Lord of Scoundrels

A paragon of historical romance. In spite of the fact that this novel contains a lot of things I don't like--possessiveness, protectiveness, strongly defined gender roles, an unnecessary level of negativity towards sex workers, and various other romance novel conventions--it's also really, really good. The main characters have formidable personalities that are conducive to conflict and memorable, in spite of the fact that they've been done many times before. The development of their relationship stays fresh. The book deserves the acclaim its received.

Here's what this book says: caring for people and loving them is humiliating. It makes you vulnerable. It makes you irrational. It makes you small. And in spite of all that, it's still show more worth it. show less

This book is a classic for a reason. I absolutely adored Jessica and found myself laughing out loud at multiple points. There are definitely some scenes that probably wouldn't be published nowadays (and for good reason), but I was still charmed by it overall. People love the Marquess of Dain, but without Jessica, I think he would have been intolerable. She had so much patience, but was never a push over. She let him work through his emotional constipation and didn't sacrifice her own wellbeing to do so. A+ heroine.

I absolutely loved Lord of Scoundrels. This was my first reading of a Loretta Chase novel, and I will definitely be seeking out other books written by her in the future. Jessica was an extraordinary heroine who had a near perfection that one does not often find in a romance novel. Independent heroines can often become irritating to me, but Jessica was a thorough delight, a wonderful mix of charm, wit, strength, and heartfelt devotion. In spite of his utterly debauched nature early on, I still found Dain to be a completely sympathetic hero. I thought it was really sweet that Dain could be so worldly and yet so insecure as to be reluctant to bed his new bride. I also loved the vulnerability he showed when he really started opening up to show more Jess. Jessica's grandmother, Genevieve, was a delightful secondary character who was full of wit and charm herself. The settings and characterizations were very well drawn, and the pacing was wonderful. Lord of Scoundrels is the third book in the Scoundrels series, and introduces us to Vere Mallory, the Duke of Ainswood, who becomes the hero of book #4, The Last Hellion. Comte d’Esmond, who is the hero of book #2, Captives of the Night also plays a small secondary role. I believe that Captives of the Night and Lord of Scoundrels basically take place simultaneously, but Captives of the Night was written first. The first book of the series is The Lion's Daughter. I found Lord of Scoundrels to be a thoroughly enjoyable book, that has earned a place on my keeper shelf. show less

Okay, I totally loved this book. There were times that I was telling myself that I shouldn't love it as much as I was... because Dain could be a bit of a jerk. But, I stayed up past midnight to read it, and I woke up before my alarm clock so I could read more! I've also skipped working so I could finish it... And, so I LOVED it and it is totally a star book for me.

Two likeable leads and an authorial sense of humour (the hero is so OTT even his horses produce "evil horsey laughter") made this an agreeable read, although quite a lot of my enjoyment derived from not having read a romance novel before. There's less rumpy-pumpy than I'd expected, but Chase can turn it on when necessary: "he deepened his kiss, thirstily plundering the sweet heat of her mouth", or, getting past first base, "his lust-swollen rod strained furiously against his trousers". Bodices are removed and items of clothing are torn, but I don't think any bodices are ripped in this one. A feel-good novel with no villains, just misguided souls. Although one such soul rejoices in the moniker Roland Vawtry, which must be the absolute show more acme of caddish handles. show less

In the early 1800s, Lady Jessica Trent and Lord Dain meet in a shop in Paris. They are instantly attracted to each other, but Dain has spent a lifetime cultivating a reputation as a careless brute (a protective shell due to a loveless upbringing). What with one thing and another, though, they paint themselves into a corner and marry back in England, then move to Dain's ancestral home, where Jessica learns that Dain's out-of-wedlock child with a prostitute has been causing chaos. She decides immediately that they must take the boy in, seeing through the screen of bad behavior as a cry for help, and his feelings similar to those Dain must have experienced as a young boy abandoned by his mother and then to the cruelties of Eton, where he show more was mercilessly bullied for his Mediterranean appearance (his mother was Italian).

Jessica is marvelously clever and composed (and a knowledgeable virgin, thanks to her remarkable grandmother, Genevieve). Through Jessica's example, Dain learns to see himself in a different light, and uses his money and power to solve a number of inconvenient problems among society friends, including Jessica's witless brother Bertie.

Quotes

"Pardon one offense," Publilius had said, "and you encourage the commission of many." (73)

"I am tired of trying to deal with a consistently unreasonable man as tough he were a reasonable one." (276)

He would have to stop viewing the present....trough the warped spectacles of the past. (277)

But then, Jessica thought, Dain did not handle his emotional problems well. (300) (hilarious understatement) show less

I'm still struggling with understanding what I read, and why I continued reading as far as I did. I stopped at 74% (up to chapter 16), and I should've trusted myself and stopped earlier.

First we have Jessica are heroine. She's spunky, intelligent, feisty, and independent who plans to remain unmarried and open her own shop. She's practically a Mary Sue and that became annoying real quick. It's not helped that all the men in her life are absolute idiots, especially her brother, who's a dunce.

Second our male protagonist (and I use that word very lightly, super lightly, practically breakable) Dain who's an amoral cad. It seems like he's supposed to act like a reformed rake, but in actuality he's just an asshole. His treatment of women is show more appalling, including Jessica. Every time they meet up, afterwards he picks up a sex worker (I'm changing the word used in the book, but you can imagine what words it is). He's terribly misogynistic and cruel, which doesn't change when him and Jessica are married. Please don't come at me with "historical accuracy" and "that's just how men were." Yea, we knew back then it was bad just as we know it today, and two, I'm not looking for historical accuracy in my romance novels. Yes, reformed rakes and cads are fun to read, but not when they act like all women are manipulative devils out to get them and have no actual thought in their brains on why women act the way they do.

It's funny because he hates his father, yet acts just like him. It's hilarious how his father was so surprised by how a 17 year-old was spoiled and annoying, soooo a 17 year old girl! When his son is born with Italian coloring, he's so shocked, like my dude, come on! I know we didn't know much about genetics back then, but we knew enough to know that children will look like their parents, so why don't we put two and two together and realize that we have an Italian wife who could birth a son with Italian traits!

As I said, I didn't finish, but after reading some of the reviews on here, I can make a guess that it all just magically comes together because of love. It's fine, it's whatever. But I'd like to see men have some care for the rest of humanity and not just the woman he loves. I'm making some assumptions that Dain doesn't really change his views on women, Jessica just becomes the exception to the rule. Since it felt like it was heading into that direction, plus all the blatant misogyny, I had to stop reading. show less