Series: Devil You Know, #3
Traits & Tropes: second chance; tortured hero/heroine; tragic past; spies
Genre/Setting: Historical; Victorian; London, England, 1892
Publication Date: 03.09.21
Heat Level: 2
Rating: 3/5
Known by many names, the so-called Devil of Dorset is an enigma even to those who know him. A skilled spy, he is one of the Crown’s most lethal weapons but in Francesca Cavendish, the Countess of Mont Claire, he may have found someone who can match him.
Francesca uses her position in society to bring herself ever closer to the secret group responsible for the deaths of every member of her family. She’s worked toward this goal for years but is unprepared to catch the eye of the truly evil Earl of Devlin. She has her own secrets to keep and may be in over her head here, but she’s not prepared to find the love of her life alive again, or accept his help, especially when the truth will likely drive him away.
This book was very much a mixed bag for me. I loved the concept and Chandler made for an excellent and many-layered tortured hero, but Francesca was rather a let down as a heroine. Chandler’s pain was actually rather worse than hers all told, but she fell into the trap of believing herself to be the only person with a truly painful past, or at least that’s how she came across. Francesca was quick to believe any disagreement she encountered was merely derived from a man underestimating her because she was a woman. Of course, this was not always the case and because of this arrogance, a criminal was able to escape imprisonment and she nearly ruined a raid set to bring down the corrupt secret society she’d been hunting, all because she had zero faith in Chandler, or anyone else for that matter, to do their jobs better than she could, despite their superior experience. This just struck me as hubris, especially since she kept repeating this behavior and never learned and it made her difficult to like. Despite this, Francesca’s plight was one I could get behind and I rooted for her success, but her determination to do everything alone meant she got in her own way more often than not.
What really got me though was that Francesca’s intended portrayal as a strong heroine just showed her to be more akin to a playground bully, responding with violence to anything with which she disagreed. At one point she even punches Chandler in the face after an intimate, loving encounter devolves into a rather minor argument. He excuses her by reasoning that she held back and wasn’t really trying to hurt him, but for me this is still domestic violence, and it wouldn’t be ok if he’d hit her that way so it’s not acceptable for her to do so to him. These aspects of Francesca’s character made it hard to believe she actually loved Chandler and their truth revelation was a long time in coming and then caused the third act separation that I’m just not a fan of. This was not helped by the fact that Chandler spent nearly the entire book believing himself reunited with his childhood love and that was a large pillar of their relationship.
Given Francesca’s contempt for all men, even her best friends’ husbands, her rapidly rekindled love for Chandler felt just a bit insincere. I was incredibly invested in the suspense aspect here and in Chandler’s backstory. I loved this concept, but the romance was a bit lacking, especially since these two came together like crashing waves and their relationship remained quite volatile rather than really becoming sweet. That worked for them; however, it just wasn’t that romantic and I wish Chandler had gotten a bit more recognition and acknowledgement of his pain from Francesca. Overall, this book gave me mixed feelings, but I did enjoy the story and would say it’s not to be missed.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Comments
Post a Comment