B-
Title: Lord Sin & Lord Scandal
Author: Kalen Hughes
Publication Info: Kensington 2008
ISBN: 0821781502
Genre: Historical: European
A two-book review from the “And Now For Something A Little Different” department.
You know those women who are friends with scads of men but not so many women? What if one of those women was in a historical romance? What if she were a widow, free of those pesky expectations of innocence and demureness? What if she were bawdy, outrageous, and friends with absolute piles of handsome, rakish men who adored her and considered her one of their own? Who would reign her in? Other women, gossip, scandal, and the expectations of society at the time? What if she didn’t give a rat’s ass about gossip, scandal, or the expectations of society? Who needs other women, anyway?
So, couple all that setup with a depth of historical knowledge that will literally make your corset spin around on top of your head, some sharp dialogue, and settings that are original, fascinating, and located in the same historical period with which you may be familiar, but at often unexplored locations within that period, and you have Hughes’ two books.
That trifecta of historical research, clever setting, and wholly memorable characters, held competently by Hughes’ writing, is some powerful juju.
The first, Lord Sin, is the story of George, aka Georgianna Exley, who is what tomboys grow up to be when they’re wealthy, whip smart, sexy, and aware of their female allure, but also wicked good at things like pool, shooting, horseracing, and generally making a gleeful sport of life. Ivo Dauntry left England in disgrace six years prior for fighting a duel over George. He’s returned to find that she’s a widow, she’s surrounded by men at all hours of the day, her home is an unofficial gentleman’s club, and despite his best intentions he has absolutely no power to resist her. He’s wildly jealous of all the other men, and is completely unimpressed with George’s mandate that, should she take a man to her bed, he gets one night and one night only. Ivo wants six nights, one for each year he was in exile.
So let me warn you: this is not your average historical romance novel. For one thing: the person struggling with moral and personal virtue vs. fiery burn-your-hairs-off sexual attraction? That’d be the hero. The one who has more potential partners than a stick could be shaken at? That’d be the heroine. If you’re up for having your expectations of the heroine’s virginity and relative innocent inexperience stood on their heads, and you’re up for meeting a heroine who will stick with you awhile, head directly to this book and jump in. Ivo is cranky, George at times treats him in ways that made me cringe, but I still rooted for them. The two of them knock heads before they knock boots in ways that toss a grenade on the idea of “conflict” and kick that conflict up in its own teeth. George and Ivo do not have it easy, but when they earn it, they earn it hot and good.
Which is why I was pleased and yet somewhat bummed out to find her in the next book in Hughes’ series featured George and Ivo, but most specifically George. She’s fascinating. She’s marvelous. She’s larger than life.
She damn near chews the scenery to the point where if you put the book down you might pick it up to find little bites taken out of the pages, and no cat in sight to blame for the nibble.
Lord Scandal follows Gabriel, a mere mister of some fortune and even more some reputation, and Imogen, the “Portrait Divorcee.” Divorced on grounds of her alleged infidelity after she sat for a rather scandalous portrait (Think Madame X only more alluring, I think) and the resulting gossip humiliated her politically-ambitious husband, Imogen is an outcast in a society she once managed marvelously as a political hostess. George takes Imogen under her wing, and quietly goes about restoring Imogen to society, albeit a more racy, outrageous, and frankly fun, if you’re asking me, section of society.
One element that Hughes exploits to great advantage is the idea of cliques within the ton, as George and her cronies are of “the sporting set,” which defines them apart from other groups, though they all might end up at the same ball or gathering together. Plus, Hughes’ understanding of what sorts of activities those sporting folks might get on with makes for some witty dialogue and refreshingly different scenes. Almack’s my ass: we have horseracing, hunting parties, country parties with fox hunting and shooting – places men would only be welcome except for the iconoclast George and her companion Imogen. And before the book gets top heavy with the manly manhood, there are scenes with the women spending an afternoon reading fashion catalogs, for example, and discussing dresses and styles, which revealed what some women of status and fortune actually did with themselves during the day.
And therein lie my problems with this book: George is all about installing Imogen among her set of manly man friends, and as a divorcee, Imogen’s social options are rather limited. What better group to ignore her alleged dalliance than a crew of dudes? Dudes, obviously, won’t give a flying crap cake. Gabriel, a fixture in the rakish sporting posse, is barely allowed entrance to most social events, and the more outrageous he is, the better he was to read about, and the more fun he is to see within his social circle. But the actual conduct that made Imogen a pariah is never fully explained, nor is the impact of Gabriel’s intimate knowledge of that portrait revealed. I had to wonder what would happen when Imogen learned the extent of Gabriel’s knowledge of her – and since it wasn’t revealed in front my readerly eyes, I’m not sure I can believe it was for the best.
Imogen’s coming back from a place of deep humiliation, so of course she fears the consequences of a shocking and gossipy fling with Gabriel – and she has real reason to fear those consequences, as Hughes makes a point of underscoring just how vulnerable Imogen really is, despite Ivo and George’s protection as her friends. George, rakish social pirate that she is, comes to Imogen’s defense again and again with her own considerable power in society, but essentially, Imogen is very, very vulnerable. And thus, Imogen herself pales, unfortunately, in comparison to George. George is full-strength oils applied with a trowel. Imogen is watercolors. Lots of them, skillfully done, breathtakingly moving, but water colors. George is a canvas you can smell drying from across the street.
Even despite the more frustrating aspects of the writing – scenes that are absurdly short, for example, and ended way too soon for my tastes, and a secondary character, as I’ve noted, who is so larger than life she can easily overshadows the sequel protagonists – the strength and clever originality of the setting, coupled with a whole posse of memorable characters and a deeper knowledge of the time period than I’ve grown accustomed to from most historical romance authors, combined to create a very diverting read. Even if at times I was looking for George or Gabriel more than I was looking for Imogen, I came to appreciate and enjoy the whole set of characters that I was happy to spend more time in Hughes’ Georgian world.
But soft! What awesome from yonder website breaks? It is the giveaways, and I have five! To be specific: I have five sets of both books, Lord Sin and Lord Scandal, if you are interested in taking a gallop around Georgian England.
You want to enter? Leave a comment. Say anything, but say it in the next 24 hours. I’ll select five random winners from the total number of comments, and announce them once time is up.
I’m shameless, so free books are as good a reason as any for a first comment for me. These sound great! And, dudes, I’ve got a 2 1/2 bus ride everyday, so the more reading I can bury my nose in so as to avoid my fellow passengers, the better.
me too!
except if I win, will you ship to Korea?
I read historical romance almost exclusively and I would //die// for the chance to read something that’s both historically accurate and doesn’t feature the oft-repeated mixture of TSTL, oh-noes-my-precious-virginity type of heroine and the stalker-psycho hero who (kind of) loves her.
These books sound so refreshingly different. And not only that, but the setting is the Georgian period instead of the done to death Regency era! Great review; I’ll have to find a way to get my hands on these books…
me! me!
Yes, please, sounds great
Ooo! Ooo! *waves hand* pick me! Pick me!
Is this still within the 24 hours? Time zones confuse me…anyway, I’m joining the crowd of shameless beggars!
Ooh! I’m not normally interested in romances (I come here for the snark), but that sounds like a heroine I can admire…
…maybe15? Maybe double that and more, O Spaminator! ;P
Okay, someone does like The Black Sheep, so I’ll tell you all my secret, I really love the secondary couple. The hero’s sensible younger brother brother, and his wife, the villain’s flighty younger sister. I cared more about whether they’d get through their problems than about the hero hooking up with the heroine. And I get really defensive when other character’s call him boring, and may have shed a figurative tear when [SPOILER] he was revealed to have died between These Old Shades and Devil’s Cub[/END SPOILER].
And I really liked Avon as a villain in tBM, but was a little annoyed by him being the hero of TOS, then swung back around to liking him in DC. So either I can’t handle him as main character, or I don’t like a rakish hero. This theory is baacked up by me not being able to finish Venetia, but that may be the narrative condemnation of the woman Dameral ran away with while clearing him him of any faults. The word ‘slut’ was thrown around, and so was the book.
Sounds fascinating! I will give Kalen Hughes a try!
Sounds like the scenario I’ve been hoping for ever since my first regency 🙂
Wasn’t there a spell check function on comments? I am so sorry for the abuse of innocent punctuation marks and all of the unsightly typoes, people.
These sound great. I love books that turn a convention on its head. Plus the review made me very curious to see just how George managed to dominate the second book. Those pesky secondary characters who won’t stay in the background when it would benefit the main couple are always a trial for authors to deal with. Sheesh, and you’d already given her her own book, Kalen!
BTW, I too loved THE BLACK MOTH. I hadn’t realized that Heyer was so young when she penned it.
Cheers for your thoughtful and entertaining reviews, SB Sarah. Keep ‘em coming! You keep adding to my TBB list. I can still get in my front door, so I clearly don’t have enough books yet.
Hugs,
Liddy
through29 Come to think of it, I’ve fired a few of those domineering seconds, but I doubt I’ve been through 29 of ‘em!
I’d love to win the books. I’m always looking for something different.
I always love a new take on an historical romance. There are way too many of those “come here, come here, come here…get away, get away, get away” bits of fluff where relationships make no sense. And let’s face it, there were women in that era who said “to hell” with it and faced down society.
So, if I’m not one of the lucky-these will go on my list!
I’m in! I’m halfway through Quinn’s latest and having a grand time. Two days off from work in a row and I’ve read 3 Ranney and will finish the Quinn tonight. Keep the darjeeling coming!
Why have I not already read these books?! DOH!
If I win a set, I promise to place them on the top tier of my TBR mountain.
pleasePleasePLEASE!
Ooh!! I want to read it. I NEED to read it. I haven’t found a new good author in months!
It sounds like the author really did the impossible. Made a modern female character fit inside an accurate historical setting.
Oh, and my security word is HAVE68. You know what that means? You owe me one!
/Okay, I’ll admit that’s a bad joke.
Hey! Pick me! Poor college student here. Between working minimum wage, paying summer tuition(ewww) and saving up for the Fall I am FLAT BROKE and cannot afford books. *begs shamefully*
Kalen Hughes:
Rene, welcome to the shiny pink side. *grin*
Hey, shiny and pink sounds good to me. Most of the books I like have a degree of romance in them, sometimes a pretty big degree, they’re just not shelved in the romance section. I figure genre is mostly a convenience for publishers/readers. The Kushiel series is one of my favorites, and to me that means I like 1) alternate history, and 2) the romance, and 3) gender bending, so… it sounds like I’ll like your books, no matter how pink & shiny the covers are . 🙂
Just so you know, I’ll be buying these if the internet contest gods don’t smile on me. (They never do.) I also enjoyed a look at your website & look forward to the Rakes of London. (How could I not, with a name like that?)
Thanks for posting through this thread. It’s interesting to get snippets of the thought behind the book.
I saw the number of comments and immediately thought, What the hay? There’s nothing controversial about this post!
Then I read the giveaway line. And it all made perfect sense. DA is also bombarded with responses when there’s something free to be had.
Freebies or no, these do sound like fascinating books. Just sayin’.
BOOKS BOOKS, I want books!
OK now that I have that out of my system, off to read the holyfriggenLONGBatman comments.
I just wanted to say that I’ve been reading your site for a while now, despite the fact that I’m not typically drawn to romance (well, ok, mainstream romance), but you both make for compelling writers, and have certainly helped to get me rethinking romance as a genre.
These books sound like a rollicking good time, making excellent use of the period. I’d love to give ‘em a try.
You guys seriously make me want to try romance. I haven’t read a romance novel since a total sellout author came to speak at my high school and gave out free copies of her awful books. You make me want to belieeeve!
They sound fun, especially Lord Sin. I want a set!
Di
Lordy, I miss Heyer. When I first started reading romances, I discovered her (and Sergeanne Golon) at the library. The library had almost every single book Heyer had published, and they were all available to me through high school and for several years beyond. Cut to 20 or so years later, a couple of career changes, and several moves. Most of my books are in storage, as I’m boarding, and my limited space means that any books I buy have to be ruthlessly purged regularly.
So, recently reminded about Devil’s Cub (thanks to you bitches), I trotted off to the library to pick it up. They have THREE Heyers! And two of them are Lady of Quality! (The library is grossly undersized and they also have to ruthlessly purge.)
Multiple copies of Danielle Steele, though. Yergh.
Will delurk for books.
This means I should really read my Heyer, eh? I’ll add it to my roadtrip pile for this summer.
LMAO.
Definitely getting these books if I don’t win the contest (pick me!). They sound like they’re going against what I hate in (historical) romances.
I wish that I had something witty to say, but really I’m grovelling for books.
Pick me! I’m random!
Definitely go read her short story. Excellent.
Love the reversal of some of those gender conventions. Just finished Daggerstar by Elizabeth Vaughan that had the kick-ass mercenary heroine who propositions the introspective hero who is getting over emotional trauma. Not what I was expecting, but I love that element of surprise.
Sign me up!
Cynthia, at the risk of butting in and providing unwanted recs, if you’re going to give historicals a shot I recommend Julia Quinn (I love, love, love, The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever and How To Marry a Marquis). Also, Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels.
For historical/fantasy type I recommend Shana Abe’s Smoke Thief and Dream Thief (sadly I’ve yet to read the third book in the series because it was released in hardcover and I hated the cover so I’m holding out for, hopefully, a better paperback release).
I could go on. I’ll refrain.
wowser. look what’s happened to SBTB. it’s grown into a powerful, smart, shiny pink monster. clearing 200 comments on a weekday post? when i first started stopping by it was not quite the same. how sarah and candy have grown! it just brings out the annoying great-aunt side of me.
keep seeing Kalen’s expert comments in resource guides and RWA craft sections – must be fun to see how she applies her own advice
WOO-HOO now these sound like my kind of ladies and can I say, finally, a historical were the heroine isn’t a “demure, virginal, milky white” twit!
Thanks for the recommendation . . . and if I don’t win *snort* . . . I’m off to the bookstore tomorrow.
These books sound like fun!
I enjoyed reading Lord Sin earlier this year. Georgie was a refreshing character. I look forward to Lord Scandal. Thanks for the review and the book offer.
These are definitely going on my “must read” list, but getting them for free would certainly make it easier!
*crossing fingers*
Okay, so I’m going to Fat Camp for 2 months (wish me luck!) and I need something to read and get me through- that’s NOT chocolate related. Help!
These sound… saucy. Count me in!