Loving Lady Marcia by Kieran Kramer (House of Brady #1)
Released: August 28, 2012
Historical Romance
St. Martin’s
Reviewed by May
This is a story, of a lovely lady. She was bringing up three very lovely girls. All of them had hair of gold… and I think you know how the rest of that catchy song goes. In an homage to the epic television series The Brady Bunch, Kieran Kramer is writing a series based in Regency England that features the Brady family – right down to Alice and Tiger.
As a fan of the series as a kid I was so very curious how a romance writer would take and write these characters into early 1800’s England and make them her own. How would she take the kid characters we knew so well and have them grow up? Just how inspired would she be by the series?
And most importantly: would it work?
The story opens as a fifteen year old Lady Marcia is riding to a wedding in a carriage with two brothers. The elder brother Duncan (an Earl) is serious and ignores her for the most part, and he makes her feel uncomfortable.
Someday you’ll be sorry you were ever so smug. And someday I’ll prove to you there is such a thing as a perfect love.”
He looked over the railing at the bloodred sun, then back at her.
“There is no perfect love, nor a perfect life,” he said, his dark gaze boring into hers. “So give up wishing, will you?”
In contrast, to the dark and brooding elder brother, the younger brother Finn is all smiles and flirtatious – and she loses her heart to him immediately. Not only that, but during that trip she promises to elope with him and gives him her virginity. Days later when she receives a letter that he’s shipping off for America – so sorry but his older brother insists – she is heartbroken and totally ruined.
Determined never to marry and give a man a soiled wife, she devotes herself to teaching and by the time she is twenty she is headmistress of a school. This is where we meet back up with Duncan and Marcia.
I was instantly smitten, and sure of a great read this was going to be. Too-good, prissy Marcia had given it up before marriage, and now she’s being pursued by Duncan (aka the older brother) and having to face her past choices. I absolutely loved this as a set up, and it made Marcia so much more interesting!
Unfortunately, past the first few chapters things went sour for me. My first problem was that Marcia’s entire argument for being anti-marriage is that she will not trick a man or give him spoiled goods. That is her sole reason. It bothered me that her entire worth as a wife she based on her purity. Now I understand at this time that really was a woman’s worth in many ways – but this is romance land and it bothered me.
Related to that, what bothered me the most was her relationship with Duncan and how that develops. Early on Finn confesses to having ruined Lady Marcia then begging the next morning to be shipped off to America… but blaming his brother for it. This leads to a brotherly fight, but also to a very sudden change in Duncan. He decides he will marry her to make up for his brother, but also corners her and gropes, makes out with, and otherwise fondles her at every opportunity.
I found this to make him come across skeevy, and his treatment of her as if she were a loose woman. After all – she’s no virgin and he plans to make an honest woman of her why not? At every chance he’s flinging her into a corner, putting his hand down her dress, and otherwise just being entirely too hands on for my tastes. I would have thought he would have reacted the opposite – that he would show her a more gentlemanly side to his courting.
While he never admits this in the book of course, it is how his actions seemed to me reading it. I was disappointed that Marcia never became more interesting, and that the interest these two characters have in each other never really progressed beyond very attractive people feeling lust for one another.
The biggest let down for me was that this author had that something special, that undefinable it factor. She has an incredible writing voice and such strong storytelling abilities, and she had me in the palm of her hand. But instead of weaving an unforgettable story she kept it really light and ultimately quite boring.
It was too predictable to cast the younger brother as debaucher of maidens and a villain instead of a man who grew up and atoned for past mistakes. It was downright strange how Marcia refuses to marry towards the end of the book. It was disappointing that instead of letting us into the past (Marcia mentions really dark times before Lord Brady ‘rescued’ them) we kept skimming along in the present.
When asked if I will be reading future installments, I have to say I’m not sure. On the one hand, this was a spectacular wreck of a book and a massively disappointing read. On the other hand, if she had made major changes in her approach to this story, this could have become a really special book. So I’m torn, and only time will tell if I will continue. I would recommend this only if you’re a big Brady or Kramer fan and just really want to see those characters dressed up in ye olde England.
Grade: D
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On noes. The Brady Bunch is now ruined for me forever. Thanks a lot May!
It seemed good but then it just went downhill from me, I do not know if I would like either of them
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this book. I, on the other hand, loved it.
When you said Duncan was groping and too hands on, to me, that’s a man who was so smitten, he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. As for marrying Marcia, he thought it was his duty to do it, just as Marcia didn’t want to trick a man into obtaining spoiled goods, it was the way back in the way as I understood it.
Anyway, I just wanted to say I enjoyed this book.
Oh I understood why he felt he needed to marry her- but it didn’t strike me as in character that he was pawing at her as he was. For me, it just didn’t work.
I don’t really like all the pawing and such, and really, a headmistress at 20? No noble person would give their children over to such a young woman.