My Unfair Lady [Mass Market Paperback]

Born and raised in the infamous town of Tombstone, frontier lass Summer Lee is far from one of London's gently breed society ladies. But London is where she is looking to hire a titled man to teach her the ways of ladies.

You see, after Summer's father made a fortune doing this and that, he uprooted her to New York city where a handsome young man named Monte caught her fancy, and he's asked her to marry him, but his family snubs their nose at her because of her lack of propriety. Summer's not too suave when it comes to upper-class formalities.

So it's off to London for some training. Lord Byron, Duke of Monchester finds himself filling that precarious position as his need for the money she offers overrides his better judgment.

Neither Byron nor Summer are looking for a love match. But after much time spent attending balls, and dinners and the occasional deal that may or may not include a kiss, as well as a dose of danger. Summer and Byron are finding it easy telling their heads nothing is happening between them. It's trying to convince their hearts. That stubborn organ doesn't appear to want to listen.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I've read Kathryne Kennedy's Relics of Merlin series and while those are filled with magic, I felt that My Unfair Lady was filled with magic as well. Not in the paranormal sense, but in the writing. Ms. Kennedy weaved her characters together in such a way that you could feel Summer as her unconventional behavior penetrates Byron's cold façade, chipping away the layers to the true man beneath. And the love between them felt as accidental as it was meant to be. Another sweetly sensual tale weaved and brought to life by one of my favorite writers! However, I did grow a bit concerned with the continued motivation of Summer toward the end to continue carrying the pretense she wanted to be a lady for the sake of her vow to Monte. But all in all, it moved along swiftly. And I adored the secondary cast of 'critters'. Most especially, India, the monkey!

The moral of this story...Be happy for being who you are. Don't change yourself for love or for social standings, love will find you. The right person will embrace you, stand beside you, and support you for being you. And that's what both Summer and Byron learn in this book. My Unfair Lady is a remarkable tale of love and acceptance.

Summer is American that grew up in Tombstone Arizona, where she learned to shoot, and fight, but not schooled in the ways of a lady. Her father uprooted herself and her friend Maria to New York so he could continue investing in railroads and such. New York did not welcome her odd, uncivilized ways. All, except for Monte, who she is engaged too. Although Summer is very wealthy, Monte's family does not accept that she is not a proper lady. So Summer Wine Lee has traveled to London and hired the Duke of Monchester, otherwise known as Byron to make her into a Lady so she can be presented to the Queen and go back to the states to marry Monte and make his family happy.

Byron is an impoverished Duke, he owns properly but they are quite ill maintained. He keeps his status and elite position in London by being Prince Albert's eyes and ears in society. He collects embarrassing or funny stories about London's elite and shares these stories with the prince to amuse him. Byron abhors American women who come to London title hunting. He is quick to offend and shock Summer and Maria. But Summer sees this as a golden opportunity - no sidestepping or manners to get in the way of shaping her up quickly to become a lady. His brash manner and shocking talk does nothing to embarrass her, much to the shock of Byron.

Byron is given an offer he can't very well refuse. Summer offers him a hefty investment in the railroad she owns. Byron would be free of selling himself out to the prince, he would be able to live the life he wants, and not have to collect the silly stories that hurts others. Byron finds that Summer is not your everyday girl looking for a title. She carries a knife on herself, she is never one to be embarrassed - she is quite the match for Byron. The more time they spend together, the more the romance blooms.

I've gone back and forth in my head with My Unfair Lady. It is a cute premise for a book, but there were so many times I stopped reading because Summer or Byron did or thought something that just did not connect with me.

At the beginning of the book, Byron makes such a big deal about the amount of work he is going to have to do to get Summer ready but then two weeks are skipped and we don't get to read any of his "preparations". That is not to say she is a perfect lady by the time those two weeks are over, and I actually liked the fact that she stays true to who she is. However I think the story would have benefited by seeing how he transformed her those two weeks.

As the romance starts to develop between these two, I felt Summer lost her feelings for Monte way too easily. She travels all the way to London to be put at the grace of a Duke who humiliates people for a living, and I don't think we saw her struggle with her feelings for Monte as she should have. After Byron and Summer give into temptation and he pleasures her and Byron wants to continue with intercourse, this conversation follows:

"I mean I can't," she took a deep breath, "make love to you."
[...] "I've already made love to you, my American girl. What we do now is rather anti-climatic, don't you think?"
Summer blinked. He looked so beautiful in gaslight. "Yes, no, I mean, I gave my word to another man. I have to uphold that vow until and unless he releases me."
His hands started sliding down her arms. "Too late," he murmured.
"No, it's not. I haven't betrayed him completely."

And then she proceeds to pleasure him. I get that if she is falling in love with Byron, and Monte is all the way in the States, she just can't call and say hey - it's over between us. But at this point in the story, she still has intentions to marry Monte, and I'm sorry but what she did with Byron is betraying Monte. A few pages later, Summer does have a revelation and admits to herself she had betrayed Monte and then she decides to "stop these feelings she had for the duke. Thank goodness she hadn't done anything that she couldn't undo." Which, as I take it, means since she didn't have intercourse, she didn't have to worry about a baby. But then soon after she does have sex with him and afterwards she thinks this:

"Stop it," she whispered firmly to herself, "We're finished." Wasn't that the whole point of their encounter today, to end this longing for him? Or did it go deeper than that?
Summer winced. It didn't matter, anyway. She'd made a promise to another man, and it would take more than one steamy afternoon to break it.

The back and forth, wishy-washy feelings made Summer an unlikable heroine in my opinion. I did enjoy Byron - cold hearted, quick with his tongue, not necessarily a nice person all the time. Someone is out to murder him and Summer and Byron must deal with the danger of the unknown always lurking about. Summer's friend, Maria, who is not shy at all about the way she acts is a cute addition to the story. If I could have reconciled myself to Summer, I would have enjoyed this book much more.

Set in the year 1885. Summer Wine Lee grew up with her father in Tombstone, Arizona, a mining town in America. Even though she is now rich, her fiancé's upper crust family does not consider her to be an acceptable bride. To remedy this, Summer travels to London, England, with her friend, Maria Sanchez, and her Chihuahua, Chi-chi. Her intension is to be presented to the royal family. With the acceptance of England's highest-of-the-high, Summer can prove her worthiness.

Summer hires the Duke of Monchester (Byron) to teach her all things necessary to successfully complete her quest. However, Summer did not realize there would be so much to learn. Summer is used to carrying a knife (a gift from an Apache friend) at all times. Guns, loose women, and harsh language do not bother her. So Summer is amazed at how stifled the women in England are. English ladies cannot even touch anyone, unless she is presenting a properly gloved hand to be escorted to the dance floor. Summer must face the fact that she has her work cut out for her.

Monchester, who is used to intimidating others and has developed a talent to humiliate his prey, cannot shock or insult Summer, no matter how hard he tries. He even bluntly admits at their first meeting how much he despises all American women. Yet Summer is a constant surprise to him! If she is not totally shocking him, she is causing him to laugh aloud; something he cannot recall doing for years. All too soon, this American lady is changing how Monchester looks at her.

***** FIVE STARS! Historical Romances by Kathryne Kennedy always has something for everyone. This one has hot romance, suspense (someone is trying to kill Monchester), humor, and so much more. Summer's collection of adopted pets kept me constantly amused. She has a monkey, a vixen, an old cat that cannot use its hind legs so it gets around by using ... Never mind. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed the odd animals.

For the history buffs, the story tells much about history in America and England. Prince Albert Edward even makes several appearances. As I said, something for everyone. I loved every moment of Summer's story! The author, Kathryne Kennedy, is more than good. She is downright smashing! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.