอจึงหนีเข้ามาในลอนดอนเพื่อตามหาพี่ชายของเธออกาธาปลอมตัวเป็นหญิงที่มีสามีแล้ว แต่เมื่อต้องไปเข้าร่วมงานเลี้ยงต่างๆ การไปคนเดียวคงไม่เหมาะ ดังนั้นเธอจึงต้องหาคนมาเป็นสามีกำมอละของเธอไซม่อนเองก็ตามหาเจมส์ พี่ชายของอกาธาอยู่เช่นกัน แต่ด้วยเหตุผลที่ต่างกันโดยสิ้นเชิง เขาคิดว่าเจมส์คือสายลับที่ทรยศ เขารู้ว่าอกาธาเกี่ยวข้องกับเจมส์ด้วยเหตุผลบางอย่าง แต่ไม่รู้ว่าเธอคือน้องสาวเจมส์ ไซม่อนปลอมตัวเป็นคนกวาดปล่องไฟเพื่อเข้าบ้านของอกาธาเพื่อสืบหาข่าว แต่กลับโดนจับผลัดจับผลูได้เป็นสามีกำมะลอของเธอแทนเรื่องนี้สนุกดีค่ะ มิมชอบที่ไซม่อนเป็นคนธรรมดาไม่มียศฐาบรรดาศักดิ์ เรื่องราวดำเนินไปด้วยความเข้าใจผิดของฝ่ายชายที่นึกว่าอกาธาเป็นสายลับและเมียเก็บของเจมส์ เขาจึงพยายามหลอกล่อให้อกาธาคายข้อมูล ถึงขนาดจะใช้เซ็กส์เป็นเครื่องมือด้วยซ้ำแต่พอความจริงถูกเปิดเผย เขาก็รู้หัวใจตัวเองว่าเขาชอบเธอ แต่กลายเป็นว่าเขาไม่สามารถแต่งงานกับเธอได้เพราะหน้าที่การงานของเขา การเป็นสมาชิกไลเออร์สคลับหมายถึงการต้องเสียสละทุกสิ่งเพื่อประเทศชาติ แม้กระทั่งความรักนางเอกของเราจึงรุกน่าดู ประมาณว่า ถ้าฉันไม่ได้เขา ฉันได้ลูกเขาก็ยังดี มิมชอบที่อกาธามุ่งมั่น แะสุดท้ายเธอก็ยอมให้ตัวเองเสื่อมเสียชื่อเสียงดีกว่าจะเป็นคนเปิดโปงสถานะสายลับของพระเอกเล่มนี้บีบหัวใจจี๊ดเป็นช่วงๆ ค่ะ ชอบบบบ ไซม่อนรู้ว่ารักไม่ได้แต่ก็ยังรัก เขาเองก็ทรมานเหมือนกัน ในขณะที่อกาธารัก และต้องยอมสละชื่อเสียงตัวเองเพื่อเป้าหมายของคนที่รัก เป็นสถานการณ์กลืนไม่เข้าคายไม่ออก ตอนแรกมิมคิดว่าถ้าพระเอกเอาเปรียบ เพราะถ้าเขาไม่สามารถเเต่งงานกับอกาธาได้ ก็ไม่น่าจะไปมีอะไรกับอกาธาเลย แต่ไม่ใช่ไซม่อนหรอกค่ะที่กำหนดเรื่องนั้นได้ เพราะอกาธาเธอรุกหนักเหลือเกินแม้จะเข้าใจเรื่องทั้งหมดแล้ว เธอยังเลือกที่จะไม่แคร์ชื่อเสียงตัวเองเพื่อให้ได้อยู่กับไซม่อนนานกว่าเดิมเเม้เพียงหนึ่งวันก็ยังดีโดยรวมสนุกค่ะ เรื่องนี้มีสืบสวนร่วมด้วย ไซม่อนกับเจมส์ต้องหาให้ได้ว่าใครเป็นคนขายรายชื่อสมาชิกลับของไลเออร์สให้แก่ฝรั่งเศส และใครเป็นสายลับฝรั่งเศส มิมพยายามไม่เปิดตอนจบอ่านก่อน

I enjoyed this start to the Liar's Club series. Having previously read The Rogue (yep, all out of order) I had high hopes. A few things bugged me and kept me from rating this 5. First, the heroine, Agatha Cunnington. Most things about her bugged me, but at the top of the list was/is her name. I know I should be more open-minded about character names, but this one really puts me in mind of a chubby spinster aunt. It was so agonizinly distracting that I spent whole portions of the book wincing every time I read her name. Also, Agatha is described as so endowed with cleavage that I had a hard time seeing past it (pun intended). I know that not everyone is willowly and B-cup, (hell, I'm not!) but this aspect of her personage was so stressed that I felt uncomfortable.Aside from her name and her appearance, Agatha is bearable, if a bit contradictory. She is so honest half the time that it seems like her lies the other half of the time should make her feel a bit more guilty.I like that Ms. Bradley wrote a heroine who was not overly perfect in every way, more and more writers are doing that now, but Agatha just rubbed me the wrong way. I think that, were she a real person, and were we to meet up, we would simply not like one another.Simon, on the otherhand, I found to be a lovely dichotomy. When about his work he seems terribly stuffy and overly serious (a side effect of such a job, I'm sure) but around our heroine he exhibits none of his well-known calm.The novel may have been a trifle long for the story presented within. About 3/4 of the way through I was ready for it to be wrapped up. But side stories such as Robbie's, Stubbs and Feebles made it worth it.I am looking forward to the rest of the series, certainly. I think that this novel may have been a bit of a false start for Ms. Bradley, considering how much I loved The Rogue, and how I just simply like The Pretender.

Do You like book The Pretender (2003)?

The book started great. The chimneysweep of a hero totally had my attention and I love Simon for a name for my hero, a close second to Harry, my all time favorite. But I digress. Then Agatha happened. Oh, overly bold, lying, plump, virgin-turned-harlot, love-being-on-top, Simon-jumping Agatha. Very early on in the book I realized that Agatha is what I know as........crazy. Agatha's brother disappeared. She wanted to ingestigate, decided on a scheme and went to London. In from the back of the house, comes Simon, the God, who saved her from her lie. Then more lies about her marital status, outragerous lies too, then spy master schemes blah blah blah and then, they had sex. I rolled my eyes and literally groaned (not the good kind) reading this novel. Agatha is outrageous. I believe some readers would like her. But she is too much for me. She is everywhere, with her lies, with Simon, with James, and everywhere. She has to be because oh she is so smart and has a mind of her own and no man can control her. Simon is a much more likable character. I have to say him being jumped by Agatha multiple times in this book is a little pathetic but oh well, who am I to judge. I think 10% of the story had my full attention and it is usually when Simon and Agatha stole a few moments together knowing that they had no future. And it was all about Simon too. I cannot help but imagine Agatha as this danger-prone woman who sticks her head where it doesn't belong but gets offended when people tell her the fact to her face. Oh and did I mention that she is a country woman in London playing a married woman without a husband who attends social parties and volunteers at the hospital? All in all, I could work with Simon, but cannot stomach Agatha. I don't dislike her as a character but I find such heroines unattractive and annoying. Then there is the writing. Sometimes I really wish I could write to these authors and ask them to please read what they wrote before they allow it to be turned into a book. Is this something that you would say to a man??? Woman is that is the case.....well..... I have nothing to say to you.......and that is woman to woman. Sometimes the conversations are so contrived and...I don't want to say idiotic, I guess it is probably......I don't know, I have no adjectives for it, pathetic? Honestly, is this how some women talk?? Then there are the secondary characters. Man there are so many of them. I lost count. Who is the butler? Who is the valet? Who is the butler's nephew? Who works at the club doing what? Then Lord someone who is the hero for another book in the series, then the nephew of the Lord. Why is it necessary to have all these people who are not relevant for the romance? The villain is unimpressive, the "intruguing mystery" not so intruguing. This book is a real mess, no clear plot line, annoying and unncessary characters The only good thing is Simon, who is also not a strong male lead. But I will stop here. How do you describe a mess?
—Zoe

A spy regency. I should have known. I should have known better than to let my fascination of how chimney sweep/thief/spy Simon Rain would look, if I caught him and dragged him around to be my husband. Delicious, is what I think. Ms. Bradley really did try hard to make something of the spy business, but with a name like the 'Liar's Club' I couldn't really get past a schoolboy clubhouse. And it was Simon's incredible consuming obsession with Agatha, that held me from truly respecting this novel. I loved the stupid banter between them, though I would have expected more intelligance from those Brits, especially the smart variety. The villainess was terrible. Why? Because she was a raving lunatic with a killa bod. James, the 'protective' yet 'neglectful' brother was cute, and obviously being prepped for a later story, but truly, he was hard to like. Well, he's not my type with his condensation and player history. I especially liked the part in the end, when Agatha asks why James had to stay with his mistress for 6 hours when it obviously did not take that long. The choking Simon was much too adorable to forget. Still, I cannot say that it was a book I could read again, other than that one part.
—Nisha

This was a simply delightful romance - I really loved it! It was a rollicking roller coaster ride of a story, funny, charming, exciting, mysterious and sexy - plus, a happy ending! What more could you want?I loved Agatha, our heroine. She was so spunky and strong willed! Yet, she was ingenuous and delightful - not to mention she had a delicious figure, and knew how to use it to her advantage when out to get information (or her way) from men. Whether dancing with overstuffed generals or dealing cards in a sexy outfit in a gaming hell - she left men spellbound!Simon was a dashing hero as well. At first, I was put off that he was noble born, but you get over that very quickly. Tall, dark and handsome with arresting blue eyes he has an amazing physique (as both Aggie and his valet can testify). Plus, throw a little James Bond in there and he's irresistible! The two of them are so funny together, posing as man and wife, and the way they first meet is very funny when Aggie insists he takes off his clothes, and he thinks she means to bed him! She just wanted him to take a bath and pose as her make believe husband. Well, as soon as they meet the sparks fly and the story unfolds. The main fly in the ointment here is, since Simon is a spy, he can't act on his urge to love and marry Agatha because then his enemies would use it against him? Should he choose his love of England and duty - or his love for Agatha? She is so winsome and a joy - and she tells the biggest and funniest lies! Some real whoppers!Lots of surprises and gotchas in this book, and it was all very clever and it had a spectacular ending - I won't spoil it, but this is a must read! Ms. Bradley is the Queen of great endings. Clever, a bit sappy, but oh so wonderful, and the sex scenes are great (fans self) but not over the top - they're just right!This is the first in The Liar's Club series, and I can't wait to read the rest of them!5/5
—Julie

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