Lily Mine: A Historical Fantasy

Lily mine is so romantic. There is the obvious, almost overuse, of the word Lily, but it is so beautifully crafted that the reader does not feel it overly corny. The story begins with Lily Kendall, who is a commoner searching for work as a horticulturalist, after her father throws her out for what he believes to be her being promiscuous. She was raped by the Master of the manor's son, Horace. It cost her father his job. Lily tries to find work but has no luck until she arrives in Lilyvale. At first she is looked at in a shocking manor, and we later learn it is because she so resembles the Lord of the Manor, Lord Ashbourne's fiance, Lilliana, who jilted him and ran off with a commoner right before their wedding. He had been living in seclusion so that society, specifically the ton, doesn't find out what really happened. After they both discuss their needs, he gets Lily to pose as his wife in order to not have society shame Lillian's family and ruin her younger sister Claire's chance at a proper season. Lily agrees to the deal in name only because he promises her a beautiful horticulture shop of her own to start her own business after the ruse is complete. As the sham goes on, the two begin to discover they have intense feelings for each other and begin to explore them. Later in the story he takes her to London in order to fool society and not appear as some jilted fool. After they meet his mother, who receives her with the warmest regard, they continue off to Lilianna's parents's home, where she is treated with contempt by the mother, Evangelina. Evengelina knows that they are perpetuating a hoax, and is in on it, but dislikes Lily's affection for Lord Ashbourne right away, believing that she is an opportunist. Later on in the story, Liliana returns, ashamed of her behavior. Lily believes that Lord Ashborne,(James), will try to make amends so that society doesn't shun her family, so she runs off leaving him a note that she can't say goodbye to him in person because the pain would be unbearable. She tries to find her father and sister's, only to discover that they burned to death in a fire. Heartbroken and deperate she turns to a woman of an Inn who gives her room and board and she helps as a chambermaid in order to earn her keep. James goes on a search for her. He has big news to tell her of what he discovered about her mother's background that was hidden until now. He wants to marry her and the heck with society and their view of him. He finds she has run off and he goes over a month in search for her. He runs into Horace and gets his revenge on the man who hurt the woman he loves. Horace happens to know where she is and he forces him to takes him there. SPOILER'S BELOW*** Upon their reuniting, he tells Lily he found out about her family and is so sorry for her loss. He also tells her who her mother REALLY was, the daughter of a Duke and she changed her real name and her sister is Evengelina. That explains why both Lily and Lilianna so resemble each other. He makes her aunt give Lily the inheritance that is rightfully her's. The only reason Lily's mother never got it is she ran off with a commoner and her father, the Duke disowned her. Of course in the end we have our happily ever after as James and Lily marry and he now calls her Lily mine. Never to be separated again.

Annabel Joseph's latest novel, Lily Mine is a historical fantasy that takes place in England during the mid 1820's. Twenty-one year old, Lily Kendall has just been disowned by her father for an indiscretion that has caused him to lose his job. Lily makes her way from London to the English countryside to seek employment as a gardener. Her dream is to one day have her own greenhouse and flower shop. After turning down several offers of housekeeping work she is directed deeper into the countryside towards Lilyvale Manor to inquire about gardening work. After asking to speak with the head gardener or mistress of the house she finds herself in the main parlor being introduced to James Atherton, Earl of Ashebourne. Lily feels an immediate attraction and James feels shocked at the uncanny resemblance to his wife that has been lost to him. James hires Lily to be his gardener, but after she leaves he decides to make another bolder proposal. As a doppelganger to his wife, Lilliana, he decides to ask Lily to act as his wife either until she returns or until the next year. In exchange he will set her up with her own greenhouse and flower shop. She agrees to this name only arrangement but soon the sexual tension between them becomes too great to ignore and James and Lily give in to their primal urges. There are scenes of bondage, spanking and cropping. I really liked Lily's honesty when she was able to articulate her feelings. And I really loved James' quiet, calm but dominant personality. I thought he paced himself well. He wasn't overpowering and didn't push Lily beyond her comfort zone which surprisingly went further than he thought. The mind games were absent from this novel which was refreshing. But there were some external conflicts that had the potential to derail their love affair. And James taught Lily how to read and write which made me love him more. Once she learned how to read she would sneak up into the attic to read his "porn" collection. She was such a naughty girl. Lily Mine was a really sweet love story with very light BDSM elements. I didn't really like James at first because he seemed a little cold and calculating in the beginning. But as he opened up to Lily I saw him in a better light. I was rooting for Lily to get her happily ever after because she was such a deserving person. There was a nice twist of fate at the end of the book that really made this an enjoyable read. Lily Mine was a great historical romance that would appeal to any erotica romance junkie.

Pretty good story. Interesting moments. A little sad in the end, but it all wraps up nicely. I'd buy it.

Pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas Annabel Joseph, je recommande Lily Mine. Une belle histoire, facile à lire (je l'ai lue en une journée). Sur certains aspects, elle me fait un peu penser à Fifty Shades of Grey, même si les histoires sont bien différentes. Le BDSM mentionné ici n'est pas plus choquant que dans les Fifty, voire moins. Les scènes érotiques sont aussi très sympathiques.Les personnages sont attachants, ce qui ne gâche rien!! C'est pourquoi Lily Mine est un bon livre pour commencer dans le genre! Attention, tous les livres d'Annabel Joseph ne sont pas aussi "soft"!

Great book

Loved this book, some aspects were a stretch of my imagination however it was enthralling all the same. I did think the detectives should have been sacked! Given their inability to discover the tragedy with her family, locating sorry not locating lily or lilliana for that matter. Well worth 5 stars regardless.

Very well written and I liked the story but I would recommend Disciplining the Duchess as a 5 star if you like Joseph's work