Lorraine Heath 'Just Wicked Enough'

Promising. I recently visited a good friend who dragged me to a used book store where I picked up way too many books by Julie Anne Long and this one by Lorraine Heath. I chose it only because I hadn't ever seen her name before and there were several books by her on the shelf.

Just Wicked Enough is the story of Michael Tremayne who determines that his financial straits require him to auction himself off to the highest bidding wealthy American father offering a daughter to bride. He figures why lie about what the transaction is, his title of Marquis for lots of money. Mr Rose buys Michael for his daughter Kate.

Kate is the less popular sister, bookish, red haired, believes in true love. But she has been torn away from the love of her life, Wesley. She is in such a fog of despair at news of Wesley's recent marriage that she allows her parents to marry her off to the marquis without much resistance.

Michael is stoic, doesn't believe he is worthy of love, is pretty certain he can have a satisfactory marriage without it, and for some reason is willing to do almost anything to please Kate. Kate's character is relatively capricious, so much less likable. I like that the author tries to up-end a lot of typical power structures within romance novels, Kate has control of all the money, Michael is auctioned off for his beauty and title, etc. But with this endeavor comes some more detailed scrutiny of those power structures than might have otherwise been the case. I have a hard time believing in Michael's character, 'Sure I'll do whatever you want since you hold the purse strings and I'm not really resentful of you." I enjoyed reading him, he's totally perfect, who wouldn't enjoy him, but in the end I didn't like Kate that well, and I couldn't help notice how completely fantasy-like Michael was.

Historical Romance 2007: 3.5 of 5 favorite colors.