About the book:
“Don’t look at him, dear. He’s dangerous.”
Isabella Bankmill seeks a husband whose character matches her list of requirements. The man must share her faith, but he must also possess a certain je ne sais quoi. The enigmatical Lord Gregory Gordon Bromby—London’s newest literary sensation—certainly possesses the latter. Despite a deformed foot and alarming views on politics and religion, he attracts the ladies in droves.
Haunted by his past and overwhelmed by his newfound celebrity status, Lord Bromby’s obsession with his own doom leads to reckless behavior. When he is stalked by an obsessive aristocrat seeking an elopement, Bromby’s friends urge him to marry a suitable lady as soon as possible. Intrigued by Isabella’s convictions and hoping to avoid further scandal, Bromby proposes to Isabella.
Isabella also receives an offer of marriage from kind-hearted philanthropist, David Beringer—a man equally devoted to his faith—but she only has eyes for Lord Bromby. Blinded by his talent and good looks, Isabella convinces herself that he’s not as dangerous as everyone claims. But when Bromby’s world violently collides with hers, Isabella must decide once and for all who is lord of her life. God or Bromby?
About the author:
Megan Whitson Lee is an anglophile and a recovering runaway. Over the years, she escaped to England and Australia before finally settling down in the US. These days, she lives a relatively quiet life as a wife, a mom of two greyhounds, an editor for Pelican Book Group, and a high school English teacher. She now escapes by writing novels instead of jumping on planes to foreign countries. Her novel, Captives, won the 2016 Director's Choice Award and was a finalist for a Selah Award in the women's contemporary fiction category at Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference.
Megan writes women's contemporary thrillers and historical fiction featuring characters standing at the crossroads of major life decisions.
Website: www.meganwhitsonlee.com
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MY REVIEW: Let me say this first, this is not a romance novel. This is a dark tale based on the life story of Lord George Gordon Byron, the British romantic poet and satirist.
This novel has a clear message for anyone who may be dating someone that does not share their faith in Jesus Christ. It's a wonderful way of revealing what happens, when you are unequally yoked with an unbeliever.
2 Corinthians 14 " Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"
This novel is set during the Regency Period. Where decorum and etiquette are held in the highest regards. Isabella Milbanke is thrown into a whirlwind of balls, parties and intimate tête-à-têtes, all in the pursuit of find a suitable husband. She is a highly intelligent woman, who has a love of mathematics. But what she most desired was a man who shared her faith and love for God.
She first encounters the quiet, genteel, David Beringer, who shares her faith. They seem to have a mutual respect and attraction towards each other, until she meets the enigmatic, dark and mysterious, Lord Bromby, the "Don Juan" or "bad boy" of London society.
Like most young women, Isabella is immediately drawn to Lord Bromby, and even though, she had been warned to stay away from him, she decided, and with little resistance, to allow him to pursue her. And thus..their story unfolds. Isabella's faith is tested and tried as she copes with the irrational and emotional abusive behavior of her husband, Lord Byron.
This novel was, extremely, well-written. The characters are well-developed and are written in the first person narrative. It is a compelling and dark tale of love, loss, betrayal and heartbreak. However, in this web of horror, God's strength and love see Isabella through.
I truly enjoyed reading this riveting story, and I highly recommend it to others. If you are a fan of Wuthering Heights, this book is right up your alley.
I received a copy of this book from Audra Jennings PR. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I would like to take the opportunity in thanking Audra Jennings for entrusting me to review this book and to Megan Whitson Lee, it was an honor and privilege to read such a beautifully written novel. I look forward to reading more of your books.
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Sounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteThis looks like an interesting read with an important message for young singles. Charm is deceptive.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sarah. Yes, the message is for singles for sure. I struggled with this message as a single, and I know others do as well. Thanks for commenting!
DeleteIt really is a great read, I promise you won't be disappointed.
DeleteI hope this isn't a real struggle for too many Christian women. I mean, if a Christian woman is looking for a spouse, she wouldn't be attracted to a man whose lifestyle and behavior is opposite of our Lord's. Sometimes women think there are only a few good men but really there are tons of nominal Christian men to choose from. The really, outstanding ones, yes, those are harder to find, but turning to a guy who doesn't even share the faith seems, well, I guess the woman needs to reassess her own faith and see how committed to Christ she really is.
ReplyDeleteIf the character has to choose between a hot guy who women are fawning over and the Lord, is that really a choice? One will end in despair and the other in joy. Seems like an easy choice to me.
One would think it should be easy, but once deceived (and as we know, the enemy is SO good at this), the heart is the greatest betrayer. I have counseled more than one young Christian lady who is utterly confused and lost. I've also had many friends whose faith has been shaken by disappointment, or perhaps they're of a certain age and have lost hope and so they begin to consider missionary dating. The examples are many and the devastation is great. They are the reason this book came into being.
DeleteAmy, you made some very good points. But, for some reason, most girls, do tend to flock towards the dangerous guys.
DeleteMegan, thank you for visiting my blog and responding. I truly enjoyed your book. I wish I had read something like this, it would have saved me a world of heartbreak.
Megan, I'm not trying to be confrontational, just conversational, so hopefully my comments will be viewed that way. :) I know the book is fiction, so there's that, which is slightly different from talking about real life issues. I haven't read the book yet so it's hard for me to critique the main characters but based on the description at the top of the page I'd say Isabella may need to do some soul searching. Bromby has "alarming views on politics and religion" and "attracts the ladies in droves", so why is she abandoning her morals for him?
DeleteThen Isabella actually finds the husband she is seeking ("a husband whose character matches her list of requirements. The man must share her faith..") David, "a kind-hearted philanthropist, a man equally devoted to his faith," but he's not as hot as Bromby, so.... she forgets about her checklist and focuses on the man who has a bad reputation. And we all know that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
Isabella is "blinded by (Bromby's) talent and good looks" so she convinces herself that he’s not as dangerous as everyone claims.
As I said, I really hope this is not typical of single Christian women, because if so, Christian families are in deep trouble. And of course they are.
Probably in the end she chooses God over the hot guy, and maybe even the good guy over the hot guy. As I said, I haven't read the book.
Charm is fleeting and false. It's meant to trick and deceive and it's pretty easy to spot.
The Church historically has had guidelines about dating and marriage and if I'd known about them or followed them, I would have noticed red flags in my own life and could have detected dysfunctions that aren't helpful to married family life. He's a good practicing Christian but the interpersonal skills are very bad. So we can all be fooled, but we shouldn't be fooled by exterior red flags. Those are much more obvious.
I think if women band together, take advice from one another about behaviors like, "If he's done that with you, he's going to do that to you" type of wisdom, and if we just trust our eyes and our instincts, we'd be better off.
At least when I was fooled, I was fooled because he appeared to be a great Christian, not a "bad boy!"
Just my thoughts and insights...
Leticia, with all due respect, most women do NOT choose bad boys! No, they don't! I see the problem here as a moral one. What usually happens is that women get sexually involved with a hot guy and then have babies and are stuck. And the bad boy is never a Christian.
DeleteThe problem is that no one is brave enough to stand up and say that if you are fornicating, you cannot see the kingdom of God. We gloss over it and pretend it's a lifestyle choice and God will forgive us anyway, but that is a deceit. God is not mocked. We know people who are "living in sin" right now and even though their lives may appear happy, they cannot attain eternal life in this condition.
But we look the other way and are afraid of alienating someone, especially a good female friend.
The problem is not only a false morality, because all morality and all goodness comes from God Himself, but that we live in a time of very bad fathers. They do not step up to the plate. They do not lead, they acquiesce. They are not masculine and chivalrous, they are effeminate (by not stepping up to the plate an doing the hard work of being a real man) and ill-mannered. They have daughters who grow up feeling unloved, insecure and desperately looking for male attention. Enter, the bad boy. And they gravitate toward him.
The problem is multi-faceted yet fairly easy to remedy....
Thanks for your thoughts, Amy. Yes, it is a complex problem, yet for so many I'm not sure that there's an easy remedy--especially once they're entrenched (or they've already married the person). But God forgives and restores and redeems, and that is our saving grace in all of this. He sometimes lets us fall on our face to see the gravity of our decisions, but as a loving father would do, he's there to pick up the pieces and love us even in the midst of our horrible choices.
DeleteAmy, I know what your saying. But I know from experience and witnessing it myself. Most girls tend to flock to the boys that were rebels. Girls used to crazy over The Beatles, Elvis, and from my time, Motley Crue, any of the long-haired rock bands. Girls went absolutely bananas for them. And in high school, it was that way with our version of rebels.
DeleteThat's just how it was, in my experience, in the schools I attended.
This sounds like an interesting book. It's been years since I've read a Christian novel. I'll have to put this book on my list.
ReplyDeleteI promise you won't be disappointed. I read it in a day.
DeleteLynda, I'd love to know your thoughts on it.
DeleteThat sounds like an interesting dilemma, and likewise an interesting novel.
ReplyDeletePer your recommendation, I just purchased "Dangerous to Know' from Amazon(dot)com, every bit the anticipation, as well as the $19.10 cost~ LOL
Thank you for turning me onto this intriguing novel, I look forward to reading it; and by the way, also thank you for the 'je ne sais quoi' in your post.
SO few people use/understand that French phrase--- I do,
and seems that you do, too~! Thanks for your review again!
YAY!! I promise, it’s a good read. You won’t be disappointed!
DeleteHa! Well, my grandmother used to use that phrase all the time. It makes me think of her every time I use it.
DeleteAlso, thanks for giving the book a try!
DeleteI'm a huge Wuthering Heights fan so I would love to read this one! Thank you for giving such a thorough review.
ReplyDeleteThen you’ll probably like this book
DeleteDara, Wuthering Heights is my favorite book. It was definitely an inspiration for this. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteI am an elderly woman and I think this book is about choosing to walk by the spirit and choose to be evenly yoked or walk by the flesh and see what you get. It sounds like it has a great message for the young people who are dating and seeking their forever spouse!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a cautionary tale about what happens when you don't walk by the spirit. I really hope it will fall into the hands of someone who might be considering compromising in their search. Thanks!
DeleteAnonymous, yes, that's the message I got out of this book. I would use it a warning to young people, to beware. Our hearts can lead us down the wrong path.
DeleteYour review of this book reminded me of one that I read years ago called "This Side of Innocence" by Taylor Caldwell. I absolutely loved it because it posed the same dilemma. Would she marry for lust or marry a good Christian man? She ended up unhappily married to the man she lusted after but when he died she found peace with the Christian. I would be interested in reading this book. Thank you for your review.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your view😊
DeleteI'd like to thank everyone for posting comments and Malcontent for purchasing the book. Stay strong my friend.
ReplyDelete