Determined to discover if Esme is sporting feathers beneath her dress instead of a legitimate pregnancy, Darby, with stepsisters in tow, travels to her country estate. After all, Esme (who figured prominently in Duchess In Love) and her now late husband had long been estranged and should she bear a son, Darby, the sole support of two very young stepsisters, would be disinherited. When Simon Darby learns of his aunt Esme’s unexpected pregnancy, he’s understandably suspicious. James is challenging the reader, and if I hadn’t been further distracted by inexplicable behavior by both hero and heroine, even within the context of their time, I might have been better able to rise to that challenge.
But on the other hand, I found myself frustrated again and again by the fact that the book’s primary conflict is based on an assumption that the modern reader knows is faulty right from the start. On the one hand, I greatly admire the resounding ring of Regency period authenticity – at least in the Heyer sense, that is – that permeates this book.
0 kommentar(er)
