Date published March 2008
ISBN 978-0-440-24431-8
Historical Romance
Mass market paperback
Reviewed by Lil
Young Gigi Rowland is an heiress whose mother and she have together put a diabolical scheme to make her a duchess. When her goal is all but met, life takes a mocking turn but introduces her to Camden Saybrook. Suddenly the forthright, pragmatic young lady finds herself head over heels in love with a man who has given his word to another.
The attraction between the two here are palpable. Our coldly analytical Gigi in an act of passionate impulsive desperation tries to fool the object of her affection into believing he is free from his perceived obligation. The price of that betrayal of trust is horrendous.
To all of London Society, Lord and Lady Tremaine have the ideal marriage…a courteous one. But while the public face is of civility and freedom, it is merely the façade for complete estrangement and living on different continents. After a decade of such, Lady Tremaine wishes to divorce and marry again. Camden, however, is not amenable to letting her go without first having a year of attempting to get an heir.
The writing and wording are truly elegant. As debuts go, this is a very fine one.
It is an emotion filled story shown to us not in overwrought histrionics but finely sharpened scenes of falling in love, youthful mistake, disappointment, anger and pain. Forgiveness is a long time in coming.
Because of Lord Tremaine’s stipulation to agreeing to the divorce, readers may be surprised with the relatively restrained sex scenes. Ms. Thomas allows the sexual tension to thread through the relationship without overpowering all of the other emotions and events.
Some readers may find that the self-righteous hero is unyielding in a way that chafes. The situation seems out of balance since it becomes clear that he loved the woman who became his wife every bit as much as she loved him. He apparently does suffer from his own act of vengeance but it is more often a thing alluded to while Gigi’s remorse and contrition is displayed for him and the reader in all of her grief merely to be ground under his heel, at least from what Lady Tremaine can see for the length of their marriage thus far.
For Gigi’s part, she is a remarkable woman dealing with the difficulties of her time. While one cannot dismiss the act that led to the ruin of her relationship with Camden, one also cannot help but like the woman she grows to become.
This story is told with the current state of their marriage alternating with flashbacks. It is an effective way to slowly unveil the problems and hopes of both past and present in a cohesive way.
Hero and heroine come to a greater appreciation of each other and a level of forgiveness that seems a logical point for the story to be complete. The last disagreement therefore felt somewhat contrived and unnecessary.
All in all, PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS impresses and the book will keep readers abuzz and anxiously awaiting Ms Thomas’ next offering.
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