A review by cakt1991
The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig

adventurous lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 

While the previous books have aged fairly well in my opinion, The Deception of the Emerald Ring has…not. It’s still a fairly delightful romp, and I enjoyed the historical backdrop, with an intriguing change of scenery to rebel-rousing Ireland (a big influence in my decision to pick this up early, thanks to St. Patrick’s Day coming up). And the way the external plot around the Black Tulip deepened and how it impacted the League of the Pink Carnation was intriguing overall. 

But while the previous romances at least had something to offer, Geoffrey and Letty’s romance felt tepid. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he was better off with Mary. However, it’s more of a case of Mary ending up with someone better for her in the bargain (although whether that also holds up in my reread is definitely up for debate). I just didn’t get Geoff and Letty together this time around. They have to get married because she botched his elopement, then he leaves her to go to Ireland, she follows, and now both are in the midst of the intrigue. And while she fits right in, I just never got the sense it was more than them learning to live with each other, but not really about them finding true love with each other. 

And the Eloise storyline…it’s more of the pussyfooting and melodrama, and while it actually leads to some progression in this one, I just wanted to bash her over the head at times to stop being so obtuse. 

And this book is also the first to indirectly confront the “historical accuracy” question that has been a hot topic in Romancelandia, in relation to underrepresented populations. To be fair, in this one, the main point is Eloise (who is implied to have Irish ancestry) researching and writing about the conflict from the British point of view. But when another character questions her on this, her response is one that brings up Gone with the Wind and how you know slavery was wrong, but how “you can’t help but sympathize with the South anyway.” WTF? Um, no. And given the direction the series goes in later, with one book set in India directly engaging with the narrative of colonialism and other books with the recurring characters also dealing with it, I am a bit nervous as to how this will impact my impressions of the series going forward. 

While this has become my least favorite in the series so far upon revisit, I still find it fairly enjoyable in the larger scheme of things, even taking into account some of the bigger issues.