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In the Thrill of the Night (Merry Widows)
written by Candice Hern
Studio : Signet
by Signet
Publisher : Signet
Released : 2006-02-07
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780451217844
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 24 reviews)
List Price : $6.99
Our Price : $1.84
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Product Description |
Assured of both money and position, none of the five respectable ladies who form the Merry Widows need ever marry again, so they make a daring pact-each will consider taking a lover for the pure pleasure of it.
Marianne Nesbitt adored her late husband David, but the racy reminiscences of the Merry Widows make her wonder if she missed something special. Might she find it now through a love affair? Uncertain how to go about it, she asks Adam Cazenove, an old friend and notorious rake, to tutor her in the arts of seduction-a brazen request that turns Adam's world upside down. |
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Had so much promise |
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The first half was really well done. I enjoyed the banter between the two main characters and loved the Merry Widow meetings. Then it seemed as though the relationship turned one sided. Marianne had sexual sparks with absolutely every man that came near but more so with Adam. While her mind was on sex, sex, sex, Adam's leaned more toward love and I kind of felt that he could do better by the end of the novel. There were a few parts near the end that made me dislike Marianne because she was being cruel just to make a point. The dialogue between the two became so syrupy sweet at the end that it made me cringe a few times. Like I said, it had promise but the second half failed miserably for me. |
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Delightful!! |
What a fun, entertaining, and wonderful friends-turned-lovers story this is! I read this book in one sitting and was entertained the entire time. I spent most of the time with a silly grin on my face as I watched Marianne and Adam try to be interested in other people while it was obvious that they only had eyes for each other.
The beginning of the book and the ending are the greatest...the middle lags just a bit as you the reader are patiently waiting for these two to "get it" and finally admit their feelings for one another.
I'm a big sucker for best friends who become lovers. I guess it's what I hope for all romances...that there would be depth of feeling...not just passion. This book had this element..and more. I would also recommend When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn, but this one ranked right up there. Merry Widows...Bring It On! |
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Awesome! |
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I have to say this was an absolutely great book!! I read it straight through! I laughed, cried and got really mad and the heroine! Definitely a keeper and am looking forward to devoring the second book in the Merry Widows series! |
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Shows promise but it crumbles miserably |
Candice Hern's IN THE THRILL OF THE NIGHT mostly extols the sexual expertise and womanly conquests of its notorious libertine while describing a widow's struggle to overcome her first (and only) love, entirely a passionless affair. The book essentially showcases a libertine initiating a near-virgin with carnal passion. You've seen it before, trust me. I thought the beginning and most of the first half demonstrated great potential and I even laughed out loud at some of the Benevolent Widows' meetings who later discreetly fashion themselves as the Merry Widows. The second half however precipitously shatters in the tiresome pining of its libertine hero. Pining from romance heroes is fine when it isn't egregious, imbalanced (mostly from heroes) or forced. Here, all of this is true. The prose is a bit shoddy, there's actually an attempt at settings and I appreciate that. While the premise of the first half grips, it dissipates later in the face of Adam's egregious, imbalanced and forced pining in the second half. There's one real love scene 190 pages into this 284-page paperback. The sensuality is rather light here. I felt the book indulged in too much repetitive introspection from the hero as he thinks and pines about Marianne endlessly. It was basically regurgitating the same essential idea worded differently over and over!
The "love" here isn't mutual in the least, I'm sure IN THE THRILL OF THE NIGHT is a welcome addition to chick-lit. It's about the experienced and disciplined rake going down on his heroine repeatedly without the least bit of reciprocation from the heroine. I know for a fact womanizers want to be loved at least close to the amount of servicing pleasure they give so freely to their mates. But it should be a matter of the girl wanting or wanting to learn (whichever the case may be) to give and return the guy's pleasure in kind, and we just don't see this earnest desire to reciprocate and give sensually from Marianne. Understandably, our disciplined libertine services the near-virgin during their first time and its all about her, but even during their second and third times, he's the one giving everything, and I mean everything. His servicing attentions simply aren't returned. The hero's thoughts and words here further exacerbate the glaring inequality in love and pleasure. For every 1 word or thought of endearment from the heroine we have at least 20 from the hero. You know it's chick-lit nonsense when you start noticing something like this.
Does the hero Adam love his heroine Marianne a lot more than the reverse? There's little doubt about it. Adam pleasures Marianne, thinks about her incessantly, and voices tender words of affection, at least 20x more than the other way around.
I have to say I liked the premise and some of the first half. The Merry Widows' meetings were actually entertaining, while Adam sabotaging Marianne's potential lovers was rather fun. Marianne punishes him at the end for it and that was good too, and she also subtly sabotages Adam's betrothal earlier. I liked the characters Marianne and Adam independently but I didn't like them together contrary to what the book seemed to force between the two. It was nice to see them tease each other as well instead of the heroine insulting the hero all the time. I thought the book could have made things a lot more interesting, I was thinking of a dozen different scenarios which would have spiced up the second half rather than resorting to incessant romance-hero pining. For example, somehow having Marianne reciprocate Adam's night of pleasuring her when she assumed it was someone else.
Another problem I had with this novel: if a man really loves another woman as Marianne's late husband David is purported to love her, he would pay closer attention to bring her sexual fulfillment. He would ask others, he would experiment (with her), he would listen and observe her reactions. But apparently, the deep, once-in-a-lifetime "love" between Marianne and her late husband never extends to the bedroom. I just can't believe a man would ignore that aspect so blatantly if he truly loves her. He may not succeed at first if he isn't experienced, but he would keep trying and fulfill her needs. Regardless of the time period.
About three-quarters through the novel, we finally have a situation where Adam gives Marianne her first mind-blowing pleasure on a dark night while she assumes it's someone else. Later, she learns that the man she expected never showed up and is horrified to discover a complete stranger could have made love to her. The book dissolves into a drowning, romance-hero pining from there. Though there's a steady dose of that throughout. I thought the way Marianne finally learns of the identity of her mysterious lover man could have been handled in a much more engaging manner. Why not craft a circumstance with Marianne and any of the rejected or departed candidates Adam dissuades from pursuing Marianne? Would have been more fun, and in fact such a circumstance should have eventually happened and shed light on who is discouraging the men on Marianne's list. Also, I thought Marianne should have retaliated Adam's servicing pleasure and consequent cover-up by giving Adam pleasure and preventing him from discovering her identity or having him assume it's his betrothed Clarissa. She could have managed it by donning a different perfume and possibly blindfolding him. Any number of creative ideas in this regard comes to mind.
Again, this novel could have been so much better without the repetitively egregious romance-hero pining and/or some balance in the sexual pleasuring after the first time. The fulsome references to Adam's sexual exploits and his experience easily eclipsed the connection and chemistry as well. Adam is nothing if not disciplined (almost scientific) in making love to the only woman he supposedly cannot control loving with all his heart and soul. |
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Excellent!!! |
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I absolutely loved this story! I liked that Adam and Marianne were such close friends. Hits home with me, in a way. I read "The Unexpected Suitor" before this one, and they were very similar. But still a excellent read! I'll keep this one to reread another day! |
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