My Lord Protector by Cheryl Bolen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An Enjoyably Authentic, Almost Proper Romance

This was my first Cheryl Bolen book and it was very enjoyable. Her approach to Regencies is distinctly traditional. The book was full of historical detail and the dialogue was very proper and formal much of the time.

The book begins as our heroine, Charlotte Rutherford, finds herself in a dangerous situation and must rename herself Caroline Robinson as she becomes the new owner of a book of secrets and the target of a murderer. Taking up a position as chaperone to the Earl of Devere’s younger sister, Caroline (this is what she is called for most of the book) quickly becomes as one of the family and a growing tendre develops between her and the earl.

Caroline is a very Anne-Elliot-from-Persuasion-type of heroine. She is modest, sedate, and proper. She considers herself “wanton” when she delights in a stolen kiss. She enjoys gently correcting the earl’s younger sister, Harriett’s behavior when she makes faux pas. What she is very much not is a modern young woman placed in a historical romance novel backdrop.

Bolen stays true to the time period and this includes the sexism and classism prevalent. For those who desire historical romance that is more on the authentic side with a bit of suspense thrown in, and less on the fun-but-implausible/steamy side of the spectrum, I recommend My Lord Protector to you.

The book is almost a clean romance. Bolen does not include any modern obscenities, only mild exclamations / slang from the period. There is one extremely tame love scene in the book, but it is not described in detail.

Steam Level: 1/5




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