The Suitor
Grade : A-

The Suitor by Sandy Hingston starts out as a romp, as Alain Montclair repeatedly attempts - and fails - to catch the attention of an English heiress named Lady Katherine Deveraux. Then, in a surprising twist, the lighthearted tone of the beginning chapters falls away, and the story becomes one of adventure and epic romance.

Lady Katherine is one of the most appalling heroines I've ever encountered in romance fiction. She is a vain, malicious snob who seizes every possible opportunity to belittle others, justifying her obnoxious behavior by her superior social rank. As the daughter of a duke, Katherine feels that she is not only entitled but obligated to make others aware of their inferiority, and she does not hesitate to resort to lies and slander to accomplish this goal. Horrified, the headmistress of her school (the unconventional Countess D'Oliveri, first introduced in How To Kiss A Hero) takes steps to teach Katherine a lesson. She hires Alain Montclair, a handsome-yet-seedy French rogue who lives off gambling and rich women, to take Katherine down a peg.

I am reluctant to say anything further about this book's plot, for fear of spoiling all the delicious, heart-wrenching surprises it holds in store. It is safe to say that nothing goes as anyone plans. Katherine's world view, and her sense of superiority, will be shaken to the core. The Countess D'Oliveri will bitterly rue the day she attempted to meddle in Katherine's fate. And Alain . well, it's not always easy to tell what, exactly, Alain is up to.

At first I was worried that this would be a typical Taming of the Shrew story, because the fact is, I absolutely adored the shrewish Katherine. I grinned happily every time she abuses her servants, disparages her classmates, and works herself into a seething rage over the most minor slight to her enormous pride. But Alain is her match, in more ways than one: he too is vain, arrogant, and infuriating. When, early in the book, he declares that he and Katherine are "twinned souls," one can believe it - they are equally awful.

At heart, this book about the way love changes people - not in a way that might make me cringe, as Taming of the Shrew has always made me cringe a little. When love changes Katherine and Alain, they do not become untrue to themselves - they become better, more themselves, the people they were always meant to be. And it is very obvious that the one thing they were never meant to be is ordinary. Katherine changes, yes. But Alain never tramples her spirit - he loves it, celebrates it, and ruthlessly forces her to use it. Katherine is not a shrew who is tamed - she is a spoiled English girl who is transformed into an adventurer.

The character who moves events in this book, Alain Montclair, is very special. He presents himself as a joking, handsome rogue, but we gradually come to understand that there's more to him than that (just as we gradually realize that Katherine's snobbery comes from a well of stubborn strength). We rarely see events from Alain's point of view, and he keeps so many secrets from Katherine (and us) that he remains provokingly, fascinatingly mysterious. His behavior often seems capricious and unpredictable, and he never apologizes or explains himself. This enigmatic quality keeps the story moving, as Katherine wonders how well she really knows him. It also kept me on the edge of my seat throughout this book.

I debated whether to give this novel the coveted Desert Isle Keeper status. I can hardly claim it is without flaws, or that I think everyone will like it. Some of the escapades that Katherine and Alain manage to pull off seem staggeringly unlikely, and there is a very long separation between the hero and heroine that is bound to get on some readers' nerves.

But in the end, I enjoyed this book too much not to make it a DIK. I loved its conceited heroine and its obnoxious hero. I loved the way the characters, who started out as superficial stereotypes locked in a silly romance-novel situation, suddenly came alive and broke out of that situation, and embarked upon an unexpected series of adventures. I loved the way the big separation worked, and worked well, to make both characters painfully realize the mistakes they had made. I simply loved The Suitor, and I cannot wait to read it again.

Reviewed by Jennifer Keirans
Grade : A-

Sensuality: Hot

Review Date : June 25, 2002

Publication Date: 2002

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Jennifer Keirans

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