Retro Review: Never Trust a Lady

This review of Never Trust a Lady by Suzanne Robinson was originally posted at The Romance Reader in 2008.  Back then I rated this 3-Hearts (C grade) with an MPAA-style content rating of "G."

++++

Lady Eva Sparrow is a young widow and squeezing all the fun out of life that she can. After an unhappy childhood, and dreadful marriage, Eva has spent the last few years traveling aboard and having various adventures. However, it is while visiting friends in Mississippi, at the dawn of the Civil War, that Eva finds herself called to action. Horrified by slavery, she is determined to help any way she can – and she gets her wish when she learns that her British political connections could aid the Union cause.

Ryder Drake owns a ranch in Texas, but the threat of war has led him to set up a Union spy network to keep tabs on the Confederates. He also wants to make sure that the South fails in rallying support from the British – and to do that he needs an insider who can introduce him to British political figures. He really doesn’t want to enable the help of Lady Eva Sparrow, thinking she’s just another bubble-headed female.

However Ryder soon learns of an assassination attempt that would surely mean Britain declaring war on the Union. He has exhausted all other possibilities and must try to gain favor with Lady Eva – a task that finds him in a perilous situation since he has grossly underestimated her intelligence.

I feel fairly confident in saying that Never Trust A Lady is not a romance. Oh sure, there’s a romance – but it is most definitely a subplot and not wholly satisfying. Lady Eva is normally the sort of heroine I like. She was dissatisfied playing the beautiful, empty-headed hostess to her much older husband and has spent her widowhood traveling, learning and basically having her own opinions. For the bulk of the story I found her rather refreshing – although there are a couple of instances where she comes off like a petulant child because the boys won’t listen to her.

Ryder has mommy issues. Like many romance heroes before him, his mother was a society shrew who only cared for baubles and parties, therefore neglecting her marriage and only son. Sigh. So naturally because Eva is a British Lady and moves in certain desirable circles, she must be a ninny. He eventually realizes that he’s the moron, but this same old song and dance routine was more than a little disappointing.

What does work much better than the romance is Robinson’s skill when it comes to writing history, and her inclusion of real historical figures was an added bonus. Notable secondary characters include Alan Pinkerton, Abraham Lincoln, and Queen Victoria herself. The Victorian London setting is also well done – right down to gaslights, seedy slums, and descriptions of the sewer system.

The mystery of the assassination attempt is middle of the road. The author does toss in an acceptable red herring – but sad to say that I pretty much knew where it was going before I had actually concluded the journey. Readers who pick up mystery novels with any sort of frequency may find themselves in the same boat. That said, I never got bored with the main focus of the story, and easily kept turning the pages.

Enjoyment of Never Trust A Lady hinges on what the reader is looking for. Those wanting a romance will probably find themselves frustrated, while those looking for a historical novel should be more satisfied. The ending also leaves this reviewer pondering if this is the potential birth of a new series – as while there is a happily ever after, it’s not exactly signed, sealed and delivered. It certainly wouldn’t be out of the question – which could make Never Trust A Lady of particular interest to fans of historical mystery series.

+++++

Wendy Note: Another book I have absolutely no recall on but my sleuthing indicates that this book never did spin out into a series.

Unusual Historical Best Bets for August 2019

I’m not sure where 2019 has gone, but here we are - already in August. RWA has come and gone, the kids are either already back in school or will be very soon, and large swaths of the US are looking forward to Pumpkin Spice Everything. While, on one hand, I felt energized at RWA to come home and “read all the things,” the reality has been “um, not so much.” Distracted and cranky seems to be the mood of the moment. So to snap myself out of it, why not browse for intriguing sounding unusual historicals? Here are the August releases that caught my eye.

Dalliances & Devotion by Felicia Grossman

A change in course can be refreshing…when it’s done together.

1871

After two disastrous marriages, beauty columnist Amalia Truitt’s life is finally her own—well, it will be if she can get herself back to Delaware and demand access to her share of the Truitt family fortune. After all, the charity she’s organized for women who can’t afford their own divorces won’t fund itself.

However, not everyone wants her to reach her destination. When her family learns she’s been receiving anonymous death threats, a solo journey is out of the question.

Enter David Zisskind, the ragtag-peddler-turned-soldier whose heart Amalia broke years ago. He’s a Pinkerton now, and the promotion he craves depends on protecting his long-lost love on the unexpectedly treacherous journey across Pennsylvania.

That their physical connection has endured the test of time (and then some) is problematic, to say the least.

In very close quarters, with danger lurking around every curve, with each kiss and illicit touch, the wrongs of the past are righted. But David can’t weather another rejection, especially with his career in jeopardy. And Amalia can’t possibly take a lover, never mind another husband…not with so much depending on her repaired reputation. Not when she’s hurt David—her David—so badly before.

Wendy general rule of thumb: it’s a historical romance published by Carina - one-click it on principle (seriously, they publish so little of it - I’m hoping the ol’ “vote with your dollars” might start to actually work). This is the second book in Grossman’s Truitt series and honestly what isn’t to love about this back cover blurb? A twice divorced heroine, a Pinkerton agent hero with a tattered past, and a reunion romance. Wendy catnip y’all.

A Little Light Mischief by Cat Sebastian

A seductive thief

Lady’s maid Molly Wilkins is done with thieving—and cheating and stabbing and all the rest of it. She’s determined to keep her hands to herself, so she really shouldn’t be tempted to seduce her employer’s prim and proper companion, Alice. But how can she resist when Alice can’t seem to keep her eyes off Molly?

Finds her own heart

For the first time in her life, Alice Stapleton has absolutely nothing to do. The only thing that seems to occupy her thoughts is a lady’s maid with a sharp tongue and a beautiful mouth. Her determination to know Molly’s secrets has her behaving in ways she never imagined as she begins to fall for the impertinent woman.

Has been stolen

When an unwelcome specter from Alice’s past shows up unexpectedly at a house party, Molly volunteers to help the only way she knows how: with a little bit of mischief.

It’s like romance authors got together and decided to publish all the Wendy Catnip in the month of August. This novella, part of Sebastian’s Turner series, features a thief turned Lady’s maid and an upright Lady’s companion. Library Journal gave this a starred review and called it a “fun, sexy romp.” If I wasn’t sold already, that sealed it.

Reclaimed by her Rebel Knight by Jenni Fletcher

Married to a perfect stranger…
Reunited with her warrior husband

When Constance inherited her father’s lands, she had no choice but to marry cold-hearted Matthew Wintour. He left her for the battlefield, without even a wedding night. Five years later, Matthew has returned a valiant knight! But Constance is no longer a frightened girl. And, this time, she must reach out to discover the honorable man behind the armor and what pleasures await them in the marriage bed…

Ah, the hero who takes off before the wedding night - seriously, will these guys never learn? And it was an arranged marriage no less. The back cover blurb entices me with the promise of a heroine with gumption and I’m a sucker for marriage of convenience tropes of all stripes.

A pretty light month as far as unusual historicals go. What are you looking forward to reading this month? What unusual historicals have you recently unearthed from your TBR?

#TBRChallenge 2019: Bound To You

The Book: Bound to You by Shawntelle Madison

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, first in series, 2016, In Print, Self-published reprint, originally published by Loveswept (check your digital TBRs folks!)

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I have an autographed copy I picked up at RWA 2018.  I cannot recall specifics, but I think I may have purchased this at the Literacy Signing.

The Review: Books like this one depress me. Look, part of this is Wendy being Wendy.  There are BDSM themes in this book and anyone who has been reading this blog for any stretch of time will know that I was over BDSM by the time That Trilogy got a hold of the public consciousness.  So some of this on me.  But the rest of it?  There are bones of a good story here, one I think I would have really enjoyed - but the execution, what was focused on and what was not?  Oh, what might have been...

Sophie Ashton lives in Boston and is a personal concierge.  She's used to dealing with demanding clients who have more money than good sense. Her latest client is Xavier Quinn, a tech start-up hotshot visiting from the west coast.  He's trying to land a deal with a Japanese firm, and getting rebuffed as an "upstart" at every turn. His fish is currently in Boston, so Xavier makes the trip to hopefully get a sit-down and close the deal.  And for that he needs Sophie.  The problem?  They're both attracted to each other.  Xavier is cognizant of that fact that Sophie is his employee (even if only temporarily) and Sophie has been burned before by mixing business with pleasure - a relationship that ended poorly and that she's still not quite over.

So where does the BDSM fit in? Well, Sophie is "kinky" and a sub. Xavier is "kinky" and a Dom.  And naturally Sophie has a BFF and roommates all with various leanings - because, of course.  As far as how heavy the BDSM is?  It's pretty light.  Sophie is still wearing the leather cuffs given to her by her former lover and likes to be tied up in bed, given orders etc.  That's about the extent of it - and that's probably what my problem was.  It didn't always feel organic.  Like it was tossed in for "kinky flavor" but not really delved into too deeply as part of the character development.  Where it was interesting was in relation to Sophie's and Xavier's past relationships but the author only gives us teasing glances which added to my frustration.

Given the way the relationship ended, and WHY it ended, a "showdown" with Sophie's ex is inevitable.  When it arrives on the page?  It's a couple of pages.  That's it.  Oh, Sophie's part in it is great - she pretty much verbally slaps the guy into next Tuesday, but it could have been so much more.  And Xavier's ex?  She got ill and died.  It's teased that Xavier is still haunted by her death but the extent of that revelation was epic disappointment.

I was one of the richest men in the world, yet I couldn't even save a woman who didn't love me as deeply as I loved her.

THAT'S IT?!?!?!  You drop a bomb like that and don't go into any past history of why Xavier felt like his ex didn't love him as deeply as he loved her?  HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PROCESS THIS?!  And this isn't the only way Xavier's character gets short-changed.  He has a strained relationship with his family.  He was once the golden child, something happened, now he's no longer the golden child.  The author dashes of an explanation at the end, but it's weak sauce and not delved into very much at all (an injury ended his athletic career which was apparently a big deal to his mother? I guess? Why? Who knows!).  Xavier's family doesn't come into play until the last couple of chapters and frankly that dynamic was just screwy and interesting enough that I felt like the author ended up short-changing it by not spending more time developing that angle.

Look, I get that the author was aiming to create a world and that a lot of romance readers get frustrated when the hero and/or heroine lack friendships.  But those friendships shouldn't come at the expense of the meat and potatoes of the romance. You know...the thing we're all reading romance novels for. Just when I thought I was going to get a deeper dive into the characters, their pasts, their complicated relationships with family and exes, the author veers left and skates around the edge of it.  It ends up being fairly surface and teases of so much more that never really pays off.  At only 263 pages (I read a print copy), I alternated between wanting a red pen to cut out filler or wishing this was beefed up to 300+ pages to flesh everything out.

Which makes it sound like I didn't like this book.  I did like it, but I could have loved it and that's my issue.  I was all geared up for some emotional heavy lifting and it just didn't bear fruit.  Oh well.

Final Grade = B-

Review: Their Amish Reunion

At RWA this summer one of my friends book-talked the hell out of Their Amish Reunion by Lenora Worth.  My immediate response was, "This sounds totally like my jam."  My unspoken response was "Amish romance? Um...we'll see."

There are readers who gobble up Amish romance and then there are readers who are highly critical of a subgenre that essentially fetishizes "whiteness" and insular religious communities.  I'm not here to say they're wrong.  No, I'm here to tell you 1) how amazing this book is while 2) Amish romance is unlikely to ever be truly my jam and 3) give the RITA-judging pool a reality slap into next Tuesday.  If I can read this and say, "Not my thing but hot damn is this an amazing book!" then you RITA judges who mark down very solid, well-written stories because they're about not-white people or because it's erotic romance?  Yeah, please step to the front of the line so I know never to read your books because your "judgment" is not sound.  I refuse to believe that I'm somehow "special" because I can recognize a very well-written romance even if it's "not my jam." If I can do it, everybody should be able to do it.  OK, lecture over. Now, onto the review:

During Jeremiah Weaver's rumspringa he befriended a young Navy SEAL whose wealthy parents lived nearby in their small Pennsylvania town.  When the young man dies during a dangerous mission, Jeremiah chooses to leave behind his Amish community and enlist in the Navy.  He trains to become a SEAL, survives several missions until the last one goes sideways.  Upon discharge he gets word that his father is very ill and he's called home.  Not just for a visit.  No Jeremiah is coming home for good, which means being baptized and working his way back into the community he left behind all those years ago.  That also means coming back to the girl he left behind.  A girl, now woman and widow, who isn't sure she can forgive.

Ava Jane Graber was devastated when Jeremiah left.  Not only did he leave her and their community, he essentially abandoned everything Amish. To go off and fight? To commit violence? Unthinkable in their community.  Eventually Ava Jane marries Jeremiah's best friend, they have two children, and they settle into a good, happy life.  Ava Jane loved her husband and when he dies tragically by drowning, she mourns his loss.  To see Jeremiah back in town is something that rocks her to the core. She knows she should forgive. She knows she should welcome him back into the community.  But she's not sure she can.

This story is one gut-punch after another, a perfect example of an emotionally rich story that never wallows in excessive angst.  All inspirational fiction has some sort of religious theme at it's core, and Worth focuses this story on the power of forgiveness: Jeremiah needing to forgive himself for the mission gone bad, Ava Jane needing to forgive Jeremiah for leaving all those years ago, Ava Jane needing to forgive herself over the guilt she feels over her husband's death.  And the tension in this story!  Whoa doggie!  Look, it's an Amish romance so no, there's absolutely no sex (closed door or otherwise) but the sparks these two set off, the looks, the touches, the emotionally charged dialogue!  Dear Lord, more of this please!

I suspect some readers will think Ava Jane is "too hard" on Jeremiah and hangs on to her anger for too long, but I understood it in relation to the community she's living in.  Jeremiah not only abandoned her, he abandoned everything they were raised in.  Amish do not pick up weapons of war and go off to shoot people.  Even as Jeremiah is reconciling his past, making peace with his bedridden, comatose father, and the members of the community, so too must Ava Jane make peace with the Jeremiah of today, so different from the boy she once deeply loved.

So if this book is emotionally charged, angsty and all things Wendy loves - why do I say Amish romance may not be "my jam?"  For one thing: too much God stuff.  Which, hello - Amish romance.  OF COURSE THERE'S TOO MUCH GOD STUFF!  Ahem.  Also, I could never completely get past my reservations of reading a romance set in an insular religious community.  I'm not sure squirky is the right word, but it was something I just couldn't entirely let go of.  Look, I know fetishizing when I read it (I can smell it like a fart in a elevator in m/m), and Worth doesn't do that here.  But still...Insular. Religious. Community.

But look, if Amish romance is your jam?  This one is amazing.  It finalled for a RITA this year and the writing alone in this book?  It should have finalled for the damn RITA.  Says the girl who swears in reviews for Amish romance novels.

Final Grade = A

ETA: I highlighted some of my favorite passages on GoodReads.

Reminder: #TBRChallenge Day is August 21!

Hey, hey, hey!  For those participating in the 2019 #TBRChallenge, a reminder that your commentary is "due"on Wednesday, August 21.  This month's theme is Random Pick!

This month's optional theme is that there is no optional theme!  Whatever random pick means to you? Go with it.  Maybe it's a book that you have no idea how or why it landed in your TBR. Or maybe you close your eyes and read the first book your hand touches on your book shelf.  Or maybe it's a book in a sub genre you happen to be in the mood for right now. Whatever it may be - this is one month where we're all going to be "on theme."

If you're participating on social media, please remember to use the #TBRChallenge hashtag so people can follow along.

And it's not too late to sign up!  Simply leave a comment on this reminder post.

You can learn about the challenge and check out the full list of blogging participants on the information page.

Retro Wendy: The “I Only See You” Scene in Jeannie Lin’s My Fair Concubine

This post originally ran on Heroes & Heartbreakers on August 7, 2012 and was part of their Delicious Despair series - posts that talked about emotional "rip your guts out" moments in romances.

When I settle in to read a romance I always hope for two things: 1) that I’ll enjoy the story and 2) that the author will rip my guts out. I love emotional angst. I love moments of delicious despair where the characters are figuratively bleeding on the page. Moments where it seems like all hope is lost, that there is no way to break free. Those are the moments that feed my insatiable appetite for the genre, and it’s such a moment that makes My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin so emotionally satisfying. 

Chang Fei Long is a man who is trying to clean up a mess his now deceased father has left behind. In order to do that, he needs to keep the financial turmoil of his house under wraps and secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom by marrying off his younger sister. The rub is that sister has no desire to enter into this arranged marriage and takes off to be with her true love. Fei Long needs this marriage to happen and since the man arranging it has never met his sister? Why not replace her with a lowly tea house girl? It’s win-win. His family escapes ruin, and Yan Ling, a girl with no future or prospects, gets to live the life of a princess.

What follows is a story set to the Pygmalion theme—a My Fair Lady that takes place in Tang dynasty China. Naturally, as tends to happen with stories of this nature, teacher and pupil end up being attracted to each other, and falling in love. It’s especially poignant here because Fei Long literally has his back up against a wall. This marriage has to take place. If it doesn’t? He’s doomed. His household is doomed. His name, his family’s name, will mean less than dirt. So he feels he must deny his feelings for Yan Ling.

“I think of you, Yan Ling, more than I should.” A wave of longing struck him. “When I see your face at night, I don’t see the tea girl or the elegant lady. I only see you.”  

He could see her now, even though he couldn’t face her.  

“I think of you, too.”  

Her soft confession nearly unraveled him. He had to get this out and be done with it.  

“If I acted on these feelings, if I…if I took what I wanted, it would be an abuse of authority. You’re under my care. That was what I meant when I spoke of our positions. I won’t treat you like that.” His mouth twisted. “As if you’re here for my pleasure.”  

The whisper of silk told him Yan Ling had risen. She approached him while he counted each step with the thundering beat of his heart.  

“You told me I wasn’t your servant,” she said.  

“You aren’t, but that doesn’t change who I am.”  

He turned before she could reach him and took a step away. They had to keep their distance. Yan Ling came closer anyway.  

“The only hours of the day when I’m truly awake…” her lower lip trembled “….are when I’m with you.” 

Not only is it poignant and emotionally draining, it seems so final. How the couple is able to find their way through this moment, a moment that seems to brook no argument, is what makes the happy ending that much sweeter. That, ladies and gentlemen, is romance.