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No Job For A Woman
Julian Fanshaw answers a call for help from his life-long friend Lord Worth to help keep his friend’s widowed sister, Deborah, safe from her increasingly vindictive neighbours. It doesn’t take long to realise him or Freddie long to realise the Grangers aren’t using her as a long-promised act of revenge against them; but are playing a deeper and far more sinister game of their own.
Deborah Stavely is determined to overcome the increasing harassment from her neighbour without calling on her brother for help. So she is not pleased when Freddie intervenes and involves his friend, Julian Fanshaw.
Circumstances demand Julian and Deborah learn to work together and Julian dares to dream that he might gain the love of the only person he’s ever given his heart to.
But will Deborah live long enough to discover that by releasing everything she values, she will gain everything her heart desires?
Deborah Stavely is determined to overcome the increasing harassment from her neighbour without calling on her brother for help. So she is not pleased when Freddie intervenes and involves his friend, Julian Fanshaw.
Circumstances demand Julian and Deborah learn to work together and Julian dares to dream that he might gain the love of the only person he’s ever given his heart to.
But will Deborah live long enough to discover that by releasing everything she values, she will gain everything her heart desires?
194 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 31, 2012
2 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Sherry Gloag
24 books59 followersBest selling author, Sherry Gloag, lives in the beautiful East Anglian countryside in the UK after spending her childhood in Scotland followed by many years in the Midland of England.
Although she's written over the years, in 2006 life made time for her to indulge her passion for writing and for her characters to let loose with their new found freedom.
When she's not writing Sherry enjoys gardening, reading and walking
Although she's written over the years, in 2006 life made time for her to indulge her passion for writing and for her characters to let loose with their new found freedom.
When she's not writing Sherry enjoys gardening, reading and walking
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 16, 2014
While there are several ups and downs throughout the story, the reader will become attached to this endearing damsel in distress and finds oneself pulled into her life, cheering for love to truly develop.
Full review in March 2013 issue of InD'tale Magazine.
Full review in March 2013 issue of InD'tale Magazine.
April 18, 2017
Kindle freebie as part of the anthology Nine Ladies Dancing: A Boxed Set of Ten Sweet and Clean Regency Romances
Deborah is an independent widow competently running her estate. She resents interference from men, especially her brother Freddie. Lord Worth can't help but worry about his sister, especially since her estate agent Brandon told him Deb's neighbors, the Grangers, are making trouble for Deb. The Grangers hold a grudge going back to Freddie's Oxford days and he fears they may be targeting Deb as a means of getting back at him. The only person who knows the truth about the Grangers and how devious they are is his old school mate Julian Fanshaw. Julian has recently returned from the Peninsula, wounded, but whole in body if not in spirit. When he learns of the Grangers dangerous games, he is ready for action. He remembers his friend Freddie's little sister Deb; a spirited little girl tagging after them and retaliating for their mischievous boyhood pranks. If the Grangers win, they'll dampen Deb's spirit, or worse, kill her. Julian is prepared to do anything to thwart the Grangers, even marry Deb, though he has no interest in being leg-shackled.
Plot-wise this story is pretty good. It starts with a bang but the so-called prologue isn't much of a literal prologue. It's a scene from later in the book. Whatever it is, it serves as a good hook to draw in the reader. There's plenty of tension to keep the reader turning pages. The central plot is the mystery of why the Grangers are bothering Deb and why now. The romance is secondary. It's a marriage of convenience story, which I normally hate, but I liked how the relationship developed. The characters already knew each other in childhood but Deb was happily married to her late husband Harry so the romantic tension encompasses her feelings of guilt. The romance grows slowly as Deb and Julien face down the villains and try to solve the mystery. The writing is decent but my big complaint is that the characters sound too modern. Early in the story they use the phrases "bite the bullet" and "pull the wool over my eyes." While the wool idiom dates to the 18th century, it doesn't seem to have been in common use at this time. Bite the Bullet may not date to the U.S. Civil War but it doesn't go back far enough for Regency era people to use. A simple Google search told me this. It forced me to knock points off my rating.
Deb is a heroine I can easily relate to. She's fiercely independent and proud. She refuses help because she knows she's capable of handling things on her own and she hates the trappings of London society. She agrees to chaperone her little sister's come out season mainly because of family feeling and not wanting to listen to her sister whining and crying about her delayed season. Deb also has a vulnerable side most people don't get to see. She was forced to grow up quickly and it weighs heavily on her. It makes her more three-dimensional and more period appropriate.
Julian isn't quite so easy to get to know. He clearly has some post-traumatic stress issues stemming from childhood abuse and the war. Like Deb, he's used to being independent and he's proud but he holds more traditional views on women. He has never knows a lady like Deb before and she confuses him. She was a mischievous, spirited little girl but now he has to get to know her as an adult in a short amount of time. I believe his feelings were plausible and I liked the way he grew and learned from Deb. He is physically attracted to Deb but the author doesn't go overboard with sensuality.
The Grangers are totally evil. They're scary. Their evil knows no bounds and there are situations of tension and violence in the story. I felt sorry for their servants.
Though this story is darker than I normally like to read, I did enjoy it.
Deborah is an independent widow competently running her estate. She resents interference from men, especially her brother Freddie. Lord Worth can't help but worry about his sister, especially since her estate agent Brandon told him Deb's neighbors, the Grangers, are making trouble for Deb. The Grangers hold a grudge going back to Freddie's Oxford days and he fears they may be targeting Deb as a means of getting back at him. The only person who knows the truth about the Grangers and how devious they are is his old school mate Julian Fanshaw. Julian has recently returned from the Peninsula, wounded, but whole in body if not in spirit. When he learns of the Grangers dangerous games, he is ready for action. He remembers his friend Freddie's little sister Deb; a spirited little girl tagging after them and retaliating for their mischievous boyhood pranks. If the Grangers win, they'll dampen Deb's spirit, or worse, kill her. Julian is prepared to do anything to thwart the Grangers, even marry Deb, though he has no interest in being leg-shackled.
Plot-wise this story is pretty good. It starts with a bang but the so-called prologue isn't much of a literal prologue. It's a scene from later in the book. Whatever it is, it serves as a good hook to draw in the reader. There's plenty of tension to keep the reader turning pages. The central plot is the mystery of why the Grangers are bothering Deb and why now. The romance is secondary. It's a marriage of convenience story, which I normally hate, but I liked how the relationship developed. The characters already knew each other in childhood but Deb was happily married to her late husband Harry so the romantic tension encompasses her feelings of guilt. The romance grows slowly as Deb and Julien face down the villains and try to solve the mystery. The writing is decent but my big complaint is that the characters sound too modern. Early in the story they use the phrases "bite the bullet" and "pull the wool over my eyes." While the wool idiom dates to the 18th century, it doesn't seem to have been in common use at this time. Bite the Bullet may not date to the U.S. Civil War but it doesn't go back far enough for Regency era people to use. A simple Google search told me this. It forced me to knock points off my rating.
Deb is a heroine I can easily relate to. She's fiercely independent and proud. She refuses help because she knows she's capable of handling things on her own and she hates the trappings of London society. She agrees to chaperone her little sister's come out season mainly because of family feeling and not wanting to listen to her sister whining and crying about her delayed season. Deb also has a vulnerable side most people don't get to see. She was forced to grow up quickly and it weighs heavily on her. It makes her more three-dimensional and more period appropriate.
Julian isn't quite so easy to get to know. He clearly has some post-traumatic stress issues stemming from childhood abuse and the war. Like Deb, he's used to being independent and he's proud but he holds more traditional views on women. He has never knows a lady like Deb before and she confuses him. She was a mischievous, spirited little girl but now he has to get to know her as an adult in a short amount of time. I believe his feelings were plausible and I liked the way he grew and learned from Deb. He is physically attracted to Deb but the author doesn't go overboard with sensuality.
The Grangers are totally evil. They're scary. Their evil knows no bounds and there are situations of tension and violence in the story. I felt sorry for their servants.
Though this story is darker than I normally like to read, I did enjoy it.
September 26, 2012
Deborah Stavely has been widowed and is competently running her late husband’s lands, until she starts receiving threats from her neighbours, the Granger brothers. The eldest Granger demands that he marry her immediately or he will start hurting her tenants and destroying her land. Her brother, Lord Freddie Worth, discovers the threats when Deb’s butler informs him and writes to his friend Julian Fanshaw to come help. Julian is an old family friend and has just returned to England, both he and Freddie went to school with the Grangers and so hope that there past experiences will help them solve Deb’s current situation. However, the threats run deeper than they appear; at first Julian and Freddie think that the Grangers are seeking revenge on them through Deb for something that happened back in their school days. However, it turns out that there’s more to the story and Deb’s live is in serious danger.
Deborah was in interesting character, in that she was absolutely determined to do things by herself; she resented her brother for getting Julian involved in something she believed she could handle on her own and went out of her way to manage things before any one else had to get involved. Her determination and stubbornness made her a fairly strong female lead for the story.
Julian was the character I related to more of the two, I’m not entirely sure why. I liked that he seemed so willing to help however he could because of the history that he shared with the family. I feel that, as a reader, I was given more of an insight into Julian’s mind from earlier on in the novel so it was easier to see things from his point of view throughout.
I enjoyed the relationship that built up between the two protagonists – both remembering how they had felt when they were younger and feeling confused by how that affected them now, and both as stubborn as the other in terms of seeing the other’s struggle with the feelings between them. Julian’s protectiveness of Deborah was endearing throughout, and Deb’s internal struggle between how she actually felt and how she thought she should feel was well played . The one thing that slightly disappointed me was how little interaction we got from them once their story had been resolved. The end felt a little rushed, I would have enjoyed seeing a little more of the conclusion before the story was cut short.
In terms of plot, I did find the start a little slow. This is because it took a while for the author to get to the point that there was something deeper and darker going on than anyone realised. However, once this point was reached, I found myself infinitely more interested in the outcome that the characters were going to reach. The suspense built up, as I grew more and more curious to learn what the awful secret that threatened the lives of the protagonists was. The second half of the story was more interesting, more eventful and all round more what I expected when I started the book. This is the first book of Sherry Gloag‘s that I have read, but even though it didn’t quite make it on to my favourites shelf on Goodreads, I’d happily read more of her work.
Deborah was in interesting character, in that she was absolutely determined to do things by herself; she resented her brother for getting Julian involved in something she believed she could handle on her own and went out of her way to manage things before any one else had to get involved. Her determination and stubbornness made her a fairly strong female lead for the story.
Julian was the character I related to more of the two, I’m not entirely sure why. I liked that he seemed so willing to help however he could because of the history that he shared with the family. I feel that, as a reader, I was given more of an insight into Julian’s mind from earlier on in the novel so it was easier to see things from his point of view throughout.
I enjoyed the relationship that built up between the two protagonists – both remembering how they had felt when they were younger and feeling confused by how that affected them now, and both as stubborn as the other in terms of seeing the other’s struggle with the feelings between them. Julian’s protectiveness of Deborah was endearing throughout, and Deb’s internal struggle between how she actually felt and how she thought she should feel was well played . The one thing that slightly disappointed me was how little interaction we got from them once their story had been resolved. The end felt a little rushed, I would have enjoyed seeing a little more of the conclusion before the story was cut short.
In terms of plot, I did find the start a little slow. This is because it took a while for the author to get to the point that there was something deeper and darker going on than anyone realised. However, once this point was reached, I found myself infinitely more interested in the outcome that the characters were going to reach. The suspense built up, as I grew more and more curious to learn what the awful secret that threatened the lives of the protagonists was. The second half of the story was more interesting, more eventful and all round more what I expected when I started the book. This is the first book of Sherry Gloag‘s that I have read, but even though it didn’t quite make it on to my favourites shelf on Goodreads, I’d happily read more of her work.
May 22, 2015
SNS Rating: 5.0
~~~~~~~~~~Dee's ★★★★★ Review~~~~~~~~~~
This was a marvelous mystery with a flavor of love. Ms. Gloag did an excellent job portraying clues to the riddle of the Grangers hostility toward Deborah. It was easy to get swept up into the power struggles and to hang on with bated breath. Reminded me of a good Agatha Christie mystery. I particularly enjoyed it when Deborah would reason out her theories out loud. Even I could follow along. Naturally, I loved the interactions between Deborah and Julian. Each has loved the other since their teen years but doubt the other has any close feelings. Watching them grow closer and acknowledge their deep love was a victory of their hearts. I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Five Stars.
~~~~~~~~~~Dee's ★★★★★ Review~~~~~~~~~~
This was a marvelous mystery with a flavor of love. Ms. Gloag did an excellent job portraying clues to the riddle of the Grangers hostility toward Deborah. It was easy to get swept up into the power struggles and to hang on with bated breath. Reminded me of a good Agatha Christie mystery. I particularly enjoyed it when Deborah would reason out her theories out loud. Even I could follow along. Naturally, I loved the interactions between Deborah and Julian. Each has loved the other since their teen years but doubt the other has any close feelings. Watching them grow closer and acknowledge their deep love was a victory of their hearts. I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Five Stars.
November 25, 2016
Excellent regency-era romantic suspense. Deborah is a strong heroine, and Julian is equally strong - but he's smart enough to allow Deborah to work beside him, rather than behind him. The mystery behind the danger to Deborah's lands is clearly described, and it kept me reading to its exciting conclusion. This story is included in the Nine Ladies Dancing holiday anthology.
November 5, 2012
This was an interesting book, though I felt like I got lost in the storyline too often. In what seemed to be an attempt to draw out the mystery of the story, I felt confused between flashbacks and veiled conversations. The story was a bit choppy and I felt a little tossed about with non-historical terminology that was sometimes used. There were some good action sequences though which kept the pages turning despite the oddities in the storytelling. It was interesting and there was some lightly fun romance involved between the characters. Though all in all it wasn't my cup of tea.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews