Someone To Watch Over Me, by Lisa Kleypas

I've just finished reading Someone To Watch Over Me, by Lisa Kleypas

She couldn't remember who she was...

A temptingly beautiful woman awakens in a stranger's bed, rescued from the icy waters of the Thames, her memory gone. Told that she is Vivien Rose Duvall, one of London's most scandalous beauties, she finds herself under the protection of enigmatic, charming Grant Morgan. Her life is in his hands. Deep in her heart, she knows he has mistaken her for someone else...

He was the only man she could trust.

As one of London's most eligible and unattainable catches, Grant Morgan is a man who has known every kind of woman. And the one in his arms now seems so innocent, so vulnerable, that he can't help but be enchanted. And as his love for this mysterious beauty grows, he's determined to unravel the secrets of her past and discover the truth -- no matter what.

Amnesia and all, this one was quite enjoyable, but had some problems. A B- for me.

I really liked having a Bow Street Runner as a hero. Sure, I like reading about the nobility, but it's also nice to sometimes read about the common people. Merchants, bankers, etc., why aren't they considered viable romance protagonists?(Note: the author makes some interesting comments about the book here).

My main problem with the book was that in some ways, it seemed to equate innocence and naiveté to goodness. She's innocent, she's shocked by reading about sex, she can't be that selfish, evil Vivien! But, the author redeems herself somewhat by having Grant accept he's in love with Victoria when he still thinks she's Vivien.

To be honest, I never really liked Victoria. Too goody-goody, actually. She has her moments, like when she reads Grant the riot act about his original plans to humiliate Vivien, and she's very definitely not TSTL, but all in all she's much too passive for my taste. And I hated the epilogue. Basically, Victoria's intention when marrying Grant was to be the "perfect wife", and her concept of that was being a doormat. Not nagging if he gets in danger (despite having promised he wouldn't), not complaining if he prefers to spend his evenings carousing with friends instead of with her... She's lucky that Grant doesn't want a slave but a partner, otherwise she would have been resigned to be a victim. Grrrr!

The suspense subplot was interesting, and fast paced throughout most of the book. Problem is the climax of this story comes a bit too early in the book, so the last 50 pages are spent tying up loose ends, and this is boring.