A Lady's Code of Misconduct

Rules for the Reckless #5

by Meredith Duran

The next steamy historical romance in USA TODAY bestselling and RITA award–winning author Meredith Duran’s “wonderfully indulgent” ( Publishers Weekly ) Rules for the Reckless series.

A deal with the devil...

Trapped in the countryside, facing an unwanted marriage and the theft of her fortune, Jane Mason is done behaving nicely. To win her freedom, she’ll strike a deal with the most dangerous man she ​knows—a rising star in politics, whose dark good looks mask an even darker heart.

Never goes as planned...

The bitter past has taught ​Crispin Burke to trust no one. He’ll gladly help a lovely young heiress, provided she pays a price. Yet when a single mistake shatters his life, it is Jane who holds the key to his salvation. And in a world that no longer makes sense, Crispin slowly realizes that she may be the only thing worth fighting for...

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Enemies To Lovers, Victorian, Regency

400 pages, ebook

First published February 28, 2017

About the author

MEREDITH DURAN blames Anne Boleyn for sparking her lifelong obsession with British history. She is the author of twelve novels, all published by Pocket Books. Her debut, The Duke of Shadows, has been translated into thirteen languages and was ranked among the top 100 romances of all time by NPR and All About Romance. Her other books include RITA award winner Fool Me Twice and her February 2017 release, A Lady's Code of Misconduct, which was called one of the best romances of the year by BookList and Amazon, and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, the latter of which opined: “This book weaves its spell so thoroughly that the most fortunate reader will be the one who has time to read the entire thing in one sitting.” Her next release, THE SINS OF LORD LOCKWOOD, hits the shelves on February 27, 2018.

Reviews

[Caz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of Meredith Duran have had a fairly long time to wait between the publication of her last novel – Luck Be a Lady– and this new one, which is billed as the fifth in her Rules for the Reckless series, but I’m pleased to report that the wait, while frustrating, was well worth it. In A Lady’s Code of Misconduct, she has once again dazzled me with the beauty and focus of her writing, and her ability to craft a tightly-knit, intriguing plot and wonderfully complex, imperfect and highly intelligent characters who very quickly take on lives of their own in the mind of the reader.

The story centres around the political career and machinations of Mr. Crispin Burke MP, the second son of Viscount Sibley and most definitely the black sheep of his family. With ambitions to become Prime Minister, Burke has steadily drawn many in the Commons to his side by means of threats, blackmail and bribery; his name is a byword for corruption in parliamentary circles and it seems as though he is about to achieve his goal. His Penal Reform bill, a punitive, unfair piece of legislation, has enough support to defeat the government and unseat Palmerston.

Burke’s closest ally is Philip Mason, a man with as black a heart and as few principals, and who is currently supporting himself and his family at the expense of his niece, Jane, whose father left his considerable fortune to her at his death. Mason is unable to touch the principal amount, but has been syphoning off everything he could for years, and intends to marry her to his son in order to keep the money in the family. Jane is twenty-three, but has never had a season and is not allowed to go beyond the gates, so she has, in effect, been a prisoner for the past six years. But worse than all that is the fact that she has had to pretend to be a brainless ninny for all of that time. Her late parents were progressive, so she was well-educated and brought up to think for herself and not to be afraid to express her opinions – but her uncle believes women should be seen and not heard and Jane has had to suppress that side of herself while she has bided her time and waited for an opportunity to escape.

Finally, that opportunity has arrived – only to be thwarted by the odious Crispin Burke. Even though Jane has encountered him numerous times over the years, this is the first time she has really talked to him or even been close to him, and she is simultaneously surprised and repelled to discover that he holds a strange fascination for her. He’s a beautiful man, no question, but he's ruthless, amoral and rotten to the core and his methods disgust her - but he offers her some advice and a way of avoiding her uncle’s wrath, in exchange, naturally, for something he wants - information on something involving Mason. Jane has no alternative but to agree to do as he asks.

Not long after this, and shortly before the final reading of his bill, Burke is attacked and left for dead on the London streets. Having taken his advice and inveigled her uncle into bringing her to London, Jane hatches an audacious plan, one that was also suggested to her by Burke, albeit with a different outcome in mind. She uses a fraudulently obtained – but legitimate - marriage certificate and announces that she and Burke were recently – and secretly – married. She will shortly be a widow according to the doctors, and her marriage will release her father’s fortune into her hands, meaning that she can finally achieve her dream of travelling to New York and making a new life for herself.

Of course, things don’t go according to plan and Crispin survives – although there are big gaps in his memory and he can remember little of what happened over the past five years. Now caught in a lie, Jane feels guilty and unsure, but decides that she needs to play along with the fake marriage, at least until the legalities surrounding the release of her inheritance are completed. I’m normally a little sceptical about amnesia plots, but didn’t blink when I learned that this book used one, because I knew that Meredith Duran would make it work. She does that and then some; the way she transforms Crispin from a ruthless, conscienceless politician to a man of honour and sound principles who genuinely wants to make the world a better place is brilliant, but more importantly, it’s believable. There are still facets of the old Burke remaining – the keen mind, the devilish sense of humour, the aura of implacability and sense of his being a dangerous man, but the more he finds out about his old self, the more determined he becomes to face the demons of his past, eradicate them and move on.

Because he can’t afford others to see how much his injuries have affected him, Crispin asks for Jane’s help in navigating his way through all his political alliances and connections. She can’t deny that being able, after so long, to use her brain and have her opinions listened to and respected is incredibly flattering and freeing, or that the 'new' Crispin is compassionate, thoughtful, unexpectedly vulnerable and incredibly attractive.

Jane is just as satisfyingly complex a character as Crispin, and her story of self-discovery is equally compelling. Her situation as the virtual prisoner of her uncle evokes sympathy, and her character is set up as a kind of representation of truth and justice... yet as the story progresses, she is shown to have been as deceitful and secretive in her way as Crispin has been in his. The way that she comes to understand herself more, and also to understand what drove Crispin to take the path of blind, conscienceless ambition is superbly done, as is Crispin’s conviction that no matter what he can or cannot remember, his feelings for Jane won’t change. I loved that Jane tries to spare him learning the worst of himself and that when he does, it just makes him stronger and all the more determined to become a better man.

The chemistry between the protagonists is intense, and their romance develops believably and at a realistic pace. Jane gradually overcomes her suspicions and opens herself to the attraction she realises she has long felt for Crispin, even though she can’t quite let go of her fear that the ‘old’ him could return at any moment. And I loved that Crispin never questions his marriage; for him, Jane is his rock from the moment he awakens, building on the hints of interest she sparked in him even before his attack and showing clearly but subtly that his feelings for her run deep.

A Lady’s Code of Misconduct is a must-read for fans of this author and of historical romance in general. The political background is interesting, well-researched and smoothly incorporated so the reader never feels as though they are being given a history lesson, and the plot which gradually emerges – relating to the information the ‘old’ Crispin was seeking from Jane – is intriguing and suspenseful. Add in the wonderful romance and two compelling but vulnerable and flawed protagonists, and you’ve got an un-put-downable book which I’m already sure will go down as one of my favourite books of the year.

Historical romance really doesn’t get better than this.

[WhiskeyintheJar · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, I just want to say, I could weep for how well written this was. I didn't catch a connection to other books in this series but if you read Duke of Shadows, two names (Duke of Auburn and Lockwood) are going to be familiar to you. The story structure, characters, and how Duran interweaved them all together was just plain great story telling. Why I ended up giving this three stars (solidly liked it) is all due to just personal taste.

And so, in the very act of communicating an opinion, she had committed the egregious offense of insisting on her humanity.

With the laws in place during the 1860s, our heroine Jane has no autonomy and has her life and money controlled by her uncle after her parents die. The author doesn't shy away from how crappy women had it and forces the reader to understand what those laws financially and emotionally do to women. Reading women’s pain, anger, and triumphs never fails to hit me in the gut and heart.

Where had this woman come from? Her voice was made of steel and her dignity, unbreakable.

I'm glad I wait until December to do my yearly romance awards because Jane is going to be on my best heroines list with bells on. Her character gets 5 stars for me. From the way she had to survive under her uncle, to deciding she couldn't do it anymore, and how she owned her decisions. She is a bleeding heart liberal who gets knocked sideways by realities a bit but instead of shunning knowledge or being too embarrassed to acknowledge when she is wrong, she takes her licks and keeps on. Her courage was magnificent.

"You've been having a good deal of fun," he said slowly, "haven't you? Convincing the world that you're a mouse."

I loved the beginning of the book before Crispin gets his amnesia. I loved his dark villainy to Jane's avenging angel. You could see where he starts to notice her (my favorite romance moment, when the hero "sees" the heroine in a way no one else does) and through this, the reader gets a deeper glimpse into his character and how he may have some shades of grey.

A squeak came from her. She had made that noise. His lips felt hot. He spoke against her skin.
"Your hair," he said, "is a glory. Promise me you will never pin it up again."
The brush of his mouth sent static sparks along her skin. She felt flushed, shivering, light-headed. "I don't…it would be a scandal."
He turned her wrist ever so slightly, finding her pulse with his tongue. Her breath caught. She heard him breathe in deeply.
"Then unpin it just for me," he whispered.

The reason this got a three star rating from me was because I didn't fully connect with the hero Crispin and the romance between the two. I loved Crispin pre-amnesia and was settled in for some great sparking battles between him and Jane. When his amnesia reverts his personality back to before perceived betrayals (which kind of confused me, didn't all the betrayals happen before the 5 yrs he couldn't remember? Wouldn't the bitterness still be there for him? Felt kind of odd that he would only develop the bitterness the last couple years) and he lacks the dark bitterness that turned him distrustful and produced his self-isolation. It felt too easy; I wanted the journey and the work more. Since it wasn't "my" Crispin, I didn't feel the romance the way I think I should have between him and Jane.

But the newspapers craft their headlines to sell papers, not facts. If crime has gone up in London, it has not gone up to such an extent that we should repeat the mistakes of the past.

****
It would be difficult, after working alongside the poor, to forgot them in the halls of power. Impossible, too, to think of politics as a game, rather than the machinery through which real lives could be saved or squandered.

Along with Jane’s character, I loved the political tone in this. The subtle jabbing Duran directs towards certain thoughts and ideologies. The pointed reminders of what the point of it all should be and the recriminations of how some people in power can shape and mold opinions and laws toward their benefit. There is a lot of political talk in this one, but in my opinion, the story only flourished from it.

He had never realized how much could be communicated through touch, how much trust and warmth could travel through a hand simply laid over one's arm.

Even though the hero and the romance didn't grab me the way other Duran couples have, there was no lack of her beautifully emotional lines.

[FMABookReviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

❝...regret is the very last thing I will feel when I think of touching you.❞

A story of empowerment, redemption and unconditional love, A Lady's Code of Misconduct was beautifully written. From the first page to the last, I was captivated by not only this author's writing style but of the incredibly romantic and surprisingly mysterious story she weaved within its pages. The characters were thoroughly and beautifully developed. Each experienced growth, love, and pain. And I dare say, I did too as I read this book. I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the dialogue. It was real, it was poignant, it was perfect. Whether it was fast paced or slow, it conveyed true emotion, helping to develop this beautifully romantic story.

❝I do find my thoughts worth sharing, sir. I think the fault must lie with the listeners. But even if I were a fool ... it would still be worth the effort to think.❞

How would you feel if your thoughts and feelings were stifled? If you were not allowed to have a voice? If you were stuck in the corner with your knitting and expected to not have an opinion on what was happening around you? Jane's father was a political figure and her mother a philanthropist, they raised Jane to have a voice, an opinion, a heart. She was ahead of her time. But when her wealthy parents died, she was sent to the countryside to live with her scheming, money, and power hungry uncle. She was the golden egg. The answer to what he had planned. She would marry his son and her inheritance would be theirs. Jane bided her time. She listened to the men who came and talked and she gathered information. She planned her escape, for she knew if she stayed, while she may live, she would die inside.

❝But of course a man like Burke could not imagine what that was like to live, day after day, as a shadow -- to speak and be ignored. To protest and be patted on the head, as though one's concerns were a child's. ... And so in the act of communicating an opinion, she had committed the egregious offense of insisting on her humanity.❞

As a young man, Crispin Burke had been scorned. He had been belittled and demeaned. He had been devalued. As the years passed, he took on the worst everyone thought of him and turned into a vile man. One who looked out for only himself, one who trusted no one. Because there had never been anyone who cared enough to prove they should be trusted. He used people, he bribed and bullied to get what he wanted. What he wanted was power. When he suffers at the hand of fate, and all he once was, all he once knew was gone, forgotten, he must trust in the one person he does not remember.

The romance was subtle, yet glaring. From simple looks to slight touches, from angry outbursts to passionate pleas, this author laid out romance on a platter. I was sitting at a smorgasbord and never got full.

❝But if our connection means ANYTHING to you.❞ He pushed out a ragged breath. ❝If you meant those tears you shed when I told you of Jonathan. If your laughter was real, and your smiles. If you feel, as I do, that you could wish for no better partner -- in politics, as much as in life. If all of that is true, and not simply an act, a mask to cover your indifference -- then tell me so now. Because I am finished with this stalemate. I will not endure a wife who tells me to go back to a mistress. I will not have a wife who refuses to DEMAND explanations.❞

Gah! I freaking love this book. Me, the non-historical romance reader. I know, I am shocked, too. This book has cemented the notion that I need to climb, fight and shove my way out from under the rock I've been hiding. I savored every last word! I had no idea what I've been missing. This is not your mother's historical romance!

**I received an Advanced Reader Copy. This did not influence my opinion of the book, nor my review.**

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5 stars*

Surprisingly excellent, nuanced historical romance that can be completely read as a stand-alone. Don't be afraid to jump into this series at book five because A Lady's Code of Misconduct should NOT be overlooked.

I read a good deal of historical romance but Meredith Duran has a very unique writing style that stands out from the rest. There is something about her writing that does a few things to me. First, it makes me... pause. There is a way she writes that comes across at first as... formal? Stiff? Overly intricate? I'm not sure how to describe it. It isn't typical, that's for sure. But what starts off as feeling a little cumbersome quickly transforms, and I always find that her words end up holding a ton of power. Her books transfix me. This book transfixed me.

I always love a great enemies-to-lovers trope, and this book takes that to the next level. It is also an amnesia-trope book, which can bit hit or miss for me. The author took a few concepts that could have come across as cheesy or overdone and really turned it into something grand. Something really powerful.

I loved that the romance was slow-burn. It really needed to be for the story to make sense, though I wish there was a little more page-time devoted to after these two finally make it happen. It felt a little abrupt towards the end, though I didn't really mind in the grand scheme of things. What Meredith Duran did perfectly was build-up true feelings and emotions between her MCs. It felt organic and very well done.

The plot was also very interesting with just enough intrigue and scheming for it to keep me on my toes. It was also a rather feminist historical romance with a smart, independent female MC, and though it felt more historically accurate than most of the historical romance I've been reading recently, it also felt relevant to modern readers.

A extremely well-plotted, smart historical romance, Meredith Duran really outdid herself with A Lady's Code of Misconduct. You shouldn't pass this one up.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review.*

[Anne E ♡ emo + OTT Hs · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF @ 82%, although writing was good overall. It became a blah read.

The mystery re: what happens to H&h' romance once H regained his memory was already solved @ this point. And H&h's responses to it wasn't anything really dramatic. Some worry, some hurt. Resolved quite quickly by talking honestly with each other. The plot and pacing became dull after. Dialogue & H&h's romance became even-keeled. The new mystery re: H's attacker & the secret island became their focus by 80% & was uninteresting to me.

Average romance/pacing/characters/char dev/S chem/S scenes/emotions.

Sexual History:
22yo h had never been kissed or interested in anyone since she was basically sheltered in her uncle & aunt's house. H was her 1st & only. Their 1st kiss happened when H had amnesia & thought himself in an arranged marriage to h. But was actually a fake marriage certificate h procured from the archbishop, when she thought H was dead from the attack & saw it as an opportunity to free herself from the forced marriage to her cousin her uncle demanded in order to get her inheritance. @30-40%, H fingered h to orgasm. @61%, H devirginized h & both had a regular sex life after.

H had several previous lovers, including tavern girls, a courtesan, and secret trysts with society ladies including his now-married ex-GF. H was in love with his ex-GF years ago & proposed to her but she married a Duke instead. They've been having a secret affair since with ex-GF regretting not marrying H instead. When H already had amnesia, his ex-GF told him she planned on divorcing her duke husband for H even though she was pregnant with the duke's child. H had already had an agreement with the duke that H would end his affair with his wife in exchange for getting his vote on a certain bill.

[Bubu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in a bit of a dilemma here. How to write a review I don't want to write because I know I won't be able to do this book justice?

Oh well, let's get started...

Need no one, trust no one.

is our hero's, Crispin Burke MP, motto and will become the central theme around which he and our heroine, Jane Mason, will have to find their way to happiness.

Let me be very clear: This is a romance, so a HEA is a foregone conclusion. After a vicious attack, Crispin suffers from amnesia, and I know he will remember eventually. Jane has been under her uncle's thumb ever since her father's death, silenced, forgotten, and I know we will see her self-empowerment. Furthermore, Crispin is the embodiment of a corrupt politician, blackmailing, pressuring his way to the prime ministership, a proper anti-hero, and I know he will be redeemed.

Why am I mentioning all this? Because despite the predictability of the genre and the tropes, A Lady's Code of Misconduct never does the predictable. At every stage of this wonderful book, I was surprised at the route the author took. Or should I say, the route Crispin and Jane took?

And that is my main theme for this review: surprise! I could tell you how beautiful and sophisticated Meredith Duran's narrative and style are, but we know that already. And I'm not going to surprise you, but I'm going to tell you that this book surprised me more than I thought it ever would.

From the moment the story takes off till the very end, Ms. Duran's approach on how to redeem an anti-hero is so very different that I couldn't tell what would come next. However, the biggest surprise is actually Jane. Those who like Duran's work know that she always writes multi-layered characters. But the portrayal of Jane goes further than that. In order to escape an arranged marriage with her despicable cousin and her uncle's clutches, we see Jane put herself in a position that will leave her in a moral dilemma.

Expecting Crispin - a political friend of her uncle's - to die, she acquires a forged marriage certificate that is air tight and finally gives her freedom from her uncle. Too bad, then, that Crispin doesn't die. He wakes up, only to find out that he can't remember the last five years of his years. Of course, it is a convenient plot move to make him lose exactly that time in which he undergoes a personality change. It is exactly that time, where Crispin - after years of trying - gives up on being a decent human being.

He becomes this:

Bribery, intimidation, threats, betrayals—he dealt them expertly, then slept peacefully through the night. He made men weep by reciting the secrets that they’d imagined well hidden; he watched from a cold remove as they begged him to think of their livelihoods, their families. I will lose my seat. I made promises to constituents! My good name will be ruined. I’ll lose contracts; I’ll be bankrupted. Think of my daughters. My own borough will turn against me!

But that was politics. Men entered the game willingly. It was not Crispin’s fault if they failed to play well. He never felt a moment’s anxiety over breaking an opponent, whatever it took. There were no rules. Not at the top. His conscience, his nerves, did not bother him.

So it's no wonder and - after having been blackmailed by Crispin herself - only fair that Jane takes advantage of Crispin's situation and makes the world believe that they're married. He's despised and feared for his opportunism and ruthlessness but when he's reverted back to the Crispin he was before entering politics, Jane sees a completely different Crispin. An honourable man; a man she could come to need and trust if she let herself go. But what when his memory comes back, if it comes back at all? What when he remembers that he never married Jane in the first place, that the marriage is a sham?

Whoops! At first, it's the fear of the consequences that keeps Jane quiet. But the more she gets to know this new Crispin, the blurrier the lines become. Crispin was never meant to survive, and now this growing attraction, and oh how wonderful the execution of change from fear to love! So who is the villain? The old Crispin? The new Jane? In the end, though, it becomes clear that it isn't simply black and white. It's a bit of a cat-and-mouse game, subtle and tender, but oh so delicious.

It's also obvious, however, that Jane can be every bit of an opportunist as Crispin used to be. Not as malicious and destructive, but if need be Jane will not shy away from doing what is necessary to find her own way. My kind of heroine right there.

And Crispin? He gradually comes to the conclusion that the old Crispin must have been a rather unpleasant person. He obviously can't remember the particulars, but how can he keep this highly intelligent and intriguing woman by his side? How can he convince her that he wants more than a marriage of convenience where both go their separate ways, as initially agreed? That's what Jane has told him about their marriage arrangement anyway.

Oh man, these two are fascinating. From their first conversation - before his memory loss - to the very end, I was engrossed and captivated by their dynamic. And I'm not joking when I say I was fanning myself when all they were doing was talking about politics.

That's another thing that I found remarkable about A Lady's Code of Misconduct. It's sensual but very subtly so, and the build up took me by surprise. One moment, I was still in the middle of Jane's moral dilemma, and then - boom - the heat turns up out of almost nowhere. And it is my favourite quote that describes the new Crispin the best, in my opinion, which is why I'm going to quote it again:

“You are my wife,” he growled. “And whatever reason you had for wedding me, whatever man you thought you married, I am the man in front of you now. I am bloody sick of hearing about the other one—about what you thought of him, what he expected of you. Do you understand?” He stepped toward her. “His reasons,” he gritted, “his feelings, mean nothing to me. Do you hear? I am not that man.”

It also describes Crispin's deep commitment towards Jane that is unwavering - almost from the moment he opens his eyes after the attack. Crispin is a different kind of yummy. Not like Nick from Luck Be A Lady, but still yummy. The better he gets to know Jane, the harder he falls. And he has no issue letting her and anyone else know about his growing feelings.

As if all of this wasn't enough already, Ms. Duran built a story around English politics that was almost equally fascinating. Crispin's role as a politician works hand in hand with his new role as a husband, and the precise execution of them both is breathtakingly done.

It's only March but one look at the notes I made while reading this book and I already know that A Lady's Code of Misconduct will at least be in my top 10 of the 2017 releases. There's so much more that I'm leaving out that I feel like not posting this review at all. I've only scratched the surface.

[Sam I AMNreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me be your villain

Do you think that's swoony? Well it is. Meredith Duran once again writes a subtly crafted, beautiful, lush, and complicated romance. I'm going to ATTEMPT not to read her backlog like I sometimes binge on broccoli. I say broccoli, and not something bad for you because these books have a hell of a lot of substance. In addition, I'm really appreciating the Lockwood story arc and now I cannot wait for February 27.

The self-discovery, becoming a person worthy of another you admire, and all of that made this an incredibly finely crafted romance. It is somehow this crazy plot line and manages to be understated. Lovely!

Oh, and I know I just recently created a heroes to lick shelf, and now there's a common theme of sexy hairpins. To the shelf it goes.

[Pepa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reseña completa: http://masromance.blogspot.com.es/201...
Quizás le debería dar 4, pero siendo realista si la hubiera leído en castellano se iría directa al muro de joyitas. Así que lo dejaremos así,

Esta novela es una buena lectura. Personajes muy complejos que no paran de darnos sorpresas y de actuar como NO nos pensamos. Eso me encanta. Admito que Crispin hace que a Jane no le haya reconocido todo el mérito, aunque tiene una escena final de esas que hacen que te levantes de la silla y aplaudas!!!
Pero Crispin!! Todo un protagonista. Cambia y evoluciona a la vez, y nos lleva por donde quiere porque desde el principio no deja de manipularnos y de que lo veamos como la autora quiere que lo veamos, para, después, de forma genial decirnos de forma sencilla pero contundente que una misma persona puede ser a la vez cientos dependiendo de quien la esté observando.

El tema de la política me ha encantando. Pese a que era algo que entraba dentro del día a día de muchos nobles, pocas novelas lo tratan de forma tan contundente como esta. Eso me encanta porque me parece de lo más interesante. Corrupción, sobornos chantajes, todo es válido en este mucho (qué actual)
el romane me ha gustado mucho, a fuego lento como a mí me gusta♥♥
Quiero que lo publiquen en castellano!!!

[aarya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread on December 29, 2020: This is Meredith’s evil/corrupt politician book and I forgot how evil/corrupt the hero is at the beginning. Meredith really made me love this trash hero. The mind boggles. He reforms, okay?! Don’t judge me too harshly. 😭

I dunno if all the Victorian political infighting works in a post-2016 context but I love this book, flaws and all. Possibly the only amnesia book I’ve ever enjoyed in recent memory.

[Ira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series, we always get a strong character heroine and interesting story.
Oh the weakest link usually the hero, this one? A nasty politician who almost get killed by his enemy, went into coma and woke up with amnesia.
When I said nasty I mean it, he blackmailed, bribes, abused or did anything to get what he wanted.
He was simply one nasty piece of shit!!

His amnesia made him forgot his 5 years nasty character, but strange is our heroine find that he was actually having a loving family. So how he end up as he was? You find out, that will be a wonderful read for you:)
Also this new hero fell in love to our heroine and didn't understand why she kind of put up the barriers toward him, hah! Lol..

Meanwhile our heroine?
Of course she won't forget the way his awful behaviour to her before, but she have a plan for herself. He might a change man now but what if he recovered his memories and back to his old nasty life? She certainly won't want that!:)

I really love this one:)

I just got the author tweet, Lockwood's book next! Yay!!:)))

Btw, from Ms. Duran I found out this book connected with The Duke of Shadow, but my recommendation for you, read this book first before TDoS. Because what happened in the second half there is a year after this book ended, and Lockwod already return to London.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I struggled with this book, and I really wanted to like it. So many have loved it, with some even naming it their fav ever HR. But for me, it's my least fav Meredith Duran. :/ I was disappointed and I'm afraid my review may be a little ranty.......oops. Please don't take offence, lovers of this book. This is just MY opinion.

I tried two or three times to get into the book, but each time just couldn't get hooked and put it aside. Finally I made the effort to push through to the end, because it's almost time for the new Duran to be released and I wanted to finish this first. Some aspects of this book are a direct lead-in to The Sins of Lord Lockwood, and for that alone I'm glad I did finish this one. I liked Lord Lockwood in his appearances in The Duke of Shadows, and look forward to his book.

But, this one was problematical for me. First, I found the storyline a little difficult to follow at the start of the book. Who was actually the H of this book? Surely it couldn't be Crispin, the absolutely horrible crony of Jane's absolutely horrible uncle, who had been making Jane's life so miserable.... but, yep, that's him. Hmmmm. I hated Crispin right from the start, as well as Jane's awful family members (excluding her deceased parents, who were plainly decent people). Crispin seemed cruel, overbearing and corrupt. Not a H I was drawn to. And perhaps that was problem right through the book. Crispin was just awful in the early part, and I couldn't get over it, I'm afraid. The trope of bad guy changing his ways and reforming isn't one that I love, but for me it wasn't even done convincingly in this book.

The amnesia trope is also one that I find a little tedious. But in this case it was aggravated by the fact that Crispin had a personality transplant. It seemed ridiculous to me. Yeah it might sometimes happen IRL in such a situation, but he never really changed back to the way he was before, even after he regained his memory.Hmmmmm...... Seemed pretty far-fetched to me. It was like we suddenly had a different person. Perhaps that was meant to be the point, but I just didn't buy it. I found it quite confusing and I just didn't 'get' Crispin. Some might like unfolding the enigma, but I kept thinking, nah, he wouldn't change that much, not permanently. Yes, as his past was unpacked a little we could see some of what had been driving him, but I just didn't get on board........

Jane was also constantly so unsure of herself and questioning the lies she had told and to whom and how she could come back from that. I got a bit sick of Jane, actually. So their romance didn't feel wonderful to me the way I look for in a HR.

The political side of the book did not really interest me too much either, because the waters were so muddy from the complicated plot and from Crispin's confusing persona. Which side was he actually on? For a man hell-bent on becoming PM, his later actions were so extremely different from his earlier ones I couldn't reconcile it. And the other MPs would also have felt the same incredulity. The author tried to show this, but I didn't buy it as a convincing course of action.

And what about Crispin's family? I wasn't too convinced by them either. Their suddenly changed attitude seemed too perfunctory to me. At least Jane's uncle was consistently horrible and didn't change his spots.

There was also a late plot point that seemed frankly ridiculous to me the bad guy's room with the swinging axe etc I mean, COME ON!! Is this meant to be a poorly imagined Gothic melodrama? That whole section seemed that way to me.

I think I would have been more tolerant of all of these issues I've mentioned if only I'd liked the H and h. But I didn't care much about them, and that tepidity influenced my attitude towards the whole book, I suppose. The whole thing did improve in the last 25% or so, which is why I went up to 2.5 from 2 stars. The plot became clearer and I was starting to accept the changes in Crispin. But I still didn't love it (and there was that silly scene I've already mentioned).

There is so much love out there for this book. so perhaps I'll have a go at rereading one day and see whether I find it better on the second read. But for now.........I just feel....meh....

Bring on Lord Lockwood, and let's hope he's a whole lot better.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This purports to be part of a series, but I could detect no trace of it. I mean, I read the others a while ago, but I still kinda remember the characters and plots and this one seemed completely unrelated. Kinda like the title is completely unrelated, come to think on it.

And what is with the titles of Historical Romances having nothing to do with the actual book? Is that a thing now? I feel like someone took the cover and title (and series, see above) and then swapped out the actual book for something else they just happened to have lying around.

Anyhoo...

So I spent the first half really loving this book. The characters were interesting in the "what will they make of this mess" kind of way. The setup puts them at odds and it felt like the best setup for "learning to love and trust one another will help us grow together and overcome our enemies" I've read in a while. I got a bit anxious when movement on that front stopped in the third quarter. I lost all sympathy (and a full star rating) in the last quarter when the main characters blew the whole trust thing oh so very badly. I mean, there was plenty of plot to go and I was chomping at the bit ready for them to tackle things as a team. They never did. And I mean literally ever. The whole book, neither one actually trusted or relied on or communicated with the other in an open or honest way. Not. One. Time..

I ended up editing so many things in my head (like the last half of the novel—yes I literally edited the last half of the novel in my head) that I can't see my way to upping this to three stars. Seriously. So much editing in my head on this one.

A note about Politics: This story relies on politics a lot. A lot, a lot. And I'm afraid that Duran's method of using politics in her stories (this is evident in other books in this series, too, but is a much bigger part of this one, so much more blatant) is to designate one side the good guys and the other side the bad guys. Yes, an entire half of the 19th Century British Parliament are good guys in this story. Or, at any rate, every single person we see on that side turns out to be honest, forthright, and sincere in their desire to help other people. And every single person we see on the other side are venal, grasping, manipulating cheaters. Every single one. Worse, the bad guys don't even bother making the arguments they would have in the period, but rather resort to blatant emotional appeals to fear and hate. Which makes this not so much a political story as it is a polemic scold. And a singularly awkward polemic scold at that. And yes, I used my superpower on this aspect of the novel, too...

A note about Steamy: There are two and a half explicit sex scenes in this book. Which I didn't edit in my head. I skipped them entirely. I'd say "skimmed", but I was scanning for the end of the sex more than skimming, really. Which is why I can say that one of them was really, really long. And the other was used as a proxy for "you trust me, right?" when she clearly didn't and both of them knew it.

[Juliana Philippa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crispin cherished her for the same reasons that his other self would have scorned her.

Bottom Line. Another fantastic Meredith Duran romance with, as always, complex characters, rich historical details, and a unique plot-line. Highly recommend! Don't know how it fits into the series (don't think it really does...?), so don't at all worry about that.

Summary. 1859-1860, Countryside and London, England
Jane Mason (23) has lived with her aunt, uncle, and cousin ever since her parents passed away six years ago. She has been (emotionally) beaten down and silenced over the years, such that she spends day in and day out suppressing her true self, hiding her intelligence, and just trying to blend into the wallpaper. Jane is an extremely rich heiress, so her uncle (a total sleazeball) keeps careful control of her and has plans to keep the money in the family by marrying her to his handy-dandy son. Jane has been patiently biding her time until she can make a late-night escape, marry someone for convenience, and get control of her money; unfortunately, the night she finally makes a break for it is ruined and her efforts thwarted, but she finds herself allied with the most unexpected person ...

Mr. Crispin Burke (~30), an MP in the House of Commons, is a political ally of her uncle's and a frequent visitor to their house. Though extremely attractive and smart, Mr. Burke has always been cold, manipulative, and completely uncaring, so there's no love lost between them on Jane's part, and up until that evening, he had always ignored Jane, fooled by the mask she put on for everyone. His interest is piqued though when an incident briefly shows him a flash of the real Jane and for some reason, he finds himself offering her some advice in exchange for her gathering information he wants from her uncle. His advice helps her postpone the marriage to her cousin and get a Season in London, however everything comes to a head when Burke is attacked and near death, and her uncle decides that the marriage must occur ASAP. In the heat of the moment, Jane makes a daring gamble ...

Best laid plans and all that, however, mean that Jane gets a rude awakening when instead of being a newly widowed heiress, she finds herself married to a very-much-alive Burke, who is quickly recovering—except for a small case of amnesia (this is in the prologue, so I'm not ruining anything). What is Jane to do? She's thwarted her relatives and potentially gained her independence, however she's now married to a self-interested asshole ... Oh, but if only that were the actual problem. Because it turns out things are even worse than that—it turns out he's not, it turns out that the Crispin she's married to is nothing like the one she's known for the last five years. This Crispin is one whom she could love, who is starting to love her, and who makes her feel more alive, valued, and happy than she has since her parents' passing. What will happen when Crispin regains his memory? What will happen if he never does? What is Jane to do?

He was too perceptive. It made her feel peculiarly exposed, almost humiliated.
"It's a strange kind of torture," he said quietly. "To be caged by the lowest expectations. A humiliation of the soul."

Thoughts. I loved so many things about this book, most of all the main characters, which is so often the case with Duran's books. There are so many sweet scenes and exchanges between them and I love how Duran made everything play out. She definitely set a challenge for herself though, because Crispin is a straight-up asshole pre-amnesia—he's a corrupt politician who doesn't give a shit about anyone, and though we see a hint of something, it's a trace, nothing more. Post-amnesia, Crispin is Mr. McDreamy and the way he is with Jane ::sigh:: ... (he holds a strong place on my favorite-heroes list).

It's heartbreaking as Crispin begins to uncover who he is—or was—through the people he used to associate with, his political record, etc. The dynamic between him and his family is very interesting and I loved how Jane finds herself standing up for the old Crispin and holding them to account for how they've treated him. Jane herself is a fantastic heroine and the bind she finds herself in is truly a difficult one; it's great seeing her come out of her shell, able to show off her intelligence and spirit, but it (understandably) all feels so precarious, and she's wary of trusting the happiness she's experiencing, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

So why not 5 stars? (It has 5 stars on here because GR doesn't have half-stars, but you'll see that it's on my 4.5-star bookshelf). I have to say I'm still not completely sure I completely understand why Crispin was the way he was before. I understand the actual reasons, but it's not like 5 years ago, overnight, he went from good guy to bad guy; we do learn a bit more about his childhood and adolescent years, which is when things started to take root because of what happened in his family, so that was helpful, but I would have appreciated learning more about how he fell down that slippery slope in his political career. Duran does a very good job with this aspect in many ways—I like that we can clearly see the edge to him and the roughness once he remembers, though he is still the other Crispin as well—but I need just a bit more to be able to "let him off the hook" for his previous behavior (or at least move past it) and understand why he won't have a problem being different now.

Recommendations. Here are some other romances that I loved that have strong similarities to this one:
- Wanting Something More by Kathy Love
- Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman by Lorraine Heath
- Lost in Your Arms by Christina Dodd
- Stranger in My Arms by Lisa Kleypas

Favorite Quotes.

He wanted her to own herself, brazenly and unabashedly. She had shown him only one part of herself in these last few weeks—an extraordinary part, tentative and earnest and kind despite her better judgment, clear thinking and funny, compassionate and full of wit. But she had closed away all the rougher, sharper angles. The grit, the steel mettle at her core, the defiant anger that had kept her safe for so many years. And he wished to see those as well. To show her, to prove to her, that those parts of her could be admired and loved, too.

He could lie here for hours, staring at her. Slowly, slowly, he wrapped the curl around his hand. Gentleness, tender care, reverent praise—these were what she deserved.
-------
[One of the end-of-the-book declarations] His thumb stroked forcefully over her cheek, angled her face toward his. "You're simply amazed that I haven't sprouted scales and horns to announce it." He gripped her chin. "Look at me. Men can change. Especially when fate intervenes and gives them a reason to do it. I am the man I am, in this moment, because of you. Not because of a head injury. And not ..." His jaw flexed. "Not because I can't remember otherwise. I remember it all, Jane."

*This review is of an ARC provided by Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review (though I also pre-ordered a paper copy on Amazon.com lol)

[OLT · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had almost decided not to leave a review on Amazon for this Duran book. It's brilliant and stunned me into a serious case of Review-Writer's Block. And, in addition, the book already had excellent reviews by other respected reviewers. But I finally managed to unblock myself enough to leave a few thoughts.

This novel has complex, superbly-developed characters, excellent dialogue, an unexpected plot, and clever, inspired use of that dreaded amnesia trope which I usually detest and have only really appreciated in one other HR: Sherry Thomas's TEMPTING THE BRIDE. Both Thomas and Duran make use of the trope to allow the victims of that amnesia to push a reboot or reset button on their life. In this case, it's Duran's hero, who loses any recollection of the last five years of his life, allowing him to reflect on his past and observe himself from the viewpoint of those around him.

And at the same time the hero's dilemma is the catalyst for the heroine to do some examining of her own behavior and attitude towards others. She had known and disliked the hero in those 5 years he has forgotten. Now new circumstances in their relationship give her a new perspective on him and on herself.

In addition, Duran's story has a compelling political plot-line and a mystery. The hero's memory loss was caused by an attempt on his life, so we have to find out what that's all about. All in all, I give this very complete and well-written (really well) story a resounding 5 stars. It makes me want to go back to my most recent reviews of other HRs and deduct a star from each one of them. Do I sound like I'm gushing? Well, so be it.

[eyes.2c · Rating 5 out of 5]

Misdeeds indeed!

Handsomely wrought story that pleases from start to finish. Jane Mason, an heiress, has been virtually held captive by her uncle and his family. Now she has come of age and her uncle intends to marry her to his despicable cousin Archibald and take control of her fortune.
Crispin Burke intends to be Prime Minister and how he gets there will be through cold manipulation and a will of iron.
Jane's uncle and Crispin have been partners in this endeavour, intent on forcing a bill through parliament that will enhance Crispin's reputation and bring monetary gain for those behind the scheme.
The coming together of these two is a a story of opportunity that turns into something more.
It's Jane who takes the massive step that Crispin has opened up to her. Crispin just didn't foresee the road she would take and his involvement. An attempt on his life leaves Crispin with a loss of memory, a situation Jane takes advantage of--and then she's faced with the consequences.
As Jane reflects when informed about Burke being all but dead, Burke was 'a villain, an amoral rogue [although] his vitality had all but filled a room. Had it only been turned toward good, he might have done so much. But he’d been wicked.'
A romance with an intriguing amount of danger, emotional angst and redemption.

A NetGalley ARC

[Lady Wesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is brilliant. Heartbreakingly beautifully written. Everyone who loves serious historical romance should read it. I don't have time to compose a proper review now; perhaps later. I must say, though, that never have I thought to read a steamy love scene riddled with feminist philosophy. Excerpts:

He made a guttural noise in his throat, low and approving. His thumb stroked over the thin wool of her gown, making promises to what was concealed. She felt his other hand at her back, setting her free of all the small tokens of decency, which great factories in the north pressed into buttons, clasps and hooks that women fastened dutifully, knowing their place, knowing their role. Covered, bound, laced, wrapped, bundled away from the world like objects to be kept on a shelf. Put away from this kind of honesty and the revelations it might bring.
* * *
Men’s buttons were not designed as armor. They wanted to be loosened. Up, up, up her fingers trailed, the buttons yielding eagerly.

My heartfelt advice is: read this book.

[Lyuda · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Because here I am. I am real. I am here, standing in front of you. And I am telling you- for the first time and the last- that if this won’t serve, you should walk away.

Intriguing and sensual, suspenseful and complex, intense and uplifting - Ms. Duran has done it again! Although part of the series, the book has no connection to any character or event in the previous installments and can definitely be read as standalone. Saying this I would still encourage anyone who love good HR to read the whole series. Ms. Duran is the author who really is a treasure in the genre where offerings are many but winners are few and far between.

Self-awareness, redemption, forgiveness, and love are the main teams of this beautifully written story.

Jane Mason-self-described golden goose for her grasping and greedy uncle who controlled every aspect of her life after her parents death. She lived day after day as a shadow. She hides her true nature while plans her escape.

Six years she had waited, prayed, deliberated, stewed. For six years she had kept meekly obedient, in penance for these first months in which she’d known no better, and had spoken her mind without fear.

Crispin Burke-MP with the motto "Need no one, trust no one", political ally of Jane’s uncle and a frequent visitor to their house.

He had a cool temper, a clever mind, endless charm. He used people and then, elegantly, destroyed them. He never forgot a name or face or a slight against him.

A life-altering event brought them together and forced them to see each other in a new light, to journey together on the road of self-discovery and love. And what a journey this was! Full of twist and turns described in vivid and imaginative writing it left me breathless couple of times. The growth of the characters described through their moral struggles, the choices they make felt genuine. The chemistry between them - and I’m not talking only about sexual chemistry but this illusive thing that makes partners not only best lovers but best friends - was a pleasure to see developed and blossomed.

This is a historical romance in its finest.

[Mary - Buried Under Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cogito ergo sum

Meredith Duran has amazed me once again, with a tale centered on the philosophical and political struggle between morality and corruption, villain and hero, complete with two of the most complex characters ever seen in historical romance. To follow Jane and Crispin’s journey into self-discovery, forgiveness, and love is akin to a blind man seeing a rainbow for the first time – it’s startlingly, raw, and irresistibly beautiful.

We begin with Jane Mason, a darling heiress of the most progressive 19th century thoughts and socialism, who is relegated to furniture by her grasping, greedy relatives post the death of her beloved parents. For six years, she has meticulously hidden herself and plotted her escape, only to be foiled by her uncle and his crony, the dangerous Crispin Burke, who blackmails Jane into clearing some obstacles in his way to becoming Prime Minister. This is not an auspicious start, and only when Crispin suffers a severe injury, to awaken having lost the past 5 years of his memory, with Jane claiming to be his wife, does the story truly begin.

The most brilliant part of this book is undeniably the transformation of Crispin Burke, from a ruthless politician embittered by his past, to an honorable man with sound morals seeking to banish his demons once and for all. At the same time, it is more so a journey of self-discovery, to wake up and eventually realize that one is not whom one believed to be, that character can be drastically altered in the span of 5 years. Yet, as Crispin’s memory slowly returns, he faces the task of reconciling his current self with the man he used to be, to only realize that they are both two sides of the same coin. Power is not corrupt by itself, it can be wield for noble ends if one has the means to carry it through – with Jane by his side.

Jane is a fascinatingly complex character. She is cast in the role of a saintly victim, and we are brought to sympathize with her, in her external struggle against evil. She is the embodiment of truth and justice, yet throughout the novel she has deceived just as often as Crispin, and not all for the greater good. But in Crispin, she finds the strength to confront her own flaws, and as their marriage becomes a true partnership, she finds true courage from within herself.

“I fear I won’t have my parents’ strength…to see their plans through. That instead of ignoring the sneers and braving through the wickedness, I will let it embitter me, and give up on the world, and tell myself there is no point to working for others when all I receive is contempt.” (p 151)

Jane and Crispin were initially a juxtaposition, the good and the evil. With Meredith Duran’s subtle, clever layering, these dichotomous elements converge together in a cataclysm of harmony and acceptance that is blinding in its brilliance. The end result? For both to realize that we are all humans, and selfish in spite of ourselves, yet there can be much goodness in each of us if we choose to believe in ourselves.

I thought Fool Me Twice was the height of Duran’s writing, but this book wonderfully proves me wrong. You will be astounded by the intensity of thought and feeling in this book, delighted by its unique and intense political backdrop, and ultimately left awed by the partnering of two souls in forgiveness and happiness.

*via Buried Under Romance
--------------

I have been very busy, my friends, but couldn't not write a review for this book, even if I did it secretly at work! :)

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by NetGalley and Publisher for an honest review.

Jane lives with her unethical, loathsome Uncle, Aunt and cousin. She lost her parents as a teenager and came to live with her fathers brother. She's a very wealthy heriess and can't have access to her fortune until she marries. Jane has hidden her intelligence and wit from her Uncle and his family to try and survive their emotional abuse. Jane comes across as a shy, interverted, wallflower to the outside world. Her Uncle needs/wants her money and devises a plan to have her compromised so she is forced to marry her cousin.

Crispin is a ruthless, power hungry politician who's goal is to someday become prime minister, at any and all cost. Crispin is friends and a political ally with Jane's Uncle and they are plotting together on a bill that Jane finds utterly inhumane. But surprisingly Crispin saves Jane from a plot (by her Uncle) to trap and compromise Jane into marriage with her cousin. But there is payback that he requires for helping her, or more like blackmail. Crispin asks Jane to spy for him on her Uncle.

Crispin uncovers something (from the spying that Jane has done for him) that has him brutally attacked and leaves him close to dying. Jane is desperate to escape her uncle and devises a plan to forge a fake marriage certificate that shows Crispin and she are married. She feels horrible but is desperate to run away to America with her money and to be as far away from her Uncle as possible.

This is where the plot really gets tricky for Jane. Crispin doesn't die but miraculously survives, but he does have some aftereffects from the injury, amnesia. Crispin memory of the last five years of his life are gone, he can't remember what's transpired in his life during that time.

Jane is now caught in a lie that has her feeling fearful, guilty and unsure what to do. Jane realizes she needs to play along with the fake marriage but along the way she gets to know a very different Crispin. Crispin is trying to recover and figure out who or what he was. He slowly pieces together that he is/was a power hungry and ruthless individual who's family doesn't think very highly of him. And then there is his wife who at times seems guarded and nervous around him. But yet he's drawn to her and she brings him a sense of peace and purpose. The two characters begin to develop a friendship and mutual political interest. Crispin's tenderness and kindest begin to give Jane hope and a thought to making a possible go of their "marriage" with the possibility of him never remember the last five years.

These two individuals are flawed but so worthy of growth, forgiveness and redemption. Each finds the strength to overcome each others preconceived notions and see the good and potential in each other. The depth of each character is multi faceted and complex. But Jane and Crispin evolve into individuals that are human, humble, but strong and worthy of redemption and love. Their depth of character and willingness to accept their flaws as a challenge to better themselves as individuals, I found that very inspiring.

The pacing and writing were excellent. The description and detail of the political climate of the time period was done very well. I do have to say I found the romance to be equal too or second to the political story, which for me was a little disappointing.

[♥ℳelody · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75 stars

Started off with a strong bang but ended on a weak sputter. I'm so frustrated because what happened to all that glorious tension and chemistry that was there in the first 50 pages? Where the eff did that all go? It seemed to evaporate right along with the hero's memories when he got knocked over the head. 😭💨

First of all, the writing itself is fabulous. Meredith Duran is a fantastic writer and storyteller. She’s so good at writing smart, deeply flawed, layered, grey characters and this series is shining example of that. This is only my third book by her and I see the overall theme. She loves to write her heroines as courageous, resilient women made of mettle, trying to make the most of what they got and breaking down barriers in their own way in a realistic historically accurate fashion. That all being said, I had problems with this one.

The first 30% of this book was absolutely delicious and maybe I jinxed it when I thought this would be a home run for me when I dived right in. The hero Crispin Burke is a power hungry politician trying to climb his way up to becoming the next Prime Minister of England. He’s ruthless, cunning, manipulative, mean as a snake. I loved every damn minute of it. Seeing the hero and the heroine go toe to toe and get under each other’s skin was so good. But then once the hero is nearly killed in a staged mugging and wakes up with amnesia finding himself married to the heroine Jane, that’s where the story unfortunately for me lost its footing and never found solid ground again.

I'll just get to my overall #1 problem: there wasn't enough romance in this book for me. There was just way too much focus on the political plotline and not enough romance. So much so what chemistry I saw at the beginning seemed to vanish between our leads with the heroine more concerned about a penal bill getting passed and walking on egg shells terrified of being found out by her fake husband (the hero). Our heroine Jane Mason is a liberal crusader with a bleeding heart but at times her stiff upper lip and focus on the hero's political aspirations was too much and took up too much page time. Ol' Jane girl gets hot and bothered when talking about politics and justice reform. Politics is her passion and her love language. You do you girl. But it bored me silly. At one point Crispin wants to woo and romance her with sexy times and she's literally like "nah, nope. I'd rather talk about this bill instead"..... 😐

Live footage of my reaction:


Yeah because the first 200 pages of the talking about that bill wasn't enough? 😬 I love a good slow burn but this happens way past the halfway mark and both are supposedly smitten and lusting after each other at this point. You are waiting for these two to cross that line finally and stop talking shop and get personal so it was frustrating the longer this dynamic continued. What little romance we are shown is left on the back burner on low heat for much too long or just plain turned off as if the author completely forgot these two are supposed to be falling in love. I just needed something to sink my teeth into and here it felt like the couple's connection was more an afterthought than the primary focus if that makes sense. If I don't see it or feel it, I ain't buying it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Friends I could believe but "I would burn down the whole damn world for you" it wasn't giving. From the heroine's side especially at times. She is falling for him but there are parameters to it. At times it felt more like what the "new Crispin" could do for her and her political beliefs and making the world a better place. I don't like relationship dynamics like that because it's self-serving. You fall in love with a person because of them, not what they can do for you and your ambitions. Because of that the connection was missing here. All that potential and build up falls to the wayside for politicking, debating, calculating and strategizing together and apart, working on Crispin's speech for Parliament, hunting down the mystery behind who tried to kill the hero, etc. Some of that may sound good on paper but the execution was as exciting and riveting as watching paint dry for this reader.



My other issue was with the heroine herself. I really wanted to love her given her resilience but it was a struggle. I found Jane a little too mercenary, unbending, self-righteous and self-serving. She only sees things in black or white and that is probably her biggest flaw. You are either entirely good or entirely evil according to Ms. Mason. She's courageous but also very cowardly where at times she plays the martyr role all too well and that drove me insane considering she set this whole thing in motion in order to gain her own freedom and get access to her inheritance. That pretty much was my sticking point with this whole storyline, she lied and used someone for self-gain. If pre-amnesia Crispin had done something to her and she was exacting revenge an eye for an eye by using him I would have understood her motivations better. But aside from working with her uncle and bribing people to gain his political support, her loathing of Crispin pre-amnesia was completely face value. She's labeled and branded him the devil incarnate and nobody and nothing can change her mind. But pre-amnesia Crispin Burke did nothing to her and that's my hang up over this whole thing. She uses him and takes advantage of him simply because she hated his politics and that was a little too mercenary and cold blooded for my tastes. Silly too. When she finds out Crispin was in an accident and most likely dying she hustles quickly and procures a fake marriage certificate so she can get out from her Uncle's greedy controlling thumb and access her inheritance to flee to America. He's literally a means to an end. The cold mercenary way she did all this leaves a bad after taste in your mouth. I mean her first reaction to Crispin waking up from his coma was "oh dammit, he's alive. WTF am I gonna do now?" And this is after staying at his family's home and his sister and parents take her under their wing when Crispin is in a coma. We do see her wracked with guilt and conflicted through the rest of the book. But that guilt is also tempered with resolute stubborness in believing the end justifies the means and that the minute he gains his memory back she's gonna leave him because "old Crispin" was an awful person. It just curtailed whatever sympathy I felt for her when she would do this. Every time these two would have a soft moment or get close, her inner monologues just killed the whole mood. My feelings of goodwill towards this character would shrivel up whenever she would think stuff like this:

I'm not at fault. She felt as petulant as a small child sent to the corner unjustly, blamed for someone else's wrongs. If anything, she had been more truthful with Crispin than wisdom recommended. He was right: she had married him for a reason. By admitting that the marriage could be undone, she had given him a weapon he could use to cast her back into the Masons' poisonous embrace. It felt tremendously unfair to be punished for that.

Not your fault? Oh girl. You set this whole thing in motion. You fake married a man without his consent just so you could get access to your inheritance to run off across seas. You are lying to him. Your fake husband wants to make the marriage real and thinks he courted you before marriage but is hurt and confused when you say no but respects your wishes and now you are pouting over it and throwing your hands up? Like I said, it was hard to empathize or like her when she had moments like this. What's more, the truth doesn't come out till the very end of the book and the confrontation was so frustratingly anticlimactic and not what I was hoping for. Neither is how Crispin gains his memories back. Which is the reason why I deducted another star from this. The last 100 pages is so underwhelming and blase, probably the most disappointing part of this entire book for me. Like that's all we get for it in the end? When you are dealing with an amnesia trope, you expect the moment where the character's memories come rushing back to be monumental or emotional or.... something. It really bugs me when writers deploy this trope but don't give readers a fulfilling payoff. Like that's the whole freaking point, isn't it? He literally wakes up in the middle of the night and his memories are back and he just wanders the hallways. That's it. No emotional reaction, nothing. And of course when Jane finds out he remembers but didn't tell her she's quick to cast him as the villain once again for daring to lie to her! He made a fool of her! The betrayal! The DISHONESTY Y'ALL!!! (her words verbatim btw)



Hypocrisy thy name is Jane Mason.

He didn't tell her right away because he was scared she would leave him if she knows his memories are back (like she kept warning) and wants to gauge her feelings before telling her. Her self-righteous anger over him lying to her for a total of 3 fucking days was the straw that broke this tired camel's back. You've been lying to him for months but he does it for 3 days and that's too much? You can't be serious. lol Crispin Burke is very much the anti-hero in beginning of this story but so is Jane for the rest of it IMO. Jane was a victim in her Uncle's household but not in Crispin's. 🤷🏻‍♀️ She loved to play the victim a little too much. I can respect her in taking her future into her own hands but not at all how she went about it and acting like a victim to her own actions. She has trouble coming to terms of being flawed and having ulterior motives and while I loved the overall message that we as humans are flawed and no one is perfect I just wish it was delivered better here. That seems to be Duran's calling card with how she writes her characters and that's why I love her work. The underlying theme of there's a little bit of bad and grey shades in even good hearted people. But Jane really frustrated me in understanding her. She's not a bad character or awful she just wasn't for me. I adore grey messy characters but this heroine's up and down reactions to things made it hard. The talking in circles, the verbal jousting of who has done the bigger offense, the constant calculating things between the two just dragged things down. It was exhausting instead of exciting. The whole mystery plot of who tried to kill Crispin and other politicians mysteriously disappearing had me mentally checking out because it became so convoluted and outlandish. You have a booby trapped mansion with flying axes and daggers, a nonexistent penal colony, missing ships and prisoner swaps, too many dead bodies or missing puzzle pieces to keep track of that I lost interest.



In turn I also felt the writing for the hero Crispin suffered in the process as well. He went from an enigmatic, layered, deliciously complex anti-hero to a two-dimensional soft puppy who wants to make everyone happy and shows zero agency over being lied to. Crispin with amnesia is sweet, kind and affable guy. He's always smiling and understanding. This transformation to a good guy felt too easy. He lost depth and his edge. I wanted a confrontation, in fact I was welcoming it to create some kind of drama finally but didn't get even that. Especially when deception is involved you want that big confrontation to happen, which this book also fell short on. His realization to finding out how jaded and corrupt he became over the past 5 years of lost memory was compelling but I wanted way more. His transformation from jaded corrupt politician to an empathetic docile man wasn't believable and didn't carry enough weight.

Anyways, I probably wasn't the right reader for this book. The writing itself is very good but the plot and couple unfortunately didn't live up to their full potential like we see in the early pages. ETA: I originally thought stuff was left unsolved in the end intentionally as a set up for the next book but I see the next book isn't even the Duke of Auburn's book who played a crucial role in the last part here. So now I'm even more confused as to why things regarding Elland weren't solved here and left open ended that way. And the Duke never got a book? 😩😭 He and his whole backstory of being a sole survivor of a massacre sounded very intriguing. Now I'm sad and mad, I'm smad.

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I’m an unabashed fangirl of Meredith Duran, I’m flabbergasted to be giving one of her books three stars.

***spoilers***

The convoluted plot had some noticeable lapses in logic, as did the characters. For example, the marriage between Crispin and Jane. When was it supposed to have happened? Jane was kept under her aunt’s watchful eye both in the country and in London. When was this miraculous event supposed to have taken place? How? Where? Why did no one ask? Especially the uncle, who could have sued her for breach of promise. Another example: Jane’s uncle was supposedly embezzling from her. How could that escape detection once the inheritance came under the purview of Crispin’s lawyer?

Crispin started the book as a ruthless, ambitious, corrupt politician. I eagerly anticipated the author gradually and skillfully transforming him into a person worthy of Jane’s devotion. Instead, he took a blow to the head that fractured his skull and robbed him of the last five years of his memories and he magically became Mr. Honest and Honorable.

How convenient.

As for Jane, she started this book as a sympathetic character pinned in an inescapable trap who managed to fight her way out of it. I admired her. Until she turned into a judgmental, preachy, and inflexible whiner who was always feeling guilty or making assumptions about Crispin, that is. I was so very relieved to get out of her head when the author switched to Crispin’s POV and so very miserable to once again be immersed in her world-building assumptions when the POV switched back.

Politics was a main character in this book. I wish it had been a minor character.

The big climax of the mystery about who tried to kill Crispin was a non-event. The villain popped up out of nowhere to deliver a James Bond-type ending that had real comic book potential.

It kept me interested and reading, the writing wasn’t as magical as Duran’s best work but was good, and each of the characters had engaging moments. But on the normal Duran scale of very good to excellent, this one scored a “good enough.”

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Crispin is a ruthless man, Jane is a trapped woman, and when Crispin wakes to find himself suddenly without memories of the last five years and married to Jane, everyone is surprised by how different Crispin's personality has suddenly become. He's now a man Jane might actually love, as long as he never finds out the truth or regains his memories. This half of the plot - Jane's deceit and the revealing of Crispin's past as he discovers how he came to be such a callous individual was really captivating. Unfortunately the other half of the plot is discovering how and why Crispin lost his memories in the first place along with some political machinations that were quite frankly boring. At the end of the book it becomes obvious that the whole thing was all just an elaborate set up for the next book in this series (yet to be released). If this book had just stuck with the Crispin amnesia plot-line I would have enjoyed this a lot more.

[Gio Listmaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Starting a Meredith Duran Book I Prepare Myself For Subtle Sensory Experiences

You See The Hero In Your Mind And You Know Exactly What He Sees



“A body, he thought, was like a complex and complicated clock. Each one unique in its parts. Through study, one might discover the tricks of its mechanisms. Through trial and error, one might calibrate one’s touches on the gears and learn to make the clock tick. He drew his knuckles down her nape, along her spine. She shuddered”

“Your hair,” he said, “is a glory. Promise me you will never pin it up again.”




I Experience The Heroines Emotions And Chemistry



“I think it a moral duty,” she said. “If one inherits the privilege of wealth, or of education or good family, one must use that privilege wisely."

“Here was a new lesson for her, then: it was possible to behave like an utter goose in front of a man, and then to take his arm again and stroll companionably onward, without feeling any awkwardness."

This Book Is About

Villains
“History remembered the villains even better than the saints.”
Hypocrisy
Political Intrigue
Complex Plots
Mystery
Empowerment
Growth
Forgiveness

Reading Her Books Takes Awhile Because I Pause For Reflection And Reread Chapters To Get The Connections, Chemistry, And The Feels

It Is A Historical Journey As Well As An Emotional One

[Chris C - A Midlife Wife · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many of this authors works and they have all been very good. But this one is something special. I cannot put my finger on what the difference is, but I loved it!

From the amazing characters that Ms. Duran creates, to the growing depth of feelings that slowly creeps up on you, her writing is completely on point and captivates you.

I love that we have a female character with brains and brass ones. Not someone who is a weak fool that minces words with men, looking for her strength. But a woman that takes the bull by the horns and makes life happen for her.

Crispin is so different too! He started off an unlikable jerk but made a 180 and became an amazing man! I love his passion for life and for Jane. So refreshing!

The author has created the perfect love story. From sparks flying at the beginning to a slow growth of respect, protection, care, consideration, and love, the perfect couple is brought together as one. Such a beautiful and interesting historical story. You will never want it to end.

But when it does, you will have a perpetual smile on your face. Amazing read! Bravo!

Full review and a 3 book giveaway! http://amidlifewife.com/a-ladys-code-...

[Starr (AKA Starrfish) Rivers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too much politics. Made my head hurt. I dislike politics in any sort of medium. And definitely in my romances! ESP. If it’s central to the story.

Ugh.

I skipped a lot.

The ending was rushed.

[b.andherbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨What have you done to my feeeeelings Meredith Duran?! ✨

This is going to be a super spoiler-y review, so please stop here if you are planning on reading it.

CWs: verbal & emotional abuse, toxic family, violence, blood, wounds, discussions of grief. Death of a child (in the past, discussed). Forced kiss (hero on heroine in the beginning).

✨✨✨


Okay!

The way this romance turned around from me truly wanting to cast Crispin Burke into the fire along with Jane's embroidery, that damn devil, to wanting Jane to cradle his leonine head (I really like that adjective !!!!) in her lap forever was a FEAT.

Forgive my British political ignorance (yes I have a Masters in European History but politics was NOT my strong suit), but Crispin is willing to do anything to become Prime Minister, and per Jane's observations as he works with her truly terrible uncle, Crispin has no morals and no redemptive qualities beyond being beautiful. Heck, she embroiders him as the devil himself. BUT he could be a devil to help her escape marriage to her cousin, knowing her uncle will only use the marriage so he can access her fortune. Jane needs to escape.

Crispin promises to help Jane secure a marriage certificate, even if it is forged, from the archbishop he has in his pocket, but only IF Jane in turn helps him - but reporting any time she hears what she thinks is a name. She hates that she needs Crispin's help, but he isn't wrong, and she compromises her morals to save herself.

Until Crispin is grievously injured doing SOMETHING and looks to be on his death bed; so Jane has the archbishop forge a marriage certificate to Crispin!!! 😲 AND THEN OF COURSE. Crispin wakes up. But also has some amnesia.

What follows is a truly delicious and angst filled dance of this cad of a man having NO DOUBT of why he'd be married to Jane, Jane fearing she's falling in love with the "new Crispin" and ever worrying about the old Crispin resurfacing, combatting her sense of moral purpose with the devious means she used to trap a man into a marriage, and so much more. WHEW.

This is a delicate dance that could quickly go off the rails, but never once did Duran make me feel icky. Crispin is so gentle with his wife. Jane is able to see the man he should have become if not for circumstances leading to his corruption. The way the layers of secrets are slowly peeled back, and the hurts that surface along with the love the grows. DAMN A MASTERFUL BOOK.

I'm also learning, this being my 2nd Duran ever, that she is a poetic genius when it comes to sex scenes. These are sloooow burners with heat. And when they get there?? Wow. Breathless. And when Crispin, when they both fear that the truths are coming quickly and they might lose what they have built? When he asks Jane for "a night with his wife?" GUTTED.

And damn, that ending! Figuring out Crispin's search to discover the secret prison where people are being kidnapped to, and the villain having an actual booby-trapped study with AXES THAT COME OUT OF THE WALL and KNIVES?!?? Jeez oh pete.

AND THEN - amidst it all, Jane offers to give half her fortune to her uncle to save Crispin from this study and when the dust settles, Crispin tells her he'll be her villain and she will not give the uncle one farthing. That's hot.

And can you believe, after all the drama and heat Duran put me through, she THEN has Crispin pull out the charred embroidery Jane's uncle had cast into the fire, that Crispin returned to rescue because he found Jane's work clever and cutting, and that he had started falling for her, even then, as old Crispin? Shoot. Just perfection.

ANYWAY, this was a lot of feelings and all-caps text but that's where we are at. The end.

[Chels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane is an orphan living with her abusive uncle, a man who isolates her so he can milk her inheritance for what it's worth. Jane's desperate to escape, and her opportunity shows up in the form of one very corrupt, very handsome politician: Crispin Burke.

Crispin isn't trying to help Jane. Far from it. He's blackmailing her into spying for him, with the promise that he'll concoct a way for her to forge a marriage certificate that gets her out of her uncle's grasp. Then Crispin is attacked in the street and it looks like he won't survive. Seeing her chance, Jane forges a marriage license to Crispin, who is not long for this world.

But Crispin doesn't die. Not only that, he doesn't remember the last five years of his life. The "old" Crispin hasn't been corrupted yet, and he's troubled by his discovery of who he has become. Not only that, but he wants to be worthy of Jane and live up to her expectations.

Jane is terrified that Crispin will remember his past and revert to his old self. Meanwhile, Crispin is desperate to prove to Jane that he can change, and that he won't abandon her.

Meredith Duran and Sherry Thomas are two modern historical romance authors that write things that are gritty and challenging and heart-wrenching in a way that I typically only get from older books. For me, there have been no misses.

I will say that I'm absolutely fascinated by evil Crispin from the beginning of the book. Do I like him more than good Crispin? No comment.

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Let me be your villain,” he whispered.

Oh man, hotter words were never spoken.

Crispin is a true morally ambiguous hero. He is deeply involved in British politics and is really good at their power games.
Therefore to see his “skill” being turned in favor of our heroine feels so nice (like true love 😉)

The story is tangled in amnesia, mystery and marriage of convenience.
Jane our heroine is a kick ass smartie who is pretending to be plain and simple.

“I do find my thoughts worth sharing, sir. I think the fault must lie with the listeners. But even if I were a fool . . . it would still be worth the effort to think.”

Oh Jane, better words were never spoken.
She is such a good counterpart for Crispin. They seem to think alike and act a like.
The main theme of the book is about atonement of character. Is it possible? Can you trust a person with a shaded past? Can you trust someone who lied to you? Our MCs have many conversations around that and I truly enjoyed it because trust is an important part of every relationship.

I’m taking a half star down because of the mystery part. Don’t take me wrong, I liked it, it kept the plot going but it ended being a little over the top which cheapen the overall story for me.
I’ve read another book by Meredith Duran and I remember feeling the same.
Does she involve over the top villains in all her books?
4.5 stars rounded to 5.

[Corduroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I AM CONFLICTED! 3.5 stars, rounded up. Tl;dr - I never love things as much as everyone else loves them, even though I really really want to.

Meredith Duran is a great prose stylist and one of my favorite historical romance authors. She's very good, her characters are generally great. Buuuuuuuut. I have noticed in a couple of her books that there is a sort of odd pacing problem that apparently an editor doesn't seek to repair before the work is published.

In this book, the premise is that the heroine is a rich, oppressed heiress who lives with her crummy family (who are embezzling her fortune even as they plot to keep her hidden away until she has no choice but to marry her dumb cousin and keep the money in the family). The hero is an enjoyably malicious politician and the younger son of a family with dysfunctional emotional dynamics. They form an alliance to get her out of the house and to get him political information he needs, but when he is attacked, seriously injured, and assumed to be dying, she takes her chance to (this makes sense in the book) let the world assume that they are married and escape her family. Freedom is within her grasp when he wakes up, suffering from amnesia, not remembering the last 10 years of his life, but otherwise in good health. Hero and Heroine then work together to solve various mysteries, achieve political goals, and so on. Hero is disturbed to realize just how awful of a man he has apparently become, heroine is disturbed to realize that she's becoming attached to him.

Mostly that sounds pretty good to me, and it's fine, it's a perfectly readable book. BUT... there's a jump in time that keeps somehow undercutting the tension. The book sort of lurches to and fro and I never quite felt that I was now definitely in the story- well into the midpoint, it felt like a prologue. The book kept skipping things that were obviously dramatic, interesting moments, and have them happening off-screen. Would those moments later be shown to me in a flashback? Were they just... gone? Not clear.

A lot of it felt like it was rushing through things to get to the next part, only a few sections felt like the characters were really present in the story and really experiencing what was going on. One such moment was when the hero, post-amnesia, encounters a woman he realizes he'd been having an affair with: his dismay at discovering his own history was tense and moving. But a lot of other things felt like they were rushed through because they had to happen for the story to progress. For example, very early on, the hero makes a deal with/blackmails the heroine into doing some political spying for him. Later you realize that she's been sending him letters for some time, but even though it was previously established that her dastardly family intercepted and read her correspondence, making this a pretty good opportunity for you to find out how she achieved the feat of writing to a single gentleman without them knowing, and how that was for her emotionally, the book instead just references it in one line as something that happened before.

The jolts in time aren't just plotty, practical problems, they also seem to really undercut the development of romantic tension between the leads. Very early on, there's a scene between the two of them where the malicious hero realizes that the heroine is attracted to him even though she doesn't like him. It's a good scene that establishes the start of an arc for the couple, right? But instead, you skip ahead to him having amnesia and being a totally different man who is nice and kind and has good morals. That's cool, but... but what happened to the evil but attractive politician, man?

Tl;dr - it's good, 3.5 stars, but could have been phenomenal. I wish it had had another deep edit to bring out the really great book I think is in it.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a bit stingy with my ratings so far this year. I've had a couple of books come close to 5 stars but not quite make it. Leave it to Duran to earn my first unreservedly 5-star review of the year. I find it hard to believe this book won't end up as one of my absolute favorites of 2017.

Amnesia plots are easily one of my least favorite tropes in romance and I generally won't even bother to read a book that has one. And while I trust Duran to pull off just about anything, I have found this series overall to be a bit weaker than her standalones. (Speaking of which, no spoilers, but a few characters from these standalones make appearances here!) I'm so glad I listened to the glowing reviews and read this one.

(skip ahead if you don't want a plot summary)

Crispin Burke is a truly loathsome character before the attack that leaves him with a severe head injury and amnesia. While the book opens with him reawakening and not remembering the past several years of his life, Duran takes us back a few months so that we meet him as his old self. He wants to be Prime Minister because he wants the power the office will give him. He's willing to take any bribe or use any kind of threat or intimidation or blackmail to make this happen. He's a thoroughly corrupt individual whom no one likes but everyone fears. And he's been in league with Jane's uncle, who has also used his position as a politician to blackmail and bribe people using money he's embezzling from Jane's inheritance.

Jane was raised by loving parents who cared about her education and encouraged her to speak her mind. Her father made a fortune in industry (I can't remember what exactly it was??) and then turned to politics with the intention of using his position to institute sweeping social reform. He intended to give away his fortune to this end before he and Jane's mother die tragically. Jane is then sent to live with her father's brother, who has always secretly resented him for using money he loaned Jane's father to get his factories off the ground before making his fortune. Jane's aunt and uncle keep her secluded on their estate and she hasn't been allowed to leave since she came to live with them. They plan to marry Jane off to her cousin so that they can get access to her fortune. It's being held in trust until she marries, so they want to keep it in the family even if provisions keep most of it under her control.

Jane has spent the past several years pretending to be a meek, unintelligent young woman who doesn't pose a threat to anyone. She knows Crispin Burke through his frequent visits to her uncle's home, and she witnesses firsthand how heartless he is. Burke has taken little notice of her until the night she decides to escape her aunt and uncle's house. She plays a prank that no one understands except him, and he realizes for the first time that she's more than she seems. To her great disgust, he foils her plan to escape. However, he helps her avoid being trapped into a marriage with her cousin in return for spying on her uncle for him. She agrees under duress.

Jane also agrees to marry her cousin in exchange for a season in London; her plan is to meet some other man while in London and pay him to marry her and live separate lives. However, her aunt and uncle watch her so closely that this is nearly impossible. It is through Crispin that Jane learns there is an archbishop who, for a price, will forge a marriage license so long as one provides the name of a groom who will not oppose the match. When she learns Crispin is on his deathbed, she remembers the archbishop and pays for a fake marriage license with Crispin listed as the groom. She plans to get access to her fortune and then escape to America to start over again away from her uncle and his family, who are livid when they discover the "marriage" between Crispin and Jane. Since she expects Crispin to die, she doesn't expect this to backfire on her.

And thus our hero awakens married to a woman whom he has no memory of marrying, or of meeting at all for that matter. It seems that the part of his memory he's lost encompasses the past five years when he went from an idealistic young man who wanted to enter the diplomatic corps to a jaded and corrupt MP who has fallen out with his own family.

Not wanting anyone outside of his immediate family and Jane to know he's lost part of his memory (and thus declare him insane), he needs her help navigating all of the political alliances he's formed. But he soon learns that he wasn't a good person before his attack. And Jane can't believe how different this Crispin is. He's compassionate, thoughtful, and vulnerable. She realizes this must be the person he once was, or the person he had the potential to be, before something happened to turn him into something else entirely. But she doesn't trust that their relationship can survive the return of his memories, which seems inevitable.

Crispin has to learn to come to terms with the bits and pieces of his "old" self that are revealed to him and reconcile that Crispin with the man he is after his attack. But he feels confident that even if he regains his memories that his feelings for Jane won't change. This is how you write an amnesia plot. This is a study of a couple learning to trust each other, and it is masterfully written.

I loved both of these characters so much. They are both flawed people, even as their "best" selves. Their relationship is a true partnership between equals. Crispin encourages Jane to be opinionated, to pursue her dreams of following in her father's footsteps, and to be true to herself. Jane in turn helps Crispin have the confidence to be this "new" and better man and even learns to feel empathy for the "old" Crispin as she learns more about him.

I loved everything about this book except that it had to end.