Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase. Paperback Original. 2005.
Loretta Chase’s as yet unreleased novel, Your Scandalous Ways, has been getting rave reviews on several websites, but it won’t be out until June. Since yours truly isn’t privileged enough to get an ARC, I’ve chosen to read one of her older series, featuring the Carsingtons. Because I ordered the books from several different libraries, they arrived out of order.
I have no willpower. I picked up the first book that came in and started reading, caring little for author intent or continuing story arcs. Turns out that it didn’t much matter that Mr. Impossible is the second of four books; it works just fine as a stand alone.
Actually, it very much is a stand-alone; the hero and heroine have both been separated from friends and family. Rupert Carsington, the black sheep of his family, has been seemingly exiled to Egypt by his father after one too many scrapes. Daphne Pembroke, a wealthy widow with a love of ancient languages, needs him to help her search for her kidnapped brother. So she buys Rupert as a traveling companion after he ends up in a Cairo jail for getting in the middle of the wrong fight. Yep, marches straight to the jail and bargains his captors down from 2000 GBP to a mere 20! She is quite the independent, intelligent Regency heroine.
And by independent and intelligent, I mean actually, visibly smart and independent, unlike certain other romance heroines who require the narrator to frequently remind readers of their boldness and brilliance. Daphne is deeply devoted to her studies, so much so that after surviving a rotten marriage, she packs up and convinces her brother to accompany her to Egypt to further her studies. She’s not only bookish, though. She’s good at thinking on her feet and anticipating the consequences of her actions before she acts. She doesn’t get herself into ridiculous situations or prolong the trials and tribulations of true love through any aggravating displays of stubborn illogic. She’s no-nonsense, and utterly likable.
As is Rupert. Cheerful, witty, kind and pretty much game for whatever fate throws in his way. He’s not completely without issues (his dad did ship him off to Egypt, after all,) but he’s refreshingly lacking in the Drama Queen department.
Ultimately, one of the key selling points of this book, for me, was the setting. Egypt, 1821. Lots of Regency writers refer to the Egyptology craze as an aside in their firmly-based-in-England novels, but so few actually set their romances anywhere outside of the British Isles. I really enjoyed reading a Regency “road-trip” adventure set so far away from all that these characters were accustomed to back in England.
Despite a few moments of clunky dialogue, the engaging characters and interesting setting make Mr Impossible a pleasant, fun-to-read novel. Rating: B
Posted by madamebookworm 