It’s 1752 and Melissa is preparing for her first season at court. However, her first appearance is less than ideal. She meets an intriguing young gentleman, Justin Lestrade, whom she can’t help but become fascinated with – but she is somewhat scandalized for defending herself from a man with ill intentions.
Melissa finds more opportunities to talk with Mr. Lestrade despite her family’s insistence that he is a cad and can further damage her tarnished reputation. He has secrets, but she can’t tell what. For all his efforts to stay away to protect Melissa’s reputation, Justin keeps finding he is drawn to her as well. His secret, though, will change both of their lives forever.
Melissa detests the limits imposed on her by tradition that she be quiet and demure and behave as if she is a fragile creature. She insists time and again that she is capable of doing so much more, which infuriates her father. She continues to push the boundaries of society within her family and strive for more than just becoming a wife to some man her father deems suitable.
This book has a plethora of great vocabulary words! I highlighted about thirty words that I had to define – like lassitude, hoyden, rictus, and sibilant. I enjoyed expanding my knowledge, and I was able in infer meaning to many other words. However, some readers may prefer a different intensity of vocabulary when they read.
The author uses vivid color descriptions throughout the story, especially when describing the clothing seen at the balls. There are also lots of references to different fabrics to convey textures and colors and paint the scenes. I found this useful in picturing the scenes and getting more involved in the story.
There were a handful of minor editing issues I came across. None ghastly enough to distract from the story. Just enough to be noticed and make mention. Things such as “You would have heard if they news was being spoken of openly” – use of they instead of the. Very minor.
The Black Lotus had a very Pride and Prejudice feel. At times, I was somewhat bored. I felt like the story really started dragging until chapter 19. You have an idea that Justin has some massive secret, but the allusions start to get old. I did feel like I was waiting for some grand Dracula type story, but that is not quite where the story goes. Lots of time is spent on social engagements and social protocol. But in my opinion, it does take too long to get “to the good stuff”.
I was also confused a bit by some of the outlying characters. They seem to play an important role in Justin’s story, but their backstory doesn’t get explained almost until the end of the book. I understand that you want to have unanswered questions to keep the reader engaged, but I think dropping a few hints along the way would have made me much less confused.
Overall, the story was okay. I was able to make it through, but I don’t see myself reading it again or even reading the rest of the series. If you enjoy Pride and Prejudice – which I find boring – then I think you will enjoy this series. There is good depth to the main characters and the story line is easy to follow.
Review by Patti F.
This book was given to TAB in exchange for an unbiased and honest review with no promise of a positive review.