Lord Julian Caldicott is summoned to the family seat by his ducal brother, whose bachelorhood is imperiled by the very determined Lady Clarissa Valmond. As the only titled Eligible the hostesses avoid including on their guest lists, Julian has little sympathy for the duke’s situation. He nonetheless agrees to lend a hand, because Clarissa is the last person who should be wearing the Caldicott family tiara.
And mayhem! Matters take a nasty turn when Clarissa’s brother, a talented artist, goes missing shortly before his debut London exhibition. Julian must unravel conflicting motives, dishonest witnesses, confusing evidence, old lies, and the real threats facing the duke if he’s to find the errant viscount before a fate worse than ruin befalls both surviving Caldicott brothers.
Comment: This is the second installment in the lord Julian, whose first book I liked a lot and now I've decided to read the next one.
In this story lord Julian is staying at his brother's ducal estate to help him put some distance from their neighbor Clarissa Valmond, for the seems determined to find ways to snare him. Lord Julian believes this will be easy and he plans on having some rest but everything changes when the lady's brother disappears. This is, indeed, strange, for he is going to have his own art exhibit soon and there is some expectation on how successful it can be, considering his talent. The problem is that the more Julian investigates, the more certain things don't make sense to what has been said...
I was quite happy with the first book and it was no hardship to want to read this one, which turned out to be quite engaging, as I imagined it would be. Lord Julian still has some issues to process and to deal with, but he is now a more self confident person and I liked seeing this side of him in this novel.
I must say that the writing style really works well here, I'd dare to say even better than in the author's romances, which is the genre she seems to write the most. In her romances (well, the ones I have read so far) there is always some detail, some characterization that fails to be fully encompassing to me, even when I like the story, but the focus here on the characters, obviously likable, makes it so much easier to root for them and I truly want Julian to become the man he is and that many don't think he can be.
In fact, my favorite part of this second novel was to see how Julian is working out on his personal relationships, namely with his brother Arthur, the duke. I didn't have a great impression of the duke before but in this book we get to learn more about him and I really liked seeing how the brothers seem to get along and how they are slowly learning tot rust one another. I hope that in future books we get to see their bond develop even further, and not just because until now Julian is named his brother's heir.
These books are not meant to focus on romance but, nevertheless, there are some hints on it. Quite understated, but I hope something will happen and Julian and Hyperia, someone he already feels so comfortable with, might be able to admit their feelings and become a couple. I think it will be a good exercise to watch their romantic journey.
As for the plot, well it does seem as if there isn't much to it, but it turns out there's a lot of subtle clues and situations being discussed each time Julian interviews someone or talks to someone over this and that while looking for Clarissa'a brother. I do like this style of presenting things, this notion that makes it look as if something is not that important or meaningful and then lord Julian connects the dots... it's not like those books where an incredible investigator is more resourceful than others, but almost.
It turns out that the reasons for the disappearance and the behavior of some characters before that happened aren't that complex. It all goes down to human nature and a human need to do things without seeking help or not wanting to "worry" or "burden" others and I think this story ended up presenting an interesting study on human needs. I did like the psychology of certain situations and how people were affected by this or that idea.
No comments:
Post a Comment