Elle, I think Miles did take that step – he stood up to his father, which seemed to be difficult for him.

That is true, but he only did this *after* Cynthia had made her move. I kind of got the sense that he was going to allow her to slip through his fingers until she came to him the night before she meant to get engaged to Argosy (or, actually, slip away in the pre-dawn.) I suppose that I am just saying that I wished that Miles had been a little bit more pro-active in securing his own happiness, rather than just reacting to what Cynthia did. But, in truth, that is just a small quibble with the story.

I'm almost going against my instincts here, because if there's anything that makes my eyes roll out of my head in annoyance, it's the Noble Self-Sacrificing Heroine. But I really didn't see Cynthia that way, ultimately – I did see her as making the best choice for her in the end, even if it happened to be the one that consigned her to a life of servitude.

Ah, yes. I think that you are right about that, actually. There was certainly the sense that Cynthia was finding all her role-playing very draining and flat. And quite frankly, despite her best intentions, I doubt that she would have been able to be the good and faithful wife that she hoped to be if she entrapped someone like Argosy, Goodkind or Milthorpe. After all, she had almost deliberately sabotaged her own engagement to the Earl of Courtland (who was the embodiment of all her mercenary and social-climbing aspirations.) She needed someone to keep her interested and on her toes. So I see what you mean in saying that Cynthia’s “sacrifice” was more a choice indicating her growing self-awareness as opposed to romance heroine martyrdom.

Re: Cynthia
Do you think that it was necessary for the storyline for her to be the one to make the first grand gesture for love?

I kind of think it was. I didn't see her as the self-sacrificing heroine, realizing her wrongs; it was more just that she realized she couldn't be married to anyone but Miles, so she took the other option open to her. I guess she could've been even more pro-active and somehow engineered her and Miles coming together, but I'm glad she at least made a choice – Miles swooped in to save her, sure, but she had already made a choice and I thought that worked better than if Miles had “saved” her before she left.

SPOILERS…..SPOILERS I suppose, since we are talking about the end of the book here.

SPOILERS…SPOILERS….SPOILERS

I see what you are saying here, Jennie, and I don’t disagree, although I am not sure that Cynthia’s decision seemed very much in character with her pragmatic, mercenary nature, so I guess we are meant to understand that she has repented and changed her stripes. Maybe I am not enough of a romantic to feel that one night of True Love is worth jettisoning a lifetime of comfort for one of penury and loneliness. A lifetime of True Love, maybe, but not just one night. (Hmmm, maybe that is why I find Cynthia to be a more sympathetic heroine than many other readers seem to….)

I suppose that it somehow had to be made clear that Cynthia was choosing *Miles* and not just *Miles’ money and position* (and you know that older brother is going to come back at some point, BTW.) But at the same time, it seemed a little unfair to me that Cynthia had to be the one who made the big gesture, since proportionally the sacrifice for her was huge, and Miles seemed unable to take even the small step out of line that he would have needed to gain True Love.

What did you think of her actions at the end of the story? In character or out of character for her? Do you think that it was necessary for the storyline for her to be the one to make the first grand gesture for love?

I kind of think it was. I didn’t see her as the self-sacrificing heroine, realizing her wrongs; it was more just that she realized she couldn’t be married to anyone but Miles, so she took the other option open to her. I guess she could’ve been even more pro-active and somehow engineered her and Miles coming together, but I’m glad she at least made a choice – Miles swooped in to save her, sure, but she had already made a choice and I thought that worked better than if Miles had “saved” her before she left.

And I really loved Cynthia's conflicted feelings towards Georgina-how her feelings of superiority were tempered by real envy.

Yes. I felt sympathy for Georgina but understood Cynthia’s resentment towards her – it was very real and understandable given the circumstances. I thought Long did a good job of showing how hard it is to be in Cynthia’s position, surrounded by people without financial worries who couldn’t begin to understand her circumsances or appreciate their own.

Oh, I certainly didn't think Miles was a paragon of virtue, and I wouldn't have minded if he had acknowledged the parallels between what the two of them were doing more explicitly.

I agree with this, Jennie. Miles did muse once or twice about how his own financially motivated pursuit of Georgina, and Cynthia’s hunt for a wealthy husband were not so dissimilar, but he still felt justified in scolding her for thinking of people in terms of money. Your observation is correct in that a lot of his more spiteful remarks to her are motivated by his own hurt pride and jealousy. He *loves* having the upper hand with her at the beginning of the story and telling her that she is definitely not good enough for *him*, since he is the Redmond heir (perfect vengeance for the injury dealt to his pride by her off-hand dismissal of him at that first ball.)

I was actually very sympathetic to Cynthia’s husband-hunting, since she was motivated by desperation. What did you think of her actions at the end of the story? In character or out of character for her? Do you think that it was necessary for the storyline for her to be the one to make the first grand gesture for love?

I don't think we're supposed to see anything but flat out jealousy and prideful hypocrisy in Miles's judgments of Cynthia. In fact, one of the reasons I liked it so much was that it IMO created much more subtlety in how we saw Cynthia. Instead of seeing her through the adoring eyes of the hero, we see her first through his rejected eyes, then his jealous eyes, then his lusty eyes, and so forth. Cynthia unfolds as a character through all the ways in which Miles does and does not understand her or judge her correctly, and that really worked for me. For me, at least, it added depth to both Miles and Cynthia's characters.

Yes and yes. And Miles’ changing perceptions of Cynthia are mirrored by Cynthia’s of him. I love their first conversation in the book, particularly when Cynthia first realizes that Miles is aware of her intentions.

Instead he said: “This room must feel rather like Tatersall’s to you, Miss Brightly. What an interesting variety of eligible men are represented. However will you pick one out?”
Miss Brightly went rigid.
A tick of fraught quiet went by between them.
And then she tipped her head slowly up to him, as though balancing a scalding cup of tea atop it. Aware of a grave, grave danger.
And she looked–really looked, for probably the first time–into his face.
What she saw there caused wary reassessment and comprehension to cut across the blue field of her eyes as swiftly as a pair of hunting falcons. They were there and gone as though they had never been, leaving her eyes once again blue fields of innocence.
So she was not entirely a fool. This was a bit vexing, as he would have preferred her to become less interesting, rather than more.

And I really loved Cynthia’s conflicted feelings towards Georgina–how her feelings of superiority were tempered by real envy.

I don’t think we’re supposed to see anything but flat out jealousy and prideful hypocrisy in Miles’s judgments of Cynthia. In fact, one of the reasons I liked it so much was that it IMO created much more subtlety in how we saw Cynthia. Instead of seeing her through the adoring eyes of the hero, we see her first through his rejected eyes, then his jealous eyes, then his lusty eyes, and so forth. Cynthia unfolds as a character through all the ways in which Miles does and does not understand her or judge her correctly, and that really worked for me. For me, at least, it added depth to both Miles and Cynthia’s characters.

I think one reason I wasn’t *as* bothered as I might normally be by the double standard was that I saw Miles as having a pre-existing reason to take issue with Cynthia’s mercenary ways, having been sort of inadvertently slapped in the face with it several years earlier. While later on he seemed sincere in telling Cynthia that he thought she was doing wrong, early on, I thought much of his judgment was the result of plain old jealousy and resentment, which made it slightly more palatable for me.

Well, I was going to say that maybe Miles objected because at least he wasn't trying to make Georgina fall in love with him – he was courting her, but not necessarily deceiving her. Of course, she was in love with him already, so in a way, what he was doing was worse. But I don't think Miles knew that Georgina was infatuated with him, so maybe the whole thing was a wash.

Yes, but Miles main motive for courting Georgina was as a means to an end–basically to fund his real passion of exploration. The “preference” that he was showing to her at the house party was as false in its way as the fortune-hunting that Cynthia was engaging in, since Miles was busy arranging assignations with lusty Lady Middlebough, and fooling around with Cynthia.

True, he never pretended to be interested in things in which he was not in order to ensnare Georgina, as Cynthia did to engage the interest of her suitors (although, ironically, *Georgina* did so to try to please Miles.) But at least Cynthia seemed to feel that she would be honor-bound to keep playing the same role if she ever did manage to land one of her suitors on false pretenses. I certainly agree that she was being more than a little underhanded in her methods, but I also think that Miles was not such a paragon of virtue himself.

I thought that Miles was a well-drawn character as well, although I felt that he had a lot of nerve criticizing Cynthia for trying to marry for money when he was essentially planning to marry Lady Georgina to please his father and get funding for his next expedition to Lacao.

Well, I was going to say that maybe Miles objected because at least he wasn’t trying to make Georgina fall in love with him – he was courting her, but not necessarily deceiving her. Of course, she was in love with him already, so in a way, what he was doing was worse. But I don’t think Miles knew that Georgina was infatuated with him, so maybe the whole thing was a wash.

There are no spies running around or secrets to uncover – just a house party with various characters… interacting with each other. This is both the strength and the weakness of the book.

Hmm, I might like this one. I thought Secret to Seduction lost traction when it left the country house. It had some excellent scenes focused closely on a few characters, but once it had to deal with the outside world, the plot and setting weren’t as strong. I’ve meant to try her again, so maybe this is the one.

I was also reminded of Kleypas’s Secrets of A Summer Night when reading Like No Other Lover since both feature beautiful, fortune-hunting heroines. As a heroine, Cynthia worked much better for me than SOASN’s Annabel since Cynthia seemed much smarter and more self-aware. What really made Cynthia come alive for me was her restlessness juxtaposed with her determination to marry well. I also loved her streak of mischief. Her charm and vivacity is part of what made her so attractive to men, and in comparison Annabel seemed very bland to me.

I thought that Miles was a well-drawn character as well, although I felt that he had a lot of nerve criticizing Cynthia for trying to marry for money when he was essentially planning to marry Lady Georgina to please his father and get funding for his next expedition to Lacao. I did think that Cynthia stepped a little bit out of character at the end of the book (and got more romance-heroine-ish than she had been up until that point), but I liked the way that sacrifices *did* have to be made for the HEA.

“Beauty and the Spy” and “Ways to be Wicked” were the two I gave A minuses to. “The Runaway Duke” was the C+, “The Secret to Seduction” was the B, and “The Perils of Pleasure” was the B-.

I liked The Perils of Pleasure a lot more than you did, but otherwise I would agree with your grades. I started reading Long’s books with The Runaway Duke, which I thought was OK, but nothing spectacular. Based upon that experience, I mentally pigeon-holed Long with the likes of Julia Quinn (i.e. as an author who writes books that others like more than I do.) For that reason (and because I have read about a zillion historical romances in which the heroine first meets the hero while attempting to pick his pocket), I did not read To Love A Thief when it first came out. I went back and read it after finishing the triology about the three sisters, and really liking those books.

I would be interested in hearing your comments about TLAT if you ever get around to reading it Jennie. It was a little too cliche-ridden for my taste, IIRC. Actually, I have trouble remembering much about the story itself, since I am mixing it up with a number of other historical romances that I have read with (miraculously) virginal, (stunningly) beautiful pickpocket heroines from St. Giles, who are only stealing to support starving younger siblings or orphans.

“Beauty and the Spy” and “Ways to be Wicked” were the two I gave A minuses to. “The Runaway Duke” was the C+, “The Secret to Seduction” was the B, and “The Perils of Pleasure” was the B-.

I gave A-’s to Beauty and the Spy and The Secret to Seduction, and B’s to Ways to be Wicked and The Perils of Pleasure. So our grades are pretty similar, except for the flip between The Secret to Seduction and Ways to be Wicked. I haven’t read Like No Other Lover yet, but when Long is on, she is really on. Among the best out there.

But I must ask which of her books got which grades from you, and why you haven't ever read “To Love A Thief”? (The latter is one of her most popular books, I believe, although it doesn't happen to be one of my favorites.)

“Beauty and the Spy” and “Ways to be Wicked” were the two I gave A minuses to. “The Runaway Duke” was the C+, “The Secret to Seduction” was the B, and “The Perils of Pleasure” was the B-. I need to pick up a copy of “To Love a Thief” – I started reading her with “Beauty and the Spy”, and have read all of her new books since then, but since I was a bit disappointed with “The Runaway Duke”, I guess I wasn’t in such a hurry to try “To Love A Thief”, since it was an earlier book, too. Though looking at my grades for her, it doesn’t seem like it’s really a matter of her later books being better – she’s a bit up and down for me.

I also think I grade her a little hard. I think she has a lot of talent and so maybe I expect her to be able to produce A’s for me? She’s one of those authors I kind of grade against herself – if I had only read, say, “The Perils of Pleasure”, I probably would’ve graded it a B or higher. I think it can be hard for me with particularly talented authors not to judge them against their own best work.

But: Le Cow? The Pig and Thistle? Methinks tongue was inserted quite firmly in authorly cheek…

But for it to really work, the characterizations need to be really strong, and that's where I think Like No Other Lover falls a bit short.

That I feel differently is probably why this book is easily an A- for me. I loooooved it, and I especially loved the quality of the prose and what I felt was an impressive depth of characterization, especially for Cynthia. This book accomplished what two other books it reminded me of — Chase’s Not Quite A Lady and Kleypas’s Secrets of A Summer Night — didn’t.

I thought Long did a wonderful job at slowly eroding both Cynthia and Miles’s resistance to the trouble their attraction would cause them both and that she did a fabulous job at portraying the different facets of the typical goldigging miss. I loved that Cynthia is a woman of great natural charisma that she doesn’t really understand. I loved that she’s flawed and smart and calculated in ways that don’t make her unkind. I loved that she really brought out the best in her suitors and that she honestly wanted to like them and see them as good men. I loved that Miles is no chaste missish egghead himself, that he can be equally calculated and perhaps more cynical than Cynthia.

I thought the melodrama of both the prose and the emotions worked really well, that it heightened rather than cheapened the emotionalism these two worked hard to suppress. I feel that Long has finally realized the promise of interesting and affecting prose that I saw intermittently and imperfectly in Beauty and The Spy. Except for the fact that the statue incident reminded me too much of “The Wedding Planner,” I thought the humor was natural and not overdone. The way the insect metaphors worked (the riff on the black widow, the web motif) was clever, even the kitten charmed me. And, as I said already, the prose impressed and moved me, as well.

I loved this bit, for example:

And for a moment he seemed mesmerized. Gazing down at her, not blinking at all, as his smile slowly faded. “Yes,” he said. The word was faintly surprised and soft as cobwebs. And full of his heart.

and this:

She hesitated on the threshold of her room. Then ventured over to the window and peered into the corner of it. She knew a peculiar relief that the web was still there and still intact.

Such a fragile way to sustain a whole life: on a web one weaves for oneself.

Then again, it wasn’t much more certain than the way she’d built her own.
She blew gently on the web; it fluttered. The spider scurried forward and then stopped and waved two arms at her, like a gentleman hailing a hackney or a shopkeeper railing at a thieving urchin.

“Sorry to disturb you, Susan.” It pleased her to give the spider a pretty name. “Good night.”

Susan the spider quieted and seemed to regard her for a moment. Then she backed up into her corner and perhaps nodded off. It was difficult to know, given that she was a spider.

Mr. Redmond would likely know.

Cynthia had watched him stride from the room that evening, and she’d felt it almost physically, as though he were pulling her along with him. She pictured him today, steering people away from that grand web.

And she went still, breathless with a rush of understanding: she suddenly saw that Miles Redmond saw the world as little worlds within worlds. Everything-’spiders, people, plants that ate animals-’were both separate and connected, living the intricacies and beauties and violence of life, woven together like a web.

And this, too, was why, even when he was quiet, when he was still, he seemed to contain worlds. To feel vast.

Because everything matters, he’d said.

The book just felt so *vivid* to me, I guess, and in such a good way, that I could barely tear myself away once I had started reading.