About the Book
-
Author:
- Faye Delacour
- Genres:
- Adult
- Adult Romance
- Man-Woman Romance
- Voices:
- Cis Boy
- Cis Girl
- Straight
- White (Non-Specified)
First Impressions: Tumblr Tacky
What’s Your Type? Returning from the Dead…with Secrets, Man in a Uniform, Friends to Lovers, Prickly And Smart Heroine
Meet Cute: Fastidious Friends
The Lean: Self-Denying
We Need to Talk: Solid Debut
Was It Good For You? Yes
First Impressions: Tumblr Tacky
This feels like a collage of random things someone cobbled together in five minutes for a quick presentation and not for a thoughtful cover, which this book doesn’t deserve.
What’s Your Type?
- Returning from the Dead…with Secrets
- Man in a Uniform
- Friends to Lovers
- Prickly, Smart Heroine
Dating Profile
Eli Williams was declared dead two years ago after his ship sank, but he’s just shown back up with a story of captivity at the hands of pirates…but why does Jane think he’s hiding something more?
Jane Bishop was never able to properly mourn Eli as a friend turned unrequited crush turned her cousin’s fiancé before his “death”. But now Eli’s back, albeit with secrets, and her cousin is a happily married mother…so what’s holding Jane back from speaking her feelings?
Meet Cute: Fastidious Friends
Jane and Eli met when they were sixteen, and he was one of the only people who took her interest in academics seriously and saw past her stern demeanor to make her smile. She can’t bring herself to believe he’s actually alive, even when he sends her a note asking her to let him explain where he’s been, so, naturally, an awkward run-in at her cousin’s ball is the perfect place to reconnect!
The Lean: Self-Denying
Eli had to get engaged to Jane’s cousin, Cecily, five years ago when he was caught in an unfortunate compromising position with her, and while Jane doesn’t know the details, she does know that Eli chose her prettier, most charismatic cousin over her plainer self, and she’s never quite forgiven him for it. She holds on to this hurt for quite some time, probably to her own detriment, but it also leads to plenty of charged encounters where no one is quite sure where they stand with the other, and yet they can’t help but drag hot eyes over one another’s forms…
I love a good slow burn / yearning, and for the most part I was pleased, although at times I wanted to yell at Jane to just GET OVER YOURSELF! Luckily, she’s still quite willing to test out the physical goods, even if she isn’t sure what she wants, emotionally, from Eli.
Dirty Talk
Sometimes a good euphemism is even better than stating it plainly. Eli and Jane are often surrounded by others, like at the races when they have this conversation about any future assignations:
A moment later, she added, “If we did have occasion to make the journey to Ankerwycke again…would you do anything differently?”
Jane couldn’t bear to look at him while such a question escaped her lips, so she kept her gaze riveted straight ahead. But she could feel his eyes on her body, lingering on all the places he’d like to touch. She heated in response.
Eli didn’t answer right away. For a long moment the air between them was filled only by the sound of his breathing, unnaturally quick. Finally, he spoke, measuring each word. “I think that if I were so fortunate as to have the opportunity for such an outing a second time, I should take particular care to ensure that my fellow visitors enjoyed their day thoroughly and saw every sight they wished to.”
Ms. Perky’s Prize for Purplest Prose
This is Delacour’s debut novel, and I liked her straightforward prose and dry, observational wit. Eli wondering what Jane thinks of a potential suitor:
“He’s simply a friend.” She pursed her lips and offered no further insight on the subject, where a few more words might have been welcome. Something like, I think of him as a brother I’m not fond of, or, Terrible shame about his festering syphilis.
Her romantic moments were free of affectations and had a sweetness that partly came from a nice build-up in Eli and Jane’s story.
We Need To Talk: Solid Debut
The last 25% got a touch convoluted at times, and Eli’s “secrets” were a bit more ho-hum than I’d expected them to be, but it wrapped up nicely and I was happy to see a couple that wasn’t so overly obsessed with maintaining their “status” in the ton versus just figuring out how they were going to live day-to-day, monetarily.
I liked that Jane was prickly and practical, and while sometimes I wanted to shake her and tell her to just trust people, it rarely strayed into supreme eye-rolling. Eli was a refreshingly alpha-free male lead who was—shockingly—a virgin before Jane, and I ended up really liking him, despite sometimes ALSO wanting to shake him and just be like, LIE. LEARN HOW TO LIE FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, YOU DINGDONG.
Shoutout to Della, the most amazing ride-or-die bestie a girl growing up in the ton could have—Jane doesn’t know how good she has it! I am looking forward to seeing what Delacour cooks up for this queen. Also, I loved Uncle Bertie! Just let him dress you in cute outfits, Jane!
Was It Good For You? Yes
There were some small hiccups here and there, which isn’t uncommon for a debut novel, but overall I had a great time and would happily read another in this series.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received my free review copy from Sourcebooks Casablanca. I received neither money nor peanut butter cups in exchange for this review. The Lady He Lost is available now.
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