The Runaway Duke

Where to start? This book was a sheer delight to read, a page-turner from beginning to end. Connor and Rebecca's mad dash across England, pursued by hired thugs, reminded me of Hitchcock's rewrite of John Buchan's [b:The 39 Steps|153492|The 39 Steps (Richard Hannay, #1)|John Buchan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327974679s/153492.jpg|2422487], and was just as gripping and exciting.

The characterisation was masterful. Connor, a reluctant duke posing as an Irish groom, and Rebecca, the girl he's seen grow from a precocious and joyful scamp into a brilliant young woman, could so easily have ended up as stereotypes or cardboard cutouts. Instead, they spring to life from the pages of the book and entrance the reader.

In helping Rebecca to show more escape from an unwanted marriage, Connor seeks refuge among a band of travelling gypsies. This part of the novel was particularly well written and utterly convincing.

It's not often that a single line in a book pulls me up short and makes me want to go back and read it again, just to relish the delicious flavour:

"Never before like this, Connor thought. Never before this endless languorous falling, falling."

Wow. Ms Long clearly has the writer's equivalent of perfect pitch. Her prose slips by effortlessly, never intruding on the story. And then along come lines or phrases like the above. Sheer poetry. show less

There's nothing particularly wrong with this book (actually, there probably is) and it would've been a much lower rating had JAL not had the ability to stab you through the heart with emotion via her pen. She's super romantic, I could almost forgive the really ick dynamics (they just didn't leave me-they met when he was in his 20s and she was--young. Like young young)

But obviously i couldn't really forget the ick dynamics. IT wasn't a focus-there was just a point where we're reminded, and I guess that's just not for me. Both characters were likable, I just didn't know if they needed to be together or why--and there's probably a good reason for that.

The beginning of the book had me thinking it would be a light good hearted read and it pretty much was from start to finish. I found myself really liking the character of Rebecca, she had a sort of exuberant naiveté which was endearing.
I have to give props to Julie Anne Long for writing in such a surprising scene, it's hard to shock me but I almost slid off the couch when it was revealed the locket Rebecca stole, to help fund her escape plan had an inscription to Roarke Blackburn, Connor's real name. What a twist!
The sex and "I love you" scene seemed to come up really quickly for me. I felt disappointed like I had missed them falling in love, Rebecca and Connor seem to really bond and connect before the story starts. When Connor helps show more Rebecca escape and they travel together, then they seem to realize "hey remember all those yrs before? Yeah well we bonded and feel in love because of all those moments that happened, but you won't get to read about them." Not getting to read about those moments are a little understandable because Rebecca is only 17 when she runs away with Connor and then fortuitously turns 18 during their trip. Connor being 29 and Rebecca just turning 18 was really close to the "ick" factor for me. Not to mention Rebecca's sister Lorelei (16yrs or so) falls in love with a man who is just shy of being her father's age.
This book had some delightful come out of nowhere funny parts and the "villains" weren't over the top (sometimes I like Cruella Devilles though) but if someone asked me about this book I would probably just say "eh". If you want a fast easy read to just kill some hours this book would satisfy the need.

B- show less

I was enjoying this book until almost the end. What bothers me about this book is this; after hero and heroine declared their mutual love for each other and promise to marry, the hero decides for them to travel with the gypsies for safety. Then he mostly ignores her and hardly speaks to her. He decides not to tell her about his past, but he must leave to take care of things. He decides to leave without telling her. This leads to misunderstandings and she is left wondering what is going on. There should have been a HUGE grovel by the hero when he returned, in my opinion, and there isn't. I think he says he is sorry but she apologizes first! Very disappointing. Then she goes with him to presumably live happily ever after. No epilogue show more either. Overall, not a bad book, but could've been much better. I give it about 3 1/2 stars. show less

Might have been a decent book, but I couldn't get past the age difference. It didn't help that the hero knew the heroine when she was just a little girl (when he was already grown) and that he kept calling her 'wee 'Becca' which just highlighted the age discrepancy.