 |
| Leisure |
Lynsay Sands
2002
The Summary
"Lady X.
"Everyone knew Lady X...or, at least, everyone knew of her. The masked courtesan was reputedly a noblewoman fallen on hard times. What Lord James had not known was that she was Lady Margaret Wentworth--the feisty sister of his best friend. Gerald claimed his sibling was beautiful, virtuous, naive; and he had forced James into an oath of protection. But when James tracked the girl to a house of ill repute, what other explanation could there be but that Maggie was London's most enigmatic wanton?
"Lord, Why?
"Snatching the wench away would be a ticklish business, and after that things would get harder. James had to ignore his quarry's violent protests that he was an idiot, that she was never the infamous X. He had to find a way to reform the hoyden, to save her from scandal. He had to steer clear of his own meddling aunt--all the while keeping his hands off those luscious goods that the rest of the ton had reputedly sampled. And, with Maggie, hardest of all would be keeping himself from falling in love."
The Good
The Reluctant Reformer is a funny, if rather absurd, romance novel. They were constantly misunderstanding one another, constantly misinterpreting each other's intentions. It's quite amusing to watch them circle around the main issue, both embarrassed to admit anything (she's actually a writer, but he thinks she's a courtesan; she doesn't want her secret to get out to the ton, who would disapprove of her occupation, while he's likewise trying to protect her reputation from a completely different issue) and bumbling around blindly.
It's really very funny, and it's not a bad book. Sands' novel was amusing enough to keep me attentive, and it's actually very well done. I don't think it's completely historically accurate and it's absolutely absurd, but I enjoyed the story. The characters developed nicely, even if the plot was a little predictable, but it kept me involved.
It gives an unexpected twist on the boy-meets-girl romance. In this case, boys meets girl; boy falls in love with girl, even though he believes she's a prostitute; girl discovers what he really thinks of her, and promptly delivers a swift kick to his shins. Admittedly, I liked the deviation and I couldn't help laughing about it.
The Bad
I was constantly frustrated by the fact that if James and Maggie had simply said the right words--if she had admitted her real occupation, and if he had simply said the words out loud what he thought--they both could have been saved a lot of embarrassment. But I suppose that would have cut the story short, and made it less awkward for the couple.
The Ugly
Attempted murder. Plus, it's quite explicit.
I will never look at cinnamon apples the same way again.
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