To Win a Viscount (The Daughters of Amhurst #2) - Frances Fowlkes

 To Win a Viscount by Frances Fowlkes

 Blurb:

England, 1820. To gain a certain marquess’s notice, Lady Albina Beauchamp aims to win the derby. What she hadn’t planned for is the price handsome Mr. Edmund White asks in payment to train her to race: each lesson for a kiss.

A first place finish isn't the only thing worth racing for

Lady Albina Beauchamp is in love with the Marquess of Satterfield. Unfortunately, his only interest is in horses, and doesn’t know she exists. But when the marquess confesses he will bestow his undying admiration on the jockey racing the winning horse at Emberton Derby, Albina sets out to win his affections by training to race.

Mr. Edmund White is a master groomsmen for the Earl of Amhurst in line for a viscountcy, should he abandon his passion for horses and become a respectable sheep owner. But horses are his love--until he meets Lady Albina and her silly notions of racing. When she affirms she will enter the derby with or without his assistance, Edmund not only instructs his student in racing, but seduction as well.

For Albina, a first place finish isn’t the only thing at stake. She must decide whether to take her place in society...or follow her heart and love a groom.


Just a short impression because I really didn't know what to make of this book. 

I have already read another book by Frances Fowlkes and liked that alright but somehow this one and I didn't get along. The story sounded intriguing and the writing was okay but I really couldn't get into it. I started to read it several times and never got really far because I lost interest. In the end, when I finally finished it, it was on the whole a, well, a nice story but it lacked some substance and some real action. Unfortunately the characters lacked substance as well and couldn't make up for the lack of action. They were very likeable but rather one-dimensional instead of complex. 

I wasn't sure  how to rate it because I'm not sure if we just got of on the wrong foot because it is well written, so I settled down for three very weak stars.

 ★★★