Susan M. (susyclemens) reviewed Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady (Three Soldiers, Bk 1) (Harlequin Historical, No 972) on + 158 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I enjoyed this story for many reasons. One, because it depicted a man who's experiencing post traumatic stress after having been in a particularly bloody battleand enduring its aftermath of looting and rioting in Spain. Also because Jack Vernon, the hero, wants to be an artist and is working hard to succeed - For once, there's no rakish past (or present); no quarrelsome parent withholding an allowance or trying to force him to marry for his own good. I liked Jack immediately; he's decent, honorable and honest.
I also liked the fact that this author departed from the stereotypical overprotected virgin-heroine. For once, thank goodness, the heroine is not a schoolmistress; not a poor relation, not a plain duenna and not an innocent "Lady". Ariana is (gasp) an actress just beginning a successful career, who's as determined as Jack to succeed in her chosen field. One prior sour love affair hasn't soured her for life, either; she's as attracted to Jack as he is to her.
Jack's mother is the mistress of Lord Tranville, who was Jack's commanding officer, as well as the man who paid for his schooling and his commission. Although Jack despises the man, he can't help feeling indebted to him - an unusually deep and well-plotted emotional conflict for a romance-novel hero. When Tranville commissions Jack to paint a portrait of Ariana, it increases the tension between all three characters since Tranville is trying to win Ariana as his mistress.
Although I liked the characters, and I liked the unusually creative elements of this story, for me it just didn't maintain a must-read element. The pace seemed to slow down just before the last few chapters. All the ingredients were there for a compelling end, but the story lost its steam (I don't mean romantically, just in the terms of pace and the plot). But it's a good read, if not a great one.
I also liked the fact that this author departed from the stereotypical overprotected virgin-heroine. For once, thank goodness, the heroine is not a schoolmistress; not a poor relation, not a plain duenna and not an innocent "Lady". Ariana is (gasp) an actress just beginning a successful career, who's as determined as Jack to succeed in her chosen field. One prior sour love affair hasn't soured her for life, either; she's as attracted to Jack as he is to her.
Jack's mother is the mistress of Lord Tranville, who was Jack's commanding officer, as well as the man who paid for his schooling and his commission. Although Jack despises the man, he can't help feeling indebted to him - an unusually deep and well-plotted emotional conflict for a romance-novel hero. When Tranville commissions Jack to paint a portrait of Ariana, it increases the tension between all three characters since Tranville is trying to win Ariana as his mistress.
Although I liked the characters, and I liked the unusually creative elements of this story, for me it just didn't maintain a must-read element. The pace seemed to slow down just before the last few chapters. All the ingredients were there for a compelling end, but the story lost its steam (I don't mean romantically, just in the terms of pace and the plot). But it's a good read, if not a great one.
Karla B. (gaslight) -
Helpful Score: 1
Really enjoyed this book. The protagonists are sweet with not too many harsh edges around them. While I prefer the darker stuff of the old romances, when I'm in the mood for something light and pleasant, books like this are a nice and quick change of pace that don't overstay their welcome or overdo it on the "happy-happy."
I particularly liked Ariana, the actress who has no illusions about how actresses are viewed by society and isn't uptight about being respectable & trying to convert opinion. It's Jack who is more conscious of her reputation, and her admonition to him that if he's seen going into her room, it's only what they expect of her profession fit in with her character. She's worldly-wise, due to her mother's own looseness and her own uncertain paternity. She's the bastard get of some unknown gentleman, and she accepts it as the harsh times dictated.
The hero, Jack, is the more uptight one in the relationship, dealing as he has to with his mother's infatuation with a callous nobleman and her willingness to have her family be said nobleman's doormat. He also suffers from PTSD, caused by the siege of Badajoz, and it crops up at convenient plot points. He conquers it a little too cleanly, but whatever. It was a nice depth of character for him to seek therapy in his artwork, and how his healing and his love for Ariana blossom on canvas as well as in real life.
This is the first Gaston I've read, and I'm looking forward to reading more.
I particularly liked Ariana, the actress who has no illusions about how actresses are viewed by society and isn't uptight about being respectable & trying to convert opinion. It's Jack who is more conscious of her reputation, and her admonition to him that if he's seen going into her room, it's only what they expect of her profession fit in with her character. She's worldly-wise, due to her mother's own looseness and her own uncertain paternity. She's the bastard get of some unknown gentleman, and she accepts it as the harsh times dictated.
The hero, Jack, is the more uptight one in the relationship, dealing as he has to with his mother's infatuation with a callous nobleman and her willingness to have her family be said nobleman's doormat. He also suffers from PTSD, caused by the siege of Badajoz, and it crops up at convenient plot points. He conquers it a little too cleanly, but whatever. It was a nice depth of character for him to seek therapy in his artwork, and how his healing and his love for Ariana blossom on canvas as well as in real life.
This is the first Gaston I've read, and I'm looking forward to reading more.
Karin A. (Jerseygirltoo) -
This was my favorite of the Three Soldiers trilogy, mainly because Ariana was the best heroine. The heroines of the other 2, which are 'Gallant Soldier, Beautiful Enemy' and 'Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Mistress' were definitely TSTL at certain points in those books.
I also loved the originality, that this book did not take place in an upper class milieu. Jack and Ariana both have to work for a living, she is an actress and he is an artist, and money is a concern. Even when they reach the HEA, we find out in the epilogue that they both continue to work hard to be successful in their careers. There is no sudden inheritance or distant relative that dies and makes him Lord something-or-other. Also, men and women mingled more freely in their world than among the nobility. Ariana is attracted to Jack from the first time she sees him, and she makes no bones about it; she is the one who moves the relationship forward. This made the story more like the way we live now. In a way, it reminded me of "La Boheme".
I thought that Jack's life as an artist was depicted realistically. There is also a nice subplot about Jack's sister Nancy and the man she loves. The cover of the book is a bit misleading, because he is out of the army during most of the story, and only returns to the military for a few pages at the end of the book, for the Battle of Waterloo. Many of the same characters recur in all 3 books, so I recommend reading all three, even though, as I said, those other 2 heroines annoyed the heck out of me.
I also loved the originality, that this book did not take place in an upper class milieu. Jack and Ariana both have to work for a living, she is an actress and he is an artist, and money is a concern. Even when they reach the HEA, we find out in the epilogue that they both continue to work hard to be successful in their careers. There is no sudden inheritance or distant relative that dies and makes him Lord something-or-other. Also, men and women mingled more freely in their world than among the nobility. Ariana is attracted to Jack from the first time she sees him, and she makes no bones about it; she is the one who moves the relationship forward. This made the story more like the way we live now. In a way, it reminded me of "La Boheme".
I thought that Jack's life as an artist was depicted realistically. There is also a nice subplot about Jack's sister Nancy and the man she loves. The cover of the book is a bit misleading, because he is out of the army during most of the story, and only returns to the military for a few pages at the end of the book, for the Battle of Waterloo. Many of the same characters recur in all 3 books, so I recommend reading all three, even though, as I said, those other 2 heroines annoyed the heck out of me.
