The Viscount in Her Bedroom (The Sisters of Willow Pond, 3)

Louisa Shelby once lived a carefree life going to balls and wearing beautiful clothing. When her father died and left her family penniless she had to find a way to support herself. When she is offered a job as a companion to an elderly Viscountess, Louisa gladly accepts. She does not count on the temptation that she finds at her new post. Simon Wade was once the most eligible bachelor, but a riding accident left him blind and now he spends his time in his grandmother's home. When Louisa starts showing an interest in him he spurns the attention figuring it is just pity. Is the beautiful ex-socialite really interested in helping or is the gossip about her true? How can Simon keep her reputation from staining his frumpy younger sister? The Viscount in Her Bedroom is a delightful read. I love a pouty Hero that needs to get over himself, and he does get over it with a healthy kick upside the head by the lovely heroine. Louisa is a good all around character that can come up with a well thought out solution to life's problems without feeling contrived or impulsive. I definitely recommend this book to those that like to see the Heroine rescue the Hero now and then. Tori Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I am really surprised by how low the rating is for Viscount in Her Bedroom. This was the first book I read from this author so was expecting all sorts of things when I picked it up. I had gotten over ¾ of the way through and was still enjoying it...and I started to worry. I feared that Simon would regain his sight, which would have been a total insult to the intelligence of readers, and I prepared myself for that. But, alas, the ending was realistic and happy and I loved both Simon and Louisa. Quick summary. Louisa becomes the companion to Simon's Grandmother. Simon, a viscount, lost his sight after a riding accident, and had moved in with his grandmother and his younger sister, Georgie. Simon once considered himself the "entertainer," always eager to please and make everyone laugh. But all that changed when he became blind. He and Louisa begin a friendship, which turns into more. Yet, of course, Simon is reluctant...what could Louisa want with a blind man. But Louisa sees through Simon. There were misunderstandings but they were believable and resolved when the characters, believe it or not, communicated. I really enjoyed all of the characters. There really wasn't any "bad guys" to get into the way or ruin the plot. There was a few purposely annoying ones but no one really evil. I liked that. I liked that the book focused on Louisa and Simon's relationship and how Louisa helped Simon gain confidence to function in the world. I really liked Simon's grandmother and his siblings. Louisa was smart and strong, and Simon blindness was really believable. I really recommend Viscount in her Bedroom. I found it believable and memorable and I look forward to more from this author.

This series is about three sisters who find their own ways of surviving after their father commits suicide. In this novel Louisa becomes a companion for Simon Wade's grandmother. Simon has had a recent accident that left him blind. The chemistry between Louisa and Simon was great - I LOVED THIS BOOK. Check out the whole series: THE LORD NEXT DOOR (1), THE DUKE IN DISGUISE (2) and THE VISCOUNT IN HER BEDROOM (3). If you enjoy this genre I would also check out The Lady Lies by Samantha Saxon, Spirited Away by Cindy Miles and Secrets of a Duchess by Kaitlin O'Riley.

Lord Wade is the toast of society until a riding accident blinds him. Unable to listen to the sounds of so called sympathy and "seeing" the pity in their eyes, Simon becomes a recluse, living a quiet life with his shy sister and grandmother. In 1845, Simon's grandmother hires a companion Louisa Shelby without consulting him. Louisa and her sisters saw their world end when their father committed suicide; with her siblings settled in happy marriages, she looks forward to the single life as elderly Lady Wade's companion. To her amazement, Louise is attracted to Simon and him to her as she brings him back to life with her élan and enthusiasm helping his sister in turning more comfortable with men as well; but he assumes it is pity on her part not a passionate love like he feels so he ends their relationship abruptly. He is already hearing nasty rumors about her. The third and final tale in the Sisters of Willow Pond miniseries (see the other Shelby siblings' tales, THE LORD NEXT DOOR and The Duke in Disguise) is an incredibly deep Victorian romance that focuses on the impact of blindness on more than just the individual as each member of his family feels the effect immensely especially since he was their leader. Readers will feel for Simon as he comes out of his self imposed shell due to Louisa although he ahs doubts about his beloved's motives. This is a fitting climax to a strong trilogy with a powerful cast that makes for a terrific historical. Harriet Klausner

I may be a man, and not just a man, but a revolutionary man, proud of my common origins, and I would sooner die a common death than bow my head to any duke, lord, or nobleman, but when I am not cleaning my musket, sharpening my guillotine, or practicing my close-quarter fighting formations, I am reading the Victorian romances of Gayle Callen and the struggles of the Shelby sisters, commoners who may be poor in pocket, but not poor in spirit. "The Viscount in Her Bedroom" closes the "Sisters of Willow Pond Trilogy" with the story of Viscount Simon Wade, once London's most eligible bachelor and a man of the ladies. As a man of the people, I would have sooner run Simon through with my pike than allow him to oppress us common folk, but a terrible riding accident leaves him blind and shunned from society, reducing a once proud man to a shell of his former self. Simon finds refuge at his grandmother's estate, and there meets Louisa Shelby, former London socialite and daughter of a wealthy merchant, but now reduced to poverty after her father's ruin and suicide. Simon's grandmother, the dowager Viscountess, ostensibly hired Louisa as her companion, but the wise old dowager might have had other motives for bringing Louisa into her home. Had the dowager brought me into her home, I would have led a revolt and spread the raging fires of liberty all across the beautiful, green countryside. Georgie, Simon's sister, also comes to stay with her grandmother the Viscountess after a disastrous coming out at the court and the balls, and rounds out the household of social castaways. Within the circumscribed world of the Lady Wade's estate, Simon learns to overcome his physical limitations but not the societal prejudices that he feels separates him from family and friends. Louisa knew the man that Simon once was and sees what he could be, but will Simon allow himself a little humility, see past the rumors of Louisa's reputation, and learn to accept her help and even love? He better, because the love of a common woman may be the only thing that saves him from the bloody judgment of revolutionary terror. Callen draws her characters with fine detail and loving sympathy, allowing the reader to feel the tug of every heartstring of pain and desire. I string my crossbow with whipcord and the desire to spread freedom at the pain of a sharpened bolt, but after reading Callen's moving portrayal of two characters struggling against both society and themselves, only to find refuge in each other, I am moved to sympathize with a man whose humanity overcomes the titles and privileges of his birth. I never thought I would say this, but if I ever came across Simon, the Lord Wade, sneaking into Louisa's private chambers, I would put down my pike and allow the man to live as, dare I say it, the Viscount in her bedroom.