Paperback Reader

Okay, not really, but I do feel a sense of panic whenever I am required (through no fault of my own) to “put my books away”. What if, I think, I put them somewhere unsafe? What if I never see them again? It’s happened before (through definite fault of my own) and I fear this. Especially when a book is decidedly out-of-print.

(This leads to a mental aside about this being the modern world and out-of-print being a concept better suited to a world of truly scarce resources, not unlimited bandwidth and growing).

Coup de Grace by Emma Jensen is one of those titles. Now, I’m not the type to play favorites, but this is my favorite of Jensen’s novels. It was published by Fawcett and I always liked the Fawcett Regencies very much. They are no more, sort of the publishing imprint equivalent of out-of-print. As I never warmed to the Signet house style, I pretty much gave up traditional Regencies when Fawcett disappeared.

I digress. This is about a book. Quick summary: Lady Grace Granville has been banished from London by her parents due to extremely (in their opinion, hers differs) improper behavior. Finding the situation intolerable, she runs away from the home of her overly-pious relation and finds herself in the middle of a bar fight. It happens to the best of us.

Luckily, family friend Rafael Marlowe, the Duke of Avemar (the Regency era being particularly noted for its preponderance of dukes) is aiming for oblivion via alcohol in the very same bar. He rescues Grace. She decides, after a fashion, to return the favor.

As Regency fans know, the genre is littered with heroines who find themselves chafing at the confines of Society. No good Regency heroine likes being well-behaved and demure and all that. They want to be Original. Most are just Ordinary. Grace is different. She’s the square peg in a family not necessarily noted for its warmth and humor. This being a an oldie-but-goodie review, I can reveal the reason for her banishment: she (drunkenly) invaded Whites to challenge a man to a duel. He had impugned her honor and rather than shrugging off the insult as others in her position had, she chose to defend her honor.

Grace, Rafe realizes, had nobody else willing to do the chore for her. Sure, had he been there...but he wasn't. Story of her life.

This is why I like Grace: she’s a tilting-at-windmills kind of girl. She knows her family doesn’t get her and she knows she’s pretty much out there alone. Rather than buckle under pressure, she keeps fighting. Even, as it transpires, when she’s lost it all, she holds her head up and fights for herself. She won’t be banished to the country (or Boston, as the case may be) unless it’s her choice.

Unlike Grace, Rafe grew up in a close, happy, loving family. This blissful existence was destroyed when his parents died in a fire. Since then, guilt and misery have kept him firmly out of reaches of friends and even more firmly attached to his booze. Numb, he has determined, is how he is going to survive. And if he doesn’t, well, the world will be rid of a seriously miserable duke.

After rescuing Grace, Rafe concocts a plan to return her to the bosom of her family. In theory, his machinations will leave them completely ignorant of the fact that they’ve spent a few nights together without proper oversight. This being a romance, theories hardly every play out the way they’re planned. The plan requires Rafe to attend the Granville family Christmas gathering, something he’s not eager to endure, but that’s the problem with brilliant plans: sacrifice.

Rafe is the best friend of Grace’s older brother Jason (aka the hero of Choice Deceptions. It should probably go without saying (but I am not one to let the obvious pass) but Grace has been in love with him forever. She has no illusions about him returning her love – in fact, she believes he’s promised to another woman – but she cannot imagine a world without him in it. Her decision to drag him back to the world of the living is bittersweet. She proceeds anyway, effectively cutting him off from alcohol (also cutting off the members of her sister-in-law’s house party) and reminding him that he has much to live for.

Coup de Grace is, in my opinion, the funniest book Emma Jensen has written (you know me and humor). Grace and Rafe have the sharp, spot-on dialogue that highlights a great Regency. It’s the kind of dialogue that speaks to a mental, intimate connection. I could pick a dozen examples but my favorite comes at the end when Grace and Rafe are holed up in an inn after resolving their differences. Grace’s father isn’t quite up to speed and demands a good reason for not shooting Rafe:

“I will give you one very good reason. I am going to marry him and do not care to be a widow just yet!”

“Just yet?” Rafe muttered. She grinned at him.

Yeah, it’s funnier in context, but it’s also that sort of sly thing that makes me smile while reading. House party novels (aka cabin romances with onlookers) can be troublesome, especially if nobody dies. In this book, the tensions arise from the fact that Rafe’s friends and family (great-aunt Myrtle, who plays doddering soul and catalyst here) are increasingly uncomfortable with his drinking. Jensen lays bare aspects of alcohol abuse without preaching. Rafe makes active choices about drinking and living. That doesn’t mean there aren’t ugly moments. Drunks make for ugly fiction in places, and Jensen balances the discomfort of her characters with the novel’s overall tone very well.

In preparing for this lovefest, I did something I haven’t done in many years. I reread this book cover to cover. Normally I just hone in on my favorite parts, but we have this sort of rule about reading the whole book, and while I’ve fudged it before, I try to be a good reviewer. This reading reminded me that this book is so much more than rapid-fire dialogue and loopy humor. It’s about finding home.

Rafe has lost his – home wasn’t an ancestral seat, it was his family. He wasn’t prepared for ascending to his title, and the circumstances, including the fact that he was cavorting with a merry widow, leave him guilt-riddled. He needs to find the stability and strength that come from home.

Grace hasn’t so much lost her home as she’s always been homeless. The novel opens with the line “Joan of Arc had probably wished for rain” – but Grace was wishing for sun. She wants warmth, understanding, unconditional acceptance. Her parents aren’t loving, cuddly people – and they don’t want to be bothered by a daughter who embarrasses them. They don’t accept Grace as she is. She doesn’t find home until Rafe declares his love for her, despite everything she’s done in her life. With him, she can be herself.

This book is also filled with moments like Grace deciding that lack of experience won’t lead to defeat-by-cooking. She isn’t great in the kitchen, but she gives it her best shot. And moments like a late night heart-to-heart where Rafe realizes that Grace has more honor than most men he knows. And, yes, moments where all is lost. Falling in love, we are told, is painful, and Rafe does seem to enjoy agony.

So much so that he refuses to marry Grace. Flat-out refuses. Tells her father so. Tells her so. Leaves her alone to face the consequences of her behavior. Unfair, but that’s how her life has always been. The person who cleans up Grace’s messes is Grace, and this time, she realizes what she wants…more importantly, she understands that Rafe will return as soon as he realizes how much he loves her. And even if he doesn’t – even if he rejects her outright again – she’s going to be okay.

I like that Grace becomes a whole person before she settles into marriage. She finds herself, which makes it easier for Rafe to find her (though she, being impatient, helps there). I love this book!

You can only find this book used. Bummer, huh? You can find Emma Jensen here. Oh, no, you won't. Jensen has stopped writing for the time being. Sigh.