Daring Widow: Those Notorious Americans, Book 2

Cerise
DeLand
Genre: 
Historical

Marianne Roland has survived an abusive husband, a civil war and the horrors found nursing in a field hospital.  When she travels to London with her extended family, she is excited by the possibilities that Europe offers.  Andre Claude Marceau, the Duc de Remy and Prince d’Aumale finds himself enchanted by the young widow and ready to show her the emotional and artistic potential hidden in her heart.

Ms. DeLand has envisioned a historical romance that centers on the heroine coming into her own with the support and love of the hero.  As such, it is a refreshing departure from some of the tired tropes in the genre.  Ms. DeLand’s writing style is very readable and flows well.  However, the story arc revolves around easily preventable miscommunications and misperceptions between Marianne and Andre that are not in keeping with their characters and relationship to that point.  There are also problems with editing:  wastebasket is “waist basket”.  There are obvious errors with the French language, and mistakes such as “pardon e moi” instead of “pardonnez moi” and “moi ouci” instead of “moi aussi” bring the reader out of the story.  Although the story line of “Daring Widow” is interesting, the reader cannot help but feel that Marianne’s back-story would have made a far more compelling novel. “Daring Widow” does a great job of expanding the boundaries of historical romance heroines in new directions.

Gwenellen Tarbet