Lady Chelsea Mills-Beckham has a problem. Her born again sinner of a brother is attempting to marry her off to a religious man, with a wet mouth. Too escape her fate she’ll do just about anything, even make a deal with her brother’s sworn enemy—the very man she blames for all her woes.
Olive Le Beau Blackthorn is a bastard, a literal bastard. His feud with Thomas Mill-Beckham is seven years old, after a disastrous encounter fueled by cupid’s intrepid arrow. Lady Chelsea, the youngest sister of Thomas, appears on his doorstep demanding that he save her from a horrible match and deliver a final blow to her brother by marrying her. The temptation is irresistible. Destroy his enemy and gain a beautiful wife. But with Lady Chelsea it’s not just a simple jaunt to Gretna…
This is the first book in Michaels Blackthorn series; stories of 3 brothers, born as bastards to an actress and a marquess. The characters are out of this world and immediately I got wrapped into the motives, thoughts, and ideas of all three brohers. Beau is definitely the responsible one, and tends to think things through. The youngest Puck is absolutely charming and there is an aura of mystery cultivated around the middle brother, Jack. The story is filled with plenty of hijinks and wild secondary characters; including Chelsea’s ill-mannered sister and Blackthorn’s flamboyant mother.
Beau and Chelsea are surprisingly well-matched, but I found Chelsea’s character a little off putting. She always has plans and is a little too independent for me in this case. While Beau is simply playing the brave hero rescuing the damsel in distress, he is often led by Chelsea into the most insane circumstances and plans. Yet I love how he ruffles her feathers and concentration time and again. An example:
She didn’t know if any of this should affect her in any way, but it did. She just wasn’t sure quite how. She looked away quickly.
“I ordered you put in my father’s wife’s chamber, which adjoins his. As neither my father nor his wife has been to town in a decade, I’ve taken over his chamber, mostly because of his tub. Or did you think we have one of these contraptions in every chamber? Are you planning to spend the entire evening in there?”
She hadn’t thought as all, which she wasn’t going to tell him. Prudence had led, and she had followed, half asleep on her feet and longing for a lengthy soak. “I’ll be in here as long as you’re out there, if that answers your questions. Go away!”
Instead of doing as she’d asked—ordered—the miserable man pulled a chair away from the wall and sat himself down, just as if he planned to take up residence.
“No. I think, as the saying goes, I have you just where I want you, Chelsea.”
Emotions and tensions do run high. As the story drags on it seems near impossible that Beau and Chelsea’s alliance will result in a HEA. I did feel that some of the hijinks were more filler to lengthen the novel, and while entertaining left much to be desired to the overall plot. The villains in my opinion could have been a lot more devious, but fall short. No spoilers here, but let’s just say devious characters are not the worst they could be.
Overall a good read, but I was left a little wanting. I can only hope that the next couple of novels in this series are more fulfilling.
~ Landra |