Customer Reviews

A Dangerous Compromise (Zebra Regency Romance)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a matter of fact, Clarissa reminds me a great deal of Lydia Bennett of "Pride and Prejudice." (In case you're not a fan, Lydia's the one who ran off with a rake who had to be bribed to marry her.)

Just like Lydia, Clarissa is shatter-brained and totally out of control. She is determined to marry a rake because she wants a Grand Passion. When her friend Jane questions the future faithfulness of a man who has had a lot of mistresses, Clarissa airily replies that Love for her will make him forget all of those women.

Most silly heroines have parents or guardians to keep them in check. This one does not. It really is not surprising that in a fit of pique over the hero's deception (the revelation that he is an honorable man and not a rake), she agrees to become the mistress of one of the worst rakes (who, ironically, becomes the hero of Ms. Donnelly's next book).

What self-respecting hero would run off to rescue such a brainless heroine? At this point, the book became a wall-banger for me.

Somehow, Lydia Bennett never appealed to me as a heroine. "Happy ever after" is much more believable with sensible romantic couples such as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.

Shannon Donnelly has done it again! She's written a really brilliant sequel to her first book, "A Compromising Situation." "A Dangerous Compromise" is a rich and complex book, and quite a bit darker than the usual fare. For while this book is primarily about a young girl's very first foray into the social swirl that is the London Season, it is not the light hearted romp you might expect it to be. For Clarissa Dewhurst, the beautiful heroine at the heart of this novel, is a young woman full of doubts, questions and fears, and a rather foolish quest that is bound to land her in trouble. Somehow she's gotten it into her head that she can only find fulfillment and peace if she experiences a Grand Passion. And, she believes, only a rake can provide her with this Grand Passion. So, Clarissa has come to London in order to find her rake, make him fall in love with her, and the reform him. And when she finds out that her best friend's (Jane Preston) brother has plans of promoting a match between Jane and his best friend, Evan Fortesque, Clarissa is outraged and urges Jane to reject Evan, esp as this Evan Fortesque is not a rake, and is probably as boring as he is respectable.

Unfortunately, Evan overhears Clarissa's dismissive comments about him. Evan has spent the past few years taking care of his family estates and his family, and he is now in London for a well deserved holiday. And when he overhears Clarissa, he decides to teach her a lesson by presenting himself as a rake, and showing her what a rake is truly like, and how dangerous he can be. However Clarissa truly does fascinate him: she's an audacious mix of vulnerability and willful stubbornness, and Evan finds himself constantly stepping in to protect her form her own folly. And after a while, the reason he constantly seeks her out, whether it is to teach her a lesson or if it is because he cannot stay away from her, becomes completely mixed up in his mind. And then Clarissa attracts the attention of a true rake, St. Albans. Suddenly Evan finds himself flirting in earnest with Clarissa in order to make sure that Clarissa does not fall under St. Albans's spell, and in order to keep this very fascinating young lady for himself. But what will happen when Clarissa discovers that Evan is not the rake she thinks he is?

Plot-wise, "A Dangerous Compromise" is very straight forward read. However the reason to read this novel lies in the complexities of the characters depicted in this novel. To begin with there is Clarissa Dewhurst: is one of the most complex of young romance heroines I've ever come across -- mercurial in her humours, willful and stubborn; she is also generous and loyal, and very vulnerable. The bleak insights that Shannon Donnelly provides us with about Clarissa's childhood and her parents makes us empathise with this very bullheaded heroine, and hope that she discovers what she is TRULY looking for before it is too late. It also successfully explains her rather twisted fixation on finding a rake. Also I really liked that Shannon Donnelly made every character, secondary and primary, really interesting. Clarissa's best friend, Jane, for example. She does not figure much in this novel, but when she is onstage, we are treated to what a plainnish young woman, thinks and feels about being the best friend of a real beauty -- the alternating flashes of envy, love, and concern really come through. Likewise, I also liked her portrayal of the rake St. Albans. Ms Donnelly lets us see why rakes are so dangerous by accurately portraying both the charming and the cold and ruthless aspects of his character.

"A Dangerous Compromise" is not your usual Regency romance fair. It's quite a bit darker, and far more rich and complex. And if you are a fan of the works of Maria Edgeworth and Mary Brunton, then you will definitely enjoy this wonderful novel.

I agree with a lot of what the one star reviewer says. Clarissa, the leading lady -can't bring myself to say heroine - is silly and naive. She also has "Bad Boy" syndrome, where young (& sometimes not so young)
women pine for men that are everything that common sense and society says we should stay away from.
It's the syndrome that makes dangerous, womanizers seem romantic; and dark, selfish, egocentric figures seem mysterious, brooding and misunderstood. Clarissa thinks only a rake can give her a Grand Passion, in other words she wants to be truly and deeply loved. She's no parental guidance to speak of. Her aunt is feeding these skewed ideas. By utter good fortune a good man takes an interest in her well being and attempts to open her eyes. I agree that Clarissa's misguided silliness is frustrating to strong, informed women. But this syndrome is alive and well in the 21st century too so I can only take one star off for it. Even that seems a little wrong because the book is well written, being both funny and touching. I thought it was a very good read with an unbeatable price.

Yet one more story where Our Hero (Evan) was more likeable then Our Heroine (Clarissa), in that sort of bland, brooding way that Regency Heroes can get away with being likeable while Clarissa is... vapid, spoiled, annoying, dense and just ridiculous. i have absolutely no idea why Our Hero liked her, except that she was beautiful... which was all the more bewildering because he was written as having more depth then that. When the book started, i was honestly really, really hoping Evan would fall for the "plain" sister of his friend instead of Clarissa, she was that irritating at first introduction.

The idea that a great love can save you from being a vapid twit is also as bewildering - perhaps instead she could have just made an effort not to be so self centered, to think of others and to be useful in life. Herm, nah... that would be asking too much.

It's a bit of a shame that romance authors have such trouble writing interesting women, since then men pretty much just have to brood in a corner and look at someone out of stormy [insert color here] eyes and suddenly poof, they are good to go on personality.

It was not a bad book.

But the characters were not really well-drawn. And the heroine was so dense. The hero was so different in character and they had nothing in common. They seemed so mismatched that it was just not believable.

If you are familiar with Shannon Donnelly's compromise series, you will be familiar with A Dangerous Compromise, the second in the six book series. It was published in paperback in 2001, and it is as fresh today as when it was first released. Some have pointed out that it is darker than most Regency romances, but I think that is part of the appeal. I also think Clarissa is an appealing heroine because she is not a typical leading lady. Maybe a little foolish, but at least a little different. If you are new to the series, you will enjoy this one, and if you are an old fan, you will enjoy rereading it.

Loved the storyline but was distracted by the many errors in the print on Kindle. All of the errors made it difficult to enjoy. If the errors don't bother you it's a great read