Better than Maclean, Not as Good as Dare: The Duke and I

Romance is a very large genre, one whose market is glutted, and runs the range from excellent to exceedingly poor in terms of writing quality and also narrative quality. As I am just getting my toes wet with straightforward romances, and I am a discerning reader, my goal is to identify those authors whose voices and characters resonate with me, and stick to that as my foundation. I tried Sarah Maclean -didn't care for the machismo. I tried Tessa Dare-God bless that woman. Most recently I tried Julia Quinn, with The Duke and I. I am on the fence.

The story of Simon really resonated with me - he was a well-developed character, and it made perfect sense to me that a young duke-to-be with a speech impediment would grow up ignored or overly coddled, which of course Simon does. I also really liked Daphne, and the majority of her family, including the overbearing mother.

Really, all of the characters were really fine - well thought-out, well-developed, and endearing. What I didn't like though, what I continue not to like wherever I encounter it, is the "I can lust you but I can't love you" trope. It turns men into jerks, and then my gut reaction is to run in the opposite direction. In this story, it made Daphne feel like she was dealing with a broken man, and only she could fix him. That's a gender/relationship stereotype I like even less, and a very outmoded way of thinking about romantic couples and interrelationships.

All in all, I'm open to giving Quinn another try, to see if she can take her ability to create wonderful characters and have them behave in ways that don't make me want to smack my head against a wall.

K Rating: 3/5