The Black Mask by Cynthia Pratt

[meganbmoore]

I picked this book up a while back based on the cover featuring a masked, cloaked thief breaking into the room of a regency lady in her nightgown. The cover copy talked about a young woman inheriting a worthless ring and asking a thief to help her steal her brother’s debts from a nobleman, not knowing the thief was the nobleman, and threw around phrases like “scandalous plan,” “expose the sins,” “society’s blackguards,” and “wastrel and bon vivant.” I mean, a book with that packaging has to either be entertainingly fun, or entertainingly bad, right?

Sadly, all the bargaining with thieves and sneaking around and everything is crammed into the last 60 pages, and that rest is just kind of dull. The hero, Nigel, spends a lot of time angsting over things that don’t get explained for ages and ages, and the heroine, Rose, doesn’t actually stomp her feet or toss her hair, but I kept expecting it. I could never keep up with why they hated each other, stopped hating each other, and then hated each other again. But really, kinda boring.

Which makes me sad, because I wanted something either light and fun or unintentionally entertainingly after Missin’, not something…not bad, but dull, which could be much better than it was. I mean, even Awesomely Bad Books have the value of getting to tell people about them! Don’t let me read another Samantha James*! It’s too early for one of those!

*Newish here or managed to purge the memories? Click the “abducted nun” tag!