May 17, 2021
I have a plot headache
https://www.lorraineheath.com/Well folks, again we have another woman from the 1800s thinking like a modern woman. Surely, it’s possible to write about a strong woman from the 1800s without making them act contemporary. There’s more to historical strong women than just adding a long dress, and having her do outrageous things. Real history is full of strong women who we could use as an example, and most of them thought with brains that were contemporary of their time. Even those who were thrown into jail, and had feeding tubes stuffed down their throats, were a product of their time. We are the recipient of their achievements. That was my rant for the day.
Let’s talk about bride/writing contests. It might be a fun idea for Tik Tok. A bunch of unmarried aristocratic women writing an I’m-the-bestest-bride thesis; then mailing that letter to a Duke. In fact, I can envision all of them singing about their qualifications right now. However, Tik Tok ideas don’t necessarily translate well to a written page. It takes a really talented screenwriter to take words on a page, and make it visual. That’s why it’s important to start with strongly written words. Anyway, one of the many plotlines in Scoundrel of My Heart is an absurd letter writing contest. My brain cringed when I read those words in the book. We have a cold-hearted, arrogant, future bonehead hero, the Duke of Kingsland, and he needs a wife. Well, we can’t expect him to get a wife on his own…of course not. He issues a challenge to only acceptable ton women (servants need not apply), It was a silly plotline.
Unlikable heroine alert. Let me introduce you to Lady Kathryn. She’s stubborn. She has opinions. She has biases. She doesn’t bend. Her strongest desire in the whole wide world, is to live in the cottage her grandmother left for her. But there’s a problem, that cottage comes with a stipulation. Time for the inexplicable reasoning moment: the grandmother’s requirement. For some reason, Kathryn’s grandmother doesn't like second sons. I’m not sure why second sons were on her hit list, and I don’t know if third and fourth sons were included in her bias. Anyway, in order for Kathryn to inherit her “dream” cottage, she must marry a first son…with a title. Hey! Wait a minute! There’s a Duke who wants a wife! Too bad he’s such a cold-fish. Too bad he needs a wife/job application in writing! Too bad she can’t think of any of her good qualities. Light-bulb goes off! She will ask for her nemesis, Griffith, to come up with some ideas for her. Right now, he’s drunk under a bush, but maybe he can come up with ideas while in a stupor.
Lord Griffith has been under Kathryn’s skin for ages. They just cannot get along. They snipe at each other, insult, banter, and thoroughly get on each other’s nerves. And, this is the man who is supposed to come up with some of Kathryn’s positive characteristics. Sure, that works for me. Sounds like a good Romanceland Plan. The plan must have also worked for the Duke, because he chooses Kathryn for his wife. Then we have a twist in the story; it seems that Kathryn didn’t submit her application. She figures out that it was Griffith who wrote the letter, and who also submitted it. She’s mad. But wait! It seems he not only submitted the letter, but also placed a wager on her winning the contest. He won the wager! Now, she’s really mad! She storms over to his house to confront him. Guess what! He’s been arrested for treason!
Time passes. Yes, our story does a time warp. We have an unresolved treason plot involving the Stanwick siblings. The Stanwick’s appeared in Beauty Tempts the Beast, part of the Sins for All Seasons series. If you read Beauty Tempts the Beast, you should remember that was Althea Stanwick’s story. Now it’s Griffith’s turn. There’s one brother left, and he’s involved with dangerous people. This whole treason thing was a bit of a distraction, and didn’t have too much to do with the rest of this book. I’m assuming the treason wrap-up will be in another book, which I probably won’t remember once it hits the stands.
Anyway, Griffith is no longer in prison, he’s trying to make a living from a club. Isn’t that what all aristocratic men do…open a club? Well, this is not just any club, it’s a club designed for women to live out their fantasies. These women cannot just drop in, there are requirements, and they must wear disguises…to save their reputations…you see. Griffith thinks this will be a good way to make a living. Seems a bit of a stretch to me, but who’s counting. But what about Kathryn? Well, she’s still around.
I have a plot headache
https://www.lorraineheath.com/Well folks, again we have another woman from the 1800s thinking like a modern woman. Surely, it’s possible to write about a strong woman from the 1800s without making them act contemporary. There’s more to historical strong women than just adding a long dress, and having her do outrageous things. Real history is full of strong women who we could use as an example, and most of them thought with brains that were contemporary of their time. Even those who were thrown into jail, and had feeding tubes stuffed down their throats, were a product of their time. We are the recipient of their achievements. That was my rant for the day.
Let’s talk about bride/writing contests. It might be a fun idea for Tik Tok. A bunch of unmarried aristocratic women writing an I’m-the-bestest-bride thesis; then mailing that letter to a Duke. In fact, I can envision all of them singing about their qualifications right now. However, Tik Tok ideas don’t necessarily translate well to a written page. It takes a really talented screenwriter to take words on a page, and make it visual. That’s why it’s important to start with strongly written words. Anyway, one of the many plotlines in Scoundrel of My Heart is an absurd letter writing contest. My brain cringed when I read those words in the book. We have a cold-hearted, arrogant, future bonehead hero, the Duke of Kingsland, and he needs a wife. Well, we can’t expect him to get a wife on his own…of course not. He issues a challenge to only acceptable ton women (servants need not apply), It was a silly plotline.
Unlikable heroine alert. Let me introduce you to Lady Kathryn. She’s stubborn. She has opinions. She has biases. She doesn’t bend. Her strongest desire in the whole wide world, is to live in the cottage her grandmother left for her. But there’s a problem, that cottage comes with a stipulation. Time for the inexplicable reasoning moment: the grandmother’s requirement. For some reason, Kathryn’s grandmother doesn't like second sons. I’m not sure why second sons were on her hit list, and I don’t know if third and fourth sons were included in her bias. Anyway, in order for Kathryn to inherit her “dream” cottage, she must marry a first son…with a title. Hey! Wait a minute! There’s a Duke who wants a wife! Too bad he’s such a cold-fish. Too bad he needs a wife/job application in writing! Too bad she can’t think of any of her good qualities. Light-bulb goes off! She will ask for her nemesis, Griffith, to come up with some ideas for her. Right now, he’s drunk under a bush, but maybe he can come up with ideas while in a stupor.
Lord Griffith has been under Kathryn’s skin for ages. They just cannot get along. They snipe at each other, insult, banter, and thoroughly get on each other’s nerves. And, this is the man who is supposed to come up with some of Kathryn’s positive characteristics. Sure, that works for me. Sounds like a good Romanceland Plan. The plan must have also worked for the Duke, because he chooses Kathryn for his wife. Then we have a twist in the story; it seems that Kathryn didn’t submit her application. She figures out that it was Griffith who wrote the letter, and who also submitted it. She’s mad. But wait! It seems he not only submitted the letter, but also placed a wager on her winning the contest. He won the wager! Now, she’s really mad! She storms over to his house to confront him. Guess what! He’s been arrested for treason!
Time passes. Yes, our story does a time warp. We have an unresolved treason plot involving the Stanwick siblings. The Stanwick’s appeared in Beauty Tempts the Beast, part of the Sins for All Seasons series. If you read Beauty Tempts the Beast, you should remember that was Althea Stanwick’s story. Now it’s Griffith’s turn. There’s one brother left, and he’s involved with dangerous people. This whole treason thing was a bit of a distraction, and didn’t have too much to do with the rest of this book. I’m assuming the treason wrap-up will be in another book, which I probably won’t remember once it hits the stands.
Anyway, Griffith is no longer in prison, he’s trying to make a living from a club. Isn’t that what all aristocratic men do…open a club? Well, this is not just any club, it’s a club designed for women to live out their fantasies. These women cannot just drop in, there are requirements, and they must wear disguises…to save their reputations…you see. Griffith thinks this will be a good way to make a living. Seems a bit of a stretch to me, but who’s counting. But what about Kathryn? Well, she’s still around.
Yep, Kathryn’s still hanging out, waiting to marry her Duke, so she can get her cottage. She hears about Griffith’s club, she still has an axe to grind, so she pops into his club…without a disguise. I guess no one will recognize her, and carry the tale back to her fiancé, the Duke.
Then the story meanders down the cottage-Duke path, as Kathryn tries to decide whether she should still marry him, especially when she loves another. While Kathryn is going down the will-I-won’t-I path, Griffith is going down the I’m-not-good-enough path. All those well-traveled paths were exhausting.
Speaking of exhausting, this story drained me. There was waaaayyyy too much going on, wayyyy to many story lines, and waaayyyy too many distractions. I know that authors have to draw in readers to some of the other characters in their books, especially if they are part of a series. But there was just toooo much going on in this book, and all I really wanted was to watch Griffith and Kathryn find their way to that proverbial HEA. Scoundrel of My Heart was not my favorite Lorraine Heath book. There’s a short prequel coming out in September about the Duke of Kingsland. Maybe that will help.
Time/Place: 1870s England
Sensuality: Lost somewhere in the many plots
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