When a Stranger Loves Me: Pembroke Palace Series, Book Three (The Pembroke Palace Series)

by Julianne MacLean

Book Overview

I saved his life . . . and I had much to demand in return. When he washed up on shore, I knew my prayers had been answered, and that I, Lady Chelsea Campion, need no longer fear poverty and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061456853
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Avon
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.0" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Tender, character-driven historical romance!

When a Stranger Loves Me is the third installment in USA Today bestseller Julianne MacLean's Pembroke Palace series. In the previous book, The Mistress Diaries, Lord Blake Sinclair went missing and we find out precisely what happened in When a Stranger Loves Me. Lady Chelsea Campion has lived somewhat in exile on the island of Jersey for the last seven years. At 18, she ran off with a fortune hunter and created a scandal that her family has never been able to live down. And now she feels the pressure of possibly having to marry her father's cousin and heir because her brother (the current earl) and sister-in-law have produced no offspring after ten years of marriage. Despite this, she is happy living on the wild Jersey coast. She loves walking along the beaches and cliffs and listening to the pounding waves crashing to the shore. Doing so feeds her imagination and breathes life into her writer's soul. While on one of her seaside excursions, she discovers a man's gold watch with the initials B H S inside and immediately starts daydreaming about whom it might belong to and what the initials might stand for. She then enters one of the sea caves and is stunned to see a man laying face down on the ground. A naked man. Chelsea checks his pulse and then hurries home to summon help. The unconscious man is seen and treated by the doctor and when he later awakens, he has no idea where he is, how he got there or even who he is. Chelsea befriends him and eventually conjures up a plan that may save her and her family -- she intends to seduce the handsome stranger and conceive an heir. What she didn't intend was losing her heart in the process. When her scheme is exposed and her lover's identity is revealed, Chelsea is left wondering if their love will be enough to withstand all of her lies. Chelsea is one of those characters that, despite the fact that the reader knows she is doing something dishonest, you can't help but sympathize and root for. She has a good heart and good intentions in wanting to atone for her past sins by helping her family out now. And as much as she thought she was happy with her life, it isn't until she spends time with Blake that she realizes that writing a romantic story and actually living one are two completely different things. Blake is confused and discouraged because of his memory loss. He has no clue of his name, his station in life, of any responsibilities he might have or of any family or friends. It was as if his life started the day he was rescued in that cave. Because of that, he clings to the only thing he does know - the beautiful woman who saved his life, Chelsea. Ms. MacLean did a fantastic job conveying Blake's amnesia. It was extremely realistic and I truly felt his frustration in needing to find out who he is and also his trepidation in not wanting to know because it might disrupt the happiness he found with Chelsea. When a Stranger Loves Me is a beautiful, tender love story full of the hear

Book III in the Pembroke Palace Series - Excellent!

For some reason I left this book on my shelve for a few weeks and then I started to read it ... less than 24 hours later I was it had to end. The characters were rich and full. My favorite part was that I had read this series but has he started to get his memory back - I started to remember the previous novels. The concept is a naked handsome man is found washed up on the island shore and has amnesia. He was found by Lady Chelsea Campion who the Ton excelled an English Island 7 years ago. She is being forced to marry her 50 year old slimy cousin and decided to have one last adventure with mystery man. Check out the whole Pembroke Palace Series; In My Wildest Fantasies (Avon Romantic Treasure) (book 1) , The Mistress Diaries (Avon Romantic Treasure) (book 2). According to her website we might have to wait awhile for book 4 Garrett story since she changed publishers.

I loved, loved, loved this book!

I consider myself a tough judge when it comes to romance novels, but this is a book that left me with zero complaints. And that's saying a lot for this reader. I have to acknowledge that I didn't realize this book was part of a series, nor did I read the previous books in the series (though I will now), so even if you're someone who is not familiar with the prior books and characters, you will still have a great, fulfilling read. The hero earns major bonus points for sexiness. He's mysterious and dangerous and exudes wonderful sex appeal -- easily the best hero I've run across in the pages of a romance in a long time. The heroine is charming and while she makes some silly mistakes, I think her fallibility makes her endearing. It also makes the second half of the book just as great of a read as the first when simmering tension and anger get into the mix of passion between Blake and Chelsea. Seriously, I heart angry Blake! Okay, all gushing aside, this is a definite must-read for any historical romance lover. It kept me up all night long and made me wish I lived near the ocean...

Her best so far!

After reading a disturbing letter, Chelsea is taking a walk on the beach when she discovers a handsome, naked! Stranger. Little choice left, she takes the stranger to her house where she lives with her mom, her brother and his wife. When the handsome stranger awakens they discover he can't remember a single thing... Not how he ended up naked and stabbed in the water, nor his own name or his past... Facing a future she wants to avoid at all cost and an attraction to a stranger she finds hard to deny, she sets up a daring and sensual scheme. Unfortunately the plan didn't include the strong feeling she develops for the stranger who seduces her body by night and her heart by day. Living a dream has only one disadvantage... One moment one must wake up and face reality again... This is part 3 of the Pembroke Palace Series by Julianne MacLean. In this wonderful novel MacLean takes us on a journey with the missing Blake, the responsible, loyal brother. Only with no recollection of whom he is, Blake is able to show the side he has to hide for so many years. With no one to remember, he is drawn to Chelsea without any inhibition. Faced with a love blossoming, but no memory of a wife or fiancée who might be searching for him. The love between Chelsea and Blake is strong and heartbreaking. Blake is heartbroken when he finds out what Chelsea planned and as his brother shows up to take him home, there's only one thing he can do... Take Chelsea with him to see where to go from there and to have her by his side in a world that is so unfamiliar to him. Blake is arrogant, caring and more like his brothers than we would have assumed previously. Chelsea is going to be forced to a wedding she doesn't want. Ruined by a youthful elopement it's the only marriage proposal she can expect. And since her brother's wife hasn't conceived yet, it up to her to keep the title in the family. Thus a plan developed in her mind... Chelsea started as a dreamer, a writer with her head in the clouds. But as the story continues she has to learn to deal with reality and face the fact that she is as free as she would like to believe... But when the truth is discovered, all her dreams seem to scatter around her. The latest novel by Julianne MacLean is a heartbreaking story that grabs your heart and won't let go until you finished the very last sentence... Julianne MacLean's wonderful talent combined with a heartbreaking plot and well developed and growing characters resulted in a book that will most definitely be on your keeper's shelf. With this book Julianne MacLean hits the stars. It has everything... Passion, love, betrayal, hurt and lots of emotions. I can honestly say this is the best book by this writer so far! And I have loved her work from the very first one... When a stranger loves me touches your heart in a way you won't forget easily.

Another Delicious Pembroke Palace Read

When Lady Chelsea Campion discovers a gorgeous naked man bleeding to death in an ocean cave and, for very good reasons, decides to seduce him, she has no idea he will turn her life upside down. She is more or less content here on her island, as a writer and incidentally and unfortunately as a ton pariah. Still, the stranger presents a very attractive means to make her family secure and to avoid marrying her repellent cousin. To Lady Chelsea's chagrin, although the stranger cooperates spectacularly in the seduction, from there on in he discovers reason to doubt Lady Chelsea and all around him. This, the third book in Julianne MacLean's Pembroke Palace series, is part romp, part mystery and wholly delightful.