- Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books; Original edition (October 27, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0345503953
Harriet has survived London's streets far too long to let an arrogant duke woo a bride he doesn't want when she desires him for herself, and she has seen too much of life not to recognize a man ripe for redemption. But just as Harriet finds the perfect cure for His Lordship's devilish ways, a vindictive enemy intervenes, and the duke whom Harriet has plotted to save suddenly becomes her devoted protector.
I will not lie to you, fair reader. I accidentally skipped this one. Granted, this series is not truly a series, and so skipping around is allowed. So I didn't miss anything. Moving on.
I have become increasingly disappointed with Hunter. Her first three books in the Boscastle series were divine. They were funny, and well developed, and just great. However, it feels like after her initial success, she gave up and started churning out your average romance novels. Nothing special about them. I've been continuing to read them because I'm a dolt and I keep hoping she'll return to her former skill. I think I should probably accept that she's gone average at this point.
This book, however, gave me a little more hope. Not necessarily that they're going to suddenly improve, but that they've maybe transformed a little. Maybe I've become complacent. In this installment, we have cousin Griffin Boscastle finding true love in the most unlikely place - a teacher at the family school for instructing young ladies. A teacher that comes from the slums, no less. Oh romance novel, you do propound the most preposterous plots. Also, I would like to state that Griffin is not really a rakehell as the description would have you believe. There are simply too many things going on in this novel for its own good - we have issues with Harriet's family, Griffin's rumored murder of his brother for the dukedom, his proposed marriage to a completely unsuitable socialite, Harriet's position in his household, the issue of Edlyn's questionable birth and further behavior...too much. The book barely has time to cover these. And there are only three sex scenes, which was perfectly fine with me. For a romance novel though, it's generally a sign of shoddy writing if you can only squeeze in one actual penetration during the entirety of the novel. That sounds incredibly vulgar, but there it is.
I will give Hunter props for the undeniable humor of her novels. She also cleverly used Mary Shelley's Frankenstein quotes in a sort of interesting plot device. This is something she has never done before, so I was suitably impressed at her literacy. While the plot was once more cut short and stymied, it was still entertaining. I always feel like she should put more effort into character and plot development, but that's an old concern. Since I've already addressed it, I'll let be.
I liked the characters, as they were given, although I found a disturbing lack of consistency in Primrose. She was touted as a strong woman with a wealth of willpower, but she seemed to break down into feebleness at the first opportunity. I had difficulty believing that, but other than that there was really no issue. Harriet is one of my favorite females Hunter has written, I believe. An interesting mix of proper lady and streetrat. (Did I just hear someone shout Aladdin?)
Overall: B
I can't in good conscience give this more, but as it's one of her better recent efforts, I'm going to recognize that.
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