Set in Blackfield Castle, the book follows Patience Harrington as she embarks on a journey to appraise and catalogue antiques. As she navigates her fumbled Season, Patience finds herself entangled with Viscount Blackfield, Thomas Ashe, who is distracted by his desire for her despite his focus on uncovering a dangerous mystery. The interactions between Patience and Thomas are highlighted, showcasing their evolving relationship from initial reluctance to a budding romance. The plot unfolds with red herrings, a slow-burn romance, and amusing scenarios that lighten the serious tone of the gothic historical romance sub-genre. The writing style is described as somewhat predictable yet enjoyable, with interesting characters like the charming and intelligent heroine, and a quick-witted hero.
From The Publisher:
He has a way with women . . .
Thomas Ashe, the brooding Viscount Blackfield, is a man any lady would shun. But Patience Harrington, try as she might, has never been a proper lady. Her bumbled London season left her with no marital prospects and no recourse but to accept her father's invitation to travel to gloomy Blackfield Castle. Surely, spending a few nights in the presence of priceless antiques and a devilish viscount can't be as bad as facing the ton gossip.
Focused solely on his secret government project, Thomas cares little for the valuable antiques he's recently inherited. The troublesome young woman who has come to assess them, however, stirs his senses in every way. Patience is a distraction Thomas can ill afford-a beautiful temptation that makes him ache with desire. For a spy is threatening to destroy all he has built, and Patience is hiding something. With so much at stake, Thomas must do whatever it takes to seduce the truth from Patience's lips before lives-and his own heart-are lost.
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1 comment(s)
This is a tough one to rate. Like all of Anne Mallory's books, the interaction between the characters (and particularly the hero and heroine) were a heck of a lot of fun - I was laughing out loud on many occasions. Both from the banter between them, and from the utter cluelessness of the heroine, and the innuendo that would come innocently out of her mouth at the most utterly inappropriate times.
But something about this book doesn't sit quite right with me. It feels less developed than other books that I have enjoyed by this author. First off, the plot wrap-up was REALLY fast, and I found that problematic. I think part of the problem was that the author had a zillion red herrings - by the end, I was half-willing to believe that
the entire castle was filled with spies. So given that level of ... complexity, having the wrap up occur in this blur with *maybe* a page spent on it, it wasn't enough. I didn't feel sold (my reaction was literally
"wait, what?"), and it felt like it was being tossed off. One of the things I really love about Mallory's books is the twisty plotting - it is always intriguing! So that was a bit of a disappointment.
And I sadly felt that the romantic resolution suffered much of the same fate - it occurred in a whirlwind on the last couple pages, and I just wasn't really sold. That was particularly disappointing, because I felt that things had been great up until those last 5-10 pages. And then it was like:
Her: "Hey, I have a great idea, let's ball up all our problems and chuck them out the window!"
Him: "That
is a great idea!"
*open window, chuck problems*
Him: "I love you."
Her: "And I love you."
*she smiles at him*
THE END.
Soooooo yeah. Disappointing. Oh well, they can't ALL be 5-stars.
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