Reviewer: Andrea
I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher: Ballantine Books (February 25, 2014)
The Summary:
As the eldest son of the Duke of Breconridge, Harry Fitzroy is duty-bound to marry—and marry well. Giving up his rakish ways for the pleasures of a bride’s bed becomes a delightful prospect when Harry chooses beautiful Lady Julia Barclay, the catch of the season. But a fall from his horse puts a serious crimp in his plans. Abandoned by Julia before he can propose, the unlucky bachelor finds himself trapped in the country in the care of Julia’s younger sister.
Harry has never met a woman like Lady Augusta. Utterly without artifice, Gus is clever and capable, and seems to care not a fig for society. After a taboo kiss awakens passion that takes them both by surprise, Harry realizes he’d almost given his heart to the wrong sister. While London tongues wag, he’ll use his most seductive powers of persuasion to convince the reluctant Gus that she belongs with him—as his equal, his love, his wife.
The Review:
I truly love a good historical romance, and this time period (along with a couple of others) is one of my favorites. While I’m no historical expert, I’ve read enough to recognize an author with sufficient historical knowledge to make the setting believable. From the outlandish hair plumes to the impossibly-complicated hoop dresses, I could see the setting of this novel as clearly as if I were there. Bradford obviously knows her Georgian fashion and rules of societal behavior. However, I’m afraid the “wickedness” in Harry’s pursuit of Gus was a little lackluster.
For the majority of the time, the novel’s setting is isolated to Gus’s home in Norfolk, which has the potential for scandalous spice–naive, young girl, worldly, titled man alone (with the exception of the servants) in a remote setting. It was ripe for enough steam to fog the screen of my Kindle, but Harry’s injury dominates their time, and so it would in reality, but we don’t really read romance novels for reality, now do we?
The typical romantic chase was absent from this one because Harry is so confined. There was no true competition for Gus once her sister abandons the scene. I like that “I’m forsaking the world and running back to you” moment, and it was absent from this one. Because so much of the plot revolves around Harry’s leg, it was lacking that heartsick angst. The almost instantaneous love between Gus and Harry, while touching, was a bit overdone for my taste. I will say Bradford doesn’t overwhelm the reader with too many characters, too fast, but I would have liked to have seen Harry’s brothers since this novel appears to be the first in a series about those brothers.
3 stars
