The Marriage Bed (Seduction Series #3)

Disappointing

The basis for this book was really solid, and I was excited about the possibilities for this story. I ended up being very disappointed. While the couple is estranged, the husband, John, has numerous relationships with other women. I felt like the heroine, Viola, was more of a doormat than a herione for accepting this behavior for years. I had no respect for her or him which made it hard to enjoy the book. Also, the ending was horrible with John's former mistress giving up their baby to the reunited couple. Reduce the number of liasions during separation and do not create children with mistresses!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

"WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN" IS THE SONG, NOW READ THE

"WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN" IS THE SONG, NOW READ THE BOOK!!! OUTSTANDING!

Loved this book...

I just loved this book...kept me on the edge of my seat! Great author!

Liked it better the second time around

Okay i will admit that the first time i tried to get through this book i found it tedious and the hero not at all likeable, so i speed through it with furious zeal just to get it over with. However i could not bring myself to get rid of the story just yet, which by the way is usually my automatic reaction in being disappointed with a book.I usually just give it away to someone else in the hopes that they will appreciate the story in a way that i couldn't. But i kept this one for some reason and i was glad i did. What i missed on my first try of the book i picked up on the second read and i found that there was indeed a story there, that the characters deserved notice and their story some patience from its perspective reader to watch it build, and it does grow on you in time if you have the patience to get past the hero's title of the philandering husband. The characters were human i felt for them, they were full of faults and doubts like anyone else. They also made mistakes and were imperfect. i think a reader should know this from the beginning that this is definitely not the average romantic love story. The characters needed to grow up in many ways to get past old wounds and the like. They also needed to work through all their issues to repair their cold non-existent relationship first before they could even think about rebuilding their empty marriage. It took effort on both their parts to establish trust and work through their problems one step at a time.It wasn't easy and sometimes you will be detested by the hero and his previous actions but however they both do indeed have some redeeming qualities. I found that i enjoyed this story more the second time around, emotions are there, human qualities are there and so is the redeeming aspects. This story is different and i enjoyed it.

liked it but not loved it.

i liked this book. i did not love it because i did not like the way that the hero feels after all he did, as if everything he did was right. but i liked the heroine, she was strong and stobborn maybe a little to much but i liked her.

Not Recommended

I could barely make it through this book. I've liked several of Laura Lee Guhrke's books, which is why I picked up "The Marriage Bed," but it was really disappointing. I couldn't like the main character, John Hammond, no matter how much I tried. The fact that he kept multiple mistresses during their marriage kind of made me sick. I didn't care that he felt Viola's neglect permitted him to do it. One month of totally justified coldness just doesn't equate to years of adultery, no matter how I try to look at it. This is one book where I actually wished the heroine would abandon her supposed "hero." If I were her, I would of left without looking back.

This is a great book if you want a story that is a little more realistic when it comes to gentlemen having mistresses and wifes considering themselves in the position of victim.

This was the first book that I read from Laura Lee Guhrke. I am a huge fan of Judith McNaught's historical romance books, so every book I read is compared to those books based on the story, the intensity between the characters and love scenes.

The thing that I loved most about this book was the story. I had not read a book where the gentlemen was having affairs even after being married. That shocked me because cheating is not suppose to be romantic. But as the story unfolded and you learn that yes he was cheating but it was primarily due to Lady Viola Hammond(wife) rejecting him because she found out that he didn't marry her for love but for money.

But when John Hammond's cousin and heir dies suddenly. He is need of an heir and therefore wants to reconcile with his wife. This is where Lady Viola shows her power. I loved that she didn't give in easily. I really enjoyed the power struggle and the fighting between the characters. It created drama that made it hard for me to put the book down. Sunday, my only day off that week, I spent it curled up on my bed engrossed in this book.

I found John to be a true romantic and I loved the way he would remember all the things that she liked to do and the things she like to eat. And it surprised her that he had paid attention.

The ending of the book was different as well. I found it fascinating that Viola who hated the thought of her husband's mistresses would so easily be able to accept a child from one of his affairs. I loved the twist, but would have loved to see it happen early in the book. I think the author good have created more drama around that situation fueling the fight, and intensifying the reconciliation making their love that much stronger. Because let's be real, it is difficult to overcome an affair but when that affair results in a child, that's a lot for a couple to over come.

I really like Guhrke's writng style, her books are easy to read and she doesn't spend a lot of time with descriptions about the settings. Here characters have a lot of dialogue. I am much more interested in the content between the "quotation marks" .

Finally, this book has prompted me to read more of her books. So far I have read His Every Kiss, Secret Dreams of a Gentleman, Guilty Pleasures and I am currently reading And Then He Kissed Her. Sometimes when reading many books from the same author, you learn what to expect in the story lines. In the books that I have read from Guhrke, the love scenes don't happen until you are about 3/4 into the book. Maybe the author might want to change that and have it happen a little sooner.:)

Overall this was a great book. Very refreshing story line, intense characters, romance and steamy love scenes. What more can you ask for?
If you like The Marriage Bed, I recommend reading Guilty Pleasures, its great read as well!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

a delightfully sweet historical romance

In 1833, Lord John and Lady Viola Hammond remain the talk of the Ton as they continue to remain estranged for eight years with no heir, but he never cared because his solid best friend cousin Percy is next in line. That changes when John receives a letter from John¿s widow Constance that he died along with their son. Grieving for his loss, John needs an heir because he will not allow the estate to be destroyed by his next in line, a wastrel................ John visits Viola, informing her of the deaths and that he expects them to share a conjugal bed once he returns from the funeral. Viola says she will not sleep with him; John says he is within his legal right and she will or else he will take her to the House of Commons where even her ducal brother knows he will win............... Following the funeral, John returns to London to get Viola. He admits that he wed her for her money, but liked her. She asks for more time and they begin seeing one another for he courts his wife who he is beginning to fall in love with while she always loved him................ The strong lead couple and fine support cast including a former mistress with his child make for a delightfully sweet historical romance. The story line is well written staying within the battle of the sexes as no major threat to either John or Viola occurs except what they have done to themselves. Thus suspense readers should look elsewhere, but fans of a fine gender war tale will want to peruse this pleasant 1830s love story between two estranged likable people................. Harriet Klausner

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