His Comfort and Joy [Paperback]

Lady Lizzie Scarlett has to be one of the most childish, vindictive, angry, and at times unstable heroines I have ever read about in a romance novel. Her male protagonist Nat Waterhouse is not much better because he has little insight and at times little smarts not only when it comes to Lizzie but also when it comes to blackmail too.

The opening chapter of this book is wonderful, beautifully written and very passionate, but the story went downhill afterward. Nat must marry an heiress and he has found one - sweet, kind Flora. Well, Lizzie knows that Flora would make Nat miserable so she locks herself and him in the miniature folly on Nat's wedding day and Nat becomes enraged, telling Lizzie she was being childish (she was), acting spoiled (she did) and then they make passionate love.

Lizzie realizes after their encounter she loves him, and runs away from Nat, this is a common practice for Lizzie, run from your problem if you cannot shock someone into your bidding. Nat's wedding is ruined so he decides Lizzie should become his bride, after all she was a virgin, they have been friends for years, and she is rich. Lizzie says no.

*SPOILERS* - These two do wind up together and they have a volatile and in some ways unhealthy relationship. When Lizzie is angry at Nat she does something rash. She does not think through her actions or talk about her feelings to Nat or her friends before she engages in inappropriate behavior instead she gambles and gets drunk publicly along with much more inappropriate actions for a lady living in a village during the early 19th century. Nat is inspired sexually when she does these things and they end up making love as he must find her rash behavior a turn on. These encounters are passionate but Lizzie feels they are cold and empty so the reader begins to feel they are too. I never felt they were until Lizzie analyzed them in this fashion.

Lizzie does so many antics beyond the pale. *SPOILER* - One of the worst is riding naked into a gentleman's club to get back at Nick. Really, this is set in 1810 and Lizzie is an aristocrat, I could not even imagine a lady doing this in this time period other than a paid strumpet. Nat is, of course lividly angry, but later that evening gets the hots for Lizzie; I guess having men look at Lizzie totally nude is another big turn on. Lizzie's friends really should have come together for an intervention.

Whereas Lizzie's pouty, stubborn nature is easy to divine, she has amoral brothers and she never got past her mother running off with a lover but idolized her even into adulthood, Nat is a mystery to me. He just cannot figure out how to stop a blackmailer and seems genuinely surprised that an extortionist is never satisfied monetarily. Also whenever Lizzie staged some antic, even so far as running away, Nat takes the blame for her actions or gets a real sexual charge from it. No wonder Lizzie had no idea of his feelings.

Ms. Cornick had a great hit with her earlier work in this series, Scandals of an Innocent, but her latest offering is not in the same league. Lizzie and Nat inspire no empathy; I could not imagine this couple ever being happy with Lizzie's spoiled, immature ways and Nat's lack of insight.

I am an avid reader but this book was awful. The heroine was not likeable at all. The heroine decides to get back at her husband for not being home. She rides naked through his gentlemen's club were his friends were watching and also the husbands of her friends as well. I threw it away after this scene. It was absolutely the most ridiculous display of stupidity a heroine has displayed in the books I have been reading. Do not waste your time reading this "trash".

In 1810 Lady Elizabeth "Lizzie" Scarlett is concerned that her childhood friend Lord Nathaniel Waterhouse is marrying someone he does not love out of a sense of duty. She knows Nat has always been there for her so she decides to be there for him even if he does not appreciate what she does. She kidnaps him to keep him from marrying Miss Flora Minchin of Fortune's Folly as this is no love match with his title in exchange for her money.

Lizzie's attempts to seduce Nat lead to their being compromised. Nat breaks off his engagement, but needs money to pay off a blackmailer. His solution is to marry wealthy Lizzie, which he does. However, though both feel a deep desire for the other and passion blazes between them, neither trusts the other any longer and pride leaves bot hiding their love out of fear of rejection.

Although similar in tone to the previous Brides of Fortune series (see THE CONFESSIONS OF A DUCHESS and THE SCANDALS OF THE INNOCENT) especially the lead characters, fans will enjoy this charming regency romance. The amusing story line starts off with a terrific opening abduction by an innocent woman who is seduced by her angry captive leading to THE UNDOING OF A LADY now in love. Fans will enjoy the gender war as neither seems to have the guts to tell the other how they feel.

Harriet Klausner

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 10 reviews  3.4 out of 5 stars