September 22, 2020
Just One More Opinion
Last year Evie Dunmore appeared on the scene, and I was a happy camper. Why was that? Oh, for a number of reasons. One of them being she was a fresh voice who was published in a “traditional” way. Before anyone jumps down my throat. Yes, I’m very happy the publishing world has changed. I’m happy for those struggling authors who are out there being independent! Good for all of you! However, on the flip side. A number of those books are rushed; a number of them seem as if they were a high school literature project, and I’m not even going to talk about editing. You may shout at me, “Oh, yeah! Those things happen in traditional publishing too!” I reply to that by saying, “Yes, I know. But it’s still nice to see some historical romance novels being published in the traditional manner.” To continue on…So, I was happy with a new author, a new author who seemed to have a fresh voice. Furthermore, I liked her first book, and I was looking forward to the next book in the League of Extraordinary Women series.
A Rogue of One’s Own is the second book in Ms. Dunmore’s, League of Extraordinary Women series. If you remember the series, you should know that the series tells the story of at least four fictional women who are involved in the suffragist movement in Great Britain. They are four very different women, so their approach to the movement will be different. This story is about Lacy Lucie Tedbury, and in my opinion, she is the most unbending of the four. By that I mean she is stubborn, and believes her way is the only way.
I will be honest, when I read romance books I read them for enjoyment. I don’t appreciate being preached to. There are some authors who bring their political agenda to fictional books, and since I am against censorship of all kinds, if they choose to do that, they have that right. But I have the right, not to read them, or agree with them, or whine about it. Which is why I say, I don’t like romance books with agenda’s. If I want to read about an issue, I will go elsewhere. So what does that make me? I think it makes me normal. We are all unique people, we have differences, and we have different approaches to our differences. Some of us just have louder voices. So, from the very beginning of this series, I was a little leery of reading it. But the author was able to manipulate her words enough so that her message was not too painful. Back to Lucie.
Lucie is what I would call a more radical suffragist, one who might have a feeding tube stuffed down her throat because she’s on a hunger strike. That doesn’t happen in this book. However, because Lucie is portrayed as so unbending, I didn’t like this book as much as the first story. All through most of this story, she continually harps about not giving up her freedom by marrying the man she loves. I grew tired of listening to her.
She could sneak around and have sex, but never commits to him. It’s hard to write historical romance, because we tend to give our heroes and heroines our modern values. I come from a long line of liberal women, some of those ancestors married, some didn’t. The ones who married, married men who were the right person for them. Those men supported them, they were true friends, lovers and partners. So, I know it’s possible to have a marriage that works. Historically, it was possible to have a marriage in which a woman doesn’t lose her freedom, even when the laws of that country say differently. It all depends on who she chooses for a life mate. For me, Lucie should have been smart enough to see that Tristan was the man for her. And, if he wasn’t, then she should have discontinued going to bed with him. Freedom doesn't mean bed-hopping. Being free doesn't mean you have to be like a man. I digress.
Tristan. Tristan is the heir to the Earl of Rochester. Rochester is a cruel man. He is the absolute ruler of his domain. Long ago, Tristan escaped to India so he would be out of his father’s reach. He spent many years living in India, and he grew to love the country. Now, because of the death of his older brother he is forced to return to England. Tristan tries to stand up to his father, but his father uses a bit of blackmail to get him to do what he wants – marry and begin a family. How does he pressure Tristan? He informs Tristan that he will put Tristan’s mother into an asylum if Tristan doesn’t do what he wants.
Time-travel. I have arrived at the conclusion that I am not made for time-traveling. The medical facilities were horrible. And, the asylums used for the treatment of people with mental issues were even worse. They were used as dumping grounds for what was lovingly called “hysterical” women. Therefore, Tristan takes his father’s warning seriously. He tries to come up with a plan to remove his mother from his father’s clutches before he is forced to marry. He decides to send his mother to India where she will be safe. I raised my eyebrows at that. I wondered if Tristan had thought that maybe his mother didn’t want to go to India. But then, that was just me. And, let me say one more time, there isn’t any time in the past I want to time travel to, not even to wear an Elizabethan ruffle.
Tristan and Lucie are both complex characters, Tristan a little more so. Lucie was just stubborn. Tristan and Lucie grew up together. Their relationship as children was combative. Tristan has always loved Lucie, but he expresses his feelings for Lucie by dipping her hair in ink. As a child, he had to develop a pretty hard shell to combat his father. In his adult life, he is portrayed as a user of people, all kinds of people, He seemed to be pretty unethical. He wasn’t a nice guy, in fact he reminded me a little of some of Anna Stuart’s “heroes.” Did the author manage to redeem him by the end? Yes, I think she did, I just wish Lucie had discovered he was the man for her a little sooner.
Overall, this story had a lot of things going on, more than what I’ve covered. There is a fight over a publishing business between Tristan and Lucie. Tristan’s rat-faced father makes his vicious appearance throughout the story, There’s an odd solution for Tristan’s mother’s problem; it came out of the blue. Lucie’s relationship with her family, which isn’t good, is resolved at the end. Well, let me say this, it’s resolved, but I didn’t like the resolution. I thought Lucie’s mother was atrocious. For me, A Rogue of One’s Own didn’t work as well as the first book, Bringing Down the Duke. I’m still glad Evie Dunmore made her appearance, and I have marked my calendar her the next book.
Time/Place: London 1880
Sensuality: Hot
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