The Spare

by Carolyn Jewel

Book Overview

Captain Sebastian Alexander, late of His Majesty's Royal Navy, is The Spare who inherits an earldom and Pennhyll Castle after the death of his older brother. Red-haired Olivia Willow is invited to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0843953098
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Leisure Books
• Length: 339 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 1.0" x 4.5"

Customer Reviews

Perhaps her best work!

I had already bought this book, The Spare, when I read, and did not enjoy, Indiscreet, and almost did not attempt this one. But thank goodness an unread book is an anathema! This book was entertaining, good narrative and interesting characters. AND humor - indispensable to a satisfying read! And an unusual plot! The supernatural element, which I would normally regard as a negative, actually added to the interest without seeming far fetched. I have read it now several times ( even bought the leading lady’s perfume!!!) THIS book I do recommend! Wholeheartedly!

a different kind of romance

The Spare starts out as a fairly typical regency romance. A wounded naval officer sent home from the war, the heir to a title and great estate with the passing of his older brothers. A country house party during which he is to select his bride to be. The on-the-self spinster who catches his eye despite the prettier, younger girls in attendance. But The Spare soon leaves this familiar territory in the dust to draw the reader into a sumptuously, sometimes chillingly, gothic realm of visions, dreams, and, of course, unleashed passions, at the heart of which is a murder mystery to be solved. The plot is excellently constructed and the mystery beautifully explored. While Sebastian Alexander, now Lord Tiern-Cope, was away at sea, his brother and his brother's wife were murdered at their home. Olivia Willow was also there, and she was also attacked, but survived. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember anything about the event. Sebastian is an intriguing mix of stalwart war hero, stoic, arrogant lord, sexy seducer, and determined sleuth, for he's certain that the key to the murder mystery lies in Olivia's lost memories. He treats her (rather roughly) as a suspect at first, but his feelings for her, and his conception of the past alter and develop throughout the book as his inquiries unearth disturbing truths about his own family history and the way it has intersected with Olivia's. As the book gradually unraveled the issues at its heart, I really liked the direction it took and how. Sebastian's estate, Pennhyll Castle, is reputed to be haunted, and as the reader gets drawn further and further into the mystery and the romance, things get very creepy and confusing - playing with the reader and the characters, tantalizing and inciting the imagination. The line between dreams and reality blurs fantastically. The prose is rich, evocative, and compelling. My only complaint would be that, though the characters are very well drawn, Olivia fades into the background after a while, and it becomes more and more about the hero, more from his perspective. But since he's such a fascinating character, I don't mind in the least. The Spare is a very different, original, and captivating romance.

Unusual and Atmospheric Romance

This is a wonderfully atmospheric historical romance set in Cumbria in 1812. The hero of the story is the gothically handsome and forbidding Captain Sebastian Alexander, naval hero of the Napoleonic wars and younger son of the Earl of Tiern-Cope. Sebastian was born a third son or "spare" but finds himself inheriting following the deaths of his older brothers. At home recuperating from a war wound, he intends to "do his duty" to the earldom -- marry and set up his nursery prior to returning to the sea. His friend, James, arranges a houseparty at Pennhyll Castle to introduce Sebastian to likely young ladies--including James's half-sister, the beautiful and spoiled Diana. Also included among the guests is the heroine, Miss Olivia Willow, an impoverished former governess who was present on the fateful night one year previously when Sebastian's brother and sister-in-law were murdered and Olivia herself gravely injured. Olivia claims to have no memory of the night, but Sebastian has his doubts about that and wants to question her himself. Olivia is an excellent heroine--intelligent, honorable, hard-working and unaffected. Her poverty is dealt with in a very touching manner and her choices are brave and appropriate. I am not quite sure why she went to such pains to appear to be a silly flibbertigibbet at the beginning of the book (weren't most of the other houseguests local people and wouldn't they have known her already?), but once she set that act aside she proved to be a very appealing heroine. Sebastian was an interesting and compelling hero. A naval officer who has been largely at sea for the past 12 years, he lacks social graces and makes no apologies to anyone. (The fact that he is handsome, titled and wealthy help everyone overlook his rough edges.) After coldly deciding that Diana would make a perfect countess, he finds himself perversely attracted to the flame-haired Olivia and drawn into the mystery of her past and her relationship with his older brother. Further complicating the picture is the castle ghost (the Black Earl)--visible only to Sebastian and Olivia--who seems to be pushing them together. I *loved* the gothic and paranormal elements in this book--particularly the sequences where it was hard to know what was real and what was fantasy. The sexual tension was wonderfully done and the characters of the hero and heroine well developed. My major quibble with the story is that the murder mystery wrap-up was rather anti-climactic and the ending seemed to be a bit mundane compared to the very unusual and original middle section of the book. In summary, this is a very well-written, unusual historical romance with lovely gothic touches and an appealing hero and heroine. Highly recommended for historical romance lovers looking for something a little bit different!

wonderful!!

Carolyn Jewel's second book The Spare really shows her growth as a writer. Her first book demonstrated her talent, but there were a few nagging problems, as if she did not fully know her hero and heroine and how they would react, or she made them do things that seemed totally against their characters. In this book, you see none of that. Her craft is stronger, and a subtle deftness is in her prose that makes this book so strong, so perfect. The Spare is a touch more sedate, elegant, with a dram of Paranormal/Gothic saying Jewel really has found her meter. This book is just so "assured" and it lets the reader settle into the spiraling story and enjoy it completely. It really leads me to look forward to her third book. Sebastian Alexander is "a spare" - a younger son who never thought to rise to the earldom destined for his brother. He has pursued a career in the Royal Navy and had his life mapped out. He loved the life at sea. But suddenly he is beached. The "spare" is now an earl. Through a series of mysterious events, his brother is dead. Sebastian is wounded in battle and is recovering when news comes of his brother's murder. He must come to grips with his fate and the trouble surrounding his brother's death. There was a witness to the crime, one who could supply the answers to the dark riddles - Miss Olivia Willow. She was there that night, and was almost killed as well. She is the key to Sebastian learning why his brother died. Only opening that key is not as easy as he hoped. Olivia, a vexingly beautiful redhead, cannot recall what happened that night. Three days of her memory is missing. Haunted by the ghost of his brother, Sebastian thinks this loss of memory is too convenient, too suspect and he will not rest until he unlocks the riddle of Olivia and knows everything she does about that fateful night. Olivia is very beautiful, but a "poor relation". She is leery when the new earl invites her to his house party, invited to "even out the numbers". This gives Sebastian the chance to probe her story. Olivia is a strong character, one the readers will immediately identify and love. She lives on the edge of the gentry, but her poor means has held her back, yet she carries herself with a grace, serenity and ability to see past the surface of others. It's in Olivia where I see the most maturing in Jewel's writing. Olivia is just such a strongly defined character, so believable that she quickly has the reader wrapped around her delicate little finger. She is an outsider in this wealth and tries to remain on the edge, not attracting attention at the gathering. However, Sebastian will not permit that. Their acquaintance begins as an adversarial one, though both sense an attraction. As Sebastian's investigation moves forward, he shifts from doubt to grudging respect, then into love. Again, Jewel demonstrates the growth in her talent by having such a strong relationship between these two wonderfully crafted characters

Original and Page Turning Regency

Setting - Pennhyll Castle, Cumbria, 1812 --- Captain Sebastian Alexander, of His Majesty's Royal navy was home, recuperating from wounds received in battle, and from the summons that had finally reached him notifying him of his father's death and his bother's murder. Sebastian, `the spare' was now the heir and as such, the Earl of Tiern-Cope. It was his duty to marry, yes marry and set up his nursery - and to his mind get back to the sea, the only thing in his life he loved.His very good friend James had assembled a house party along with a bevy of prospective brides for him to choose from, including James' sister Diana, whom he assumed Sebastian would marry. Included with this group and to even out the numbers, was another `spare' Olivia Willow who is the only witness and sole survivor at the scene of the murder that claimed his brother and sister-in-law's lives. The only problem being, Olivia had been so traumatized that she'd lost all memories of the day before and the two days following the murders. Sebastian was determined to `break' her, to probe within the mind that held the secrets and bring the killer to justice. What he was not ready for was Olivia, with her red hair, and her irreverence towards his arrogance and animosity towards her. While staying in the castle both Sebastian and Olivia were being assailed with visions of the ghostly Black Earl and themselves in sensual occupations, neither was ever sure what was real and what was not, except for the intense physical attraction that both felt and were trying to ignore. This was quite an unusual love story with two very original lead protagonists. Sebastian was determined to uncover the murderer, always thinking that Olivia was involved yet fighting his escalating feelings every day for a woman whom he clearly felt had probably had an affair with his brother. Sebastian is clearly one of the more arrogant male leads I've encountered with very little finesse in courting the female sex, particularly after having led a sailors life for the past twelve years. Olivia on the other hand, was a delightful heroine, who on top of all the injustices she'd endured in life still had a positive outlook. The secondary characters were all well drawn out as to their parts in the story, and the ghostly apparitions were a fun touch adding a lot of depth and interest to the plot. I admit to reading this in one sitting, it certainly was an exciting page-turner and the `imagined and dreamed' sexual encounters were extremely hot. The only reason I have for not giving it a higher rating though, is that I believe it would have been nice to have seen a bit more reaction of James and Diana to Sebastian's abrupt marriage to Olivia, especially since James was his best friend and had himself offered marriage to Olivia. Bottom line, the story is terrific with an original plot that fans of this sub-genre should truly enjoy. --- Marilyn Rondeau, Official Reviewer at www.historicalromancewriters.com

I love the mix

of ghosts and redemption and mystery and spice. I was tempted to give it a slightly lower score because I was occasionally thrown off the main story line, but heck, it's a fun read and I'm putting it on my keeper shelf.