Miss Abigail's lesson from this: Self-sacrifice creates problems, but also is an indicator of true love.
Regency Romance
3.5 of 5
Alys and Reggie star as the herione and hero in this novel. Alys is an independent Amazonian, while Reggie epitomizes the very definition of tortured rake. Nearly six feet tall, I picture Alys to look like Wonder Woman. She gets compared to the Roman goddess Diana, who incidentally has the same name as our resident superheroine.
I enjoyed Alys. She wasn't annoyingly headstrong. I liked that the cross dressing ruse was dismissed as conflict early on. It was refreshing to see that she was a woman who took authority and responsibility without having to hide her gender, as unlikely as it would be in that time and age.
And thank goodness for none of the overused respectability nonsense with our Lady Alys.
The "major conflict", which I will not spoil, was a rushed and predictable from early on in the novel. It ended well, but I wasn't very invested because I knew what was going to happen. Then, later, the villain was deposed of and forgotten too quickly. Reggie's conflict, however, was much more captivating although some of the foreshadowing was all too obvious.
I really loved how Putney made our hero multifaceted and not wholly likable. Alcoholism is large issue. I realize that not everyone can overcome such a vice. Likewise, I appreciate that he failed before he succeeded.
I give this a 3.5 because I did like it, but it was nothing new. Predictable plot and the main conflict was all too boring. This is a romance novel. Where is the dramatic moment that makes my stomach drop?
I cannot sufficiently express how much I adore North and South. Four episodes long, it feels more like a lengthy movie than a tv series. North and South is being offered on Netflix, so get your money's worth and watch it!
