Title: Lady Lost
Author: Jane Goodger
Series: Lost Heiresses #2
A sweet story buried under bland exposition
I would like to thank Jane Goodger, Lyrical Press, and Kensington Publishing Corp. for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Thought to have murdered the Duke of Weston, Lady Lilian Martin flees with little more than the clothes on her back. Lord Granton, aka Marcus Dunford, discovers her, weak and mostly unconscious, and reluctantly takes her to his home to recover her health. Small inconveniences keep her in residence, much to Dunford’s annoyance. Plagued by a broken heart and utter humiliation, he wants her—and her beautiful bright blue eyes and kind smile—to go far, far away, like the rest of the world. But she gets under his skin, and he slowly forgets why he’d subjected himself to solitary confinement. But when happiness is finally within reach, everything he’s come to love is torn away from him.
I loved this story, but it dragged… There seemed to be lots of long paragraphs of exposition. However, the sequence of events was well-ordered if not fast-paced—there was good action, but in between I found myself skimming and skipping paragraphs. I would have liked to see some of the exposition and thought process presented in dialogue between Marcus and Lilian as they got to know one another. Also, the sex scenes couldn’t decide if they were modest or explicit. I’d have preferred modest, as I believe it would have suited the tone of the book.
I liked Lilian. I sympathized with her position between a rock and a hard place: Protect herself from depraved molestation by not marrying the duke, or save her family from poverty and ruin by marrying him. Stick around after being witnessed at the scene holding the murder weapon and be hung for the crime, or run away and appear guilty while attempting to escape said fate. Go home to a spiteful, psychotic sister, a tattered reputation, and a society that would always look at her with suspicion, or make a go of a new life alone in Australia. Support the husband whom she loves, or care for a child who has nothing and no one. I respected the strength it took for her to remain stalwart when faced with those impossible decisions…but she was ultimately unremarkable as a character. She wasn’t particularly feisty, though she stuck up for herself now and again, and I can’t think of anything that made her unique.
I loved Marcus. He was the kind of hero I don’t see often enough. He’d closed off his emotions, which isn’t new, but he was quiet and reserved and introverted, almost shy, and not belligerent or caustic. It was also refreshing to see an awkward man in bed, too. Usually it’s the terrified virgin and the wicked rogue who has kama sutra memorized, but here they were both nervous and relatively inexperienced. Marcus had sex on the brain, sure, he’s a healthy guy, but he wasn’t overly confident and obnoxiously arrogant about his sexual prowess and irresistible appeal. He was a sweet gentleman whose personality had been repressed and heart broken. I loved that he was fully aware that he was capable of loving others deeply and didn’t try to deny it or fight it. Instead, he tried to prevent himself from getting into a situation where he would love deeply—and inevitably be hurt. I don’t mean to make him sound unmasculine, because he was certainly manly, just not with the blatantly conceited I’m-sexy-and-I-know-it attitude so pervasive in heroes these days. Watching Marcus get his happily-ever-after after such a sad life was totally worth trudging through the boring sections.
The plot wasn’t bad. Quite intriguing, actually. Even exciting in certain parts. The suspense subplot and Mabel storyline tossed Marcus and Lilian together and kept them conflicted while they fell in love. I wanted to stick around to see the outcome and was pleased with what I got. (Mabel and her stocking were adorable.)
A couple tiny, insignificant details bothered me, though. First, I understood that Lilian had been wandering the moors for several days—I want to say two weeks—and she only made it as far as the neighboring estate? I’d think she’d have gotten further than that. Perhaps I missed something there. Second, when Marcus asks her if she was with child because she’d fainted twice, Lilian responds she isn’t—unless it’s another immaculate conception. I was surprised she elaborated. Wouldn’t a lady, a virgin, in that time and culture just deny it while blushing furiously?
Overall, I liked this book quite a bit, it’ll stay with me in the back of my mind, but it had so much unrealized potential.
