Review: A Victorian Dangerous Liaisons
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 5, 2013
Madame's Double Life is a sweetly written Victorian romance.The cover really pulled me in as did the blurb. I found the romance between Jonathan and Victoria to be quite similar at times to that of Valmont and Madame de Tourvel.It is a case of good and evil coming together and finding love.Madame's Double Life is a novella of just around 120 pages and the length is what keeps this book from stepping across the line from good into greatness.Keegan does a wonderful job describing Victoria's world, but not enough time letting her readers get to know her. Its the age old telling instead of showing thing.There were so many things happening and happening quickly that it felt like there were holes left in the story. I would have liked to have known more about Victoria and why her family chose to marry her off to a much older man, and I would have loved to have known why Jonathan was such a womanizer. Not to mention getting to know his sister Elizabeth better too, especially because of the secret she's kept hidden.The Duke Of Wellington was one of the major issues I had with this story. There is a Duke of Wellington, and there was one at the time that this story was written. Not to mention the confusion that could be caused by people thinking of Arthur Welleseley the first Duke of Wellington.My other major issue was how each time a character referenced someone that had passed away, they said "may he/she rest in peace."Lord Hawthrone felt like a villain at times, because he was the husband keeping Victoria from his love, but I felt sorry for him, and was almost cheering him on in punishing her once she confesses her infidelity.Because this is a romance there had to be a happy ending for the two lovers but I have to admit, just as Victoria was showing some spunk, she went back into her lovers arms.Madame's Double Life is a good read to pass the time and one I'd recommend to lovers of clean historical romances.~ Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review