Review: A Lady... Indeed!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 7, 2013
Mary Rutherford has lived most of her life in the confines of a convent, and always believed she would remain inside the cloister as a nun. But as Henry VIII's Reformist movement begins to take hold over England, Mary is forced from her sheltered life, and abruptly thrust into a new one, one for which she is woefully unprepared.Lord Trenton Stanley has only just returned from ten long years of war to find his mother dead, his fortune depleted, his gardens in ruins, and his father's ward in his house. A rake by nature and a hardened soldier by training, Trent is wary of the attraction brewing between him and the innocent Lady Mary, a woman he suspects has been brought home to take his mother's place.I loved the imagery of this book, of dappled sunlight filtering through winter branches. I loved the descriptions of the manor, and loved the interactions between Lady Mary and the elder Lord Stanley, and laughed out loud at Trent's antics, assumptions and jealousy.I'll admit--I didn't like Trent at first. I'll happily read books with a dark hero--I've even written unlikable heroes myself--so I was a little surprised at how little I originally liked him. I couldn't really see what Mary, a good and innocent soul, saw in him, beyond his good looks.But he grew on me. I guess it took me a little longer to see Trent's heart than it took Mary. :)I enjoyed this book, and hope to read more from Ms. Montclair!