Review: Lessons in French, Laura Kinsale

Lady Callista Taillefaire has been jilted three times and no longer expects to get married.  All she wants is to go along with her engaged sister and raise her animals in peace for the rest of her single life.  That’s until her childhood sweetheart, Trevelyan, the duc de Monceaux, returns to tend his ailing mother after years in France.  She hasn’t forgotten the feelings she had for him, or the way her now deceased father insisted that their relationship was expressly forbidden.  To make Callie’s life even stranger, her first ex-fiance returns to plague her, and her cousin gambles away her prized heifer Hubert, leaving her wondering in which direction her life is going to head next.

I have enjoyed Laura Kinsale’s books in the past, and was expecting another dark, passionate tale.  Instead, I got a light and funny book, with humor and flirtatiousness between the characters that genuinely sparkled whenever they interacted.  It turns out that Kinsale is just as good at writing lighter romances and this book did not disappoint in any way.  It was as sweet and touching as it was hilarious by turns.

I liked Callie’s character; she’s somewhat on the shelf at 27, and even believes that she’s unlikely to have a baby at all because she’s so old (I laughed at this), and since she’s been jilted three times, all the men around clearly believe there’s something wrong with her.  I really felt for her, as it must be so hard to be rejected over and over again in a world where marriage and babies were seen as the primary goals of women.  She’s awkward but she’s sweet and it’s clear that she really cares for Trev.  Although, I have to say, if you haven’t seen someone for ten years, can they still qualify as your best friend?  I don’t know, but I did like that they had a friendship.  It’s also hard not to love someone who loves animals, even if her preference leans towards cows.

I also liked that Trev had a genuine grievance and reason for not proposing to Callie when he wants to.  There tends to be a big misunderstanding that fizzles out to nothing, but here they really had a problem, and I appreciated how it was solved.  There isn’t much else to the plot, the focus is solely on the romance, but Lessons in French is a wonderful addition to the genre.  I sincerely hope Laura Kinsale doesn’t leave such a long wait for her next romance!

I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book for free from the publisher for review.