A review by jackiehorne
Midnight Marriage by Lucinda Brant

3.0

My first Brant book. Haven't read a Georgian historical in a long time, and I appreciated the historical details and ambiance Brant includes. Had the feel of a far older book, as it is one of those het romances where the female protagonist is kept in the dark about major secrets for a long time, while the male protagonist (and the reader) are in on it from the start. That narrative decision positions the female protagonist as a dupe and not very smart, even if the character we see on the page isn't (and Deborah Cavendish, while a bit of a chatterbox, is not stupid). Our male protagonist, Julian Hesham (the Marquis of Alston, son of the duke of Roxton), acts as arrogantly and as entitled as his station in life no doubt would have if he were a real Marquis. Thus it is no surprise that when his big secret finally comes out, Deb is outraged and immediately breaks with the man who is now her husband.

Most of the action in the story is taken by Julian; Deb's is largely a reactive role. And Julian turns out to be largely a victim, rather than a rake in need of redemption.