Customer Reviews

Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady (Historical Romance)

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

 

 

Really enjoyed this book. The protagonists are sweet with not too many harsh edges around them. While I prefer the darker stuff of the old romances, when I'm in the mood for something light and pleasant, books like this are a nice and quick change of pace that don't overstay their welcome or overdo it on the "happy-happy."

I particularly liked Ariana, the actress who has no illusions about how actresses are viewed by society and isn't uptight about being respectable & trying to convert opinion. It's Jack who is more conscious of her reputation, and her admonition to him that if he's seen going into her room, it's only what they expect of her profession fit in with her character. She's worldly-wise, due to her mother's own looseness and her own uncertain paternity. She's the bastard get of some unknown gentleman, and she accepts it as the harsh times dictated.

The hero, Jack, is the more uptight one in the relationship, dealing as he has to with his mother's infatuation with a callous nobleman and her willingness to have her family be said nobleman's doormat. He also suffers from PTSD, caused by the siege of Badajoz, and it crops up at convenient plot points. He conquers it a little too cleanly, but whatever. It was a nice depth of character for him to seek therapy in his artwork, and how his healing and his love for Ariana blossom on canvas as well as in real life.

This is the first Gaston I've read, and I'm looking forward to reading more.

But something is missing in this one. I like the fact that the characters are real people, not those silly dukes running around marrying milkmaids or pickpockets. War and its ravages on soldiers is depicted rather well. There is a sweet romance, actually two sweet romances, so that satisfies the requirement for being a romance novel. But here's the problem for me: the writing was flat. If there hadn't been some sex in it, I would have thought it was a (Very)Young Adult novel. Usually I enjoy the way Gaston writes. THE MYSTERIOUS MISS M and THE WAGERING WIDOW are two of the best historical romances I have read. That's why this one disappoints me so much.

This romance novel, very unusually, depicts a man who's experiencing post-traumatic stress after having been in a particularly bloody battle in Spain and its aftermath of looting and rioting. Jack Vernon, the hero, is now returned to England and training to be an artist. For once, this Regency-era hero has no rakish past (or present); no quarrelsome parent withholding an allowance or trying to force him to marry for his own good. I liked Jack immediately - he's a decent, honest, and hardworking man.

I also liked the fact that this author departed from the usual overprotected virgin-heroine. Thank goodness, this heroine is not a schoolmistress, or a poor relation; not a plain duenna and not an innocent "Lady". Ariana is (gasp) an actress, just beginning a successful career and as determined as Jack is to succeed in her chosen field. One prior sour love affair hasn't soured her for life, either - she's as attracted to Jack as he is to her.

Jack's mother is the mistress of Lord Tranville, who was Jack's commanding officer as well as being the man who paid for Jack's schooling and his commission. Although Jack despises the man he can't help feeling indebted to him - an unusually well-plotted emotional conflict for a romance-novel hero. When Tranville commissions Jack to paint a portrait of Ariana, it increases the tension between all three characters, as Tranville would like nothing better than to win Ariana as his mistress.

So why didn't I give this book a higher rating... well, although I liked these characters, and I really liked the unusually creative, thoughtful elements of this romance - for me, it just didn't maintain a must-read element. The pace seemed to slow down just before the last few chapters. All the ingredients were there for a compelling ending but the story lost steam (I don't mean romantically, just in the terms of the story's pace and plot). But it's a good read, if not a great one. If this story is any indicator of Diane Gaston's quality as a writer I will definitely read more by her.

I have been a fan of Diane Gaston's books from the beginning, but even within that body of work I have "desert-island" favorites... The Mysterious Miss M, The Improper Wife, The Wagering Widow, and The Marriage Bargain... this novel is up there with her absolute best, in my view. She creates strong, believable characters put into very difficult circumstances (but completely realistic and true to life for that historical period) and you're dying to see how it will ever work out in the end! Larger forces are at work here, as well -- the sweep of history is definitely an intricate, pivotal 'character' in this novel. That's so true of our lives, whether or not we are aware of it (or acknowledge it). There are forces far beyond our control, war being one of them, and war affects both Jack and Ariana very deeply in the story, but especially Jack. The scene when they first meet is magical, unlike any I've ever read in a romance. I was completely hooked.

Gaston's attention to historical detail (notes at the end tell us who was real in the book and what actually happened), her fine writing of love scenes, battle scenes, and street scenes -- but mostly her very real understanding of human nature, of the foibles and faults of all her characters, whether they be main players or secondary -- all of these elements combine to create a fabulous, moving tapestry. I LOVE Jack Vernon and Ariana Blake. I WANT them to be together, at all costs. The author makes it work, and makes the reader glad for having shared their world, for a time. Brava! I cannot wait for more!

Diane possess a true gift for drawing one into the story with vivid characters and real-life settings. Her attention to historical details is evident and rewarding as they create a picture of such depth one cannot help but feel as if they've been transported there. She is also able to take unexpected characters and turn them into the heroes and heroines. This is not the typical Regency tale of lords and ladies but instead, Diane masterfully explores the lot of the lower classes, without drawing in 21st century notions. A captivating page turner because it all seems so hopeless, yet needing to find out how Diane would manage to bring it to a satisfying end. And she did, with a few surprises that were unexpectedly enjoyable. It's also a delight to know that this is only the first in a trilogy, so there's more to look forward to most eagerly. Brava!