Breakdown:
Lady Phoebe Batten is the sister of
the Duke of Wakefield. She is cherished, treasured, and protected because she is
nearly blind. Hired by her brother, she is guarded by Captain James Trevillion,
previously from the 4th Dragoons who has been prematurely retired
due to his injuries while serving the king.
Lowdown:
I was looking forward to this book. Not as good
as Duke of Midnight which is Book 6 of the Maiden Lane series but still highly
entertaining. Why? Because of Captain James T.
Stoic. Silent. Capable.
Injured in the line of battle. Hardened by the streets of London.
Protective. Possessive.
Should I go on?
I am a sucker. A sucker I tells you for the
strong, silent, cerebral male. Loud, obnoxious alphas have their place. But
give me one that can shut the f*ck up and can still get his testosterone filled
point across anyways?
Mmmmmm……
Don’t judge me.
Trevillion tries desperately to hide his passion
for his charge and, at first, is highly successful in his endeavors. She is too
young. Too innocent. Waaaay above his station in life so he cannot go there. You
only know his true struggle because of his inner monologue.
She looked young and a little lost, though she stood in her own ancestral home. He wanted rather badly to go to her and take her into his arms again. To offer comfort where it was neither needed nor wanted. Something in his chest ached— just once, briefly— before he shoved it down and covered it with all the reasons his instinctive reactions were impossible
For her age (one and twenty), status (a caged
noblewoman), and her blindness, Lady Phoebe's character is as developed as her
environment would allow. How can you grow when you have an older brother who protects you to the point of suppression? She is treated like a frail, weak
creature. She is suffocating under the guise of well intentions. She tries to tell
her family her need for some freedom but they fall on deaf ears.
There’s a suspenseful plot buried in this love
story. It wasn’t that plausible and, to tell you the truth, it didn’t really hold
my interest. I mainly read this book for the story between Phoebe and
Trevillion. I find that subplot was more background noise than anything and I
could have done without it.
All in all. A good read.
