The Lady Flees Her Lord by Michele Ann Young

[amyb]

For young Lady Lucinda Denbigh life is not as sweet as she once envisioned it being with her handsome, young nobleman husband, Lord Denbigh. After being married only a short while she quickly learns that is was her money he lusted after, not her. And being the gentleman that he is, he takes it upon himself to remind her of that daily. Constantly telling her she is fat and ugly, he is always keeping her on diets and restricted her food from the kitchen.

When the prospect of spending an entire weekend with Denbigh and his retched friends, being ridiculed and laughed at, takes her over the edge, she finally gets the courage to leave. She sneaks out after everyone's asleep and flees through the streets of London.

Being the smart girl that she is, when they married she kept a flow of money coming from her family straight to her and that is what she uses to finance her way out of her personal hell. Lord Denbigh has habit of gambling and an even nastier habit of losing.

In the midst of her escape a woman comes up to her, thrusts a young child into her arms and tells her she'll be right back. She quickly realizes that the woman is not returning and that is confirmed by a passing boy who saw the transaction. Lucinda, still pining for a child of her own, decides to keep her and names her Sophia.

Lord Hugo Wanstead, returning back home from war, is not in the best of moods when he first runs over (almost literally) Lucinda and Sophia. He learns in his abscence that she has rented a house on the property. Lucinda has told them she is a widow, her husband dying in the war, so there would be no questions as to why she is there alone and without family.

Lord Hugo, a huge bear of a man, is trying to heal emotionally and physically, with a leg wound, after coming home. His first wife died in childbirth and he still lives with the blame, vowing never to marry again. His return home is not an easy one for him - his father left the estate in a terrible way and it's up to Hugo to return it the glory that it once was.

As Hugo and Lucinda get to know each other they soon feel a connection neither of them can explain. To Hugo, she is not fat, but soft and voluptuous - a real woman he can love. To Lucinda, Hugo is everything Lord Denbigh was not and would never be.

The Lady Flees Her Lady is a novel about finding unconditional love and believing that you are worthy of it. Michele Ann Young paints a beautiful story of a woman running away from what she thought she deserved into the arms of someone that actually deserved her and the sweet feeling that comes from true love.

Acquired by Sourcebooks

Rating: 4 out of 5

[Telynor]

Thank you for writing this one up. It looks interesting enough that I might pick it up.

[diamondlil]

I read the first book that was published through Sourcebooks by this author. I thought it was okay, but she definitely had promise.

[amyb]

I do admit that romance is not my usual MO, but I was actually pleasantly surprised.