Kerstan, Lynn - Lord Dragoner's Wife

[oyceter]

Of late, I seem to be incapable of reading anything but romances. I have even abandoned manga, the horror! And not just any romances, but all-White, all-British historicals, frequently with their class and gender issues. Yeah, I don't know what my brain is doing either.

Anyway, I bought this book used years ago, probably based off someone's rec on DW/LJ, and it has sat unread on my shelf until now, when I have strangely been in the mood for category Regencies.

Six years ago, Charles Everett, Lord Dragoner, married Delilah Bening, then promptly fled the next day to France. He has finally returned to England with a reputation in tatters to divorce his unwanted wife, but Delilah would still like to salvage her wreck of a marriage.

I am particularly fond of marriage of convenience/falling in love with your spouse plots, unrequited love from afar plots, and lots of yearning while trying to hide your feelings. This book has all three, frequently with emotionally wrought and painful conversations between Delilah and Dragoner. I loved Delilah's practicality about everything save her husband and how she manages to, well, manage everyone and everything except the one thing she really wants. Dragoner is one of those angsty rake spies from so many Regencies, but the overall impression is of a man painfully embarrassed and unhappy by what he must do, and I thought Kerstan was able to give him angst without dedicating the entire book to his angst.

Alas, the plot takes some unnecessary turns into the action-adventure genre, rather than stay with the conversations between Delilah and Dragoner. The plot itself seems a bit tacked on, and you know it's never good when other characters in the book even comment on how Dragoner basically manufactured the plot out of thin air. Rather than having Delilah and Dragoner in life-and-death situations, which made the emotional resolution at the end seem rushed, I wish Kerstan had stuck with the two slowly learning about each other.

Still, I enjoyed this a great deal for the quiet angst on both parties' side.

How are Kerstan's other books?

Comments

[coffeeandink]

Kerstan is really variable--I really like some of her stuff and some of it leaves me cold.

[oyceter]

Ha, I just found her in your DW tags and Bookmooched Francesca's Rake! I also randomly Bookmooched two others (Dark or Dangerous something) that have "angsty heroine" in the description; we'll see how those go...

[jonquil]

The id knows what it needs. Don't argue with it.

::adds book to order list::

Thank you.

[oyceter]

I don't think I've read this many romances since my last spree in 2005! Grad school: totally eats your brain.

[vom_marlowe]

I meant to mention this on your Balogh post, but if you haven't read Slightly Married, you might enjoy it. It's my favorite Balogh and I was just reading it last night. It's a marriage of convenience and freinds to lovers plot, and it has actual class issues (I mean, not evil ones, heh). The aunt is one of my favorite characters.

[oyceter]

Oh, thanks for the rec! I think you're the second or third person to rec that title; I'll def. have to look it up.

[oracne]

I think I have a Kerstan somewhere in the TBR but haven't read any.

I'm on my third J.D. Robb in a row, so I can't throw stones about being on a kick....

[oyceter]

Oh reading sprees.... Yesterday alone I think I finished about three romances (one being a reread of Lord of Scoundrels, which is still as awesome and hilarious as I remember).