Sometimes 18 years shows its age.
https://www.christinadodd.com/
Isn’t it funny how some books age well and some books don’t? Have you sometimes
questioned your taste? Have you sometimes asked yourself – did I really like books like this? In the overall scheme of things and the overall history of books, 18 years isn’t such a long time. But in the case of Rules of Engagement, 18 years is a long long time. As I read this book I harkened back to the romance books from the 1970s and as much as I love the unique world of Romanceland and have some fond memories of a few of the old books, I have learned to put to put them in their historical perspective. In fact, I would probably have a real hard time making it through Sweet Savage Love if it were published brand new today.So, I reread Christina Dodd’s Rules of Engagement, and I must have read it in 2000 because she used to be one of my auto-buys – until she turned to the dark side and began writing contemporary. I must have liked it when I first read it, but this time around I didn’t and I can tell you the reason in one word – Kerrich – what a bonehead hero.
The whole problem, or as we say in the business, the reason for our couple to be together, is as follows: Kerrich has made a young Queen Victoria mad. She wants him to be respectable, so for some reason this selfish guy thinks that he will borrow an orphan and pretend to adopt that child. This will show what a wonderful guy he is and then he’ll be back in Victoria’s good graces and he’ll be able to…what will he be able to do? I have no idea. What being back in the Queen’s good graces would do for him I have no idea. Besides that, once his graces were restored his intention was to put the orphan back in the orphanage – I guess the Queen would not question that or ask – where’s that child you were showing off a few weeks ago?
Anyway, he hires an ugly governess. She’s really not ugly, she’s in the world famous Romanceland ugly-disguise. The reason he wants an ugly governess is because he’s tired of pretty women falling in love with him. What a conceited moron. I guess “ugly” women don’t feel. So he hires a governess who used to be a beautiful aristocrat, Pamela Lockhart – in fact she was so beautiful that a young Kerrich fell in love with her, followed her around until one night he lost his balance and was hanging upside down outside her bedroom window with his winky-dink hanging out. He was embarrassed. Anyway her disguise is so good, he doesn’t recognize her. She recognizes him though. And that’s just the beginning. Thrown into the mix of the conceited-bonehead-adopt-an-orphan plot is a suspense story about a counterfeiting ring – I use the term suspense loosely. Besides the wise Victoria and her noble husband Albert, there is the standard wise-beyond-her-years adorable orphan and a know-all-see-all grandfather who spouts wisdom at the drop of a hat.
Even with all the outdated Romanceland plots there is one more bright hero-making moment when Kerrich confesses he didn’t use a French sheath because he wanted Pamela to become pregnant so she would be forced to marry him. Doesn’t that just make your heart go pitter-pat? Doesn’t that make you all warm and fuzzy inside? Swoon with delight? What a guy! What a hero!
Bottom line – the Rules of Attraction shows its age; in fact if appeared to be older than what it was. I was surprised that such a dreadful hero was in a book written in the year 2000. I thought we had moved beyond such slimy actions in men a long long time ago. I guess not. I cannot recommend this story.
Time/Place: Early Victorian England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot
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