The plot of this story intrigued me: An arranged marriage, seduction, a scandalous past. It sounded fantastic. But the truth here is that this book is structured poorly and lacks a smoothness that might make it a pleasurable read.

Though she is now a countess, Lady Sophia Dalby was once the most infamous courtesan in London. Now that her 17-year old daughter Caroline is about to begin a search for a husband, she’s worried that her scandalous past will be detrimental to Caroline’s success. So, combining the interests of her daughter along with her the desire for revenge against an old protector, she purchases the Earl of Ashdon to marry her daughter by paying his gambling debts and leaving him no choice.

However, Caroline has a rather unusual aspiration for a young woman of Regency England; she wishes to follow in her mother’s footsteps and be a courtesan. The fact that she knows little of what this entails doesn’t deter her, and the news of her plan does not go over well with her betrothed.

But then, she changes her mind. With the help of her mother, Caroline sets out to marry him – without him even realizing she’s changed her plans.

In describing this book, the first word that comes to mind is “uneven.” There is a fair amount of head-hopping, the plot has an astounding number of twists, and the characters change their minds so often it’s difficult to keep track. Lady Sophia proves herself to be a genuine psychic, as all of her bizarre and seemingly rootless predictions of Ashdon’s behavior come true to the letter. The constant back-and-forth vengeance – for reasons that are not fully revealed until the end – makes little sense to the reader. Because so much isn’t explained until the final quarter of the book, it makes the rest of the story seem jumpy, confusing, and just generally uneven.

There were some good aspects of this book, however. Dain has a sense of humor that, though it occasionally falls flat, generally works. It seems a little unbelievable at times, but still might cause a laugh. There is one scene in particular that involves a sideboard that made me laugh out loud – even if it seemed highly unlikely such a thing would really happen.

Overall, however, the book simply isn’t a pleasurable read. It is too difficult to follow, isn’t structured smoothly and doesn’t flow. The positive qualities this novel has are dimmed by the flaws.