Series: School for Scoundrels, #2
Traits & Tropes: hero falls first; class difference; illegitimate hero; age gap (older heroine); forbidden; wealthy hero; self-made hero; cinnamon roll hero; reformed rake
Publication Date: 05.23.23
Genre/Setting: Historical; Victorian; London, England
Heat Level: 4
Rating: 2.5/5
Now widowed and the Dowager Duchess of Chelmsworth, Alexandra is determined to shed her mourning for the husband who wasted her dowry and ignored her when he wasn’t belittling her. Encouraged by her outrageous stepdaughter to try something new, Alexandra visits the notorious Garden of Hedon where she quickly finds herself in the arms of a mysterious man. They don’t exchange names, but she drinks in the pleasure he offers her, with neither of them ever expecting to cross paths again.
So, Alex is shocked when she learns her mystery man is Theo Osborne, the wealthy businessman her stepson is trying to convince to marry his half-sister, none other than Alex’s daughter, Harriet. Thanks to her stepson’s financial ineptitude, the estate needs the money this deal would bring, but Theo makes it clear he’s only interested in Alexandra. She, however, is determined never to enter anything permanent with a man ever again, although it rapidly becomes obvious that whatever is going on between herself and Theo is much more serious than an anonymous night of passion.
I was so excited for this book, especially when it jumped into a very steamy scene early on and had a large age gap with an older heroine. Unfortunately, my interest began to wane around the 30% mark when Alex was so upset and bitter that no one had ever stood up for her, but then she immediately bristled when Theo wanted to do so. She just seemed to keep spiting herself and I actually put this down for over a month before returning to it and getting it finished.
When I picked this book up again, I was quickly reminded of why I put it down. Alex was determined to never marry and place herself under a man’s control again, and yet she was very much under a man’s control even in her widowed state since her stepson controlled all her resources. It was very frustrating to me that she didn’t seem to want to admit this since that would mean admitting to herself that she truly would be better off with Theo.
Also, as seems to happen so often with the feminist themes that are so on trend in HR at the moment, we’re inundated with Alex’s repetitive inner monologues about her repression at the hands of the men in her life and she makes very little distinction for Theo, which I found very unfair and smacking of misandry. I get it. Women are oppressed. I live that every day and don’t need to be reminded of it in my escapist romance reads and this heroine just beat that topic into the ground.
Theo’s utter obsession with pleasing Alex was adorable but, quite frankly, I was left feeling like she didn’t really deserve him. He certainly didn’t deserve her erratic treatment of him. For instance, she was adamant in her refusal to give him any kind of commitment or to allow him to commit to her, yet she stressed over the thought of him with anyone else, even as she toyed with him and kept him at arm’s length. The whole thing just had me puzzled and hating how unequal their relationship was. It was super unfair that Alex forbade Theo from speaking to her of his feelings, then turned around and used the fact that he hadn’t spoken of his feelings as a way to convince herself that he saw their relationship as nothing but temporary. It was like she was continually setting up these weird, manipulative tests for Theo that he was always going to fail, enabling her to justify her warped views and gaslight him.
I think Alex was supposed to seem noble and self-sacrificing, but for me she just came off as stupid and immature. She was way too wishy-washy and willfully ignorant of all logic. Theo did everything he could to support her choices, but all she could do was rail about her independence. Even when she did actually need rescuing, she was too blinded by her own stubbornness to see or admit it. For me, she ruined the whole romance of the relationship and the deliciousness of the age gap. She was so determined to be independent that she spent the whole story keeping herself from what she actually wanted, all the while continually forgetting that her independence was nothing but an illusion. She never could seem to recognize that Theo wanted to give her more freedom, not take it away, so it really seemed like she had no concept of anything.
I’ll try not to be spoilery, but you do run that risk from here. Y’all know I hate the third act breakup anyway, but most especially the faux noble ‘I love him so I can’t marry him’ line. What a load of hogwash. In the end I wanted it to be her who went to him and her who groveled, though of course we were never going to get that. She persisted in criticizing how he loved her and thinking he needed to change when he was the one deferring to her whims the entire time. I also loathed the plot device deployed in the last chapter. It was wholly unnecessary and kind of ruined the age gap allure for me a bit.
To me, misandry isn’t sexy or romantic, so the mood of this book was pretty much brought down. Love is precious and rare, and Alex didn’t give it nearly enough respect or cherishing. Especially after how much I adored the first book and how highly I’ve been anticipating the stories of this adorable guy group, this one wasn’t really what I was hoping for.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5462068791
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2656720118
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