He's A Jerk and She's A Moron

Angel In a Red Dress by Judith Ivory

Summary: Beautiful, level-headed Christina Bower has every reason to avoid Adrien Hunt. He is an earl, while she is of common birth—he will never offer marriage. He is a man of intrigue, perhaps playing both sides in a most perilous game. Worst of all, the arrogant, lethally charming rogue revels in his reputation as libertine, unrepentant of the many bedchambers through which he's romped and the many hearts he's broken.

Yet the warmth of his breath on her cheek makes her knees weak— though Adrien would never admit that his pursuit of sensible, lovely Christina goes beyond mere desire alone. Does she dare submit to the irresistible devil's practiced seductions? Does she dare enter Adrien's dangerous world—and if she surrenders to it, will he only break her heart, too?

Review: A book so bad that I actually wished that the hero had died. 

This book was certainly not what I expected. The summary and the prologue made it seem that this would be a standard man woos woman. And it did start out that way, but the first chapter quickly dissuaded me of that opinion. Three years are skipped between the prologue and the first chapter. You eventually more about the situation, but it was still jarring. The other two parts of the book do skip some time, but not as much as the first part. 

The first part was the most decent and most like an actual romance novel. Christina (who is not level headed) becomes Adrien's mistress (but it's ok since she was previously married and not a virgin). Why is that women in romance books lose all brain function when a man touches you? There are too many instances of Christina saying no to Adrien and Adrien doesn't stop, but she "gives in" because his touch feels good. I wanted to bash Christina over the head. The second part finds Adrien and Christina in France and turns from a romance to a lesson in French history and politics. Adrien is still an ass. I sincerely wished that Adrien would die and that Christina would come to her senses. But alas, I was not so lucky.

Rating:






Recommendation: I cannot recommend this book.