Mad Lords Daughter, The [Paperback]

Melissa Atwell spent the last eighteen years of her life never leaving her suite of rooms due to her fathers belief that she would contract a disease and die, leaving him all alone in the world. When her beloved father suddenly passes, she is left in the care of her uncle and brought to London to begin her first foray into society. No one, including her uncles son, John, and her chaperone, Lady Diane, expected the deep fear that Melissa would have to step out into the real world. She has never touched anyone or been touched without the barrier of gloves, never seen a baby, felt a snowfall....everything that most people take for granted. They alter their plans and retire to the country estate to gradually build up Melissa's tolerance and fine tune her wonderful education but with the threat about the true nature of her birth just waiting to be exposed, it becomes imperative that Melissa get settled with a husband to protect her.

John knows his duty is to protect Melissa and help her in any way he can but as they spend more and more time together, he can't help but be drawn to this unique beauty. As he knows the truth about her birth, he strives to protect her while his heart quickly becomes lost to her. However, as society believes them to be first cousins, he knows his feelings can not be acted upon so he sets about to find her the perfect suitor amongst his friends. As his close friend quickly falls for Melissa as well, this makes John see red at every opportunity and just when he finally decides to stand up for what he wants, it looks like he might be too late. It will take a bold act of courage for John and Melissa to stand up for what they truly want and hope to find happiness in their love.

This book was like reading a breath of fresh air and I enjoyed it! I loved the circumstances surrounding Melissa's upbringing as you never really think how much people take for granted in life. Can you imagine watching it snow from your window but never feeling it against your cheeks? And all the times a gentleman helps a woman by offering his arm...all the touching that she was so scared to do had to be overcome gradually. Melissa was warm, bright, affectionate and fun and a wonderful character to read. When she was around John, she just shined and I adored how John was always there to help her though all of society's rules and demands. I was a bit hesitant at first about the first cousins situation but it is quickly sorted out and I could breathe a bit easier! I loved the secondary characters that were introduced in this book and I hope they all receive their own stories because what we glimpsed here was great. There is also a secondary romance between Melissa's uncle and chaperone that added a bit of fun and sass. So while the storyline basis of illegitimacy is nothing new in historical romance land, the way this one was told and all the circumstances made this a unique read for me. If you enjoy delightful romances filled with wonderful characters that you grow to care for mixed with just a dash of intrigue and a bit of heat, Jane Goodger has a book for you and I know I can't wait for more! 4 stars

*review copy*

There are two prevailing stories in this book: the love story between the Hero/heroine, and the love story between the Hero's father/heroine's chaperone.

The main story is Rapunzel-esque. The heroine has been isolated in her rooms for 18 years because her father thought she would die if she came in contact with other people, plus he was also protecting her from the bad guy. Once her father passes away, her uncle removes her to London and she battles fears of learning about a new world (apparently has never seen a horse in person before). As comparison, since I'm watching TLC while writing this review, it'd be like the Amish entering the modern world and having to deal with everything from the internet to electricity and cars all at once. Along comes her uncle's son to help her out, but he quickly falls in love with her and is rather grossed out because he's her first cousin. The hero and heroine figure everything out by the middle of the book and then their story gets dragged out in order to confront the bad guy in the story who seeks revenge for events which occurred prior to the hero and heroine being born. This story is predictable and not that engaging once you find out everything about the heroine's past; the obstacles the couple faces aren't that difficult for them to conquer and their love story is rather boring.

The side story is between the hero's father and the heroine's chaperon. Both of these characters are from Book 1 of this series and I felt Goodger should have given them their own book rather than clump them in as minor characters. These two characters are much more rounded than the main hero/heroine and their road to romance and love is more compelling. I found myself skipping through the book to read their story and was much more emotionally connected and invested in them.

I recommend passing on this book and waiting for Goodger's next offering as this book does not show Goodger at her best.

*spoilers included*

Melissa's father (who turns out not to be her real father) has kept her within the four walls of their home most of her life, not allowing her to meet other people, or even touch the servants without gloves. (Her mother died of a contagious disease which caused him to be obsessed with protecting her daughter from illness.) At his death, when she is finally forced to leave her home to live with her uncle, she is obliged to do many things she has never done before, such as get close enough to touch a horse, ride in a carriage, and stand outside in the snow and rain.

It falls to her uncle, Lord Braddock, to take her in and try to arrange a suitable marriage. He seems rather a cold man--cynical about love and not looking for any such nonsense himself--but he is deeply involved in the House of Lords, particularly the sponsorship of laws against cousins marrying and baby farms, where unfortunate young women pay people to take care of their children, not knowing that the children are usually left to die.

Diane Stanhope, a spinster of 32 years who is chosen to be Melissa's chaperone, has long been attracted to the distinguished Lord Braddock, but knows that her plain looks and advanced age make it improbable that her feelings will be returned.

Lord Braddock's son John, who is called upon to help Melissa practice her manners and dancing before she is launched on society, finds himself attracted to her at once. Did I mention that Melissa is drop-dead gorgeous? But there are many reasons why he must not get serious about her. Since she was born prior to her mother's marriage to her "father," her birth is illegitimate and therefore makes her unworthy to marry in the highest circles. Of course, the hope is that she will continue to "pass" as the legitimate daughter of Lord Braddock's brother, and if that happens, she will be regarded as John's first cousin and therefore, according to his father's beliefs, too close a relative for marriage. (It matters not that they are not really related at all.) Another reason is because John, like his father, does not believe in love. He believes it's all a matter of lust that burns out eventually and leaves both parties miserable.

But it's not so easy for John to watch his friends begin to fall in love with Melissa, nor when she becomes engaged to one of them.

While I did enjoy the book, there were some issues that troubled me:

1. There are actually TWO mad lords in this story, one of which is described in the prologue, and the other in the first and subsequent chapters. Since the first mad lord was never named, initially I thought the uncle who took her in was the mad lord from the prologue (he was described as "cold" and seemed most unwilling to accept responsibility for her). Then when I discovered the "father" who had raised her in such isolation, I was really confused. The mad lord from the prologue does not play much of a part in the story, except that everyone is so afraid that society will recognize Melissa as his bastard daughter; I'm not sure why we had to know about him and his obsessive madness quite so soon.

2. The whole "bastardy" thing seemed over-emphasized. Yes, there was a lot of prejudice against bastards in society, but it is also true that many such offspring were foisted off on cuckolded husbands; in this story, there is even a mention of one such case of an heir succeeding to a title when he bore no resemblance to his father and everyone knew his mother's husband was not his father. In this case, Melissa's "father" adopted her and acknowledged her and the only person who knew otherwise was Lord Braddock (and eventually his son and a few others). I don't understand why he made such distinctions about her illegitimacy from the beginning, when one of the causes he himself espoused was eliminating the prejudice against illegitmates! I mean, his attitude when he went to collect her was like, well, I have to take responsibility for this bastard, try to pass her off as my niece, and find some stupid sot to marry her. And that leads to

3. I didn't care for Lord Braddock. No matter all the causes he supported, he was a cold, selfish man who didn't like to be bothered by reality. He was annoyed to have to hire a plain-looking chaperone for a niece who wasn't really a niece, and he put his own interests ahead of his son's almost until the very last page. I found the whole idea of his interest in the plain spinsterish chaperone entirely unbelievable.

4. There were some characterization issues too. Melissa is a little too perfect; I have a problem with characters that are so beautiful that everyone falls in love with them. John's interest in her seems primarily based on physical attraction. I didn't feel I really knew much of John's character. Diane Stanhope is a much more likable character here than in the previous book, where she seemed like a most unfeeling aunt, but I don't feel like I really know her or why Lord Braddock was attracted to her.

5. The resolution of the problem with the mad duke was anti-climactic. After the dramatic prologue, I was expecting an equally dramatic climax, but it was almost like the duke just faded away. It was too easy. I was disappointed.

6. Baby farms? Really? I've never heard of such a thing before. If they did exist, were they really called baby farms? (Update: I stand corrected: these did exist in late-Victorian England and they were indeed called baby farms. My apologies.)

7. Why would Melissa's adoptive father have her so rigorously trained in manners and dancing when he wouldn't even let her out of the house? She learned to dance with a phantom partner? Really? The dance instructor was not allowed to partner her?

It was an enjoyable book overall, though not one of the best I've read.