Review: The Making of a Gentleman by Shana Galen
Reviewed by Jennifer Jensen
With the help of her aunt, Miss Felicity Bennett has secured what she believes to be a governess position with an aristocratic family in London. When Felicity arrives at the town house for her interview, she is introduced to her charge. Having pictured her charge to be around 6 or 7, she is shocked when she encounters a devastatingly handsome man of about 22.
The Comte de Valère, Armand, had been locked up for 12 years in a Paris prison after all aristocrats were being arrested and put on trial. After years of searching, Armand’s elder brother Julien discovered his whereabouts and brought him to their new home in London.
Felicity now has a task that she deems near impossible; can she really teach this man who has no regard for The Rules of Society how to speak and act when around others of his own kind? Armand has no interest in Society’s rules, or the boundaries that Felicity lays out for him. However, she is able to tame him in ways that no other person can. Through her musical talent, Felicity is able to draw Armand out from within himself. Through her beauty, she awakens the passionate man inside. As they begin to fall in love with one another, secrets from both of their pasts threaten to destroy their hopes for the future.
I don’t normally choose to read romance novels, but after reading the plot summary for The Making of a Gentleman by Shana Galen, I was most interested in the historical setting of the novel. Once I began reading, I was hooked and would have read it in one sitting if I didn’t have other obligations at the time. This isn’t the “bodice ripper” that the cover portrays it to be; there are plenty of steamy scenes between Felicity and Armand, but the plot is well done and the characterization is charming. I found many of the supporting characters intriguing, including Julien and his mother.
[amazonify]1402238665[/amazonify]Since The Making of a Gentleman is the second book in a series, I thought I might get a little lost along the way. Galen provided enough back story for some of the supporting characters that I was able to keep up. I am now excited to read The Making of a Duchess, which is Julien’s and Sarah’s story. I have always been a sucker for a good romantic tale. Not only does Galen provide that, but she also offers historical details regarding the war between France and England in the late 1700s and very early 1800s. This is the perfect author for anyone who loves romance, but doesn’t want to compromise a love of good historical fiction to get it.
Jennifer graduated from the University of Utah with a BA in English. She occasionally dabbles with her own fiction writing, particularly with the Young Adult and Paranormal genres. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and daughter.
This book was provided free of any obligation by Sourcebooks Casablanca. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
Category: Genre Fiction, Historical, Literature & Fiction, Romance
Not my cup of tea! Even though the reviewer says that it is not as Colleen calls it, a bodice ripper, steamy love scenes are not for me. At least it has some historical details in it but I would rather read a regular historical fiction.
Carol Wong
Thank you so much for this review! Since I am not much of a fan of the typical “bodice ripper” romances, I would never have picked this up just from the cover and description. The historical context is intriguing, but I would have assumed it would come second to the steamy lovin
. Now that I know it is more than that, I think I might really enjoy this book! I will keep my eyes peeled for it.
The title caught my attention, and then I saw the cover and assumed it’d be a bodice-ripper. Glad to know it’s not, and that there is good historical fiction mixed with the “romance” … I’ve never been huge on the romance genre (not a big fan of bodice-rippers), but this premise – and knowing there’s more substance to this than you’d think – might warrant checking it out from the library one day … Meanwhile, can you imagine being in Felicity’s shoes? Thinking you’re taking on kids, and it’s a grown man, haha
Brilliant review. I’ve been dying to read this book ever since i heard about it.
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