Chase, Loretta - The Last Hellion

[oyceter]

I seem to have been bitten by the Loretta Chase bug now, except someone has checked out all of her books from the library except for two, and (tragedy of tragedies) I have already read those! Who dares foil me in my quest for books? I'm already over budget this week, but I am sorely contemplating making a late night raid at the used bookstore to see if they have any I haven't read. Grrr. Want fix now.

Anyhow. Lydia Grenville is something of a Nellie Bly for the Argos, and she somehow ends up punching Vere Mallory, Duke of Ainswood and last of the Mallory hellions (whatever that means) in the face. Sparks ensue. Lots of stuff on the back cover about taming the Amazonian Lydia, except thankfully, not much taming is done.

Like the other Chase books I've read, this one is funny, has strong women, and a really cute hero. I really adored the banter between Grenville and Ainswood, particularly Ainswood's not-so-subtle fall into love with Grenville and his not quite knowing what to do about it. I also loved that Grenville was immensely practical, because hey, someone has got to be when you're in a romance! There are some plot points that aren't quite necessary, but I wasn't going to complain much, because I liked the characters so much.

I keep saying this, but I really don't know how Chase does it. She takes these stock characters that I tend to dislike in romances and fleshes them out and makes them funny. Her women are usually strong, and while her men can be known as rakes, they're usually rakes who are nice rakes. And more importantly, they're nice to everyone, not just the one person they're in love with. And they have their own strict moral code, which I like. I also like the fact that her heroes tend to fall in love first and that her heroes don't have an issue with this, unlike other manly men heroes who deny it till the last minute. And I like that her women aren't forced to compromise to be with the hero, because the heroes love the heroines' strength and character. Of course, now I am making large generalizations after reading only four Chase books, two of which I don't remember very well!

But I want to hunt them all down now, even The Sandalwood Princess, which coffee_and_ink said may make me sporky.

Links:
- rilina's review

Comments

[fiveandfour.livejournal.com]

On your earlier recommendation I picked up Mr. Impossible. I've been meaning to come back and thank you and tell you how much I enjoyed it, but never got around to it. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I went back to the store for more Loretta Chanse and ended up with Miss Wonderful, which I also liked.

But then I saw The Last Hellion and the blurb on the back cover scared me off. I guess I should have known better. Don't know how many times I've been wrongly enticed or scared off by the cover and you'd think I'd learn, but apparently that's still not the case!

[fiveandfour.livejournal.com]

Oops, that's Loretta Chase not Chanse. Stoopid typos!

[rilina.livejournal.com]

I read a couple of chapters of The Sandalwood Princess at the bookstore. *shudder* Tread carefully, my friend. Tread very, very carefully.

Meanwhile, now I'm even more interested in trying The Last Hellion, which has been on my radar for a while...

[oracne.livejournal.com]

She's reading Chase!!! Woo!!!!!

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Squee! Another Chase fan in the making!

(but don't read SANDALWOOD PRINCESS if you can avoid it.)

[oyceter]

Oh I'm glad you liked it! I was actually not too enthusiastic about picking up The Last Hellion as well, but Chase writes such fun characters that she completely won me over.

[oyceter]

Wow, that bad? Is it the Orientalism? That's the sense I got from Mely... and that is enough to make me throw things against walls. Hrm.

I really liked The Last Hellion! *innocent smile*

[oyceter]

w00t, new romance author I like with extensive backlist! The joy!

[rilina.livejournal.com]

Is it the Orientalism?

Yup.