Reviewed by Katie
“Oh, what good is a libertine if he won’t toy
with your sister’s affections and then ruthlessly drop her!” … “I’m a bachelor,
not a libertine.” And so begins the Regency
romp of the Harlow Hoyden, Miss Emma Harlow, and her Most Trusted Ally, Alexander,
the Duke of Trent. Yes, it’s another tale
of twins but our author boldly proclaims her usage of the current cliché with a
dollop of comfort that made me laugh out loud.
“Don’t look so horrified, my dear.
Lavinia and I are twins. What good is an adventure about twins without a case
of mistaken identity?”
Amidst a subplot of Napoleonic intrigue, our
hoyden is determined to end the betrothal of her twin sister to the utterly
unsuitable fiancé, Sir Windbag, uh, Windbourne.
Despite a dance card that is generally empty and few willing to
acknowledge her beyond the cautiously distant nod any hoyden deserves, Emma
plots a course with two minor complications.
Number one, she doesn’t actually know any libertines, personally. Number two, convincing one to turn her sister
from the Windbag, without breaking her heart or ruining her reputation. For while Emma is quite content to live on
the fringe of her family’s good name, she knows her sister would not find this at
all comfortable.
Oh, and one other tiny detail hadn’t
occurred to her. Resolved never to marry
- what heroine worth the title in our modern tropes of fiction isn’t - Emma also
never expected to find her own affections engaged. Fortunately, she’s full of schemes to handle
that difficulty as well.
Alexander, at first persuaded by her pursuit
of a list of libertines, then by her sister’s enjoyable friendship, eventually
agrees with Emma. Lavinia deserves so
much better than Windbag. He sets about
showing Lavinia her worth and knocks holes in Emma’s schemes to remain
indifferent by also engaging her admiration for his plotting. When Lavinia
figures out what’s going on, she doesn’t fly off the handle or sink in to
despair, she begins her own machinations.
With the duke’s assistance, she gently stirs the cauldron to disguise
her design to unite Emma and Alexander.
Everyone is doing all this for each other’s
own good, so that makes it all right, or it does in the end, refreshingly
without protracted angst.
I confess, like Emma, I wanted Alexander
and Lavinia to end up together. They had
common interest and an easy going friendship that gave me hope. Unfortunately, they had no spark. So completely was this demonstrated, that I
gave up my foolish hopes, just as Emma did.
But I think it broke my heart a bit.
Obviously, the secondary characters have
substance and our sympathy from the very beginning. Aside from the abrupt injury to the brother
and his miraculous recovery, I felt the novel was not only well paced but also
well written. The dialog was witty, both internal and external, and there was
no chance for dust to land on anything. There are a few phrases that plucked at
my ear but nothing that destroyed the energy of the story. Though the novel has
a breathless feel, the romance was not rushed.
Most of all, I admired Ms. Messina’s not
ignoring the facts of propriety, though I do think she stretched them a bit,
even for a romp. Emma was tolerated, not embraced by society, and though her
family was personally indulgent, they were at times, very embarrassed and
acknowledged this. She never became a Mary
Sue, winning everyone over, reigning as queen of the drawing room as well as
the curricle race. I doubt even the duke
of Trent will be able to make some of her exploits acceptable. I’m so very, oh
so very glad of that.
A life spent facing the consequences of Emma’s
actions is just what Alexander deserves.
I mean, come on, the man wooed by mothers, courted by fathers and nearly
smothered by debutants, still has time for dancers and mistresses and charming
widows. He also had time to develop his prowess
in the manly sports, not to mention his benevolent attention to his tenants,
the poor and his nephew - the hayseed from the country. Yet he was led by his fascination for Emma from
one scrape after another and loved every minute, finally realized it was her,
not the novelty of it all, that he loved.
Quite how they’ll ever settle down I can’t imagine. For Emma, that’s precisely what she wanted as
well, freedom to live fully with a good friend.
Learning that friend could also be a lover and a husband is what
prevented her from being just another hoyden with a twin and it is what makes
this book a keeper.
