A single indiscreet dalliance notwithstanding, Michael de Grey, the younger brother of the powerful Duke of Marwick, is a hard-working physician who runs a charitable hospital with one of the lowest mortality rates in the country. Living off his brother, Alastair, who has been his protector and confidant since they were children, Michael is stunned when Alastair threatens to cut him and his hospital off unless Michael marries a woman approved by him and carries on the Marwick line. In response, Michael decides to go into hiding in Cornwall. Why that doesn’t result in the immediate shutdown of his precious hospital is not explained. So, our hero is now masquerading as a simple country doctor in Bosbrea where he stumbles upon a beautiful woman passed out in his rose bushes.
Lady Elizabeth Chudderley, notorious society beauty and merry widow, is tired of keeping up appearances when, in fact, she is nearly broke and has just been dumped by her latest lover for a young heiress. Drowning her sorrows in whiskey and passing out in the handsome new doctor’s gardens was not part of the plan, of course. While the attraction between them is instant, they both have their reasons for not acting upon it.
Liza thinks Michael is a middle-class doctor at best, putting him one step above a peasant in terms of respectability. She needs to find a rich husband fast. Michael, on the other hand, knows of Elizabeth’s reputation and doesn’t want to be distracted by his lame plan to make his brother come after him to Cornwall. Of course, they bond over country bazaars and long walks and when Liza assists Michael in delivering a baby. Things come to a head when Liza plans a house party filled with prospective suitors and spiritualists as entertainment.
And that is where I have my biggest problem with the book. The party floods the story with new characters who have appeared in Ms. Duran’s previous books. However, since this was my first full-length Meredith Duran novel, I had no idea who all these people were and I just kept feeling that I had been dropped in the middle of a conversation where I didn’t know any of the parties. Trying to make sense of those chapters in the middle messed with my head so much, that it just took away from Michael and Liza’s love story and whatever convoluted stunt they pulled with Alastair in the end to get their HEA.
As a rule, I am an avid fan of historical romances. After Your Wicked Heart, I was really excited to read the rest of the Rules for the Reckless series. Ms. Duran’s stories highlight issues like mental illness, grief, and alcoholism but never end up dealing with them satisfactorily. To me, the characters came across as mediocre and the story was an absolute drag. The writing was mostly okay, with flashes of wit getting drowned out by pages of bitter sarcasm. In the end, after having read one great and one horrible Meredith Duran novel apiece, I’m not sure if I will read any more of her work.
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