Never Less Than a Lady by Mary Jo Putney

Another hero with a bum leg! Two in a row.
http://www.maryjoputney.com/

At first I thought the reason it was taking me so long to read this book was that my husband was chattering away in my ear every time I picked up the book. Much like Pavlov's dog, instead of foof+ding=slobber it was pick up book=talk. So, I was pondering how do I tell him to zip it without hurting his feelings.

But then he went camping and I still had a hard time connecting with this book.

I liked the beginning of Never Less Than a Lady. It also helps if you've read the first book in the series because that's where Alex Randall and Julia Bancroft meet.

This had all of the earmarks of a classic Putney story: the very understanding, but tortured hero and the very tortured, scarred, abused heroine. But, everything was almost too 21st century for me. The hero was too understanding; the heroine wanted to help out all the abused women in the world in a most modern way; the evil stalker killer made an appearance in the beginning and then again at the end, but there was no tension in between. There was a silly "misunderstanding" that occupied about two pages and wasn't necessary to the plot, nor did it enhance the story, so I'm not sure why it was there.

So, I must apologize to my husband for blaming him for the length of time it took to read this book, because normally I am pretty good at tuning certain sounds out. No, the problem this time was with the book - sorry to say it was just a so-so read.

I have always been a Mary Jo Putney fan, but, I've noticed that when some authors switch romance genres and then come back (in this case from historical to contemporary to fantasy to historical again) it takes a few books for that author to find her voice. At least that's what I'm hoping, because Ms. Putney did write one of my all-time favorite books and I'm hopeful that someday she'll write another. (By the way, that book was The Rake!! )

And, nice cover art!! Loved the dress color.

Time/Place: Regency England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Hot