Title: A Night of Forever
Author: Bronwen Evans
Series: Disgraced Lords #6
Confusing
I would like to thank Bronwen Evans, Loveswept, and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Lady Isobel Thompson finds herself ensnared in a revenge plot when Arend Aubrey, aka Baron Labourd, begins to suspect her stepmother, Victoria Thompson, aka Lady Northumberland, of being the culprit behind the attacks on his friends, known collectively as the Libertine Scholars, and their wives. Arend can’t figure out if Isobel is in league with her stepmother or if she’s as much a target as himself. He gets close to her, trying to riddle out the mystery, and develops feelings for her in the process. He comes to love her—but the question is, can he trust her?
I enjoyed this story, but several things bothered me. The writing style didn’t necessarily—there were several clever descriptions and metaphors—but there was some purple prose, especially in the dialogue toward the end, that had me sighing impatiently and skimming through the passage. But some people like that in their romance, so all right. The fact that this was the sixth book in a series (the others of which I have not read) gave me trouble. From the very beginning, I felt like I was missing something because I hadn’t read the first five books. Not that Evans didn’t try to make it stand alone, she explained what she needed to, but the Libertine Scholars were very involved in the history of the story. I wish she’d included a “cast of characters” roster in the front. She listed everyone and their title within the story, but then I’m expected to remember them as well as figure out whose wives and children are whose. And with each person having a name and title…I’d much prefer to just have a list to refer to.
The plot was okay. I was intrigued by the suspense subplot, but not too invested in Arend and Isobel’s HEA. I didn’t really connect to either of them. As far as pacing, it surprised me. What I thought would be the climactic scene actually happened about a third of the way through, which got me excited to see what other action was coming down the pipeline. And I wasn’t disappointed…but there was a moment of lost momentum in the middle where I was waiting for something to happen. Speaking of surprise—I was going along, reading what I thought was a typical romance…then Arend’s memories rather shocked me. Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t expect it to be raunchy and explicit. I’ve read raunchier and more explicit romances, of course; I just didn’t expect it in a historical. I always felt historicals thought they were raunchy in a self-aware, wink-wink-giggle-giggle way, because sex was so scandalous back then. Regardless, I perceived it as a tonal shift. Not major, and not necessarily a bad thing, but I realized I was reading a different kind of story than I’d first thought.
Onto the characters. Isobel seemed like a nice girl, but she pissed me off. She was a paradox, a walking contradiction. Her intentions flip-flopped, at least in my opinion. I first got confused in chapter one, when she was thinking about approaching Arend and asking for his help—but when he headed toward her and asked her to dance, she pushed her friend at him so she could avoid him. If she was the strong woman we’re told she is, she would have lifted her chin and seized the opportunity no matter how nervous or uncomfortable she was. THEN there was a scene that was such a cluster of a mixed message that I shook my head as I read it. So Isobel and Arend have major trust issues between them, more him than her. Her solution to getting over those issues is to go back to his place unescorted, tell him she wants to be his friend and get to know him, share a little emotional baggage—tip of the iceberg—then seduce him. He tells her that seducing him is not the way to get to know him, but she’s so horny she won’t take no for an answer. Seriously. That’s the other thing about Isobel—I never understood how she fell in love with Arend. I know she believed he was a good man because if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have the regard of the LS, but otherwise all she thought about from chapter one was how sexy he was and how she’d like to be debauched by him. Sure, she wondered about being married to him, but not primarily because she loved him. She wondered because 1) they pretended to be engaged, 2) she wanted to go to bed with him, 3) she’s lonely and desperate for children. And because she’s attracted to Arend—and to having the Libertine Wives as friends—she decided he was the only one that would do for her. Because physical attraction is the most important part of a relationship. I’m not even sure they had much in common… I had major issues with her reasoning; her thought process didn’t make sense to me.
Arend didn’t frustrate me as much. However, while I didn’t mind his flashbacks, I did get confused on which woman from his past did what. I think Juliette branded him…and I’m still not sure who Daniela was. Juliette seemed like the important part. Anyway, he seemed nice enough save for the trust issues, but were I Isobel, I’d have gone for Lieutenant Colbert no matter how attracted to Arend I was.
There were other contradictions littered throughout the book. For example, toward the beginning, Arend can’t make up his mind if Isobel is guilty or not, and at one point he thinks she isn’t capable of deception…meanwhile, Isobel is successfully convincing Victoria that she doesn’t want anything to do with Arend. So can Isobel put on an act or can’t she? Also, Victoria and Dufort kidnapped Isobel then left her unbound in a room with a weapon. I had a hard time believing they would be that stupid.
And finally—fun fact for the day! I got a curious bee up my bonnet and Googled “scandal sheet,” mostly because I couldn’t believe it was a real thing. It was, but I don’t think the term was used until 1905-ish. This book is set in 1816. It’s neither here nor there.
