Tina's Reading Books

You know how sometimes in romances you have the bored, wealthy, mocking, cynical, contemptuous, very haughty aristocrat? Well that person is alive and well in this book. Only this time it isn't the hero. It is the heroine.

Balogh takes the character signifiers that she normally bestows on many of her heroes and gives them to Helena, Lady Stapleton, her heroine. Helena was a bit of a beeyotch and I totally dug her!

Our hero is Edgar Downes, the wealthy older brother (and Cit) of Cora the heroine from The Famous Heroine. Helena is the wicked stepmother of Gerald, the hero from A Precious Jewel. Edgar has come to town with the full intention of finding himself a bride by Christmas. Although he is of the merchant class, his sister is now married to the son of a Duke and her many close friends are all members of the upper echelons of society. They have decided to aid Edgar in his search for a bride who should also be a lady.

At the very first party, though, Edgar sees Helena who is back in London, wearied from months of travel on the continent. They are immediately aware of each other and begin a liaison.

On some level I think Helena's relentless mockery and contemptuousness of things would have annoyed me. But she is saved by two things. First, Edgar is no pushover. He meets her toe to toe and doesn't let her act superior to him. While she may be inclined to be a bit snotty about his birth, he refuses to allow it. He is proud of himself and his achievements and makes sure she knows it.

Second, it soon becomes clear that Helena's attitude is mostly veneer. She wears a well placed mask that hides a whole lot of inner turmoil. Much of her inner conflict comes from acts from her past. I was a bit perplexed because I had read A Precious Jewel, like, twice and sincerely didn't remember her in that book. I actually had to go back and find the passages to see if she was as awful as she thinks she is. She takes up all of two pages from that book and frankly she wasn't the monster she has built herself up to be in her own head.

Edgar doesn't let her wallow and manages to draw her out. And it is a Christmas book so the magic of Christmas, blah blah blah, you know the drill.

For the most part this is a very pleasant book made better by the strength of the two main characters.