The Truth About Lord Stoneville: Volume 1 (The Hellions of Halstead Hall)

Spoilers alert....Revolutionary Captain Richard "Ollie" Sharpe, formerly of the Honduran Seamstresses Guild, his chatty Irish batman Pat O' Too and Dick's old grey-haired Granny, Senora Pam Spam, become embroiled in an undocumented break out at the Honduran State Penitentiary for Wayward Senoritas in this 'novel' set in the 19th Century Americas.We originally meet Dick Sharpe supplying illegal mescalino to the inmates through a gigantic and handy hole in west wing's C4 cells, these Senoritas being thirsty for some unwholesome hallucinations. The Govenor of the Penitentiary, Senor Frugar Cielo issues a warrant for Dick's arrest but is particularly drawn to Pat O' Too in a biblical fashion, moreso by Granny Sharpe, so stays his fevered hand. In her 80s, Granny has instead developed a crush on yet another two dimensional character, Mr Spong Butterworth, veteran star of the Carry On series (Spanish translation).Into this cold soup of unmitigated boredom is added yet another character; boiled-faced Alistair Simcard descended from the great Honduran poet Olive Drabbe --with hilarious results for Dick, Pat, Peter, Granny, Alistair, Olive and old Uncle Tom Cobley with the very future of Honduras at stake!

I think there was potential for the story and events to lead to so much laughter and amusement but sadly that didn’t happen, although there were moments that had me smiling. The tale is somewhat sombre as Oliver aka Lord Stoneville’s present is marred by his guilt, guilt around the reasons for the assumed murder of his father by his mother, and his mother’s subsequent suicide. Oliver feels that he is his father’s son – debauched and irredeemable. When his maternal grandmother gives him and his siblings the ultimatum to marry or lose their inheritances, well Oliver decides that a fake fiancé is the perfect way of appeasing his grandmother without truly falling into her trap/scheme.Oliver’s character formation by the author is tropey (some may consider it highly tropey), but for me with this read, it didn’t make me want to grind my teeth in annoyance, whilst I didn’t find myself loving Oliver, I did like him. Oliver’s focuses once he came to his senses I enjoyed, and I liked the fact that Maria as a heroine from the onset refused to take any crap from Oliver. Did I want a little more depth to the plot and character interactions – yes, but still a nice read overall.Freddy, Maria’s cousin, did make me roll my eyes a tad, but just a tad, and I it’s clear the author included him for some comic relief, and whilst I didn’t find myself laughing, there were one or two very small smiles.There was enough charm from and between the characters that for me this was overall an enjoyable read, particularly in the second half. For that reason, I do see myself re-reading this at some point.

Nineteen years ago, Oliver Sharpe, the future Marquess of Stoneville's life changed when his parents died in mysterious circumstances. To survive the resulting scandal, Oliver resigned to live his life as an unrepentant rakehell. That was until his grandmother threatened to cut him off unless he settled down and wed.In an effort to thwart his Gran's plans, Oliver aims to bring home a fake fiancé fresh from a brothel. His plans go awry when he instead finds Maria Butterworth, a spirited young American who has come to England to search for her own errant fiancé. She's far from the perfect fiancé but Oliver soon begins to realise she might be perfect for him.This is the first in Jeffries new Hellions of Halstead Hall series focussing on five hell-raising brothers and sisters with a terrible scandal hanging over their heads. This first book focuses on the eldest brother and heir, Oliver Sharpe, the Marquess of Stoneville who has appeared as a bit character in a few of Jeffries' previous novels.I really enjoyed this story and the interactions between Oliver and Maria. Oliver is my favourite type of hero - tortured, brooding and in desperate need of the love of a good woman. I also really liked Maria who was spirited and naïve without ever becoming a stereotype. Their interactions were typical of Jeffries - full of wit and spirit. I could have done with a bit more emotion in the story but I'm willing to admit that I might have set my expectations too high as I really enjoy Sabrina Jeffries' books and was very much looking forward to this one.The story was interesting, engaging and never did the underlying plot of the tragedy (a plotline I'm sure will run through the whole series) overshadow the romance.Overall, if you're looking for a well-written romance with endearing characters and a good, sound plot then you can't go wrong with this engaging story. 4 stars. The next book in the series is  A Hellion in Her Bed  which features Oliver's brother Jarret. A Hellion in Her Bed

I just love how the author described Halstead Hall! Other reviewers have cited the plot already so I won't do so anymore.I have to say since Stoneville was a recurring character in the "School for Heiresses" series I thought it was a good idea to write a "spin off" in a new series. And in this one Oliver Sharpe's(Stoneville)character is developed. I was never sure in the heiresses books if this guy was good or bad and I'm glad this book refers to that as well and answers the all important question: "why?". It's a mark of a good author when the characters stay true to who they are through the entire book and the reader understands why they say or do certain things and how the relationship benefits them to become better people.I thought Maria was a good character and definitely had a personality that was strong enough to handle a man like Oliver. The development of the story is believable and the love scenes are awesome -- in fact, I think this is one of the few romances where the love scenes actually reflect the stage in the relationship. There is definitely a difference when the couple have fully committed themselves to each other. Of course, heroes from the heiresses series Lord Kirkwood and Foxmoor also make an appearance and Norcourt is also referenced (well I guess they are all Stoneville's friends after all)There are some new characters too who I am sure we will all get to know a little bit better through the series.This is a good book, and the interactions between Oliver and Maria were so sweet they made me ache sometimes! I think if a romance is to be considered good then the reader should be able to also "fall in love" with the hero and, man, how I wish I was Maria! Looking forward to reading the next book in the series! If you like Sabrina Jeffries then this one will not disappoint!

I've read many regency books recently, but none have captivated me, held my attention like this one (the standard of writing here is top quality and you pay for quality, good entertainment and escapism). This book is well written, the characters are colourful, the women are plain talkers and gutsy. The men strong, flawed, vulnerable and very likeable. Looking forward to more in the series.