AAR

[merryweather]

I didn't see a specific thread for this--has anyone finished it? I just did today.

I loved it. Duran has a couple of my favorite re-reads: Bound by Your Touch and The Duke of Shadows, and a couple books that I'm not as big on. I'm so happy this one was in the favorites category.

This book reminded me a little of Sherry Thomas' Not Quite a Husband in places...

SPOILER

When Nell is so happy to be married and is starting to trust Simon, and then overhears the solicitor talking about the annulment option if she is not proven the heiress--it reminded me of when Bryony finds out before their wedding that Leo is sleeping with someone else. That horrible sense of shock and the loss of trust. It's so painful to read and it's hard for the hero not to know what he's being beat up over. At least in this book it gets resolved in a matter of days, not weeks or years!

Duran leaves us in discomfort for part of the book--I didn't like the way Nell treated Simon at times but I can see her reasons, as well as Simon's reasons for lying to Nell. She shows the good and bad sides of their character and I love that in a romance--more depth and meat than usual.

Anyway, what did you think? I haven't read any reviews yet. Did you like it as much as I did or...?
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For the first time in her life, she saw exactly what she’d thrown away when she decided to have him by means fair or foul……that she’d not saved him but wronged him by consigning to him all the ability of a box turtle to make his own choices. ~Gigi

[Cee]

I really enjoyed it. It was my first book by Duran. I thought of it as a nice combination of Anastasia and My Fair Lady. The whole makeover theme is overdone but I loved Nell's character. And I always love heroines who aren't the usual lady/duchess!
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"When the day shall come, that we do part," he said softly, and turned to look at me, "if my last words are not 'I love you' -- ye'll ken it was because I didna have time."

[Blackjack1]

I have to say first of all that Duran is one of my favorite writers. I've read all of her books and liked this one nearly as much as the others. My favorites though are Written on Your Skin and Wicked Becomes You, though all of her books are wonderful. A Lady's Lesson in Scandal is complex and beautifully written. I find that her writing just keeps getting better. I did have some concerns though about the power dynamic here between Simon and Nell that made me a bit too uncomfortable for a great deal of the book. I understood the need to write an authentic account of poverty, hunger, malnourisment, poor hygiene, and a working class woman's fear of male abuse. However, in a romance novel, it tended to pull me away frequently from the actual romance as these characteristics constitute much of the novel. For instance, I didn't like the constant "guttersnipe" references well into nearly 70% of the book by the hero toward the heroine. Nell's physical appearance too is disconcerting; she is worn down and gaunt in appearance and I struggled in my mind to reformulate a new vision of her even after the Cinderella aspect of the story really takes shape. This is though clearly a Cinderella tale and is well advertised as "gritty" but the grittiness pulled me away more than I like in a romance novel. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read it and would highly recommend it for the lovely writing and the complex changes both characters undergo through the course of the novel.

[Winnie]

I loved this book. My favorite of her books is the Duke of Shadows. This one was right up there. I loved how the H/h were together most of the book and talked with one other.

[Rosie]

I haven't read it yet, but I have a question ... how closely related are Nell and Simon?

If he's the earl's heir and she's the earl's daughter, they have to have some relation, yes?

Thanks! (And I'm glad to hear people are enjoying it. )

[Elizabeth Rolls]

[anwoodward]

Loved it. Love her books. On the totally shallow end of the spectrum, I think St. Maur might be the best-looking hero I've read about and I would like him to be real just so I could look at him. On the more cerebral scale, the details, the environment and for the most part, the chemistry and relationship between the leads felt legitimate.

I want to have more to add but I get caught up in the story the first time I read a book so I have a hard time looking at it critically. I'll read it again this weekend and add something more constructive than "omg, he's (written) so hot!"

[merryweather]

From Blackjack:

[Rosie]

Thanks for the answer, Ms. Rolls! I will be reading this book very soon. You all have made it sound wonderful!

[Dabney]

I really liked it but didn't love it. I didn't believe in the love between Simon and Nell as deeply as I would have liked to. That said, Ms. Duran is just a terrific writer.
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"Faith is believing that one of two things will happen--there will either be something solid for you to stand on or you will learn to fly."

[3girlsofmyown]

[Blackjack1]

from merryweather: "That's what made the book memorable for me--I rarely read about characters like this in a romance and I found it refreshing. I also liked that Simon was totally attracted to her from the first night she came to his room--there was a connection there right from the start, despite her appearance."

I agree that Duran tackles characters seen more often in social realist novels than romance. My response was not so much "refreshing" though as uncomfortable because of the genre issue of romance novels. Simon is attracted to Nell. But he is also repelled by her in equal measures. After kissing her he reflects on the immediate attraction he felt for her and then speculates about the grime and dirt where he put his mouth. That is probably authentic but at the same time not conducive to romance, for me. And if the gender dynamic were reversed, most women probably wouldn't want to have such unsavory thoughts of the man they had just kissed. I also thought quite a bit about the bathing scene in the novel that too depicts an uncomfortable disparity in power between Simon and Nell. He speculates about seeing her naked, which is fine of course in a romance novel. But Nell's bath reveals not just the incredible dirt that covers her; it reveals the fact that she is emaciated to the point where she breaks down and cries after seeing the protouding bones on her body. Any immediate scenes after this one between Simon and Nell were heavily marked by visions of Nell's condition, what's she's gone through, and how far apart Simon is from her in the world. I think the main problem I had is that too much of the book takes place in this space of inequality between the two and too little of the book shows parity between them. In some ways it makes me think of how I felt reading Gaffney's To Have and To Hold, another well-written and interesting novel, but also one that I seldom want to reread for the romantic aspects as they didn't work for me.

[merryweather]

[Blackjack1]

merryweather: "If a book's premise doesn't work for you, it doesn't work--sorry if it seemed like I was talking you into liking it.'

No, not at all! I'm a college literature professor in my day job and so I critique books impersonally without taking offense at anyone's analysis. Just to clarify though, I did like the book for many reasons and Duran is one of my favorite romance authors. But I also had some difficulties with the romantic aspects due to the problematic power dynamic between the couple that can be seen through numerous interactions between them. I would still recommend the book though to others and thought it was as well written as all of her books. I unfortunately don't know if this is one I would pick up again to reread but time will tell.

[Elizabeth Rolls]