A lady would know better by Emma Theriault

 

Published by Entangled Publishing on January 28^th, 2025

405 pages

I read the paperback version

Back Cover

Get ready to swoon for this dreamy, forget-me-not romance that’s filled with the delightful tartness of Jane Austen and the sweeping, unputdownable drama of Bridgerton.

There are many things an English lord might encounter on the grounds of his wintry estate. Trees. Birds. Perhaps a wandering gamekeeper. Instead, the Earl of Belhaven finds a woman in the snow, unconscious and nearly frozen to death. Then her luminous gray eyes open just long enough for her to plead, “Don’t let them get me.”

Now Jasper Maycott has his hands full with a woman who has absolutely no memory of who she is or where she came from—to say nothing of her name! Just a gold ring, some fine clothes, and a penchant for pert conversation. But while “Jane” dresses and speaks quite like a lady, Jasper can’t make any assumptions. After all, she could be a crafty fortune hunter...albeit a charming and unutterably beautiful one.

Only there’s no room for romantic love in the Earl of Belhaven’s world. There is just grim duty, a lingering sense of loss, and the knowledge that love—in any form—can only bring heartbreak in its wake.

But while a lady should know better, the heart heeds no rules...even if its every beat portends the danger she was running from.

My review

It’s the first book I read from this author. Since I love historical romance and I meet the author at a book event, I thought I should give it a chance. Normally, I dislike the amnesia trope, but in this case, I thought it was cute.

I like the fact the Jane is not acting like a clueless woman even though she doesn’t remember anything. The more she spends time with Jasper and his family, the more she remembers what she was able to do before. I will let you discover if she remembers all her life and who she is, but it’s not really a surprise. I was trying to guess her real name the whole novel and one clue: it’s nothing to do with Jane Austen. Another point that I like is that the author put some bookish information in the novel and it’s helped me to read it until the end.

I have to admit that there were missing some romantic element in it. I felt that Jasper was hiding his feelings for Jane even though it was obvious that he cares about her. I never knew if Jane really like him or not, but in the same time she was trying to find who she was. The book was a little long and some of Jasper’s internal dialogue was repetitive. Outside of that, I thought it was well-written and this author worth giving it a chance.

Jasper is a cute character who is trying to grief his late fiancé and I thought he was different who other men I see in another novel, but I thought he could be more interesting.

Excerpts 

She had never seen a man’s jaw so finely carved, nor shoulders so artfully broad. She wanted to touch him. No, she wanted him to touch her. (p.30)

The idea of welcoming his old friends inro his home as though he were a person whole and not simply a shell of a man was intolerable. Jasper was no longer equipped to handle the nuances of etiquette or the niceties of social interaction. It seemed a lifetime ago that he’s been anything other than empty. (p.59)

As Lady Adelaide played, Jane allowed herself to simply listen and enjoy it. She didn’t think about her missing memories, her accident, the guilt or her shame or her fears. She thought of nothing save for how the music managed to transport her, giving her a feeling of lightness she hadn’t known since before she’d awoken in Mulgrave Hall. (p.72)

"I seek only to ascertain how many titled buffoons I must vanquish in order to win her." (p.155)

He admired Jane for her convictions, and so the relief he felt when he became achingly aware of his own should not surprise him. (p.279)