John Turner hatte gedacht, er würde die Wette gewinnen, doch er hat verloren und sich auch noch verliebt. Doch die schöne Countess Lady Letty fühlt sich gedemütigt, als sie von dem Rollentausch Johns mit seinem Freund, dem Earl von Ashby, erfährt. Obwohl er nicht standesgemäß ist, will er für seine Liebe kämpfen. Doch Letty ist verletzt und will nichts mehr von ihm wissen. Aber dann begegnen sie sich wieder. Ob es noch eine Chance für ihre Liebe gibt?
Dies ist nun der zweite Band der Reihe „Eine Wette unter Gentlemen“. Auch dieser Band hat mich nicht so richtig gepackt. Der Schreibstil lässt sich flüssig lesen, doch die Handlung ist auch dieses Mal wieder ziemlich langatmig.
Mit den Protagonisten konnte ich mich nicht so recht anfreunden. Lady Letty ist eine wirklich oberflächliche Person; mir war sie von Anfang an nicht sympathisch. Sie ist auf der Suche nach einem Ehemann und da kommt ihr John gelegen. Schön, dass auch Gefühle im Spiel sind. Doch die sind ihr weniger wichtig als eine standesgemäße Ehe. Um dem Gerede zu entgehen, reist sie nach Paris, wo sie Sir Barty kennenlernt, der ein passender Ehemann wäre. Wenigstens aber hat mir John besser gefallen, der für seine Liebe kämpfen will. Aber auch Sir Barty war sympathisch.
Natürlich ahnt man früh, wie die Geschichte enden wird.
Mich hat dieser historische Liebesroman nicht wirklich überzeugt. ( )

Same problem as with the first book of the series. Otherwise I loved this. ( )

I loved John and his mother, Helen. I loved Sir Barty and his daughter Margaret. I loved Dr. Rhys Grey. Unfortunately, I didn't much like Leticia. She wasn't awful, she was just kind of vain and entitled and, at the same time, boring. I mean, I understood why she was these things, but that didn't make me like her.

And, please, Ms. Noble, let the next book be about Margaret and Rhys because I adore them. Two smart, socially-awkward, science-minded people finding each other by sheer chance? Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Nowpleasethankyou. ( )

Kate Noble's second installment in her Winner Takes All series has me so excited for the rest of this series. I was a little concerned about having Leticia as the main character, but I'm so glad The Lie and the Lady proved me wrong.

Noble picks up the story of Leticia Herzog, Countess of Churzy, and John Turner, who we met in The Game and the Governess. Leticia is trying to outrun The Lie, which has followed her through England, hampering her efforts to find a suitable match. Having fled to Paris in desperation, she meets Sir Barty, a lonely widower from the town of Helmsley. Successful in securing his affections (and the security that brings), she returns with him to his estate, only to find that the man she is trying to avoid is the town miller, John Turner.

I was a little concerned about Leticia as a main character. It's no secret in Game that she is after the Earl of Ashby for his money. Though we get hints that she cares for the "Earl," how can such a materialistic woman become a heroine? Oh how wrong my fears were. Noble writes a complex and complicated character with Leticia, with the reader coming to fully understand her motivations, fears, and desires.

It also doesn't hurt that John Turner is quite the man. Where the first novel suffered somewhat because of Ned being naive, John Turner is an incredible romantic lead. Equally complex and complicated, it's not hard to see why Leticia has a hard time saying goodbye. John knows exactly what he wants and as a reader, well hot damn.

My only complaint is that I have to wait till the fall of 2016 for the next installment. As much as I enjoyed the story of Leticia and John, I was smiling just as much with the hints of what was to come for the 3rd novel in the series. Highly recommend! ( )

5 Stars | Some Hot Steam

THE GAME AND THE GOVERNESS fans rejoice! The second installment of Kate Noble’s superb Winner Takes All series, THE LIE AND THE LADY, has arrived, and it is glorious! Our collective longing, high anticipation and excitement for Letitia and John’s momentous HEA has been heartily rewarded with an extraordinary romance so original, ingenious, enchanting, beautiful, spectacularly thrilling and utterly unforgettable that you’ll be shouting its praise from every rooftop and street corner! Truly, Letitia and John’s incomparable journey is absolute perfection. Surprising, stirring and spellbinding perfection. The singular kind of perfection that has you bargaining with higher spirits to never let it end. And, when it does, you find yourself clutching the epic wonder tightly to your chest as happy/sad tears run down your broadly smiling cheeks.

I began THE LIE AND THE LADY with weighing uncertainty. How was Kate Noble going to successfully transform flagrantly wealth-and-title-chasing Lady Letitia from THE GAME AND THE GOVERNESS into an admirable, sympathetic and redeeming heroine? Furthermore, I questioned sensible John Turner’s swift and blinding love for a woman so seemingly superficial, scheming and inscrutable as Letitia. However, by the end of chapter one of TL&TL, any lingering doubts with her character were speedily replaced with understanding, appreciation, affection, sympathy, trust and an infallible faith that Letty was indeed worthy, deserving and in dire need of her own overdue happiness—and I simply couldn’t wait for her to have it! Letty is a heroine for the ages—regal, seasoned, smart, strong, pragmatic, industrious, kind and positively resplendent! By the end of the novel, like John, she became my Letty too. I just adored her and sincerely missed her when I had to say goodbye.

John Turner. Leave it to Kate Noble to write a stellar hero so ideal, layered, hardworking, uncompromising, sensitive, sexy, loyal and infinitely lovable that he ruins you for all other men. (Ashby who?) Her fabulous heroes have always left a heated imprint in my naughtiest fantasies but, oh my goodness, John Turner is one of her very best! Sigh… That man is so very delectable!

Not only was I completely captivated by Letty and John’s rocky path to forever, I was equally taken by the amusing town full of remarkable secondary characters whose own motivations—some good, others nefarious—prod and pull the story in unexpected, delightful and endlessly entertaining directions. I especially savored Rhys's bookish and hilariously bumbling presence. His endearingly awkward and sweetly kindred friendship with young Margaret simply melted my heart.

With the release of THE LIE AND THE LADY, Kate Noble has delivered a crowning achievement in romance as well as a career-defining novel, propelling her Winner Takes All series from great to legendary and solidifying her name on countless new readers’ shortlists of auto-buy authors.

Bottom line: Letty and John’s story is a must-read gem that will take center stage on your prized keeper shelf—just as soon as you can bear to part from it. :)

Complimentary copy provided in exchange for an honest review. ( )