The Lord Meets His Lady

Lord Marcus Bowles had been banished from his elder brother the Marquis of Northampton because Marcus’ drinking and gambling was impeding the Marquis in his search for a suitable bride. Until he returns home, Marcus is to spend the winter at Pallinsburn cottage, and it was on his way that he saw what appeared like a coach being held up by highwaymen. It was not the case, still there was a damsel in distress to be rescued. Not precisely a helpless maid, still Genevieve Turner was in a pickle; she is both running towards someone and fleeing another. Marcus and Genevieve have a friend in common; when Genevieve tells Marcus that she is in Pallinsburn under an assumed name, she begs him to keep her secret. She has secured a position as a housekeeper for Marcus’ neighbour and friend Samuel Beckworth, but instead Genevieve ends up being Marcus’ housekeeper. It won’t be easy to ignore the pull that Genevieve and Marcus have felt right away on that fateful night and live under the same roof. THE LORD MEETS HIS LADY is a historical romance, which reminds of some of the classics: while the timeframe does not cover years, it is a saga of sorts of a relationship, and it felt oddly genuine. Genevieve is not your typical historical romance heroine, which I thought was marvellous. Her whole life has been rather peculiar, and she had to make tough choices; it was refreshing to witness a different side of a woman’s life in 1768. She is straightforward, clever at fixing things; she only wants to have a better life but for one hurdle that stands in her way, and she will do whatever it takes. Marcus was a rake, but being forced to mend his ways has done him good; I applaud the fact that he had one serious problem that was not swept under the carpet, and it nearly ruined his life again. Marcus is also quite the novelty: he actually wants to marry for love; he was quite an endearing man, and he had even more depth than even himself would have wagered! Marcus and Genevieve are quite extraordinary characters, and so are the secondary ones; the nefarious – and handsome – Herr Wolf will not be soon forgotten, particularly since THE LORD MEETS HIS LADY is very loosely based on Little Red Riding Hood: Genevieve has a read cloak, and Wolf, well… Ms. Conkle also amused herself with some playful lines of dialogues indirectly referring the fairytale. THE LORD MEETS HIS LADY is a very complex and layered romance, where character development reigns supreme; at the end, no one is as they were at the beginning. The prose is lush and luminous; the descriptions vibrant and vivid; the dialogues ring true; and I loved the flirtatious playfulness between Marcus and Genevieve. The romance was very compelling, the tone very sensual, and entirely in tune with the characters’ personalities, and the smoulder became a blazing inferno. There were some quite unexpected, and original, plot twists, and a fabulous ending with a little titillating extra that has me awaiting the next book with bated breath. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.