Loving a Lost Lord (Lost Lords, #1) By Mary Jo Putney

Juliana Philippa

Very weak compared to Putney's other work - started off promising, but definitely didn't follow through (2.5)

Loving A Lost Lord is the first in Mary Jo Putney's new series, "The Lost Lords." Ever since rereading her novel
The Wild Child my interest in her has been renewed and I have been on the lookout for more of her books, since I enjoyed that one so much (I found
The Rake which is an absolute treasure and I highly recommend). Unfortunately, Loving a Lost Lord was a complete disappointment. I don't remember all of the plots of the other Putney books I have read, but I do remember that her stories, as well as her characters, are usually intense and lively - two adjectives which definitely do not apply here.

SUMMARY
Miss Mariah Clarke (25) has finally found a home to settle down in - never mind that her father, a professional gambler, only won the house through a game of cards. Hartley Manor had obviously not been valued as it should have been if George Burke could so easily risk his estate in a game of cards, but all of that is going to change now and Mariah is determined to make the place into a home. She is tired of she and her father's constant traveling, going from one country house party to the next, with return stops in London every now and then ... she wants to put down some roots and Hartley Manor seems the perfect type of place for that.

Disaster strikes, however, when only a few weeks after moving in her father leaves for London to attempt reconciliation with his estranged family and shortly after is killed by highwaymen. Mariah is distraught and now finds herself alone in the world; she can only be thankful that she now at least has a place to call home. The man who informs her of her father's death is none other than George Burke, who begins to visit her daily and press his suit - he obviously lusts after her and wants to regain the estate he lost. To put him off, Mariah informs him that it is quite impossible for them to marry, seeing as she already has a husband! Now, all Mariah has to do is figure out what to do next, because obviously no such man exists ...

Adam Darshan Lawford, seventh Duke of Ashton, (early 30s) is an unusual peer of the realm. He is half-Indian and half-English and has led a difficult life, losing both his parents at a young age in India and being brought back forcefully to England, where he has often had to deal with intolerance from people who view him as "part heathen." He loves to work on mechanical things and inventions, however his most recent project has very nearly killed him - and left him with absolutely no memory of who or where he is. When we meet Adam, he has spent a couple of days clinging to life (and driftwood) after surviving his steamboat's explosion. Mariah discovers him near the shore and brings him back to her home to nurse him. When he asks her who she is and where they are, he's surprised to learn that the beautiful young woman who saved his life is none other than the wife he can't remember.

Mariah feels guilt over telling Adam that he is her husband, but right now she really needs one and in telling him the little (or really rather big) lie, she's given him at least one connection, which seems to reassure him since he can't remember any others. She begins to develop true feelings for him and finds herself very conflicted, while Adam, believing she is his wife, returns her affection and thinks himself lucky to be married to her. She finally reveals the truth after they make love (very short scene and not very satisfying); he's realized she was a virgin and although he still doesn't doubt what she's told him about them being married, Mariah feels she can't continue lying. Oddly enough, Putney doesn't make this a real hurdle in their relationship - it is mentioned that he finds it harder to trust her, maybe can't trust her at all, but really Adam gets over it pretty quickly and never holds a grudge or gets angry with her.

Meanwhile, three of Adam's closest friends - who are really more like brothers (and I'm guessing will be the heroes of the other books in the series) - have been searching for him. They don't want to believe that he is dead and so have decided to make inquiries and try to at least find his body, so that any doubts can be put to rest and their friend can have a proper burial. During their efforts they discover that the steamboat explosion was not an accident, but rather done on purpose. Of course as luck would have it, they meet up at the end of the inquiries in the little town of Hartley and just by chance stumble upon Adam. Even though they tell Adam who he is and try to trigger his memory, nothing is working so they decide that maybe if he is in London and in familiar surroundings it will all come back to him. Off they set for London, where they will run into more obstacles, uncover several surprises, meet people from both Mariah's family and Adam's who are supposed to be dead, and finally end up together. (I can't even use an exclamation point there, since there one gains little to no satisfaction from this book, even from the HEA).

CRITICISM
Most of my criticism has to do with Mariah and Adam - them as characters, their romantic relationship, and the sexual tension (or lack thereof) between them. The second half of the book really caused problems for me story-wise, though, and Putney throws in so many twists, turns, and surprises that one is left reeling and feeling slightly exhausted and incredulous.

*POOR ROMANTIC CONNECTION*
The period during which Adam doesn't know who he is and is living with Mariah as her husband only takes up the first half of the book, after which his friends show up and his identity is revealed. In my opinion, this is a big mistake because Putney gives the main characters little time to truly get to know one another and fall in love. I've read several other books where one of the main characters - usually the hero - either has amnesia and stays with the heroine to recuperate or pretends that he has amnesia and goes along with the heroine who tells him they're married (I love how in the HR world, both of these things are not rare, but rather common occurrences, lol). In all of these books, that period takes up most of the story and it is only at the end that everything starts to unravel and come together; this makes the relationships believable and gives us a lot of time to see interactions between the pair and watch their relationship develop - here, we don't get that and the romance definitely suffers as a result.

Neither of the main characters displays any strong emotions or passions and although there are times when it seems Putney is trying to write as if they do, the effect is unsuccessful. Once they arrive in London, their entire relationship falls apart IMO and the reader is left utterly confused, with the sense that Putney is confused herself. They have several obstacles to being together, however we're given so many and none are really focused on or pointed to clearly: is it because Moriah is bothered by their difference in station? is she not bothered by this? is Adam angry that she lied or does he not care anymore? Then it's revealed that he's betrothed to his cousin, so bye-bye to him and Moriah since obviously an honorable man can't end an engagement.

*NOT MUCH CHEMISTRY*
There was hardly any chemistry between Adam and Mariah. It wasn't completely non-existent, but in my opinion we're given more a promise than anything substantial, with mere glimpses of something stronger - but that something never actually shows itself. There are a few kissing scenes, though hardly noticeable, and two love scenes that aren't really anything to write home about. This surprised me since the Putney books I have read tend to be very highly charged in this sense and it's usually an area in which she excels.

*WEAK HERO AND HEROINE*
A bad sign is when one likes supporting characters more than the main ones, and frankly I found Adam's friends (and Lady Agnes) more interesting and entertaining than either he or Mariah. Neither of them was very well-developed nor at all compelling. In the first half of the book Mariah has definite promise and at the beginning I actually liked her, but Adam was extremely bland; in the second half, the situation reverses and I found Mariah boring and placid, whereas Adam's character developed and became quite interesting.

I was also extremely annoyed that Moriah even considered George Burke's offers at the beginning or the fact that she thought she might weaken and eventually accept him just to make her life simpler - have a backbone! I was also bothered that she thinks maybe she'll settle on the vicar once she returns from London and leaves Adam to his fiancée - either she doesn't love Adam that much or she's planning on being very unfair to the vicar by marrying him when she loves another.

*TOO MANY PLOT TWISTS*
The first half of the book in which Adam has amnesia and he's at Hartley Manor with Mariah was not horrible and I was actually biding my time, waiting for things to pick up. Be careful what you wish for! While that part of the book is languid and slow-paced, once the cast goes to London *everything* changes and Putney goes a little crazy. I don't know if she realized the book was uninteresting and so decided to put in as many plot twists and surprises as possible, but she basically does everything but throw the kitchen sink at us. It's like she wanted to include the soap opera drama of
The Forsyte Saga, but since she has only 300 pages instead of 1000+, she crams it all into the last 150 upon realizing the story has to start winding down.

What am I talking about exactly? Adam still doesn't remember anything, then starts to remember things, then it all comes flooding back to him; assassination attempts continue; Moriah gets in touch with her father's lawyer who hadn't answered any of her letters and it turns out maybe her father isn't dead; Adam's own relatives come back from the dead and he reunites with his mother, her second English husband, his sister, and his two half-siblings; we discover that in fact George Burke was pulling all these manipulations and Moriah's father is alive; then, not only is he alive, but we're given his wife and Moriah's twin sister; the explanation for the family's split doesn't really make sense and isn't fully given and even weirder is Moriah, who just laughs at this and finds the fact that her father hid this from her amusing (ummm, excuse me?). I mean, I could go on, but you get the picture.

BOTTOM LINE
Frankly, I grew to not even really care what was going to happen between Moriah and Adam and found all of the twists and turns utterly ridiculous. I can't even say "read this book, but don't buy it just get it from the library." I have really enjoyed some of Putney's work, but they don't include this one and I can only hope that the other books in the series are stronger. Pick up
The Rake,
Thunder and Roses, or
The Wild Child instead and definitely skip this latest romance by Putney.

Jessica

3.5 stars

This was a really fun amnesia historical romance! The hero washes up on shore and the heroine tells him he's her husband because she's trying to get rid of a man who wants to marry her. Mariah and Adam easily become comfortable with one another and start to like each other. Is it problematic that Mariah tells Adam he's her husband? Yes. But when Adam figures out, he's not all angry and storming off. Instead, they openly communicate and work together to find what happened to Adam and who he is. Adam is a duke who is half-Hindu. I'm not sure how well the representation was done, but I enjoyed how Adam felt very connected to his Hindu side and didn't let society's stigma make him feel ashamed of it. The romance was fun and I enjoyed the mystery of who was behind Adam's attack!

Vintage

Amnesiac Lord found by heroine who pretends he is her husband. Cute premise, but this one did not work for me.

Teresa Medeiro’s
A Kiss to Remember has the exact same bare bones plot, but there it worked.

In each book, the heroine is in a bind and needs the security that marriage and a husband will provide. You know, Regency era. In each book, the heroine makes a wish which is fulfilled by finding the amnesia victim.

A Kiss to Remember worked for me because the tone was light and frothy, with a bright and shiny heroine, a rakish hero with a backstory, and a quirky cast of secondary characters.

In LsLL, the heroine is rather bland, the hero is a handsome Anglo-Indian Duke and a nice guy, and it all fell flat. When he wakes from being found floating in the ocean, he is thrilled to see his wife. He’s a little disappointed she doesn’t want to have sex again; she uses the excuse that he needs to woo her again since it's been a while. He is only mildly upset that she lied to him about the whole thing when she finally confesses. After sex.

In both books, the heroines lie through their teeth. In LaLL, it hits the heroine the H may be married and she proceeds with the plan anyway. Time and time again, she wonders if he has a family and hopes he just doesn’t remember. Not too impressed. On top of that, I was seriously aggravated because she lies to people in the village that her husband has arrived knowing full well that he may recover his memory and leave her at some point. What is she going to tell them then?

The thought of a husband doesn’t even cross the Kiss to Remember's heroine for whatever reason, and the whole tone of the book has a madcap and charming quality to it.

In LaLL, the H finally finds out his real identity when his close friends find him. Everything but the kitchen sink shows up in the latter half of the book when they go to London. Dead and unknown relatives come out of the woodwork, and the evil doer who wants the H dead is uncovered.

P.S.
I meant to add that the narration is excellent. She makes wonderful changes from British English to Scottish that were a joy to listen to.

Alba Turunen

#RetoRita5 #RitaViejuna

Esta vez le doy 4 Estrellitas a éste comienzo de serie. Siempre es un placer leer a Mary Jo Putney y llevaba tiempo queriendo darle la oportunidad a ésta serie de los "Lores Perdidos.

Por otro lado, y viendo que no me hacía mucho tilín la autora del Reto Rita de éste mes, tiré por una Rita Viejuna que nunca me decepciona. Simplemente me gustan las historias de Mary Jo Putney.

La serie de los "Lores Perdidos", nos presenta a unos héroes o amigos, que fueron educados en la escuela de la señorita Agnes Westerfield, una peculiar escuela de niños problemáticos, que acabaron convirtiéndose en grandes hombres, como es el caso de nuestro protagonista, Adam Lawford.

Adam ha tenido un accidente, estaba probando en el Mar del Norte una de sus calderas de vapor cuando el barco ha explotado. Pocos hombres ha sobrevivido al naufragio, y nadie sabe qué ha sido de Adam. Pero sus amigos Randall, Kirkland y Masterton no van a parar hasta encontrarlo.

Mariah Clarke es una joven dama criada en extrañas circunstancias por su padre, un vividor y un jugador, que ha intentado criar a Mariah mejor de lo que él ha sido. Ahora su padre ha conseguido ganarse una mansión jugando a las cartas en el norte de Inglaterra, y allí establecen su residencia hasta que el padre de Mariah muere en los caminos y ella se ve desesperada. El anterior dueño de Hartley Manor quiere casarse con ella para que la casa vuelva a su poder, pero Mariah sabe de sus artimañas, y le miente diciéndole que está casada ¿De dónde sacará Mariah un marido para quitarse a un moscón de encima?

Una noche, Adam llega inconsciente a las playas de Hartley Manor. Mariah lo encuentra y lo salva llevándole a su casa para reponerse. En seguida Mariah encuentra a éste hombre como caído del cielo, pues tiene amnesia, no recuerda ni quien es y ella le dice que es su marido.

Adam acepta sin dudar las palabras de Mariah, pues aunque no sabe quién es, no puede creerse que tenga la suerte de estar casado con tan maravillosa mujer, y como es de suponer, los protagonistas acabarán totalmente enamorados cuando empiecen a salir a la luz los secretos de ambos, secretos que pueden estar en contra de lo que ambos desean.

Por desgracia, la vida no es tan fácil como los protagonistas querrían, pues sobre ellos pesa el engaño de Mariah, y la verdadera identidad de Adam, que es ni más ni menos que el duque de Ashton, un mestizo hindú, a quien no le han sobrado enemigos llenos de prejuicios raciales.

¿Y si el accidente del barco no fue un accidente y alguien estaba tras un complot para asesinar al duque? ¿Quién saldría más beneficiado?

Esta vez, Mary Jo Putney nos ha regalado un principio de serie que en seguida engancha gracias a la historia imaginada, pero que para mi gusto decae un pelín hacia el final del libro, cuando se presentan los "orígenes" de los protagonistas, pues me ha resultado bastante inverosímil y chachi piruli. Aunque se lee muy bien y gusta fácilmente.

A mí la historia me ha convencido, y más sabiendo que la serie "Calaveras redimidos" es un spin-off de ésta, pues ya sabía yo que Will Masterton me sonaba de algo. En general lo he disfrutado y estoy deseando conocer al resto de lores perdidos y a sus damas.

Zoe

If it wasn't written by Mary Jo Putney, this book would have gotten 2 stars from me.

Adam and Mariah had zero chemistry. A man who lost his memory rescued by a woman who needed a husband. Mariah lost me in the beginning with her lies and I couldn't really relate to her character. Putney is usually much better at characterization and building a meaningful and colorful scene, both of which didn't come out in this book. I didn't know why they were all hots for each other. I didn't have a mental picture for either of them. The charade of pretending to be betrothed was very pretentious. I couldn't really like Mariah and the book was shot because of that.

This is a very disappointing beginning of a series and not on Putney's usual level. I found Julia Bancroft and Alexander Randall interesting though and they are featured in book 2. I hope it will be better than book 1.

Arzu

Kitap ilk yüz sayfa çok umut vaddeti. Sonrası tam bir hayalkırıklığı oldu açıkçası. Her şey birden o kadar tozpembe oldu ki. Adam adını bile kabullendim ama tesadüfler bununla da bitmedi. Şizofrenik bir şekilde hayalini kurduğu kızkardeşin var olması falan tam bir saçmalık silsilesi. İkilinin ailelerinin aynı anda ortaya çıkması ise bambaşka bir konu. Bence yazar kitabı yanlış bir yazımla harcadı. Gizem olsun diye katılan detaylar gizemli değildi. İkilinin arasındaki tutku yapaydı. Bilmiyorum yazarın ilk kitabı diye belki yazar biraz yazarken sıkılmış bitsin havasında yazmış hissi sezdim. Okumazsanız pek bir şey kaybetmezsiniz.

Ana M. Román

Un inicio de serie bastante flojo.

Tenía todos los ingredientes pero por algún extraño motivo no funcionó, al menos no para mí. Los personajes, estaban bien, la historia también. Pero la mezcla entre ambas simplemente no encajaron como deberían.

No sentí ese amor entre ellos, aunque me gustó que la autora se deciciera por un crecimiento lento yo la verdad es que no ví crecer nada.

Al ser el inico de una serie se tomó tiempo presentando a los personajes y creo que eso fue en detrimento de la historia de la pareja principal. Y cuando ya me había auto-convencido de que tampoco estaba tan mal empiezan a suceder esas "casualidades" familiares que me hicieron poner los ojos en blanco y que ya no volvieron a la normalidad hasta que lo terminé.

Afortunadamente esto último es una exageración por mi parte pues de haber sido cierto mis ojos hubieran peligrado. En serio, ¡me podría haber dado algo!

Elis Madison

Suddenly alone in the world, Mariah Clarke finds she's vulnerable to an unwanted and very aggressive suitor.

To get out from under the guy, she claims she has a husband. The creep backs off, but he's suspicious. He's also determined. It's a matter of time before he's back.

Calling on her gypsy roots, Mariah does some voodoo (or whatever gypsies call it) to get some help. She hears the ghost of her grannie telling her to go to the shore. Where she finds what's left of a hunky, half-drowned guy. He's all covered with cuts and bruises… and he has no clue who he is.

When he wakes up and wants to know who he is and who she is, Mariah channels Granny and blurts that she's his wife.

Here's the thing: The guy is Adam, Duke of Ashton. And the shipwreck that chucked him up on Mariah's shore wasn't an accident. Someone wants him dead. The more he finds out about his old life, the less he knows. Can he trust the men who show up to tell him who he is? And what about the woman he loves—the woman who falsely claimed to be his wife?

When he decides to move the entire circus home to London, there are some shockers waiting for him. There are a few surprises ahead for Mariah, too. Including a stunner that should really piss her off, but she just giggles and takes it in stride.

This is a good story, and the mystery had a very nice twist. Four stars.

Misfit

What a disappointment after the other two books I've read by Putney. The main pair was engaging enough, but there's too much time setting up storylines for the future books in this series. And then there are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many returns from the dead and long-lost siblings that no one even knew existed (seriously? both of them?). A very easy to spot baddie, and those stupid murder attempts? .

*head desk*

I think
this very spoilerish review on Amazon says it best (but I do wish she'd break up her long paragraph).

Kindle copy obtained via library loan.

Amy

I'm a sucker for these plots. I know they will disappoint me. I know the crazy plots do little but set the stage for irritating bedroom scenes that I will just skip over. And I know the stories will all sound the same by the end.
But I'm still a sucker for the 'duke forgets his memories and maiden needs a pretend husband' plot.
Or any ridiculous, improbable story involving titled lords and ladies. I guess it is the Heyer lovers eternal search for something as good?

🐝 Shaz 🐝

I enjoyed reading this story , 1st in the Lost Lords series. Lots of characters who will probably turn up in future books . Seemed to be a lot happening towards the end of the story. Enough to make your head swivel.

BJ Rose

The first chapter of "Loving" started out in typical Putney fashion, and I looked forward to a great read. It started out great, but then it was almost like someone else wrote the next couple of chapters. Just about the time I wondered where Mary Jo had gone, she came back. This was not a bad book - just not her usual great writing, so I'm 'grading' her according to what I expected. There were some really good parts - when Adam's friends were searching for him, and the dreams/nightmares that gave hints of his past. But the ending that resolved everything in both families (Adam's and Mariah's) was too much, too soon, and way too fortuitous. And the whole thing about Mariah's family? - I would have bashed Daddy from here to Sunday!!

However, I will be reading about the next Lost Lord and hope the real Mary Jo Putney is back

Carina Carvalho

Que óptima estreia com esta escritora! Embora os livros de época tenham tendência a ser muito parecidos este acaba por ter uma boa história por base. Ficamos envolvidos na trama e acho que tudo se encaminhou de forma calma para um final expectável. A personagem feminina está muito à frente para a época 😉. Já estou a imaginar sobre que casais vão ser os livros seguintes... aguardemos os próximos livros.

Shelby

Oh I just loved this book! Sure there's a bit of a well that's convenient vibe about some of the coincidences in this story, but they only make for a happier happily ever after so I was totally satisfied. The characters in this story are wonderful and I really loved all of them.

Mariah has spent most of her life without a permanent place to call her own as her father made his living as a gamble within the ton. While never destitute they were never solid enough to settle down anywhere either. Now he's recently one a lovely manor in a hand of cards with enough money for them to settle down and begin a life for themselves reliant on no one. While he is off tidying up some loose ends Mariah finds herself with an unwanted suitor in the guise of the previous landowner and only a fictitious husband is enough to get him to lay off at least temporarily. When she discovers a half drowned man the ocean tosses up on her beach though Mariah takes the opportunity and runs with it.

Adam has no memory of what happened to cause him to be carried to shore by the tide. But he's more than happy to believe that the angel taking care of him is his wife. He may not remember his past, but he knows that everything with her feels right. The return of his memory might not be the blessing they all want though if Mariah's white lie comes to light.

I loved these two together. Adam was so open when he could remember nothing of his life. I liked watching him rediscover himself and his reliance on the one person he trusted around him. Of course the details would all come to light and the mystery of his circumstances must all be solved. There were layers upon layers to the solving which I did also enjoy.

The story of how the boys all met, and Adam being the impetus for the creation of school for bad boys that he and his friends attended was cute and very sweet. I liked Adam's half Indian background and his refusal, no matter the dictates of those trying to raise him to be a proper Duke for the duchy, to completely abandon that other side of his heritage.

This is one of those really sweet stories where everything is really just a little too perfect and a little too coincidental but for whatever reason it just hit me as so much fun at this moment. The twists were entertaining and I can ignore the "hey look who else is behind door #2 you never thought you'd see again." Like I said this is a case of let's make the most perfect HEA ever. If you're in the mood for it, it's wonderful.

Lauren

Loving a Lost Lord
1 Star

Following news of her father's death, Mariah Clarke finds herself not only in charge on an estate, but the target of an overly amorous suitor as well. As if in answer to her prayers, she discovers a man with no memory washed ashore on a nearby beach and convinces him that they are married. But what will happen when the man regains his memory and discovers that he is none other than Adam Lawford, the Duke of Ashton…

Unfortunately, this book is so badly written, the characters so one-dimensional and the plot threads so contrived that it's publication defies logic. It would have been a DNF if I hadn't been the one to nominate it for a group read.

The writing is exceedingly weak due to the author's tendency toward telling rather than showing, and the endless descriptions of trivialities and repeated details of events.

Mariah is a liar plain and simple. She convinces Adam that they are married and continues to keep the truth from him even after their relationship becomes intimate. While Adam's mixed English-Hindu heritage is original and compelling, it cannot compensate for his ridiculous reactions. Not only does he forgive her almost immediately for her dishonesty, but he continues to lust after her despite his admission that he finds it difficult to trust her again.

The plot is a convoluted mishmash of one incoherent revelation after another: Dead parents returning to life, separated siblings reunited, an incompetent assassin and a psychotic relative - this book has everything bar the kitchen sink.

In sum ,this is my first and probably my last Mary Jo Putney book.

Jill Dunlop

Loving a Lost Lord is the first book in a new series by Mary Jo Putney, Lost Lords. It is about a group of unconventional school hood boys who grow up into upstanding men who find their true love. When the Duke of Ashton goes missing, the group presumes the worst that he is dead and begins a search to recover his body. Meanwhile off the coast of Northwestern England, Mariah Clarke finds the body of a man barely alive hanging onto a piece of driftwood. She manages to get him into her house and into bed. Mariah's father has just passed away and to keep a persistent suitor at bay claims the man she rescued was none other than her husband. Since Adam has no recollection of whom he is and this seemed like a smart plan at the time. Only, one lie leads to another and Mariah is quickly in over her head.

I love a good amnesia story and Loving a Lost Lord easily caught my eye. Even more fortunate for me, the book was free through Amazon last week as an e-book. The first part of the book I really enjoyed. It focused on Adam and Mariah getting to know each other as Adam struggled to recall his past. Mariah and Adam were instantly drawn to one another. Even though Adam couldn't recall Mariah being his wife, it felt right to him and gave him hope. Mariah felt guilty perpetuating the lie, but she couldn't seem to find a way to correct it without dashing Adam's hopes. She finds herself falling in love with him and hopes he will be able to forgive her when she reveals the truth.

The second part of the story lost some steam after Adam's friends find him and tell him who he is. Slowly, Adam starts to recover some of his memory, but unfortunately he can't seem to recall what happened just before his ship blew up. His friends uncover that there was foul play involved. Adam can't imagine who would want him dead. I thought the mystery portion of the book was weak. It didn't hold my interest and took time away from the real conflict which was Adam and Mariah trying to work through their feelings for each other.

In summary, Loving a Lost Lord is a very sweet, warm hearted romance. The first half of the book is wonderful, but the second half stumbles a bit with the mystery. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy amnesia themed books and also to readers who like their heroes on the beta side.

Amy

This book officially jumps the shark.
So many typical plot devices are used I just had to laugh.
A duke who is snubbed by many because of his mixed English/Indian heritage has an interest in steam engines. His steam boiler blows up, he is injured in the accident, and loses his memory. His dedicated friends
from an alternative school for wayward nobles search for his body.

Meanwhile, our heroine is alone in the mansion that her father has just won in a game of cards. Her gypsy grandmother speaks to her and guides her to the beach, to discover the nearly dead duke. She nurses him to health, and tells him they are married, to scare off her unwanted suitor. Said unwanted suitor is the man whom her father won the house from, who now brings the heroine news that her father is dead.

His friends soon find him, and also find that the accident onboard the ship was a deliberate attempt to kill him. They all head to London, where the Duke discovers that his mother is alive, that he has a sister and two half-siblings he did not know existed, and that his aunt was the one who plotted his demise. They also discover that the heroine's father is not dead, but instead has reconciled with his estranged father. Yes, unbeknown to the heroine, she is the granddaughter of an earl! Oh, and her mother is not dead, as she has believed since she was two, but was estranged from her father. Now they are reconciled - and she also has a twin sister!

And to top it off, the Duke's valet and his head groom are involved in an "unnatural relationship."

Amazingly enough, it was still somewhat readable, hence the two stars.

Monique Takens

Ik heb de Nederlands talige uitgave gelezen : Jij kwam als geroepen - Candlelight Historische roman 964 .
Overgenomen van achterkaft :
Als er een zwaargewonde drenkeling met geheugenverlies aanspoelt op het strand ziet Mariah Clarke haar kans schoon . Door te beweren dat deze aantrekkelijke man haar echtgenoot is kan ze ontkomen aan een opdringerige aanbidder . Adam , zoals ze hem noemt , ervaart de aanwezigheid en goede zorgen van de blonde schoonheid meteen als een geluk bij een ongeluk .
Toch weet Mariah dat deze idylle eindig zal zijn , als Adams geheugen zich eenmaal herstelt .
Zo'n vaart loopt het echter niet . Zelfs als hij zich weer meer herinnert wil Adam geen afstand doen van zijn reddende engel . En dan moet hij ook nog af zien te rekenen met degene die hem wil vermoorden .

Het 1e deel van een serie van 6 . Al de personen die in de komende boeken een hoofdrol gaan spelen zijn in dit deel ook aanwezig , helaas neemt de introductie van zo veel personen veel ruimte in beslag en daardoor is er net wat te weinig ruimte om de romance tussen Mariah en Adam ècht goed uit te werken .

Merry

This book has been around for ages so I am not going to recap it. The author has thrown in everything but the kitchen sink as far as tropes go....then she went back and threw in the kitchen sink. It has amnesia, a murder investigation, missing families, appearing families, plot setups for the rest of the series, and then a HEA. Yet with all of the above I enjoyed it. I don't think I would ever reread it but I am glad I read it as the first of the series.

Lorka

This makes x3 Mary Jo Putney books that I have rated 2-stars. 'It was OK". It was so 'ok' that I lost all interest in the story line. The hero has amnesia, and upon being rescued from the sea that he had been floating in for 2 days, the heroine informs him that yes, she is indeed his wife (not true at all). He believes it with no question at all and immediately treats her very lovingly and sweet. Which is ok, but I lost interest quickly because I like to watch people fall in love. Which I am sure if I had stuck with the story he would realize the lie, get angry and need to fall in love again (...I am just guessing)... but the other irritating factor in this story was that the heroine was a super lonely child and created an imaginary twin sister for herself, and as an adult she still refers to her imaginary twin sister for advice, wondering what her twin sister would do in a certain situation, etc. It was odd to say the least. Maybe this turns out to be a cute book, but it wasn't for me.

Jacqueline J

This was decent and maybe from any other author I would have rated it higher. But I know that MJP can deliver much more powerful stories. This one didn't have the depth of characterization I am used to from her nor the level of historical accuracy/depth. I do like an amnesia theme almost any time and that was fairly well done here. I have read the other 2 in the series which have been written so far and will keep on reading because even if they're not up to her very best, MJP still delivers an interesting read.

Mariana

Finally a good book! I have enjoyed every Mary Jo Putney I've read. Too bad I read this series all out of order.

Bookwormlipa

Gosto quando apostam e novas autoras e novas histórias e universos.
Esta é uma nova autora, a qual nunca tinha lido nada, então posso começar por dizer que é uma leitura agradável e interessante. A escrita é fluída e não encontrei nada de desagradável na tradução, o que é sempre um grande alívio.
Quanto à história em si, é daqueles plots que todos gostamos, clichés e que nos intriga. Fiquei curiosa logo desde que vi a sinopse, o que ajudou a manter a leitura frequente.
Outra coisa que me agradou muito, foi a cultura que este livro tem embutida, principalmente sobre os Hindu – e o nosso Duque é filho de uma Hindu e de um Lord Inglês, o que já é bem diferente do normal. Ganhou muitos pontos, na minha opinião. Adorei como foi abordado o tema da homossexualidade, mesmo que discreto, dado que naquela época era um crime, mas gostei de como foi significativo e mencionado.
Encontramos muitos personagens neste livro, sem dúvida, e todos eles com a sua importância.
Os personagens principais são também deveras interessantes e muito peculiares. Adam, o Duque que dá à costa sem memorias, e Mariah, a sua salvadora e ancora na nova vida que conhece desde que é resgatado. A história dos dois foi muito adorável e querida, para ser sincera. Acho que a autora não se colocou por caminhos do qual não saberia voltar. Óbvio que há sempre quem seja mais critico com as coisas das memorias e da amnésia, mas eu acho que ela lidou bem com a situação. Gostei muito do casal principal, e igualmente dos personagens secundários que apareceram – os amigos de Adam, que foram leais até ao fim – e também das amigas de Mariah. Espero muito ver o desenvolvimento dos próximos livros.
Sei que o livro tem algumas criticas negativas, mas sinceramente não é a minha opinião. Acho que há melhores livros – sem duvida – e que o plot poderia ter sido diferente…porém, se todos gostássemos do amarelo, o que seria do azul, não é mesmo?

Maite Gil

3,5 Estrellas

Este libro llevaba mucho pendiente, y ahora que me he hecho con los que me faltaban de la serie me he animado a leerlo.

La novela está muy entretenida y engancha. La historia es bastante sencilla, sin complicaciones y poco novedosa, pero está bien escrito y la parte romántica es muy bonita. La parte del misterio se resuelve muy rápido pero es creíble.

Me apetecía mucho leer este libro y me alegro de haberlo leído. A ver que tal los siguientes.

Benedita Santos

3.5*

Caroline

My first Mary Jo Putney book, so I'm not in a position to compare it with her other work.

The main story arc had a disturbing similarity to
The Bourne Identity, with an amnesiac duke dragged from the sea, cared for by a genteel lady, and regaining motor skills such as horse-riding and shooting before recalling his identity and past -- while all the time someone is trying to kill him.

The narrative was weak in concept and execution and the characterisation lack-lustre. Where the book excelled was in background detail, with passing references to early steam launches, Hindu theology, martial arts, contraception and dozens of other colourful sprinkles on an otherwise stodgy cupcake.

My overall impression was of a talented and well-read author dashing off a standard historical romance to order. Judging from Ms Putney's reputation, she can probably do far better than this, but after finishing
Loving A Lost Lord I'm a little wary of dipping into her other works without first sifting through Publishers Weekly and other reviews.

Ana Ivkov

I bought all four books in the series, but didn't get around to reading them until WAY after I'd bought them. (Like, months and months later.) I have no idea why I did that, but it just made reading them all the more sweet (I suppose) because I REALLY enjoyed this book.
It had a lot of twists and turns, but I liked the whole "amnesia causes man to forget everything he ever knew but he turns up and is saved by woman claiming to be his wife" plot. I think it was well done, what with getting rid of Burke and all, and there are so many twists and turns in the plot that it doesn't confuse you (as some people said), but just makes it all the more interesting. I'm really glad that it went beyond the complication of "what if he's already married" and that his friends were looking for him. Honestly, they didn't keep lots of secrets. That pleased me a lot; I hate it when characters keep secrets which should obviously be admitted.
The characters each have their own story, and I was excited to read the rest of their stories in the other books--and they all delivered just as well as this one!

Sharyn

Decided to reread the series after I read the newest one. I enjoyed all the characters in the book, and only vaguely remembered the villain-amnesia befalls Adam, he is found by Mariah and mayhem and love ensues. Adam is 1/2 Indian and has had a difficult life after becoming a Duke, Mariah has had an unsettled life with her father, a gambler, so they make a perfect couple. I enjoyed the book just as much the second time. Now on to the next Lost Lord!
Sept 15, 2015 Can't believe I have now read it for the 3rd time! A new book in the series came out and now I am rereading the series again. I really like theses characters!!

♥ℳelody

2.5/3 stars

Okay so I pretty much went into this with high hopes and anticipation. Unfortunately it was a painful infuriating read to get through for the first half of the story. I was sorely tempted a few times to just up and quit this book. It was that bad for me. The storyline had a lot of delicious potential. I love amnesia storylines. But the actual payoff and execution left a lot to be desired for me. There were one too many contrived things that made the characters look silly and flat.

Lord Adam Darshan Lawford has lost his memory after his steamboat explodes and he's stranded in the ocean, close to drowning, when Miss Mariah Clarke discovers him. Mariah comes up with the ruse of pretending to be his wife in order to get rid of an unwanted aggressive suitor. She lies to him telling him they're married when he wakes up. From there the two start to slowly fall in love and things become more complicated when Adam regains his memory and must return to London and his life as a Duke.

The first half of the book was filled with inconsistencies and silly contrived things that kept popping up left and right. I mean here we have the hero Adam Ashton who has lost his memory and has no recollection of who he is and what has happened to him. All he knows is what Mariah has told him: she’s his wife and she rescued him from dying after being stranded in the shore. He immediately slips from shock and confusion to the perfect loving doting very amorous ‘husband’ within a few pages. Um...how? We get absolutely no page time of him grieving, coming to terms trying to DEAL with what has happened to him, no anger or frustration just complete total gratitude and devotion to Mariah, his lovely perfect wife. Who he wants to sleep with, even though she is a complete stranger to him. Seriously? Come on. I’m just asking for a little more room for realism. And oh yes, character growth. We get absolutely none here. Just TOLD what the characters are thinking, feeling, seeing, saying. I felt no connection to either character. I just felt Putney failed at making these characters come to life instead they came off incredibly flat. There was no moral conscience when it came to Mariah in the first half of the story who only seemed to care about her and Adam and how she could keep him. She gets news of her father's death and other than a few moments of shock and convulsive swallowing we see NO other reaction out of her. It was bizarre and so out of place. And this lackluster emotional ineptitude or I should say inappropriate reaction happens quite a lot in this book. And it's a pattern I've noticed in some of Putney's other works. Also there was a startling lack of descriptive detail in this. We get a fuzzy rushed physical description of both Adam and Mariah. I really don't like when author's gloss over what the h/hr look like. Adam is dark skinned with startling green eyes and long black hair. Yeah? Well how long is his hair? What does his face look like? All the infinite character details (physical descriptions and mannerisms) were completely lacking in here. It bugged the crap out of me. Putney only tells us what the characters' eye color and hair color are. I. want. more.

Another thing that I found really absurd was the whole 'possibly married' thing. Mariah keeps wondering if Adam has a wife somewhere and is almost convinced that he’s married at one point yet doesn’t DO A THING about it instead just frets about ‘what ifs’ and how she can’t bare to tell him the truth cause it will ‘tear his last anchor to the real world apart’ or some such nonsense. Um…..HUH? I found that logic so contradictory and contrived. She keeps daydreaming and lusting after him and relying on him one day remembering everything and that will ‘fix’ the problem. No it won’t dearie. I found the whole reasoning behind lying to him and KEEP lying to him to be utter nonsensical bullshit. It was a weak plot point to carry the story on IMO cause it made no sense and made her look like a clueless idiot with no self-awareness whatsoever. What I found really truly disturbing was her willingness to let him continue on believing he was her husband & not revealing the truth if he NEVER regained his memory. She would totally and completely ‘have him’ if he wanted her. And if he had a wife the woman would “accept widowhood and find another husband.” O_o Uh.. excuse me? In what world is this considered acceptable? Even if Adam never got his memory back, he’s not ‘hers’ as she so confidently moons over in her mind (he can’t be YOURS considering you are cheating him out of a life he doesn’t know about you outrageous twit). He deserves to know the truth whether he remembers or not. She didn’t seem the slightest bit conflicted or disturbed by any of this which really bothered me. I struggled to take her seriously because she lacked any kind of conscience or self-awareness to what she was doing acting like what was doing was no big deal. Even if the protagonist's reasoning behind their actions isn’t completely justifiable if they show the decency of being shamed, upset, scared, guilt-ridden then I will and can sympathize with them. Here, Miss I’ve-had-my-share-of-eligible-men-but-I-want-Mr.Amnesia-he’s my-freaking-hero takes the cake and eats it too. It was outrageous how carefree she acted about the whole thing. I get this is a romance novel, suspending belief is usually a given in certain areas but when you have completely hollow emotionless characters with the conscience of a 2 year old it sucks the fun out of reading the story.

And the award for the most ridiculous contrived TSTL frivolous character in this would go to Charles Clarke Townsend, Mariah's empty headed father. You would think I would say Mariah, but oh no her father is much worse. I'm sorry but the whole 'Surprise!!! you have a twin sister!' angle near the end was so campy and unreal and a total 'jumping the shark' moment. You have to suspend belief to even swallow this unnecessary ridiculous silly plot point at the end. It made Mariah's father look like the reckless irresponsible selfish pee brain he is. He kept her away from her mother for her entire life letting her think her mother died and never bothered to tell her she had a twin sister on top of it. WTH? And the only reasoning we got as to why he did that was because he got into a fight with her mother and stormed out never to return. *crickets*.... Yes cause that makes TOTAL sense to walk away from your wife and young children and drag one of them half way across the continent to live an unstable life living off of his 'earnings' at card games. Come on! That doesn't explain how or why for that matter he took Mariah away from her mother and sister. I found that so completely inappropriate and ridiculous. It was a very poor and illogical excuse to take her away from a stable home and tote her around the country at his whim and never tell her about her mother or twin sister. And Mariah's reaction to all of this news was even more asinine. Her 'okie dokie' I forgive you, you silly goose! was even more trippy. Um.... NO. That doesn't fly. No one can be THAT forgiving for such ridiculous selfish nonsensical actions and it just made Mariah look like a totally naive fidiot. She laughs the whole thing off like it's some silly joke, teasing her father for being such a 'wretch' for not telling her the truth.

photo chris4.gif
Uh HELLO??! Anyone home? The man LIED to you your entire life, kept you AWAY from your mother and made you live on the fringes of society, you had a unstable childhood with no home because of it for no justifiable reason no less you ingnoramous twit. He made them move from home to home so he could gamble and make money for them to barely live off of (and how they managed to live a 'stable' life I will never understand or swallow). How is that any kind of life for a impressionable young girl?? Her high tolerance for acceptance and understanding was just a little too unrealistic and made her look like an empty headed goose. I would have been furious, angry and unbelievably hurt. We got NO emotion from her other than giddy relief and shock. RME. This whole surprise! reveal seem contrived and sloppy cause it made NO freaking sense.

The second half got a little bit better and held my interest. Of course I was hoping for Adam to be enraged and furious at Mariah for lying to him but of course that doesn't happen. *sigh* He's upset and hurt but doesn't shut her out instead invites her and her friend Julia to come along to London with him as his 'guests'. The whole fake 'fiance' back and forth sherade was long drawn out and while I appreciated the tension and angst between the two, I still felt Adam forgave Mariah a little too easily considering she was willing to let him continue on thinking they were husband and wife if his memory never returned. She tells him the truth before he regains his memory but I felt her actions and unattached emotions to the possible repercussions of her lying was unattractive and outrageous. But there was a subtle shift where I started to feel the chemistry and longing between Adam and Mariah that I felt was completely absent and so FORCED in the beginning.

And oh yes! The villain in this was as usual campy, so cliche and a tad contrived for me. I wish Putney would stop it with the cheesey not-scary villains. Adam's Aunt Georgornia is revealed to be the one behind the plot of trying to kill him. And why? Cause of his mixed blood, he's half Hindu and inherited the title of the Duke of Lawford, a title which his Aunt believed belonged to her son Hal, Adam's cousin. Her obvious contempt and hatred for Adam and near desperate outrageous plot to get rid of him is the 'mystery' throughout the book. The thing that didn't make sense was why she schemed to get her daughter Janey betrothed to Adam, someone she clearly disliked. She was trying for years to get rid of him only to try and trap him into a supposed 'betrothal' to her daughter in order to prevent Mariah from becoming the Duchess. That was contradictory and made no sense. You want him dead yet were willing to have your daughter marry him? Pick one.

Anyways, I will say I was intrigued by Adam's friends Will Masterson and Randall in particular. The tension between the icy aloof Randall and Mariah's quiet friend Julia Bencroft especially caught my interest. Julia clearly has a big dark secret and seemed to be running/hiding from an old life she left behind. And Randall seemed to avoid her at all costs. You've caught my attention Putney now give me a story better handled will you? I didn't think I would be interested the in rest of the series but seeing that Putney gave Randall and Julia a story I will read it. With caution and unfortunately low expectations after reading this one. It wasn't a strong start to this series but I am willing to give the next book a try. I'm hoping that Will Masterson and Kirkland also get their own books I'm a little surprised that they haven't.

Victoria Vale

This book is hard to rate. I did mostly enjoy it, mainly because of the romance between the H and h. Amnesia stories can be so absurd but I still love them. They're a guilty pleasure of sorts and present room for all kinds of juicy drama. I liked the sweet, blossoming romance that develops as Adam leans on Mariah while recuperating from his injury and trying to rebuild his memory. There was great chenistry and sexual tension and Adam is a totally likeable hero. Mariah does mislead the hero but does suffer guilt and come clean on her own. She deserves credit for that.
The problem I had in this book is that the mystery/suspense of Adam's life being in danger was weak and not believable. Characters react to the things happening around and to them by ... having literally no reaction. Revelations about people the main characters love are made ... and we're talking BIG things that change people's lives ... and the mc's just kind of smile and go "wow, that just happened" and move on. It got surreal in places. Also, we are told there is danger but I never really FELT that they were afraid because they just didn't seem all that afraid. It made the second half of the story drag a bit.
That said, I've heard book 2 is way better, and the hero of the second book intrigued me when he appeared in this story, so I can see myself giving it a go.

PS. Authors who are writing about characters of color in historical novels: can we please stop exoticizing and fetishizing mixed people as "being the best of both worlds" and "mysterious". Also, it's ok for them to struggle with their place in society and not belonging because they are mixed without, get this, seeing their darker skin as some kind of burden or curse. The narrative is getting tired. (But bonus points for Putney for at least showing respect for Adam's embracing of his Hindi religion. And having him eventually accept both parts of his nature. That way, at least his struggles weren't for naught.)

Title	:	Loving a Lost Lord (Lost Lords, #1)
Author	:	Mary Jo Putney
Rating	:
ISBN	:	1420103288
ISBN-10	:	9781420103281
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Mass Market Paperback
Number of Pages	:	340
Publication	:	First published July 1, 2009
Awards	:	Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award (RT Award) Best Historical K.I.S.S. Hero (2009)

Loving a Lost Lord (Lost Lords, #1) by Mary Jo Putney

Loving a Lost Lord (Lost Lords, #1) Reviews

Loving a Lost Lord (Lost Lords, #1) Reviews

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