Her Ladyship's Companion
Evangeline CollinsHistorical romance
Available from Berkley Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-425-22820-3
May 2009
| For a childish dalliance with a stable hand Lady Isabella has ended up wed to a man who, at best, neglects her. At his worse he abuses her for his own powerlessness as a lover. Cousin Lady Esmé Marceau sees only that Bella is being neglected because she refuses to share her pain with anyone. Lady Esmé hires the services of Gideon Rosedale to brighten her cousin's life. Bella tries to resist the immediate attraction but her needs have never been met as a woman. Gideon soon finds Bella is nothing like other ladies of the ton he has been paid to woo. What are the two to do when they find themselves falling in love?
Evangeline Collins pens this romance in a way that will easily evoke feelings in the modern reader. It would be hard not to feel for Bella when her first ever kiss and minor fling are punished so horribly. Maybe her brother didn't know about Lord Stirling's proclivities when he arranged the marriage in a hurry. It's hard to give him the benefit of the doubt even if he is thrown into a titled life with burdens that almost overwhelm him. Ok, I'm able to give him a little empathy! Ms. Collins pulls it out of me as I read because he does redeem himself. But Lord Stirling is just evil, taking out his problems on Bella. Ms. Collins builds this story step by step in a way that will leave the reader unable to put the book down. There's always an overlaying suspense about what may happen to spoil the love the two find. Just when we least expect it something or someone interferes and the affair seems doomed. But Ms. Collins doesn't give us secondary characters without their having a purpose! Some of them shine as the book reaches a conclusion we all can enjoy. This is definitely an author I want to watch for in the future.
Overall rating:
Reviewer: Dee Dailey |
