Duty, honor, propriety…all fall in the face of love.
Captain Hugh Fanshawe returned from the Peninsular War with a leg that no longer works properly, thanks to a French musket ball. Now his fight against Napoleon is reduced to quiet, lonely days compiling paperwork at Horse Guards headquarters.
His evenings are spent dutifully escorting his mother and sister to stifling social engagements, where his lameness renders him an object of pity and distaste. But his orderly, restricted life is thrown into sudden disarray with the arrival of Colonel Theo Lindsay.
Theo is everything Hugh is not—a man of physical perfection and easy yet distinguished address. Surprisingly to Hugh, Theo appears to be interested in making his acquaintance. Lindsay turns out to be a most convivial companion, and Hugh finds great pleasure in his company. Their friendship deepens when they become lovers.
In spite of himself, Hugh falls desperately in love. But when a French spy is suspected at Horse Guards, Hugh discovers nothing is as it seems…and the paper he shuffles from day to day could be the instrument of his lover’s death.
Ever since I discovered that MM historical romance could be satisfying, I have been slowly building up my collection with titles from the genre. Sarah Granger is not a new-to-me author. I previously read her contemporary romance, The Unforgiving Minute, which I really enjoyed.
Hugh came in the beginning as someone a little bit dull – after coming back from the war with a lame leg, his life was pretty mundane. He tried to fulfill his duty of escorting his mother and sister to social engagements but he didn’t exactly try to mingle with anyone. He was fine staying in the background shadows. His life changed with the arrival of Colonel Theo Lindsay. Not long after that, Theo found pleasure in the Colonel’s company.
What I enjoyed the most of the story was the time period. Duly noted that I didn’t really understand all the references of wars and the military at that time, but I thought it was really well-researched and well-written. I also loved Hugh. Sure, he might have seemed uninteresting but sometimes it is refreshing to have a male character that doesn’t have all the Alpha traits. I felt that Hugh might actually be an introverted person who didn’t mind staying far away from the limelight and that made him very relatable to me. What is wrong with wanting to stay behind and not going to parties?
There was a dash of mystery in this book as well – Theo was trying to find a spy who had been leaking information to the French. The mystery took twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting and it gave a boost of adrenaline to the whole story.
I did find the relationship to be slightly lackluster, though. It wasn’t about the short summarized sentences of the sex scenes – which might make smut fans disappointed – because I am a reader who actually likes off-page or fade-to-black sex scenes … but Hugh and Theo’s relationship lacks passion itself. Hugh and Theo felt more like good friends who have sex once in a while rather than lovers. Simply put, I was a bit unconvinced that they would even make it in the long run.
Despite that, A Minor Inconvenience is quite a pleasing historical romance. If you like your regency romance flair with a well-written style of the time period, you could give this book a try.
Title: A Minor Inconvenience
Author: Sarah Granger
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Pages: 204
Release Date: January 14, 2014
Purchase Links: Samhain, ARe, Amazon