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Nicholas Sinclair, a little the worse for wear because of a night finding the bottom of a bottle, stumbles across Danny one night on the docks. Her ship has just docked two days early. He is entranced by her from the first, and gets to meet her when she is attacked by a dock hand. Although it is difficult to say if Nicholas saved Danny from the dockhand or if she saved him from a beating.
Danny and Nicholas spend the night together. When Nicholas awakens, he recalls that he spent the night with a delightful Irish girl whom he thinks (correctly) is of the serving class. He is more than a little put out when he finds she has vanished, and he's told it's with another man. Without knowing she's gone to save her uncle, Nicholas jumps to the conclusion that Danny is a woman of easy virtue.
And then, he finds out she is his house guest...
This book is a great deal of fun to read, primarily because of the delightfully eccentric characters that inhabit it. Nicholas and Jules are played relatively straight - although for members of the aristocracy they have relatively speaking open minds with regard to race or class. Uncle Finney, Aunt Aggie, Emery the deaf butler and Scally the foul mouthed mynah bird add mayhem and hilarity to the mix. The brief glimpse we get of the Delaney's before Sheridan leaves for London is a treat. And Danny is a female lead to be admired - tempestuous and with a quickly fired temper, she is loyal, trusting and not one to back down for a fight. She will say what is on her mind, and will do anything for a friend. Considering her position at the time, that of immigrant Irish worker, it is even more amazing that she is such a strong character. The Irish / English thing is more the resentment against the Irish by the English and Americans, and less an issue for either Nicholas or Danny, which I'm not sure would be very accurate but is certainly typical of both.
I don't know how authentic the tale is; there being more than one strike against Danny and Nicholas ever meeting, yet alone having a romance in this time frame, but it is very funny. The romance is told well, and the story moves swiftly along. To my mind Danny falls in love a bit too quickly, before she even knows the character of the person she recognises as being 'the one', but this is a small flaw in what is otherwise a very original tale.
Handsome Devil is the middle of a trilogy of the Sinclair romances, but it is not necessary to read the previous book, it works well as a stand alone story.
As a general rule I don't like when the plot of a book revolves around a misunderstanding at the beginning that is then the cause of all the conflict in the story until it is resolved at the very end. In this book there is a misunderstanding when Sheridan and Nicholas first meet. It's an understandable misunderstanding that plays into insecurities Nicholas already has as a result of his parent's marriage. The conflict doesn't lead to overt hostility between the characters, but it keeps Nicholas from thinking of Sheridan as someone he can marry and they agree to be friends.
I think what set this book apart from most other books which start with a misunderstanding is that the focus of the book is on Sheridan and Nicholas's evolving relationship and their feelings for each other. The misunderstanding is not focused on, we are reminded of it only through Nicholas's conflicting feelings toward Sheridan.
This was a great book to read. When it ended I was disappointed because I wanted to keep reading. That doesn't happen too often. DEVIL MAY CARE comes before this book. It may give you a better sense of Nicholas's mother and why he has his specific insecurities. It's very well explained in this book though, so it's not really necessary. If you've already read DEVIL MAY CARE, this book is even better!
Sheridan "Danny" Delaney, ascorted by her Aunt Aggie and Uncle Finny, visits her old friend, Jules in London. Jules invites the three of them to join Jules at her cousin Nicholas' home where she has been staying. You can count on this not being your ordinary visit, as Sheridan can't seem to get rid of the trouble that follows her around. The late 1800's come alive in this story of friendship, passion, and humor. Ms. George has done a wonderful job of creating her characters. Emery, the deaf butler, Uncle Finny and his "hallucinations" and Aunt Aggie and her "last breaths" are just some of the funny characters that Melanie George has invented. You will fall in love with the devil himself just like Danny does. From Uncle Finny getting arrested to the myna bird who uses inappropriate language, this story is one of the most entertaining books I've read in quite a while. Is this your usual knight in shinning armor comes to save his fairy princess story? Does Jules have matchmaking in her mind all along? Find out how Nicholas and Sheridan finally come together in HANDSOME DEVIL.
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