jjares reviewed The Disdainful Marquis (Dishonored, Bk 2) (Signet Regency Romance) on + 3263 more book reviews
Recently, I read somewhere that Edith Layton was writing books with subjects not usually covered in Regency novels. Boy, she hit a home run with this plotline -- it is very different. However, I wasn't fond of this plot. The main male character was popular in Layton's A DUKE'S WAGER. I have not read it and cannot comment on it.
Catherine is living with her older half-sister and her husband. They expect a baby soon, and Catherine feels like a fifth wheel. However, she wants to earn her own money and be independent. So she becomes a companion to a duchess. I doubt that I can explain the eccentricities of this duchess in less than 1000 words. Let's say -- she's strange. She has had, in previous years, two tarts (prostitutes) traveling with her. In her eyes, this makes her (an older woman) seem more risque. The duchess is known as "the dirty duchess."
However, this year, she adds Catherine, a country mouse with strong moral convictions. Unfortunately, Catherine doesn't find out what the other two "ladies" do in their spare time until they are on the ship to France. So now, Catherine must wait until her next payday in March. In the meantime, she has to watch her step. Everyone she meets thinks she's a doxy too.
The story's backdrop is Napoleon returning to Paris (after being imprisoned on Elba Island). Parisians and most Frenchmen are alive with the rumors of Napoleon's return.
Although Violet and Rose are great counterpoints to Catherine's strong moral values, I thought the idea of Catherine making it through four months amongst men desiring her and her not getting caught in their machinations was an almost lost cause. Otherwise, the story was well-written and unusual.
Catherine is living with her older half-sister and her husband. They expect a baby soon, and Catherine feels like a fifth wheel. However, she wants to earn her own money and be independent. So she becomes a companion to a duchess. I doubt that I can explain the eccentricities of this duchess in less than 1000 words. Let's say -- she's strange. She has had, in previous years, two tarts (prostitutes) traveling with her. In her eyes, this makes her (an older woman) seem more risque. The duchess is known as "the dirty duchess."
However, this year, she adds Catherine, a country mouse with strong moral convictions. Unfortunately, Catherine doesn't find out what the other two "ladies" do in their spare time until they are on the ship to France. So now, Catherine must wait until her next payday in March. In the meantime, she has to watch her step. Everyone she meets thinks she's a doxy too.
The story's backdrop is Napoleon returning to Paris (after being imprisoned on Elba Island). Parisians and most Frenchmen are alive with the rumors of Napoleon's return.
Although Violet and Rose are great counterpoints to Catherine's strong moral values, I thought the idea of Catherine making it through four months amongst men desiring her and her not getting caught in their machinations was an almost lost cause. Otherwise, the story was well-written and unusual.
