Five series and 28 or so books into a very successful career, it comes as no surprise that Loretta Chase is a really consistent historical romance author who provides great entertainment value combined with sincere emotional connections. I loved Dukes Prefer Blondes when I reviewed it for Cannonball Read in 2016 during Romancelandia’s Year of Difficult Men* and I adore it now. I went back to revisit a specific scene and the next thing I knew, I’d re-read to the end and then gone back to the beginning to make my way through the whole novel once more. The best and last of The Dressmakers series, Dukes Prefer Blondes has wit of a Saharan dryness and a poignant portrayal of two people finding each other (plus a subplot I didn’t care about, but I rarely do). It’s simply delightful.
It’s 1830-something and Lady Clara Fairfax has been trained to become the wife of an aristocrat, specifically and preferably a duke. With one collapsed engagement behind her and a pestering mother in front of her, Clara is wending her way through yet another London season in which her hand in marriage is treated like a sporting event gold medal by the men vying for her attention. She spends her time graciously turning suitors down and trying to find some way to be her own person and seen by those around her. Enter Oliver “Raven” Radford.
While he tangentially possesses aristocratic bona fides, they are at such a distance from inheritance that it does not matter. Austere Raven is a barrister living in chambers and working in pockets of society that bring him into contact with a lot of people doing their best in reduced circumstances, as well as some doing their worst. He annoys the less ethical contingent sufficiently to be on their list for emphatic, violent discouraging. It is during one of these efforts that the reader meets the story’s subplot and Raven meets Clara, and when she sees her chance for more than just she’s been told to want, she grabs for it with both hands.
Raven is the smartest person in any room. Is he also the kindest? No. Is he tactless? Yes. Does he know he’s obnoxious? Yes. Does Clara take it in stride when fighting for what she wants? Yes and more. In real life he’d be a pill to deal with, but since this is a romance it’s about what Clara wants and that’s Raven because, for all of his faults, he sees, hears, and appreciates her. Reaching beyond an intellectual connection, they are matched in their emotional lives. Neither of them is great at expressing deep feelings, but they can recognize and negotiate together through them. Their interactions sparkle.
Clara’s possesses startling equanimity for a twenty-two-year old, but the plot won’t work without her youth. Were she older (which is how I picture her until Chase insists on reminding me) her struggle against her own family would make less sense. Her understanding of her world is balanced between her privilege and finding a way to use it. She wants to be her true self though even she doesn’t always see herself completely. Resolute under the surface, she finds what she needs to build a life that will fulfill her.
4.5 stars of out 5 because of the aforementioned subplot shortfalls.
*c.f. Kulti; The Hating Game; and Act Like It.