The Betrayal of the Blood Lily
20. Lauren Willig, The Betrayal of the Blood Lily
WARNING: This review contains spoilers!
Tempestuous Penelope has never been the kind of girl to sit back and let others determine her fate. She delights in scandalizing London society, but after one too many amorous trysts, she finds herself the wife of Lord Frederick Staines. Now she and Freddy have been packed off to India, where her new husband plans to take a government position. Although Penelope is intrigued by India and its customs, she is painfully aware that she and Freddy aren’t well suited to each other. She also learns that the political climate in India is unstable, to say the least: both the British and the French have forces there, not to mention the various local rulers who don’t exactly welcome foreign interference. Things go from bad to worse when a pro-French spy called the Marigold begins stirring up revolutionary sentiments in the area. Penelope finds herself in the midst of it all, and a few thoughtless comments place her life in danger. Despite herself, she asks for help from Captain Alex Reid, the taciturn young man whose grudging respect for Penelope soon grows into much more…and Penelope finds herself feeling something for Alex that she could never feel for her husband.
I think Lauren Willig did a smart thing in moving the setting of this latest book to India - it was refreshing and interesting to catch a glimpse of British India. I thought Penelope was a great heroine, even though I didn’t always like her; in fact, I think that’s why her characterization is so strong. Alex is my kind of hero - tall, dark, and honorable, with a good head on his shoulders and a sense of humor. The aggravating thing about their romance is that Penelope is married to somebody else, so I was in the awkward position of hoping her husband would die so that she and Alex could be together. I don’t care how much she and Alex love each other; I don’t want to see them committing adultery. I can’t root for characters who would do that, especially when they don’t really seem to experience any negative consequences. That’s just not okay. Anyway, it’s just my opinion, and I still liked the book overall. The focus was heavily on the romance, so the spy plot suffered a little from neglect. However, I did enjoy the book, and I think the Pink Carnation series is still going strong!