Guest Review - - My Notorious Gentleman

My Notorious Gentleman

By Gaelen Foley
Publisher:  Avon Books
Release Date:  July 30, 2013

  

I recently had the great misfortune of reading a romance so convoluted and poorly written, I found I could not review it and remain true to my goal of being a positive voice in the Romance industry, an industry that has had far more than its fair share of criticism over the years.   And yet, that book made me realize why.

Alas, Gaelen Foley’s My Notorious Gentleman is NOT that book.   Gaelen Foley’s My Notorious Gentleman is the book you read to restore your faith in the enormous talent found in the industry.   Gaelen Foley’s My Notorious Gentleman is the kind of book that fills aspiring writers with awe.  For readers it’s the kind of book that makes you mad you only have 30 minutes to wait in the carpool line with everyone else’s exhaust funneling right into your lungs.   And you’re frustrated because, quite simply, Gaelen Foley’s My Notorious Gentleman is a joy!

Lord Trevor Montgomery is an ex-spy with all the PTSD one might expect from someone who has been forced to play a vital role in a very long war.   What’s more, his selfish fiancée couldn’t wait for him to come home, jilting him for someone else.   Now home, Trevor finds he’s barely able to be civil in fine company and to make matters even more unbearable, he’s recently become the target for every fawning debutante around.    It’s enough to make a man--even an honorable man--do something rash like kiss one of those fawning debutantes so senseless, she’ll go screaming from fright back to her mama.

Miss Grace Kenwood thinks of herself more as a spinster than debutante.  She’s a parson’s daughter: virtuous, modest, and plain speaking.   So when the seductive spy everyone’s been clamoring about corners her in a room she’s escaped to for a little solitude, and then kisses her to within an inch of her life, she’s surprised to find her thoughts about him may not be so virtuous after all.    And when Lord Montgomery moves to her sleepy village in the hopes of building a new life for himself and keeps seeking her out, what’s a parson’s daughter to do with so tempting a man?

There were moments I had to put this book down so I could fully absorb the sheer craft behind Foley’s pen: her subtle way of painting layer after layer on each character, for one.   So, too, the way she weaves historical detail into the story so as to merely flavor it as opposed to dominate.   And lastly, her skill in sprinkling little bits of humor that, many times, made me throw my head back and howl.  The mischievous nine-year-old Nelcott twins come to mind as shown by the following passage: 

                        “Do you like her or something?” the boy persisted.

                        “Of course I like her,” (Trevor) said casually…

                              Meanwhile, to his surprise, the twins went slightly insane at his 
                       admission, running around in circles, whooping and howling like 
                       feral children raised by wolves.  

I know those children.   I do.   And yet, this is what Foley does.   She writes characters so complex we know them.  We are them (we may have taught them).

I’ve been a Foley fan for years and her writing just keeps getting richer.  And while I won’t tell you the title of that poorly written book (I want to forget it as quickly as I can) I will gift you with an hearty recommendation of My Notorious Gentleman, the kind of book that washes away so much bad, the kind of book that makes the perfect date… with yourself and a comfortable chair.    What a joy to read. 

~J Perry Stone

J Perry Stone is an aspiring Historical Romance writer who is a giant proponent of books and of love... romance being the place where the two live happily ever after.  She lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband and two children. 

We all have those times when a book leaves us disappointed or disillusioned.  What book(s) do you turn to when you need to restore your reading joy?