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Virginia and the Wolf

Virginia, Lady Dulverton is widowed and happy to be so. After an abusive childhood and an unsatisfactory marriage, she prefers to give her attention to the orphanages that were her husband’s passion. She has no intention of marrying again, which is a good thing, too, because the terms of her husband’s will are…complicated, and make remarriage difficult. Unfortunately, she is finding Francis, Lord Wolverstone hard to resist, and he is not particularly inclined to let her resist him.

I picked up Virginia and the Wolf for its title, and to be honest, I initially regretted doing so. I found the early parts of the book to be a bit clunky, and I didn’t really warm to the protagonists; I found Virginia depressing and Francis insufferable. It didn’t help that there were hints very early on that the widowed Virginia was a virgin, a trope that I find rather irritating.

And then – surprise! We got plot! Lots of plot! And, I have to say, it was very good plot – there were conspiracies and murders and smugglers and fake amnesia and a secret will and Only One Bed, and I couldn’t put it down. The romance took off, too, and became tender and sweet. I think it helped that once the plot got going, Virginia and Francis had more pressing things to talk about about their Mutual And Yet Impossibly Doomed attraction for each other, and so conversations that had previously been circular gained direction and momentum, and intimacy was able to grow.

There were some things that still didn’t work for me, though. In particular, Francis lies to Virginia ‘for her own good’ fairly early on in the piece, and his lie is never uncovered. The reason for his lie is to gain the opportunity to re-do a conversation in which he had said things that he regretted, but regardless of his reasoning, I felt that this was manipulative. Given how Virginia had been manipulated by her previous husband and emotionally abused by her family, I was particularly uncomfortable with the way that this just sort of happened and was never addressed. There were also some sections which were repetitive, even once the plot got going.

Overall, this book felt a little old-fashioned, both in its gender dynamics and its plot, but I did have fun reading it, and I was impressed by how cleverly all the threads were tied together at the end of the story. For me, the romance itself was relatively weak, and I think the story would almost have worked better as an adventure novel, with the romance as a secondary thread. But if you like a fast-paced, event-filled, adventure story, and don’t mind a slightly alpha, I-know-what’s-best-for-you hero, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

– Catherine Heloise

Founded by the wealthy Miss Angela Childers, the purpose of the Society for Single Ladies is to solve crimes. But its intrepid members are just as fascinated by the mystery of love…

Virginia, Lady Dulverton, feels safer keeping the world at a distance. One man sees through her reserve to the woman beneath: the infamously rakish Francis, Earl of Wolverstone. Now a widow, Virginia is wrangling with the terms of her late husband’s will. When she realizes Francis is in danger because of his connection to her, she feels compelled to help, regardless of the hazard to her own heart.

Francis has worked hard to strengthen his inheritance. But he’s also found time to play. Despite his many dalliances, his affections have never been involved. Those belong entirely to a woman he could never have. When he’s attacked in the street and told to leave Virginia alone, he decides to do exactly the opposite.

With the help of the Society for Single Ladies, they set out to discover who is targeting Virginia, and why. It’s a race that will lead to the Devonshire coast, a smuggling ring, and a love that, however perilous, is worth waging countless battles.