Forever a Lady (by Delilah Marvelle)

Forever a Lady rating:  1 out of 5 stars

Release Date: July 24, 2012

Rumor series rating: N/A (haven't read them all)

"Forever a Lady" is book 2 of the Rumor series. It can be read in order or as a stand alone novel. 

How are the sex scenes?

I only read one, and it was pretty heavy.  Later, the book has some "back door" action.

How are the story lines?

...not so great to me, I'm afraid.

Would you read it again?

No.

Summary

Forever a Lady by Delilah Marvelle is a historical romance novel set in New York City in the early 1800s.  Matthew Joseph Milton and his father have just moved to the shady side of town after losing everything to the hands of their greedy bookkeeper.  Lady Bernadette Burton is a lady of the ton living in New York on her dead husband's money.  She's married once for duty and refuses to do so again.  Now she does as she pleases.  London, her father and gossip no longer controls her. 

Review

As you can tell from the one star rating - I couldn't finish this.  I read approximately 120 of 362 pages, but ultimately set the book aside because the plot left me confused and the dialogue is too wordy.

Here's why:

1. At some point Forever a Lady skips ahead seven months and instead of going to London (where the story leads) it gives us eight pages of writing to communicate that Matthew still helps out a boy he met in Chapter One and to concoct a reason for Matthew to be in London.  It seems a waste of words.  No one changed during the seven month hiatus - except Georgia who we didn't see until later during the opening of the Season.
   
   
2. I was very confused when Matthew and Bernadette met.  First, 35 year-old Bernadette compares Matthew to a childhood Pirate King fantasy she had when she was eight, then says rude things about him to "trudge through whatever ridiculous attraction she had for the ruffian."  She's 35, has crossed oceans, lives on her own and she's this childish?  Okay, maybe.



3. The scene gets a little lost when Matthew and Bernadette greet.  Georgia and Bernadette were riding in the park and Georgia speeds away to avoid Matthew, yet Matthew speaks to both women when only Bernadette's within hearing distance (and he apparently didn't hear Bernadette's rude remark when I thought she spoke it for his benefit).  Then it's explained that when Matthew said "ladies" he actually only meant it for Bernadette because he's being all sexy and smoldering.  I get this in theory, but I was already so confused by the time it might have made sense that I didn't care anymore.



4. Immediately after this Bernadette runs into an old acquaintance, a gentleman of the ton, who demands to know where she's been and begins to beat her with his riding crop when she gives him an answer he does not like.  ....  ....  This could, and probably would, happen in private.  But she's riding with another lady in a public park in broad daylight.  Unless the gentleman has mental issues it doesn't seem reasonable for him to do this where he may be discovered.



5. Skip ahead a few pages and Bernadette goes to see her overbearing father.  I'm unsure of his age, but he talks to her as if she is 12.  He insists she comes home - repeatedly - and she repeatedly refuses.  The dialogue just repeats and repeats, offering the reader no new information.  Their interaction could have been cut in half and still make its point. 



6. Skip ahead again.  Lady Bernadette has invited Matthew to her home and before they consummate their one-night stand Matthew says,

"...how far are you willing to take this?  Are we talking matrimony here?  Because I'll admit, despite not looking the sort, that's what I'm going for.  You may not know this, but a rough life does one of two things to a man.  Disillusions him completely or makes him create a very long list of all things he wants and needs.  And I'm the latter."

Love-at-first-sight happens often enough in romance, but that doesn't mean I buy it.  Did he really have to say all that right then?  Wouldn't the first three sentences suffice, I thought he had other things on his mind?  His feelings were made clear, did he have to go into detail now?

I decided this book and I were not going to stay together until the end when I read, "...I'm not saying any more. But I will say this-" Either you say it or you don't Mr. Hero, but you can't do both.

As usual with low ratings, I really am sorry I don't like this.  Also as usual, I glanced at Goodreads to see what everyone else thinks.  My opinion is in the minority, because Marvelle's Forever a Lady has 23 ratings averaging at 3.91. 

Read the reviews and decide for yourself.

Comment About It

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Learn more about Delilah Marvelle and upcoming titles on her webpage, blog, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. 


Read the Rumor series.
Forever and A Day (released 12/20/2011);
Forever a Lady (released 7/24/2012); and
Forever a Lord (Coming 1/2012).

Published by Harlequin HQN
Disclaimer: No compensation was received for this review.  
eARC courtesy of NetGalley.