A Midsummer Night’s Sin by Kasey Michaels (Blackthorn Brothers #2)
Historical Romance
November 29, 2011
Harlequin

Reviewed by May

Favorite Quote: “I do have my reputation as a bastard to uphold, you know. Having lived my life as the lowest of the low, the thought of marrying beneath me has never occurred. Are you proposing to me, Miss Hackett?”

This is the second book in a trilogy about three brothers. Robin Goodfellow Blackthorn, aka Puck, is a bastard. His parents were very much in love, however his mother’s dream of becoming an actress and performing on stage was stronger than her desire to marry the aristocrat that she eventually had three sons with. The Blackthorn brothers are more than acknowledged by their father – they are raised by him on his estate while their mother flits in and out of their lives between acting engagements. Our hero Puck is known for his love of life – and he is pure charm and has such a great outlook on his situation:

“I’ve been educated, recently given an un-entailed estate I’ll be happy to call my home and the run of Blackthorn and this not unimpressive mansion here in town. I’ve lived in Paris, I’ve traveled the world, I have never lacked for funds. Whether or not I’m happy is not  the world’s decision, Society’s decision. It’s mine.”

Recently returned from Paris, he is determined to enjoy life and to be accepted here in his home land of England. We see right away that he’s not just fun loving – he’s observant and shrewd. We see him immediately convincing a few gentlemen to befriend him – whether they like it or not:

“Now I shall turn slightly so that the ladies can see, and you will smile and shake my hand. If we meet in public in the days and weeks to come, you will behave likewise. I am your friend, my lord. Your new bosom chum. Even if it kills you.”

“You are a bastard, aren’t you?”

Puck smiled in real delight as the two shook hands. “In every way, my lord, yes, I am.”

At the first social outing he is able to attend – a masquerade attended by gentlemen of the Ton (but certainly no ladies!) he finds himself drawn to a masked lady. Drawing her outside and kissing her senseless he soon realizes this is no light skirt – this is a virginal miss who is at a party she has no business attending.

That miss is our heroine, Regina Hackett – the only daughter of her lady mother and merchant father. Her mother is alcoholic, and her father is cruel but his wealth keeps the extended aristocratic family living decently so he wields a power over them all. He plans to all but auction his only daughter off to the highest (titled) bidder to bring more wealth and prestige to his name.

The simple act of attending that masquerade party had far more dire consequences than a kiss however – Regina’s cousin, the miss who talked her into going in the first place, has disappeared. Not only that, but her mask is found along with signs of a struggle. Who took the girl? Where is she? And can they save her before she is exported, a virgin up for auction in a foreign land? Can Puck and Regina help to save her?

I really admired the way that the topic of women being stolen was handled and the parallels drawn to women at that time in general. How the selfish and coddled heroine realizes that while she was essentially in line to be sold off – her situation was so much better than what women kept in a cave or small room and smuggled out of England on a ship would face. I also really appreciated that our hero has a deep love of life, however he is not portrayed as being mindless, or an incurable rake, or any of the other typical labels you would expect.

I loved that things weren’t perfect and that these characters had real problems. It was interesting to read about an aristocratic family that has to lower itself to beg from the mere merchant husband because he is so very wealthy, and a complete jerk too. That is an understatement, but truly he is a puppet master of that family and you can feel the struggle of all those – men and women – who depend upon him.

I could also find myself believing in the probability of both this love story and the likelihood of their pairing as the heroine was in a position to make a grand match (due to her money) but at the same time her place in society was such that marrying Puck, a bastard, wasn’t out of the question either.

In looking over my review I notice I have not said much about the heroine – and I believe it’s because she was rather boring. Oh yes, she’s cursed with being a wealthy big breasted curvy beauty and an only child. The poor dear. While she does have nightmares for parents, she just didn’t ever get me interested or rooting for her. She paled in comparison to the shining star that was Puck. He truly made this book for me. From his outlook on life to how he calls her out when she’s feeling sorry for herself versus thinking of others I was always more interested in what he was doing and saying.

This story had a lot of plot lines that were woven together and it would be impossible for me to say much more without giving massive spoilers away! So I will leave you with this: I found parts of the plot and conclusion to be less than satisfying. However I did very much enjoy my time reading it, and I like Kasey Michael’s recent historical novels infinitely more than her older or contemporary works. She has gone to my auto-buy list now, and I have every intention of reading the first book (which I own but have yet to read!) and the third – which looks very promising as Puck’s brother “Black Jack” a dark and dangerous man who lives in the shadows and does unspeakable acts for his country (loved him!) will be featured.

Grade: B

Recent Reviews
Bookworm2Bookworm’s Blog
Goodreads

Author’s Website l Series Listing

Amazon l Nook l Sony