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There were a great many unique ideas in Midnight Angel that I enjoyed. However, as I continued reading, the heroine grew annoying, parts of the storyline became cliched, and the villain turned into cardboard.
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Lydia, the Countess of Beaumont, hides two great secrets from the world. First, she is the Midnight Angel, a mysterious rescuer of female and male prostitutes from the streets whose name is whispered throughout the underworld. No one seems to know what happens to the prostitutes she rescues, and certainly no one knows that the Midnight Angel is a woman. In her guise as the Midnight Angel, Lydia always dresses as a man, and has even cut her long hair short to perfect her masquerade. She wears a wig of her own hair when she appears as Lady Beaumont.
The Lady’s husband is dying, and though she doesn’t love him, she cares for him greatly since he rescued her from her past. She devotes herself to his care as he is dying of syphilis, which caused blindness and the loss of his legs. When his recently-discoverd illegitimate daughter, Sophie, is kidnapped, Lydia determines to find the girl so that Beau may acknowledge her. She does not realize she will come face-to-face with her own past to achieve that aim.
Hugh Montgomery is a renowned investigator who has helped Scotland Yard and solved many cases by himself. His is also Lydia’s former love, and has a problematic opium addiction, one that threatens his mental prowess. When Sophie’s mother wants to ask for Hugh’s help to find the girl, Lydia is horrified – she believes Hugh abandoned her when she needed him most. Hugh’s father never approved of their relationship and Lydia was fired without a reference from her position as governess for their family. From that point, Lydia’s life descended into poverty, and she was very lucky Beau rescued her. For his part, Hugh believed Lydia was dead when his desperate five-year search turned up no trace of the woman he knew. He is utterly shocked to find her married to the reclusive Lord Beaumont.
Hugh and Lydia still love each other. Lydia, however, has another looming secret which she believes will destroy Hugh’s love for her. As they search for Sophie and discover she is being held by a madman, Lydia spends all her time telling Hugh they cannot be together, ever. Even when all obstacles to their relationship are removed, and Hugh’s opium addiction, a nasty secret in its own right, is revealed, Lydia still continues to deny Hugh. Even after they have spent a wonderful night together, Lydia continues to tell Hugh they can never be together. Even after Hugh admits his undying love for Lydia…well, you get the picture. They can never be together. Left up to Lydia, yes, these two would have never been together. Thankfully, there is something left of Hugh’s brain after all and he takes charge of the situation.
The kidnapping subplot just turned stranger and stranger as the real reasons behind the madman were revealed. I have to give kudos to the author for originality in choosing the vehicle for the villain’s insanity. Unfortunately, the villain turned into a ranting and raving, frothing at the mouth caricature when finally revealed.
This author took risks in her heroine’s character, which I enjoyed. She also gave interesting insights into the world of prostitutes and sexual perversions in Victorian England. Because of those things, I really wanted to put this book on my keeper shelf. At the end, though, the heroine’s almost ridiculous stubbornness and the unfortunate resolution of the kidnapping mitigated my enjoyment. Midnight Angel isn’t a perfect book, but if you’re interested in an adventurous and unique love story, you might give it a try.
Grade: B-
Book Type: European Historical Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 29/12/03
Publication Date: 2003
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.