Review: To Love a Scoundrel by Kristina Cook

Gwen’s Review of To Love A Scoundrel by Kristina Cook
Historical romance published 1 June 2007 by Zebra (Kensington)

This is a story about a very proper young woman and a very damaged young man.  Both members of the ton, both quite young by today’s standards, and both more alike than they would care to think.  This story describes the growth of their friendship and love, set in regency England.  My favorite cover model is on this book – good googily moogily but that man makes my mouth water.

Here’s the book blurb:

HE’S NOTORIOUS FOR HIS WICKED WAYS…
Frederick Stoneham thoroughly enjoys the life he leads as one of London’s most disreputable rogues. When his father arranges for him to wed Lady Eleanor Ashton, he believes his decadent lifestyle can carry on uninterrupted. After all, he remembers Eleanor to be plain and timid–not the kind of wife who will demand attention or insist he leave his mistress. But Frederick has a change of heart when he sees the striking beauty Eleanor has become…

CAN SHE REFORM HIM?
Eleanor is stunned to discover she is to wed Frederick Stoneham–the man she has secretly pined after for years, despite his reputation. When Frederick’s former mistress tells her a horrible lie, Eleanor feels betrayed. But Frederick’s persistence–and a passion that refuses to be ignored–are slowly melting Eleanor’s resolve. Now Frederick must prove to Eleanor that his days as a rake are in the past and that she is the only woman he will ever love…

Read an excerpt.

Ms Cook has my respect.  She trod some familiar regency romance ground in a very unfamiliar way.  This is a “bad boy meets good girl” story with a twist.  The heroine and hero are young, and for the most part, they act young.  The hero is a rake, and he acts like one – even to the point of trying to manipulate his way into the heroine’s pants (err, skirts) at one point.  But Cook doesn’t take the easy, or the noble, way out.  She allows her characters to stay true to who and what they are – she makes them work their way out of their messes with no interference from the great pencil in the sky.  There are no improbable plot twists, no painfully noble separations.   

I find that refreshing and it makes for very compelling reading, because, sadly, I have become accustomed to characters who are stubbornly blind to facts and feelings.  Or characters so noble, they should get a prize (heh heh – get it – “noble” “prize” – never mind).  You know what I mean, the constant, nagging misunderstanding after misunderstanding and denial after denial of any true motives or emotions.  That gets so boring after a couple of hundred pages and oh so repetitive.  It’s nice to read about people who wrestle with inner demons, make poor decisions, and doubt themselves in a normal way, but who still acknowledge there’s something there – some emotion or event they must deal with.  And then they, GASP, deal with it.  Go figure.

This book was refreshing, entertaining, and satisfying.  It didn’t have as many erotic scenes as the books I normally read, but it was a true romance.  And, with the exception of having to take a short course on regency garment names (the author doesn’t belabor the book with unnecessary clothing education – something else I was thankful for since I can research it myself), I really enjoyed reading it.  If you’re a fan of emotionally complex stories, then this is the story for you. 

Grade: B