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I received this book for free from Night Owl Reviews in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Miss Bianca Mansfield is ready for her debut. If only her older sister didn't insist on marrying first. She's doomed to wait to find love. Until she meets … him. For Lucian Dorlingsley, Viscount Asquith, recently returned from an extended tour abroad, it is love at first sight. He's determined to meet Bianca, even if it means masquerading as a tutor to her young half-brother.
Soon Bianca is torn between love and duty and about to make a desperate decision. Can Lucian calm her fury over his betrayal when he reveals that he's not nearly as improper a match as he seems? And will they ever be able to find a match for her older sister to turn this masquerade into wedded bliss? This is a longish novella about pages and it read like a novella. This is the first book that I read by Sabrina Darby. So much to love about historicals! I would love to read your thoughts on this post.
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I have read and enjoyed all of Sabrina Darby's books, and while I did not like Bianca's character for the reason that I do not like reading about a blatantly vain heroine, I appreciate and respect the challenge Darby took on in her Taming series, of using love as a medium to transform misguided heroines to maturity and depth.
It is with great anticipation that I await Kate's story, to see how she, who views Bianca as the one who makes her life miserable, will grow through learning true love and humility. View all 15 comments. Dec 15, Becca rated it liked it. I have enjoyed Sabrina Darby's novellas because they are typically very emotionally dense and satisfying despite the lower page count. In this story, I didn't quite get that feeling, but it did set up the pair novella well which I loved.
Woo'd in Haste is the first of a novella pair that mirrors the taming of the shrew. In this story, we meet the "good" sister who has chafed enough under the antics of her older sister and resorts to drama and scandal to finally reach for what she wants. Bianca is I have enjoyed Sabrina Darby's novellas because they are typically very emotionally dense and satisfying despite the lower page count. Bianca is a blond beauty who has been cloistered away in the countryside while her older sister Kate enjoys all of the thrills of a London season.
Bianca is supposed to be this even tempered, sweet girl, but all I ever saw was a whiny, immature girl who hates her sister for acts in their childhood that we never see. She has tired of living away from London and having no suitors and when an opportunity presents itself, she chases it wholeheartedly, with no foresight for the consequences.
Luc, is a shy man, heir to an earldom, and desperate for time with Bianca. He "fell in love" with her on first sight and pretends to be a tutor in order to get close to her. I for one found this creepy and have never been one to enjoy books with this trope. However, Darby tries to explain why this played out the way it did, and I was satisfied with the explanation.
I struggled to read through this story, but the seeds were planted for the older sister Kate and I was very interested in seeing her side.
While I felt this story was predictable and the characters unlikeable, it set the stage for a very satisfying follow-up novella, Wed at Leisure. If you read this, be sure to read the second one right after. May 15, Farrah rated it really liked it. A light, quick, and sweet read, Woo'd in Haste was a wonderful historical romance novella. I really liked this lovely book. It was an enjoyable read. Bianca was a good heroine. She started out as passive, allowing her sister and father's whims to control her. But, as the story went on, she toughened up and began to stand up for what she wanted.
And, she was an overall kind and genuinely likable character. I thought she was great. Lucian was very sweet. His character felt a little flat, because the A light, quick, and sweet read, Woo'd in Haste was a wonderful historical romance novella. His character felt a little flat, because the sum of all we saw of him was that he was first desperately infatuated, then in love with Bianca. But, he was adorable and I liked him, as well. The romance was sweet. Bianca and Lucian were great together. I liked how they both loved each other unreservedly and were both willing to fight for each other.
I thought they were great together. The plot was well paced and I was kept interested the entire way through. I enjoyed the quick story and the ending was lovely. Woo's in Haste was a lovely historical romance novella. I really liked this sweet book and really enjoyed reading it. Romance lovers, this is a book worth checking out.
He felt too good, too nice to be someone that Bianca would fall in love with. MegaMad 4 books Reading is Definitely a Thing. Sometimes just a plain sweet romance is just what we need. This one felt more gradual and I enjoyed Woo'd In Haste is the first book in the Taming series, and it sets the stage for the series. Yes, this is an honest review. This has allowed him in close proximity to Bianca and has given him the opportunity to fall more in love with her when he discovers the intelligent, kind-hearted woman behind the beautiful face. The only other book I have read by this author did the same so perhaps that is her style.
View all 5 comments. May 03, Lover of Romance rated it really liked it Shelves: Woo'd In Haste is the first book in the Taming series, and it sets the stage for the series. Woo'd In Haste is a very short novella, with only pages, so it only took a hour to read, but I did feel like it didn't feel that short, which is a rare occurrence for a novella. I really enjoyed this sweet and delectable romance that just makes you sigh by the end. The romance is well developed and isn't instantaneous which usually happens with short stories. This one felt more gradual and I enjoyed Woo'd In Haste is the first book in the Taming series, and it sets the stage for the series.
This one felt more gradual and I enjoyed seeing these two come together. The heat level in the story is pretty low, which I didn't mind, since I do prefer a story that the focus is on the love story and development of the relationship between the two characters. It definitely one to relax into on a warm summers day I didn't have any big issues with this story, it wasn't a 5 star or anything, just a enjoyable and satisfying read that encompasses you like the warmth of the sun.
May 20, Tin rated it really liked it Shelves: I received review copies of Woo'd in Haste and Wed at Leisure as part of a blog tour. Yes, this is an honest review. Darby's The Taming series features two sisters: Bianca and Kate Mansfield, the former has to wait patiently to have her Season because the latter has insisted that she must marry first. Bianca has been secluded in their country home in Waterford while Kate and their stepmother have been enjoying all that the London Season has to offer. Bianca had been been content to accept her older sister's demands, but, she is growing tired of waiting and reading about all the new experiences that Kate is having in London in her letters.
She's tired of her sister's tantrums and dramatics and pretenses at being close and Bianca wants to live her life now and the first decision she makes is to stop reading Kate's letters. The next is to start voicing out her own wants and needs to her father. Luc Dorlingsley, Viscount Asquith saw Bianca from afar and instantly fell in love with her beauty. This has allowed him in close proximity to Bianca and has given him the opportunity to fall more in love with her when he discovers the intelligent, kind-hearted woman behind the beautiful face.
Heat filled her own cheeks and a tingling of awareness scattered over her skin. He was not suggesting there was anything amiss with her at all. Darcy had complimented Elizabeth Bennet's fine eyes. This was admiration for Bianca's eyes. Shock warred with embarrassment.
She swallowed it all down. Forced a small smile. Do you find them entrancing? Darby's Bianca starts out in the same mold, but has grown tired of her role in this "play" and has decided to break out. Bianca is a very likable and sympathetic character and I thought she and Luc were perfectly suited to each other. I felt sorry that Bianca was never give the same chances as Kate was, so I'm glad to see that she got her happy ending.
She had decided several years earlier, while still a child, that the rest of her family wasn't worth worrying about, from her sister's constant demands and histrionics to her father's inability to refuse Kate anything. It really is a case of all's well that ends well, when Bianca decides to take matters into her own hands and acts. She crumpled the letter up decisively. But she was nineteen, and she refused to live her life any longer according to her sister's whims. Kate doesn't really say much in the first novella and what we know of her is from other people's accounts.
Between the two novellas, Bianca's story stays on the surface of things -- but she hints at something more. The deeper layer is presented in Kate's story, Wed at Leisure. Everyone in their small community know Kate. They know of her spoiledness and of the infamous decree that she must marry first before Bianca could have her season. No one really likes her and Kate knows it's her fault. She has tried to show that she has changed, that she has matured and has become Frustration welled up inside her. Why was he saying such things? Of course, it was just what everyone else echoed. Everyone but her mother.
About her mother, who hated her, who said Kate was ugly because she was so dark, who criticised everything Kate ever did, and little Bianca could do no wrong. About how no one ever paid her attention unless she did something terrible. She knows she could never salvage her reputation in Waterford, so she and her stepmother have striven to show London a different Kate, a kinder, sweeter Kate -- and it is a liberating experience for Kate to be accepted, for once in her life.
She had long suffered the rejection of her own mother, who openly favored Bianca over her and all Kate has ever wanted was love and acceptance. Unfortunately for her, her decision to act the shrew have caused the opposite of these things: At the Hall, she was not the Catherine Mansfield who had charmed London, but instead was the childish Kate, forever caught in the patterns set during the earliest years.
Editorial Reviews. Review. "Darby is known for beautifully textured stories, and these novellas areno exception. Kate and Bianca's journey is not simply one of. Woo'd in Haste (The Taming Series) [Sabrina Darby] on www.farmersmarketmusic.com *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Miss Bianca Mansfield is ready for her debut.
With distance, she'd understood this. Yet each time she returned home, the emotions and anger made it impossible to think. Impossible to be any other way. Which was why she came home rarely.
Indulged her desire for a sisterly relationship through regular correspondence. After all, with distance she could pretend it was perfect. In person, she was confronted again. And yet, she could not forestall Bianca's entree into society forever, and Kate refused to stand in competition with her blond, beloved sister for society's affection. Sabrina Darby has taken on the incredible challenge of transforming her "villainess" into a heroine. There is justification for Kate's behaviour, but, what I loved more was seeing Kate's repentance and her determination to make amends.
It's truly a Sisyphean task for Kate and she falters many times But it all shows that Kate is human and hurts and bleeds and cries like everyone else. Luc has never met Kate and knows only of her reputation. He was first attracted to Bianca from afar and only for her beauty -- but, what is wonderful about Luc is that he was not satisfied with just beauty and had wanted to get closer to Bianca and get to know her better. While his methods are suspect, the results were positive and he fell more in love with her.
In the end, it wasn't beautiful Bianca that Luc married, but kind and thoughtful and sisterly and brave Bianca. Peter, on the other hand, has known the sisters his entire life. What is strange is that he has never paid attention to Bianca and, in Wed at Leisure , never had a memory of her. He knew she wasn't like her sister -- and that seemed to be the extent of their acquaintance. Peter's focus had always been Kate -- and his interest in her deepened when he saw a part of Kate that no one had ever seen before: There was Lord Reggie's plan to distract Kate with Peter, and Peter was vague about his participation -- but he did take the opportunity to get to know Kate better.
I think it takes a very special person to see beyond Kate's well-earned notoriety. Did I like Kate the way Peter did? I don't think so. I found it difficult to shake off my own prejudices even after I had read of Kate's past, but I think this is part of the exercise of reading and being engaged in a story's characters. I think it's interesting how most stories only present us with one side, which is why it is most important, in my opinion, to read both books Bianca's and Kate's to get the complete picture.
This is another excellent offering from Sabrina Darby. Aug 30, Romancing the Book rated it really liked it Shelves: She finds having an older sister to be a bother really. The jealousy between the two sisters was real. When they were together you could actually feel it leap off of the pages.
Even when Bianca talked about it you could feel her animosity towards Kate.
Lucian was that guy that no matter what it took he was determined to get the girl.