jmc_bks

Reginald Mason is a wealthy, refined, and, by all accounts, a gentleman. However, he is not a gentleman by birth, a factor that pains him and his father, Bernard Mason, within the Regency society that upholds station over all else. That is, until an opportunity for social advancement arises, namely Lady Annabelle Ashton. Daughter of the Earl of Havercroft, a neighbor and enemy of the Mason family, Annabelle finds herself disgraced by a scandal. Besmirched by shame, the early is only to happy to marry Annabelle off to anyone willing to have her.

Though Bernard wishes to use Annabelle to propel his family up the social lade, his son does not wish to marry her, preferring instead to live the wild, single life he is accustomed to. With this, Bernard serves his son an ultimatum: marry Annabelle, or make do without family funds. Having no choice, Reginald consents and enters into a hostile engagement in which the prospective bride and groom are openly antagonistic, each one resent the other for their current state of affairs.

So begins an intoxicating tale rife with dark secrets, deception, and the trials of love -- a story in which very little is at it seems.

• the smart, quick dialogue between Trev and Callie
• Trev’s pursuit of Callie, and their adventures as children and adults
• the beautiful writing – cry havoc and unleash the hens of war!
• Hubert the bull and his obsession with Bath buns. I sympathize, because Bath buns are tasty! Despite the description given, I pictured Ferdinand whenever I read Hubert’s name in the text. :D

• the duchesse’s malaprops – the first couple were cute, but they become progressively less cute and more irritating.
• the epilogue – without giving too much away, I’ll just say that the thing revealed in the epilogue strained credibility and required more suspension of disbelief than I am capable of.
• the constraints that both Callie and Trev put upon themselves when it came to their relationship. Oh, no, I can’t tell her the truth because she’ll waste herself on me! Please, respect her ability to make her own choices. Oh, no, I can’t accept him, I’ll accept another suitor I don’t even like because I want to be miserable – if he doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve then I don’t want him. If they would just communicate rather than making “the best” decisions for each other, the store would’ve been shorter but the characters less irritating.

This month’s TBR Challenge book is Ariana Franklin’s Mistress of the Art of Death.

Why this book? Avid Reader reviewed it when it was first released, and it sounded interesting. [I’ve been intrigued by the Plantagenets since first reading Jean Plaidy’s historical novels, grabbing them from my mother’s stack of library books. Henry II in particular, in part because of his queen, but also because of his legal reforms.] Sadly, when I borrowed this book from the library, I wasn’t in a mood for historical, so I returned it (late) unread. But I ended up buying a copy, because I knew I’d get around to it sooner or later.

Cover art? Beautiful, if a little macabre, given the way the woman is leaning on the skull. But it matches the content, since Adelia is the twelfth century equivalent of a forensic pathologist. She’s not quite comfortable with the dead, pretending they are pigs in her mentor’s body farm, but neither is she uncomfortable.

The blurb: In Cambridge, four children have been murdered. Wrongly accused of the crimes, a small community of Jews threatened by Catholic mobs is given sanctuary by Henry II. To assist in proving their innocence, he summons an expert in the science of deduction and the art of death. She is Adelia, a prodigy from the Medical School of Salerno, and an anomaly in a medieval world, who is forced to conceal her identity and her purpose from England’s grave superstitions and condemnation. One man willing to work with her is Sir Rowley Picot. His personal stake in the investigation makes him an invaluable ally – and in Adelia’s eyes, a suspect as well. From navigating Cambridge’s perilous river paths to penetrating the dark shadows of the Church, Adelia’s investigation will not only reveal the secrets of the dead, but in time, the far more dangerous ones buried by the living

What did I think of the book? Loved it. In fact, after reading it, I bought a hard copy of the second book of the series, The Serpent’s Tale, and then downloaded a copy of the third, Grave Goods, since I couldn’t find a hard copy at either of the local bookstores.

What did I like about the book? Well, everything. That’s not helpful, though, is it?

I suppose what I enjoyed most was the voice of Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar. She is alien to England, a scientist through and through, and her observations of the people and customs of her surroundings are fascinating. More than that, I appreciate how she recognizes her awkward position in English and Norman society, but still manages to maneuver and do the job she’s been sent to do.

It seems clear that Franklin did a monumental amount of historical research based on the descriptions and settings, but none of it is shared via infodumpery; the details seem to appear magically as appropriate.

The secondary characters are as wonderful as Adelia is herself: Mansur, her Moorish companion and guard; Simon the Fixer, who is the “real investigator” while Adelia is merely the examiner of the dead; Gyltha and Ulf, Cambridgeshire natives who are assigned to her as guards of a sort; and Abbot Geoffrey, a father-like figure whom I hope to see again in future books.

Without spoiling anything, I think the personal decision made by Adelia at the end of the book is right for her at that moment. But I’m sure that it is going to cause her no end of heartache in the future.

 Keep or pass on? Well, I loved the book, but planned on passing it on to someone else who’d mentioned interest in the book.   But there was an unfortunate accident involving an unfastened thermos and the book, so that won’t be happening. Just as well. I’ll pass on a new copy and keep the waterstained copy for myself. On to the second book now.

Anything else worth mentioning? Ariana Franklin has also been published under the name Diana Norman.  I read a book under that name,  A Catch of Consequence, but it didn’t grab my attention the way this one did, despite having a smart, strong protagonist. Also, I found the dialect used in ACC to be distracting to the point of irritation, which was not the case here. Some speech patterns were changed from what I would consider standard, but not enough to be bothersome.

He came out of nowhere to save Elspeth Gordon from a band of Portuguese brigands. Although Lieutenant Valentine Aston thought only to save the lady from an unspeakable fate, the handsome soldier is surprised to find himself not only still alive but a hero to boot. Certainly Elspeth, daughter of one of Wellington’s officers, is intrigued by her brooding rescuer.

Ever conscious of his illegitimate birth, this bastard son of an English earl is convinced that there can never be a relationship between them. Indeed, he is determined not to fall in love with her. But the fortunes of war and a gallant heroine will prove him wrong—if he has the courage to seize love when he finds it.

"It wasn't your appearance that caught me. It was the way you put me down in the gallery at Sibley Court." Vaughn's lips curved in a reminiscent smile. "And the way you tried to bargain with me after."

"Successfully bargained," Mary corrected.

"That," replied Lord Vaughn, "is exactly what I mean. Has anyone ever told you that you haggle divinely? That the simple beauty of your self-interest is enough to bring a man to his knees?"

Mary couldn't in honesty say that anyone had.

Vaughn's eyes were as hard and bright as silver coins. "Those are the reasons I want you. I want you for your cunning mind and your hard heart, for your indomitable spirit and your scheming soul, for they're more honest by far than any of the so-called virtues."

• I started Demon Night but couldn't get into it, kept getting interrupted. I've set it to the side and will pick it up when I'm feeling better about reading.

• Found a copy of Elizabeth Elliot's The Scoundrel. Everyone seems to love her historicals, but it didn't work for me. Wallbanger because the hero was an @ss, the heroine was a Mary Sue (not the good kind mentioned above, either), the plot was riddled with cliches.

• Read and liked Drew Zachary's The Painted House, which was sweet, if a little bland in terms of plot/conflict.

• The Ties That Bind anthology had one story I liked (friends to lovers) but was otherwise forgettable.