I wasn’t ready for Serena to have sex with Hugo. What struck me the most, however, was how unready I was for the big emotional shifts. She was as recognizing Hugo’s value to Clarement evidenced). Both were quick of mind, employing different stratagems although Serena’s was more brute force and Hugo’s was more quick thinking, which was a role reversal in and of itself. I loved how smart both Serena and Hugo were. The seduction scene in which Serena finally gains power and agency in the bedroom is fabulous (and clever). Serena’s problem is how she, a woman who was raped and shies away from any physical contact from a man, can seduce anyone. She wants that voiceless part of her to be heard.Īfter numerous encounters with the Wolf of Claremont, a man she initially viewed as unprepossessing and harmless, Serena intuits that her biggest victory would be to steal Hugo away from the Duke, thereby ensuring the Duke’s downfall. Thus, while she wanted no part of him while he threatened to harm her if she fussed she does not understand that she was forced to copulate with him. Serena was taken advantage of by the Duke but she is confused by her own circumstances. Hugo, knowing the Duke, dreads knowing the true details. Serena is described by the Duke as disgruntled servant who lured him into bed. She is threatening to make a lot of noise which will impede the Duke’s reconciliation with his wife, put a wrench in Hugo’s plans to achieve his commission from the Duke. This is all imperiled by one Serena Barton.
If Hugo can manage to get the Duke of Clermont in the black and reconciled with his newly married heiress (a marriage that Hugo had orchestrated), Hugo will walk away with 500 pounds and the seed money for his empire. Hugo is known as the Wolf of Clermont, a man who makes problems go away by fair means or foul. To achieve this, the former prizefighter won a position as the secretary / factotum of the Duke of Clermont, a selfish clod of a man. Hugo Marshall had plans to be one of the richest men in all of England.
Perhaps it was the subject matter, as well, that didn’t fit well in such a small space. Whereas Unlocked felt fully contained, this book (maybe because of the elongated epilogue) felt more like the set up story for the Brothers Sinister (the series that it does set up). There are some brilliant things in this book, so brilliant that I needed more time spent with each character and the lack of time I got to spend with each character made me feel as if I hadn’t been given the entire story. It’s difficult to give a grade to each one of your books because your prose is so fine that my complaints, if I have any, always sound so mean (as in small not cruel). Jane B Reviews / Book Reviews historical romance / novella / POC author / pregnancy / Rape / revenge / self-published 34 Comments REVIEW: The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan
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