How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days: A Novel by Sophie IrwinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Three and a half stars.
Miss Lydia Hanworth is surprised when Lord Ashton proposes marriage to her, they'd barely spoken previously, and before she can politely decline her aunt and uncle assume it's a done deal. The only saving grace is that Ashton wants to keep the engagement a secret until his father can announce it at a masked ball his cousin Phoebe is throwing in two weeks time.
Lydia's aunt and uncle have threatened her that if she messes this engagement up she will be sent to live with aunt Mildred - a fate worse than death - so she determines she must get Ashton to cry off instead - and ten days spent at his cousin's country house will be just the right opportunity.
As the title might suggest, this book draws heavily on the film How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days as Lydia behaves oddly, wear eccentric clothing, uses inappropriate language and (frankly) lies through her teeth. At first Ashton is perplexed, what happened to the quiet, well-behaved girl he met in London, but when he discovers her true motivation this means war!
Throw in a scheming mama, a strange host, a twin brother with a Sherlock Holmes obsession, a stolen diamond necklace, a widow on the prowl, a young lordling, and a famous explorer who reminds me of Professor Gilderoy Lockhart from the Harry Potter books and you have a rip-roaring rom-com.
I have no idea when this is supposed to be set, the clothing on the cover looks early 1800s but Lydia's twin brother is clearly emulating Sherlock Holmes. Also, Wikipedia tells me that bananas didn't become common items until the 1880s when Fyffes began importing bananas from the Canary Islands to the UK through Southampton Docks (one of Lydia's dresses is compared to a banana). But, if you can suspend disbelief at the language which is used and the ambiguity as to the historical setting this was a fun read.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
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