Cute story with a decent dose of angst and some good groveling. Too short though, and I felt like sex scenes were used as a shortcut to illustrate growing intimacy. ( )

I didn't enjoy this. Part of it might be the level of angst. It just felt like unnecessary drama caused by the characters being dumb, interspersed with sex scenes. I didn't really like either of them. Further reasons I didn't like it in the spoilers.


The hero banishes his wife on their wedding day over an offense she's unaware of and he won't explain. *eye roll* But don't worry, even callously abandoned she loves him anyway, seemingly no matter what his reasons (this unfortunately felt a little bit like an abusive dynamic rather than a romantic one). But then, for some bizarre reason, when she does find out that an outside influence manipulated him, *that's* when she can't stand it. Surely him thinking she'd betrayed him isn't the worst scenario she'd considered and loved him despite of, but, whatever. Also it had been an arranged marriage, though they'd been growing fond of each other during the courtship, and then they have no contact at all for half a year and next thing they're in love. During all the distance and betrayal and hurt feelings, their love was blooming apparently. ( )

In this short novella, Colin, Lord Wharton, marries Jane but sends her away after he thinks she betrayed him with a past love. Six months later, Jane returns to London and Colin must decide what to do with his errant wife. Meanwhile, Jane does not understand why her husband is treating her like this.
I really didn't like the first half of the story. Colin is an arse and a prig, and just stupid in his treatment of his innocent wife. I liked the second half better when Jane stands up for herself, and Colin decides to romance her to make up for his behavior. The sex scenes are steamy as one would expect in a Jess Michaels book, but I wish she had made this a full-length novel so we could see some of the build-up to the wedding and more of their separation.
This is the first in a new series for Ms. Michaels. I generally like her writing though I find her stories sometimes hit-or-miss. There was enough here to continue with the series. ( )

I received an ARC of this novella to read in exchange for a fair review. The Return Of Lady Jane by Jess Michaels is the first book in her new series The Scandal Sheet. I dislike the Othello trope ... hero believes lies about the heroine and in this case banishes her for 6 months without ever asking her to explain her side of the story. That said the story of Viscount Colin Wharton and his lovely bride Jane is engaging and the villain suitably nasty. Medium Steam, Publishing Date January 8, 2019. #NetGalley #TheReturnOfLadyJane #JessMichaels #ThePassionatePen ( )

The Return of Lady Jane by Jess Michaels
The Scandal Sheets #1

Ms Michaels has stepped out into a new series that begins with a marriage of convenience gone awry. Viscount Colin Wharton has trouble with trust and something he sees the evening he has said his marriage vows has him sending his new bride, Lady Jane, away to the country. How the two manage to achieve their HEA is what this story is about and it takes them a fair bit of time and some honest communication before they manage to the love they both so richly deserve.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Passionate Pen for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars ( )