On the recommendation of Malin and Mrs. Julien, I picked up Lord of Scoundrels over a year ago. I had a hard time getting past the prologue. Finally, with permission from Our Ladies of the Kissing Books, I skipped the prologue and a chunk of the first chapter. I was going through a reviewing slump when I read the book, so, um, it’s been a while.
Here is faintingviolet‘s review. Somehow I shall endeavor to say different things, but this is what I would have said if she hadn’t said it first.
First we meet a bunch of dumb guys. One of them, Sebastian, Lord Dain, is our hero. Sure, he’s sexy, but he’s overbearing, bitter and has a tragically bad opinion of women. I grew up reading books with heroes like him. The heroines softened and changed them into doting but sexy husbands by being pure, delicate epitomes of womanhood, who were also not like all the other girls.
Jessica Trent is not like those other romance heroines. Instead of proving their worth by suffering with great feminine nobility, Jessica Trent commits a shocking act of violence.
She wore a dark red gown, buttoned up to the throat, and a black shawl draped like a mantilla over her head and shoulders. Her face was white and hard. She strode toward the large table, chin high, silver eyes flashing, and paused a few feet away.
His heart crashed and thundered into a hectic gallop that made it impossible to breathe, let alone speak.
Her glance flicked over his companions. “Go away,” she said in a low, hard voice.
The whores leapt from his lap, knocking over glasses in their haste. His friends bolted up from their places and backed away. A chair toppled and crashed to the floor unheeded.
All hail Jessica Trent! She has the bad taste to love a man like Sebastian, but she knows he’s an asshole and gets on with it. I’m not sure I’ll reread Lord of Scoundrels, but I will always carry some love in my heart for Jessica Trent, a strong woman who wishes she had been seduced, takes the hero at his word, and then continues to be herself until he finally catches up.