Review Lessons in French Reviewed By Amy Lignor Of Bookpleasures.com
- By Amy Lignor
- Published January 27, 2010
- Romance
Amy Lignor
Reviewer Amy Lignor: Amy is the author of a historical fiction novel entitled The Heart of a Legend, and Mind Made, a work of science fiction. Presently, she is writing an adventure series set in the New York Public Library, as well as a teen fiction series, The Angel Chronicles. She is an avid traveler and has been fortunate to have journeyed across the USA, where she has met the most amazing people, who truly bring life and soul to her books. She lives in the Land of Enchantment (for now) with her gorgeous daughter, Shelby, her wonderful Mom, Mary, and the greatest friend and critic in the entire world - her dog, Reuben
View all articles by Amy LignorAuthor: Laura
Kinsale
ISBN: 978-1-4022-3701-0
Click Here To Purchase Lessons in French
Lessons in French was
a lesson in life, love, and laughter for me.
Our main
character is Lady Callista Taillefaire. I know, I know, but
this is not one of those boring, "bodice-ripper"
books. So read on. The young lady, who is an old-spinster
of twenty-seven in her world, goes by the name of Callie.
Callie is a lovely woman whose bright red hair captures the sun - if
she'd only stop covering it up with a turban. Callie stares at
the floor a great deal. When she is invited, and must go to
shindigs, according to her sister-in-law, Dolly, her eyes never waver
from the ground. She believes beyond a shadow of a doubt that
all around her are gossiping at her expense. Unfortunately,
Callie is right. She has been asked for her hand in marriage
not one, but three times in her life, and each man has bolted for one
reason or another before they took the vow. This is one part of
the story I couldn't understand, seeing as that Callie was smart,
funny, lovely, and had more money than most of the town. (Trust
me, when the reason for their "bolting" is uncovered in
almost the last page, you'll laugh out loud.)
Callie's
beloved father has passed away, and much like all patrician regimes
where women served as nothing but baby machines, Callie was not
allowed to take over her father's estate (even though she is smarter
than all male specimens that surround her.) Her Cousin Jasper
moves in with his, aforementioned pain in the butt wife, Dolly.
Callie is relegated to underling where she will have to soon move out
with her younger sister Hermione who is set to be married very soon.
This is the last thing Callie wants to do because on her father's
estate reside the animals - bulls, oxen, horses, sheep - that Callie
loves and cares for. And being forced to move to a townhouse in
the city and leave her beloved animals behind makes her heart
break.
One evening, as she is sitting in her "place"
at a ball, trying to avoid gazes, a handsome face - with body to
match - appears in the doorway and walks right to her. Not only
is he extraordinary, he is also Callie's best friend from when she
was a child. His name is Trevelyn de Monceaux, and is a
Frenchman. You can almost see the anger flare in the eyes of
the Englishmen milling about his icky, detestable, French frame as he
walks across the ballroom and back into Callie's life.
He's
been gone a long time and has reappeared because his poor mother has
taken ill and he needs to be with her. He begs Callie to help
him, and she rushes to his mother's side. There are slightly
strange things about Callie's old friend. One, is that he has
an "aide" who is a monster of a man, who looks nothing like
how a mere servant should look. In addition, Trev seems to have
a very large secret to keep, and seems to be constantly looking over
his shoulder to see what's coming up behind him. Callie is at
once, confused. She remembers the time in her youth when she
and Trev had been caught in a carriage by her father while they were,
well, exploring an adult world that they hadn't quite reached yet.
After that day, Trev had disappeared. Whether by her father's
will or not, Callie never knew.
To add to her upending
world, one of her old suitors who left her before they reached the
altar reappears in town and begins to woo her. His marriage is
over and he's back in Shelford, hoping that he can make amends and
win back Callie and her vault of money. The guy is complete
slime, as all us girls know.
Now, I know so far this
seems very "romance" formulaic. It's very difficult
for romance writers to scribe anything even remotely differen't
because so many romances have been done. But Ms. Kinsale has
the ability - and always has - to create twists and turns that the
reader would never think of. My favorite storyline is Hubert.
Is he a handsome suitor, too, you ask? No. Hubert is a
huge bull that Callie owns who will be "shown" at the
Agricultural Fair. He is the largest of his kind, and Callie is
sure that her "man" will take all the prizes.
Unfortunately, her ridiculous cousin loses HER bull in a card game
and Hubert is taken away from her by a new master. Then...how
exactly does the bull show up in Trev's kitchen a little while
later? And why has the bull's fur/pelt been dyed? Is
Hubert an escaped felon that the constable is looking for to hang?
Nope, that's not Hubert, but Trev is certainly running from
something.
The wonderful way this author ties in
"tricks" to save Hubert, save Callie from being thought of
as the thief who stole Hubert from his new master, and save Trev from
a fate worse than death because of the chivalrous "thing"
he did so long ago, makes this book so much fun I couldn't put it
down. I also love the fact that the "romance" is
between two best friends who pulled so many tricks of their own when
they were kids, that their love for each other stems from a much
deeper place than just the normal fake "hot and lusty garbage"
that so many romance authors dwell on.
My advice to you
is to pick this one up and follow Callie through a light-hearted,
romantic romp that changes her life - and, Hubert's, of course -
forever.
This wonderful novelist has been "missing
in action" for the past five years and I, for one, am elated
that she's returned. Enjoy!