Making of a Gentleman
by Shana Galen.
- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (October 1, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1402238665
- ISBN-13: 978-1402238666
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0
Stripped of his humanity...
Armand, Comte de Valère, has spent twelve long years forgotten in a French prison. Now he's barely a man, until his beautiful tutor vows to help him come alive again...
Prey to a terrible fate...
Felicity Bennett finds safety only in Armand's embrace, but the evil man pursuing her has joined forces with Armand's enemies...
They cling to each other as a lifeline, until a long-buried secret emerges, threatening to annihilate their growing passion...
Review: I was immediately engaged by the book and enjoyed the different hero and fairly unique plot.
The book opens introducing an intelligent and inquisitive 11 year old French boy, Armand. Then the peasants come to burn his home and he loses his parents and his elder and twin brothers as he tries to escape. Twelve years later he has been rescued from prison by his elder brother, Julien (the hero from book one in the series). But now Armand is a dark, wild creature who doesn’t speak and can’t be touched without pain. His sister-in-law decides to hire a tutor to help teach him to speak again and to teach him manners so he can begin to reenter society.
Felicity Bennett is trying to escape from the clutches of her wastrel “fiancé.” She didn’t agree to the betrothal which was made by Charles deceiving her dying father. Now Charles is using the marriage contract to blackmail Felicity into paying him money if she wants him to cancel the Agreement. She takes a position as a governess with the noble Valere family. She is in for a surprise when she discovers that her position is not as governess to a young boy but tutor to a young, handsome and tortured man.
I liked the dark mystery that is pervasive in Armand’s history and current situation. Especially when creepy men start threatening the household. Armand’s trauma all seemed feasible but I didn’t understand how he could be so strong and physically healthy only months after coming out of a prison cell where he had only received meager rations. Also his progress seems very rapid from a stunted and blocked prison mind to a lusty 23 year old. Even so, I really liked his primal character traits and his cave man "mine" attitude towards Felicity.
I also liked how Felicity’s music draws Armand from his shell. You sense the depth of his passion that is locked inside. The romance is love at first sight, sweet and strong between these two likable characters. The story is engaging with several veins of conflict and the pace is quick and easy. A really nice read.
Thank you to Sourcebooks for the book to read and review.
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