Susanna Fraser - The Sergeant's Lady

Highborn Anna Arrington has been "following the drum," obeying the wishes of her cold, controlling cavalry officer husband. When he dies, all she wants is to leave life with Wellington's army in Spain behind her and go home to her family's castle in Scotland.
Sergeant Will Atkins ran away from home to join the army in a fit of boyish enthusiasm. He is a natural born soldier, popular with officers and men alike, uncommonly brave and chivalrous, and educated and well-read despite his common birth.
As Anna journeys home with a convoy of wounded soldiers, she forms an unlikely friendship with Will. When the convoy is ambushed and their fellow soldiers captured, they become fugitives—together. The attraction between them is strong—but even if they can escape the threat of death at the hands of the French, is love strong enough to bridge the gap between a viscount's daughter and an innkeeper's son?

Comment: This is the sequel to A Marriage of Inconvenience, which I've read last month. I have to say this book has an end we kind of already knew because the epilogue of the previous book gives us an idea of how Anna's life went, for the was a key player in the first book as well. Still, nothing like seeing how the author did the story anyway.

Anna has been miserable in her marriage and all the beautiful dreams she had when she fell in love came apart when she realized her husband's true colors. Now she follows the drum, something she feels a bit like deserved punishment and duty. When her husband dies she can only think of going back home and forget she was ever married.

Will Atkins is the best kind of soldier, smart, loyal, attentive. He comes from a poor farmer family but he knows he will have something to return to after the war ends. However, his heart id on the adventures ahead. He feels attracted to Anna when he meets her and even more when she joins the wounded convoy to Lisbon. But fate ha something for both of them...

I liked this book but slightly less then the other one. I think the story is simply told, simply engineered, easily read but there's something I can't really pinpoint about it that makes me wrinkle my nose. I don't know if it's the characters themselves, or their interactions, or the way they act, but something isn't as perfect as I wished for.

I think the plot and the obvious research the author did about what happened on those Napoleonic wars are quite well thought. Living myself in Portugal, where part of the action takes place (in a generic way though), something about it calls to me, because it's always interesting to see places we recognize on foreign books. I think the descriptions and ideas behind the war scenes were done to the exact amount of detail to push the story along but not over the top. I liked how the author contained herself in this part of the story.

The characters.

Ok, here I have some doubts, and some personal likes and dislikes that of course affect my view of things. Will is a wonderful character, he is everything a soldier and a friend should be. But he's restless and the fact he's at war only energizes him, and doesn't make him want to settle down and live a more quiet life. I get it that not everyone wants or needs or likes quiet, but after ll his considerable virtues, I kind of wished him to not feel so pressured to think he might be trapped when the war ended. His choice in the end is not so bad, but I admit it I wanted something different - even knowing it wouldn't happen.

Anna is that woman that somehow feels something isn't right but only realizes it fully after nothing can be done. Her marriage changes the exact day her wedding takes place and she never recovers fully from the experience of being married to Sebastien. I think she is one of those characters ahead of her time in terms of behavior and wishes - being very rich helps that - and only after meeting Will and falling for him during the run they make from the enemy, does she really change her thoughts. 

I liked how they ended well together but their forward ideas of braving new world isn't my preferred cup of tea in books. I like more down to earth characters in books.

Sebastien, the husband, doesn't have such a prominent place int he book and his demise is rather fast and stupid. I don't mind not having to see him or deal with his presence through the book, I confess. But I felt his end was rushed for plot's purpose and maybe things could have been done smoother.

The book is mostly about Anna and Will falling in love, deciding is best to separate, the war happens around them and after their fate is sealed only the HEA remains to happen. I liked the overall idea and development process but yes, some little elements weren't completely well done for me.

Grade: 7/10

Susanna Fraser - A Marriage of Inconvenience

Left orphaned and penniless as a young child, Lucy Jones learned to curb her temper, her passions, and even her sense of humor to placate the wealthy relatives who took her in. She became the perfect poor relation--meek, quiet, and self-effacing. She clings to her self-control because she can control nothing else.
James Wright-Gordon also lost his parents at a young age. But he became a wealthy viscount at fifteen and stepped into full control of his fortune and his birthright as a parliamentary power broker at twenty-one. At twenty-four, he is serenely confident in his ability to control everything in the world that matters to him.
At a house party in the summer of 1809, James quickly discerns Lucy’s carefully hidden spirit and wit and does his best to draw them out. After being caught in a compromising situation, they are obliged to marry. But can two people whose need for control has always been absolute learn to put love first? 

Comment: I decided to read this book after seeing some good reviews and the blurb also seemed interesting. I was very interested in seeing how the author would solve the apparent difficulty we see on the blurb and how everything would turn out to be.

This is Lucy's story. She's an orphan and has been living with wealthier relatives since her childhood and now one of her cousins proposed marriage for reasons she isn't told. But her deepest desire has always been to marry Sebastian, the most friendly or her cousins. Lucy knows she owes her living to her family so she is very self controlled to not be mistreated.

James Wright-Gordon is a rich young man, very clever and dedicated to his family. He also likes to control everything around him because he is decent and takes his obligations seriously. 

These two meet at a wedding party and although both say they aren't interested in the other, they are forced to marry after a compromising situation which tells the reader but not them the reality of them falling in love. Can they compromise again to be happy?

This book has many situation that seem well studied to make the story more suitable for the time when it is set. Many social and cultural references also seem to exist to better situate the era and the customs of that time. Not that this is wrong, but if one thinks the careful detail the author must have taken with the serious telling of this story, it's also surprising how some little things don't seem to be as well achieved, in terms of plot, as the writing details portray.

For the most part, this book has all the necessary elements to make a compelling story:

- Naive young woman trying to be good and saying yes to things without fully understanding them;

- Mysterious guy looking out for himself somehow;

- New possible love interest everyone sees is perfect for heroine but themselves;

- Heroine's family mistreating her;

- Hero's sister falling for bad guy;

- Hero and heroine forved to marry, marriage difficulties but communication actually mattering and solving what it needs;

- Hero's sister not paying attention to obvious clues around her;

From this moment on, the plot takes some twisting paths I thought weren't the best ones. gain, not that it was bad, but it just didn't seem to come from the same careful writing of the first chapters. The execution wasn't overall bad, but I admit it had some situations, some passages where things didn't go as smoothly as one would expect.

The main couple's romance started sweet and ended perfect but somewhere in the middle there's the solving of a problem which I found surprisingly well done, all things considered, but then it all went to ruins when the hero reacts badly to a detail. I mean, they are controlled characters, in love, respectful of the other, well balanced people and then he reacts that way, it seemed out of character. Thankfully all was solved and the HEA happens.

There are secondary situations that are obvious setting up for the sequel, but again I thought some things seemed a bit forced, because it looked like it had to go that way, and not differently. All would be good if the way things happen didn't seem to be oriented a different path originally...but again, this is perhaps just my own perspective.

All in all, a good romance, many cliché situations, I still think thins was a worthy and god enough attempt on a proper romance. At least I never felt like putting it down, so it was very engaging.

I'm planning on reading the sequel soon.

Grade: 7/10