Review: Gothic Romance with a (tiny) twist of Paranormal
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 3, 2010
Rosalind is eager to marry her betrothed, Lucien, the Viscount of St. Clare. She is eager to escape rumors of witchcraft floating around her home because of her Sight.  She is eager to become a mother and find love, even if it is through an arranged marriage to Viscount Hastings who has no interest in the marriage. Hastings wants nothing to do with Rosalind. He only wants to exact revenge for the murder of his late wife and unborn child. He only wants to find the masked smuggler known as Hawk who killed her and who is possibly behind many strange and dangerous events of late.  Events like the attempt on his life, the life of Rosalind, and more. The problem is, Hastings has no memory of his past. He only remembers waking in Italy a short few years ago. As the dangers increase, Rosalind and Lucien have no choice but to trust each other to find those responsible.I enjoyed the development of Rosalind and Lucien's relationship. Their characters were well fleshed out adding to the development of their friendship and, eventually, their love.  The secondary characters stayed in the background and added a little to the story, but when they were present it helped to round out the story. I especially loved Rosalind's maid, Mary, and how her character helps us better understand Rosalind.The paranormal aspect of the story did not play a huge role into the story.  I felt as if Rosalind had used it a bit more, the identity of Hawk would have been discovered earlier, but then there wouldn't have been much of a story now would there?This story was very well written. The story and the feelings created were very reminiscent of gothic classics such asThe Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics)andThe Three Musketeers (Wordsworth Classics).  With that said, even though I enjoyed the characters, the plot, the plot devices, the intrigue, and the development, I felt as if it was all just too much. Too many times Rosalind gets injured. Too many times that Rosalind narrowly escapes death.  Too many times that Lucien ignores the obvious around him. Too many times Lucien orders obeisance from Rosalind.  Too many times Rosalind is too dumb to listen to the voice of self-preservation. Too many redundancies.  Too many conveniences.  Just too many times. To be fair, it does fit in with the genre, but I just couldn't get over the irritation.Despite my irritations, The Spurned Viscountess was a fun read. I read eagerly to find the answers to who would cause such tragedies and for what reason. I was eager to see Rosalind and Lucien find their happily ever after. I enjoyed the story, but I think it just wasn't a perfect fit for me.*ARC provided by NetGalley*