The Lady in Red by Kelly Bowen - short glom project

October 19, 2018

Short and Sweet
http://www.kellybowen.net/
Have you ever wondered why we read short stories? Especially when there are so many dreadful ones out there. I have a number of reasons. Sometimes I'm just lazy. Reading a short story just seems to be relaxing. They are also something I don't feel guilty DNFing. Sometimes, I'm in the mood for something I can zip through in a matter of hours. Of course, occasionally one discovers a new exciting author hiding in an anthology. Through years of reading romance, I’ve read my fair share of short stories/novellas/anthologies, and I’m always delighted when I find an author who can make the short story format shine. I've always thought it was probably harder to write a short story than a longer narrative. It seems to me it would be tough to do any kind of character development when working with fewer pages. I'm always impressed with an author who can conquer the short story format. Much to my delight Kelly Bowen seems to be one of those authors who can make a few pages come to life.  She's also not too bad with the longer version.

The Lady in Red appears to be the connecting thread between two series': Season for Scandal and the Devils of Dover. It ends the one and begins the other. This story is also not about lords and ladies, but dreamers and creative people. Both the male and female leads have aspirations to become great artists.

King. Let me expound on one of my more recent favorite supporting characters, King. King was introduced in the Season for Scandal series. I could tell that Ms. Bowen had trouble subduing him. Yes, he's one of those characters who steals scenes. When he's in a scene, he is the one we are focused on. Well, he makes a brief appearance in this one, and I do believe Ms. Bowen has created a monster. And, I mean that in a good way. Every time he shows up in one of her books, I want to see more of him. I can hardly wait for him to have his own story. Ms. Bowen, King may just be your Derek Craven, Sebastian Ballister, Rothgar. He's going to need a really strong woman to cope with him. But back to The Lady in Red.

Our heroine, Charlotte, wants to be an artist, but being a female artist in a male dominated world is pretty hopeless. Which is why, with the help of King, she becomes Charlie and is soon an associate of Flynn Rutledge. Flynn isn’t all that thrilled with having another artist forced on him. He wants to be left alone in his grumpy world and whine about losing his muse. His creative juices have dried up. However, he still has a bit of an artist ego going on. Once he overcomes his resentment of Charlie being shoved down his throat, he discovers that he/she is a pretty good artist and he finds himself once again excited about his work. Flynn and Charlie become friends and they start working together as a team to create twin murals for a church. Then he discovers she is a woman.

When Flynn found out that Charlie was actually Charlotte, I expected him to throw a fit – but he didn’t. After the initial shock wore off, he accepted her and her ability to create something beautiful. Eventually they become lovers, and then grow into a great couple.

This was a charming story, without too many aristocrat showing up and a couple who respected each other and brought out the best in each other. It didn't have the feel of a short story, but was fully-developed narrative. I do recommend it.

Ms. Bowen, a hint: we want King! we want King! we want King! we want King! we want King! we want King! we want King! 

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot