Friday

The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas

November 28, 2013
What a prologue!

http://www.sherrythomas.com/

I held my breath through this book! This story has one of the best prologues I've read in a long time; it reminded me of a fairytale. I loved it, which is why I held my breath, because when something catches my interest right away, I'm always a little nervous that at some point in the story the bottom will drop out. Much to my glee that didn't happen. Oh, sure, there may have been a few bumps, but for the most part I loved this book.

The Luckiest Lady in London takes place in the Victorian era and is a prequel to Private Arrangements, Sherry Thomas' debut novel. (By the way, that doesn't matter and if you are like me, I don't exactly remember Private Arrangements, although I think I liked it.)

In this story, we have Louisa Cantwell, a plain Jane on the hunt for a rich man, and who better for that part than Lord Felix Wrenworth - the "perfect gentleman." At least on the outside, this handsome man is perfect, but underneath he is a seething cauldron of problems - he is what I would call "a high high maintenance" guy. I think he'd give me a headache, but Louisa eventually cracks through the shell that surrounds him.

When they first meet, they are both pretending to be something they are not and they both see through each other right away. Louisa is a nice person. She is almost a martyr girl, but not really - she's just trying to marry someone who can take care of her family and, really, what's wrong with that? Felix, on the other hand, is a more complicated character and some people may not like him. He plays a lot of games, he hurts Louisa deeply, he is a tad bit obsessive, but in the end we are rewarded with a wonderful grovel, a very poignant awakening, and someone who will be a better person because of the woman he falls in love with.

It's interesting to me that I before I read this book, I read Romancing Lady Stone, a book filled with a plethora of sex, and I found it boring. In this story we again have lots of sex (not as methodical as RLS), but it becomes another character. Almost all of the bedroom scenes are different, all of them expressing what is going on with this couple. They were more than just hot graphic filler; they were meaningful statements of Louisa and Felix.

I highly recommend this book. It's a wonderful story filled with humor, poignancy, a delightful heroine, and a very complex guy. You'll smile, you'll cry and in the end you'll sigh.


Time/Place: Victorian England
Sensuality: Hot!!!

No comments: