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While A Dangerous Kind of Lady is the third published book in Mia Vincy’s Longhope Abbey series, it’s actually the second in the series chronologically . If you’ve read the author’s début, A Wicked Kind of Husband, (which is chronologically book three) you’ll already have met Arabella and Guy Roth, Marquess and Marchioness of Hardbury as a happily married – even besotted – couple. But knowing that’s how they end up is, as any dedicated romance reader will know, not the point; the fun is in the getting there, in the emotional journey the characters take to find love and happiness. A Dangerous Kind of Lady is their ‘origin’ story, and tells how the fiercely independent, sharp-tongued Arabella, betrothed to Guy Roth since childhood, becomes un-betrothed, re-betrothed, un-betrothed again (sort of) and then marries him anyway. All while falling in love along the way of course.
When the book opens, Guy has recently returned to England following an eight year absence and has assumed the title – Marquess of Hardbury – he inherited on the death of his father around a year earlier. It’s widely believed that Guy left England in a sulk after the woman he was in love with spurned him (not only did she sleep with someone else, she then went on to become a much sought-after courtesan), but the truth is more complicated. The old marquess was obsessed with controlling his son’s every move, and leaving the country was the only way Guy could assert his independence. Now Guy is at last free to live his own life, one of the first things he does on his return is end his engagement to Arabella Larke.
The end of the betrothal doesn’t actually bother Arabella all that much – in fact, she’d be celebrating if it wasn’t for the fact that her father is so bent on marrying her off that he doesn’t particularly care who the groom is. Lord Sculthorpe, a handsome war hero who gives Arabella the creeps every time she so much as thinks of him, is about to propose any minute, and as Mr. Larke has threatened to cut Arabella off if she doesn’t get married, she’s desperate to find a way to avoid Sculthorpe without losing everything. To buy herself some time, she asks Guy to pretend their betrothal is back on, just for a few weeks, but Guy refuses to hear her out, certain she’s trying to manipulate him into marriage. After all, she never made a secret of her desire to be a marchioness, and her insufferable pride must have been dented when he ended their engagement. Guy’s refusal to help leaves her with only one option; to accept Sculthorpe’s offer and then jilt him as soon as she can. But she’s reckoned without her father’s determination to get her off his hands; rather than the spring wedding Arabella had intended, he insists she and Sculthorpe will be married within the month. Utterly repelled by Sculthorpe and his fixation on her virginity, Arabella decides that while she may have to become his in law, she doesn’t have to become his in spirit or give him any more of herself than necessary. And there’s one thing she doesn’t have to give him if she doesn’t want to.
Which is why Guy opens the door to his rooms one evening to be confronted by Arabella practically demanding to be seduced. He’s completely suspicious of her motives, and knows only too well the sorts of games she’s capable of playing – yet he can’t resist the challenges she keeps throwing at him or the glimpses of the woman behind the prickly, proud façade he knows she doesn’t mean to let him see. Taking Arabella to bed is a recipe for disaster and they both know it. It’s also a revelation. And marriage – to each other anyway – is not an option.
Arabella and Guy are superbly drawn, complex characters who are not always particularly likeable and who don’t always make the best choices, but whom the reader will want to root for nonetheless. When we first meet her, Arabella comes across as something of an ice-maiden; proud, aloof and calculating, she seems to be untouchable and impervious to her reputation for sharp-tongued arrogance. But it’s quickly clear that this is all a self-defence mechanism. Since the death of her twin brother, Mr. Larke has dismissed Arabella as useless and worthless, and she longs to regain something of the relationship they had before. But all he does is push her away, so she’s constructed thick walls and buried her true self deep inside, locking away the hurt of her father’s rejection and presenting herself to the world as proud, intractable and absolutely unassailable, someone who attacks before she can be attacked. But as Guy comes to know her – as difficult as she makes it – he realises that regardless of what is said about her, she never refutes it or fights back, and he begins to see an amazing woman, a woman who loved and fought, who made mistakes and fell down, then got back up to love and fight another day. Guy’s life with a controlling father has given him his own load of emotional baggage to deal with; he’s spent almost his entire life being denied choices in even the simplest things such as which tailor to go to, or when or how he could have his hair cut, and for him, his betrothal and Arabella herself became symbols of his father’s desire to crush his spirit and dominate him. Guy’s desire to have nothing to do with her is his way of proving to himself that he’s free to live as he chooses.
The main secondary storyline deals with Guy’s determination to gain custody of his two sisters from their guardian, who, he suspects, is stealing money from their trusts; Arabella is the first to clue into the fact that he is scheming to marry his son to Guy’s nineteen-year-old sister and gain control of her fortune that way. Then there’s Sculthorpe, a singularly unpleasant individual I was delighted to see get his comeuppance, but I’ll warn now that there’s one scene during which he physically attacks Arabella that is distressing to read.
Ms. Vincy’s talent for sharp and insightful dialogue is very much in evidence, and she does a wonderful job of using Arabella and Guy’s frequent sparring matches to show how perfectly matched they really are. Their chemistry is incendiary right from the moment they meet on the page, and the big seduction scene I’ve mentioned above (not a spoiler because it happens early on) really is one of the most unusual I’ve read:
“You seriously think that we should take off all our clothes and pretend to like each other long enough for me to bed you, and then you’ll merrily go one your way?”
“That sounds right. Although we needn’t take off all our clothes. Or pretend to like each other.”
It’s funny and poignant and even sad, but insanely sexy all at the same time.
A Dangerous Kind of Lady pulled me in from the very first page and didn’t let me go until the very last. The emotional journey these two characters travel leads them not only to discover how badly they’ve misjudged each other, but also to learn a lot about themselves as well. Arabella and Guy are extremely well characterised, their motivations are clearly put forward and the romance is expertly crafted. But a couple of things about the book as a whole caused me to lower the final grade a bit. Firstly, some of the things Arabella says go way beyond antagonistic verbal sparring and are downright hurtful. Guy is no angel in that department either – I thoroughly disliked the way he completely dismisses Arabella in their opening scenes together – but Arabella really is her own worst enemy and while I know why she behaves as she does, she still sets out deliberately to wound. Secondly, watching the two of them continually find new ways to say the exact opposite of what they mean, only tell each other partial truths and misunderstand each other got rather exhausting after a while.
But even with those criticisms, A Dangerous Kind of Lady still earns a strong recommendation and Mia Vincy continues to live up to the promise she showed in her début.
Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent bookstore
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Grade: A-
Book Type: Historical Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 06/07/20
Publication Date: 07/2020
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
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Does anyone have suggestions of other very good authors? Those similar to Mia Vincy?
Right now, there are very few around. I liked Evie Dunmore’s Bringing Down the Duke and her second book is out in September (watch out for my review). Virginia Heath is generally good – she’s gained a lot of high grades from us.
Those are newer authors – which ones have you read? I could write a long list, but you might have read them all! Drop back and let me know and I’ll come up with some more ideas for you.
I loved every word of this book. The banter, the angst, the damaged main characters.
Glad you liked it. I love angsty romances, too – although as I said, the non-communication got a bit much for me near the end
By the time I got to that part, I was totally onboard and it didn’t get too much for me, but mileages always vary!
Hooray! Glad this is good!
I have been hoarding book #2, time to dust it off. I see, this one has a bit of a dark side but A- review from you Caz is an excellent news.
I admit I did waver between a B+ and an A-, but in the end, even with the criticisms, the writing is so good and the characters so compelling, it deserved the DIK.
I loved this until the penultimate scene. But the final twist to keep them from true love irritated the hell out of me. It seemed placed there just to prove the point that loving someone means never requiring anything of them. Which is insane.
*nods* Yep, that last section also contains one of my least favourite tropes (the “You are too good for me and I am going to martyr myself” one); it all felt pretty pointless and is another reason I dinged the grade a bit.
It’s also this idea that’s showing up in tons of historical romances which is that in order for there to be love, the heroine must be equal in power/economics/standing to the hero in aspects of their lives that, even to this day, women find it difficult to achieve parity.
That’s a very good point, and one I find jarring. We’ve had many a discussion about historical accuracy here and I totally accept that historicals are never going to be completely accurate, because who wants to read about people with bad teeth and body odour? So we cherry pick. But writing an historical romance and having the characters operate within the conventions of the day is, surely, part of the attraction and the challenge of the genre? If you don’t want to pay attention to them, then why write an historical in the first place?
This one sounds very angsty!
It is – which suits me, because I like ’em that way! I recognise it’s not everyone’s cup of tea though, especially now. But I find angsty stories can be a great way of dealing with all sorts of negative emotions – in a romance I know things are going to work out, so I can indulge myself and have a good cry and work it out of my system knowing I have the safety net of a guaranteed happy ending.
Same! I tend to be drawn more toward angst and emotions than light-hearted stories, I can’t wait to read this one.
I loved this one, too. I devoured it in one sitting and can’t wait for the audio version. Vincy is somehow improved by audio & reason enough to put my running shoes on just so I can spend more time in her world. Highly recommend.
So I didn’t steer her wrong when I strongly recommended she ask for Kate Reading as her narrator then? :P
Nailed it.
Reading is the perfect narrator for Vincy. Although TBH I have not liked Arabella’s voice in the first two books. It is worrying me.
I’m sure it’ll be fine.It’s very hard for narrators in series books when a secondary character gets their own book, and they’ve voiced that character in a way that perhaps they wouldn’t use for a hero/heroine. I’ve heard many a narrator talk about that in interviews, and how frustrating it can be when they’ve voiced a character in book one in a way that could be difficult to sustain but isn’t a problem because they have six words, who, in book twelve turns out to be a main character with loads of dialogue! It depends on what information they’re given, I suppose – and in some case, I don’t think they’re given much!
You never can go wrong with Kate Reading. I have listened to the first two books via Audible Escape, but I probably will read this one, as the audio version is not even listed for preorder yet. I’ve been so impressed by Mia Vincy; she is a welcome addition to the list of HR authors whom I enjoy.
Audio is coming in a couple of months. The author told me she’s hoping for September.
I am about 70% of the way through this and am loving it. I actually like it better than the last Vincy although she’s always so strong.
She really is. Although as I’ve said, I was finding it all a bit exhausting by the end!