Lady Georgiana Kirkpatrick is on her way to an unwanted second marriage when she is kidnapped, along with her maid Clara and cocker spaniel Lulu. She finds rescue in the person of Robin, Lord St Just, a friend of her brother who whisks her away to his estate on board his ship. From there, her brother, father, and betrothed converge on Cornwell to create a lot of conflict and get in the way of their undying love.
I'm not a fan of insta-lust, especially when it is consummated in such a short space of time and accompanied by a lot of hand-wringing about her reputation. Georgie is deathly precious about her reputation (which as a widow who eloped with a vicar's son years before, probably isn't in the best of shape already) right until twu wuv with a man she despised about a week ago for reasons not well articulated. If Rob was any sort of gentleman, he'd keep his hands off , but no.
I found the characterisation sloppy - I couldn't get a handle on Georgie despite her being main POV, I found Rob ignoble and juvenile, Clara showed incredible loyalty for a maid of two months who barely knew Georgie at the start of the book. I couldn't even enjoy Lulu the dog as she seemed more a plot device and a relationship barometer than a character.
Also, the side-effect of the insta-love was that more and more ridiculous complications had to become involved to keep the two apart. Potential treason, attempted sexual assault, and an honest to goodness duel crop up, none of which make sense or are brought to a satisfying conclusion.
I was glad to be done with this book. Two stars.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley; all opinions are my own.
