Series: N/A
Traits & Tropes: scarred hero; tortured, captive hero; titled hero; hidden identity; heroine estranged from family; widow; forced proximity
Publication Date: 11.27.07
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; Somerset, England, 1822
Heat Level: 7.5
Rating: 3/5
Grace Paget is living her worst nightmare, having been kidnapped and taken to an isolated estate in the country and told she must do anything Lord Sheene wishes or she will be killed. Grace isn’t the lady of the night she’s been mistaken for, but a respectable widow who tries everything she can to protect her virtue. Soon she finds herself unwittingly attracted to the marquess who is just as much a prisoner as she is and begins to believe he’s not mad as he’s been made out to be.
Matthew Landsdowne, Marquess of Sheene, had no idea his uncle had plans to stoop so low as to kidnap an innocent woman. He’s just as much a prisoner of his uncle’s conniving schemes, having been declared mad and had all his attempts to reclaim his life and fortune thwarted. Grace is a distraction he doesn’t need and though he can’t help his attraction to her, he is appalled that she’s been kidnapped. The two must make the best of this strange situation that has brought them together if they have any hope of ever escaping.
This is the latest in my attempt to at least read some of the physical books on my shelves, especially the ones I really just bought for the stepback. I wanted to like this one so much, but sadly there was a lot that just didn’t work for me or didn’t go how I wanted it to, though I did power through to finish it. First off, I really did like the uniqueness of the plot, even if it was pretty far-fetched and a bit unbelievable, but I was surprised by how dark this one was and how long that darkness went on. I definitely wasn’t expecting it to feel quite so gothic either, but even with the terrible and maybe a bit overdrawn villains, my main gripe here was actually the heroine. Our hero, Matthew, has really been through the ringer his whole life basically, since his uncle saw a childhood fever as an opportunity to completely take over his fortune. He’s understandably standoffish and mistrustful of Grace for a while, though I have to say I was irritated by his back and forth over believing her story and then disbelieving her and being cold to her once again. [Some of this may get increasingly spoilery from here, so consider yourself warned].
Anyway, the heroine, Grace, already struck me as off somehow, maybe a bit too quick to wallow in self-pity, though I tried to give her some leeway since, you know, she’s just been kidnapped and all that. But later on, once trust has been established at last between herself and Matthew, he goes through this difficult confession to her of everything that happened to him and how it’s his first time with a woman, really his first time being touched in a non-negative way since childhood. She’s been going on for pages and pages of inner monologues about her desire for Matthew and the guilt she feels over it, etc. Then, when it finally happens, of course it’s awkward and neither of them really knows what they’re doing, but instead of giving him some understanding and aftercare with it being his first time, she’s petulant and berates him for not making it good for her and chastises herself for wanting to enjoy sex. Basically, they’re both wishy-washy in the beginning: him with his back and forth on whether or not he believes her story; her toying with him about wanting to sleep with him and then refusing him, which I really thought was just borderline cruel given his inexperience and basic lack of trust in people. For me, she only got worse from here, consistently pushing him away despite the fact that he never gave her any reason to doubt him or his feelings, yet she continues to do so throughout the book.
Let me reiterate, there are spoilers from here.
Perhaps my biggest annoyance of all was with the ending. I stuck this one out thinking the ending was going to be so satisfying that it would be worth the things that irked me. These two would be rescued and freely confess their love and desire to be together, right? Not exactly. Instead, she pushes him away yet again, deciding that he can’t possibly know his own mind or feelings since he’s so inexperienced with women and basically telling him to go sleep with other people and leaving him heartbroken anyway. The last-minute separation she initiated was jarring for me after how desperately Matthew longed to be reunited with Grace and after the sacrifices he made to give her a chance at freedom. When it comes down to it, in the end, it’s still Matthew who has to make a declaration of his feelings and intentions, yet again, and she’s still doubting him because of course, him pouring his heart out to her wasn’t good enough the other times he did so. There’s also a huge plot hole in which Matthew never actually learns the fate of his beloved dog, at least not on the page, and for some reason that really bugged me too. The writing itself was good, I was just disappointed to have endured so much darkness and bleakness only to be left with that rather abrupt and lackluster ending.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2699937819
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2138478424
Comments
Post a Comment