Triumph in Arms
Grade : C+

This was a slightly bizarre book to review. While outwardly sound, and even interesting in some parts, there was enough structural and character trouble in the story itself to make me wonder if an editor ever touched Triumph in Arms.

Reine Cassard Pingre is the widow of Theodore Pingre, an abusive wastrel with a penchant for prostitutes. When his body was found in a river two years ago, she made all the signs of mourning but was inwardly relieved that she and her daughter were now safe from his cruelty. These past years have been a peaceful time for her family, and she anticipates a quiet, comfortable life at River’s Edge for the rest of her years. Unfortunately, all her plans are overturned the night her gambling obsessed father comes home to tell her that he’s lost their entire property to Christien Lenoir, a member of the infamous maitre d’armes, a vigilante fencing group that takes justice in their own hands.

Of course, things are not all they seem, and Christien himself comes to visit the property and offer Reine a shocking (or maybe not so shocking) proposition: he is willing to marry her and allow her family to remain as they have been. She inevitably agrees. Little does she know that Christien’s mentor Arnot believes that her husband Theodore is still alive, and has therefore sent Christien to take control of River’s Edge and discover the truth. Theodore had seduced and abandoned Arnot’s daughter, who became pregnant and ultimately died. Arnot wants revenge, and Christien arrives at River’s Edge to find out if Reine knows anything about Theodore. What he doesn’t expect is his intense attraction to her, or his longing to be a part of her family.

Plot-wise, this story was lacking. The winning-the-property-through-gambling-for-vengeful-reasons-and-propositioning-marriage plot is totally overused, but even worse, this premise disappears within the first two chapters and the reader is left with a book about...nothing. Over half of the book is comprised of moments between Reine and Christien, some very intense and romantic, most not. Reine’s sexual needs had been completely unfulfilled with Theodore, and he had convinced her that her desires were abnormal. Of course, with Christien, she realizes that what she feels is normal and she becomes almost hypersexual in her desire for him. I have no idea what Christien does at River’s Edge besides lust after Reine, because his spying doesn’t amount to anything important. He doesn’t even actively snoop. He’s just there, gaining Reine’s trust, befriending her family, teaching her brother Paul how to fence, protecting her daughter Marguerite from imaginary monsters.

I thought Reine was boring; her token protest against marriage to a stranger is so weak that I didn’t have much respect for her. I also didn’t understand why she continued to ignore her suspicions about Christien, although she had good reason to believe he had a hidden agenda. It’s as though she was so happy to have intimacy with a man that she didn’t care about anything else. I did like that Christien’s actions consistently show his character to be strong and loyal, but I was irritated with the fact that he’s completely aware of the fact that he’s betraying Reine’s trust but pushes it aside to concentrate on more pleasant things. Then, when the crap hits the fan and everything is exposed, only then does he say “Oh no! What have I done!” like he wasn’t aware of the implications of his actions. These two people have major ostrich head-in-the-sand syndrome.

In the end, I wish I had liked the book more. The last few pages suggested that Christien had had many ulterior motives in agreeing to marry Reine, including intense protective and romantic feelings for her stemming from an incident many years ago. The reader doesn’t get enough of his thoughts or his feelings for Reine to suspect anything except his obvious goal to avenge his master’s dead daughter. If there had been more inner turmoil, more of Christien’s conflict, the story would have been infinitely more interesting. As it is, Triumph in Arms is an average read.

Reviewed by Emma Leigh
Grade : C+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : February 27, 2010

Publication Date: 2010

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