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Dangerous #1
Dangerous Works
A little Greek is one thing; the art of love is another. Only one man has ever tried to teach Lady Georgiana Hayden both. She learned very young to keep her heart safe. She learned to keep loneliness at bay through work. If it takes a scandalous affair to teach her what she needs to complete her work, she will risk it. If the man in question chooses not to teach her, she will use any means at her disposal to change his mind. She is determined to give voice to the ancient women whose poetry has long been neglected.
Some scars cut deeper than others. Major Andrew Holden returns to Cambridge a battle-scarred hero. He dared to love Georgiana once and suffered swift retribution from her powerful family. The encounter cost him eleven years of his life. Determined to avoid her, he seeks work to heal his soul and make his scholarly father proud. The work she offers risks his career, his peace of mind, and (worst of all) his heart. Can he protect himself from a woman who almost destroyed him? Does he want to?
Even poetry is dangerous when you partner with the love of your life. In Regency, Cambridge, it can lead a lady quickly past improper to positively scandalous.
Some scars cut deeper than others. Major Andrew Holden returns to Cambridge a battle-scarred hero. He dared to love Georgiana once and suffered swift retribution from her powerful family. The encounter cost him eleven years of his life. Determined to avoid her, he seeks work to heal his soul and make his scholarly father proud. The work she offers risks his career, his peace of mind, and (worst of all) his heart. Can he protect himself from a woman who almost destroyed him? Does he want to?
Even poetry is dangerous when you partner with the love of your life. In Regency, Cambridge, it can lead a lady quickly past improper to positively scandalous.
254 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2014
346 people are currently reading
481 people want to read
About the author
Caroline Warfield
56 books346 followersCaroline Warfield is the pseudonym of a writer who wishes she had walked through fascinating times in the shoes of one of her characters—but which one?
Caro has at various times been an army brat, a librarian, a poet, a raiser of children, a nun, a bird watcher, an Internet and Web services manager, a conference speaker, an indexer, a tech writer, a genealogist, and, of course, a romantic. She has sailed through the English channel while it was still mined from WWII, stood on the walls of Troy, searched Scotland for the location of an entirely fictional castle (and found it), climbed the steps to the Parthenon, floated down the Thames from the tower to Greenwich, shopped in the Ginza, lost herself in the Louvre, gone on a night tour of the Singapore zoo, walked in the Black Forest, and explored the underground cistern of Istanbul.
By far the biggest adventure has been forty-five years of marriage to a prince among men.
She sits in front of a keyboard at a desk surrounded by windows, looks out at the trees and imagines. Her greatest joy is when one of those imaginings comes to life on the page and in the imagination of her readers.
Caro has at various times been an army brat, a librarian, a poet, a raiser of children, a nun, a bird watcher, an Internet and Web services manager, a conference speaker, an indexer, a tech writer, a genealogist, and, of course, a romantic. She has sailed through the English channel while it was still mined from WWII, stood on the walls of Troy, searched Scotland for the location of an entirely fictional castle (and found it), climbed the steps to the Parthenon, floated down the Thames from the tower to Greenwich, shopped in the Ginza, lost herself in the Louvre, gone on a night tour of the Singapore zoo, walked in the Black Forest, and explored the underground cistern of Istanbul.
By far the biggest adventure has been forty-five years of marriage to a prince among men.
She sits in front of a keyboard at a desk surrounded by windows, looks out at the trees and imagines. Her greatest joy is when one of those imaginings comes to life on the page and in the imagination of her readers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
September 7, 2016
I've given this a C- at AAR, so 2.5 stars. Not a bad subject with some good ideas, but lacking in execution. In the hands of a really accomplished author, this could have been a 4 star book.
In her youth, Lady Georgiana Hayden, eldest daughter of the Duke of Sudbury, displayed a disturbing – and unladylike – penchant for scholarship, wishing to learn Latin and Greek in order to be able to further her interest in ancient poetry. The only person ever to have taken her seriously is Andrew Mallet, the son of the local schoolmaster. Four years her junior, and far below her station, Andrew was an intelligent and educated young man who helped Georgiana with her rudimentary translations from ancient Greek, and fostered her interests. Along the way, the young couple formed an attachment for each other, but then Andrew joined the army - completely out of the blue - and departed immediately to join his regiment in India.
Georgina now lives alone (with a companion) in Cambridge, and has spent the last decade or so collecting and collating the poetry of obscure, female poets from Ancient Greece, and researching into their history and backgrounds. Aged thirty-five and a confirmed spinster, she has made this project her life’s work, and desperately wants to be able to translate the poetry and fragments she has unearthed, but is frustrated because her background knowledge is not extensive enough, and her grasp of the language is not sufficiently comprehensive.
Knowing that Andrew Mallet also resides in Cambridge, Georgiana’s thoughts keep turning in his direction. He could help with her work, but they have not seen each other since his precipitate departure all those years ago. Her attempts to engage him in social situations fail, but when he is incapacitated following an operation on his hip (which was badly injured at Waterloo), she sees her chance to make him indebted to her by providing various little “extras” to help his recovery and make his life easier.
When he’s well, she asks him to help her with her work, and grudgingly he agrees. What Georgiana doesn’t know, however, is that his disinclination to help her doesn’t come from dislike or any other ill-feeling; it’s because he’s still in love with her and knows it will test his fortitude to be constantly in her presence.
Andrew and Georgiana rekindle their romance through their “work” - and honestly, I really did get tired of the frequency with which that word appeared. But this is in fact one of the problems I have with the story; it comes across as being all about the “work”, with the romance relegated to second place.
The author has addressed some interesting issues, and has some good points to make, but what I read were the bare bones of a story which needed to be fully fleshed out. While there was enough to keep me interested, it was quite dry overall, and the romance was rather lifeless. The protagonists were separated years previously through the machinations of Georgiana’s family, yet this is something she only comes to suspect once Andrew comes back into her life. They are obviously still harbouring feelings for each other, but while the scenes in which they collaborate on exploring the meanings of the poems are well done, with Andrew gently leading Georgiana to broaden her thinking in order to gain a better understanding, the romance feels underdeveloped. The reader doesn’t really get to know either character outside of “the work”, and by extension, the characters don’t really have a “getting to know you” phase, either. It’s true they knew each other years ago, but there’s no sense of their getting to know the people they are now, outside of their intellectual collaboration.
Andrew is a one-dimensional character at best. The author attempts to make him more interesting by making him a scarred war-hero, but otherwise, he’s fairly bland. Georgiana is more rounded out, and the harshness of her upbringing can certainly be said to be responsible for the way she reacts in certain circumstances. Any attempt to (as she sees it) interfere with her life or take away her choices (such as, for example, when Andrew, unable to see her at her family home, decides to go ahead with publication of the book they have been working on), causes her to blow up first and ask questions after, but I couldn’t help but think that at thirty-five she should have perhaps developed the maturity to enable her to take a step back and realise that perhaps what Andrew was doing meant he had her best interests at heart – not that he was trying to run her life.
She makes this assumption on several occasions, and each time, it feels like an obvious device, being used to inject tension into a story which was badly in need of some. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. The best part of the romance comes towards the end when Georgiana sees the error of her ways and realises that a relationship has to be a two-way street, and that she has to allow Andrew to give – of himself as well as materially.
I noticed a few errors in the copy I had – for example, Andrew’s last name is Mallet, yet at one point, he’s called Holden. Originally, the age gap between him and Georgiana is given as two years, and later, it’s become four. I was also confused by the timeline – if Georgiana is thirty-five and Andrew thirty-one, he was away for eleven years, meaning he was twenty when he left. Yet we’re told he was fifteen when he first began to help Georgina with her ancient Greek. Given what we know about her family, I find it difficult to believe they’d have been able to keep their relationship secret for five years. There were also some issues with the formatting in the copy I had; ordinary paragraph spacing was used throughout, and there were no indications of scene or POV changes, which was confusing.
I believe this is a début novel and it’s not at all bad – but Ms Warfield needs to work on her characterisation and concentrate more on the development of the romance in future stories.
In her youth, Lady Georgiana Hayden, eldest daughter of the Duke of Sudbury, displayed a disturbing – and unladylike – penchant for scholarship, wishing to learn Latin and Greek in order to be able to further her interest in ancient poetry. The only person ever to have taken her seriously is Andrew Mallet, the son of the local schoolmaster. Four years her junior, and far below her station, Andrew was an intelligent and educated young man who helped Georgiana with her rudimentary translations from ancient Greek, and fostered her interests. Along the way, the young couple formed an attachment for each other, but then Andrew joined the army - completely out of the blue - and departed immediately to join his regiment in India.
Georgina now lives alone (with a companion) in Cambridge, and has spent the last decade or so collecting and collating the poetry of obscure, female poets from Ancient Greece, and researching into their history and backgrounds. Aged thirty-five and a confirmed spinster, she has made this project her life’s work, and desperately wants to be able to translate the poetry and fragments she has unearthed, but is frustrated because her background knowledge is not extensive enough, and her grasp of the language is not sufficiently comprehensive.
Knowing that Andrew Mallet also resides in Cambridge, Georgiana’s thoughts keep turning in his direction. He could help with her work, but they have not seen each other since his precipitate departure all those years ago. Her attempts to engage him in social situations fail, but when he is incapacitated following an operation on his hip (which was badly injured at Waterloo), she sees her chance to make him indebted to her by providing various little “extras” to help his recovery and make his life easier.
When he’s well, she asks him to help her with her work, and grudgingly he agrees. What Georgiana doesn’t know, however, is that his disinclination to help her doesn’t come from dislike or any other ill-feeling; it’s because he’s still in love with her and knows it will test his fortitude to be constantly in her presence.
Andrew and Georgiana rekindle their romance through their “work” - and honestly, I really did get tired of the frequency with which that word appeared. But this is in fact one of the problems I have with the story; it comes across as being all about the “work”, with the romance relegated to second place.
The author has addressed some interesting issues, and has some good points to make, but what I read were the bare bones of a story which needed to be fully fleshed out. While there was enough to keep me interested, it was quite dry overall, and the romance was rather lifeless. The protagonists were separated years previously through the machinations of Georgiana’s family, yet this is something she only comes to suspect once Andrew comes back into her life. They are obviously still harbouring feelings for each other, but while the scenes in which they collaborate on exploring the meanings of the poems are well done, with Andrew gently leading Georgiana to broaden her thinking in order to gain a better understanding, the romance feels underdeveloped. The reader doesn’t really get to know either character outside of “the work”, and by extension, the characters don’t really have a “getting to know you” phase, either. It’s true they knew each other years ago, but there’s no sense of their getting to know the people they are now, outside of their intellectual collaboration.
Andrew is a one-dimensional character at best. The author attempts to make him more interesting by making him a scarred war-hero, but otherwise, he’s fairly bland. Georgiana is more rounded out, and the harshness of her upbringing can certainly be said to be responsible for the way she reacts in certain circumstances. Any attempt to (as she sees it) interfere with her life or take away her choices (such as, for example, when Andrew, unable to see her at her family home, decides to go ahead with publication of the book they have been working on), causes her to blow up first and ask questions after, but I couldn’t help but think that at thirty-five she should have perhaps developed the maturity to enable her to take a step back and realise that perhaps what Andrew was doing meant he had her best interests at heart – not that he was trying to run her life.
She makes this assumption on several occasions, and each time, it feels like an obvious device, being used to inject tension into a story which was badly in need of some. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. The best part of the romance comes towards the end when Georgiana sees the error of her ways and realises that a relationship has to be a two-way street, and that she has to allow Andrew to give – of himself as well as materially.
I noticed a few errors in the copy I had – for example, Andrew’s last name is Mallet, yet at one point, he’s called Holden. Originally, the age gap between him and Georgiana is given as two years, and later, it’s become four. I was also confused by the timeline – if Georgiana is thirty-five and Andrew thirty-one, he was away for eleven years, meaning he was twenty when he left. Yet we’re told he was fifteen when he first began to help Georgina with her ancient Greek. Given what we know about her family, I find it difficult to believe they’d have been able to keep their relationship secret for five years. There were also some issues with the formatting in the copy I had; ordinary paragraph spacing was used throughout, and there were no indications of scene or POV changes, which was confusing.
I believe this is a début novel and it’s not at all bad – but Ms Warfield needs to work on her characterisation and concentrate more on the development of the romance in future stories.
March 29, 2015
An impressive debut! If you want to read a fast paced adventure packed romance, skip this book. On the other hand, if you are looking for intelligent historically accurate story with unique plot and slow building romance, this is the book for you. The author, to her big credit, avoided a mistake that plague so many historical romance authors of today where the characters are placed in the historical setting without any consideration of customs and behavior of that time. Not this book. Georgiana, 36 years old spinster and a daughter of the duke, lives in Cambridge and has one mission: to find and give voices to women poets of ancient Greece. This is not an easy task in Regency England where women are stifled by convention, not educated in classics, where any academic research is prohibited to them, and, in Georgiana's case, her very powerful family still controls her life and disapproves of her work. The only person who ever encouraged her work was Andrew, a son of scholar, and the only person who she ever loved and be loved by but who 11 years ago left her without any explanation and went to war. And now Andrew is back in Cambridge scarred and still suffering from his latest wounds. When Georgiana asked him for help with translations, he initially refuses as he is afraid that his feelings for her are still strong and he would not be able to squash them again. Eventually they formed a fragile collaboration where understating and translating ancient poetry became an enhancement to their love. The main characters are extremely likable, the secondary characters are three dimensional and the setting, Regency Cambridge and its inhabitants, is very interesting. This is the story to savor and enjoy as a fine bottle of wine.
May 15, 2016
Esta es una historia de amor que se cuece a fuego lento, con personajes maduros con muchos matices y secundarios inteligentes y realistas.
Lady Georgiana es una solterona de verdad, lleva refugiada en su “trabajo” tanto tiempo que ya no sabe lo que es vivir fuera de él, y eso es precisamente lo que ha estado buscando desde que sufrió su primer (y último) desengaño amoroso. Es una mujer obstinada, con un carácter fuerte y sometida a una familia que vive para y por las apariencias, y que la dejaron de lado en cuanto vieron que era un peligro para su posición social.
Major Andrew Holden es uno de esos protagonistas casi perfectos, paciente, honorable, que anteponen la felicidad de los demás a la suya propia, con un pasado marcado por las experiencias en el campo de batalla que le dejaron cicatrices tanto interiores como exteriores… y totalmente, muy a su pesar, entregado a Georgiana.
En una época en la que las mujeres no eran más que las dueñas de su casa y madres de sus hijos, Georgiana intenta hacerse un hueco en el difícil y estricto mundo de los eruditos traductores de obras ancestrales, y cuando llega a un callejón sin salida en su obra, no le queda otra que obligar a Andrew, un erudito él mismo, a ayudarla. Y así empieza un juego de tira y afloja en el que ambos protagonistas saben lo que quieren pero no saben si podrán conseguirlo.
He de decir que hay un momento en la novela en el que Georgiana se convierte en una persona obtusa, y me dieron ganas de estrangularla…para ser una mujer tan inteligente no me pareció nada lista, pero todo cambió en cuanto la autora le dio voz y nos dejó conocer sus miedos y limitaciones… Me pareció real e intenso, y pocas veces consigue un autor que cambie de opinión.
Andrew, aunque conoce a Georgiana desde hace años, tampoco tiene claro cómo tratarla y a ratos casi lo vuelve loco, pero es increíblemente dulce ver cómo se esfuerza por hacerla feliz.
Una historia de amor madura y encantadora.
Totalmente recomendable.
This is a slow-building love story, with mature MC´s, with many nuances and smart and realistic secondary characters.
Lady Georgiana is a truly spinster, who had taken refuge in her "work" for so long that she no longer knows what it's like to live away from it, and that is precisely what she have been looking for since she suffered her first (and last) broken heart. She is a stubborn and with a strong personality woman subjected to a family that lives for and by appearances, and who put her aside as soon as they saw that she was a danger to their social position.
Major Andrew Holden is one of those almost-perfect characters, patient, honorable, who put the happiness of others ahead of his own, with a past marked by the experiences suffered in the field of battle that had left him scars both inside and outside... and completely, much to his chagrin, devoted to Georgiana.
In a gloomy and difficult time for women, Georgiana tries to make a place for herself in the tough and strict world of (male) scholars, and when she comes to a dead end in her work, she had no choice but to turn to Andrew, a scholar himself, for help. And so begins a game of tug of war in which both characters know what they want but they don't know if they can get it.
I have to say that there's a moment in the novel in which Georgiana becomes an obtuse person, and I have the need to strangle her... to be a clever woman she doesn´t seem too smart, but everything changed when the author gave Georgiana a voice and let us know her fears and limitations... I found the moment real and intense, and rarely get an author to change my opinion (yeah...I´m a stubborn one too!).
Andrew, although has known Georgiana for years, doesn´t know how to treat her and this, sometimes, almost makes him crazy, but it is incredibly sweet to see how he strives to make her happy.
A charming and mature love story.
Totally recommended.
March 28, 2016
Andrew and Georgiana. Based on other reviews, apparently I'm in the minority in not liking this book. Georgiana is 35, translating obscure Greek poetry authored by women and needs Andrew's help. He's a wounded war hero, in pain, and not a very likable person, at least as far as I managed to read in the book. She's got a terrible family that doesn't want to have anything to do with her. On top of that she's got "female problems". There was just too much talk and not enough action. Since I didn't like either of the main characters, I finally gave up.
March 19, 2015
I bought Dangerous Works a few days ago so that I would be able to read it before the next in the series was published, and I devoured it in two bites (going and coming on my commuter train). It is one of those books where the writing is so good you don't notice it. I was immersed in the story, and time flew by. I dragged myself from the world of Andrew and Georgiana with difficulty, and couldn't wait to plunge back in.
Georgiana is a woman in her mid-30s living alone because the only man she ever wanted (and the only man who ever wanted her) left without explanation years earlier. She lives for her scholarship - translating and giving a voice to the women poets of ancient Greece. When she finds that her suitor - the only person ever to encourage her work - has returned, she seeks his help with her translation.
Andrew joined the army many years earlier because he couldn't marry Georgiana. Scarred and still suffering from his most recent injury, he is unhappy to find that the old feelings are still there, stronger than ever.
I sympathised with Andrew, I understood Georgiana, and suffered with them both as they faced gossip, scandal, her powerful family and their own misconceptions. Thank you, Caroline, for a thoroughly satisfying read. Now for Dangerous Secrets.
Georgiana is a woman in her mid-30s living alone because the only man she ever wanted (and the only man who ever wanted her) left without explanation years earlier. She lives for her scholarship - translating and giving a voice to the women poets of ancient Greece. When she finds that her suitor - the only person ever to encourage her work - has returned, she seeks his help with her translation.
Andrew joined the army many years earlier because he couldn't marry Georgiana. Scarred and still suffering from his most recent injury, he is unhappy to find that the old feelings are still there, stronger than ever.
I sympathised with Andrew, I understood Georgiana, and suffered with them both as they faced gossip, scandal, her powerful family and their own misconceptions. Thank you, Caroline, for a thoroughly satisfying read. Now for Dangerous Secrets.
March 21, 2018
This was my first time reading this author, and overall I enjoyed this book. The plot was definitely new and interesting, and I liked that this dealt with the main characters, especially Georgiana, being older than what we find in most regency romamces. I felt for her and at her age, having so little say or control over anything, which is why I felt she grasped so strongly to what little independence she had. I loved Andrew, and seeing him overcome all that he suffered, before and after his time in the army.
What I didn't like: Some of the story dragged on, especially with regards to her work. I was more interested in what drove her to it, her connections with her family, and why her family disliked Andrew so much. However, the story overall was enjoyable enough that I would like to read more from this author.
CONTENT
Romance - Mature 🔥🔥
Violence - None
Language - Mild
What I didn't like: Some of the story dragged on, especially with regards to her work. I was more interested in what drove her to it, her connections with her family, and why her family disliked Andrew so much. However, the story overall was enjoyable enough that I would like to read more from this author.
CONTENT
Romance - Mature 🔥🔥
Violence - None
Language - Mild
February 8, 2021
Excellent, well-researched series with rich relationships
This is the second in the four book “The Dangerous Series”. Though they are each stand alone, I read the last one (Jamie) first. It was clear that there had to have been at least one book prior. After a little searching I found all the books and proceeded to read them, though out of order.
1. Dangerous Nativity (William & Catherine)
2. Dangerous Works (Andrew & Georgiana)
3. Dangerous Weakness (Richard & Lily)
4. Dangerous Secrets (Jamie & Nora) *** This was my very favorite.
I appreciate how well-researched each of these novels is. The men met as children at Harrow and maintained a strong bond even as their life paths diverged. In addition to the men’s friendship with one another, I loved that the couples in this series are brought together not just through chemistry but through shared interests. William & Catherine are happiest surrounded by family and talking about crop yields. Andrew and Georgiana are scholars who are happiest when translating and discussing ancient Greek texts together. Richard is a powerful diplomat in the Foreign Secretary’s office who finds Lily’s diplomatic finesse enthralling (their story is full of wild adventures). Jamie is a half-pay Major, in Rome hiding from his friends, on a devastating downward spiral (his and Nora’s tale is a redemption story, but not as you might predict). The series is so absorbing that I went back to read the books in order. The men/couples are minor characters in their friends books, but continue to grow and change sort of like embedded epilogues. It really is an excellent series!
This is the second in the four book “The Dangerous Series”. Though they are each stand alone, I read the last one (Jamie) first. It was clear that there had to have been at least one book prior. After a little searching I found all the books and proceeded to read them, though out of order.
1. Dangerous Nativity (William & Catherine)
2. Dangerous Works (Andrew & Georgiana)
3. Dangerous Weakness (Richard & Lily)
4. Dangerous Secrets (Jamie & Nora) *** This was my very favorite.
I appreciate how well-researched each of these novels is. The men met as children at Harrow and maintained a strong bond even as their life paths diverged. In addition to the men’s friendship with one another, I loved that the couples in this series are brought together not just through chemistry but through shared interests. William & Catherine are happiest surrounded by family and talking about crop yields. Andrew and Georgiana are scholars who are happiest when translating and discussing ancient Greek texts together. Richard is a powerful diplomat in the Foreign Secretary’s office who finds Lily’s diplomatic finesse enthralling (their story is full of wild adventures). Jamie is a half-pay Major, in Rome hiding from his friends, on a devastating downward spiral (his and Nora’s tale is a redemption story, but not as you might predict). The series is so absorbing that I went back to read the books in order. The men/couples are minor characters in their friends books, but continue to grow and change sort of like embedded epilogues. It really is an excellent series!
January 26, 2016
Lady Georgiana Hayden is quite used to being the social pariah of her family and is fine being left alone and to work on translating Greek. There are only two things bothering her – the total disregard for work from the scholars at nearby Cambridge and her health; well make that three things with the appearance of a certain gentleman – a gentleman she thought she could have had a future with.
Major Andrew Holden runs into the one person, the one family, he hoped to never have anything to do with ever again. Battle scarred, in pain and weary he decides his best action is to ignore her. Only things aren’t that simple – if they were he would be completely healed both physically and mentally.
Georgiana is determined to enlist Andrew’s aid in translating her work and Andrew is just as determined not to help. A meddling old lady, a surly butler and interfering friends and family pull these two together while at the same time forcing them apart.
I admired Georgiana’s strength and determination to go after what she wanted – from her work in translating Greek to Andrew. And Andrew, I alternated between feeling sorry for him to wanting to slap him upside the head (along with a certain member of her family). Caroline Warfield writes in a way that has you feeling all the emotions of the characters. Looking forward to reading her next book to see where she takes the next hero and heroine.
Major Andrew Holden runs into the one person, the one family, he hoped to never have anything to do with ever again. Battle scarred, in pain and weary he decides his best action is to ignore her. Only things aren’t that simple – if they were he would be completely healed both physically and mentally.
Georgiana is determined to enlist Andrew’s aid in translating her work and Andrew is just as determined not to help. A meddling old lady, a surly butler and interfering friends and family pull these two together while at the same time forcing them apart.
I admired Georgiana’s strength and determination to go after what she wanted – from her work in translating Greek to Andrew. And Andrew, I alternated between feeling sorry for him to wanting to slap him upside the head (along with a certain member of her family). Caroline Warfield writes in a way that has you feeling all the emotions of the characters. Looking forward to reading her next book to see where she takes the next hero and heroine.
March 25, 2016
Sweet read.
I enjoyed reading this; it's almost exactly what I look for in a romance novel. My only hesitation is that the author let you in the room during the intimate (aka sex for those searching for it in the reviews--i know, I do it too) scenes, HOWEVER Warfield is pleasantly tactful and sweet in describing these scenes so they are not trashy, crude, or too embarrassing. I appreciated this tact as I really wanted to enjoy this book in full, which I did. The writing was good and the characters were unique and interesting, they didn't all sound like the same person thankfully. I would recommend this to others to read if they enjoy regency romances. Dont read it if you are completely uncomfortable with reading intimate\sex scenes, no matter how tactfully done, unless you're willing to read it to a certain point and then skip over--you'll know when (2 scenes if I remember correctly, the second only takes a paragraph or two compared to the first). I will probably read other novels by this author.
I enjoyed reading this; it's almost exactly what I look for in a romance novel. My only hesitation is that the author let you in the room during the intimate (aka sex for those searching for it in the reviews--i know, I do it too) scenes, HOWEVER Warfield is pleasantly tactful and sweet in describing these scenes so they are not trashy, crude, or too embarrassing. I appreciated this tact as I really wanted to enjoy this book in full, which I did. The writing was good and the characters were unique and interesting, they didn't all sound like the same person thankfully. I would recommend this to others to read if they enjoy regency romances. Dont read it if you are completely uncomfortable with reading intimate\sex scenes, no matter how tactfully done, unless you're willing to read it to a certain point and then skip over--you'll know when (2 scenes if I remember correctly, the second only takes a paragraph or two compared to the first). I will probably read other novels by this author.
March 30, 2016
I enjoyed this historical and found the subject of a Lady translating Greek to be very interesting. But the romance was a bit lacking. Georgie spent too much time with "Go away. I love you. I never want to speak to you again. Why hasn't he been by to visit?" She drove me nuts. The woman was 35 years old and behaved like a middle-schooler. Go away, come back. It got old really quickly. This made the book drag and feel.over-long.
August 29, 2017
This one I kept hoping for more of a mystery to it but it was just rather dull I had a tough time finishing this one.. I was hoping for an exciting ending but it fell flat at the end as well.. At least it was free..
December 27, 2017
Boring
To be honest, I quit reading before I got halfway through. Maybe this is not a fair review but I just could not get interested in this book.
To be honest, I quit reading before I got halfway through. Maybe this is not a fair review but I just could not get interested in this book.
January 28, 2025
Honestly, this is the first time I've come across such a boring love story!
For me, this is a completely random choice and a new author. When I started reading, I like stories about war veterans finding love, but this novel is kind of boring in every possible sense. Firstly, the hero is already too crippled by the war - both in face, body and spirit, and also still suffers from unhealed wounds. But the most surprising thing here is the unconventional heroine: she is already a really "old" maiden, because 35 years for the heroine of the novel, well, that's only if she was a widow, well, not the daughter of a duke. The first thing that came to mind was how it happened that the daughter of a very wealthy and influential duke did not get married and the explanation that no one wanted her - well, this is complete nonsense. Aristocratic marriages are primarily agreements about money and influence, and her family has enough of that, and I'm sure that even the most vile scoundrel would have a hard time finding a groom for her age for the money, and she's not ugly on the outside either. The second thing that's strange is the age difference and a lot of blunders about it - at first it was a 2-year difference (she was 17, he was 15), then it became 4 years. Well, it's strange that the young man was 20 or 22, and she was 24 when he first kissed her and wanted to marry her. But the most boring thing in this book is the plot, all this boring and busy work on translating meaningless Greek poetry. I think it could have been interesting if, as in the review, the hero had seduced her with the help of erotic texts, but it was all very boring.And their transition to sex was just as boring, it's not passion, but some crazy aggressiveness on the part of the heroine and the fact that he felt sorry for her, and everything without passionate details is rather stiff and superficial. Everything is very drawn out... very boring... and even more strange and inadequate. The heroine's strange behavior, her inadequacy, all her thoughts... Well, it's too much for me. I think the author is simply not mine.
For me, this is a completely random choice and a new author. When I started reading, I like stories about war veterans finding love, but this novel is kind of boring in every possible sense. Firstly, the hero is already too crippled by the war - both in face, body and spirit, and also still suffers from unhealed wounds. But the most surprising thing here is the unconventional heroine: she is already a really "old" maiden, because 35 years for the heroine of the novel, well, that's only if she was a widow, well, not the daughter of a duke. The first thing that came to mind was how it happened that the daughter of a very wealthy and influential duke did not get married and the explanation that no one wanted her - well, this is complete nonsense. Aristocratic marriages are primarily agreements about money and influence, and her family has enough of that, and I'm sure that even the most vile scoundrel would have a hard time finding a groom for her age for the money, and she's not ugly on the outside either. The second thing that's strange is the age difference and a lot of blunders about it - at first it was a 2-year difference (she was 17, he was 15), then it became 4 years. Well, it's strange that the young man was 20 or 22, and she was 24 when he first kissed her and wanted to marry her. But the most boring thing in this book is the plot, all this boring and busy work on translating meaningless Greek poetry. I think it could have been interesting if, as in the review, the hero had seduced her with the help of erotic texts, but it was all very boring.And their transition to sex was just as boring, it's not passion, but some crazy aggressiveness on the part of the heroine and the fact that he felt sorry for her, and everything without passionate details is rather stiff and superficial. Everything is very drawn out... very boring... and even more strange and inadequate. The heroine's strange behavior, her inadequacy, all her thoughts... Well, it's too much for me. I think the author is simply not mine.
June 9, 2020
This is the third book I’ve read by the author. She is talented to write such different characters in her books. The H/h were very intense in this book. The scholarly relationship as well as the lower status of the hero to the heroine was enjoyable to me. It read to me like a coming of age story because both the H/h had to work through the opposition to their relationship both from others and to a lesser degree from themselves.
I loved the hero who was disfigured in the war but in academia. The heroine was an assertive woman indicative of her class but she was a little too passionate for me to love her but she was admirable in her quest to publish Greek women authors. The book was intense and introspective throughout which I thoroughly enjoyed. The hero was different from the charming heroes I’ve read in the author’s other books.
I have one more in this series now to read and then I’ll start on another series by this author. I would recommend her books as they are well written.
I loved the hero who was disfigured in the war but in academia. The heroine was an assertive woman indicative of her class but she was a little too passionate for me to love her but she was admirable in her quest to publish Greek women authors. The book was intense and introspective throughout which I thoroughly enjoyed. The hero was different from the charming heroes I’ve read in the author’s other books.
I have one more in this series now to read and then I’ll start on another series by this author. I would recommend her books as they are well written.
December 8, 2018
4* for I really liked it.
Not your usual historical romance - no rakes, no debutantes, no scandalous widows. Andrew and Lady Georgiana were torn apart when his schoolfriend and her brother Richard bought Andrew a commission, convincing Andrew he had no chance with his sister. She received no other offers and now in her mid-thirties lives only for her translations of Greek poetry written by women. Andrew has returned to Cambridge and she's determined to get his help with her translations, having been rejected and ridiculed by the Cambridge scholars. The power and reach of her family is intimidating, further hindering their plans.
I found the detail in their collaboration and brain-storming while translating the ancient poems quite interesting.
Overall very well-written. I could feel Lady Georgiana's pain of solitude and frustration.
Not your usual historical romance - no rakes, no debutantes, no scandalous widows. Andrew and Lady Georgiana were torn apart when his schoolfriend and her brother Richard bought Andrew a commission, convincing Andrew he had no chance with his sister. She received no other offers and now in her mid-thirties lives only for her translations of Greek poetry written by women. Andrew has returned to Cambridge and she's determined to get his help with her translations, having been rejected and ridiculed by the Cambridge scholars. The power and reach of her family is intimidating, further hindering their plans.
I found the detail in their collaboration and brain-storming while translating the ancient poems quite interesting.
Overall very well-written. I could feel Lady Georgiana's pain of solitude and frustration.
September 27, 2020
A slightly different take on the Regency romance
Author Caroline Warfield takes the noble and family-oppressed daughter to the heights of a romantic heroine in Dangerous Works. Lady Georgiana is a scholar. Worse than a Bluestocking. A complete embarrassment to her father the Duke and his snotty, verbally vicious Duchess. Georgiana's heartbreaking desire to succeed in a male-only field is matched only by her equally heartbreaking desire for Mr. Andrew Mather, wounded war hero. The author does a fabulous job of blending past memory, internal dialogue, and character interactions into a seamless romance that allows - even in Regency England - the equal importance of a woman' brilliant mind, and her loving heart. This a great romance for thoughtful readers.
Author Caroline Warfield takes the noble and family-oppressed daughter to the heights of a romantic heroine in Dangerous Works. Lady Georgiana is a scholar. Worse than a Bluestocking. A complete embarrassment to her father the Duke and his snotty, verbally vicious Duchess. Georgiana's heartbreaking desire to succeed in a male-only field is matched only by her equally heartbreaking desire for Mr. Andrew Mather, wounded war hero. The author does a fabulous job of blending past memory, internal dialogue, and character interactions into a seamless romance that allows - even in Regency England - the equal importance of a woman' brilliant mind, and her loving heart. This a great romance for thoughtful readers.
July 4, 2023
This is a bizarre story (for Caroline Warfield) about a couple who separated eleven years ago. Georgette's family is atrocious towards her -- a thoroughly unlikeable family. Groegette's love interest, Andrew, returns from the Napoleonic Wars with grave injuries. Of course, he went because Georgette's family thought he was too base-born for their daughter.
She and a new doctor help Andrew recover to the point where he may continue his work as a soldier-scholar in Cambridge. Georgette, a bluestocking, wants his help as a Greek scholar to help her unravel some lesser Greek women poets. He agrees reluctantly, but her family interferes.
This story was agonizingly slow and tedious. This is not one of my favorites.
She and a new doctor help Andrew recover to the point where he may continue his work as a soldier-scholar in Cambridge. Georgette, a bluestocking, wants his help as a Greek scholar to help her unravel some lesser Greek women poets. He agrees reluctantly, but her family interferes.
This story was agonizingly slow and tedious. This is not one of my favorites.
April 11, 2018
Delightful
I won this in a contest. It was a charming story. I found myself falling in love with the push-and-pull between Georgianna and Andrew.
The secondary characters were a boon as well. The writing is reminiscent of Heyer for me. There is more intimate detailing but it never crossed over into too much.
Lady Georgianna is a heroine I want to be friends with. She isn’t a pushover except with her family. When she stands up to them, it is glorious. And thank you for NOT wrapping everything up with a neat bow. Some people don’t deserve redemption.
I will be seeking out the next in the series.
I won this in a contest. It was a charming story. I found myself falling in love with the push-and-pull between Georgianna and Andrew.
The secondary characters were a boon as well. The writing is reminiscent of Heyer for me. There is more intimate detailing but it never crossed over into too much.
Lady Georgianna is a heroine I want to be friends with. She isn’t a pushover except with her family. When she stands up to them, it is glorious. And thank you for NOT wrapping everything up with a neat bow. Some people don’t deserve redemption.
I will be seeking out the next in the series.
September 9, 2019
Andrew Mallet has returned from service in the army for many years he is not the same man as before. He was badly hurt in the battle of Waterloo and then he was captured & tortured. So he battles to get around and he pretends to want to be alone. Lady Georgiana Hayden has loved Andrew so so long but he broke her heart all those years ago but she needs his help. He isn't too sure about helping her with her translations as he still cares deeply for her. But she won't take no for an answer so begins their friendship. Andrew knows that he wants her as his wife but she can't agree to that as her family will never accept them as a couple. Will her refusal be the end of them? A good solid read.
April 16, 2021
I always enjoy Caroline Warfield’s thorough research, which is usually into history and geography and sends me delightedly from the kindle app into Wikipedia, while still clinging to her intricate plots and complicated characters. And her attention to sensory details: tastes, textures, scents. I loved this book because the research went into Classical Literature and created a heroine with even more frustrations than the way too typical proto-feminist. “Lady Louisa’s Christmas Knight” (Grace Burrowes) also has a lady scholar poetess (and I like that one very much), but, as a Classical Languages geek, Georgiana and Andrew’s discussion of translation choices made me very happy.
August 11, 2017
Dangerous Works
The love story of Lady Georgiana and Andrew. Lady Georgiana is the daughter of a duke and a scholar. Andrew is a scholar and a veteran. They meet before Andrew when to wat and were planning to marry but her brother stop him by tell him her family would not approve because he is only a son of a poor scholar, so off to war Andrew goes. He return bruise, wounded and rich. Georgiana need help translated some poems and ask for his help. Can they find love again. A good story.
The love story of Lady Georgiana and Andrew. Lady Georgiana is the daughter of a duke and a scholar. Andrew is a scholar and a veteran. They meet before Andrew when to wat and were planning to marry but her brother stop him by tell him her family would not approve because he is only a son of a poor scholar, so off to war Andrew goes. He return bruise, wounded and rich. Georgiana need help translated some poems and ask for his help. Can they find love again. A good story.
June 23, 2019
Excellent wrting , good story
Characters were interesting and developed within the course of the story. I liked the scholarly protagonists, particularly how Mr. Mallet encouraged Georgiana to delve deeper into the context of the ancient poetry. He was the sort of tutor/teacher and mentor that helps students to grow. Some slight language and phrasing that seemed a little modern for the era, but not a great distraction. I am pleased to have found this author, and will be following her work.
Characters were interesting and developed within the course of the story. I liked the scholarly protagonists, particularly how Mr. Mallet encouraged Georgiana to delve deeper into the context of the ancient poetry. He was the sort of tutor/teacher and mentor that helps students to grow. Some slight language and phrasing that seemed a little modern for the era, but not a great distraction. I am pleased to have found this author, and will be following her work.
January 29, 2024
Ho molto amato le eroine indipendenti e coraggiose della serie "Children of Empire"; ho tollerato a fatica quelle che appaiono in "The Ashmead Heirs". Ho sinceramente trovato odiosa e insopportabile la protagonista di questo romanzo, che alterna momenti di insulsa testardaggine a vere e proprie azioni di stalking.
E pensare che il terreno d'incontro dei due protagonisti mi è assolutamente familiare; e che, in particolare, sull'edizione di Corinna ha lavorato un mio carissimo collega...
Temo di aver perso, definitivamente perso, la Caroline Warfield che avevo così tanto ammirato.
E pensare che il terreno d'incontro dei due protagonisti mi è assolutamente familiare; e che, in particolare, sull'edizione di Corinna ha lavorato un mio carissimo collega...
Temo di aver perso, definitivamente perso, la Caroline Warfield che avevo così tanto ammirato.
May 25, 2020
Dangerous Works
This was a difficult story for me to read. To explain, Andrew and Georgiana attempting to translate Greek poetry, with the poetry within this story, complicated the flow , to me. I knew hidden beneath all of the struggles with these two characters, were nuggets of truth about their love and desire for each other. I gave it five stars because it was great reading.
This was a difficult story for me to read. To explain, Andrew and Georgiana attempting to translate Greek poetry, with the poetry within this story, complicated the flow , to me. I knew hidden beneath all of the struggles with these two characters, were nuggets of truth about their love and desire for each other. I gave it five stars because it was great reading.
June 24, 2019
Untangling the words
I just love historical romance, and this one really hit the spot! It threw a little of everything in, so you had a bit of suspense over when a certain event happened or even if it happened and then of course whether the romance itself is going to work out or Georgia's family gets in the way. It kept me very entertained.
I just love historical romance, and this one really hit the spot! It threw a little of everything in, so you had a bit of suspense over when a certain event happened or even if it happened and then of course whether the romance itself is going to work out or Georgia's family gets in the way. It kept me very entertained.
July 1, 2019
Excellent History, Excellent Fiction
Warfield has written another excellent historical novel that opens to the reader a window onto a hitherito unknown world. The Regency England shown here is far different from the glittering London and its social season featured in most books about this era.
Warfield has written another excellent historical novel that opens to the reader a window onto a hitherito unknown world. The Regency England shown here is far different from the glittering London and its social season featured in most books about this era.
July 26, 2019
This book has a good storyline
I liked the comradarie of Georgie and Andrew, however because annoyed by Georgie's high-handed attitude, no wonder the poor bloke got confused. A little too much second guessing from them both. Lovely HEA and breathed a sigh of relief for them both.
I liked the comradarie of Georgie and Andrew, however because annoyed by Georgie's high-handed attitude, no wonder the poor bloke got confused. A little too much second guessing from them both. Lovely HEA and breathed a sigh of relief for them both.
August 24, 2019
A interesting story.
This has been an interesting read. It's sort crept up and became hard to put down. It has not been a story to grab me from the start but it has been worth reading the whole book so as to find out what happens next. Like all good love stories it has a very happy ending.
This has been an interesting read. It's sort crept up and became hard to put down. It has not been a story to grab me from the start but it has been worth reading the whole book so as to find out what happens next. Like all good love stories it has a very happy ending.
August 14, 2020
Very very satisfying romance!
I loved Georgiana and Andrew's story, two wounded people trying to find joy and purpose in life. They met as young people, were kept apart by her well meaning older brother is and reunited over a love of translating Greek poems by observe women authors. Many conventions are broken on the way to their HEA.
I loved Georgiana and Andrew's story, two wounded people trying to find joy and purpose in life. They met as young people, were kept apart by her well meaning older brother is and reunited over a love of translating Greek poems by observe women authors. Many conventions are broken on the way to their HEA.
December 19, 2021
Magnificent! What a treasure! I started this series in the middle, then realized that if I wanted to get the very complicated family tree straight, I would have to go back to the first book. I’m so glad I did! Don’t miss Lady Georgiana, the Lady of Scholarship, work out translations of Greek women poets for anything!
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