By Love Undone by Suzanne Enoch Published by Harper Collins on October 6, 2009
Genres: Fiction / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / Historical / 20th Century, Fiction / Romance / Historical / General, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Victorian, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
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Scandal's daughter . . .
Madeleine Willits was shunned by London society for a scandal that was no fault of hers, and forced to seek a paid position in the country. So when Quinlan Bancroft, Marquis of Warefield, comes to direct the household during his uncle's illness, Maddie is determined to detest the nobleman on sight. But though the marquis is easy to dislike, the man himself is a different matter. Small wonder, then, that Maddie quite forgets herself when he enfolds her in a sweet embrace . . .
Meets the noble lord . . .
Caught kissing his uncle's lovely young companion, Quinlan feels he should make amends, and uses his rank to re-establish Miss Willits in society. Unfortunately, it is soon apparent that Maddie has no idea how to resist importunate young rakes who deem her ripe for the plucking. But Maddie knows there is only one rake whose attentions she truly needs to fear—because only Quinlan Bancroft possesses the power to break her heart.
The synopsis taken from the back of the book pretty much sums up the plot. However, had I not been urgently searching the shelves at my local used bookshop and almost come up empty, I probably wouldn’t have picked this one up based on the plot line.
Granted, the cover is beautiful and I actually think both the models are attractive (sometimes, eek!). But there is something about the last two sentences that plagues me. Good thing then, that this was not truly reflected in the writing.
I have read Suzanne Enoch before, most memorably in her contribution to the Lady Whistledown anthologies.
But I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of emotion throughout. I actually cared about the characters and almost shed a tear of pain and frustration on several pages.
The thing is, she does nice work with her characters. Some of them you hate. They aren’t nefarious or caricatures of villains. Instead, they are real people who have some very unlikable traits. Snobbery being one of them.
Maddie, the heroine, is outspoken with a fiery temper yet a deep empathy for people. Not to give too much away, but it breaks my heart to hear the recount of her journey.
And the hero is delicious and actually goes through something resembling a true character arc.
I highly recommend checking out By Love Undone if you are a fan of character centric stories. Oh, and there is a carriage chase scene for those readers craving a bit of action.
This plays in enemies to lovers territory.
