Heartless

By Jaimey Grant

A dark stranger....
Finding herself abandoned after the death of her father, Leandra Harcourt takes the greatest risk of her life. She accepts the marriage proposal of a complete stranger, the Duke of Derringer—a man the world calls Lord Heartless.
A heartless proposal....
A desperate girl with no prospects seems the perfect solution to Derringer's most recent problem: marry before his 30th birthday to gain his rightful inheritance, though marriage is the last thing he needs. The need to find his missing cousin takes priority over any silly marriage and he quickly abandons his new bride in the wreck of his family estate.
A perfect love....
Two people were never more suited for each other than the duke and his wife, but will they discover it before it's too late? With an assassin dogging his heels and a suitor wooing his wife, love will not have the luxury of time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jaimey Grant
• Release date: Mar 24, 2009
• ISBN: 9781617521461

Jaimey Grant

Jaimey first delved into the Regency time period almost two decades ago and hasn't stopped since. After several years of tapping away at a keyboard for her own entertainment, she finally took the next step and self-published four of her Regency romances in 2008. In 2010, she signed a contract with TreasureLine Publishing.

Book preview

Reviews for Heartless

[mariasavva_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars.This book starts out very well. Up to about page 100 I thought it would be one of my best reads ever, and that is saying something because I read a lot. It is an entertaining book, but there are far too many secondary characters, many of whom are not even introduced as far as I could tell. New names crop up here and there; by the time I was three quarters of the way through I gave up caring who they were really and just carried on reading.I liked the two main characters, The Duke of Derringer, and Leandra, for the most part. The only issue I had was that at times they both seem to be bipolar! Their behaviour is very inconsistent. This may be intentional, because The Duke had suffered a childhood trauma which could have left him unstable, and the circumstances surrounding Leandra's birth meant that she was always seen as an outsider in her family. However, I feel that the writer could have spent more time on character development of the main characters, rather than spending too much time on insignificant characters.Jaimey Grant obviously has a talent for writing a gripping story and keeping the reader engaged, because the first half of the book is amazing. The second half needed work to make it believable. There were times I was left questioning how certain things had taken place e.g. how did the Captain of the Ship where Derringer was being held captive manage to send missives out to Leandra? How would they have got to her? This was not explained at all.The book didn't really flow well in regard to continuation of certain threads in the book, for example, the letter that was found hidden in Derringer's mother's old notebook. I know the intention was that the reader should not find out this information until the end of the book, but the way in which it was written was a little annoying. As a reader I didn't like being kept dangling for too many chapters.The ending was nice, but the run up to the ending was a bit rushed I think.On the whole a good plot, nicely written, but I would personally have liked to see more of the main characters.A note to the author: Sometimes what doesn't work too well as a novel would work beautifully as a film or a play. In this case, I could really see this book as a very powerful film, or maybe a play in the theatre. I would definitely go and see it!

[dahabdabbler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Once again, Ms. Grant's characters draw you in from the first page. Leandra Harcourt and Duke of Derringer are thrown together by fate and desperate circumstances. Both stubborn and determined, they try to ignore their growing feelings towards each other. In the end, they learn that what they need most is each other. Along with this romance, Ms. Grant mixes in some family histories that need unraveling and a mystery that needs solving. An engaging read!

[avoraciousreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

*Book source ~ Picked up for free on AmazonHartley Giles St. Clair, the Duke of Derringer, has been plagued with problems, accidents and outright attempts on his life since he inherited the title of Duke at age seven. Now, an additional problem has cropped up in the form of a clause in his late father’s will, a clause that has gone unnoticed all these years (I’d fire that law firm). He has a week to marry or he loses his considerable inheritance. Since no one in London has any appeal to him he decides to travel to his estate and snag a bride nearby. On his way he stops at an inn when his carriage wheel breaks and that’s where he crosses paths with Leandra Harcourt, the beloved yet bastard daughter of the Earl of Harwood who is recently deceased. In dire straits after her stepmother throws her out, she accepts the Duke’s proposal and becomes his Duchess. However, their troubles continue. With someone out to get him, will Heartless survive to produce an heir?With wonderful writing, fantastic characters and a twisty malevolent plot this should have been a 5-biter for me. However, while Leandra and Heartless were excellent characters when apart from each other, any time they interacted on page they became frustrating to read. Their wildly swinging emotions were confusing to me. Are they bipolar? I didn’t understand how they could go from happiness to rage to lust or whatever else emotion happened to pop up in just a few sentences. It was exhausting. I actually looked forward to them being apart so I could enjoy the book again. Also, I didn’t understand the huge time frame there at the end. I won’t give it away, but it didn’t seem to fit the plot very well. All-in-all a wonderful read if you can survive the emotional roller coaster ride between the main characters.

[literarychanteuse · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Duke Hartley Giles St. Clair or otherwise known as Lord Heartless is a phenomenal character that could give any rogue in any historcal romance a run for his money. His sarcastic wit and audacious manner are infectious. Leandra is an endearing character who is kind hearted and although occasionally feisty when necessary, balances the relationship which develops between her and Hart. Not only is there a romance but a conspiracy is brewing by the most unlikely characters. A large number of twists to the plot certainly keeps the reader hooked and a wonderful writing style that has me eager to read another book by this author. There were a few minor incidences that I felt were not explained as fully as they could have been as well as one particular situation which I also thought could have been explored and that would have made an interesting addition to the story. 4.5 stars

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[ccourtland_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story seduces the reader from the first page. A quick read that is easy to get absorbed in and a fun way to lose track of time. A clean romance that lets the imagination explore, which makes it more intimate than typical romance novels. I fell in love with the lead characters and if my eyes would have allowed, I would have read the entire book in a single sitting. This book is a romantic-period pleasure that will appeal to women, especially those who enjoy historical romance. Stylistically, it reminded me of Lauren Willig’s Carnation series, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This is a perfect beach or travel book. My next trip, I’m downloading more titles by this author for my pool side escape.FLAWS: The last half is a bit rushed and certain details, moments, and scenes would have benefitted if the pace slowed. For a moment, the reader may feel like they are getting a summary of events rather than an experience. The last quarter of the book is not as strong as the first half. Because of this, I wavered between 3 and 4 stars, but I really did enjoy the story, description and characters. So, I split the difference. What can I say? This delicious tale melted my icy heart just a touch.