Her Secret Past With The Viscount has a fun plot. Slightly predictable, but the characters make it interesting as they each have a unique voice. It's a nice and easy read to pass some time but not overly memorable.

This was a very silly premise for a story, but Laura Martin pulls it off well, and the romance is sweet and heartfelt! A very enjoyable read.

Thank you to Mills and Boon and Laura Martin for the arc review copy of Her Secret Past with the Viscount.

I love a historical romance that walks into the room with the bold statement – look at me. Her Secret Past With The Viscount is a Regency romance that meets Robinson Crusoe and Jane Austen. A bold story with plenty of twists and turns that beguiles, ruffles feathers, and up-turns regency romance with an exciting new plot angle rather than compromised virtue, forced marriage, and then falling in love. I enjoyed the story pacing and well-written atmospheric description of a lavish house party and the drama of uniting a gathering of people into a confined space.

Sylvia’s character has a lot of modern vibes with her independence, savviness, and survivor instincts. She getting by in the world with her wits and making the best of what she has after losing all she loves and being abandoned after being rescued. She has clear driven dreams and makes the best of her situation. Her down-to-earth tenacity and practical nature create appeal off the page as a relatable and likable character.
Hugh Wilder’s character was confusing. I’m still not sure whether I liked him or not. He’s tender and self-sacrificing at the moment, playful and sexy, and then cold as the North Sea in December. Lots of sides to a complicated man, sometimes within a few paragraphs. Hugh was downright horrid, a snobbish jerk, and heavy-handed with Sylvia at times. His flaws seemed to get too quickly smoothed over by love for me.

The chemistry between Sylvia and Hugh rendered a bit forced for me on the page. There is passion between them, some very elegantly crafted scenes where this shines out. and bouts of banter/bickering that leave you wondering do they want to kiss one another or have a fistfight. I almost wished Hugh would turn out to be the villain and another gentleman might win Sylvia’s heart because they understood and respected her qualities, despite the circumstances of the shipwreck.

An interesting concept for a Regency romance with characters with a lot of history and passion, but a lot of complex miscommunication drawn a bit thin in the premise for me

I really liked how this book was set in the present ( in that they were no longer on the island) but we the reader found out what had happened from memories, conversations and excerps at the start of each chapter. The premise was enjoyable, couple shipwrecked and become to rely on each other and then how they fare back in the real world with the ton watching their every move. A really enjoyable read.

It's a romantic story of scandal and secrets threatening the couple Sylvia and Hugh's happiness. A year on from their rescue from a remote Caribbean Island after a devastating shipwreck, the couple are still an object of societal interest, most of it determined to uncover a scandal. Estranged, they find themselves at the same house party, and there is a chance to reclaim their love, but both must overcome internal and external conflicts. Hugh is unlikeable to begin with as outwardly, he compromised and ruined Sylvia and abandoned her to her fate. His former life reveals why, but Sylvia has to understand his previous behaviour before she can forgive him. It's a story of prejudice, pride, and misunderstandings, but their emotional connection is strong. I like the characters, their conflicts and the passionate romance.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I found it difficult to get past the various rather unlikely and sometimes flimsy premises of this story, and so couldn't really enter into the twists and turns of how Sylvia and Hugh finally worked things out. In particular, Hugh's obsession with avoiding scandal led him to make some pretty strange decisions, not that Sylvia's decisions were necessarily much better. It did feel rather as if miscommunications and the like were being strung out way beyond their natural life, and so to me the story got less credible the longer it lasted.

My thanks to the publishers for the ARC.

Sylvia was left shipwrecked on a remote island there was one other survivor: Hugh Wilder Sylvia’s never told a soul that until they were rescued they lived and loved as a married couple. Now Hugh’s engaged to another. And Sylvia’s supposed to be an innocent yet lonely spinster.
I’m a bit on the fence with this romance as I couldn’t believe nor accept that Hugh would leave Sylvia after they were rescued & I wondered if he could be redeemed & if I wanted him to be! I really liked Sylvia & understood how she felt , modern day me wouldn’t have had a bar of Hugh but things were so different then. Was he redeemed? well for me I don’t think so but you'd need to read it to see if you agree. That said it was well written & the characters had depth, also the pace was good. It was Hugh & his attitude, beliefs & assumptions, which left me cold
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

This is well written story and looked promising at first. However I just couldn’t quite buy into how the misunderstanding came about that made him abandon someone who had been ruined and was so alone. Even when explained it just seemed ridiculous that they didn't talk to each other and I just couldn't get past this to enjoy the book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed reading this book and read it quickly because I couldn’t wait for the characters to admit their real feelings and get together! Hugh and Sylvia were very well drawn and I both understood their reasons for restraint while at the same time wondering why they couldn’t see how they absolutely had to be together! The setting of a house party really helped added to the charged atmosphere as well as heightening the hero and heroine’s need to conceal their true feelings. A very enjoyable read.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is well written story but somehow it didn’t engage my interest. I couldn’t uy into the way the hero could abandon the woman he'd been castaway with and promised to love. What a jerk. His preoccupation with class, status and reputation was horrid.

Another wonderful story of love and fortune. An easy to read and follow story that was delightful and brilliant to devour within a day. This completely consumed me and was just wonderful what I would do to have the attention of a viscount.

Loved this one very much. A great read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It started in the middle of the romance and that worked in terms of making the book about the couple and their life in the tonnish circles rather than try to recreate a desert island life. There were obviously misunderstandings, proposals and undoings and some meddling from some very fine friends. All of this kept the book clipping along at a good pace and made it a very enjoyable read.

Her secret past with the viscount is a historical romance novel by Laura Martin.
The novel follows Sylvia, who meets Hugh Wilde again at a society party. She previously met him before when she was left shipwrecked on a remote island and Hugh was the other survivor. Hugh is now engaged to another woman and Sylvia is supposed to be a lonely spinster. But every time they meet their feelings for each other get stronger.
I absolutely enjoyed this historical romance novel. I enjoyed the historical feel that the novel had and the two main characters chemistry that they tried to avoid had an innocent, yet steamy feel. A very enjoyable read that I highly recommend.
💖Her secret past with the viscount is released on 28th September.
💖 Thank you to Mills and Boon, netgalley and the author, Laura Martin for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

Sylvia and Lord Hugh Wilder were shipwrecked and stranded on an island for weeks. By the time they were rescued, they had become lovers. But to save her reputation, he promised himself to another. The storyline picks up 12 months later.

I really enjoyed this sweet, 'will they wont they', clean romance. I just loved the chemistry between them. I'm a big fan of books about authors, so I was 'sold' from the off. Such a lovely, entertaining read.