The tempestuous marriage of Alexandra Lawrence, an innocent country girl, and Jordan Townsende, the rich and powerful Duke of Hawthorne, is about to face its ultimate test of tender loyalty. Swept into the endlessly fascinating world of London society, free-spirited Alexandra becomes ensnared in a tangled web of jealousy and revenge, stormy pride and overwhelming passion. But behind her husband's cold, arrogant mask, there lives a tender, vital, sensual man...the man Alexandra married. Now, she will fight for his very life...and the rapturous bond they alone can share.

Jordan, the rich & powerful Duke of Hawthorne, known also as a handsome rake was travelling to the countryside where his mother is staying when he met trouble in the highway. A knight in a rusty armour came to his rescue. When the person in the armour suit, who he assumed was a young boy, was knocked unconscious in the process of saving his life, he had to make sure he would be ok, returned to his family & be well compensated. Therefore, in good intention, he carried the boy to the nearest motel. When Jordan took off the armour suit & clothes to check for any open wound, he realized that the boy he thought was actually a young girl. Alexandra was already half naked & half conscious when the hotel hostess came inside the bedroom. That good intentions turned into a black cloud which created a scandal in Alexandra's small town, ruining her reputation & her chance of finding a decent husband, which infuriated her mother. Since Alexandra's family were impoverished when her father died, her mother took this opportunity to better their situation. Forced to marry each other, their life changed forever....

Even if she wasn't ready to marry, Alexandra found herself already half in love with Jordan. On the other hand, Jordan who have no intentions of marrying, let alone falling in love, decided to wed Alexandra. Afterall, he owed her for saving his life. However, What Alexandra's unaware of is he plans to leave her in one of his estates, fully financially compensated, including her mother and only to be visited once or twice a year for show. He intended to live his life just the way he was before he got himself in this mess.

Alexandra Lawrence was a tomboyish, innocent, naive young country girl when Jordan first met her. She was so naive that she was so unpretentious with her emotions. She speaks her mind and shows her emotions freely. She was romantic & full of imaginations. She's overwhelming & she amazes him as well. She was totally different compared to the Ladies Jordan is use to being with. But before Jordan can see Alexandra flourished into a beautiful Swan, he got himself into another trouble. This time, Alexandra wasn't there to rescue him...

When Alexandra was initially introduce to the Ton, She acknowledge her love for Jordan which made her the laughing stock of the Ton. She didn't know the true character of Jordan. She always believed him to be good hearted, a gentlemen & a sensitive person. However, as she matures, what she eventually heard and found out was an exact opposite. She is no longer the naive country girl who Jordan played like a fool. That's when she decided to be the Belle of every Ball. She stopped sulking, came out, enjoyed herself immensely & became every man's desire.

This book have so many twists & turns that just makes you want to read it until it ends. Aside from the suspense of finding who wants to kill Jordan, Alexandra's growing relationship with Jordan makes this book very romantic and heart quenching. There is so many scenes I love in this book but the ending was the powerful and the best one of all. Jordan's confessions, his touching words of noticing colors & the jewel gifts that Jordan gave her made me cry. I was overjoyed! Once you read the book, you will know that the jewel he gave her had other significance. A deeper, thoughtful meaning! Jordan mother's hatred to Alexandra & her acceptance in the end was also heart warming. The "situation" that J.M. wrote in order for the two to be close was really sad. That "situation" gave Alexandra & the dowager duchess a special bond. One of my favorite scene was also Alexandra's second wedding to Tony, Jordan's cousin. Oh, you must read it to find out. Don't want to give it away for you... But it's so excitingly funny! There is so many wonderfully described secondary characters in this book, all of them contributed to the success of this story. I liked every one of them! Though, I specially loved Alexandra's two loyal servant & friends. The blind Filbert & the deaf Penrose. Alexandra childhood and her relationship with her father was really sad. The confession of Filbert to Jordan about Alex's past made me cry. After reading this part, you simply want the best for Alexandra and what she finally gained in the end was truely what she deserve. Loved this book. Glad I have it in my collection! Pick it up, read it... you won't be sorry!


Something So-So   January 18, 2001
 32 out of 65 found this review helpful

Having resolved, after throwing Whitney My Love away in disgust, not to bother reading anything else by Judith NcNaught, I found this book in my large unread pile. Having now struggled against boredom to finish it, I can now say for certain that I'm definitely not among McNaught's fans.

I never, at any point in the story, found myself actually liking either Alexandra or Jordan - and liking the main characters is, of course, an essential requirement for enjoyment of a book. Both behaved stupidly - now, of course, stupid behaviour on the part of the principals is a standard component of romance novels, but this seemed to be excessive. What probably caused me to disengage a little from the story to begin with was the unbelievable plot development whereby Jordan actually married Alexandra in the first place. He was a *duke* - and a very arrogant, puffed-up one at that. She was a nobody, in his eyes. No-one would have believed that he could have married so far beneath him; that alone would have caused a scandal greater than any Alexandra's mother could have created. (Incidentally, just what happened to Alexandra's mother after the wedding? She's never heard of again!). In the circumstances which McNaught created, in which Alexandra's mother and uncle came and accused him of ruining her, Jordan would more likely have done one of three things. He might have ordered her family out of his house forthwith. He might have paid them off. Or he might, if he really felt responsible, have bribed some poor relation to marry her. Absolutely *no way* would he have married her himself.

But even later, McNaught did little to persuade me to like the book. The scenes in London after Alexandra was launched into Society were farcical. And the events surrounding Jordan's return were poorly written - as another reviewer has said, it's beyond credulity that there would have been so little discussion of what had happened to him. I can't believe that Alexandra would never have asked him to tell her about it, given her supposed feelings for him.

The murder plot and its resolution were totally ridiculous. The denouement left me reeling in disbelief that McNaught expected me to swallow such a thin explanation. So, by that time, the resolution of the romance left me cold - and gaping in disbelief at Alexandra's near-resurrection, which was never explained.

Then there were the errors and inconsistencies. We're introduced to both Jordan and Alexandra in their youth at the start of the book: he is eighteen and she is thirteen, a five-year gap. Then we meet them again at the start of the story proper, and he's twenty-seven to her seventeen! (There was no clue whatsoever in the early scenes that they supposedly took place five years apart).

Then Alexandra saved Jordan's life, and he `winces' at a small cut on her face. The man's just looked at a footpad with half his face blown off, and didn't bat an eyelid! Yet he `winces' at a small cut on what he believes to be a teenage village boy - when boys are always involved in some rough-and-tumble and acquiring cuts and bruises by the dozen.

McNaught made a major error after Jordan's reported death: she made Anthony the Duke immediately. The legal position at the time where a married man died without leaving a son was that the man's wife was assumed to be pregnant until proven otherwise, and if she was pregnant, then everything was in limbo until the child was born and it was known whether it was a boy or a girl. There was no mention at all of any possibility that Alexandra might be pregnant, much less a notion of waiting before the title and lands passed to Anthony.

Oh, and even though Jordan was away for fifteen months, and he'd known Alexandra for, at most, a fortnight before his disappearance, she persisted in referring to her knowledge of him `two years ago' - at which point she'd never met him! And why didn't she have any money of her own? McNaught talks about the Dowager and Anthony giving her a dowry, but the marriage settlements would have provided for her in the event of her husband's death in any case.

To me, this was no `sweeping love story', and McNaught's talent as a writer pales in comparison to writers like Putney, Beverley and Balogh.


Laughter and Tears   September 27, 2000
 21 out of 25 found this review helpful

In my opinion, the best Judith McNaught book I have ever read. Set in England in the early 19th century, young Alexandra Lawrence meets the handsome Duke of Hawthorne and sets in motion a story that will make you laugh and cry, as is Ms. McNaught's specialty. The young Alex marries the cold-hearted Jordan, her heart filled with love and admiration. Tragedy strikes, tearing the two apart, only to meet again when the awkward duchess has bloomed into a beautiful, sophisticated young woman. I've read this book cover to cover about four times and each time I discover something more magical about this wonderful couple created by romance author, Judith McNaught. It's an intelligent, witty, passionate, romantic, funny, and heart-warming story of a young girl who believed in "something wonderful."


A Book that Lives Up To Its Name   April 20, 2002
 21 out of 25 found this review helpful

I loved Jordan and Alex's story. It is so touching and wonderful. The power of love is an amazing thing and is shown in this story. If you have never read McNaught this is a great first story. I have re-purchased this book twice since I wear them out re-reading them. In fact this story gets better with each re-reading.

Alex is a young girl that still believes their is good in everyone including her selfish family. Jordan is a disolutioned soul who find nothing good in anyone. One chance meeting and Alex in the role of unlikely heroine saves Jordan. He takes her home to her unusual family and is dismayed to see how she lives. Still Jordan has made himself a promise and that is to always keep himself on guard against those that would only take from him. Alex teaches Jordan that not everyone is out to get something from him. He is slowly learning this when tragedy happens and he is taken away from Alex. What follows is the growing up of one young girl, and the faith that she inspired in a tired soul (Jordan) as a way of motivating Jordan to get back to her.

A must read if you are a McNaught fan, and it is a great first read if you have never read McNaught before. This is classic McNaught at her best.


This is truly something wonderful!   October 8, 2005
 18 out of 21 found this review helpful

This is the first Judith McNaught novel I have read and it won't be the last! Something Wonderful is one of the most emotive, romantic, funny and poignant romance novels I have ever read! This is definitely not a run-of-the-mill Regency romance. Alexandra Lawrence isn't the typical seventeen-year-old. She is tomboyish, preferring to wear men's breeches over skirts, a literature and philosophy enthusiast, always quoting Plato and Horace, and is the breadwinner at her humble country cottage. She is also quite an expert at fencing, and that is how she meets Jordan Townsende, the Duke of Hawthorne. On his way to meet his grandmother at her country estate, he is accosted by bandits, but a mysterious young lad jousts his way into the incident, saving Jordan's life. Jordan discovers that the lad is actually a lass, a petite young woman with beautiful aquamarine eyes. Due to a misunderstanding, he is forced to marry her. Jordan is seemingly a heartless, rough and incorrigible womanizer and figures out a way to keep Alexandra at bay so he could continue his fun and debauchery among the people of the ton. But things don't turn out that way, to say the least. Alexandra thinks "something wonderful" has happened when she meets Jordan. However, the route to love is a long, difficult one, and Jordan is a far cry from the noble man she had romanticized in her mind. And she discovers that after she is introduced to the ruthless gossipers of London society. What transpires is a love story with so many twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages until the late hours of the night.

This is one of the most riveting stories out there. I don't want to go into too many details in this review, but, as said earlier, I will summarize by saying that this isn't your typical, predictable Regency romance. Jordan and Alexandra are one of the most compelling couples I have read. The characterization is flawless, the story development is compelling. You will laugh, cry and be infuriated with these main characters, especially with Jordan. He is a hero that seems arrogant, ruthless, even borderline violent in some occasions, but his true colors show with each passing chapter. His scenes with Alexandra are truly mesmerizing. He and Alex are three-dimensional protagonists with a great deal of depth. One might say that this is the typical story of a reformed rake, but it is actually more than that. I cried with Alexandra during her disillusionment when the ton made fun of her devotion to Jordan and her blatant lack of knowledge of his wicked ways. But Jordan goes through a great deal of things as well. Someone is trying to kill him and had succeeded in banishing him for a while, turning him into a prisoner of war (during the French Revolution), but he is determined to find the person who wants him out of the picture. The mystery aspect of this novel is quite well done and I was surprised with its conclusion. Again, as for the Jordan and Alexandra story -- it is one of the most beautiful ones I have read. There are some symbolisms and staggering love scenes. As already mentioned, they are great protagonists with so much nuance. I like some of the secondary characters as well, like the Duchess, Anthony, Roddy and Melanie. The ton were portrayed as bored party-goers that live and breathe to gossip and make secret bets against their peers, as I have no doubt that they were in that time period. Something Wonderful is one of the most... well, wonderful novels I have read in quite a while. There are some inconsistencies though. McNaught should have done her math with the protagonists' ages. At first, Jordan is eighteen and Alexandra is thirteen. Nine years later, Jordan is twenty-seven and Alexandra is seventeen going on eighteen in a few days. If my math serves me correctly, she should have been twenty-two years old after the time lapse -- unless the first chapter in which we are introduced to a bit of the protagonists' respective histories did not occur during the same year, in which case the author or the editors should have pointed that out. Also, the author refers to Jordan as "Jason" in a couple of chapters. Other than that, I loved this novel. I kept rereading certain passages because they moved me to the core. McNaught is on my must-read list. I have purchased A Kingdom of Dreams and cannot wait to give it a whirl.