The Lyndon Sister
Series is a story between two opposite characters of sisters, daughters of a
Priest in a small village in Kent, England in their own journey to seek and
find love in their life. The stories began in 1809 with Victoria’s story, and
ends in 1817 with Eleanor’s story.
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The
Lyndon Sister Series merupakan kisah mengenai kehidupan dua bersaudari anak
dari seorang pastur pembantu di daerah Kent, Inggris dalam mencari dan mendapatkan
cinta. Cerita dimulai dengan kisah Victoria di tahun 1809, dan diakhiri dengan
kisah Eleanor di tahun 1817.
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Book
1 : Everything
And The Moon
Copyright © 1997 by Julie Cotler
Pottinger
First
Published in Indonesia on 2011 by Dastan Books
Paperback
Edition, 23 Chapters (including Epilog), 440 Pages (for Indonesian Edition)
Genre :
Historical Romance, Adult Novel
Other books
in the series : Brighter
Than The Sun (The Lyndon Sister #2)
Seven
years ago she broke his heart…
When Robert Kemble stumbles
across Victoria Lyndon in hedgerow
maze, he can’t believe his eyes. The girl who’d torn him in two, who let him
plan on elopement and then left him standing by the side of the road, was
suddenly within arm’s reach, and even though his fury still knew no bounds, she
was impossible to resist…
Seven
years ago he left her all but ruined…
Victoria’s
father had told her an earl would never marry a vicar’s daughter, and he was
right. Robert had promised her marriage, then danced off to London while she
suffered the shame of a foiled elopement. But even though Victoria doesn’t
particularly enjoy her new life as a governess, when Robert offers her a job of
a different sort—his mistress—she refuses, unable to sacrifice her honor, even
for him.
But
Robert won’t take no for an answer, and he vows to make her his, through any
means possible. Can these star-crossed lovers learn to trust again? And is love
really sweeter the second time around?
Everything And The Moon
tells a romantic story between Victoria Lyndon with Robert Kemble, Earl of
Macclesfield, the only son of Marquess of Castleford. Victoria first met with
Robert in small village named Bellfield in Kent, England in 1809.
Robert falls in love
with Victoria at first sight when he accidentally saw her near the lake while
he just strolling down the woods nears his father’s house one evening. Both Victoria
and Robert cannot stop their deep feelings growing strong for each other
despite their different backgrounds. Robert’s father owned Bellfield and the
lands around that area, while Robert is an earl, heir to Marquess title and
their family fortune. And Victoria’s father move to Bellfield with his two
daughters (Victoria and little sister, Eleanor) to fill the position as
Bellfield new Priest.
But their status
difference didn’t matters to both of them. These two young lover sees beyond
social status and only sees each other souls. With Victoria by his side, Robert
feels complete. He can talk about anything and pouring out his deepest hopes,
thoughts, and worries to Victoria without worry that she will judge him or
laugh at him. Victoria also feels the same as Robert. And each of them inspires
the other to be better. So no wonder after only 2 months, Robert decided to
propose to Victoria.
Unfortunately, Robert’s
father, Marquess of Castleford, and also Victoria’s father, Reverend Lyndon,
didn’t approve with their relationship. Robert’s father thinks that Victoria is
only an ambitious social climber country girl who only after Robert’s money and
title, and he threaten Robert to cut his only son from his will and his fortune
if Robert insisted to marry Victoria. While Victoria’s father is worry for his
eldest daughter’s future since he was afraid that Robert isn’t serious to marry
Victoria because of the social status difference between them and only playing
her daughter.
Against his father,
Robert asked Victoria to elope with him and go somewhere they can live a simple
life without Robert’s title and money. But on the night planned for them to
meet, Victoria was locked in her bedroom with her hands and feet tied by her
father. Robert who disappointed since Victoria didn’t come to meet him, go to
her house and see from outside her bedroom window that Victoria lied in her
bed. He didn’t know that Victoria is tied, and he thinks that his father was
right that Victoria is not coming because she thinks Robert is not an Earl and
poor now. Brokenhearted, he left Kent to London that night. Meanwhile when
Victoria find out a couple of days later that Robert already left without
saying goodbye to her or at least ask her for explanation for why Victoria
couldn’t meet him the other night, she also devastated and angry with her
father. She also decided to leave Kent to try to forget about Robert and find a
job as a governess to support herself.
Seven years later in
1816, they finally meet again when Robert attending a house party held by
Victoria’s employer where she works as a Governess to their child. Even though
they both still love each other, they both also seems to hate each other
because of their misunderstanding 7 years ago caused by their fathers action.
Can they both finally overcome their misunderstanding and bruised ego to reach
their happy ending? Could Robert finally fulfill his promise to Victoria 7
years ago to give her Everything And The Moon?
Well, actually before
I read Everything
And The Moon, I feel a little bit skeptical with novels that have
the Hero or Heroine to fall in love at the first sight. Not that I don’t
believe that love at first sight doesn’t exist, no. But it seems a little bit
cliché to read about it in several other historical romance novels made by
other authors. But those feelings didn’t show up when I, out of curiosity,
decided to read Everything
And The Moon. Maybe because how the way Julia Quinn writes that
makes this story so easy to read with some humors in it when Robert tries to
win back Victoria. Although Everything And The Moon is not JQ’s finest,
but the story is quite interesting and fun to read.
The Hero of this book,
Robert, Earl of Macclesfield, mentioned several
times in the sequel of this series Brighter Than The Sun. He also make several appearance in The Duke And I (Bridgerton Series #1), mention in Lady
Whistledown column in An
Offer From A Gentleman (Bridgerton Series #3), and appear in an important scene in Romancing Mr. Bridgerton (Bridgerton Series #4).
Characters in Everything And The Moon are as
follows :
Robert Kemble : Earl of Macclesfield, the only
son and heir to Marquess of Castleford.
Victoria Lyndon : The oldest daughter of
Reverend Lyndon.
Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Lyndon : Victoria’s younger sister.
Reverend Lyndon : Victoria’s and Eleanor’s father.
Hugh Kemble : Marquess of Castleford, Robert’s father.
Lady Hollingwood : Victoria’s previous
employer, where Victoria works as a governess.
Neville Hollingwood : Victoria’s student, Lady
Hollingwood’s son.
Lord Eversleigh : one member of the Tons that invited to the Lady Hollingwood’s house
party.
Madame Lambert : a seamstress in London,
Victoria’s employer after she
left Lady Hollingwood estate.
Miss Harriet
Brightbill : Robert’s cousin.
Mrs. Brightbill : Robert’s aunt, Harriet’s mother.
MacDougal : Robert’s bodyguard.
Rating for Everything And The Moon is
7.5/10.
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Everything
And The Moon menceritakan mengenai kisah cinta antara Victoria Lyndon
dengan Robert Kemble, Earl of Macclesfield, anak dari Marquess of Castleford.
Victoria
dan Robert bertemu di Kent di tahun 1809. Robert jatuh cinta pada Victoria pada
pandangan pertama pada saat ia tanpa sengaja melihat Victoria sedang di tepi
danau ketika ia sedang berjalan-jalan di dalam hutan di dekat rumahnya.
Keduanya merasakan ketertarikan yang mendalam dan mereka saling melengkapi satu
sama lain serta dapat memacu diri masing-masing menjadi lebih baik. Robert
dapat mencurahkan dan mendiskusikan isi pikiran serta perasaannya yang terdalam
hanya kepada Victoria, hal yang tidak pernah ia alami dengan siapapun termasuk
keluarga dan teman-teman terdekatnya. Demikian pula dengan Victoria. Sayangnya
kebahagiaan kedua pasangan muda ini tidak bertahan lama. Setelah masa
pendekatan selama 2 bulan, Robert memutuskan untuk melamar Victoria.
Tetapi
baik ayah Robert, Marquess of Castleford, dan ayah Victoria, pendeta Lyndon,
menentang perjodohan tersebut. Ayah Robert, yang memandang Victoria hanya
sebagai seorang gadis desa yang status sosialnya tidak sepadan dengan status
kebangsawanan mereka serta mengira bahwa Victoria hanya ingin menikahi Robert
karena gelar dan hartanya, mengancam akan mencabut Robert sebagai pewarisnya
dan akan menarik seluruh dukungan finansial dari anak tunggalnya itu jika
Robert tetap bersikeras untuk menikahi Victoria. Ayah Victoria pun menentang
perjodohan tersebut karena ia yakin Robert, sebagai seorang bangsawan yang
status sosialnya jauh dari keluarga mereka, tidak serius dengan Victoria dan
hanya ingin mempermainkan Victoria saja.
Karena
ditentang oleh kedua orang tua mereka, Robert memutuskan untuk membuat rencana
kawin lari dengan Victoria. Tetapi pada malam yang sudah direncanakan tersebut,
Victoria dikurung dan diikat oleh ayahnya di dalam kamarnya. Robert yang kecewa
karena Victoria tidak datang menepati janjinya untuk kawin lari, memutuskan
untuk segera meninggalkan Kent dan pergi ke London untuk mengobati patah
hatinya karena ia berkeyakinan bahwa ternyata perkataan ayahnya benar, Victoria
berubah pikiran dan tidak mau menikahi Robert jika ia bukan lagi seorang Earl
dan tidak mempunyai harta lagi. Sementara itu Victoria, yang merasa marah
kepada ayahnya dan kecewa karena Robert langsung meninggalkan Kent tanpa
berusaha menunggu atau mencoba mencari Victoria untuk memberikan dirinya
kesempatan untuk menjelaskan, juga berkeyakinan bahwa Robert tidak benar-benar
mencintainya dan hanya ingin memanfaatkannya saja seperti yang diperingatkan
sebelumnya oleh ayahnya. akhirnya juga memutuskan untuk meninggalkan Kent dan
pergi mencari pekerjaan sebagai Governess.
Selang
7 tahun kemudian pada tahun 1816, mereka akhirnya bertemu kembali ketika Robert
hadir di dalam sebuah pesta rumah yang diadakan di rumah tempat Victoria
bekerja sebagai Governess. Walaupun keduanya masih saling mencintai, mereka
juga belum dapat melupakan kepahitan patah hati mereka berdua 7 tahun yang lalu
akibat kesalah pahaman yang terjadi akibat campur tangan kedua ayah mereka.
Apakah akhirnya Robert dapat melaksanakan janjinya 7 tahun yang lalu kepada
Victoria untuk memberikan segalanya dan juga bulan kepada gadis itu?
Terus
terang saja sebelumnya aku agak skeptis dengan novel-novel yang tokoh utamanya
diceritakan saling jatuh cinta pada pandangan pertama, bukan karena aku tidak
percaya bahwa cinta pada pandangan pertama itu ada, tetapi karena kok rasanya
agak klise. Tetapi perasaan tersebut anehnya tidak muncul saat membaca Everything And
The Moon. Mungkin karena cara penulisan Julia Quinn yang membuat
cerita ini terasa mengalir dengan baik dengan diselingi oleh beberapa kelucuan
yang terjadi saat Robert berusaha memenangkan kembali hati Victoria.
Sang
tokoh utama Robert, Earl of Macclesfield, beberapa kali juga disebutkan secara
sekilas di dalam novel Brighter Than The Sun (Lyndon Sister Series #2),
dan juga dalam lembaran Lady Whistledown di An Offer From A Gentleman (Bridgerton
Series #3) dan juga muncul di dalam Romancing Mr. Bridgerton (Bridgerton Series
#4).
Adapun para Tokoh dalam Everything And The Moon adalah sebagai berikut
:
Robert Kemble : Earl of Macclesfield,
anak satu-satunya dan pewaris dari Marquess of Castleford.
Victoria Lyndon : anak perempuan tertua
dari Reverend Lyndon, seorang pastor pembantu di desa kecil di Kent.
Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Lyndon : adik Victoria.
Reverend Lyndon : ayah dari Victoria dan
Eleanor Lyndon.
Hugh Kemble : Marquess of
Castleford, ayah Robert.
Lady Hollingwood : majikan tempat Victoria
bekerja sebelumnya sebagai seorang guru pribadi.
Neville Hollingwood : murid Victoria, anak
lelaki dari Baron dan Lady Hollingwood.
Lord Eversleigh : salah satu
bangsawan yang menghadiri pesta rumah Lady Hollingwood.
Madame Lambert : pemilik toko gaun
tempat Victoria bekerja setelah ia diberhentikan oleh Lady Hollingwood.
Miss Harriet Brightbill : sepupu Robert.
Mrs. Brightbill : Bibi Robert, ibu
Harriet.
MacDougal : Kusir dan Bodyguard Robert.
Nilai
rating untuk novel Everything And The Moon ini adalah 7.5/10.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Book 2 : Brighter Than The Sun
Copyright © 1997 by Julie Cotler
Pottinger
First
Published in Indonesia on 2011 by Dastan Books
Paperback
Edition, 24 Chapters (including Epilog), 416 Pages (for Indonesian Edition)
Genre :
Historical Romance, Adult Novel
Other
books in the Series : Everything And The Moon (The Lyndon Sisters #1)
When Charles Wycombe, the dashing and incorrigible Earl of
Billington, toppled out of a tree and landed at Ellie
Lyndon‘s feet, neither suspected that such an inauspicious meeting
would lead to marriage. But Charles must find a bride before his thirtieth
birthday or he’ll lose his fortune. And Ellie needs a husband or her father’s
odious fiancée will choose one for her. And so they agree to wed, even though
their match appears to have been made somewhere hotter than heaven…
Ellie
never dreamed she’d marry a stranger, especially one with such a devastating
combination of rakish charm and debonair wit. She tries to keep him at arm’s
length, at least until she discovers the man beneath the handsome surface. But
Charles can be quite persuasive—even tender—when he puts his mind to it, and
Ellie finds herself slipping under his seductive spell. And as one kiss leads
to another, this unlikely pair discovers that their marriage is not so
inconvenient after all… and just might lead to love.
Brighter Than The Sun tells a
romantic story between Eleanor Lyndon and Charles Wycombe, Earl of Billington.
Eleanor, or prefer to be called as Ellie, is the younger sister of Victoria
Lyndon, the Heroine of Everything and The Moon. Charles Wycombe also makes
several appearances in Minx (Splendid Series #3).
Ellie and
Charles accidentally meet in 1817 a few months after the ending in Everything And
The Moon. The clock is ticking for Charles to fulfill his father’s
will to be married before his 30th birthday, which only in a couple
of weeks left, or he will lose his wealth to his cousin. While he can still
keep his title and estate, he won’t have much money to support him and his
estate if he’s losing his wealth. Therefore when Charles met with Ellie that
day and he like the fact that Ellie is also smart besides a beautiful young
lady, he decided to propose to her. Ellie, who like to be independent and
control her own finance, also a little bit desperate to find her own place
since her father’s fiancée that wants her out of the house once her father and
that woman get married. Ellie cannot ask her sister for help since she and her
husband are still abroad in their extended honeymoon. To make matter worse,
Ellie actually has her own money tied up in investment savings but she cannot
take that money without her father signature (her father of course didn’t know
about Ellie’s money). At that time it is uncommon for a single girl or a woman to
invest in stock market (usually that , so Ellie has to use her father’s name to
do the trading with her investment manager, and the same manager won’t give the
money back to Ellie without her father signature in front of the local judge.
So Ellie
agree to marry Charles with some conditions: one is that Charles has to help
arrange Ellie’s money back to her and give her full authority and freedom to
invest her own money without Charles approval, and two is that Charles has to
give Ellie time to adjust with each other and married life first before they
consummated their marriage and produce an heir to the Earldom.
And along
with Charles and Ellie spend more and more time together, their relationship
grew from the constant argumentations over small not important things to
understanding, respect and even love between each other. But some strange
accidents that keep happening to Ellie and Charles around the house and the
estate like somebody moving the oven rack that caused the kitchen to caught in
fire, somebody add too much salt in the stew that Ellie cook, somebody move the
pot of Berry jam that result with Ellie getting burn and hurt, the carriage
accident that make Charles get hurt, the destruction in the green house where
Ellie spent most of her day time, the broken ladder that Charles use that make
him fall from the roof, etc; that make Ellie suspected there’s somebody who
wants to sabotage their marriage.
I think
the love story between Charles and Ellie in Brighter Than The Sun is quite
romantic, cute and very entertaining. The theme is the complete opposite than
the love story of Ellie’s sister, Victoria and her husband Robert in Everything And The Moon. While Everything And The Moon
tells about Victoria and Robert’s instant love at first sight and focusing more
from passionate emotional angle of Victoria and Robert point of view; in Brighter Than
The Sun the love story approach from both Ellie and Charles’ logical
point of view with their business transaction marriage and logical thinking.
Both different themes in each book are suitable to describe each character of
both the Hero and Heroine. We can say that when it comes to love, Victoria and
Robert often think with their heart and making decisions towards their
emotional feelings, while for Ellie and Charles, they are both logical thinkers
and every decisions made carefully by weighing the options of pros and cons. This
is true to the character’s portrayal of Ellie who like her independence and has
a business minded which didn’t like any regular girl at that time, and also to
Charles character that likes to make pros and cons list.
Characters in Brighter Than The Sun are as
follows :
Charles Wycombe : Earl of Billington (first appear
in Minx – Splendid Series).
Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Lyndon : Victoria’s younger sister.
Victoria Lyndon : Ellie’s older sister.
Robert Kemble : Earl of Macclesfield, Victoria’s
husband and Ellie’s brother-in-law.
Reverend Lyndon : Victoria’s and Eleanor’s father.
Mrs. Foxglove : Ellie’s soon to be step mother
Mrs. Helen Pallister : Charles’ cousin
Claire Pallister : Helen’s oldest daughter
Judith Pallister : Helen’s youngest daughter
Cordelia Wycombe : Charles’ eccentric aunt
Phillip Wycombe : Charles’ cousin
Cecil Wycombe : Charles cousin
Rating for Brighter Than The Sun is 8/10.
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Brighter
Than The Sun merupakan cerita cinta antara Eleanor Lyndon dan Charles
Wycombe, Earl of Billington. Eleanor Lyndon, atau yang lebih suka dipanggil
dengan Ellie, merupakan adik perempuan dari Victoria Lyndon dalam Everything And
The Moon. Sedangkan Charles Wycombe, Earl of Billington juga pernah
muncul dalam beberapa adegan dalam novel Minx (Splendid Series # 3) sebagai salah satu
calon pengagum tokoh utama wanitanya.
Ellie dan Charles bertemu tanpa sengaja di
tahun 1817 setelah kisah Everything And The Moon selesai. Charles, yang
saat itu sudah terdesak untuk segera menikah akibat isi surat wasiat ayahnya
yang secara jelas menyatakan akan memberikan harta kekayaan warisan Charles
kepada sepupu Charles jika Charles masih belum juga menikah pada hari ulang
tahunnya yang ke-30 tahun itu, melamar Ellie yang baru saja ditemuinya hari
itu. Ellie yang terbiasa hidup dengan mandiri juga ingin segera keluar dari
rumah ayahnya karena tidak cocok dengan calon ibu tiri tunangan ayahnya. Saat
itu kakak Ellie dan suaminya sedang berada di luar negeri, dan dana tabungan
investasi milik Ellie tidak bisa ditarik tanpa tanda tangan ayah Ellie (yang
tidak mengetahui bahwa Ellie mempunyai tabungan dan beberapa saham). Pada masa
itu memang tidak lazim bagi seorang wanita lajang bukan bangsawan yang memegang
kendali investasi finansialnya sendiri, biasanya wewenang ada di kaum pria,
baik itu ayah atau suami
Akhirnya Ellie menyetujui lamaran Charles
dengan beberapa syarat, yaitu salah satunya Charles memberi Ellie wewenang dan
kendali penuh untuk mengelola dana tabungan investasi nya sendiri, dan Charles
memberikan Ellie waktu untuk saling mengenal dan menyesuaikan diri dengan
kehidupan perkawinan sebelum Charles menuntut adanya pewaris.
Seiring sejalannya waktu hubungan Ellie dan
Charles berkembang dari yang awalnya kerap diwarnai dengan perdebatan dan
pertengkaran, perlahan-lahan mulai muncul pengertian, rasa hormat dan kasih
sayang di antara mereka setelah mereka saling mengenal satu sama lain. Akan
tetapi kecelakaan-kecelakaan aneh kerap terjadi di sekeliling Ellie dan Charles
baik di dalam rumah seperti dapur yang terbakar gara-gara rak oven yang
dipindahkan, semur daging yang terlalu banyak garam, panci selai yang sengaja
dipindahkan sehingga mengakibatkan Ellie terluka; maupun yang terjadi di luar
rumah seperti kecelakaan kereta, semak mawar yang layu, tangga kayu yang patah,
dll. Mungkinkah ada orang yang tidak senang dengan pernikahan Ellie dan Charles
sehingga menginginkan Ellie untuk pergi atau terluka?
Cerita dalam Brighter Than The Sun ini
menurutku cukup manis dan menghibur. Jalinan ceritanya sendiri cukup kontras
antara kisah cinta Ellie ini dengan kisah cinta Victoria, kakak Ellie.
Sementara dalam Everything
And The Moon, kedua tokoh utamanya Victoria dan Robert jatuh cinta
pada pandangan pertama dan kisah cinta mereka lebih mengedepankan sisi
emosional mereka yang menggebu-gebu; sedangkan dalam Brighter Than The Sun ini kisah
cintanya berjalan sesuai dengan karakter Ellie dan Charles yang lebih mengedepankan
logika daripada sisi emosionalnya. Bahkan menjadi sangat menarik bahwa
pernikahan Ellie dan Charles pun bermula dari kesepakatan bisnis, yang
benar-benar menjeritkan ciri khas karakter dari Ellie yang digambarkan sebagai
gadis mandiri dengan naluri bisnis yang tajam dari sejak dalam Everything And
The Moon.
Adapun para Tokoh dalam Brighter Than The Sun adalah sebagai berikut :
Charles Wycombe : Earl of Billington
(sebelumnya pernah muncul dalam novel Minx dari serial Splendid).
Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Lyndon : adik perempuan
Victoria (dalam novel Everything And The Moon).
Victoria Lyndon : kakak perempuan Ellie.
Robert Kemble : Earl of Macclesfield,
suami Victoria dan kakak ipar Ellie.
Reverend Lyndon : ayah dari Victoria
dan Eleanor.
Mrs. Foxglove : wanita di desa yang
bertunangan dengan ayah Elliedan berniat akan segera menjadi ibu tiri Ellie.
Mrs. Helen Pallister : sepupu Charles
Claire Pallister : anak sulung Helen
Judith Pallister : anak bungsu Helen
Cordelia Wycombe : Bibi Charles yang
agak eksentrik
Phillip Wycombe : sepupu Charles
Cecil Wycombe : sepupu Charles
Nilai
rating untuk novel Brighter Than The Sun ini adalah 8/10.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
