Excellent read!

This book kept me up way past my bedtime. It was slow to start but then rolled like a snowball down hill.

Wow!

Great story & what a cliffhanger! I have read this series from the beginning & absolutely loved this story….I hope we don’t have to wait so long for the answers!

 Stupendous!

Taming Chiron is my favorite Haberdasher book so far (just started them last weekend). Charlie and Charlotte are essentially thrown together at a house party and move down the path the stupendous plot lays out for them. A definite MUST READ!

Such fun — I’m rereading it immediately

I’ve been binging this series for 72 hours now, and I made it to Charlie’s story. The one I’ve been waiting for since he was introduced in book 1.
It does NOT disappoint.

I wish the book was longer because these characters are an absolute delight, and I can’t wait to see what they get up to next.

Romantic and Suspenseful – Great combination!!

Oh what to say that will do it justice?! Robert – such a tormented young man because of his dark father and upbringing. He loves the Haberdashers and will do anything to save them. Imogene – a beautiful well traveled woman but inner doubts that she could love because of her gift. These two were so meant to be and I absolutely loved them together. She brought out the love that he had hidden so deeply inside and he did the same for her. It was inspiring to read that he loved her and would marry her even if he was sure she couldn’t love him back.

The suspense during the kidnapping kept me on the edge of my seat and worried about Jack and her baby. It was great the way brought all of them together because they belong together – “The Hasberdashers” are my far may absolute favorite Historical Romance read! Thanks again Sue for sharing your wonderful writing ability with us! I can’t wait for Charlie’s story – he’s such a love too!!

Delightful Addition to the Haberdasher Series

Saving Persephone is Robert Bittlesworth’s story and it is great. Lovely, complicated plot with plenty of twists and turns including the reappearance of a very evil man, one of The Four we were introduced to in Athena’s Ordeal.

Imogen, daughter of a Scottish laird and an American woman who owns a shipping business, has traveled extensively around the world. She has the gift of empathy and is able to read people’s emotions. As a consequence she prefers to avoid strong emotional connections. She literally runs into Robert on the street and the two of them are immediately attracted to one another. Robert is a very complex man who has spent many years living in his head, running intelligence operations for the Home Office. Watching their relationship gradually unfold is loads of fun.

For me one of the best parts of this book was having an opportunity to spend time with all the main characters from the previous Haberdasher books. Jack and Gideon, Sabre and Quince, George and Casimir are all part of the action and each tell parts of the story from their point of view. Imogen’s impressions of each of the three Haberdashers is fascinating because she sees their deeper motivations. I did get the sense Sue London was tying some threads together in this book concerning these ladies before moving on to the next stage in her series.

We do learn more about Charlie Bittlesworth in this book and it turns out there is much more to him than meets the eye. Sue is setting the stage for his book after all.

Truly a romance story!

Bravo! I had almost forgotten what romance was all about. Truly an engaging read as it hold my attention from beginning to end. We have sarcastic, witty George (Gini, but only for her husband) and Cas (Casimir, but only for dear Gini) who meet at the Congress of Vienna, both with their own agenda. Both unable to give their heart openly and afraid to trust each other.

As the story unfolds, Casimir stops holding back and gives himself completely, leaving him a bit discouraged that Gini, although in love, kept being guarded. I couldn’t help fall in love with charming, loving, understanding Casimir, and although some may complain about our spirited George losing her mind on her first assignment I say, she fell in love! Can you blame the girl? Throughout her childhood she thought she wasn’t loved and thus, she became cynic, obsessive, restrained, and distrustful (and yeah, I still like her) Only true love made her see the wrong of her ways.

As far as the ending. They reached their HEA. We all know the Haberdashers is a series so the cliffhanger has been there and will be there until the end. That’s why Athana’s Ordeal also felt inconclusive. Read the clues. I’m sure it will all make sense in the end. I only wish there would have been more Haberdashing, more knife fighting even since she’s the knives expert. Other than that, George gets an A+ for Apate 😉

I now have a favorite heroine

This is book 3 in the Haberdashers series, and while you can read it as a stand alone, it’s better with knowledge of the prior two books. In fact, go reread the first two books before hitting this one, otherwise you’re going to miss a pile of references.

This time the story focuses on George, the third member of the Haberdashers club. As was alluded to at the end of book 2, George is a spy for England. And in this book we get to see her first mission. Which begins with love at first dance… Or at least first kiss. Is this going to screw everything up?

Casimir is a lowly member of the Prussian delegation, but working to save his beloved homeland, Poland. And to do this he has no problems slipping information to the beautiful young woman he’s falling in love with… Until he slips her the wrong information and her life is threated.

This is a romping good adventure with two characters you can’t help but love. George is beyond a doubt my favorite Haberdasher. She smart, resourceful and good with a knife. What isn’t there to love? Casimir is earnest and passionate and sometimes impulsive… The perfect foil for George.

There is one flaw in the story and that is the ending will make you want to lock up Sue London until she produces book 4. It’s not quite a cliffhanger… But there is a lot of unresolved issues coming to a head. Sue London had better get book 4 out soon….

Keep writing, Ms London!

I really enjoyed this book. I didn’t really have a problem with some of the issues other readers seem to have disliked — I thought it was kind of funny that of all people, Quincy propositions Sabre — mostly because it’s outside his normal character and though admittedly, he was distracted by the blackmailer (and when you read it, think about the way the notes are delivered; I know that would freak me RIGHT out).

Like the first book in the series, the heroine acts outside the norm of both her time and the usual constrictions of the ton – though Sabre is more unconventional yet – but I’d like to think that there were some women in the time who weren’t completely brainwashed! It’s a little more difficult a read than a one-off, Regency fluff, but not so heavy you have to put it down and change books for awhile (I’ve read a few of those, great books, but hard to get through the bad parts). If you’re a series-book fan (and I oh SO am), I think this is definitely going to be a series worth reading. Can’t wait for Book Three, ’cause I want to know what the heck George is up to! I mean, I have an idea, but I’m really looking forward to finding out the details!

Everything I Ask For in a Romance

First I should note that if your idea of the perfect romance hero is confined to helfire and brimstone rake/alpha males who don’t take no for an answer, then we are not ad idem, and you should probably disregard my glowing review of this book.

If, on the the other hand, you can appreciate the charms of a man who is complex, prickly, shy, principled, passionate, and actually believes in giving others (women included) the freedom to make their own decisions, then you may just love this book as much as I did. Maybe. Because I really, really, loved this book.

Sabre (Sabrina) is feeling a bit at sixes and sevens. Her best friend has married an overbearing alpha-male (see above) with a rakish reputation and seems to have taken to being a docile wife. He other best friend is of in the wilds of Scotland. Her evil father has finally driven her from her paternal home with is degenerate ways and vile treatment of her beloved illegitimate brother. She is living with her older brother Robert, who is mired in intrigue, and who she trusts about as far as she can throw.

A chance encounter in a hallway leads to an uncharacteristically bold proposition from our Hero, Quincy. Although the word is not used, he’s clearly depressed, and very anxious due to a spot of blackmail (his crap childhood with an evil father who banished his mother probably didn’t help any). In the age old way of romance novels, he mistakes her for a ladybird and, for the first time in his life, propositions her. Sabre is insulted and demands satisfaction. What ensues is an awesome duel, and love at first cut, so to speak. At least for Sabre.

Lets talk about Quincy. Quincy is distressed about a threat to those he holds dearest. He has close friends, but is prone to curling in on himself in times of stress or anxiety. He can become outright hostile when pushed to share his troubles. He is loyal to the end to his closest friends and family, but lets very few get close. He is a daydreamer, and prone to lounging in bed for days when feeling at a loss. He is an ardent believer in women’s equality, and is willing to stand by his ideals when they are tested. He clearly feels very deeply, and is both moral and ethical. Until meeting our heroine he has remained chaste, having no interest in sleeping with prostitutes (hallelujah!)

Sabre is Quincy’s opposite. She is bold, industrious, hard-headed, to the point of being perhaps a little unfeeling in her life before meeting Quincy. Sabre is eager to experience life, including sensual pleasures. She is less emotional in some ways than Quincy. Until, that is, she falls for Quincy. At which point all bets are off.

This is one of the best executions of the opposites-attract formula that I have read in aeons. After quite a few bumps, you never doubt that these two love each other deeply, and compliment each others personalities. At one point Sabre leaves Quincy, and the description of his feelings of anxiety and wrongness at being physically separated, and relief when she is back in his arms struck me as very true, especially early in a relationship. These are people who have real feelings for each other, who enjoy each others company, who miss each other when they are apart. It’s such a trite term now, but I truly felt that they were soul mates.

Sabre is a force of nature, she corners Quincy when he becomes withdrawn and demands intimacy. Surprisingly, Quincy responds by opening up. On the other side, Quincy brings out the loving, gentle, protective side of Sabre, who would definitely fight like a lioness to protect him. This is romantic on a deeper level. It’s about people loving each other for who they are, without trying to change the other person. It’s about finding someone who brings out the protective instinct in you.

I recommend this heartily. I really cannot wait for the next book in this series to come out. Love, love, loved it.