"Brave Lord Leoline." "It's you who is brave." "No." She reached into the box and handed him a tart then gave one to Gilman before taking one
5 stars
"Brave Lord Leoline." "It's you who is brave." "No." She reached into the box and handed him a tart then gave one to Gilman before taking one for herself. "I know how to live the life that belongs to me."
Our Heroine. Our terrific heroine is Miss Honora Baynard (23), daughter of (relatively) famed painter Frederick Baynard. She has grown up in virtual isolation, due to a large scar that she has on one side of her face from an incident in her childhood; she was made fun of and treated horribly because of it as a child, and so her father's response has been to essentially hide her away so she doesn't have to deal with people's reactions. She and her father go back and forth between the countryside and London every year; she is essentially his assistant for his business and life in general, and also helps with some of the paintings.
Our Hero. Our wonderful hero is Lieutenant Lord Leoline Marrable (28), who has just returned to England after seven years in the navy and three years working for the East India Company (in India). He was the "spare," but his older brother recently died, so he is now his father's heir and has the courtesy title of Marquess of Wrathell. He is estranged from his father, the Duke of Quenhaith, and was from his brother as well. As a young boy, Frederick Baynard taught him and his brother painting.
The Plot. Leo comes back from being abroad for 10 years and by chance runs into Honora, and decides to reacquaint himself with her and her father. Although she's a big part of his childhood and history, they've never really known each other very well, since Honora's father kept her hidden so much. He's intrigued by her from their first few interactions and as he discovers how she lives and how she's treated, he's also increasingly angry and upset on her behalf. Honora has worshipped him from afar ever since she was a child and he stood up to some kids who were bullying her. After Leo commissions her father to do his portrait, as a gift for the Duke, she spends more and more time with him and he becomes more than just this idealized image she had in her mind. She knows nothing can come of anything between them though, because who ever heard of a painter's daughter and commoner marrying a future Duke? (Smart ass response: anyone who has ever read historical romances lol ;-).
My Thoughts. As I mentioned initially, I started off with Jewel's story and when I finished it, I had to put it aside and not read anything else for the rest of the evening, because I wanted to continue basking in the glow of the story. Even writing this now and remembering puts a silly grin on my face. My first comments after finishing it were: "Wow. Heart was bursting when I finished. So fantastic. 5 stars. Read and review more later!" I didn't want to pull myself out of the story enough to review it at that point.
It reminded me in some ways of Jewel's other book that I adore, Scandal (my review), in terms of how intensely emotional the connection is between the hero and heroine and how it develops in such a strong, but also turbulent and angsty way (not too angsty here, don't worry—it's a novella, so that always forces angst to a minimum!).
Oddly enough, I had just recently read another HR where the heroine also had a disfigurement on half of her face (this time a birthmark) and was essentially a complete hermit and recluse as a result: Someone to Wed (my review). There were many similarities and they're both terrific reads. In both cases, I fell absolutely in love with the heroines and grew very emotionally attached to them; my heart broke for both Wren and Honora, but they're also so admirable, both very strong and brave heroines.
Honora is at once so strong, but also so vulnerable. She's been restricted and pushed down, and while there's all this brilliance and wit and curiosity beneath the surface, she hasn't been given the opportunity to let that flourish or to share that with anyone. Wrathell picks up on it quite quickly though, also because she lets down her guard a bit and gives him peeks of it, since she feels such a connection with him and trusts him so implicitly, because of how he stood up for her when she was young. The exchanges between them are absolutely lovely and it's so wonderful seeing her free herself; he's so sweet and tender and just to die for when he keeps pushing at her and at others about her scar (and how NOT important it is).
Her father annoyed me and I think she let him off the hook too easily, but I do appreciate that Jewel doesn't make these all-good or all-bad characters, and that while both fathers in this story sometimes act horribly, it's out of a misguided sense of love or common human frailty, not some underlying evilness or maliciousness. Overall, loved it so, so much!
Excerpt. Ugh, so hard because there were soooo many good quotes/excerpts—as there always are, with any good romance. (Do you notice how I always try and cheat by putting one at the beginning too? lol).
"I want to try." He touched her undamaged cheek. "To capture you in lines and color."
"Who would want to paint my face?" She touched her scar. He was talented enough to want experience with oils and more complicated compositions than what she saw here.
"I hardly think of your scar anymore." He paused. "Is that odd? I don't know if it is. I suspect so."
"It is."
He started to speak then stopped, started again. "Why? Why is it odd? Because your father's made you ashamed to be seen when there's no reason for it?" He pressed both palms to the table and leaned toward her. "You are lovely. Breathtaking. You must see that when you look in the mirror."
"I never do if it can be helped."
"No one who comes to know you will care about your scar."
She shrugged. "They do."
"How would you know? You've hardly let anyone know you. He's kept you away from everyone."
"You've had too much to drink."
"I haven't. You look at yourself and see only that scar, as if you consist of nothing else. But I see you. You have that scar. What of it?" [...] He took the sketch she held and placed it on top of the others. "Let me sketch you from life."
She spread her hands apart. "Here I am, alive before your eyes."
"Alive, yes." He gazed at her. "Let me," he said. "Let me, and I'll show you the Honora Baynard you do not know exists."
(3.5-4 stars) My first book by Jennifer Crusie and it was very enjoyable. It had several laugh-out-loud moments and I really loved the leading charact(3.5-4 stars) My first book by Jennifer Crusie and it was very enjoyable. It had several laugh-out-loud moments and I really loved the leading characters, Jake and Kate. The reason I'm not giving it a higher rating is that at times the book/plot/writing seemed a little simple - I don't know how else to describe it, really.
I'll definitely be reading more of Crusie's books; I appreciated that she didn't employ any of the often-used ploys in the romance genre that drive me so crazy (i.e. huge misunderstandings, bait-and-switches with (serious) potential other romances for either the hero or heroine, emotionally hurting one another so that they can push the other away because of reason X, and etc.).
Jake and Kate were always very honest with one another - especially Kate, she was very upfront and open about her feelings, their relationship, and what she wants. Also, they start out as friends and things don't get romantic until a decent number of pages into the book, so that they've really gotten to know one another. This was nice, making the reader know the relationship was not driven by lust, but actual friendship and respect....more
Juliana Philippa
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