I picked up most of Donna Simpson’s books based on her excellent debut, Lord St. Claire’s Angel, but her subsequent books haven’t worked as well for me. I still have a few in my TBR pile…
Miss Truelove Beckons by Donna Simpson
(2001, Regency) 8/26/12
Grade: 3.5
Miss Truelove Becket, the daughter of a vicar, is accompanying her cousin Arabella to visit Wycliffe, Viscount Drake. It’s expected that Arabella and Drake will be married, but Drake has returned from the war a different person – haunted by the horrors of Waterloo. It is only when he is with True that he can find peace – but how can either of them think of a life together when they come from such different worlds?
I tried to read this book several times before finally finishing it. It was well written, with compelling characters, but there were a few things about it that bothered me. Truelove is almost “too good to be true” as a heroine, and there was a definite undercurrent of “love solves all problems” to the story. It’s a nice thought, but Drake’s problems seemed too extreme to be solved by something as simple as the welcoming arms of a sweet girl. I love a good “troubled hero” story but I find it hard to believe that something that is depicted as extreme PTSD can be cured by the love of a good woman. Maybe I’ve just become cynical in my old age.
I think back on some of the “wounded hero” books I’ve read in the past, and wonder whether I’d find them as compelling now – or would I be too realistic to believe that love conquers all?
Karen Wheless
Latest posts by Karen Wheless (see all)
- Love Irresistibly by Julie James - June 18, 2013
- Vacation Reading - June 17, 2013
- The Way Home by Megan Chance - June 1, 2013