Still in My Heart

by Kathryn Smith

Brahm Ryland is a man used to getting everything he desires... Another London season has just wound down and Brahm Ryland, Viscount Creed, is thankful for it. Since a horrible mistake ruined his betrothal to the beautiful Lady Eleanor Durbane, his life as a scandalous bachelor has grown tedious; every day without Eleanor seems longer than the last. But then a break in the monotony appears: an invitation to a shooting party at the home of Lord Burrough,...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060740744
• ISBN13: 9780060740740
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Clean & Sober

The engagement of Brahm Ryland, Viscount Creed to Eleanor Durbane was broken off some years ago, when he was seen by his fiance, to be in bed with her sister. It seems Brahm is an alcoholic, and the sister took advantage while he was drunk. Brahm has now been clean and sober for several years, after a carriage accident that killed his father and left him with a limp. He's hoping to have another chance with Eleanor, while still dealing with the past consequences of his alcoholism. There are some humiliating past public incidents while he was drunk, as well as the contempt of familiy members. Eleanor has to deal with Brahm's betrayal, as well as his drunken behavior, yet still see him as someone worthy to love. She is someone of strong character while still being a woman of her time. She has to circumvent her conventional inclinations to reach out to Brahm and give him some unconventional help once she decides she really wants to work things out with him. Brahm is an interesting personality, in that while he is sober, he is a responsible, caring, competent and protective head of his family. His degradation as a drunk is realistic, and a facinating contrast. He's flawed in a non-romantic way which makes him all the more interesting. Those who have read Smith's previous books about Brahm's brothers, will recognize Brahm as the strong older brother. This book in the series gives a wonderful additional dimension to the character and gives the romance with Eleanor that much more depth.

That description!!!

What was Ms. Smith thinking??? I fail to see why authors give their characters quirky little oddities. For example, why in heaven's name did she make the heroine, Eleanor, have duck lips. That is her description--it even mentions in the book about Eleanor quacking. What???? For the rest of the book, and I will say that that is the only mention of those creepy lips in the entire book, all I could imagine was Donald Duck. Since Ms. Smith didn't feel the need to expound on the lips in question at all during the rest of the book, why give her heroine such an odd feature?? It meant absolutely nothing to the plot of the book. All it did was jar me totally out of the flow of the book. And, the book itself was very good. I really liked this book. I liked it all, except for the lips. Authors, listen up. Be careful how you describe your characters. It gives us readers some terribly unflattering pictures of your creations.

Still In My Heart

Brahm has decided to accept the invitation to Lord Burrough's party as it will give him the opportunity to apologize to Eleanor, his former betrothed and Lord Burrough's daughter. Brahm has a drinking problem and many years ago he was very drunk and found himself in bed with Eleanor's sister Lydia. The result, any hope that he had for a future with Eleanor was destroyed. Brahm is determined to apologize and in the process, he hopes that Eleanor's forgiveness will allow him to finally move on with his life. When Brahm sees Eleanor at her home, he notices first that she is even more beautiful than he remembered and second she is definitely still angry with him. He takes the first opportunity he can get to explain what happened that fateful night. Eleanor has never fully recovered from Brahm's betrayal. She is surprised at Brahm's confession and without admitting it to him that she is relieved and optimistic and she may actually be able to forgive him. Eleanor begrudgingly admits to herself that she likes the man that Brahm has become. As Brahm and Eleanor begin to rebuild their relationship, Lydia has other plans; in her jealousy and unhappiness, she creates many problems for them. Along with Lydia's attempts to keep them apart, Braham's alcoholism is still an issue. Will the love between Brahm and Eleanor be strong enough to see them through these hurtles so they can finally be together? Brahm is good man and Eleanor is kind and beautiful. Their love is endearing and their passion is hot! Lydia is a snake and I so wished she had gotten what she deserved. Although the storyline in Still In My Heart easily captivated me, poor Eleanor was betrayed repeatedly and eventually I just needed to see her find happiness. The constant feelings of angst and sadness I felt for Eleanor and Brahm made it hard for me to fully enjoy this book. However, I did enjoy the emotion of their long lost love and I found myself cheering for them throughout the story. Brahm and Eleanor's desire for each other stands the test of time and separation, but in the end does their love does triumph? Nannette Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Exquisitely sensual and poignant love story.

Having read the previous books in this series, I waited patiently to read Brahm Ryland, Viscount Creed's story. Portrayed as complex, yet deeply loving of his brothers, I always knew that discovering the reason for his deep sadness was going to make one heck of a story. I was not wrong! Brahm was a drunk - plain and simple, but for the last few years he'd fought the battle and had remained sober. Slowly, he was building bridges and being accepted back into the society that had labeled him bad ton! Receiving an invitation from Lord Burroughs, father of the woman whose betrothal he'd ruined ten years before, offered him a chance to finally make amends to the one person he'd never wanted to hurt. Eleanor Durbane, had many years to get over the ache left in her heart after Brahm's betrayal, but to have him show up unexpectedly at her father's invitation was just about more than she could bear. With her sisters warning Eleanor against him, Brahm knew he walked a tightrope in convincing her to trust him again. If nothing else, Brahm was determined to do anything he could to tell his side of the story, to apologize, and if the God's were kind give him one more chance to woo the one lady who after all these years still held his heart captive. *** Completely stand-alone, Smith does a marvelous job in this wonderful character study exposing the pain of betrayal, and the agony faced while trying to win back the trust of the one true love Brahm had hurt so badly. Neither did she sugar coat Brahm's struggles of taking `one day at a time' in his battle with alcohol addiction, weaving this into a compelling and poignant storyline. I found this to be an exquisitely sensual, romantically poignant and emotionally powerful read that I highly recommend.

Still in my Mind!

This books finishes the Ryland brothers series nicely. It is not a perfect story but an intense one. All during the series we saw glimpses of Brahm and wondered what his past was all about. The author starts the book ambiguously which works and the mysteries start unraveling! It is evident how much Brahm loves Ellie even though the words are not used. This book is about finding courage to love, working past your demons so that you can love completely. Don't want to give too much away so I won't go into the plot line. I did wonder how the author was going to write a story that seemed to have the hero boxed in from the beginning but she did a great job! My heart was pounding because I found some scenes intense. I would recommend reading the other books in the series first, so that you can get to know Brahm before his story unfolds.