His Dark and Dangerous Ways (Avon Romance)

This book was bland. The characters were very one unlikeable, they lacked passion. Even the "Villain" was vanilla.

(Spoiler) It made me laugh how Proctor just casually left when he was held at gun point by a woman, or how Simon who was just about to be killed told Jane to just let Proctor go. Proctor gave his word as a gentleman after all. *eye roll*

The love scenes lacked EVERYTHING. Their kisses were boring, they had no passion at all. I couldn't believe that these two people even loved each other. They never come right and actually say it. I believe if there were any feelings they were one sided. Simon seemed more amused by her than anything else. His proposal to her was probably the most unromantic thing I had ever read in a romance novel.

One more thing! I was tried of Jane falling on the floor during dance class. The last time when the floor was slippery, she new it was slippery. Yet she tried to do complicated dance moves on it anyway. Then she was shocked when she fell.

I read one other book by Edith Layton called Gypsy lover. That is a pretty good book. I'm not sure what happened with this one though.

Former spy Simon Atwood, Lord Granger had served his country well at a great personal price, having been captured, tortured and held for over a year in a French prison. Finally home, the only thing that could draw him out of his self-imposed exile from society was the call for help from a friend to complete one more mission. On the surface it seemed simple enough; discover if his friend's younger brother was being toyed with by an older beautiful widow, or if it were just a passing fancy.

Needing someone on the inside to gather servants gossip Simon convinced the very staid and reputable dance teacher, Miss Jane Chatham to report to him any talk regarding the comings and goings of her employer's guests. Even though Jane does not trust the smooth talking, handsome gentlemen, her finances were in dire need of a big boost to get her to the end of this weeks rent. The job seemed innocent enough, but she was definitely having second thoughts about the gentleman!

*** Ms. Layton always comes up with memorable characters that populate her stories, and both Jane Chatham and Simon are easily likeable. Layton's defining character of Jane is a gentlewoman down on her luck - not original and used quite often, but this has been the first time I've seen quite as independently fashioned. Jane is a servant of sorts, but also an independent dance teacher who comes to teach, and not someone who is part of the nobilities household. As such, Jane's comings and goings were not strictly censured by house rules and this allowed the author to capitalize on being able to affect many different espionage type meetings, and rendezvous with Simon.

Simon is something of an enigma and the author played him up as not so much mysterious as cautious, as well as a gentleman and much too nice, in my opinion, to be labeled "dark and dangerous". Sorry, but the title HIS DARK AND DANGEROUS WAYS did not fit this story at all. Right from the outset we learned that Simon had been a prisoner and endured harsh and horrible treatment while imprisoned. It is inferred that he was betrayed by a woman, hence his hesitation in trusting anyone, especially a woman such as Jane. When more than meets the eye in the investigation than a possible May / December romance at Lady Harwood's, Simon's instincts are on the alert including Jane's involvement and trust worthiness, especially after she told Simon that his friend Viscount Delancy and Lady Harwood, had each approached her to report gossip back to them. The mystery started to really evolve.

In the meantime, against her better judgment Jane rather looks forward to her rendezvous' with Simon and gradually falls in love, as does he. Jane knows Simon's rank and her lack of one is a problem. Simon, on the other hand, doesn't give a hoot about rank; but he does have trouble reconciling himself to simply trusting in love. When the investigation unfolds and the person who seems to be at the center is uncovered, Simon who ends up in great danger may never get the chance to give love another chance.

What started out as a fast-paced and even humorous titillating story actually lost speed somewhere in the middle, and along with that my attention. I've read many books by this author that have been non-stop terrific reads, but unfortunately, HIS DARK AND DANGEROUS WAYS fell short in the terrific ranking and only comes up as decent but not great.

Marilyn Rondeau, for www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com

I enjoyed this book - but I am glad I got it at the Library. I enjoy this genre and I was able to finish this book (unlike some others lately) it was just missing something. Here is my advice if you love this author you might really enjoy this book , if you are on the fence pick it up at the Library and if you only read a book every few months - don't waste your time.

I wasn't sure I'd make it through this one (and I never leave a book half-finished). For starters, she desperately needs a better editor. Aside from a handful of technical errors (like names that change spellings from one sentence to the next) were numerous inconsistencies - for example, when the hero and heroine first meet he introduces himself, and it's clear from her reaction that she is familiar with his notoriety - then several pages later, she found out his identify from the servants - then some time later, his past is explained to her by another character, and she appears entirely unfamiliar with it. At one point she mentions a brother, then later she has no family. He is 'Lord Granger', but nowhere in the book does it see fit to mention lord of what. Et cetera. On top of that, there is nothing remotely "dark or dangerous" about the hero as implied by the title - his character is not at all well developed. The villain is predictable, the villain's rationale is inane, and the series of events that take you there are improbable (and my standards of probability for a romance novel are pretty low). This is my first Edith Layton novel, and it will definitely be my last.

Jane Chatham is a gentlewoman down on her luck and without family upon whom she can rely. She realises she may be able to make enough money to live on by giving dancing lessons to the children of the nobility and has measured success at this - enough to keep her off the breadline. However when she comes to the notice of various gentlemen as she is giving dancing lessons at the home of Lady Harwood, she finds herself in the middle of some gentle espionage. Simon Atwood, Lord Granger, asks her to give him information on various people who are flocking around Lady Harwood.

It seems that espionage is catching, however, as in due course Lady Harwood and Viscount Delancey also ask Jane to spy for them. However Jane has loyalty to her original employer and keeps in touch with Simon. As they spend more time together it looks like Jane's reputation might be damaged beyond repair, but as Simon has apparently been damaged beyond repair following imprisonment and torture by the French, what chance does she have to smooth her life out? And who might be trying to kill Simon?

This was a gentle story with events floating along and few really exciting moments. The relationship between Simon and Jane felt a bit woolly with no obvious reason, apart from physical appearance, for the two to be attracted to each other. Jane's a strange mix of naivete and common sense and Simon's actions often seemed a bit strange. He went to great efforts to disguise himself and then kept putting Jane in dodgy situations. The spying plot didn't work very well to this reader with the unmasking of the villain no surprise at all. The plot device of Lady Harwood's salons also felt very contrived, as did Jane's various mishaps. All in all this was an inoffensive book but with little really to recommend it.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008