Venetia

Venetia
by Georgette Heyer

Blurb:

Beautiful, capable, and independent minded, Venetia Lanyon's life on her family's estate in the country side is somewhat restricted. But her neighbor, the infamous Lord Damerel, a charming rake shunned by polite society, is about to shake things up.

Lord Damerel has built his life on his dangerous reputation, and when he meets Venetia, he has nothing to offer and everything to regret. Though his scandalous past and deepest secrets give Venetia reason to mistrust him, a rogue always gets what he wants.

As Venetia's well-meaning family steps in to protect her from potential ruin, Venetia must find the wherewithal to take charge of her own destiny, or lose her chance at happiness.

My Reaction:

I've had this on the go for a while.  Simply couldn't seem to get into the story until fairly far along in the book, probably because not much happened for the first half or so, and I wasn't motivated to read very often.  

Venetia has its good points, but I didn't love it.  Heroine too beautiful?  Hero too "meh"? (Yes, I've seen the comparisons to Mr. Rochester, and that occurred to me while reading, too, but Mr. Rochester has a keener sense of humor and regrets his past-- and has an excuse for at least the beginning of his "bad behavior".  Damerel, on the other hand, just feels a little skeevy at times.) 

Part of my problem is the attitude that of course (some? most?) married men will philander.  Apparently, women of maturity and wisdom accept it as a natural part of marriage. Repugnant nonsense!  Is it supposed to be a joke?  I didn't find it amusing.  

There was also very little in the way of tension or romantic suspense, since the "hero" kisses the heroine upon their very first meeting and they are clearly mutually infatuated for the entire novel.  I couldn't muster much enthusiasm.

It just wasn't for me, unfortunately.