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The Paisley Butterfly
"Poverty did have its privileges, mused Lady Margaret Battersby Spence, happily forced into commerce by circumstance__ and character. But all too soon an near scandal obliged her to close the doors of her beloved bookshop and enter the private employ of His Grace, the Duke of Waldenspire."
345 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1980
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April 29, 2016
Lady Margaret Batterby Spence was forced upon her parents' deaths to fend for herself. She opened a bookshop and is happy with the way her life turned out. She sells books and rents space to scholars of ancient languages. A handsome stranger comes into her shop and her life one day, teasing and joking and he becomes a frequent visitor and Margaret's friend. Then a scandal nearly causes Margaret to spend the rest of her days in prison but someone intervened on her behalf. She is informed the Duke of Waldenspire wants to hire her. Margaret is outraged! She wants to return to her beloved bookshop, not become who knows what to a mysterious Duke! The proposition is above board, with the Duke's Mama in residence. Margaret has no choice but to accept his offer to catalog his family's collection of priceless butterfly themed artifacts but she is livid that her "friend" from the bookshop is actually a Duke and responsible for her current career path. The Duchess has other plans for Margaret which don't include slaving away. She relaunches Margaret into the ton where she makes the acquaintance of a handsome, devilish Italian Count. The Duke is outraged by Margaret's behavior and association with the Count but the way she sees it, he's informally betrothed to another and she is merely an employee, therefore, he can not dictate her behavior. She's determined to forge her own path in life whether it is alone or with the Count or with the Duke, if a miracle happened and the Duke fell in love with her.
It is a pity this book had to be a conventional romance. I quite liked the premise: a bookseller/museum curator heroine- right up my alley! However, I ended up REALLY hating this book. I loved Margaret. She's fiercely independent and very intelligent. She doesn't behave stupidly not even when she's in love. She makes a few blunders but is otherwise a strong heroine. I absolutely loathed the Duke. First, he doesn't seem to take anything seriously and he plants a kiss on Margaret in a case of mistaken identity. This establishes his character as a rake - except he's not. He's an alpha male who is constantly jealous of Margaret for spending time with another man, yet he is informally betrothed and flirts with other women. He's not very nice to Margaret. He is good to his mother and was kind to hire Margaret but then again he was the agent of her destruction. He values his family history and he loves his family's shipping business. I just hated his behavior and almost every interaction with Margaret is beastly. He's like an animal claiming his territory. UGH! He nearly rapes Margaret which sunk him even lower in my opinion and I wasn't thrilled with Margaret's response.
The supporting characters include the Duchess who is a nice old lady but she's scheming behind her son's back and Margaret doesn't realize it. She has a little romantic plot of her own that is sweet. There's Jordice, Peter's informal fiance, who is either really stupid or really catty - either way, a flat character. Count Dantoni, a charming rake who wants to repent but doesn't/can't and Margaret's maid Corinne provides the comic relief. She's feisty and outspoken, knows what she wants and isn't awed by working in a Duke's household.
I am not labeling this romance novel kisses only. There's one makeout scene (skin) and TWO near rape scenes. I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't. I gave it 2 stars on Good Reads but it's actually 1 star for the plot and one for the heroine and her occupations.
It is a pity this book had to be a conventional romance. I quite liked the premise: a bookseller/museum curator heroine- right up my alley! However, I ended up REALLY hating this book. I loved Margaret. She's fiercely independent and very intelligent. She doesn't behave stupidly not even when she's in love. She makes a few blunders but is otherwise a strong heroine. I absolutely loathed the Duke. First, he doesn't seem to take anything seriously and he plants a kiss on Margaret in a case of mistaken identity. This establishes his character as a rake - except he's not. He's an alpha male who is constantly jealous of Margaret for spending time with another man, yet he is informally betrothed and flirts with other women. He's not very nice to Margaret. He is good to his mother and was kind to hire Margaret but then again he was the agent of her destruction. He values his family history and he loves his family's shipping business. I just hated his behavior and almost every interaction with Margaret is beastly. He's like an animal claiming his territory. UGH! He nearly rapes Margaret which sunk him even lower in my opinion and I wasn't thrilled with Margaret's response.
The supporting characters include the Duchess who is a nice old lady but she's scheming behind her son's back and Margaret doesn't realize it. She has a little romantic plot of her own that is sweet. There's Jordice, Peter's informal fiance, who is either really stupid or really catty - either way, a flat character. Count Dantoni, a charming rake who wants to repent but doesn't/can't and Margaret's maid Corinne provides the comic relief. She's feisty and outspoken, knows what she wants and isn't awed by working in a Duke's household.
I am not labeling this romance novel kisses only. There's one makeout scene (skin) and TWO near rape scenes. I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't. I gave it 2 stars on Good Reads but it's actually 1 star for the plot and one for the heroine and her occupations.
Displaying 1 of 1 review