Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Miss Winthrope’s Elopement by Christine Merrill
Historical romance released by Harlequin Historical 01 Mar 10
I like a well-done rake hero as much as the next girl. The trick for authors is writing them convincingly (no fake-rakes please!) while still managing to make them redeemable enough so that the reader believes in the happily-ever-after. While Christine Merrill definitely delivers in the rake hero department, for pretty much this entire story I was praying that the heroine would pick up her unfashionable skirts and run as fast, and far, as she possibly could.
Miss Penelope Winthrope is a printer’s daughter. Her father’s business was wildly successful, so she has plenty of money to live comfortably, study to her heart’s content, and buy whatever books she so desires. Unfortunately, with Daddy dead, her inheritance is run by her brother, who is making a muck of the family business. Worse yet? He’s putting demands on her lifestyle, syphoning off her funds, and just being an all-around ass. Penelope figures the best way to get out of the situation is to marry a husband more tolerable than her brother. The problem being that she’s hardly a great beauty, is a bit “odd,” and is firmly on the shelf. Oh well. She’s just going to have to scare up a suitable man somewhere along the way to Gretna Green.
Good fortune smiles upon her when Adam Felkirk literally throws himself in front of her carriage. Drunk as a skunk, Adam has made a mess of the family finances and is ready to say goodbye to this cruel world when Penelope pulls him out of the mud. Before you can say “marriage of convenience,” these two are hitched. Penelope just wants privacy in order to continue her studies, and Adam needs her money to save his bacon. The fly in the ointment? Did I mention that Adam is the Duke of Bellston?
There’s really no way to sugarcoat this – Adam is an asshole. A poor harvest season and bad investments aren’t a crime, but this guy had an affair with a married woman (I know, you’re thinking, so what? What historical romance rake hasn’t?). Naturally she’s a vile shrew of a woman who just happens to be…wait for it… married to his best friend. Niiiiiice. But he’s a Duke after all, so apparently cuckolding your BFF isn’t an unforgivable sin. Everyone seems determined to forgive this guy while The Other Woman is painted with the traitorous whore brush. Boys will be boys, women will be sluts. Historically accurate? Yes. Any less annoying? No.
Penny is a nice girl, even if her logic in the beginning chapters is severely flawed. No, she doesn’t want her brother controlling her finances. But what makes her think that a perfect stranger is going to be any better? And what makes her think she’ll have any power whatsoever to have any sway with her new husband whatsoever? However, once the reader gets past this, she’s a nice, intelligent, forthright girl. A girl who adores books and scholarly endeavors. I liked her and thought she deserved a lot better than the husband she ends up saddled with, but after all, that was partly her own doing!
Where this book sings (and salvages itself) is when the couple spends time together. On the same page, away from the problematic conflict and secondary characters. These scenes sing off the page, sizzle with sexual tension, and are a joy to read since both characters display a fair amount of intellect. However a hero who dips his pen in his best friend’s ink well? Yeah, that’s just wrong, and a major stumbling block in this story. The author certainly provides a nice grovel at the end , but it’s especially dissatisfying that he’s hardly punished at all. Has the leopard changes his spots? Probably. I mean, he genuinely seems to love Penny. I’m just not convinced he deserves her love.
Grade: C+
Summary:
Dashing Duke, Bluestocking Bride!
Shy heiress Miss Penelope Winthorpe was only trying to escape her bullying brother. She didn’t mean to wed a noble lord over a blacksmith’s anvil! Adam Felkirk, Duke of Bellston, had no intention of taking a wife. But then Penelope’s plight moved him.
Now the notorious rake has a new aim – to shock and seduce his prim and proper bride. But the gorgeous Duke will be taught a lesson of his own as scholarly Miss Winthorpe becomes his seductive duchess!
I think this book would get on my nerves. It seems like the Duke will never really change. Maybe my strong reaction has to do with the fact that the Duke doesn’t fully experience the consequences of his actions… Thanks for the review!!!
Thanks, Wendy. It’s a fair cop.
I’ve read your reviews before, and knew your opinion on the evil other woman. When I realized that this is the book you had? I wanted to drive to California and swap out your TBR for one of my non-rake heroes. I tried writing this one with him nobly resisting, and the story totally blew. From the writer’s side, he was the lesser of 2 evils. But eccstatic that you liked other things, really.
Firepages: Yeah, I think I needed him to hit bottom, then be built back up. He does grovel at the end, but given what he did to his BFF, I needed him to suffer more than he did. Probably a sign I’m vindictive! LOL
….
Christine: Oh, I totally agree actually. Heroes who “nobly resist” can come of as…well…wussy if the author isn’t careful 😉 So sometimes it’s just a better story for the hero to be a…well…not a very nice guy. I think for me it’s really all hinged on the fact that it was his best friend’s wife. That was just too much for me to get over.
I really, really liked this heroine quite a bit though. She sort of read like a love letter to romance readers. Intelligent and obsessed with books. What’s not to love about that?
I’ve read and enjoyed this book … especially the fairly detailed descriptions of M O N E Y! As a book fiend myself, I could understand that the heroine’s bottom line was when her brother said “you have enuff books” … ah, no! It would make an interesting companion piece book with Rose Lerner’s “In for a Penny” imo … both having more realism than the average historical.
Janet: Yeah, I appreciated that the author didn’t gloss over the fact that as a mere woman, the heroine would have absolutely NO control over her inhertiance. So when her brother running the show becomes intolerable, she has no other recourse but to marry….
Guilty confession.
I got some things right, but completely screwed up the value of money on this story. I remember sticking place holder numbers in while writing, and meaning to change it. But obviously, I never did. I made them all obscenely rich.
Oops. My bad. Reseach fail. Of course, the true economy would have looked so scant compared to today’s numbers, that reality would have seemed like a disappointment to some readers and might been a distraction.