An unashamed piece of self-promotion on my part - but I also think Maggie's review is, in itself, worth a read.
"There is a plethora of romance novels involving heroines
with physical or psychological scars, dark, brooding heroes, a precocious child
or two, loyal housekeepers, and remote, rural settings with slightly forbidding
manor houses, or even castles. To use any of these literary chestnuts these
days is dangerous, I think, unless the author is good enough--and sufficiently
inventive--to overcome so many clichés huddled under one roof, so to speak.
Jen Black has done that admirably in Victorian Beauty, which
succeeds on a number of levels, where others have failed abysmally. Read the
plot synopses elsewhere--I`m more interested in the author's skills at making
what could have been a hackneyed tale come alive again, fresh and fun to read.
First, her writing is smooth, economical and, in quite a few places, graceful
and evocative. There was never one of those moments, on the first page or elsewhere,
where I had to sigh, hoping the writing would improve as I turned the pages. It
was good from the beginning--what a relief!
Second, Ms. Black's setting--the
North of England--is one she knows, so now I know it as well, or at least that
small part of it. Her descriptions are elegant, imparting exactly what's needed
to lead the reader fully into the scene, and then move on. That's a neat trick
which many authors have failed to master. Most important, however, are her
characters, Melanie Grey and Lord Jarrow. Melanie is neither a beauty nor a
typical Victorian noblewoman, but most fortunate for the discerning reader, she
is not a "feisty" heroine saddled with the ridiculous trappings of
the 21st century. She's vulnerable, to be sure, and she has her moments of fear
and weakness, but she leavens those with an endearing nosiness--this woman will
pry into things in a heartbeat!--a rather endearing refusal to be obsequious to
anyone, including her employer, and a bit of rock-solid strength when she needs
it.
Jarrow has his moments of brooding, but for reasons that become clear only
much later in the book, and are quite a revelation. He may be tall, dark, and
moderately handsome, but I don't hold that against him--no one will eventually
fall in love with a troll. The interactions between these two provide the
requisite sparks, conflicting outlooks on the world and how it works, and an
intriguing two steps forward, one step back pas de deux that makes an
historical romance so entertaining--when it's done right, as it is here.
Ms. Black consistently writes outside the mold, the formula,
or the whatever-it-is of historical romance. Her style, to include the
sometimes wry, sometimes quotidian, and almost always refreshing take on her
characters and the period she portrays, is a breath of fresh air. Additionally,
the two main characters are ones you might want to spend time with outside the
confines of a Kindle, and the minor characters are equally well-drawn, beyond
the trite and true.
There's a lot of junk out there, folks, so spend your time
and money wisely. This is a book I can recommend without reservation, and I
don't usually like historical romances."
Loaded by Jen Black, author of Victorian Beauty
