Coincidence...fancy meeting you here
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In Redeeming Lord Ryder by Maggie Robinson, we are asked to believe that a woman,
Nicola, who lost her voice in a train wreck, and a man, Jack, who is responsible for the train wreck, end up in the same place at the same time for rehabilitation, and fall in love. Kismet, destiny, karma, or coincidence? Could be all of those, but it’s also the plot, all boiled down to one sentence - but of course that isn't all there is to it. We, after all, have a ton of pages to fill. Actually, this book started out promising. Nicola lost her voice because of the trauma of being in a train wreck in which a couple of people were killed. She has journeyed to Pudding-on-the-Wold for rehabilitation, but it's not working. She has not regained her voice back; however, she has grown quite comfortable in her little cottage. Unlike some of the previous books in this series, her "keepers" have been kind to her. She eats what she wants, she goes where she wants, she is able to communicate with her family, and she seems to be independently wealthy. She’s even been kicking around the idea of staying in her cottage forever, though she hasn't figured out how she will manage that. Her fiancé broke off the engagement when she lost her voice, but she has accepted that - after all, he has dreams of being a politician and everyone knows a wife of a politician needs to have the ability to talk. So, she understands - in fact, Nicola understands almost everything.
Then we have Jack, Lord Ryder, and he has come to Pudding-on-the-Wold because he feels a tremendous amount of guilt over the train wreck Nicola was in. It’s a crippling amount of guilt. You see, it was his foundry which produced the faulty girder, which then caused a bridge to collapse, which then caused the train to plunge, which then caused two deaths and Nicola's injuries. Jack has overcompensated for the disaster. He has dumped every business he owns which may injure anyone - even if the injuries are in the most infinitesimal of ways. He has helped the two families who suffered the losses of their loved ones, but he just can't get over the horrible guilt. He is one big angst lump.
Jack and Nicola encounter each other by accident on one of their walks one day and the sparks fly. They are instantly in lust with each other but they also become friends. Of course, they have their keepers to contend with. Their keepers do not allow any kind of hanky-panky at Pudding-on-the-Wold, and if any of you are familiar with the previous books in this series you will know that is a big joke - no hanky-panky my eye. Anyway, neither Jack nor Nicola know who each other is, nor do they have any idea of how much they have in common. This will of course lead to a big misunderstanding, followed by an even bigger conniption fit by our hero. I will be honest with you here; by the time the conniption fit rolls around I had become somewhat bored with this couple and the hero's big snit seemed to be way out of proportion to what actually happened.
Much to my sorrow, I struggled with this book. I started to lose interest in Nicola and Jack about half-way through. All I wanted to do was finish this story, so there was some skip-reading toward the ending. I couldn't find anything to connect with either Nicola or Jack. I grew tired of Jack's continual guilt fest and tired of Nicola's trying to seduce Jack. I know I'm in trouble when a book allows my mind to wander.
Ponder moment. Why do a lot of authors use the grand old oral hanky-panky-ooh-la-la moments as the first sexual encounter of heroes and heroines? I've thought about this a lot lately, because it's not just Ms. Robinson who fills her books with “insert tongue here” first time occasions. I'm often startled when these first-time episodes happen and here's why. Usually these encounters are the woman's first time at any kind of sexual intimacy - ever. She is in all likelihood a total innocent, in more ways than one. She doesn't know anything about the organ or the act. On top of that, she probably doesn't even know the guy all that much. Remember I’m talking about historical romance novels, not Fifty Shades of Whatever stuff.
It seems to me that this kind of first time moment implies a whole different type of intimacy. And, it should be more than just a method of birth control. When someone is rooting around underneath a skirt, there is more involved than just a moment of relief. Allowing someone to do this is highly personal; it involves all kinds of trust issues. You are opening yourself up to all kinds of up-close and personal stuff. For a long time I've thought that this act is more intimate than the actual big bang moment. So, to have someone you barely know, or a couple who have just met, or for this to be an innocent's first time is bothersome to me. I have finally arrived at the conclusion that this type of intimacy is an expression of trust for a couple and I wish authors would write these encounters after the big bang and not as a precursor to it. Or, even worse, as a writer-delay-build-the-tension-scintillate tool. I asked my husband his opinion, and he, like all good husbands, agreed with me. And, that is my rant. Writing of the act itself does not bother me; the placement of it in a book does. It's been on my mind lately while reading romance books and it just so happened that this is the book that triggered my ponder moment.
Bottom-line. I had trouble with this book. While the premise of the book had possibilities, the luv-couple didn't connect. They didn't connect with each other and they didn't connect with me. I was disappointed.
Time/Place: 1880s England
Sensuality: Warm
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