LynneC’s review of Brazen by Margo Maguire
Historical Romance published by Avon 29 Nov 11
As I said in a previous review, there isn’t usually one reason to DNF a book, but more often than not it’s because the book doesn’t grab me. If I persevere and get to a third or more, then I could do a full DNF review, if I have something to say about it. A DNF isn’t always because it’s a terrible book. It could be because the book just didn’t do it for me, as in this case, but it might well do it for you. There’s no deep flaws, and the plots is interesting, but the authorial voice or the premise just didn’t take me away. So I’d say try it, get a sample and see if you like it. I got this book from NetGalley, and it occurred to me that if I could sample it, that might be a useful thing. I actually persevered past the first chapter, more to see if I could settle into the read. Sadly, I couldn’t.
The heroine is one of two daughters who were adopted by an earl when their grandfather and guardian, a duke, abandoned them after his son’s death. Yeah, I know. And that’s just the start of the complex plot that would have been worth concentrating on, had I cared. But I found the book a bit of a slog and I think the main problem is the pedestrian authorial voice. Which could be as much my problem as Margo Maguire’s. Sometimes an author’s voice just doesn’t work for a reader, and I fear that is the case in this book.
Because the heroine, although brought up in the bosom of society, has no clue about things that women would generally have known. A Regency lady who doesn’t know how to load and fire a pistol? A viscountess who lives in a cottage? That last throws me. In that era, a cottage was either a place to play, a la Marie Antoinette, or it was a hovel. Not a reasonably pleasant house with separate rooms. Okay, not so bad.
The hero is interesting. He’s the younger son of a viscount, so relatively low in the pecking order of the peerage. Goodie. And even though he’s a spy, he’s a believable one, having worked in the military, and he has one more assignment before he retires.
The heroine shoots him (a mere graze), but weapons were pretty erratic in those days, and even knowing about weapons, she could have done that. A niggle. Not important. Then she wants to stitch his wound, and in an age before penicillin, that could be dangerous, sealing in the infection. Whenever possible, wounds were left open so they could be cleaned frequently and allowed to heal from the inside out. The heroine has short hair and the hero hasn’t seen short hair before. Why not, when cropped hair was all the rage in the period? He was in the army, an officer, so surely he’d have set eyes on one or two fashionable women? Niggle followed on niggle, and the tone of the book is very much American (so, my US friends, it’s unlikely to bother you).
Words like “quit” for “leave” and the dreaded G word (“gotten”) make an appearance on the first page (to a modern Brit, “gotten” screams “American,” which in some circumstances is good, but not when it’s supposed to be a deep third point of view British Regency character). Maguire has a habit of “telling” instead of “showing,” which leads to a blander style. In an effort to avoid the purple, blandness ruled. They drank “whiskey” in an era when whisky was the equivalent to moonshine, and was as often clear as caramel coloured. In the end, I was just waiting for the next niggle to turn up. That’s always a sign that I’m not engaged with the book, because when a book catches me and drags me along, details are the last thing I worry about. So I gave up. I really wanted to like this one, but it just wasn’t doing it for me. It might for you.
Grade: DNF
Summary:
She will give him what he desires. But first, a small favor . . .
Lady Christina Fairhaven is devoted to her adoptive family—and most protective of her wayward brother.
So when battle-scarred and world-weary Captain Gavin Briggs arrives at her cottage bearing shocking news—that she is the granddaughter of an aged, bad-tempered duke— Christina is stunned . . . temporarily.
She will not meet the duke who abandoned her when she was a child; Gavin will not receive his significant—and much needed—reward. However, should the good Captain agree to help her locate and rescue her endangered sibling, then perhaps . . .
But with a fortune at stake, the road to London is paved with peril. Treachery awaits them . . . not to mention attraction, temptation, and a most unanticipated passion.
To regain his soul, to protect his lady, Gavin must be more than brave. To win his love, Christina must be positively . . .
Read an excerpt.
