Series: Blackshear Family, #2
Traits & Tropes: former soldier; courtesan heroine
Publication Date: 05.29.12
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London/Essex, England, 1816
Heat Level: 4
Rating: 2/5
Narration Rating: 4/5
Lydia Slaughter has become an expert at all the games men play, and she has no qualms outright fleecing newly returned Waterloo hero Will Blackshear at the card table. Will has his own reasons for attempting to earn coin at the gaming tables and now that he’s noticed Lydia, he can’t seem to steer clear of her, even as she works to keep her distance from him.
Lydia is completely beholden to her protector and longs to parley her thorough understanding of the mathematics of probability into enough gambling winnings to establish her independence. She just has to be careful that no one notices her efforts. Teaming up with Will to work the tables makes sense for both of them, despite the risks, but each will have to remember that they can’t afford to risk their hearts in this scheme.
I wanted to like this book so much and yet, I just didn’t. Will is a former soldier having survived Waterloo and returned home to try to resume a normal life in England carrying his PTSD burdens with him. This sort of hero is usually a hands down winner for me but not in this case. There was nothing inherently the matter with Will as a hero, but he just didn’t captivate me. Perhaps my issue with him is that he was open and vulnerable with Lydia, no matter how closed off she was, and his level of besottedness with her was just not very endearing. Now, despite the fact that Will didn’t really do much for me, it was Lydia with whom I found a problem. I’ve read and enjoyed courtesan books before, but the fact that Lydia was actively with someone else (her protector) for so long and actively enjoying his attentions, even while Will was working on courting her, made it hard to like her. Her circumstances and the decisions she made to get there made sense and I didn’t have any issues with condemning her for them; rather, it was her behavior that got me. Lydia was incredibly rude and often downright mean to Will when he was only ever trying to be a good man and see that she was being respected. Then it was like the worse she treated him, the more Will wanted her and that in turn made me not a fan of him as a hero. Even Lydia herself admits to her tendency towards a foul temper.
Perhaps my biggest issue is Lydia’s weaponization of sex. Sure, men do this all the time, but those men are the villains, rather than the heroes and I have a hard time making this sort of behavior fit in with what I want out of a romance. Lydia uses sex to manipulate her protector, who does admittedly deserve it, but she also uses Will’s desire for her to manipulate him into the sort of behavior he’s been trying his best not to sink to, after which, she berates him for not really being a good man. I just really couldn’t like her for this, especially considering that it happened several times such that it was apparently that sex was Lydia’s answer to everything, and this was a part of her character. Even when Will is seeking solace from Lydia, she makes it about sex, ostensibly as a way to help him overcome his pain, but I’m not so sure I really bought that. Taking all of this into consideration, it was hard to really believe it when Lydia said she loved Will because none of that behavior around their sexual relationship felt like love. This was also not helped by the fact that outside of a physical relationship Lydia and Will’s interactions consisted of her trying, very impatiently, to teach him the odds of cards and the art of counting cards. And there were so. Many. Cards. This was very nearly a DNF for me several times just because of how little interest I could muster in the many, many times cards were discussed, but for some reason I struggle to label something a DNF. I know I’m meant to admire Lydia’s prowess and take no prisoners attitude, but this was just another instance of her shrewish and mean spirited behavior putting me off.
All that said, this book was exceedingly well written, but that lovely prose just didn’t come with characters I could get behind, nor with a story that really grabbed me or made me feel like I was truly reading a romance. This was my first time reading this author and her writing was strong enough to make me perhaps try another of her stories, but this one was a flop for me and, though I bought it because of the beautiful cover, I don't think I'll be keeping it on my physical shelves.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4622207115
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3190718063
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