Guest Review: The Secret Life of Lady Lucinda – Sophie Barnes

William finally meets his match in the latest Summersby Tale from Sophie Barnes, author of How Miss Rutherford Got Her Groove Back.

Lucy Blackwell is desperate, reckless, and maybe a little bit crazy. That’s the only possible explanation for tricking a man she doesn’t know into a dance, a kiss, and an engagement—all in the middle of the biggest ball of the year! But Lord William Summersby is the final piece of her grand plan, and she’ll do what it takes to make this marriage of convenience work—as long as it’s convenient for her. She just never counted on falling in love . . .

Series: Summersby #3
Release Date: November 20, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Edelweiss
Reviewer: Karon
Rating:

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

I believe the first sound I made when I started reading this book was “”squee!”” Why? Because I thoroughly love a book that involves: Headstrong ladies debuting in society; wayward Viscounts, Dukes, Lords, etc. and engagements by trickery. Sophie Barnes’ latest installment of the Summersby series had all of those things and thus the makings of the perfect guilty pleasure.

Barnes tells this story from the differing points of view of both Lucinda and William. Something she does successfully, I never felt like I was bouncing from one unfinished plot thread to another as I sometimes do when a story is told by multiple characters. Further, Lucinda and William- have distinct voices. As a result, I felt that I got to know each one individually. This made the story more interesting and well rounded.

The blurb and the first chapter implied that the story would immediately involve spies, vengeance, murder and a trip to Constantinople. Unfortunately the story remains firmly in England and the couple does not embark on the promised journey until late in the novel. Barnes instead builds the mystery surrounding Lucinda and her motive for marrying William. By slowing down the pace of the book she focuses on the growing relationship between Lucinda and William, which allowed me to become invested in them as a couple.

This departure from the direction in which the story was originally, although necessary, was a bit of a distraction from the story because for several chapters I kept waiting for the “”trip”” to occur. By the time the villain makes his appearance at a house party I was somewhat disengaged from the underlying mystery. In addition, there were certain plot points toward the end that were contrived and outrageous. Overall, I loved the way the plot unfolded and the ways the characters came alive as the story progressed. However, the last few chapters felt as if they were a bit too outrageous, even for me.