A Perfect Groom | 
 enlarge | Author: Samantha James
Publisher: Avon
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 42980
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0060502797
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780060502799
ASIN: 0060502797
Publication Date: December 1, 2004
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Product Description
Perfection is in the eye of the beholder . . . Proud of his reputation as a rogue, Justin Sterling intends tobe the first to bed "The Unattainable"—the Season's most luscious debutante—and win the wager that's the talk of the ton. However, he never expected the enchantress in question to be Arabella Templeton, who once stole his heart and owns it still. Now the notorious scoundrel will have to prove to her that his intentions are honorable . . . while protecting her virtue from every other rascal in London. Arabella will marry only for love—and she does not need her childhood nemesis to act as her self-appointed guardian! Though the arrogant cad seems sincere, she is well aware of his rakehell history and won't be swayed by his considerable charm and disarming good looks. For it would be pure madness for Arabella to ignore the voice of reason that whispers "beware!" and heed instead a traitorous heart that insists Justin Sterling would make . . .
Download Description
"Perfection is in the eye of the beholder ... Proud of his reputation as a rogue, Justin Sterling intends to be the first to bed ""The Unattainable"" -- the Season's most luscious debutante -- and win the wager that's the talk of the town. However, he never expected the enchantress in question to be Arabella Templeton, who once stole his heart and owns it still. Now the notorious scoundrel will have to prove to her that his intentions are honorable ... while protecting her virtue from every other rascal in London. Arabella will marry only for love -- and she does not need her childhood nemesis to act as her self-appointed guardian! Though the arrogant cad seems sincere, she is well aware of his rake hell history and won't be swayed by his considerable charm and disarming good looks. For it would be pure madness for Arabella to ignore the voice of reason that whispers ""beware!"" and heed instead a traitorous heart that insists Justin Sterling would make ... "
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
A Good Book January 26, 2008
I really enjoyed this story, and if the story line is a bit hackneyed, what romance story line isn't these days. All romance novels are one author's take on an overused theme. That's what romance readers like. What I like about this book is the emotional complexity of these characters. Justin is considered the Best Looking Man in England, and as much as he uses his looks to get women, he hates them as well. Arabella is a beautiul woman, but she stills herself as the awkward girl of her pubescent years, and can't understand why so many men want to be with her. Watching them (?) work through their separate problems together makes for a good book. Not the best story I've ever read, but it has been on my 'keeper' shelf for years.
 Boring, boring, boring. January 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am with the only other one star reviewer. There really is nothing here. This book is beyond boring. No real storyline. No character development. No emotional connection. Just more of the same "deep dark secrets", misunderstanding and endless parties that characterize bad books of this genre. If I hadn't learned a lesson(aviod Samantha James books set in the regency period), I would be angry at myself for wasting my time reading this book.
 A Perfect Book! November 2, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Ms. James captivates you with such a wonderful story that you get lost in a wonderful world of romance. Justin and Arabella are a perfect couple. This book really is the perfect book. It is such a wonderful read, that I could not put it down.
Good but not unique August 28, 2007
Justin Sterling, the second son of a marquis, was born to a mother who was more concerned about her lovers than her children. After their mother abandons them, their father can barely contain his animosity towards them, Justin in particular looks most like his adulterous late wife. After a confrontation with Justin, Justin's father dies of a heart attack and Justin grows up convinced he's inherited his mother's wickedness and lives his life to that expectation. Upon hearing five young men make a bet about who can bed the season's darling dubbed the Unattainable, Justin's friend makes a side bet with him daring him to bed her within the month. When Justin finds out the Unattainable was the little girl Arabella who tormented him as a child, he tries to break the bet but still finds himself drawn to her. Arabella is all grown up now and he is drawn to her unlike any other woman. Arabella has rejected three suitors for her hand, she vows only to marry for love. She has always been self conscious of her height and vivid coloring and when she and Justin get together she feels things she's never felt before. Before long, things progress and Arabella and Justin are married. But will ugly secrets destroy them?
This was a good story, but it seems like I've read this story several times before.
Nothing here, moving on... May 26, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I really don't why I bother with these, I really don't.
Samantha James' A PERFECT GROOM reads as an immature, contemporary teenie bopper romance, replete with the bets, dances, handsome rogues, ordinary-looking heroines, tempestuous "romance"/relationships, and cliche "plotting" (if you can call it a veritable plot) we're so familiar with. I love how romance authors like to downplay the appearance of their heroines yet make their heroes the "handsomest", tallest, broad-shouldered rogues ever. I think I counted the word "handsomest" used to describe our hero Justin Sterling at least 10 times. Seriously. Not surprisingly, looks don't mean much to our experienced, handsomest rogue in all of England and he pines over our heroine Arabella's feisty "wit." Please, we can use many adjectives to describe Arabella Templeton's behavior, least of all witty. Immature dithering, repetitive and insipid introspection, constant pining over Justin's handsomest appearance, juvenile fits of anger, maybe. Witty? I don't think so.
The author didn't spend much time thinking through the characterizations in A PERFECT GROOM. Around Justin Sterling, the only thing Arabella notices is his handsomest good looks, and tall, imposing size and yet she says she would like more than good looks in an ideal husband. When it's blatantly obvious that Arabella's attraction to Justin rests with Justin's handsomest good looks? Hypocritical much, Arabella? She disparages men who're after beautiful girls, yet she consistently fawns over Justin's "handsomeness", and Justin's only distinction lies with his appearance. Adolescent beyond belief, no serious mature characterization here.
Arabella's vanity and hypocrisy knows no bounds. Despite having a rather ordinary, gangly appearance herself, Arabella actually claims she doesn't want to be the center of attention. Yet, all of Arabella's conversations with her friend Georginia are centered around Arabella's rejections of so many proposals; in essence, centered around Arabella. When Arabella refuses her 4th proposal from a relatively decent and smitten man (Walter), she's more worried about what the ton will say than any real compassion for the man she scoffed. She wants to believe she considers the man's feelings when she rejects his suit, but obviously not, since after rejecting Walter, she's more distressed about gossip related to her 4th rejection exacerbating her reputation from her point of view. She can't choose anyone shorter than her, well, because, that would just be unbecoming. Appearance and vanity clearly DOMINATE Arabella's thoughts, yet she expects her ideal husband to be above of such vain thoughts in his wife. Uhuh, her characterization makes me physically ill, and the author actually lets her get away with it the entire novel.
Justin's demons and wounded past didn't ring true in the least. It's the same 'ole, same 'ole bad childhood boo-hoo-hoo, get over it Justin, man!
The Story.
Justin Sterling returns to London after being on the Continent for his travels and he's greeted at White's by gentlemen wagering to deflower the Toast of the Season, the Unattainable. The Unattainable has already refused 3 suits and promises to break even more hearts. After 5 men enter a wager in which the first to claim the Unattainable's virtue wins the bet, Justin and his friend enter a private wager of their own, doubling the stakes. Only there's a time limit, and Justin must claim the Unattainable's virtue before the other men. Intrigued, oblivious to the identity of the Unattainable and a reputed cad/libertine, Justin agrees and enters the private wager.
When Justin discovers the identity of the Unattainable, he's reminded of the fiery girl who sticks a needle in his shoe and punches him years ago after witnessing his rakehell ways. Our red-haired, freckled heroine hasn't changed much over the years, she's described as someone who says and does what she feels regardless of etiquette. Not a beauty by any stretch of the imagination, our hero Justin immediately finds himself taken by Arabella's so-called "wit" and combative nature.
Imbecile meetings between our lead pair and adolescent introspections ensue, having little point and less entertainment value as Justin implants himself in front of Arabella whether she wants it or not.
To the book's credit, the ending wasn't as beleaguered and prolonged as I'd expect from juvenile, hackneyed stories such as these. Predictably, Arabella discovers of the private wager and after some time, comes to forgive him having fully reformed Justin's rakehell status.
Nothing here, moving on...
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