LORD LIGHTNING

Author: Jenny Brown ISBN: 9780061976056 10/2010 HISTORICAL Publisher: AVON
Time Period: Regency 1818

They call him "Lord Lightning". . . For his shocking behavior. An unrepentant rogue with a wicked reputation, his outrageous conduct ensures no woman will get close enough to hurt him. But demure and lovely astrologer Eliza Farrell casts a chart that tells her Lord Hartwood is capable of great, passionate love. When Hartwood indulges in one of his famous pranks and invites Eliza to become his new mistress, the virginal country miss must meet her fate armed only with her knowledge that the cynical lord will become the tender lover she sees predicted in the stars. Though Eliza is nothing like the brazen strumpets he prefers, the seemingly incorruptible seer excites Lord Lightning much more than the hard, calculating women he is accustomed to. Eliza's trusting spirit and quick mind touch his cold heart—and when the bewitching innocent surprisingly agrees to be seen on his arm, neither can predict the sparks that will fly between them . . . or resist the electric passion that will threaten to transform them both.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I like LORD LIGHTNING for its crafty intellect alone. It is a smart, well thought out read that by showing such interest in astrology and acting, takes on a whole new avenue of historical romance.

While at times I find it over the top and reminiscent of a soap opera, LORD LIGHTNING has several appealing elements that propel it to being a blessed original. Sure, the hero's play-acting at times is eerily similar to a Jon Lovitz skit in Saturday Night Live where he proclaims "I was acting!", but the hero also possesses an ideal, alpha male mentality. The plot is brilliant with its use of astrology and fortune telling, even though when used on the hero, the heroine becomes slightly addle-pated. She does much better when she speaks to or simply stares into the hero's eyes and acts like a psychiatrist.

Some of the fire I like in a romance may not be between the pages of LORD LIGHTNING, but dirty secrets, unpalatable characters, and ingenuity most certainly is.

Shannon Johnson