Liviania‘s review of What A Gentleman Wants by Caroline Linden
Historical romance released 01 Sept 06 from Zebra
I began reading Caroline Linden with her newest release, A Rake’s Guide to Seduction, which features Celia. I enjoyed Linden’s voice and the sweet romance and thus bought the next book of hers I could find. That turned out to be What a Gentleman Wants, the story of Celia’s oldest brother Marcus.
Hannah Preston is about to become homeless. She lives in the vicarage, but a new vicar is coming to the village since her husband died. If she doesn’t come up with some means of supporting herself, she and her daughter Molly will be in dire straits. Enter David Reece, a lord and rogue. He enjoys her company and offers to marry her for convenience. But when one of his old friends shows up he realizes how much freedom he would be giving up by marrying the virtuous Hannah. Thus he impersonates his twin brother Marcus Reece on the wedding day and leaves Hannah in the home where Marcus used to keep his mistress.
Marcus is not just any lord. He’s the Duke of Exeter and he’s unamused by his brother’s latest “joke.” For their entire lives he’s been covering for David, and he’s beginning to tire of it. First, though, he has to uncover a counterfeiting ring with which David might be involved. It might not matter that he’s unamused, because David informed the family. Stepmother Rosalind and half-sister Celia are true romantics and could not be happier Marcus found love. And Marcus is nothing if not a martyr for his family.
Now, martyrs are often the most annoying characters. Marcus balances it out by being one of my favorite types of romantic hero. He has a stern manner and seems imposing, but there are any number of people who know he’s nothing but a bunch of marshmallow fluff (deep) inside. Without his devotion to his family he might be one of those a-holes that passes himself off as an alpha hero, but Linden manages to imbue him with a balance of traits. Hannah is also quite likable. She’s meek and understands her social position in relation to Exeter’s, but she does not act like a doormat.
Linden’s weak point is creating a plot outside of the romance. The counterfeiting plot is serviceable, but I forgot it was happening during scenes where it wasn’t a factor – which was most of the book. Plus, she had to make David look stupid to pull it off. He was impulsive and relied on his brother to solve his problems, yes, but I otherwise did not get the impression of stupidity. The plot looks weak partially because Linden carries the romance off so well. When trying to articulate why the counterfeiting aspect does not quite work, I have trouble pinning down just why. Yet when reading the novel it is easy to see how Hannah and Marcus’s relationship overshadows it until it factors into the climax.
What a Gentleman Wants is a comforting read, with a little bit of action and a lot of relationship.
Grade: B+
Marcus Reece, duke of Exeter, doesn’t want a wife, let alone one he didn’t choose. Hannah Preston wouldn’t have chosen him, either, if she hadn’t been tricked. But in each other, they’ll both discover everything they never knew they always wanted…
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