August 04, 2004
 Part of the Lords of Love Series, A Perfect Scoundrel is about a shy, plain young lady named Jane Wentworth who has always loved the charismatic Lord Quentin, albeit from afar. Lord Quentin, although more intelligent than most of her cousin's suitors, is still quite a reprobate - and not in a complementary sense. He plots to compromise Jane's cousin, but in a trick of fate, ends up with Jane instead.
Forcing such a man to marry can only have disasterous results - and our timid heroine is grossly misused in the process. After a horrifying wedding night, the unpleasant Lord Quentin leaves his plain wife in the country and returns to town, nursing his wounded pride and not giving a thought to his now miserable new wife. A Perfect Scoundrel is an exercise in how much one patient woman has to put up with before her husband realizes what a fool he is. Lord Quentin is quite the fool, and while he physically comes around upon his return to the country when he realizes Jane's not all bad, his emotional growth takes quite a bit longer. Although enjoyable as a dramatic read, one has to wonder why it takes Quentin, an intelligent man in many respects, so long.
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