Portrait of a Forbidden Love
Bronwyn Scott’s Portrait of a Forbidden Love is the first in her The Rebellious Sisterhood series, and it begins with artist Artemisia Stansfield in front of the board of the Royal Academy waiting to learn if her late father’s nomination and recommendation for her admittance is to be granted. Because she’s a woman, they try to turn her down, but when she protests, they agree to a compromise and give her four months to prove herself worthy of admission to by adding some more “mature” paintings to her portfolio. She’s been showing paintings in the Summer Exhibition for several years, so the idea of having to prove herself is insulting, but she realises that if she’s to get what she wants, she needs to go along with it. She’s furious, however, when she learns that the Academy has given Darius Rutherford, Viscount St. Helier and art critic, the task of watching over her as she adds those paintings to her portfolio. What she doesn’t know is that Darius has been instructed to uncover “illicit behavior” on Arta’s part – even to seduce her if he must – so the members of the board can use it against her and reject her application.
Arta decamps to her aunt’s old cottage to begin work, and Darius, annoyed at having to leave London, follows her shortly after. Once there, he begins making a pest of himself, starting with tricking Arta’s younger sister into showing him Arta’s works in progress. Arta tells Darius he may watch her paint and then proceeds to hide from him for a few days. Eventually, they settle on a sort of truce and he begins watching her paint regularly. Having previously been told he had no talent and stifling any creative urges, Darius begins drawing again after being inspired by Arta’s passion. Their attraction slowly begins to unfold as they spend time together.
I really struggled with this story. The beginning pulled me in because I felt Arta was a strong woman willing to fight for what she wanted, and I really liked that about her throughout. I also found it interesting that Darius is titled but is also an art critic. Otherwise, however, this book really dragged. There is very little dialogue amid page after page of the characters’ thoughts, often the same ones. It’s very much a telling-instead-of-showing type of narrative, and there didn’t seem to be much of a plot present, either.
Despite pages of internal thoughts, I couldn’t tell you what drew these two characters together. Darius is physically attracted to Arta pretty much from the beginning even though she doesn’t reciprocate at first. I’m not sure what he liked about her otherwise, because she didn’t seem to have much of a personality. And the main thing I found interesting about Darius was his past as an aristocrat’s son wanting to be an artist. I generally love enemies-to-lovers tales but this one just didn’t do it for me, partially because Arta and Darius stop being ‘enemies’ so early on in the story.
When I started reading Portrait of a Forbidden Love, I expected an entertaining enemies-to-lovers tale that slowly developed into a sensual romance. Instead, it was more a tale of insta-lust and repetitive inner monologues.
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Book Details
| Reviewer: | Jessica Grogan |
|---|---|
| Review Date: | February 6, 2021 |
| Publication Date: | 01/2021 |
| Grade: | D |
| Sensuality | Warm |
| Book Type: | Historical Romance |
| Review Tags: | The Rebellious Sisterhood series |
I really liked it and would definitely give it a B. I even preordered her sister’s story. I found Arta’s family interesting and especially enjoyed her opera star mother. They were a refreshing change from the ton.
I liked rather than loved this book, but I’d definitely rate it higher than the reviewer did. I have an issue with HR (before birth control, when reputation was so important) where the H/h have sex early on, especially in situations such as this where the heroine knows that this will be used as a club to denigrate her and become part of the rationale to exclude here from the RA (never mind how promiscuous the male Academicians may be). But I found Darius’ character arc interesting, as he found himself through his love for Artemesia; as he came to understand her he came to understand himself. I liked that the author showed how clever Darius was when he devised a solution that negated the importance of RA rejection of full membership. I liked that even though it was his father who pressured him to abandon the life of an artist, his father was not portrayed as a monster but as a man who felt the weight of responsibility to his land and its people that came with the title and rank. He wanted to teach Darius to be a responsible steward when this responsibility fell to him, so I applauded the goal even if I felt his father was rather narrow-minded in its application. Plus, a minor point which I’ve brought up before: I loved the cover. I think the clothing, with the different textures and subtly different colors, the cravat that begs to be untied, the waistcoat (in America it would be the vest) that begs to be stroked, the way she is sitting on his lap and the couple lean into each other — I find this cover far more sensual than the typical HR romance cover which shows more skin.
I liked this book too. In fact, I may have liked it better than you did! I really enjoyed both of the main characters and their interactions. Darius’ personal growth felt very believable to me and I felt the frustration and fury that Artemesia felt at being treated in a certain manner simply because of her sex.
Yeah, the pacing of the sex scenes in HR has been a bit sped up lately from what I’ve noticed. It’s like the publishers are trying to maintain the interest of an audience with an ever-shrinking attention span. Don’t get me wrong. I like steamy HR, but the pacing should feel appropriate for the particular story rather than following a formula. I know the authors get some leeway, but I find it suspect when I consistently see certain plot points/beats at a particular % when reading Harlequin HR e-books. And some of those decisions, like having an out-of-nowhere climax in the last 10% of the book, often feel forced.
If the heroine is in a marriage of convenience where she is trying to get pregnant, have at it on page 1 for all I care. But I definitely agree with you about how it rings false when a heroine has pre-marital sex in a situation like this (or most others) that would have utterly ruined her.
I also agree with you about the sensuality of the cover. Although I must say that Harlequin HR these days is pretty good about not showing half-dressed characters one breath away from a serious wardrobe malfunction.
I will say that from my experience, this author tends to be one of their “steamier” ones (so to speak) – her books tend to have a bit more sex within the HH page count.
I haven’t read a book by Bronwyn Scott yet, but I got that impression from the some of the reviews and product descriptions I’ve read.
Interestingly enough, I read an editor wish list on Harlequin’s blog the other day saying they’re seeking Regencies with a higher heat level. I know some of us were concerned that the HH line was moving in a closed door direction overall. Apparently, that’s not the case. Here’s the link in case anyone wants to read it: What the Harlequin Historical Team Want – Write for Harlequin. Maybe Bronwyn Scott is more in line with what they will be seeking to publish in the coming months?
Thanks for posting the Harlequin link. I think it’s interesting to see what’s “hot” now. Westerns are out but the 1950’s are in. Didn’t know that, and Medieval and Tudor are still going strong.
I’ve always been curious- does anyone know what they pay for a book? How much they pay in royalties? Can an author live on it if they write a few books a year for them?
So many of the authors I went on to read steadily over the years including Linda Howard, Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz and countless others all started out writing for Harlequin or Silhouette. I wonder if they are still the “training ground” for up and coming best seller authors in romance?
You’re welcome!
As for what Harlequin pays, I’m sure their authors are sworn to secrecy. This blog post from 2012, if it’s true, is pretty damning though: A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing: Harlequin Fail (jakonrath.blogspot.com).
The short version is this: Harlequin (at least at the time the article is written) has some benefits in terms of visibility via brand recognition, translations, and perhaps some other fringe benefits. But they are on the low end of the pay scale for royalties, 6% instead of standard 8% (which is still pathetically low, especially compared to KDP’s maximum of 70%). According to the author who wrote the post, her largest advance was $6,500 but she only made $20,375.22 royalties on 179,057 copies sold, an average of 2.4% rather than 6% for reasons she explains in the post.
Again, this is dated and hard to fact check. But I can tell you from my research into traditional publishing that her story is believable. Even big name authors earn only about 8 – 15% royalties depending on the genre. It’s the advances that vary considerably.
So, I would say that if these policies are accurate and remain true today, Harlequin is probably more of a training ground for more lucrative writing careers.
That was so interesting! I know it’s a bit out of date but it really had some solid information. It seems like if the numbers are still roughly true then an author would be best served by using Harlequin to get some name recognition but not give them their best work or try to make a solid living out of writing for them.
You’re welcome, again! :-)
As for name recognition by writing for Harlequin, there are definitely authors who leverage their other work that way. One author who comes to mind is Nico Rosso, who has written for Carina Press and Harlequin Intrigue and is self-published through KDP.
I remember a few years ago when I was researching whether or not Carina Press would be a good fit for my writing, I watched a webinar where they answered a lot of questions about their company. They made a point of being friendly toward “hybrid authors,” which was still a fairly new practice at the time and has since grown. Basically, their option clause meant anything you wrote for them- including any characters and created universes- belonged to them. Other than that, you could publish any unrelated work yourself or with other publishers. One point that wasn’t clear was whether or not you could self-publish an in-universe story that Carina Press rejected.
This is a huge contrast to the dark days of publishing where a house essentially owned a writer. For all the complaints about Amazon, KDP really shook up the game. Over the years, I have read a number of blog posts from writers praising KDP for providing enough competition that their publishing houses had to treat them better- and allow for the possibility of publishing rejected work through other channels. A number of writers today regard hybrid publishing as the best of both worlds because self-publishing gives them full creative control plus much higher royalties while traditional publishing gives them credibility, visibility, advances, editors, and cover designs. And anyone who reads any of their work can find all their other content through an internet search. Hybrid publishing can definitely be a sound diversification strategy.
I like your phrase “it rings false” — that is exactly the issue. It’s not that I demand complete historical accuracy, it’s that I want to believe in the characters. If they aren’t somehow true to the people they are supposed to be within the story, then the story “rings false”. For example, I loved Elizabeth Hoyt’s “The Serpent Prince”. The hero was so wounded and my heart broke for the pain he suffered and the wrongs he tried to right, and the H/h don’t have sex until they are married. OTOH, her “Sweetest Scoundrel” had an extremely earthy, unfiltered hero, and the premarital sex fit who he was and the ways he showed off to the heroine and tested her boundaries. Cecilia Grant’s “A Lady Awakened” isn’t a marriage of convenience, but the heroine wants/needs to become pregnant quickly, so the accelerated sexual relationship with the hero is central to the plot. As with many things, it all depends, but I want more stories like these three where the sensuality fit the characters, whether restrained or flamboyant, and I’m not muttering under my breath “I don’t believe that he/she would do that without at least considering the consequences”.
Thanks, Susan. Although I can’t take credit for the cliched phrase “it rings false.” ;-) But we’re definitely on the same page about the importance of tone in HR.
I really enjoyed Cecilia Grant’s A Lady Awakened for the reason you mentioned among many others. In particular, I thought it was an excellent subversion of the rakish hero archetype in that he feels hurt when the heroine treats their get togethers in a 100% businesslike, mechanical fashion (essentially treating him like a stud) rather than permitting herself to have an ounce of fun. That was one of the rare romances I can think of where the relationship developed largely through the sex- somewhat like an erotic romance- and it worked great.
YES!!! But I will add that I prefer to read romances with at least a “warm” rating on AAR. However, I am also patient enough to wait until after the characters get married if that’s what their time period and circumstances require. On that note, I think it would be cool to see more romances that end with a steamy sex scene as the grand finale instead of cutesy epilogues with lots of kids running around the hearth with hero and heroine making cow eyes at each other. Again, a believable epilogue depends on the story, characters, and time period, but I’d much rather have the story end with a “bang.” ;-)
Ooh, that’s disappointing. Nothing worse than a dull interaction between hero and heroine to kill things quickly!