Review: Rothwell makes AN ACCIDENTAL AFFAIR
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 1, 2014
Arabella Lawson, Lady Farnsworth, is pressed into service by her brother in law, the current Lord Farnsworth, to chaperone her niece’s Season.  Being a widow Arabella decides it’s perfectly acceptable to seek a lover while in London.  Of course events spiral out of Arabella’s control.Arabella, widowed virgin, leaves Winslette, her country home, to chaperone Cecily during her Season.  While in London Arabella intends to remedy her virginal state.  After all, once Cecily is married who knows when such an opportunity will again present itself.  When Cecily proves willful and intractable it puts Arabella in dire straits she could never have imagined.Arabella portrays an unflappable calm to the world.  She glides through Society avoiding or smoothing awkward situations and easing those around her.  She’s nave and trusting, perhaps too much so.  Arabella is kind, considerate, and thinks of others regardless of their station but she lacks vivacity, coming across rather bland.As a heroine Arabella is fair to middling.Merrick Bishop, Lord Rothwell, is in search of a wife.  Lady Harrison, a former lover, is assisting him by narrowing down the choices.  He has certain beliefs and requirements in regards to his future wife, neither of which he expects Society to understand or believe.  He’s admired Arabella from afar for quite a while, knowing of her through mutual friends.  However, he’s never considered her a possibility due to the disparity in their reputations.  Then there’s his family, the Ford’s.  Rothwell is forever feuding with his many relations and avoids them when possible.  Rothwell is both more and less than Society credits him to be.As a hero Rothwell is all one could wish for.Rothwell is the roguish scoundrel with a heart of gold, riding in on his trusty steed to save the damsel in distress, among others.  He’s handsome and urbane with a reputation as an outstanding lover.  There’s so much more to Rothwell than first meets the eye; he’s misunderstood and mistakenly painted with his father’s brush.  He possesses all the mental, physical, and emotional qualities necessary to an excellent hero.Arabella’s totally ignorant in the arts of seduction and flirtation.  Her ignorance, combined with her literal take on comments and conversations, means there’s no witty banter or double entendre’s, they simply go right over her head.  What Merrick believes to be an ability to avoid awkwardness and put other’s at ease is simply her incomprehension of what’s actually being said and going on.  She has a natural grace and her honesty and innocence does lend her a certain charm but sadly it doesn’t make her interesting.  Arabella is simply boring.AN ACCIDENTAL AFFAIR is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone.  Occasional references highlighted the fact I’ve not read the prior books but not often enough to be a problem. It lacks the witty banter and humor present in many of today’s historical romances due to Arabella’s character.  Rothwell manages to balance these drawbacks making AN ACCIDENTAL AFFAIR an enjoyable read.Reviewed by IvyD for Miss Ivy's Book Nook