Reminder: This is a book club, so there will be spoilers!
Synopsis of Chapter 32 to the end
So Nicholas is woken up because Thomas is hungry and he doesn't want to wake up Regina to feed him. He takes the baby and feeds him without waking Reggie up. Unfortunately, though, Reggie believes that her passionate sex with Nicholas was a dream of some kind and doesn't believe that he actually loves her.
They get to Silverley, and Miriam tells Nicholas that she's planning a party. And what a party it is ... she invites all of Nicholas' ex-lovers! Reggie is (understandably) jealous and Reggie and Nicholas snipe at each other and just generally don't get along. At one point, Reggie catches Nicholas with Selena (from the beginning of the book) together ... Nicholas was ambushed and has no interest in anyone but Reggie, but Reggie doesn't believe that.
Then, Reggie's friend George Fowler comes to visit, and it's Nicholas' turn to get jealous. Reggie tells Nicholas she's going to leave, but as they argue, Nicholas throws Reggie on the bed and she realizes that she really wants him (remember, consent is important, kids!). They have passionate sex again, but the next morning Reggie is back to being jealous when she goes downstairs to get breakfast and sees Nicholas talking to Selena.
Reggie and Nicholas talk, and Reggie finally discovers what Nicholas' big hangup is ... that he's a bastard. Reggie is like, "Whatevs." And, as an extra special bonus, Nicholas gets to discover who his biological mother is ... his favorite aunt, Eleanor (who is going to go get married). Nicholas thanks Miriam for helping him rekindle his love with his wife and then kicks her out of Silverley. Then the Malory boys come to visit, and everybody lives happily ever after. THE END.
Jen's Thoughts:
FINALLY! That's the big thing I got out of this. Reggie and Nicholas FINALLY talked and they FINALLY worked out their issues. It was waaaaay past time. I was so frustrated when Reggie got mad at Nicholas yet again over stuff, and when Nicholas wouldn't just tell Reggie that he was worried about his parentage. I mean, seriously.
I did love the party with all of Nicholas' ex-lovers. That was extremely diabolical on Miriam's part, and I loved it. It was a good way for them to rekindle their romance, too ... the jealousy was finally enough to drive them both crazy. However, it was just overall a little annoying how long it took them to figure this all out.
And then their coming-together again was a little sketchy. I was glad that Reggie suddenly realized that she really wanted Nicholas, but if she hadn't, I would be worried that Nicholas would have barreled on ahead anyway, and that's not cool.
And then the end was just so ... neat and tidy. I liked that everybody lived happily ever after, and Miriam got her comeuppance for being a bitch, and Eleanor finally got to tell Nicholas she was his mother, but it was a little abrupt and a little too good to be true. I did, however, like the Malory brothers coming to visit and annoying Nicholas. I will probably read more Malory books, and I look forward to meeting those guys again.
Jen's Overall Opinion: While I had high hopes for Reggie as a female character and really enjoyed the Malory brothers, "Love Only Once" was just OK.
Kel's Thoughts:
The end finally got a little bit good. But I will go chronologically. Nicholas feeding Thomas without Reggie waking up...kind of weird. Reggie thinking the sexytimes with Nicholas was just a dream...frustrating. Miriam's party...very entertaining concept. Nicholas and Reggie yelling at each other...way overdue. Nicholas chasing Reggie around her bedroom...could have gone badly. Reggie's reaction to Nicholas when he tells her he's a bastard...my favorite thing ever. The ending...happily ever after.
I really did enjoy when Reggie and Nicholas kept yelling at each other. It seemed very therapeutic and long overdue. Nicholas obviously had a bad childhood and therefore doesn't handle his emotions very well. And Reggie grew up with the Malory uncles so she is no stranger to fighting. They seem like a couple whose passions run high and yelling is a good way to deal with problems. I was highly amused when Reggie told Nicholas he was being a bastard and he got overly upset about it. He says something to the effect of "See, I knew my birth would come up in all of this" and she responds along the lines of "I am calling you a bastard as in you are being an ass. Your birth has nothing to do with it". She also had the reaction that I knew she would have with finding out he was a bastard...not an issue at all, since as she pointed out to Nicholas, the Malory family already has bastards in it.
I liked the Malory's coming to visit at the end, especially when Tony and James started to gang up on Nicholas. They will continue to do so throughout the series until they meet the Andersons...who they hate more than Nicholas (something to look forward to in future books). But my favorite thing was that James and Tony never got around to really giving Nicholas a hard time because they got distracted by fighting with each other. And as a special teaser...in future books they comment upon the fact that Reggie really takes her uncles and her husband fighting. If she catches the uncles bating Nicholas, she yells at them. If Nicholas fights with the uncles, she makes him sleep on the couch. Excellent.
Kel's Overall Opinion:
I think that you can definitely tell that this was Johanna Lindsey's first book. It is a bit inconsistent and the sex scenes tend toward being a bit too forceful for my likes. I really do like Reggie, but I almost wish she was slightly older and more mature. Though then I suppose that a lot of the problems would have been solved way easier, making it a short and boring book. I think what Love Only Once did was really set up the Malory family well which does make me want to read more of the books (I've read Gentle Rogue, book 3 and No Choice But Seducation, book 9). Not my favorite novel, but definitely not the worst I've read.
Don't forget! The next Pop Tarts Book Club selection will be "Just Like Heaven" by Julia Quinn. We are both already reading it, so we will be reviewing it soon! We will be reading the entire thing at one time and writing just one recap of it, unlike what we did with "Love Only Once." We hope you join us!
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