Review: Dangerous Alliance

Discussion

Let’s talk Regency Romance and the Jane Austen angle:

Ok, I admit I am not a Jane Austen superfan. I enjoy it, preferably the movies, but I’m not super crazy for it. But every once in awhile a regency romance is like the perfect spring day – bright, light, cheerful – full of lace, petite sandwiches, and dainty cups of tea.

When paired with a plunky, intelligent heroine – it’s win-win.

Dangerous Alliance brought these elements together very well and I thoroughly enjoyed myself … at least at first. But somewhere along the way Dangerous Alliance lost its way – was it trying to be a light, funny regency romance? A mystery? Around the 50% mark it really started floundering. At first Vicky’s love for Jane Austen’s novels was enjoyable, but quickly the Jane Austen fandom just became … forced. Each chapter heading had a quote, most chapters she would obscurely refer to “what would so-and-so Austen character do?”, and eventually, randomly, having the suitors reading Pride & Prejudice before a big duel. It didn’t make sense anymore, becoming overdone, cliched, and force-fed.

Let’s Talk Characters:

I mean, they were fine. I enjoyed Vicky for the first half – she was intelligent, the right side of naive, and passionate. I enjoyed that she took great interest in the running of her estate, pitching in with animal husbandry, quite outspoken, and never being afraid to get her hands dirty. But her storyline let her down … eventually just blathering between dangerous events and her hang-ups regarding the two suitors in her life. The who-will-she-pick languished in its own stew for over 100 pages, which was especially frustrating because, unless you’ve never read a romance before, you know on page 3 who she is going to end up with. Unnecessarily drawn out.

Let’s talk muddled plots: 

Dangerous Alliance just didn’t know what it wanted to be. As a romance we know by the end of the first chapter who she’ll be with. As a mystery, we know the bad guy by the end of the second chapter … but we have to endure another 400+ pages. Pages full of forcefully plugged-in Jane Austen references.

Overall Thoughts:

This had all the elements I enjoy for an escapist regency romance and was a really enjoyable read for the first half. But overdone, forced, and eventually awkward Austen references, a drawn out romance, and unsurprising mystery all ended with me skim reading the last 50+ pages. A promising beginning that was let down by a muddled plot, unfocused direction, and lacklustre ending. Die hard Austen fans might find more here.

TBR Ranking: Middle

For Fans Of:

Suitors and Sabotage

Written by Cindy Anstey

Published by Square Fish

You can find it here: Bookshop.org