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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Trying to avoid a Squee Spill here in this review, but it might prove difficult, so be warned.
In brief: woman on the run Olivia takes a position as temporary housekeeper for Alistair de Gray, Duke of Marwick (or Lord Marwick, or whatever the heck his title is. Too lazy to look up the correct way to cite it. Whatevs.) The mad, shut-in duke holds the key to Olivia's freedom in old letters from his unfaithful and traitorous now-dead wife. Duke has gone completely bat-poo-cray since wife's death and unearthing of her multiple betrayals on personal and political scales. Yikes.
Olivia refuses to let Dukey wallow Beast-style. He's essentially shamed and inspired by his feisty, red-headed (of course) housekeeper, and starts to get his act together.
There's some intensely hot romance. I wouldn't be surprised if Duran goes through multiple keyboards while writing, her stuff's so sexy-spicy. There's also a Big Midunderstanding (or two) that gets worked out only after a fight, a prison, and a bachelor pad on Brook Street (of course).
While a great deal of the plot was kind of crazy, the emotion from Olivia and the Duke was SO FREAKING WELL DONE that it kept me in the book and reading way past my bedtime. Duran is especially talented with her male characters. A deeply wounded but hopeful, healing hero who's trying so damn hard to get it together ... welcome to my Reader Crack.
In brief: woman on the run Olivia takes a position as temporary housekeeper for Alistair de Gray, Duke of Marwick (or Lord Marwick, or whatever the heck his title is. Too lazy to look up the correct way to cite it. Whatevs.) The mad, shut-in duke holds the key to Olivia's freedom in old letters from his unfaithful and traitorous now-dead wife. Duke has gone completely bat-poo-cray since wife's death and unearthing of her multiple betrayals on personal and political scales. Yikes.
Olivia refuses to let Dukey wallow Beast-style. He's essentially shamed and inspired by his feisty, red-headed (of course) housekeeper, and starts to get his act together.
There's some intensely hot romance. I wouldn't be surprised if Duran goes through multiple keyboards while writing, her stuff's so sexy-spicy. There's also a Big Midunderstanding (or two) that gets worked out only after a fight, a prison, and a bachelor pad on Brook Street (of course).
While a great deal of the plot was kind of crazy, the emotion from Olivia and the Duke was SO FREAKING WELL DONE that it kept me in the book and reading way past my bedtime. Duran is especially talented with her male characters. A deeply wounded but hopeful, healing hero who's trying so damn hard to get it together ... welcome to my Reader Crack.
medium-paced
Olivia Mather is on the run from Lord Bertram, who hates her so much he wants her dead. She has been hiding/working as a ladies' maid and uncovered some letters between Lord Bertram and the late Duchess of Marwick which refer to the Duke, Alastair de Grey, holding dossiers on members of the ton for blackmail purposes. She determines to find employment as a maid in the Duke's household and steal the dossier which she hopes will provide sufficient dirt to force Lord Bertram to leave her alone.
Alastair was an up-and-coming politician, widely tipped to become the next British Prime Minister, until his wife's death. Shortly after his wife's death he found correspondence between her and four men which indicated that not only had she loathed Alastair and been having affairs with each of the men, but she had also actively plotted against him politically, telling his political enemies secrets to foil his proposals etc. The realisation that he had been cuckolded and betrayed by a woman he thought was the perfect wife has had a profound effect on him and he has become a recluse, hiding in his London mansion.
When Olivia tries to get work as a maid the staff think she is there to replace the housekeeper and she seizes upon the opportunity. She is the only member of staff who will stand up to Alastair's bullying and bottle throwing. This reminds me very much of the film The Secret Garden, Alastair hiding away like Colin until an uppity madam comes to tell him off good and proper. Of course Olivia gradually shames Alastair into washing, stopping drinking, opening the curtains etc, etc, but as their friendship grows can she betray him by stealing information to blackmail Lord Bertram?
I enjoyed reading this but I have to confess it did feel like one coincidence after another and I have seen the wider plot line used in other books before so it didn't feel particularly shocking or different.
If you like your heroines sassy and resourceful, your heroes grumpy and brooding then I'm sure you'll enjoy this.
Alastair was an up-and-coming politician, widely tipped to become the next British Prime Minister, until his wife's death. Shortly after his wife's death he found correspondence between her and four men which indicated that not only had she loathed Alastair and been having affairs with each of the men, but she had also actively plotted against him politically, telling his political enemies secrets to foil his proposals etc. The realisation that he had been cuckolded and betrayed by a woman he thought was the perfect wife has had a profound effect on him and he has become a recluse, hiding in his London mansion.
When Olivia tries to get work as a maid the staff think she is there to replace the housekeeper and she seizes upon the opportunity. She is the only member of staff who will stand up to Alastair's bullying and bottle throwing. This reminds me very much of the film The Secret Garden, Alastair hiding away like Colin until an uppity madam comes to tell him off good and proper. Of course Olivia gradually shames Alastair into washing, stopping drinking, opening the curtains etc, etc, but as their friendship grows can she betray him by stealing information to blackmail Lord Bertram?
I enjoyed reading this but I have to confess it did feel like one coincidence after another and I have seen the wider plot line used in other books before so it didn't feel particularly shocking or different.
If you like your heroines sassy and resourceful, your heroes grumpy and brooding then I'm sure you'll enjoy this.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars. I really wanted this book to be better than it was. This had incredibly gorgeous writing and two very compelling leads, but the plot dragged in the second half of the book and things were happening that didn’t make a ton of sense to me. It could’ve used about 50 less pages and tighter editing overall.
Another general feeling I have about this is that Meredith Duran writes incredibly interior and think-y books, and sometimes the intellectualizing from her characters can get repetitive and stands in the way of the story moving briskly apace.
All that said, I understand why this is MD’s second most popular book on GR — the relationship between the two leads is fairly hard won and there are no shortcuts; the hero is very difficult and his transformation takes a while, which makes it all the more satisfying by the story’s end.
Another general feeling I have about this is that Meredith Duran writes incredibly interior and think-y books, and sometimes the intellectualizing from her characters can get repetitive and stands in the way of the story moving briskly apace.
All that said, I understand why this is MD’s second most popular book on GR — the relationship between the two leads is fairly hard won and there are no shortcuts; the hero is very difficult and his transformation takes a while, which makes it all the more satisfying by the story’s end.