Her First Desire audiobook

Her First Desire by Cathy Maxwell2nd book in the Logical Man’s Society series. Historical romance. Can be read as a stand-alone. Gemma arrives in the village claiming ownership of a plot of land and building, displacing the local men’s club. Of course they are upset with her claim and her turning their play house into her home and healing business so pranks ensue. I admired Gemma’s fortitude and strength. Her determination helps her succeed. The hero needed waking up. Eventually he is worthy but he stumbles quite a bit to get there. “She was seeing stars. He kissed her and she was seeing stars.”🎧 I listened to the audio version narrated by Justine Eyre. Justine uses a British English accent in her performance for this audiobook. There was a distinct difference between Gemma and Ned’s voices which made for an excellent performance. I listened to the book at 1.3 which is my usual speed. 1.0 was wonderful but slower than actual conversation for me.3.5 upped to 4 because of the audiobook performance.

I really, really, really loved this book. I loved the whole village ensemble of characters, the silliness of the Logical Men's Society, and their nemesis, the Matrons of the village.Lately, I have been going back and reading some of Maxwell's older works, and she's a great storyteller. She's easy to get lost in the mix because her books aren't showy or formulaic, but that's what makes them so good; you never know how they will end. I didn't know what to expect when I picked this up, but it drew me in from page 1. Gemma, a widow dependent on her husband's relatives, finds out her Uncle Andrew, owner of the Garland and member of the Logical Men's Society, has died. Fed up with the abuse and neglect she has experienced from her husband and his family, she escapes and goes to the small village of Maidenshop to claim his pub as her inheritance. Unfortunately, Ned Thurlowe, Chairman of the Logical Men's Society, has claimed it first for his club and its members. The Maidens of town back Gemma and support her because they are sick of the drinking and carousing of the men's club.Lots of hijinks ensue and witty banter between Gemma and Ned. The characters are endearing and charming. Both Gemma and Ned started mistrusting the opposite sex based on past experiences and healing through their love. Overall, it was an entertaining story.I loved that Ned was illegitimate instead of Gemma; too often, it's the opposite. So this was a nice refreshing change. My one complaint was the author's description of childbirth. Full disclosure, I just had a baby and know way too much about this. This is small, but if you are pregnant, doctors repeatedly warn you about this - the water breaking is accompanied by the "bloody show" because there will be blood. In fact, the doctors and midwives tell you if there is no blood when your water breaks that it's probably not your water breaking. One medical professional told me, "yeah, you might have peed yourself, so make sure you make that distinction before you call your doctor." Also, childbirth is not dangerous. Women have been doing it for thousands of years; what's dangerous - doctors delivering babies and statistics since the 1950's support this. It was such a huge plot point, and it kept driving me crazy. However, there is an author's note at the end where she acknowledges the shortfalls of medicine in the 1800s.Otherwise, so good. I didn't read book 1 and definitely going to have to start that ASAP. Also, side note, I really hope Mars and Clarissa get together. I loved their dynamic.

Cathy Maxwell is an author you can always depend on the deliver a wonderful, feel-good-to-your-toes, heart warming tale. This story is no exception.The heroine is one who has had great suffering and loneliness. She had a horrible husband, detestable in-laws, and still has hope and perseverance. She travels to inherit her uncle's tavern in a small town. The hero is the local doctor of that town, who has taken over the tavern because that is where his gentleman's club has been meeting for decades. He is engaged, by default, to a local.orphan, but he has been putting off the wedding for two years. The heroine arrives in town and the first meeting is chilling. It becomes a war of the tavern and a war of the sexes over who will run the village. The characters that are depicted all blend seamlessly into a lively village. The description of the village and people make the reader feel as if they took a big step into the authors mind. The book reads like a movie. I enjoyed reading the details of village life and how everyone twists and turns with each other. It is as if they are a big family and will support each other even when there are disagreements. The heroine is also a healer who learned from her grandmother and the doctor also feels that this is magic and not science. He has a lot to learn.I recommend this story with 5 stars. All of Ms. Maxwell's stories are timeless. I have 3 of her books on my keeper shelf and will probably add this one.

Entertaining historical romance, and I loved it - but, then, this is one of my favorite genres.

This was my first Cathy Maxwell book. Apparently she is low steam.That said, I kinda enjoyed this one with caveats. I loved Clarissa. Clarissa, the one who is spurned in the course of this book and is NOT the heroine. I found myself rooting for her the WHOLE BOOK. She’s an orphan. She’s unloved by her fiancé, the hero. And you can just tell she’s in this shell ready to come out.Unfortunately, this isn’t her book. Her book apparently comes out in January and features the other character I truly enjoyed, Lord Marsden. From their encounters in this book, that should be good and enjoyable. 🤞Gemma was interesting. Ned was…alright. In my head, I cast Eleanor Tomlinson as Gemma and Aidan Turner as Ned. Which may have been more than the characters deserved, but whatever.I listened to this on audio, narrated by Justine Eyre, who I enjoy as long as she’s not doing male American accents.

Firstly, this romance is FUN! I don't usually find that the case in historical romance, but from the beginning to the end, there is so much physical action in this book. Rowdy pub scenes, a hilarious fistfight, horse rides, magistrate-carrying (you'll have to read it), dancing, etc. Maxwell really puts you in the middle of the action, and I found myself laughing and getting excited about the book. Without giving too much away, gentlemen doctor Ned Thurlowe (head of a misogynist group--trust me on this one, too) is enjoying a peaceful life in his little village when a feisty woman, Gemma, shows up claiming to have inherited the pub that Ned wants to buy. Hijinks ensue, tempers flare, hearts are broken and won. Of course, there is a happily-ever-after (as all good romance should have) and Maxwell does an excellent job of not only showing how two polar opposites can fall in love, but how two souls can complete each other, even without them knowing it. I loved 90% of this novel, but there were a couple of things that bothered me in the beginning. It's totally my opinion, though. These may not bother some people at all. While I ended up absolutely adoring Ned, his first few chapters were a little problematic. He is EXTREMELY misogynistic when we first meet him. So much so that I didn't actually know if I could finish the novel. There's even a few sort of "cheating" scenes. Not between the two main characters (they don't cheat on each other), but it involves one of them. He's actually engaged to another woman. It's hard to redeem a character like that, but Maxwell does a great job with this. He ends up groveling. A lot. But not to the woman he's engaged to. This broken engagement is handled very well, in my opinion, by Maxwell's emotional writing.The other thing that irked me a little is how fast they fell in love. Like, SUPER fast. He goes from hating her to "I love you" in the span of a few pages. It gave me whiplash. Once again, though, I think that Maxwell handles it well. It actually UPS the sexual tension--instead of losing it--and this is when Ned wins me over. His love for Gemma is fierce. Very, very fierce. A huge catnip for me is when the hero falls in love, it's completely over for him. He is 100% in love with the heroine, and no force on Earth will stop him from loving her. When Ned falls for Gemma, it's over. Nothing else matters. He does everything he can to have her. It's beautiful. While there is a ton of sexual tension in this book, there is only one real love scene and it is super quick. I think Maxwell could've included a few more of those, simply because the sexual tension is so strong. It would've been a nice payoff. Gemma is scared--more like terrified--to love another man (her last husband was bad--trust me, you'll hate him), and as a widow, she refuses to let another man ruin her life. I can completely relate to that, but I love that she is won over by Ned's admission that he is her equal, personally and professionally. She always knows this, of course, but it's nice when you see Ned finally catch up to that realization. Overall, the main things I loved about this book was the physical actions and comedy, Gemma's amazing survivor, Ned's heart eyes for Gemma, and the setting in the small village of Maidenshop. Excellent job, Ms. Maxwell!**I was given a complementary copy of this book by the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review.**

Her First Desire is the second book of Cathy Maxwell's A Logical Man's Guide to Dangerous Women series. If you haven't read the prior book, you won't have any problems. I haven't read it either, yet I breezed through this fun battle of the sexes Regency story in about a day, and I wasn't the least bit lost. I was extremely entertained and plan to go back and read the first one.Gemma Estep is the poor relation who lives with her deceased husband's family after he dies in a disgraceful manner. When looking in her brother-in-law's desk for paper, she discovers a hidden letter written to her informing her of her uncle's death. Her uncle previously wrote to her telling her that when he's gone, all that he had was hers. When Gemma demands a widow's portion from her brother-in-law she is refused, so she heads to the village of Maidenshop to turn her uncle's tavern into a respectable family tea garden. When she arrives, however, she meets local doctor Ned Thurlowe, a member of the Logical Men’s Society, who informs her that he is planning to use the tavern as the meeting place of the Society. Well, that just won't do at all! The local matrons help Gemma clean up the tavern for her tea garden, while the men attempt to sabotage her. The fight is on...except Gemma and Ned, despite their confrontations with each other, begin to develop deep feelings. Just how can any good come of this, however, as Ned is already engaged to a local lass?This story was heaps of fun and I had trouble putting it down. There were some maddening issues, though. Ned was engaged to a sweet local girl whom the matrons basically foisted on Ned in order to help her out. He had no feelings for her whatsoever and he kept putting her off. In other words, Ned was basically unlikable at the beginning of this book. He actually was throughout a good deal of it. Gemma was a healer making salves and the like, while arrogant Ned basically dismissed any gifts she might indeed have. He did, however, begin to grow on me as he gradually fell for Gemma and acknowledged that maybe he wasn't always right. Most of the town's men folk actually believed as he did about a woman's place in society. Gemma was good and feisty and I enjoyed watching her head out on her own to escape the thumb of her in-laws. The town matrons were particularly pushy, though they did have their hearts in the right place. I did enjoy Ned and Gemma's sparring and growing romantic feelings. They had palpable chemistry, but it wasn't graphic in the story; besides one love scene and some kisses, it was basically steam-free. This is a book you can share with your relatives without embarrassment. Despite its faults, it was an extremely entertaining tale and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more about the Logical Men’s Society, especially Ned's friend Mars. Reading this was the perfect way to spend a Sunday!I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I was very excited to get this ARC as I have read almost all of Cathy Maxwell’s books. I did struggle initially to get into the book because the first chapter or so setting up Gemma’s backstory was so harsh that I was worried that this wasn’t going to be the fun romp I was expecting. Once Gemma got to Maidenshop (which honestly didn’t take that long) the story turned into more of what I was expecting.I liked Gemma a lot. I found her smart, capable, charming, and quite the feminist. I struggled with Ned. I get that he was meant to be an alpha-type hero, but I grew soooo tired of his blatant sexism. I appreciate that when he was called out for it he acknowledged his biases and tried to change his ways, but to me by that point he had crossed over into the land of incels of which there is no escape. (I do admit that my opinion of Ned was probably a bit tainted by the fact I read most if it immediately after reading The Rommate which has a cinnamon roll super feminist hero.)I also struggled with the fact that there was almost no relationship development. They had an instant attraction while hating each other and continued to hate each other for 75% of the book. Then out of nowhere (again like 75% of the way through) he kissed her was saying he loved her, when they literally had not had a single civil conversation at that point.Maidenshop is filled with a wonderful array of secondary characters. Everyone was so distinctive and it really felt like I was immersed into a real world filled with real people. The book would not have been the same without these characters. They kept me engaged, brought humor, and quite amazingly for a historical romance only a couple of them were titled. Honestly I think they probably saved the book for me. I will be very happy to see almost any of them again in future books in this series.I really really liked the first in the series and overall enjoyed this one as well. Kate and Bran from the first book are present for part of this book and play a big role in helping Gemma and Ned get together. I am very much looking to the third book (which I really really hope is about Clarissa and Mars).Trigger Warnings (sorry some of these contain spoilers): Cheating (Ned is engaged to someone else for 97% of the book, if that is not your thing, you’ve been forewarned). Child loss (discussed but happens before the story starts). Drug use (a side character frequenting opium dens is discussed but happens off page, and he will likely be the hero of another book in the series).Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was great.Gemma Estep was married to a wastrel, a careless father didn't secure her settlements, her husband died while philandering in London, and his brother withheld the news of his demise and her widow's portion from Gemma. Gemma has been forced to fetch and carry for her brother in law and his wife, and when she accidentally discovers they have also withheld news of her uncles death from her, she sees red.She arrives in Maidenhop determined to claim her inheritance of her uncle's tavern, also used as the meeting place of the local Logical Men's Society.Ned Thurlowe is the illegitimate son of an aristocrat and a notorious courtesan, abandoned by his mother and very suspicious of women, he has recently assumed the stewardship of the Logical Men's Society. Dedicated physician Ned is keen to make the society more egalitarian so he has invited more young men from the village to join, he is also keen to have guest speakers and academic speakers to broaden the member's minds. As Andrew, owner of the tavern died a while ago, the society has de facto taken over the Tavern, and Ned and the others believe it will eventually revert to the society.Ned is engaged to be married to a local girl, Clarissa, who was a foundling, left on a local doorstep as a baby. He was cajoled into offering for her, and spends 15 minutes a week determinedly ignoring her. Ned is not very keen on marrying, and is reluctant to make an effort with Clarissa, or even to set a date.When Gemma arrives, he is determined to challenge her claim, and is infuriated by her, as well as completely and utterly fascinated by her. She wants to open a tea garden, and bowling green, and work as a healer. As the women of the village rush to support her, Ned is incensed and so all bets are off.We have a real battle,of the sexes yep plot here, with the women and married men happy with the idea of the tea garden, and the single men who want to get drunk with impunity all against the interfering women of the village. Ned is pretty awful to Gemma for a lot of the book, and the way he treats Clarissa is also not particularly nice. She is just a cypher to him until he can’t resist Gemma, and then he doesn’t honour his promise as he should.Ned does eventually realise he has been prejudging and dismissing women as being capable of independent thought, decision making and intelligence. He also realises that his reliance on the superiority and ‘rightness’ of male pursuits is a fallacy. This was a fun romp, with a lot of character development for Ned who really needed it! I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and all opinions are my own.

For as many years as I have been reading historical, Her First Desire, was my first Cathy Maxwell novel I've read. And it was a second in a series in which I have not read the first! I am breaking all my rules here as I typically try to start series from the beginning but once I read the synopsis I just couldn't wait. And I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed this story. Gemma and Ned are two characters that seem to bring out the worst of each other before they bring out the best. Ned, while a beloved doctor and member of the village, is at his absolute worst with Gemma. He is sexist, condescending, standoffish and a total grump.  And Gemma, having escaped as a poor relation of her dead husband's awful family, is finally standing up for herself and fighting for herself, as no one in her life ever really fought for her. What is pure antagonism between Gemma and Ned is really just incredible attraction that they are fighting instead of succumbing to. Add in a ridiculous "he-man-woman-haters-club" or what they call, Logical Men's Society, it is a battle of the sexes between Gemma and the women of this village, and Ned and the men of his. What I really liked about this story and what kept me reading was how we slowly see Ned pull his head out of his ass and grow up as a character. He was very boorish and frankly a huge jerk to Gemma, especially his internal thoughts on why his club matters, especially his views on men vs. women. Of course, Ned has his own reasons to be wary of the fairer sex, but it isn't until he feels what he does for Gemma that he realizes he has it all wrong. There is something endearing about seeing someone grow because the person they love brings that out in them. I did have to knock down the rating as there were a few issues I had. Mainly how quickly the "L" word was thrown out. I mean, I could believe it by the end of the story but it felt premature in spite of things. Also, Gemma and her past with her husband, showed a little recklessness when it came to Ned as he was betrothed to a sweet young girl that didn't deserve the indifference she got. Also, there was no epilogue which was a total bummer, but I know I am spoiled in that regard. I am very much looking forward to the next book in this series, as I hope it's Mars and Clarrisa that end up together. 

This book is very much a battle of the sexes. Pretty literally. All of the men and women in the book - except for maybe Brandon and Kate (from the prior book in the series) are very much at odds with each other. Both sides believe they know better and both sides have decidedly flawed views as well. Ned is a physician who is the illegitimate son of an earl and a very famous courtesan. He is pretty rigid in his beliefs and thought processes. He doesn't trust anyone - particularly women. Very few women in his life have given him a reason to trust - and he hasn't felt an emotional connection to any of them. He is engaged to a truly sweet woman who has had a hard life - not because he loves her or even wants to marry her but because she needs someone to help her. When Gemma comes to town and threatens his stable orderly life - he is immediately threatened by her in almost every possible way - from her talent for making herbal remedies to her immediate acceptance by the town to her claimed ownership of the building where his society meets. His fiery reaction to her equates to a passionate emotional response.Gemma responds in kind - she is in a desperate situation and the Garland and the small town is her only chance towards building a life. She has been badly treated by all the men in her life except for her now deceased uncle. She is predisposed to think badly of Ned and his behavior doesn't exactly help things. In reading this book you have to be prepared for a long, antagonistic battle between Gemma and Ned. I think the author did a really good job of letting each of them learn and grow - finding that men and women aren't all one way or the other and not all bad or good. I also appreciated the friendships that Ned had - and how they didn't just tell each other what they wanted to hear or blindly support each other. I'd be very interested in reading Marsden's book in particular!Overall - I recommend - but you have to be in the right frame of mind to read an enemies to lovers book!I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

I became a fan of Cathy Maxwell's books by listening to them while I walk, so when I saw she had a book on NetGalley, I snapped it up!When Gemma Estep's philandering husband is killed in a duel, she is stunned to learn that he left everything to his equally morally-bankrupt brother. Not only is she destitute, she is now the target of the lascivious man's advances. She has only one family member who might help, but when she discovers that her uncle has died, and the letter to her telling of his death was kept from her, she packs what she can, and flees before she can be caught in the snare her brother-in-law has set for her. Convinced that she is her uncle's only heir, she travels to Maidenshop to take ownership of The Garland.Ned Thurlowe is president of the Logical Men's Society, and they have been meeting in The Garland since the group's founding. Over the last few years, the group has degenerated from discussions of lofty ideas, to drinking, carousing, and whoring, and Ned knows it's all his fault. Knowing he needs to take the reins of the group back, he also knows he needs to secure "their" place. Discovering that someone else, a woman no less, has a claim on The Garland is a shock but he's sure there isn't a will. How can she possibly have a greater claim than he has?Gemma and Ned fight their attraction from their very first meeting. Since they are at cross-purposes for the building, how can they even be friends? He's a doctor. She's a healer. He's a man who is convinced he doesn't need any woman even though he's engaged to someone else. She's a woman who has seen nothing but hurt from the men in her life. He wants the building to remain a tavern, for men only. She wants to turn it into a tea garden where families are welcomed. What will it take to get them on the same page?This story had enough laugh-out-loud moments to keep it engaging, and more than enough "pranks" to keep the heroine on her toes. I really enjoyed the story, and will be going back to read the first book in the series, His Secret Mistress. If you enjoy historical romance with a bit of steam, this one is for you. Cathy Maxwell didn't disappoint here!

She had been staying at her brother-in-law's home. She happened to find a letter addressed to her and had been opened. Her last living relative, Her uncle had died and it had been 3 months ago. The same had happened when she came to London she found out her husband had been dead for six months. No one thought to tell her. She had lost her father, then her daughter and her husband, and now her uncle. Her uncle had left her a tavern in Maidenshop. So she left and went to Maidenshop.Dr. Ned Thurlowe was a very distrustfully young man. His mother was a courtesan, a very famous one. His father took him and educated him. Clarissa Taylor had become his fiance, but there was no love between them. She had waited two years to marry.It was a wonderful story. The matrons of the village thought they ran it. Ned only needed his friends in The Local Men's Society to feel at home but they thought they ran the village. When Gemma and Ned first met, they had a lot of animosity toward each other. One time she found her store/house with dozens of chickens inside and boy did they make a mess. She was very angry. She stood in the middle of the road and threw eggs at him. She just knew he had something to do with it. Crazy things like that. It was funny. I loved reading this tale and the characters were amazing. It was very entertaining and kept you on your toes. I highly recommend itI received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.Like ∙ flagfollowing reviews

It's a battle of the sexes in the village of Maidenshop! Ned, the pompous town doctor, wants to hold a lecture series at The Garland. The only problem - The Garland has been claimed by Gemma, the deceased owner's niece. She wants to turn the town tavern into a tea garden for ladies. With curtains! Ned doesn't trust women. His mother was a famous courtesan who ignored him all his life. He really doesn't like healer's like Gemma and can't understand why townspeople (especially the women) are going to her for relief and not him. Gemma doesn't trust men. Her cheating husband died dueling over another woman leaving her destitute. Her father had left everything to her husband and now her home and money went to her brother-in-law. The Garland is a chance for an independent new life. To add to the complications, Ned is engaged to orphan Clarissa even though he doesn't want to marry her. He felt pressured by the Matron's of the town to give her a safe future. Gemma's presence in the village changes the status quo. People are changing their ideas without even realizing it. There is an excellent scene involving eggs you'll enjoy! We see characters from book one and I look forward to reading their stories in the future. I received at ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

I will start by saying this is not my favorite cover. Still it is bright and eye catching. Now we have a book that is part of a series but it is not needed to be read in order to understand the story but you meet past characters. We have a widow who takes her undecided future into her own hands, by taking over her uncle's tavern. This upsets the Logical men's society. Especially the chairman and local doctor Ned. Ned and Gemma butt heads over the ownership. We get lots of arguing and tension. There are strong women who will take the men down a peg. A little humor, a little tension, and some sweet kissing. There is one steamy scene but not too graphic. MINOR SPOILER:I will say that Ned is engaged to a lady who he is not interested in. He does share kisses with Gemma while engaged. Of course things work out for everyone with a happily ever after and an additional chapter letting us know what is coming in the next book.