Review: Fantastic Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 17, 2012
False identities, murder, mystery, and kidnap, The Malorie Phoenix has it all. It would be a mistake to dismiss Ms. Mullany's book as `just another' same-old-same-old. It is not.While the plot is not new, the treatment is refreshing, the writing clean, sometimes poignant, well paced and vivid. And the editing, sometimes the bug-bear of the self published, is tight and accurate.If I had to retrace my reading steps at the beginning and a bit near the end, perhaps it was more a matter of this reader familiarising herself with the writer's style than plot holes.Jenny Smith, Ms Mullany's heroine, is no sweet, simpering pre-Regency Miss. She's surviving in a harsh environment the only way she knows how. And yet from the start we are shown her integrity and her weaknesses. She's a character who caught my attention and empathy from the beginning. If Jenny made a couple of mistakes that seemed totally out of character, while I found them irritating I had to acknowledge the author had my emotions raised and therefore was succeeding in involving me in her story and characters.The circumstances of Benedict de Malorie's meeting with Jenny had me anxious to see how it would pan out. The hero's subsequent actions took a little believing and perhaps that particular scene was only one of two I had a little trouble accepting. But it plays a pivotal role in the rest of the story which more than makes up for it.The story plot is well thought out and well paced. The supporting characters all have substance and had me either loving or hating them.Ms. Mullany offers a few unexpected twists in The Malorie Phoenix which added to the suspense, and I am so glad that the Stanleys took Jenny into their hearts.I enjoyed The Malorie Phoenix for its story, plot and characters. This is the first book of hers I've read, and I would look out for more. If you enjoy a London-based romance set just before the official Regency period, then this is a book well worth considering.Originally posted at LAS Romance Reviews