Review: Pretty Little Lyon (The Lyon's Den Connected World) by Katherine Bone

     

Print Length: 136 pages

Publisher: DragonBlade Publishing (October 18, 2022)

From Goodreads.com: If you do not marry by Season’s end, I shall expose the seedy side of your father’s past, thereby damaging his reputation—and yours by proxy—condemning you both to a life of destitution and despair.

Who is sending Charlotta Walcot threatening notes? Why would anyone cast aspersions against her father, a mild-mannered professor of antiquities at Cambridge University? As for herself, although she has no plans to wed, why would that be of issue to anyone to save herself? Desperate to swerve the scandal that would destroy both her and her father’s reputations, Charlotta dares to venture into the Lyon’s Den, a gambling hall and house of ill repute in London’s fashionable Whitehall. There, she begs its owner, the mysterious Black Widow, Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon, to use her connections to identify her blackmailer.

But that is not the end of Charlotta’s troubles.

Obliged to attend her cousins’ coming-out ball, she collides with Lord Septimus Grey. After witnessing the delivery of another unpleasant note to her, Septimus offers his help. But how can Charlotta place her trust in him since he is the man who, years ago, stole her young and impressionable heart?

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

I normally love this author, which is what made this one such a disappointment for me. Because unfortunately, this book just fell flat.

For most of the story, there was no clear indication of what the person sending the notes actually wanted. The goal seemed to be nothing more than making Lottie sick with worry over the threat to ruin her father's reputation. There was no demand for money, no pressure for marriage, no ultimatum to steal a priceless artifact in exchange for silence; just letter after letter vaguely implying that her father had done something wrong. Yes, this is eventually explained by the end, but without a deadline or a concrete demand, the tension that I expect from a blackmail plot never really materialized. More than once, I found myself wondering why Lottie never seriously questioned why her supposed blackmailer wasn’t asking for anything at all.

Another major issue for me was the sheer amount of internalization. The majority of the story is told through Lottie’s thoughts; what she’s thinking, what she’s feeling, what she’s worrying about, and Septimus is doing the exact same thing. On its own, that wouldn’t necessarily have been a problem, but together it became overwhelming. I wanted far less time spent inside their heads and far more time watching them do things. Especially together. Given their shared history, the lack of meaningful interaction between them was frustrating, and the few glimpses we did get simply weren’t enough. Even by the end, when they finally admit their feelings and reach their happily-ever-after, I was still left wanting more. I didn’t want to be told about their past, I wanted to experience it through memories or moments that showed me why these feelings had endured for so long. I wanted to believe that what they felt for each other was still there after all these years, and sadly, the story never quite convinced me.

That said, the Lyon’s Den connected world currently boasts over a hundred interconnected novels by various authors, most of which can be read as standalones. So while this one didn’t entirely work for me, there’s a very good chance I’ll eventually pick up another one later down the road.