A Dangerous Kind of Lady

3.5 stars<br /><br /><b>There is SUCH GREAT BANTER in this book. Like truly, top tier.</b> So I *really* wanted to like this book more than I did. Unfortunately, where the book fell flat for me was the female main character, Arabelle. She was wonderfully independent, witty, and cared for others while not caring what others thought of her. So where did she go wrong for me? The woman could NOT communicate effectively to save her (romantic) life. And unfortunately a plot that would practically completely disappear if an honest conversation would just happen, is not my cup of tea. Oh and the first romantic scene actually made me cringe a bit, which really isn't great for a romance novel. <br /><br />But I would try this author again, because I did enjoy another book I have read by her, <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/43473742.A_Wicked_Kind_of_Husband__Longhope_Abbey___3_" title="A Wicked Kind of Husband (Longhope Abbey, #3) by Mia Vincy" rel="noopener">A Wicked Kind of Husband</a>

I wish I could be more coherent about this book, but YOU KNOW ME. Reading excellent romance melts my brain cells. All I can say is that I've been waiting for this book forever (because Mia Vincy writes the hilarious regency romcoms of my heart) and it exceeded expectations. <br /><br />What a bloody epic romance. Not the tragic kind with a bad ending, but the neverending feels kind with a beyond satisfying ending that makes you want to hug yourself and squeal for the rest of the day. <br /><br />There is an incredible, memorable heroine who I related to so strongly, and whose personal arc is a really great commentary on a particular kind of misogyny. There's a hero who grows so beautifully and fantastically walks the line between frustrating sexy prat I want to smack and genuinely nice guy who just keeps fluffing it up. The book has serious Persuasion feels, except they are childhood enemies. In short, it's perfect and divine and you should read it if you want to be happy.

If I can find a historical romance that I like, so can YOU!<br /><br />This was right up my alley, my cup of tea, my bag, etc. Loved the couple here - a strong, guarded, unbending, controlling Arabella and her childhood frenemy and reluctant betrothed Guy who doesn't want to be controlled and pushed around anymore. <br /><br />Oof, they were hot! The dynamic between them was on point. I lapped this up, and the amount of rereading of certain parts I did, I should count this book as read twice. <br /><br />There are, of course, some pitfalls of historical romance here. I think the book could have been shorter and some plot mechanics were too labored. But Vincy is a skilled writer, and I am glad she applied her English Lit degree to writing bodice rippers with well realized characters and tastefully sensuous smut.<br /><br />Count me as a fan. When is the next one coming out?

<b>I've given this an A- at AAR, so 4.5 stars rounded up.</b><br /><br />While <strong>A Dangerous Kind of Lady</strong> is the third published book in Mia Vincy’s <strong> <em>Longhope Abbey</em> </strong> series, it’s actually the second in the series chronologically .  If you’ve read the author’s début, <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/43473742.A_Wicked_Kind_of_Husband__Longhope_Abbey___3_" title="A Wicked Kind of Husband (Longhope Abbey, #3) by Mia Vincy" rel="noopener">A Wicked Kind of Husband</a>, (which is chronologically book three) you’ll already have met Arabella and Guy Roth, Marquess and Marchioness of Hardbury as a happily married – even besotted – couple.  But knowing that’s how they end up is, as any dedicated romance reader will know, not the point; the fun is in the getting there, in the emotional journey the characters take to find love and happiness.  <strong>A Dangerous Kind of Lady</strong> is their ‘origin’ story, and tells how the fiercely independent, sharp-tongued Arabella, betrothed to Guy Roth since childhood, becomes un-betrothed, re-betrothed, un-betrothed again (sort of) and then marries him anyway.  All while falling in love along the way of course.<br /><br />When the book opens, Guy has recently returned to England following an eight year absence and has assumed the title – Marquess of Hardbury – he inherited on the death of his father around a year earlier.  It’s widely believed that Guy left England in a sulk after the woman he was in love with spurned him (not only did she sleep with someone else, she then went on to become a much sought-after courtesan), but the truth is more complicated. The old marquess was obsessed with controlling his son’s every move, and leaving the country was the only way Guy could assert his independence.  Now Guy is at last free to live his own life, one of the first things he does on his return is end his engagement to Arabella Larke.<br /><br />The end of the betrothal doesn’t actually bother Arabella all that much – in fact, she’d be celebrating if it wasn’t for the fact that her father is so bent on marrying her off that he doesn’t particularly care who the groom is.  Lord Sculthorpe, a handsome war hero who gives Arabella the creeps every time she so much as thinks of him, is about to propose any minute, and as Mr. Larke has threatened to cut Arabella off if she doesn’t get married, she’s desperate to find a way to avoid Sculthorpe without losing everything.  To buy herself some time, she asks Guy to pretend their betrothal is back on, just for a few weeks, but  Guy refuses to hear her out,  certain she’s trying to manipulate him into marriage.  After all, she never made a secret of her desire to be a marchioness, and her insufferable pride must have been dented when he ended their engagement.  Guy’s refusal to help leaves her with only one option; to accept Sculthorpe’s offer and then jilt him as soon as she can.  But she’s reckoned without her father’s determination to get her off his hands; rather than the spring wedding Arabella had intended, he insists she and Sculthorpe will be married within the month.  Utterly repelled by Sculthorpe and his fixation on her virginity, Arabella decides that while she may have to become his in law, she doesn’t have to become his in spirit or give him any more of herself than necessary.  And there’s one thing she doesn’t have to give him if she doesn’t want to.<br /><br />Which is why Guy opens the door to his rooms one evening to be confronted by Arabella practically demanding to be seduced.  He’s completely suspicious of her motives, and knows only too well the sorts of games she’s capable of playing – yet he can’t resist the challenges she keeps throwing at him or the glimpses of the woman behind the prickly, proud façade he knows she doesn’t mean to let him see.  Taking Arabella to bed is a recipe for disaster and they both know it.  It’s also a revelation.  And marriage – to each other anyway – is not an option.<br /><br />Arabella and Guy are superbly drawn, complex characters who are not always particularly likeable and who don’t always make the best choices, but whom the reader will want to root for nonetheless.  When we first meet her, Arabella comes across as something of an ice-maiden; proud, aloof and calculating, she seems to be untouchable and impervious to her reputation for sharp-tongued arrogance.  But it’s quickly clear that this is all a self-defence mechanism.  Since the death of her twin brother, Mr. Larke has dismissed Arabella as useless and worthless, and she longs to regain something of the relationship they had before.  But all he does is push her away, so she’s constructed thick walls and buried her true self deep inside, locking away the hurt of her father’s rejection and presenting herself to the world as proud, intractable and absolutely unassailable, someone who attacks before she can be attacked.  But as Guy comes to know her – as difficult as she makes it – he realises that regardless of what is said about her, she never refutes it or fights back, and he begins to see an amazing woman, <em>a woman who loved and fought, who made mistakes and fell down, then got back up to love and fight another day.</em>  Guy’s life with a controlling father has given him his own load of emotional baggage to deal with; he’s spent almost his entire life being denied choices in even the simplest things such as which tailor to go to, or when or how he could have his hair cut, and for him, his betrothal and Arabella herself became symbols of his father’s desire to crush his spirit and dominate him. Guy’s desire to have nothing to do with her is his way of proving to himself that he’s free to live as he chooses.<br /><br />The main secondary storyline deals with Guy’s determination to gain custody of his two sisters from their guardian, who, he suspects, is stealing money from their trusts; Arabella is the first to clue into the fact that he is scheming to marry his son to Guy’s nineteen-year-old sister and gain control of her fortune that way.  Then there’s Sculthorpe, a singularly unpleasant individual I was delighted to see get his comeuppance, but I’ll warn now that there’s one scene during which he physically attacks Arabella that is distressing to read.<br /><br />Ms. Vincy’s talent for sharp and insightful dialogue is very much in evidence, and she does a wonderful job of using Arabella and Guy’s frequent sparring matches to show how perfectly matched they really are.  Their chemistry is incendiary right from the moment they meet on the page, and the big seduction scene I’ve mentioned above (not a spoiler because it happens early on) really is one of the most unusual I’ve read:<br /><blockquote>“You seriously think that we should take off all our clothes and pretend to like each other long enough for me to bed you, and then you’ll merrily go one your way?”<br /><br />“That sounds right.  Although we needn’t take off all our clothes.  Or pretend to like each other.”</blockquote><br />It’s funny and poignant and even sad, but insanely sexy all at the same time.<br /><br /><strong>A Dangerous Kind of Lady</strong> pulled me in from the very first page and didn’t let me go until the very last.  The emotional journey these two characters travel leads them not only to discover how badly they’ve misjudged each other, but also to learn a lot about themselves as well.  Arabella and Guy are extremely well characterised, their motivations are clearly put forward and the romance is expertly crafted. But a couple of things about the book as a whole caused me to lower the final grade a bit.  Firstly, some of the things Arabella says go way beyond antagonistic verbal sparring and are downright hurtful.  Guy is no angel in that department either – I thoroughly disliked the way he completely dismisses Arabella in their opening scenes together – but Arabella really is her own worst enemy and while I know why she behaves as she does, she still sets out deliberately to wound.  Secondly, watching the two of them continually find new ways to say the exact opposite of what they mean, only tell each other partial truths and misunderstand each other got rather exhausting after a while.<br /><br />But even with those criticisms, <strong>A Dangerous Kind of Lady</strong> still earns a strong recommendation and Mia Vincy continues to live up to the promise she showed in her début.

Highly enjoyable Regency with a terrifically self-sufficient heroine grimly determined to hang on to her pride and self-worth despite the patriarchy as expressed in her remote and dictatorial father and her ultra-creepy suitor, plus a kind-hearted hero who needs to sharpen up his emotional literacy. Granted, theirs is a conflict that could be resolved very quickly with better communication, but the failure to communicate is very specifically rooted in character and situation, and they both steadily learn how they're failing and how to do better throughout the book. <br /><br />Great sharp dialogue, acute characterisation, a lot of fun.

I wasn't all that fond of Vincy's Beastly Earl, but this Dangerous Lady has my vote and is up there with the first Vincy book I read, A WICKED KIND OF HUSBAND. When A BEASTLY KIND OF EARL was released next, it did not appeal and I was thinking perhaps she was one of those one-book wonders. But no. This new one, third to be published but, apparently, chronologically #2 of the Longhope Abbey series, has me back to fan-girling the author.<br /><br />At times I became frustrated with the heroine here and her debilitating pride and stubbornness and thought maybe this was only a 4-star book, but those scenes in the Reading Room at about 70% clinched it for me at 5 stars. (And, no, I'm not going to tell you about what happens. You really have to be there.) And, of course, I have to admit that the romance, when the bumpiness of its trajectory was not exasperating me, was downright swoony at time.<br /><br />Two stubborn people, both with daddy issues but not the same daddy issue, our H and h had been betrothed when young by their parents. The H, Guy, as he grew older, was having none of that, partly because he was not interested in the h that way but mostly because he was not interested in being controlled by his father in any aspect of his life. As a matter of fact, he takes off for 8 years for parts unknown to get away from everyone.<br /><br />Now back in England, he makes it perfectly clear that he has no intention of honoring that betrothal to our heroine, Arabella Larke. It must be said that Arabella has a different kind of daddy issue. Her twin brother died young, leaving her with the emptiness that many surviving twins have described at the loss of their close sibling. But the worst part is that her father makes her feel guilty at being the surviving twin. She is good for nothing, in his opinion, and nothing she does pleases him.<br /><br />Since Guy refuses to marry her, her father has arranged her engagement to the horrendous yet handsome Lord Sculthorpe, a superficially pleasant peer who manages to give off some serious creepy vibes when around Arabella. Her father threatens to cut her off financially and more or less disown her if she doesn't go through with this engagement.<br /><br />Arabella, who is a strong, managing, planning kind of woman, needs to find a way out of this. The best she can come up with, unfortunately, is to enlist Guy's help. If he could only agree to a fake betrothal for a period of time, perhaps all could be well in her life. Unfortunately, her pride and stubbornness and lack of transparency in her actions and in the way she tries to request his help and also the fact that Guy himself resists her at every turn, not really listening to her and assuming the worst about her, cause her plans to go awry.<br /><br />The H and h go along at cross purposes for most of the book. It could be frustrating at times to watch this when all it would have taken, perhaps, was a little more truth and honesty and real conversation. But then the hard-earned HEA wouldn't have been quite the triumph that it was here. Along the way to their happiness, there are many romantic moments, funny moments, sexy moments, serious and dramatic moments, and lots of interesting secondary characters to keep the reader's interest up.<br /><br />I'm guessing somewhere along the way in Vincy's series, we will have Guy's sister Freddie's story to enjoy. Now that this book has me convinced that Vincy is one of the best new HR authors releasing romances, I'll be looking for every new one that she releases.

<b>On Kindle sale today 23rd March 2023 for USD 0.99.</b><br><br>I am re-reading all my 5 star rated romance novels. There are 63 on my shelf (and counting). This is book 61. <br><br><i>Tropes: Unstarched (her), Enemies to Lovers, Fake Relationship</i><br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1578154049ra/28710553.gif" width="350" height="250" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>I think my favourite catnip in this genre is strong and prickly women, with walls bigger than China’s, and the men who accidentally either climb or crush through them. <br><br>Arabella might seem cold and at times unlikable, but I adored her. Hidden behind her icy front is a woman with admirable traits and a heart-breaking vulnerability. There are good reasons why she is the way she is. <br><br>This book is for sure about miscommunication BUT done very cleverly. They talk, spend a lot of time together, but things are misunderstood, unspoken and assumptions are made. The confusion makes complete sense, and I never found it frustrating. Discovering each other, how wrong they are and how well suited they are was such a reward. Not only for Arabella and Guy, but also the reader. <br><br>It’s witty, sexy, charming, romantic and at times a little painful. <br><br>I adored this book. <br><br>5 stars.<br><br>*****<br><b>- They were adults, both unmarried, and matters had a way of getting confused. Their entire relationship had been characterized by mutual resentment and the desire to defeat each other; that, at least, had not changed. </b><br><br>*****<br><br>Arabella and Guy have known each other since small children and loathed each other just as long. Having not seen each other in many years, their reunion and subsequent meetings are simply magic. <br><br><i>- She eyed him with some perplexity. “How astonishing that no one did kill you.” <br>“Many tried. None succeeded.” <br>“Perhaps one did succeed but the Devil spat you out again.” <br>“He sends you his regards.”<br><br>- “I was surprised to learn you were not already married and making some poor man’s life an utter misery,” he said. <br>Arabella shrugged. “Well, there are so many men who deserve to have their lives made a misery, it’s difficult to choose just one.”<br><br>- When their eyes met, a slow smile spread over his face. Arabella fired off the kind of withering look that sent other men scuttling for the drinks trolley. <br>So what did Guy do, but saunter to her side.<br><br>- “If there is any woman who can make a man jump through hoops, it is you.” <br>“Thank you.” <br>“Not a compliment.” <br>“Hm.”<br><br>- A rifle salute drew her attention back to the soldiers. Inexplicably, Guy lingered. “If you did have all those guns under your control, what would you do?” he asked. <br>“You would be the first against the wall,” she said automatically. </i><br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1463220671ra/19094351.gif" width="350" height="250" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Arabella needs Guy’s help to get her out of a prickly situation and quite boldly goes for it.<br><br><i>- “If you want me, earn me.”<br>With an exasperated sigh, she marched across the room, yanked the bunch of flowers from their vase, and marched back to shove them into his hands. Their stems were slimy, and cold water trickled down his wrists. “There. Flowers.” She wiped her hands on a serviette. “And poetry. Ah… Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Your eyes are nothing like the sun. All coaxed and flattered? May we begin?”</i><br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1612733070ra/30829350.gif" width="350" height="250" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>And when Guy realises, he needs Arabella to help him with a situation of his own, they reluctantly join forces. <br><br><i>- She pressed her fingers into the table. “At any rate, it’s ridiculous. The very notion of us being…” <br>“In love?” <br>“Yes. That. No one will ever believe it.” <br>“They will if we pretend.” <br>“How on earth do we do that?” <br>“It’s easy. For example, every now and then I shall comment loudly on how pretty your eyes are and how sweet you smell.” <br>“How I smell?”<br>- “Yes. It’s very romantic. You try.” <br>“You smell like horse.” <br>This time it was he who laughed.<br><br>- “Teasing you is excellent sport,” he said. “You take on this confused expression, as if no one has ever teased you before and you don’t know what to do.” <br>“Of course people have teased me. But they’re all rather dead now.” <br><br>- “Spare me a blush.” <br>“Not on your life.” <br>“And declare yourself devoted to my every pleasure.” <br>“I haven’t the faintest notion what your pleasures even are.” <br>He shrugged. “They’re very simple. Comfortable boots, hot buttered toast, and the fragrant silk of your unbound hair sweeping over my naked skin.” <br>She made a strange sound, like a baby crow’s call. <br><br>- “I hope you get what you want,” she said sincerely. “One’s home should be one’s heart and soul.” <br>“You take an interest in my heart and soul?” he finally asked. <br>“Don’t be absurd.” She tossed her head haughtily. “The only part of you I find remotely interesting is your body.” <br>Guy stopped short, his jaw dropped. <br>Shooting him a cool look, Arabella continued on toward the bustling churchyard. <br>His laughter chased her. “Take care, Miss Larke. You’ll make me blush.” <br><br>- “Any man would happily choose Miss Treadgold over every other lady in the room.” <br>Her eyes widened. “Even over me? Good grief. I cannot imagine why.” <br>“Ha! Because men prefer a woman who nurtures her young to one who eats them.” <br>“Don’t be absurd. I haven’t eaten any babies in years.” <br>Surprised laughter burst out of him.</i><br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1612733070ra/30829351.gif" width="350" height="250" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><i>- “Do you ever think about that night?” he asked. “The way we touched each other? What we did?” <br>It was a pointless question with only one conceivable answer. “No,” Arabella lied. “Never.”<br><br>- “I remember every curve and angle of your body. I remember the taste of your skin. I remember how you responded to my touch, so wild, so furious, so demanding. It was splendid. You were splendid.” <br>Her breath caught. “Do not mock me.” <br>“I don’t.” The words were simple, sincere. “It was like standing in the middle of a storm. It’s thrilling and dangerous and leaves one feeling intensely alive. I cannot stop wondering what else lies behind those eyes.” </i><br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1612733672ra/30829369.gif" width="350" height="250" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><i>- For all her restraint, Arabella was not without feeling, but she had learned to bury her emotions so deeply they erupted with fury whenever they had a chance.<br><br>- “I don’t need you to rescue me,” said her pride, which did not know how to thank him. <br>“Don’t be absurd. I’m not rescuing you,” he said, mimicking her. “I’m helping you rescue yourself.”<br><br>- “Honestly, Arabella, I have no idea what to think of you. You hide behind that aloof façade, and make outrageously arrogant statements that you do not mean, and you never defend yourself from accusations, yet your schemes are as undeniable as your ruthlessness in carrying them out.” <br>He stepped closer, his eyes intent, as he brushed a hand over her jaw, to rest on her shoulder as lightly as a bird. “Yet you fight for others’ well-being, and use your cleverness to help and protect them, and your splendor… Your splendor cannot be denied.”<br><br>- Guy chuckled. “For someone who claims not to know how to flirt, you are very good at it.” He brushed a knuckle against her throat. “I’d like to point out that your pulse is racing.” <br>“And I’d like to point out that my mother is watching.” <br>“Ah.”<br><br>- He was helplessly aware of her presence, as if she had become some kind of necessary function, the way one knew that one’s heart was beating or that one’s stomach required food.<br><br>- His glass hovered at his lips, but his eyes did not leave hers. Nervousness—that was this unfamiliar sensation! How horrid it felt, to want someone’s good opinion, to care so much what another person thought that she had to say these things. How did people live like this?<br><br>- Arabella, who knew everything, did not know how to ask for affection or help. His heart ached for her, this woman so accustomed to raising her walls that she had forgotten how lonely it could be behind them, so determined not to seem helpless that she refused to make any requests. <br><br>Oh, Arabella, so commanding and clever, who understood everything except her own self. She terrified men, she had said. The notion seemed to puzzle her, as if she genuinely did not realize that she glared and hissed, which was why men turned tail and ran. Sensible men, anyway.</i><br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1612733070ra/30829353.gif" width="350" height="250" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>*****<br><br><i>- “You are prickly like a blackberry bush. Like a tangle of whips and leaves covered in sharp thorns. But among those thorns dangle delicious berries, fruit so enticing that the mere promise of a taste is worth being scratched and snared.”</i><br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1612733672ra/30829370.gif" width="350" height="250" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy">

<blockquote><b>Fraught with tension, miscommunication and a bludgeon of feminism, </b> <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/49079111.A_Dangerous_Kind_of_Lady__Longhope_Abbey___2_" title="A Dangerous Kind of Lady (Longhope Abbey, #2) by Mia Vincy" rel="noopener">A Dangerous Kind of Lady</a> wasn't much a romance book as it was a rallying cry against the patriarchy.<br /><br />It was aggravating, more so when the heroine, Arabella, was like a bull in a china shop while our hero, Guy, was a bore and a simpleton. <br /><br />The only saving grace is the author's skill and talent. I loved <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/43473742.A_Wicked_Kind_of_Husband__Longhope_Abbey___3_" title="A Wicked Kind of Husband (Longhope Abbey, #3) by Mia Vincy" rel="noopener">A Wicked Kind of Husband</a>, however, this was altogether too much.</blockquote>

Confession: I actually started this last night, not Monday.<br /><br />And then stayed up too late.<br /><br />And then woke up, read it, worked, then snuck off to finish it instead of working. <br /><br />UHHHHMAAHHHGAHHHH<br /><br />So allow me to say something superlative but untrue, instead of an actual review, even by my standards.<br /><br />NOTHING gets me like an entitled (I mean this in a not terrible way) heart of gold hero loving the prickly as hell &amp; challenging heroine.<br /><br />Nothing.<br /><br />(But... What about the tortured hero and the one who never....NOTHING...<br /><br />Wait... What about the forever pining hero and...NOT.A.THING <br /><br />Except... what about the shy hero who....I SAID NOTHING.<br /><br />)<br /><br />This book is freaking wonderful, ok, let's not split hairs.<br />

It's cliched to argue that patriarchy is an underlying theme of a historical romance novel, but still, in Vincy's third book, the ill effects of patriarchy drive the story and shape the main characters' lives in devastating ways and in such totality that I struggle to think of a novel where this is demonstrated so consistently from start to finish. <br /><br />Guy Roth manages to escape from his controlling father who is determined to marry him to a local and titled family in order to secure property for the Roth patrilineal name. His betrothed from childhood, Arabella Larke, isn't quite as fortunate as Guy because as a woman she cannot simply flee family expectations and hope to return in her own good time. No, Arabella is deserted by her fiance and is then forced to live under the dictates of a tyrannical father who insists that she marry and reproduce male heirs or be disinherited and cut adrift from her entire family and society. It's a depressing and formative set of circumstances both Arabella and Guy face as children. There is no love lost between these two childhood foes, though they do recognize a kindred spirit in their rebellion from harsh fatherly demands. The novel begins with Guy's return to society eight years after abandoning his role as the heir of the Roth line and just as Arabella is at her wit's end trying to forge a marriage to the least constrictive man she can hook.<br /><br />The plot is winding and intricate as Arabella and Guy maneuver around each other, trying to avoid an unwanted marriage, drawn to each other nevertheless for so many good reasons, and ultimately tied by circumstances beyond their control. To say that their happy ending is well-earned is a serious understatement as these two go through a tortuous path to love. That the love exists though is not in any doubt to readers, and that is one of the most wonderful things about this brilliant book. We get to see through each interaction how much both characters appreciate and respect the other and how dismayed at times they are by falling in love with the one person who best represents the strictures placed on them in their world. They do eventually find a way together to turn the tables on the rules that constrained them and the ending of the book is just perfect in its unique resolution to their conflict. I had some genuine moments of surprise reading this book because there are scenes here that I don't think I've read before in a romance. After their first sexual encounter, for instance, Arabella upends Guy's masculine crowing in a way that left my mouth open. I've been reading reviews that indicate that Arabella is a tough heroine to understand and like, and I have to say that I felt the exact opposite. She is such a sympathetic and complex figure. Never simply a victim even while victimized at times; never a "harridan" as her father calls her because women can be controlling and endearing all at the same time; and never unattractive because being "feminine" is a construct that traps women rather than enables them to redefine sexiness. Guy is a bit less of a presence in this book, partly because he's paired with a larger-than-life heroine. However, Guy recognizes Arabella's vastness and adores her for all of her strengths as well as flaws. It's always hard not to love a hero for convincingly loving a complex and difficult woman.<br /><br />I'm so impressed with Vincy for writing this book. I've left out so much that I loved here, including the fact that Vincy never demonizes the socialite women orbiting around Arabella, including her rival for Guy's affections. They too are complex and their seeming myopic focus on marriage is a facade for much underneath. I'm hopeful that Juno the artist will have her own book. And, oh my goodness, Arabella's mother makes Arabella's machinations look like child play.<br /><br />I've enjoyed all of Vincy's books and can't wait for the next one.