One Week as Lovers

This was amazing fun book to read - Nicholas Viscount Lancaster is broke and finds his fiancé in another man arms - he decides to leave town for awhile to morn his childhood friend Cynthia Merrithorp. Cynthia faked her suicide to escape and very EVIL man who she was suppose to marry and pretends to be a ghost at Nicholas home where she is hiding. When Nicholas discovers that Cynthia is not dead and she has a plan to find a buried treasure and escape to America he offers to help. This story made me smile and laugh and had some very heated scenes - Enjoy. If you enjoy this author I would also suggest; A Rake's Guide To Pleasure (Zebra Historical Romance) & To Tempt A Scotsman (Zebra Debut). She also writes contemporary romance novels which are excellent; Start Me Up, Talk Me Downand looking forward to Lead Me On - due out January 2010!

I just wanted to point out a couple of things based on the previous reviews. First, I have read Ms. Dahl's previous books and by far, A Rake's Guide to Pleasure is my favorite but reading about Lancaster was not a dull read. I do agree that Lancaster's character has much more depth than Cynthia's and that the NY ending seemed a bit out of place. However, I didn't think Lancaster's arrangement with Hart went out of character. Because of his background, I didn't really see Lancaster as a true aristocrat and I think he had some disdain for his position. Even in ARGTP he commented on Emma at least working for her money vs. marrying for it. Also, Lancaster was not friends with Hart. Only because of his friendship with Emma did Hart ask for Lancaster's help. Lancaster was calling on this favor when he went to Hart's estate with Cynthia. I would have considered it more out of character for Lancaster to ask for financial assistance and then for Hart to even consider it. Hart thought of Lancaster as a shallow gold digger who was using his charms to find himself an heiress. Overall, I enjoyed this book and thought Lancaster's tortured past made for quite a surprise. I wouldn't have expected such a topic in a historical romance novel and in the end it made Lancaster a much more embraceable hero.

In my opinion, this is the perfect book to read on a nice Fall day. Ms. Dahl suceeds in creating two characters that the reader will cheer for. The book is simultaneously light and serious. There are some funny parts in the book and some very serious parts. Ms. Dahl writes about a subject that is very rarely mentioned in romance novels and by doing so, fleshes out Nick's character making him more than "just a pretty face." Moreover, Ms. Dahl doesn't take the easy way out by having Nick or Cynthia inheriet from a mysterious relative. Nick has to find a real world solution to his problem and that,to me, makes it a better book. The only drawback to this book is the last 10 pages or so. The book really does end around page 340. Then Ms. Dahl moves the action (or should I say inaction) to New York. The only reason I can think of her doing this is so that she can introduce the cast of characters for her next book. I think this was a strategic mistake. So, if one can ignore the last few pages of the book, I recommend this book. Nick and Cynthia's story is worth it. Dena So, if you want to read a

Viscount Lancaster is a good character, especially having known him from Dahl's previous book in the series, "A Rake's Guide to Pleasure". He is easy to like and you want him to be happy and healed. His love interest, Cynthia Merrithorpe, is not hard to like either, and overall the story is enjoyable, if a little disturbing at times. I also recommend the first book in the series, "To Tempt a Scotsman" in addition to "A Rake's Guide to Pleasure".

Cynthia Merrithorpe feels her heart break when her childhood friend Viscount Lancaster leaves to take charge of his responsibilities. However, Nicholas quickly realizes he will need to marry wealth to save the estate. In 1846 Nicholas becomes engaged to Imogene Brandiss, which further destroys Cynthia's last fiber of hope. However, when he catches his intended with her legs spread for another man, he understands his role as an ornament and why she has become so quiet since the betrothal announcement. He flees back to the countryside where he had his best times growing up. There he finds himself surprisingly attracted to Cynthia. As they fall in love over a week together, Nicholas knows duty to his family calls for his marrying Imogene. This is an enjoyable Victorian romance with no villains as Nicholas, Cynthia and Imogene are trapped by the rules of society. Their interplay makes for a fun historical tale as each struggles with the announced relationship. Fans will enjoy Victoria Dahl's aptly titled with a guilt laden Nicholas relishing the ONE WEEK AS LOVERS interlude until he must do his responsibility that neither he nor the two women in his life want. Harriet Klausner