Series: Standalone
Tropes & Traits: marriage of convenience; damaged hero & heroine; titled hero; deaf heroine
Publication Date: 10.16.12
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; England
Rating: 3 stars
Narration Rating: 3 stars
Reclusive Jessica Stanton has resolved to be independent and focused on her secret endeavors as a designer of spectacular lady's gowns. Jessica can barely even bring herself to accept an invitation to a ball as she strives to hide her deafness from society, but when her solicitor informs her that she is to receive a large fortune upon her 25th birthday as an inheritance from her late father, Jessica believes her independence is assured. Unfortunately, her greedy stepbrother Colin, Baron Tanhill, believed to have perished in a shipwreck in India, is very much alive and on his way back to England determined to have Jessica committed to an asylum so he can control her fortune. The only way out of this situation is for Jessica to marry a man strong enough to stand up to Colin and protect her.
Lord Simon Warland, the Earl of Northcote is an outcast and the majority of the ton believe him guilty of murdering his own father. Having just returned to England after three long years in India, Simon finds his estate is about to be claimed by creditors and he is completely bankrupt. He is happy to let it all go since his father squandered the family legacy and tarnished their good name anyway. However, when Jessica approaches him with the opportunity to save his family estates, pay his father's debts, and get his revenge on Baron Tanhill, all by marrying her, he finds himself convinced. Tanhill nearly killed Simon in India and murdered someone Simon was close to, so he is itching to get his revenge. Both Simon and Jessica agree that theirs will be a marriage of convenience, in name only, and nothing more.
Having lost her hearing to a childhood fever, Jessica avoids society as much as possible, but she's determined to maintain her independence despite Simon's controlling tendencies and having never expected to marry at all, she is determined not to care about Simon. Having been burned and financially ruined by his father and his former fiance, Simon is determined not to care about Jessica either and he certainly can never trust her, or any female for that matter. Jessica would prefer to simply avoid him so sparks fly when he begins to insist she act as a true countess.
Slight rant ahead, there may be spoilers: I found myself losing patience with the heroine's inner monologues griping on and on about all the things the hero was trying to make her get out and do and lamenting his lack of understanding about her condition. I get it that she's deaf and afraid people will find out but that's supposed to be the whole point of Simon protecting her. Simon was trying to get her to have a bit of a normal life for once and she was expecting him to understand her feelings and habits without her ever talking to him about them. She continues, even after beginning to get to know Simon, to readily believe the worst gossip she learns about him and not even bother asking him, she just jumps to conclusions. Jessica's constant insistence on hiding and not just having honest conversations with Simon was so annoying after awhile that I probably would've put this down if it hadn't been an audiobook. Simon could've handled things much differently too and overall much melodrama could've been avoided by some basic communication between these two. Eye rolls all around. Jessica was too quick to put stock in gossip, but both she and Simon were prone to foot-stomping, childish displays of temper. More eye rolls.
The ending was overall satisfactory, if a little anticlimactic. Much of the final drama could've been avoided, once again, by more communication between these two, but then we wouldn't have had a plot or climax. This one wasn't terrible or anything, it just wasn't memorable for me.
Lord Simon Warland, the Earl of Northcote is an outcast and the majority of the ton believe him guilty of murdering his own father. Having just returned to England after three long years in India, Simon finds his estate is about to be claimed by creditors and he is completely bankrupt. He is happy to let it all go since his father squandered the family legacy and tarnished their good name anyway. However, when Jessica approaches him with the opportunity to save his family estates, pay his father's debts, and get his revenge on Baron Tanhill, all by marrying her, he finds himself convinced. Tanhill nearly killed Simon in India and murdered someone Simon was close to, so he is itching to get his revenge. Both Simon and Jessica agree that theirs will be a marriage of convenience, in name only, and nothing more.
Having lost her hearing to a childhood fever, Jessica avoids society as much as possible, but she's determined to maintain her independence despite Simon's controlling tendencies and having never expected to marry at all, she is determined not to care about Simon. Having been burned and financially ruined by his father and his former fiance, Simon is determined not to care about Jessica either and he certainly can never trust her, or any female for that matter. Jessica would prefer to simply avoid him so sparks fly when he begins to insist she act as a true countess.
Slight rant ahead, there may be spoilers: I found myself losing patience with the heroine's inner monologues griping on and on about all the things the hero was trying to make her get out and do and lamenting his lack of understanding about her condition. I get it that she's deaf and afraid people will find out but that's supposed to be the whole point of Simon protecting her. Simon was trying to get her to have a bit of a normal life for once and she was expecting him to understand her feelings and habits without her ever talking to him about them. She continues, even after beginning to get to know Simon, to readily believe the worst gossip she learns about him and not even bother asking him, she just jumps to conclusions. Jessica's constant insistence on hiding and not just having honest conversations with Simon was so annoying after awhile that I probably would've put this down if it hadn't been an audiobook. Simon could've handled things much differently too and overall much melodrama could've been avoided by some basic communication between these two. Eye rolls all around. Jessica was too quick to put stock in gossip, but both she and Simon were prone to foot-stomping, childish displays of temper. More eye rolls.
The ending was overall satisfactory, if a little anticlimactic. Much of the final drama could've been avoided, once again, by more communication between these two, but then we wouldn't have had a plot or climax. This one wasn't terrible or anything, it just wasn't memorable for me.
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