A Lady In Name

A Lady In Name

by Elizabeth Bailey

Synopsis: On discovering she is the illegitimate daughter of a peer of the realm, Lucy Graydene, bereft and grieving, sets out to confront Lord Pennington with the result of his misdeeds. She finds instead his autocratic heir, Stefan Ankerville, and is dragged willy-nilly into the new earl’s unconventional family. Lucy is driven to battle for her independence while she struggles against the venom of the half-sister she never knew she had.

When the secrets of Lucy’s past begin to unravel, she is reluctantly obliged to rely on Stefan’s help. Can Lucy overcome a dangerous attraction to the earl, with whom an alliance is impossible? Or is there a faint hope of happiness in the hidden truth of her origins?

This was an interesting novel, and left me with mixed feelings at the end. I thought the premise of the novel a refreshing change from other historical fictions. But...I just couldn't bring myself to like the main character, Lucy, who set off to have words with her biological father. Coupled with Stefan’s instant acceptance of her, this didn’t exactly ring accurate to me. I thought the emotional aspect of what should have been a highly charged situation came off a bit flat. Lucy said she was angry, but none of her actions seemed to give any weight to it.
My favorite character had to be Stefan’s sister, who was a bit lazy, selfish, but an incredibly amusing person nonetheless.
While this is a clean novel, there is a scene leading to Stefan and Lucy spending a night in bed together. No details were given, and the scene ends with them embracing. Still, you’re left with no doubt that further intimacies occurred and it disappointed me because it seemed out of character for them both to allow such a thing to happen.

Will I read this again? Maybe. If I was extremely bored and had nothing else to read. Would I read more from this author? I’d say yes. Her plot was interesting enough here that I’d like to see what else she has up her sleeve.