Lady in Red
Maire Claremont

Genre:
Historical
Heat Level: Hot
Rating:

The Victorian era was full of majestic beauty and scandalous secrets—a time when corsets were the least of a woman’s restrictions, and men could kill or be killed in the name of honor.…

Lady Mary Darrel should be the envy of London. Instead, all society believes her dead. For Mary holds a secret so dangerous, her father chose to keep her locked away…and have a grave made for her near her mother’s. Driven to the edge of desperation, Mary manages to escape the asylum, only to find that her fate yet again rests in the hands of a man…

Edward Barrons, Duke of Fairleigh, longs for some way to escape the torment of his father’s crimes. In Mary’s warrior spirit and haunted gaze—which so mirrors his own—he finally sees his path to redemption. He will stop at nothing to keep her safe, even as she seeks revenge. But will the passion they discover in each other be enough to save them from their demons?

Review

Claremont refuses to let the dark parts of London stay in hidden...

In her first novel, she introduced us to London and aristocracy that hid ladies away in insane asylums for witnessing things they shouldn’t. In The Lady in Red, Claremont continues the trail into dark recesses and secrets of powerful Dukes and hidden away daughters.

The heroine Mary has to battle laudanum addiction and depression to find her way out of the shadows.  She believes men only seek to possess and destroy women, and her only desire is to survive and seek revenge against her mother’s murderer. Mary is complex and as a lady who’s been reduced to committing crimes and being treated like a whore she’s got a lot of baggage. Claremont does a fine job of allowing Mary a slow recovery, which makes the character believable, as she stumbles against her challenges.

Mary finds an ally in the Duke of Farleigh, Edward Barrons. He’s not stranger to scandal or to ladies in need of desperate help. Drawn to her for reasons to do with his past, Edward wants to help Mary as well as potentially be with her in an intimate setting. This hero could’ve been a real douche, but in true hero fashion he doesn’t push Mary to get it on and seeks to give her the chance to be independent, in ways she never was before.

There are themes of redemption found through love, self-esteem for women, forgiveness, and overcoming addiction present. I found Claremont’s incorporation of each theme to be well done and tasteful. She finds a way to wade through the filth and make you relate to it. You want Mary and Edward to rise out of the corruption that’s plagued their lives, and for them to find a way to be with each other.

Claremont also gives readers additional tortured characters outside of just Mary and Edward. I won’t delve too deep, but I’ll give you one word… Powers.

Overall, this is a great second novel and proves Claremont’s prowess in the Historical writer’s ring. I expect more great things and can’t wait for the next Dark Passions tale.

Reviewed by Landra