Review: Passion Favors the Bold by Theresa Romain

From the Back Cover:

DESPERATE MEASURES 

Georgette Frost’s time is almost up. On her twenty-first birthday, the protections outlined in her late parents’ will are set to expire. With prospects for employment or marriage unfavorable at best, she decides to leave London and join her brother, Benedict, on a treasure hunt for gold sovereigns stolen from the Royal Mint. 

DANGEROUS LIAISONS

Lord Hugo Starling has always felt protective of his friend Benedict’s sister, Georgette. So when he discovers her dressed in ragged boy’s clothes, about to board a coach for parts unknown, he feels duty bound to join her search. But mystery piles upon mystery as they cross England together, not least of which is the confounded attraction between them. As Georgette leads him to a reward he never expected, Hugo realizes he’s embarked upon the adventure of a lifetime…

My Thoughts:

I've been hearing lots of good things about Theresa Romain, and I'm always down for a good treasure hunt, so I decided to make her Royal Rewards duology my introduction to her work. While I can find no fault with her writing, and she created some very intriguing characters in Benedict and Charlotte in Fortune Favors the Wicked, I thought their backstories needed more fleshing out to make them fully plausible, and the plot didn't turn out quite as I expected, though it had a wonderful ending that made me cry. I'm happy to say that I enjoyed the sequel, Passion Favors the Bold, much more.

All of England is talking about the crime of the century, the theft of fifty thousand newly minted gold coins from the royal treasury, and those that aren't simply talking about it are trying to find it to claim the five thousand-pound reward. Suddenly, the English countryside is swarming with fortune hunters, and the merest hint of a gold sighting attracts them in droves. When Georgette Frost pieces a few clues together from newspaper reports and realizes her brother, Benedict, is right in the middle of the action, she determines to join him. But she doesn't count on Lord Hugo, her brother's best friend, thwarting her plans when he discovers her in a coaching yard, dressed as a boy and preparing to traverse the countryside unescorted. Unwilling to give up on her dream of leaving her sheltered existence in her family's bookstore behind, she convinces Hugo to escort her to her brother, and thus begins her hopeful adventure.

Lord Hugo Starling is an unapologetic scholar, preferring the company of books and blueprints to that of people. On the outs with his father ever since a medical error led to the untimely death of his twin brother, he has devoted his life to the study of medicine and dreams of opening a state-of-the-art hospital. But he can't do so without funds, and without his father's support or that of the royal societies, finding the stolen money and claiming the reward could be his only chance to see his dreams realized. But what starts out as a plan to drop Georgette off with her brother and strike out on his own quickly becomes something else. Drawn to Georgette's unfettered joy at being out of the city and befuddled by the feelings she elicits from him, and thinking they have stumbled onto the right track when they cross paths with a Bow Street Runner, Hugo decides to keep Georgette by his side and search for the gold together. They are each determined to go their separate ways once the gold has been found, but as they travel from village to village in search of clues, learning more about each other in the process, their partnership of convenience turns into much more. And as they close in on the stolen gold, he finds himself not only fighting his feelings for Georgette, but fighting for their very lives.

This was a really fun read. Georgette is my kind of heroine. After years spent as little more than a house maid, although a well-loved one, helping in the bookstore formerly owned by her parents and caring for her cousin's children, with little prospects for anything else, she decides to take her future into her own hands, to step out of her comfort zone and into adventure, and I admire that. I loved her cheeky wit and the banter between her and Hugo. And I loved how she brought out another side to him, though often very much against his will. Watching her run circles around him as he tried to remain in control was great fun. But her joy was often tempered by the reminder of the future she faced if they were unsuccessful in finding the gold, and her insecurities and self-doubt are things all women can relate to.

My only real complaint is that, as in the first book, I was expecting much more of a treasure hunt, but, as in the first book, they spend a lot of time doing other things and getting sidetracked and sort of accidentally stumble onto it. So that aspect of the plot was a bit disappointing for me. And of course it takes Hugo too long to realize what he's got going with Georgette, that what he thinks he wants is not necessarily what he needs. But I did not figure out who the villain behind the theft was before the reveal, which was a pleasant surprise, and I really liked how everything came together in the end. Overall, this is a fun Regency romp with engaging characters, and something a bit different in historical romance.

My Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

*This review was originally posted to Romantic Historical Reviews.