Fortune Favors the Wicked

A blind adventurer is back in London to sell the memoir of his travels. A vicar's daughter turned courtesan leaves London to escape an abusive keeper. They both end up searching for a trove of gold stolen from the Royal Mint and accidentally falling in love.

This book is Quite Good. Not only is it blessedly free of Dukes, the hero never slut-shames the heroine. He accepts her past, including a daughter the heroine pretends is her niece, in stride, never judging. The heroine is intelligent and strong and all of the good things you might want, but also possesses a combination of practicality and emotional fragility that is rather endearing. It's a rare book in which you'll root for the hero and the heroine in equal measure. This is one.

How could I resist a novel with a former courtesan as the heroine and a blind ex-sailor for a hero? Add in a mystery with stolen gold coins and a small town, and the entire novel is basically cat nip. I wanted to roll in it. Instead, I read it really quickly once I had a few free moments to sit down and enjoy. This book is definitely good for a one sitting read. I have high hopes that the sequel will be as exciting and interesting already.

I read this for the Love square for Romance Bingo.

Benedict Frost currently lives on half pay after being forced out of the Navy due to an illness that caused his blindness. With a sister to help support, getting the reward put up by the Royal Mint for a cache of coins stolen would go a long way to solving some of his problems.
Charlotte Perry has lived the life of a vicar's daughter and a courtesan but has only ever wanted to be free and happy. With rumor of the stolen gold coins in her home town, she sees an opportunity to fund her escape.
Benedict and Charlotte are both after the coin treasure but they might find a different treasure worth more than they could imagine.

Fortune Favors the Wicked is first in the Royal Rewards Duo but show more the next in the series, Fortune Favors the Bold, coming out February 28th, looks to be about Benedict's sister and be concurrently happening. We get a little look at Georgette and Benedict's friend Hugo and how their adventure starts here. I'm so looking forward to their story and how Georgette is going to ruffle Hugo's feathers. While I thought the search for the gold coins was mostly shoved to the side here and felt more like a colorful reason/device to get our couple together, I think the sense of adventure I missed in this one will shine brighter in the next.

"You are brave, Miss Perry."
"I am what I have had to be, Mr. Frost." Her hand turned beneath his, and for a second they were palm against palm. "As are you."

While I missed some of the adventure I thought would be more prevalent in this one, I was blown away with how emotionally engaging Benedict and Charlotte were. The quote:
“They slipped briskly into an intimacy from which they never recovered.”
-F. Scott Fitzgerald
feels completely about this couple. The natural way Charlotte and Benedict interacted and came together reminded me greatly of Grace Burrowes' couples and the tone felt a lot like Marrying the Captain by Carla Kelly. Benedict was a lieutenant in the Navy and Charlotte a courtesan, not typical romance hero and heroine fare. I loved how the author had Benedict's blindness a part of him instead of a defining characteristic, it was simply who he was, not something that made him special. In a little bit of a different way, the author pulled off Charlotte being a courtesan the same direction, it didn't define her. These two were fully fleshed out characters that have me almost talking about them like they were real people and I find myself wanting to type I missed seeing more of their backstory lives, but it probably is my selfish need just wanting more of them.

In a room with a man who had ruined her and man who wanted revenge on her, there had also been a man who took her part.

Quite frankly, I could sit and listen to this couple read the phone book to each other. I savored their sexual teasing, humor, friendship, and love that radiated from their conversations. Benedict and Charlotte made this book for me.

I felt a little bit in the middle the story slowed somewhat and I think that was due to me wanting more searching or adventure in regards to the missing coins, it seemed that storyline was muddled and couldn't find a way to work into the story even when it was supposed to be the catalyst for it. I do think if you look at it as more of a stepping stone to the next book coming out, you won't look for it the same way I did. I also thought the villain of this piece was not needed or needed to be more involved, the whole thing came off a bit obvious mechanism. With such a powerful connection between the leads, the usual romancelandia flare of treasure and villains maybe could have been replaced with more of Charlotte's parents' relationship issues, which were only able to be hinted at (who couldn't help but feel for anxious Mr. Perry and lonely Mrs. Perry). Although, I'm sure that kind of category romance would be harder to sell as I myself was drawn in by the lure of treasure.

This author is someone who only keeps improving for me and if you like Burrowes or Kelly, you'll definitely want to pick this one up. I can't wait for the next in the duo to be released. show less

Fortune Favors the Wicked
4 Stars

The small village of Strawfield becomes the center of attention when a coin from a cache of gold stolen from the Royal Mint is discovered in the possession of a bar maid. Amongst the treasure seekers who descend on the community are Benedict Frost, a former navel officer whose career ended following a devastating affliction, and Charlotte Perry, a vicar's daughter and retired courtesan with a troubling secret. As Benedict and Charlotte form an shaky alliance, others in the village are just as determined to beat them, with violence and murder if necessary…

Romain's writing and dialogue capture the nuances of the time period so well, and the pages simply fly by.

Each damaged in their own way, Benedict and show more Charlotte are very appealing characters and their banter makes for very entertaining reading. Their romance is sweet and charming without the silly misunderstandings and annoying secret keeping that might otherwise occur with this plot premise.

The treasure hunting/murder mystery plot is weaker than the romance, but still enjoyable. Some of the elements feel very contrived and the revelation of the culprit and the discovery of the treasure are anti-climactic. Moreover, the stalker storyline is an unnecessary and distracting addition, and the resolution is not all that satisfactory as the villain does not get the comeuppance that he deserves.

All in all, a very well written and engaging romance and the hints at the love/hate relationship between the couple in the next make have me eager to read it. show less

...golden chances

Retired naval lieutenant Benjamin Frost encounters the gorgeous courtesan, Charlotte Perry in a village inn. Charlotte is running from her last paramour and towards her greatest secret by way of village of her childhood and her ruin. Newly minted golden guineas were stolen from the crown and rumour of the appearance of one has surfaced in Charlotte's old stamping ground. She has joined the search for a stolen treasure and the reward offered will turn her life around and fulfill her dreams. Benjamin is of the same mind. He has responsibilities and the reward money will make all the difference. But murder is abroad. There is danger from unknowns and and for Charlotte from her pursuing protector whom she has left to make a show more new beginning. Benjamin and Charlotte find a common meeting ground of passion and purpose. However there are twists that bar their happiness.
Adventure and danger finds Charlotte and Benjamin as they continue their search for the coins, despite the challenges they face. Benedict has lost his sight, hence his retirement as a naval knight.
Once again, author Romain raises different questions and viewpoints than many of her counterparts. This is an interesting look at regency times. A story of dysfunctional families, how they are survived, and how to move forward if one dares. That is something struggled with through all ages. The attraction between Benjamin and Charlotte is sensitively told as that love grows into something selfless and poignant.

A NetGalley ARC show less

In October of last year, I reviewed another of Theresa Romain's books, [b:The Sport of Baronets|26140635|The Sport of Baronets (Romance of the Turf, #0.5)|Theresa Romain|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1441923806s/26140635.jpg|46093208] because of hearing so much positive feedback from reviewers whom I respect. I was underwhelmed, but still on the edge of a decision regarding whether I liked the writing style and characterizations or not. At the end of the review, I had decided that I needed to read another book by Romain to form a more complete opinion.

When reading [b:The Sport of Baronets|26140635|The Sport of Baronets (Romance of the Turf, #0.5)|Theresa Romain|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1441923806s/26140635.jpg|46093208], I did not show more like that the plot was basically "Silver Blaze" subtracting Sherlock Holmes, and adding two angsty Romeo and Juliet wannabees. True, in the author's own words, the story is 'loosely inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s story “Silver Blaze.”' I prefer more original plots, with perhaps a nod to another story.

In this story, I find that the main plot is not borrowed from Arthur Conan Doyle, but rather it has been taken from Georgette Heyer's [b:The Toll-Gate|311129|The Toll-Gate|Georgette Heyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320434556s/311129.jpg|302058]. Because these two titles are the only ones that I have read by Theresa Romain, I am not sure if every story written has been based on another, much older plot. At this point, because of my personal preferences, I do not want to read any more to find out.

Again, angsty characters take the stage. Both hero and heroine face insurmountable barriers against their happiness which are well described but end up ringing hollow and false after being resolved through making a quick decision. Again they immediately find their perfect matches, then progress quickly into lusty relations and shared intimacies.

Some of the passages are written quite beautifully, and I enjoyed those parts more than the story, and more than I liked the characters. I would love a book by the author containing a story of her own making, filled with her gorgeously descriptive sentences, without glum or angsty characters. However, judging from her loyal following and glowing reviews, I doubt Theresa Romain needs to change a thing to maintain her success!

**eARC Netgalley** show less

Super sweet, unexpectedly lovely and very engaging.

Too tired for any more of a review.