Never Less Than a Lady

I only recently "found" this author, and really like her books. Great characters and interesting story lines.

Mary Jo Putney is known for her historical romances and psychological depth of character. She returns with another Lost Lord novel, her second book in a series that is set in England in the early 1800s. Putney will delight readers with these stories about the troublesome boys of the Westerfield Academy. In NEVER LESS THAN A LADY, we become reacquainted with Mrs. Julia Bancroft and Major Alexander Randall, who first appeared in LOVING A LOST LORD. It is Spain in 1812, and Randall's uncle writes informing him that he is now the heir apparent to the Daventry earldom due to the death of his cousin. His obligations are as follows: return to England, sell out his army commission, marry and produce an heir. Randall does come home to London to Duke Ashton and his wife, Mariah, and goes to Scotland to visit friends. As he is returning to London, he stops in Hartley at the home of Mariah's sister. Mrs. Bancroft, who lives at Rose Cottage in Hartley, is a midwife. But as there is no physician nearby, she also treats wounds, minor illnesses, and sets bones. When she is abducted by three men, her apprentice, Jenny, witnesses the incident and escapes. She arrives where Randall is staying and recounts the incident to him, including the odd details that one of the men referred to her as Lady Julia and a murderer by a man called Crockett. Randall sets off to rescue Julia. With Randall's help, Julia breaks free from the kidnappers. When asked about the murder accusation, she recounts her story of suffering at the hand of an abusive husband who died from an accident. Julia faked her own death and took on the name of the midwife who helped her. Randall learns that she is really Lady Julia Rains, daughter of a Duke who was married to Daventry's son, Branford. He has his own story of how he suffered at the hands of Branford. As a child, he was sent to live with his uncle, half brother to his father. It was during that time in his life that Randall ended up at the Westerfield Academy. Randall proposes marriage. This is an unsuitable match for both of them, yet it solves his need to marry and also protects her. He is in line to be the next Earl of Daventry, and the current Earl is Julia's past father-in-law. She is downright scared to be with a man after her first marriage. Yet this couple has an undeniable connection with and attraction to each other. She finds him handsome. He realizes that she is the only woman he knows who he would even consider marrying. They agree to wed with stipulations and set off to Edinburgh, Scotland. The marriage sets into motion a series of events for them both. Julia is shot at when she returns to Rose Cottage to pick up her belongings and give her cottage to Jenny. Randall takes his wife to see her father, who greets her with little enthusiasm and immense dislike. They visit her former father-in-law and his uncle, and discover that his third wife, Lady Daventry, is expecting. They are met with disbelief and anger. Lord Daventry stil

I read the first in her Lost Lord series and was not overly impressed. I thought it was good but not anything fantastic. However, Never Less Than A Lady was fabulous! I absolutely love that finally I read a book where the hero and heroine are honest with each other! I hate when authors have such miscommunication between characters. This was refreshing! I thought the romance between Julia and Randall was tanginble throughout, and I really enjoyed seeing Adam and Mariah again. I think this book is, for some reason, rated much lower than it deserves. Start with the first, Loving A Lost Lord, and you will be instantly hooked! Can't wait to see which of the guys I get to read about next!

This was my first Mary Jo Putney book. Also my first review. I loved this book, it will not be my last Putney book. If I could give it 10 stars I would give them. I went yesterday to get the first book in the series Loving A Lost Lord. Can't wait to read it. Hope you enjoy this book as much as I have.

I've read all of Ms. Putney's books and while this isn't her usual riveting read, I really enjoyed it. First because it continues the "Lost Lords" series and second because sometimes regular people need a great story also. While the characters aren't "over the top" the story line is wonderful. I could sympathize with both Julia and Randall and how they made something of their lives in spite of the the problems and abuse they had both suffered in the past. Writing and telling a story about abuse is difficult, I think Ms. Putney handled this very well while crafting a very enjoyable read. I will definitely keep this and look forward to the next story!