I really enjoyed this book. The comic relief was provided by Herberts, Verena's shady butler, who was recommended to her by the
Society of Wayward Women, or something like that. The man was a pickpocket, bigtime, never missing on opportunity. Why she put up
with him is anyones guess, but I think, even with her modest means,
she could have got a different one if she wanted to. It was nothing short of amazing to me that he did not steal the Talisman
Ring. He certainly had plenty of opportunity. Motive? I think he
just liked the jingle of shiny, expensive items in his pockets. He never tried to hawk any of it.

But on to the story. I liked how the lead female, Verena, was not a virgin. In fact, she was very aware of herself in regards to her passionate tryst with Brandon. She knew what she wanted,
was never whinny. The story was never about the usual things,
like I'm too poor for him (although there was an angle to the
story similar to this), I love him, but does he love me?, etc.
like most romances are. Verena has to be one of the strongest
female characters I've ever read about in romance. Anna was very strong in the previous book, so I suspect this may be the norm for Karen Hawkins' writing.

The plot was just busy enough to keep a person interested, but not so busy as to be too difficult to keep a person's interest.
The plot was serious, but the interjections of Herbert & his antics throughout helped to lighten the load.

I would just like to know what happened to Wycham & Peters.
I assume Wycham was either sent to prison for a short stint or
was given a small allowance & sent on a boat to America. With
Peters, I really have to wonder, because Herberts took over his
duties as coachman at the end of the book.

Another 4 3/4 star book from Karen Hawkins. I'm looking forward to the next one, How to Treat a Lady.

Actually, it wavers between 3-4 stars, depending on the exact part of the book. However, the humor and romance cause me to give it 4 stars.

I liked Brandon St. John very much, but wasn't as crazy about Verena. Although spirited and witty, something about her just seemed conniving and untrustworthy.

The blackmail scheme was rather odd at times, and not wholly convincing. Neither was Verena's family situation. On the other hand, wit abounds and there are significant sparks between the protagonists. The scene where Brandon has lost his voice may be my favorite in the book; the previous one when he's soaking wet is also quite good. The love scenes explode with passion. Verena's butler is a hoot. And Roger is one h*** of an actor.

A good book and part of a splendid series, but not my favorite of the group.

I read this book in one day..I could not stay away! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! My housework suffered for the day, yes..but OH! It was sooo worth it! I loved EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS STORY...Brandon was to die for and I adored Verena. I thought the story was interesting and I felt that the author did a fantastic job of not only developing the characters, but making sure that other aspects of the plot didnt overshadow the h/h and their growing love for one another. This was my first book by this author..Im so excited to have found her ! I cant wait to read about Chase!!!

I read this book in a matter of days. This is the type of book that you don't want to put down. I usually can predict the villian in most books but this kept me guessing until the end. It was definately a page turner. I would certainly recommend this to read to anyone who loves historical romances.

At the close of An Affair to Remember an unhappy Brandon St John discovers the dreaded Talisman ring in his piece of wedding cake nearly breaking a tooth! The holder of the ring is destined to meet his true love, but Brandon doesn't believe in such legends. All the same, he'll palm it off on one of his brothers if the opportunity presents itself! It seems like bad luck is all the ring has brought him when his brothers give him the unpleasant task of buying off Chase's latest paramour, worried the gold-digger will trap Chase into marriage. Family head Marcus warns Brandon that "Lady Westforth is not a milquetoast female . . . I advise you to approach her carefully". Truer words were never spoken!

Widowed Lady Verena Westforth has been relegated to the very fringe of society by her vengeful father-in-law. He never approved of her - her parents are charlatans for heaven's sake! - believes her responsible for his son's death and has done his best to ruin her reputation in polite society. And so, she exists in the demimonde supporting herself by some low-key card sharping in gaming hells. But she's no man's mistress and, unbeknownst to Brandon, has already let Chase down easy and sent him on his way. But that does not stop her from having a little fun at the overbearing Brandon's expense. Soon all of society is giggling behind his back - intolerable! And when Verena's brother is blackmailed, Brandon's friend's freedom is threatened and the solution to both is finding a list of British agents abroad, are Verena and Brandon adversaries or allies? One thing is certainly clear - they are extremely attracted to one another!

So why only 3 1/2 stars? SEMI-SPOILERS! Well, first, why would Brandon stick his neck out for a school chum who sounded more like an acquaintance? And while there's plenty of lust and even camaraderie between Brandon and Verena, I didn't feel like they were in love. No love is declared until the last chapter when he is suddenly, out of the blue, planning a wedding! And lastly, the whole blackmail scheme seemed ridiculously convoluted to me. I guess I'm being picky, but I gave An Affair to Remember 4 stars and, though I enjoyed this book, it's not as good as that one in my opinion and I just could not rate them the same. Still, all in all, an enjoyable read.