Smitten by Books

Lessons in French
Author: Laura Kinsale
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pub. Date: January 26, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1402237010
Retail: $7.99
480 pages

She is, after all, Lady Callista Taillefaire, jilted three times in spite of her fortune and her father’s best efforts to find her a husband. Now her greatest desire is to win the silver cup at the agricultural fair with her gigantic prize bull, Hubert. But when Callie’s only old flame returns from his long and mysterious absence in France, her quiet spinster life turns upside down.

Dark-eyed, elegant and a magnet for trouble, Trevelyan d’Augustin has given Callie lessons in more than his language in the past. Her father put a harsh and humiliating end to any dreams of romance with a French émigré scoundrel, however, and Callie never thought to see him again. Swallowing his pride, Trev has finally come home to care for his failing mother, but his secrets and misdeeds follow him.

Callie soon remembers that nothing is ever peaceful with Trev around. The enormous Hubert vanishes into thin air, one of her former jilts comes back to woo her in a most determined manner–and her bull takes the town by storm! In the midst of these misadventures, Callie finds herself falling in love again with the worst possible man for her…

~*~*~

Kinsale fans everywhere will be enchanted and newcomers will be eager for more.

I am a newcomer to Laura Kinsale’s work, and Lessons in French was the perfect introduction. From the first chapter, her delightful voice and heartening tone leap straight off the page:

He took her to the bed in a swift move, pressing her backward until he tumbled her atop the counterpane. He leaned over her, braced on his hands, looking down at her face. “I want to see your stockings,” he growled. “The plain white ones.”

Her lips parted, as if to make a refusal, and then she blinked. Her puzzled look only made her more adorable to him.

“Yes, I was driven demented in your closet.” He bent down to kiss her. “I’m passionately in love with your hosiery.”

This story is crafted with just the right balance of tenderness and sensuality and it didn’t take long to sense that Kinsale is indeed a master at her craft. First, because this is a time period we see often in historical romance, but it felt the opposite of contrived. The setting, choice of character and conflict struck me as fresh, revitalized. Second, the gradual romantic build-up many authors of the genre have left behind is also given new life with Lady Callie Taillefaire and Trevelyn, Duc de Monceaux.

Callie is instantly likeable—a self-proclaimed wallflower but no less spirited or a capable farm girl of wealth and rank with a tendency to daydream reminiscent of Austen’s Catherine Morland. Because she is so clever, Callie’s streak of naïveté at times seems forced, especially in regard to her assumption that Trev’s feelings for her are fabricated. This small objection to this story’s protagonist in no way dims Callie’s identifiable nature. Trev is a sometimes unsteady mix of gentleman with a penchant for devilry, a hybrid I very much enjoyed. Raised an Englishman with staunch French heritage, he is a man caught between two worlds and feels society’s consequences despite his high rank. His relationship with his French mother is one of the most touching of the story. Even while his past “sins” are still vague to the reader, he is redeemable though his long-standing desire to be with Callie is crushed by his history. In the end, he is the most noble and charismatic hero I’ve read in some time.

Lessons in French is sure to entertain historical readers with a dash of intrigue, layered with elements of masquerade and humor. The love story is lighthearted one moment and heart-wrenching the next:

She felt his arm slip about her waist. It seemed unreal, as if she stood in a dream where nothing made sense. “Yet?” She felt close to tears. “You’re going back to France?”

“It doesn’t matter.” He leaned his forehead down, resting it against hers. “Would you let me steal a kiss before I go?”

“Why?” she whispered, her voice breaking.

“Because my mother says I love you.” His lips grazed her temple lightly.

The secondary characters, whether it be the cook or Callie’s prized bull, Hubert, are adorable. My only qualm with the writing is the occasional tendency to tell instead of show. The villages and residences of Shelford and Hereford are woven with serene but no less down-to-earth grace. Where historicals often seem fanciful and faraway, this book feels authentic. It’s difficult to define why, other than the fact that it is written with so deft and loving a hand. Kinsale fans everywhere will be enchanted and newcomers like me will be eager for more.

Rating: 8 (Very Good)

Heat-Level: 3: (Sensual)