I was ready for a good romance novel and discovered Lord of Scoundrels (1995) by Loretta Chase on Cannonball. This was my first Chase novel, and I think I will be reading more in the future. The plot was not something I would regularly enjoy, but Chase’s writing is good. She makes her characters sympathetic and understandable, even when they are unlikable.
Jessica is independent, over twenty-five, and unmarried. She’s earned herself a good income by buying and selling unique items she comes across. Her goal is to open up her own shop in London. But first she must travel to Paris to save her fool of a brother from ruining himself under the influence of the notorious Lord Dain. Dain is rich and powerful, but he hates himself. His mother abandoned him as a child before dying of a fever. His father detested him and sent him off to boarding school, basically disowning him. Dain spends his time gambling, making more money, and having wild orgies at his home in Paris.
Instead of besting Dain, Jessica is immediately attracted to him–and the attraction is mutual. The two argue and fight, but there is no denying it. The plot gets a little convoluted in the middle (more on that later), but Dain and Jessica wind up getting married. However, Dain is far from healed, and simple attraction is not enough to save them. The rest of the book is Jessica slowly learning and understanding what’s going on in Dain’s head as she helps him become a better and more whole person.
I definitely liked this book. The characters and situations were fun to read about, and I liked the depth that Chase gave to Lord Dain. He does some really horrible things, and without that understanding, some of his actions would have been unforgivable. It was because of Chase’s writing that I did not give up on him completely.
However, a couple of things rubbed me the wrong way. First, I really did roll my eyes a couple of times at plot points in the middle of the book. Jessica shoots Dain after he almost ruins her, and then she sues him–which eventually leads to their marriage. Shooting someone is serious, crazy business. I know she’s supposed to be a remarkable shot and could avoid bone, but what if she’d hit his brachial artery? What about infection? Infection is a problem now, and we have antibiotics now! You can’t just shoot someone and not have any consequences. Second, Dain’s attitude toward every woman but Jessica was horrible. I understand he has reasons, but even understanding where he was coming from made it almost impossible to like him. Jessica is a supremely understanding saint who manages to not take Dain’s actions personally as she changes his entire life. I accepted it all because I enjoyed reading the book, but generally I like nicer heroes.
You can find all of my reviews on my blog.
I know Amazon lists the publication year as 2009 but I think that refers to the Kindle edition. This is actually mid ‘90s romance. Not a huge deal but it helped make me more forgiving of some of the tropes, like Dain’s hatred of women. Her newer stuff continues to have powerful women and amusing and super charming rakes without the extreme misogyny.
Ah, thanks for the info. Google informs me that it was originally published in 1995. That makes sense, and it makes me appreciate the book even more. Some of those old romances from the 80’s and 90’s are unreadable now.
I didn’t want to be pedantic but thought it was actually relevant in this case :)
The last hellion is from the same series so still has some of the 90s tropes but the rake is still better, and you actually end up kind of rooting for Jessica’s brother, who plays a minor character! I am basically just repeating Malin’s recommendations since she told me to follow this one up with The Last Hellion, and the Mr. Impossible which is from 2005, I think.
As Jen has already mentioned The Last Hellion may be more to your taste (I prefer it). Other very good Chase novels – Mr. Impossible, Captives of the Night, Lord Perfect, Your Scandalous Ways, Dukes Prefer Blondes and A Duke in Shining Armor.
Oh, thanks for all the recommendations! I’m already on the waitlist for Mr. Impossible. And now I’m intrigued by The Last Hellion, too.
This is high on my list of all time faves, primarily because the heroine doesn’t put up with with shit.