Written on Your Skin by Meredith Duran

Book Description:
Beauty, charm, wealthy admirers: Mina Masters enjoys every luxury but freedom. To save herself from an unwanted marriage, she turns her wiles on a darkly handsome stranger. But Mina's would-be hero is playing his own deceptive game. A British spy, Phin Granville has no interest in emotional entanglements - until the night Mina saves his life by gambling her own. — Four years later, Phin is finally freed by his new title from the bloody game of spycraft. But memories of the girl who saved him won't let Phin go. When he learns that Mina needs his aid, honor forces him back into the world of his nightmares.

Phin is a man intent on control. Mina is fiercely devoted to her independence. As they match wits, their practiced masks begin to slip, kindling an attraction more dangerous than any treasonous conspiracy. For in two lives built on lies, love can prove the darkest secret of all... 

Follow up to Duran's highly acclaimed, Bound By Your Touch, I was lukewarm about this Victorian romance of a young woman, Mina Masters who we first meet in Hong Kong.  She is not what she seems.  Outwardly she comes across as a bubble-headed debutante who lives with her mother and stepfather.   A party is given in her honor.  But, as we get closer to Mina, we realize all is not well.  She detests her stepfather who has been psychologically torturing her mother for years.  Mina would like nothing more than to stop him and run away with her mother - but how?

Lo and behold, the man she thinks is nothing more than a would be suitor, an American businessman in trade, turns out to be a spy who is trying to expose her stepfather of his traitorous deeds.  Who is this spy?  He is the oh so handsome and complex, Phin Granville.  But, it looks like Granville has been poisoned and collapses in Mina's arms while dancing.  She takes it upon herself to rescue him, realizing almost immediately what the real situation is (she's extremely intelligent beneath that Barbie doll facade and knows her way around poisons and antidotes for some reason.)  She is more than happy to help the man who is working on exposing her stepfather while in Hong Kong - it's her ticket to freedom.   She helps him escape - barely. 

Four years later, they meet again, only now they are in England.  Phin is out of the spy business now and just wants to live a normal life.  He's come into his family title, he's rich and wants to marry and sire children.  Is that too much to ask for?  Yet, "just when he thought he was out... they pull him back in."  His old spy associates have, in a sense, imprisoned Mina because she is the key to finding her ruthless stepfather who has escaped from jail and kidnapped her mother!  The only one who seems to be able to help is Phin - because Mina has requested only him to assist her.  He owes her a favor and she's cashing in.  But, then she escapes from her gilded cage before he sees her again.  She's on the loose and it's up to Phin to find her (which he does) and so begins this complicated and thoughtful relationship that develops between them while they travel together across England in search of her mother.  Evading bad guys, and foiling Phin's former spy master boss, they somehow manage to fall in love - but you'd never know it.

The scenario is interesting, but it was bogged down with much too much talk, talk, talk.  The verbal sparring that went on between the hero and heroine, only succeeded in boring me to tears and I lost interest mid-way.  There was this constant game being played, neither one wanted to admit a fondness or attraction for the other - even though it was sitting like a two ton gorilla between the two of them.  I found it a bit dreary and not very compelling, when it should have been.  I didn't find much chemistry between then (maybe due to all the talk) and frankly, I didn't really like Mina very much, which is a killer for me.  If I don't connect with the heroine then it's pretty certain I'm not going to get into the book.  Still, I persevered, for I like this author, and she was kind enough to sign this book and send it to me, via a friend, who was at a book signing fair last Fall, here in NJ, that I couldn't make it to.   

The plotline certainly sounded like it should have been better, but I longed for less analysis and more romance!  Still, the writing itself was right on, the period, language, descriptions and locales were all well done, but by the time these two finally get it on, I was so fed up with their endless bickering - I'd given up on them already and didn't find much satisfaction by the end. I was just glad it was over and I could move on.  Perhaps this will be more of your cup of tea than it was for me.  In any case, I do intend to read more of her books, for her first book, Duke of Shadows is one of my very favorites - so I know Ms. Duran has it in her to tickle my fancy! :)

2.5/5

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Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran

Book Description:
Silver-tongued Viscount Sanburne is London's favorite scapegrace. Alas, Lydia Boyce has no interest in being charmed. When his latest escapade exposes a plot to ruin her family, she vows to handle it herself, as she always has done. Certainly she requires no help from a too-handsome dilettante whose main achievement is being scandalous. But Sanburne's golden charisma masks a sharper mind and darker history than she realizes. He shocks Lydia by breaking past her prim facade to the woman beneath... and the hidden fire no man has ever recognized. But as she follows him into a world of intrigue, she will learn that the greatest danger lies within - in the shadowy, secret motives of his heart.

Coming off Ms. Duran's previous book, The Duke of Shadows which I totally loved, I was bound for a let down, and let down I was with Bound by Your Touch. I must be the only person out there that was not bowled over by this book! Let's just say, I am not into these ne'er do well reformed rake tales. When we first meet our hero, Viscount Sanburne, he's up to his neck in debauchery, living it up at a wild party, stoned on some kind of hallucinogetic drug. I found this a bit offsetting in an historical romance, albeit, it's the late 1800's. I'm a bit prudish when it comes to heroes. I'm all for lots of unmarried sex and a randy hero, but when he's smoking hash and taking LSD, umm, no. Still, I continued with the story to see just how Sanburne reforms, since I knew immediately, this was going to be one of those kind of stories. I'm just finding them a bit old and boring now. Plus, I had issue with his name. Not to be nitpicky, he's the Viscount Sanburne, but his given name is James. Often, I was confused, who was the author referring to at first? Who is James? I had to stop and think, it kept bobbing back and forth. Is he one of Sanburne's many dissolute friends? (I had trouble keeping track of them as well!) Back and forth, back and forth, sometimes he's Sanburne, sometimes he's James - confusing to say the least! Eventually, I wised up and realized when our heroine, the bespectacled bluetocking Lydia Boyce is referring to him, he's Sanburne. But, when we're following Sanburne himself and his thoughts, he's James. Duh, took me a while, but I finally caught on. ;)

On the surface, James' big problem and driving force is to get back at his father whom he can't stand. He blames him for his sister's present state in a mental asylum for murdering her husband who beat her. He believes his father is to blame for letting her remain married to the brute, and keeping her locked away from society. James' raison d'etre is now to get back at his father and drive him crazy - so he's a rake and an owner of factories (horrors!) and has no intention of settling down and producing an heir to carry on the family line. But, at the same time, James also blames himself for the plight of his sister. Not only is he punishing his father, he's punishing himself. James has a lot of familial issues. He goes through a sort of self flagellation, beating himself up by boxing, acting like a bored ne'er do well, do-nothing peer who doesn't care about anything, when really he does care about women and factory conditions and their life in the slums. Yet, he'd never admit to it or take credit for the good deeds he does. Instead, he drinks himself to oblivion to forget and tries to piss off his father who is also a collector of Egyptian antiquities.

What a coincidence, our heroine Lydia Boyce is an expert on Egyptian artifacts and sells them for her father who is an archeologist. She adores her father - the exact opposite of James. Irony plays a role here for as we learn by the end of the book, fathers are misunderstood and are not always what they seem. Lydia is the eldest of three daughters - and a spinster. Four years earlier, she is embarrassed to find out that after declaring her love to her suitor, George, she finds out that she's not the one he intends to marry - instead it's her younger sister, Sophie, he wants to marry! Four years later, Sophie and George are unhappily married, and Lydia is still unmarried. She throws herself in to her Egyptian work and is considered an expert in the field. Smart and intelligent - except when it comes to love - she suffers from an inferiority complex that she's unattractive and no one will ever want to marry her. Plus, all the ton knows that she had once been in love with her sister's husband who jilted her! How humiliatng! Deep down she has the ability to be wild and attractive, but alas, no one will probably ever get to see that side of her. Until she meets the Viscount Sanburne, of course.

She and James meet and tangle at once. They find each other annoying, yet both are drawn to each other in more ways than one. It turns out they have some things in common with their interest in Egyptian antiquities and they're forced to work together to get to the bottom of the mystery of who is trying to kill him and ruin her father's reputation as a scholar and antiquities dealer. Yet, although they're total opposites and an unlikely couple, they get along and he can't stop trying to seduce her. It's become a challenge to him to unveil the prim and proper miss Boyce. Despite her lacklustre protestations, they manage to have some romantic moments in some very unlikely and uncomforable places, like a London rooftop for one. I had trouble not rolling my eyes over it all. Unfortunately, I just didn't really like James' all that much and felt a bit embarrassed for Lydia. I had no sympathy for him and wanted him to get over himself and be smarter - I kept wishing Lydia could do better. By the time we find out the truth about him and he's really good, my mind had already written him off.

It all unfolds at the end and our hero and heroine come to terms with themselves and deal with the truths about their families. Lydia, of course, has this "I'm not good enough for you" martyred role, but James talks her into it and they are bound to live happily ever after. But, throughout it all, I just didn't really - care! It took me over a week to read this short romance and as much as the mechanics of the book and the story itself and the depth of the characters was good, I just wasn't into it.

Maybe you will be. Still, I do intend to read all Ms. Duran has written, for her first book was so good and I have high hopes she'll write another winner!

3/5

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Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran

Book Description:
In a debut romance as passionate and sweeping as the British Empire, Meredith Duran paints a powerful picture of an aristocrat torn between two worlds, an heiress who dares to risk everything...and the love born in fire and darkness that nearly destroys them. From exotic sandstone palaces... Sick of tragedy, done with rebellion, Emmaline Martin vows to settle quietly into British Indian society. But when the pillars of privilege topple, her fiancé's betrayal leaves Emma no choice. She must turn for help to the one man whom she should not trust, but cannot resist: Julian Sinclair, the dangerous and dazzling heir to the Duke of Auburn. To the marble halls of London... In London, they toast Sinclair with champagne. In India, they call him a traitor. Cynical and impatient with both worlds, Julian has never imagined that the place he might belong is in the embrace of a woman with a reluctant laugh and haunted eyes. But in a time of terrible darkness, he and Emma will discover that love itself can be perilous -- and that a single decision can alter one's life forever. Destiny follows wherever you run. A lifetime of grief later, in a cold London spring, Emma and Julian must finally confront the truth: no matter how hard one tries to deny it, some pasts cannot be disowned...and some passions never die.

I really thought I knew what to expect from this book. At first I thought it would be the usual story of a missish and proper English bred Victorian young lady come to India to be married who meets a dashing and disreputable man who unleashes her hidden passions. Ho-hum, been there, done that.

I was wrong - very wrong.

From the beginning, Emmaline Martin is not your average miss. She is a survivor. Outspoken as well as a talented artist, she makes the long journey from England to India with her parents. En route, the steamer sinks and she barely escapes alive but for being rescued by a merchant ship, crewed by Irishmen. Having lost her parents, she arrives in India alone, amidst the scandalous whisperings of the other colonials, "What happened to her?" "Was she abused by her rescuers?" "How unladylike!"

Now an heiress, Emmaline is reunited with her fiance, who turns out to be an ass - and an unfaithful one at that - and is soon disenchanted with what she realizes her life will be like as a proper memsahib in colonial India. Suffering from the recurring nightmares of the shipwreck, she is disillusioned and unhappy with her future. Her fiance, Marcus, makes it plain he only wants her for her money and will continue his philandering ways once they marry. He expects her to act with decorum and grace, just like all the other memsahibs in India. That's just not going to happen to Emma. One night at a ball in her honor, she meets Julian Sinclair alone outside in the garden. He is tall, dark and handsome, the perfect foil to her blonde fiance. He and her fiance are cousins, but Julian is the one to inherit the dukedom of Auburn, even though he is part Indian, much to Marcus' chagrin. Not exactly accepted in England or India due to his heritage - Julian doesn't care. He's rich, clever, powerful and notorious with women - he does what he wants. When he and Emma meet, there is an instant chemistry and understanding between them - kindred spirits. Their paths cross several times again and they warily become friends, though her fiance warns not to have anything to do with him. Julian saves her from a few unfortunate instances and soon she begins to think of him as someone she can trust. Before long, Marcus proves himself to be more than just a jerk, he strikes Emmaline and she breaks the engagement off with him, yet she needs someone that can help her get out of Delhi for rumours and signs are pointing to the imminant possibility that an Indian Mutiny may occur. It is out of the question to remain in the city, she must get to safety somewhere else.

And so, as predicted by Julian, an Indian uprising goes into effect with devastating results. It is horrible. Ms. Duran paints a clear picture of how dreadful it was with all the murdering and death. Julian helps Emma escape and they have a tender night together. He tells her he loves her, but he must go back to Delhi to look after the Indian side of his family. He promises he will return and leaves her in safety at the house of a maharajah. But, it turns out Julian was wrong. Emma must face more tragedy and turmoil, and the nightmares she experienced from her shipwreck are nothing compared to what she now faces while trying to save herself and get out of India. She trusted Julian and believed he'd find her, but alas, he never returns. She must fight and kill and do what she must to survive. Her experience takes it's toll on her for years to come.

We next come upon Emma four years later in England. She is a shell of the person she had once been. Living with her married cousin, who has nursed her and tried to bring her back to reality and peace, Emma pours her heart out in her painting. All her nightmares and memories of the Mutiny are brought to life - horrible, bloody, graphic paintings of scenes she witnessed. Soon, a friend of her cousin's wants to show them in a gallery and sell them for her. The opening night is a sensation. Shown under a pseudonym, no one realizes she is the real painter, except for one. I bet you can guess just who happens to be there that evening - yes. Julian, the Duke of Auburn.

The next part of the book is pushed forward with momentum, I could barely put it down. From the minute Julian realizes that Emma is alive (he had thought her dead) everything changes for the two of them. She is still damaged from her memories and fights him, she cannot stand the idea of seeing him again - falling for him - trusting him - look what happened to her last time she believed and trusted in him. She hurts too much. Of course, they've both been under the wrong impressions - thanks to Marcus, her jerk ex-fiance. I won't go into all the details, but Julian and Emma must join forces to come to terms with their future and find out why and who is trying to kill her as well. Words taken from letters she stole from an English soldier she killed are written in Urdu in her paintings. It turns out they are more incriminating of the Indian Mutiny than anyone realizes. Someone wants her dead.

This was more than just your usual historical romance. It was intense, emotional and stirring. I cared about Emma and Julian and wanted to see them together - but it just wasn't that easy. Emma is a strong heroine, which makes it that much harder to see what happens to her over time with the Mutiny and aftermath and how it nearly kills her and wrecks her. Julian is strong and courageous, but must live with the idea that he couldn't save Emma from what happened - he's not even sure what exactly happened to her! He goes on a tear after seeing her again in London, dropping any sense of decorum - he will fix this and damn the consequences! Finally, when they have their big showdown and explanations, it's cathartic for all, including the reader.

A really good book, it took me a little while to get into it, but once I did, it was so worth it! The locale of India was evocative and their lovemaking is sensual and memorable. The references to Tennyson's The Lady of Shallot "I am, half sick of shadow" were well done and poignant as well, I loved it. I can't wait to read the rest of Ms. Duran's books, this is an author I will watch out for in the future!

4.5/5

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