Lord Lightning by Jenny BrownMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Yes, I know, another romance novel but one with a surprising cast of characters that are not your typical romance stereotypes.
Sure, you have to have your penniless/innocent heroine from the early 1800s but she is far from the "twist-your-ankle"/"help me!" damsel in distress that usually turns my head in disgust. When her good for nothing father suddenly appears in her life and then just as quickly spends the rest of her small dowry before being thrown into a debtors prison, Eliza Farrell sucks it up and uses her skill in astrological fortune telling to try and make enough to save her most precious possessions; her books and yes, her father. The fact that Eliza would do what she could to save her books and not only that but she is also a big fan of Jane Austen, had me cheering for her from the get go.
When Eliza consults the stars and unknowingly describes the infamous rake, womanizer & emotionally unavailable yet seriously hot Lord Edward "Lord Lightning" Hartwood as being "capable of great, passionate love", among other things...in his hearing... her destiny is changed forever. Determined to teach Eliza a lesson for convincing his mistress to leave him and prove her wrong about her characterization of him, Lord Hartwood strikes a bargain with Eliza...
If Eliza accompanies Lord Hartwood to his mother's house for a fortnight as a replacement mistress to help him fulfill the conditions in his dead brother's inheritance will, Lord Hartwood will not only save Eliza's books but pay for her father's release and then give her further funds to do with what she wishes at the end of their contract. The only conditions are that they will not sleep together, Eliza must not fall in love with Lord Hartwood and that she stops trying to find redeeming qualities in Lord Lightning. Eliza, confident in her assessment of Lord Hartwood's character and in her own acting skills, agrees. How hard can it be right?
Throw in a evil/conniving mother from hell, a few scandalous scenes, some interesting exchanges and a couple of family secrets revealed, what follows is a quite entertaining series of events which proves Lord Hartwood and Eliza have no idea what they have gotten themselves into. Lord Hartwood begins to realise Eliza is far from the usual delicate ladies he had known before and Eliza catches glimpses of a kind, caring man hiding behind the mysterious facade that is Lord Lightning, much to Lord Hartwood's surprise and possible horror. Hilarious!!!
Corniness was kept to a minimal and even though my surprising need for revenge wasn't quite satisfied enough (you'll have to read to find out why), overall it wasn't a bad read and I wouldn't mind reading it again.
Note: Received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
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