Stevie‘s review of Fortune Favors the Wicked (Royal Rewards, Book 1) by Theresa Romain
Historical Romance published by Zebra 29 Mar 16
It’s been a good couple of months for Theresa Romain fans with two new novels appearing in different series. This second release, the first in a two-book saga, moves yet further away from London and Society, as our hero and heroine search for treasure in Derbyshire. While I welcome the variety of settings the author is using in both her new series, this one gives me extra opportunities for nitpicking given my strong connections with the county in question. On the other hand, the hero’s injury is very different from the standard battle wounds that tend to turn up in historical romances, so that’s a point in this novel’s favour from the outset.
Benedict has made a career at sea for more than half his life, but a fever that he only just survived has left him blind and so he’s been pensioned off at the age of twenty-nine. After adapting to his disability, he’s been able to travel and to write about his experiences, but no publisher is prepared to buy his stories unless he’ll allow them to be marketed as fiction. Despairing of being able to raise the money to pay for his younger sister’s first season, Benedict is intrigued to hear of a daring theft of gold coins – and even more tempted by the announcement of a hefty reward for their return. When one of the coins is rumoured to have been offered as payment at an inn in Derbyshire, Benedict sets off in search of the rest of the cache.
Arriving at the inn, Benedict encounters a veiled woman: when he innocently asks if he can sit at her table, not realising immediately the social faux pas he is making. Charlotte is also in search of treasure, and her local connections – she is the daughter of the local vicar – may give her an advantage over the other adventurers. However, Charlotte is leading a double life: while her parents think she is travelling the world carrying out virtuous works, she has actually been living in London as a courtesan. Now that her most recent protector has turned out to be a dangerous man to leave, Charlotte needs to find sufficient funds to make a new life for herself – along with the daughter (ostensibly Charlotte’s niece) whom her parents have been taking care of.
Charlotte’s parents are rather eccentric and very proud of their one connection to the nobility – a man who is also a close friend of Benedict – and so Charlotte and Benedict find themselves staying in close proximity at the vicarage. Realising that they share a common goal in their need for funds, they team up, but Charlotte’s erstwhile protector, along with her first love – a local landowner – looks set to cause even more trouble for them both.
I like the concept of this story a lot, especially the ways Benedict copes with his disability and is sometimes able to turn it to his advantage, while being forced to deal with the negative consequences at other points in the plot. On the other hand, the few descriptions we get of the landscape don’t quite feel like my Derbyshire and I would have liked a few real place-names in there to give me a feel for which end of the longish, narrow county we’re supposed to be in.
Overall, however, I enjoyed this story and am greatly looking forward to the concluding story in which Benedict’s sister joins the hunt.
Grade: B
Summary:
Indecently Lucky
As a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, Benedict Frost had the respect of every man on board–and the adoration of the women in every port. When injury ends his naval career, the silver-tongued libertine can hardly stomach the boredom. Not after everything–and everyone–he’s experienced. Good thing a new adventure has just fallen into his lap…
When courtesan Charlotte Perry learns the Royal Mint is offering a reward for finding a cache of stolen gold coins, she seizes the chance to build a new life for herself. As the treasure hunt begins, she realizes her tenacity is matched only by Benedict’s–and that sometimes adversaries can make the best allies. But when the search for treasure becomes a discovery of pleasure, they’ll be forced to decide if they can sacrifice the lives they’ve always dreamed of for a love they’ve never known…
Read an excerpt.
