If the first two of my most recent NetGalley romances (A Gentleman Ought to Know and How to Court a Covert Lady) made me want to try writing my own to do better, this one makes me happy to sit back and be a reader. The synopsis immediately grabbed my attention, and I know Sophie Jordan has a good reputation. I was very glad to find out that The Countess met my expectations of a well-written and engaging romance. I give it four out of five stars.
“The Cold Countess,” Lady Gertrude (Tru, to her friends), is known for being as cool as a cucumber and as prim and proper as the highest of society matrons. She’s the complete antithesis of her estranged husband, who is a philandering pig. The Earl of Chatham only remembered he had a daughter when he read about her coming out for her societal debut in the newspaper. In order to capitalize upon his good fortune, he finds her a suitor that can keep him swimming in money. Wanting her daughter to choose her own husband, Tru is determined to find a way out of the courtship that would keep her husband at bay. However, when Tru meets Jasper Thorne, a building magnate looking to make his way into society, her attraction to him shocks her, and she’s even more surprised when she finds that it’s mutual. She can’t have her first affair with the man who’s supposed to be courting her daughter – can she? The scandal would rock the ton if they were found out. Suddenly, the Cold Countess finds that, on all levels, she is feeling the heat.
When I first saw The Countess on NetGalley, I was instantly intrigued. The idea of a mother falling for her daughter’s suitor was totally new to me, and I loved that idea for a plot. Even better was the fact that the mother was still married, so I knew the complications would produce an entertaining read. The idea isn’t implausible; girls were married very young and could have had their first children by the time they were 17 or 18 (possibly even younger). Their marriages were often contrived to produce an advantage for both families, as found in this novel, so I don’t think it was implausible that a husband would have been a good bit older than his bride.
I liked both Tru’s and Jasper’s characters. She was fiercely protective of her daughter, not wanting her to suffer the same fate that she did with her husband. Given the sort of character her husband turned out to be, I’m fully supportive of that and would have been supportive even if her husband was a good sort. Women did not have much of a choice in anything during this time, and Tru’s determination to give her daughter one is admirable.
Jasper Thorne was a man looking to give his daughter a chance in high society, and he had to marry well to do that. I admired his determination and dedication to his daughter but wondered – after seeing examples of some of these “fine” lords – why he’d want to involve his daughter in the haute ton. I suppose you weren’t listened to unless you were titled. I also liked that because Jasper was not of the “upper classes,” he could afford to speak more plainly and be a little more playful than others.
Let’s get to the steam: the connection between Jasper and Tru was really well done. On both of their parts, there was so much discomfort along with the attraction because they knew it was wrong for many reasons. I really respected that as I found those feelings to be very realistic. The attraction was resisted for so long but finally given in to, and I like that they tried. I don’t condone cheating, so I’m not saying they should have given in to it, but it did seem inevitable. There was very palpable tension between the two – sexual and otherwise – which really made me want to keep reading and chasing down the story.
I won’t spoil the ending for you – you’ll have to read it for yourself – but I think you will be satisfied with it. I was. I found The Countess to be a very enjoyable read and will be looking forward to the next in the series. The characters and their stories are what make this book, and I think you’ll enjoy them.