Sandra Sookoo is visiting today with her historical read, Marriage Minded Lord. Keep reading to get my impressions of this book and learn even more about it by visiting the other blogs hosting this tour. Make sure to fill out the form for your chance to win a $10 bookstore GC and swag!
Felix Alan Darrington, Earl of Swandon has been summoned to London by his mother. Though he has obligations to Parliament, his meddling parent has reminded him it’s time to do his duty, marry and provide her with grandchildren. But Felix refuses to wed under dictate. He’ll choose the woman and the time, and if he’s lucky he’ll marry for love.
Clarice Delacroix is a lady’s companion. Though she’s an illegitimate daughter of a duke, her mother was a French opera singer which puts Clarice firmly between worlds. Possessed of a quick temper and a penchant for making pastries, she longs for adventure, romance and acceptance, but she refuses to be anyone’s mistress. Her mother’s life is not for her.
As Felix schemes to spend more time with Clarice and find out why the Frenchwoman intrigues him, the titled lady who wishes to be his countess conspires to keep them apart. Felix quickly finds that balancing relationships between family and love is not as easy as first thought, or as black and white. Someone in his circle isn’t telling the truth, and the repercussions could prove deadly to Clarice’s future.
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
As a fan of the historical genre I've read many books by many authors and found this one satisfying but with some flaws. The theme of a desperate mother demanding her children get married is familiar but I appreciated how these siblings stood up for themselves by holding out for love instead of living up to family obligations. Though some of the characters were over-the-top the main protagonists had great chemistry and unrelenting sexual tension.
Clarice has one foot in the world of the lower class while having a spot in the upper class if only she'll take it. Though her mother taught her everything about being a mistress she has no desire to live at the whim of men. She's outspoken about many things and wants to be independent and loved for who she is, not what she is. To find her way in society she acts as a companion to a vile woman who abuses her both mentally as well as physically and puts up with it even when given an option to escape. I both admired her attitude and was left frustrated by her at the same time.
Felix is a dutiful son and charming man who wants to marry for love. He wants to be happy and is immediately drawn to Clarice who constantly challenges him. He crosses class boundaries to interact with her every chance he gets and is willing to turn society upside down to make her his. He doesn't always say the right thing where she's concerned but he tries to do the right things to make her happy and ultimately save her from a vindictive woman's jealousy.
A lot of the early interactions between Felix and Clarice involve just talking. He digs deep into her background and she gets him to see the issues of class in a different way. Their interactions crackle with sexual tension which leads to a slow build-up and a scorching encounter very late in the story. Though Felix and Clarice spending so much time together doesn't seem believable it does make for an entertaining start to a burgeoning relationship. The blatant acts of lewdness and crudeness that Lady Drummond demonstrates without being held accountable also don't ring true. The scandal surrounding how she makes her money was merely used as a dramatic device and therefore felt unnecessary and lost the powerful impact it could have had. On a whole this was an entertaining story with sparkling interactions between the main characters that made for a satisfying romance and I look forward to the next sibling to be put on the marriage market.
My rating for this is a C+
*I received this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
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AUTHOR INFO:
Sandra is a writer of romantic fiction. Her portfolio includes historical, contemporary, sci-fi, and paranormal romances in full-length books as well as shorts and novellas. No matter if the heat level is spicy or sweet, she loves to blend genres and oftentimes will add humor to the mix.
When not immersed in creating new worlds and engaging characters, Sandra likes to read, bake, taste new teas, watch The Big Bang Theory, and Psych as well as Finding Bigfoot and travel. Her favorite place to spend vacation hours is Walt Disney World: it’s where dreams come true and the soul can play. When she’s not writing, she’s keeping things interesting at her Believing is Seeing blog or spending time with her husband, who patiently answers questions she has about men, sci-fi-related subjects, and the odd “what if”.
Sandra loves to hear from her readers. You can write to her at sandrasookoo@yahoo.com, visit her website at www.sandrasookoo.com, or look her up on Facebook and Twitter. All links are provided on the front page of her website.
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Thanks for the review. I look forward to reading this book.
ReplyDeletelisahelo(at)outlook(dot)com