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A review by jackiehorne
The Arrangement by Sylvia Day, Minerva Spencer, Kristin Vayden
3.0
A collection of three early 19th century British-set historical novellas. The headliner of the collection is Sylvia Day, with "Mischief and the Marquess," an opposites-attract novella from 2007. As a younger man, stiff, stodgy Justin, Marquess of Fontaine, nursed a keen infatuation for the vivacious Lady Sophie Milton-Riley. But while he waited for her to grow up, another lord beat him to the punch of proposing to her. Since then, an unspecified scandal have cast Sophie out of polite social circles. In spite of this, Justin's mother and Sophie's grandmother are conspiring to make a match between the two. Sophie convinces Justin to contrive with her to demonstrate to their matchmaking relatives that they are simply not meant for one another. Several rather uninspired schemes later convinces them that they are. One can understand why Day switched from historical to contemporary romance after reading this story; her voice here often feels awkward and overwritten ("his blond hair was a maternal trait"; "She could not predict how he would respond to the gross deviation of propriety she had committed so many years ago"), and her plotting less than compelling.
Minerva Spencer's entry, "The Duke's Treasure," features the forced marriage trope, although the force here is not propriety but money and honor. Beaumont ("Beau") Halliwell, the new Duke of Wroxton, agrees to marry "the Potted Meat Princess," one of the richest women in England, despite her lack of a noble pedigree. Why? Because his family's coffers are empty, and because his now-dead brother broke his promise to Mr. Loman that he would wed his daughter. For her part, Josephine ("Jo") Loman has been longing after the gorgeous former second Halliwell son for five years (ever since she saw him having sex with another woman at a house party they both attended). Even his coldness, obvious contempt, and lack of memory of their earlier meetings can't "quench her burning desire to possess him." Their relationship doesn't improve when Beau insists they set out for the country, leaving Jo's dying father behind. Of course, readers know that he is only doing so because he promised her father to keep Jo from witnessing his decline. With such an inauspicious beginning, as well as an evil other woman to make their relationship even more fraught, can the two make anything out of their marriage? Spencer's strong writing, erotic sex scenes, and message that forging a strong bond requires open and honest discussions combine to make this story the standout of the collection.
Kristin Vayden's "An Inconvenient Countess"
Charles Brook, Earl of Barrington, is in need of a respectable wife, so that another man will sell him an estate in the Caribbean (why the owner of what is presumably a sugar plantation worked by enslaved Africans would scruple to sell it to a rake is a bit of a puzzle). Since his reputation in London is so bad (for unspecified reasons), he heads to the country, and discovers a candidate in the eldest daughter of his neighbor, Diana Lambson, the eldest of five girls. With a recently deceased father and an ill mother, it is up to Diana to secure her family's future. Barrington's offer of a marriage of convenience (not the typical, no-sex kind, but one without emotional attachments) is the perfect answer to her problems. Neither is expecting to love the other, but they quickly fall into an easy friendship. But when Barrington's business deal falls through, will their new relationship founder, too? Despite occasional poor word choice and awkward phrasing ("if it's so simple, why such articulate planning?"; "It would only serve his purpose to have his marriage a well-known occurrence"), a solid historical novella.
Day's story: 2 stars
Spencer's story: 4 stars
Vayden's story: 3 stars
Minerva Spencer's entry, "The Duke's Treasure," features the forced marriage trope, although the force here is not propriety but money and honor. Beaumont ("Beau") Halliwell, the new Duke of Wroxton, agrees to marry "the Potted Meat Princess," one of the richest women in England, despite her lack of a noble pedigree. Why? Because his family's coffers are empty, and because his now-dead brother broke his promise to Mr. Loman that he would wed his daughter. For her part, Josephine ("Jo") Loman has been longing after the gorgeous former second Halliwell son for five years (ever since she saw him having sex with another woman at a house party they both attended). Even his coldness, obvious contempt, and lack of memory of their earlier meetings can't "quench her burning desire to possess him." Their relationship doesn't improve when Beau insists they set out for the country, leaving Jo's dying father behind. Of course, readers know that he is only doing so because he promised her father to keep Jo from witnessing his decline. With such an inauspicious beginning, as well as an evil other woman to make their relationship even more fraught, can the two make anything out of their marriage? Spencer's strong writing, erotic sex scenes, and message that forging a strong bond requires open and honest discussions combine to make this story the standout of the collection.
Kristin Vayden's "An Inconvenient Countess"
Charles Brook, Earl of Barrington, is in need of a respectable wife, so that another man will sell him an estate in the Caribbean (why the owner of what is presumably a sugar plantation worked by enslaved Africans would scruple to sell it to a rake is a bit of a puzzle). Since his reputation in London is so bad (for unspecified reasons), he heads to the country, and discovers a candidate in the eldest daughter of his neighbor, Diana Lambson, the eldest of five girls. With a recently deceased father and an ill mother, it is up to Diana to secure her family's future. Barrington's offer of a marriage of convenience (not the typical, no-sex kind, but one without emotional attachments) is the perfect answer to her problems. Neither is expecting to love the other, but they quickly fall into an easy friendship. But when Barrington's business deal falls through, will their new relationship founder, too? Despite occasional poor word choice and awkward phrasing ("if it's so simple, why such articulate planning?"; "It would only serve his purpose to have his marriage a well-known occurrence"), a solid historical novella.
Day's story: 2 stars
Spencer's story: 4 stars
Vayden's story: 3 stars