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| Only marriage to a lady of fortune can save him |
Four Stars
I do love a historical heroine with modern sensibilities and Margaret Bell the heroine of The Lies of Lord John is a wonderful example of just that.
Accustomed to a rather negligent upbringing from an indulgent uncle, she has always enjoyed far more freedom than a gentlewoman in nineteenth century Scotland is usually afforded, allowing her to attend literary soirees, indulge her love of poetry and even make plans to start a literary magazine.
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| She almost meets Keats at one point. I’m not sure he’s much of a spanker. |
When her circumstances change, Margaret’s freedoms are suddenly curtailed and faced with a markedly more restrictive future, Margaret rebels. Hard. As is of course only right and proper for a feisty young protagonist ahead of her time when it comes to the rights of women.
In this case, Margaret rebels right into the arms of Lord John Dunwoodie, which, on the face of it, is an incredibly reckless move. As cads go, Lord John is one of the caddiest – fleeing countries in disgrace, deflowering servant girls and generally being a worry and a disappointment to his high-ranking family.
‘The Lies of Lord John’ is a very well written and tightly plotted story with a host of well-drawn supporting characters. Best among them are Margaret’s fallen-from-grace best friend Emmeline, her seemingly docile cousin, Charity and John’s steely sister-in-law, Arabella.
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| And there’s lots of genuinely interesting stuff about 19th century planning development in Edinburgh |
Be warned though, if it’s erotic sex ‘n’ spanks you’re after (and if you’re reading a book published by Blushing Books then it’s quite likely that you are) then you are going to have to be patient with this book. The hero and heroine don’t even get together until about halfway through the book. There’s no sex and no real romance until you’ve got three quarters of the way through it.
The first spanking in the book (and the one descried in greatest detail) is delivered not by an a sexy authoritative dom-type but by Margaret’s cruel aunt and is therefore not much fun. (Although happily, Lord John does administer some of his own discipline later on in the story.)
So if you’re looking for non-stop erotic spanky action then this possibly isn’t the book for you. But I guess if you’ve already the other books in the Bonnie Brides series (which I haven’t) you already know what to expect.
If you’re after a well-written story with a strong sense of historical accuracy and a satisfying denouement, then there is a lot to enjoy in Fiona Munroe’s novel.