Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Finally, after so many wonderful stories we come to Dalziel. And that may be the source of some of my difficulty with the finale. Expectations that are raised way too high to be met. I like Dalziel so much that of course I expect much of his story. Fortunately I was very satisfied with his lady. Minerva Chesterton was raised by his parents from the age of six and for the last eleven years she has served as Wolverstone's chatelaine. But she has been fascinated and infatuated with Royce nearly all her life. As a little girl she followed him all over the estate and even got a bit of early sex education when she was eight by spying on him with the blacksmith's daughter. She loves every inch of Wolverstone and its people. Since Dalziel has been banished for 16 years she knows more about the running of Wolverstone than he does. She has also made deathbed promises to his parents to bring him up to speed and see him settled as Duke. There could be no better duchess for Wolverstone than Minerva.
My problem was with the plot. Dalziel is told that he must marry immediately because Prinny is so short of money that he is tempted to kill Dalziel so he can take back all his estates and his money. This is the thanks he gets after serving for so many years! I thought this was the most ignorant plot device I have ever read bar none. How can Prinny possibly pull this off since the whole ton knows about it? Nevertheless all the grand dames tramp out to Wolverstone to demand he marry immediately. They actually make up a list of women and tell him to pick one right this minute. This is Dalziel we are talking about. I expected him to raise one eyebrow and give them the Ducal glare. Let's not forget that Dalziel has not socialized in 16 years so doesn't really know any of the current crop of women. He was just expected to choose a woman and announce her name without asking her how she felt about it either. The grand dames were so adamant about it that they actually sat on their suit cases and threatened not to leave Wolverstone until he obeyed them.
Every time these woman made a new demand I was just outraged. Completely outraged. Dalziel would NEVER stand for such a thing. But Ms. Laurens has him meekly agree to let them know the name within one week. I really hate it when an author has a character act completely out of character. Not only was the plot device too stupid for words but Dalziel would never have tolerated being given an ultimatum from anyone, much less a pack of meddlesome women. This almost ruined the story for me. Dalziel had to rush his romancing of Minerva because these women kept sending messages about what they were going to do next if he didn't comply. And he never makes a peep about how dare they, or what right did they have, or who did they think they were or anything else. Is this the Dalziel we know?
I just had to close my mind to all that and concentrate on the developing love story. That was reasonably satisfying, more or less the typical Laurens. There were no surprises. You know the man is going to be surprised to find himself falling in love and the woman is going to refuse to marry just because he took her virginity. Many times I was reminded of Devil's story, probably one of my favorite Laurens novels, second only to his father's story. Just because I don't think the author was completely true to the character we know as Dalziel doesn't mean the book isn't worth reading. This is just my personal opinion and shouldn't keep anyone else from enjoying the latest offering from Stephanie Laurens. (Unless you're as outraged as I was, then all bets are off.)
Several reviews have also mentioned disappointment with the way the last traitor was handled. I felt the same way but this didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the story the way the above mentioned ultimatum did. Actually the resolution of the traitor was kind of thrown in at the last minute. The identity of the traitor is revealed to us early in the story. He seems so weak and ineffective that you will find it hard to believe he has evaded the great Dalziel and the Bastion Club members for so many years. The last traitor also leads me to my last complaints about the book. These are spoilers so don't read the next paragraph if you want to be surprised.
The end of the book feels very rushed. Minerva ends up actually saving Dalziel's life yet he never mentions it or even thanks her. Also thrown in at the end--Dalziel has guessed that their lovemaking has had the predictable result but Minerva never tells him the happy news nor is that discussed between them. These are conversations I would have liked to hear. With so many complaints you may wonder why I still give it four stars. It IS a good book and I doubt Laurens many fans will be disappointed. Perhaps my expectations were a bit too high and others will not have any problems with the plot devices. I didn't think her rating should suffer just because I believed Dalziel would have acted differently than she did. Too bad we can't ask Dalziel! It is a testament to Ms. Laurens skill that her characters come so alive for us and that we grow so attached to them as to argue about how they would behave.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Mastered By Love (Bastion Club)
The men of the Bastion Club proved their bravery secretly fighting for their country. Now their leader faces that most dangerous mission of all: finding a bride.
As the mysterious leader of the Bastion Club known as "Dalziel," Royce Varisey, tenth Duke of Wolverstone, served his country for decades, facing dangers untold. But as the holder of one of England's most august noble titles, he must now take on that gravest duty of all: marriage.
Yet the young ladies the grand dames would have him consider are predictably boring. Far more tempting is his castle's willful and determinedly aloof chatelaine, Minerva Chesterton. Beneath her serene faÇade lies a woman of smoldering sensuality, one who will fill his days with comfort and his nights with sheer pleasure. Determined to claim her, he embarks on a seduction to prove his mastery over every inch of her body . . . and every piece of her heart.
Click here for more information about Mastered By Love (Bastion Club)
0 comments:
Post a Comment