Today we are going to talk about Maddie Taylor's Surrender Your Grace
He's a second son. She's a second daughter. A cruel twist of fate brings this unlikely pair together in an impromptu marriage. Without a proper courtship, the pair must learn to live as husband and wife while facing challenges and dangerous threats that could destroy their marriage. Andrew is a dominant young Lord who has very strong ideas on how his wife should behave. Cici is an innocent young Lady: sheltered, well-educated and well-bred. She is the image of feminine refinement and gentility that society expects. But if she is such a docile bride, why does she keep finding herself over her husband's knee for much needed correction? Will she learn to be the submissive wife he demands? And can Andrew exert his dominance without breaking her spirit?
Author Maddie Taylor brings her style of romance, combined with elements of humor and intrigue, to this Victorian Era romp. Included are scenes of consensual and non-consensual spanking where the feisty heroine spends an inordinate amount of time over her husband's knee, desk or settee.
When will he learn that she isn't a child to be spanked and made to stand in the corner? Never we hope.
One of my favorite romance tropes is the forced marriage and romance novels are a great vehicle for forced marriages because reputation and social standards were so important. What about you? Is forced marriage one of your favorites too? If not, what are some of your favorite romance tropes?
This book was pretty long. Usually I like a book in the 70-100 page range, but this one was about 180 pages and held my attention. What about you? What length of book appeals to you?
Cici's sister, Elizabeth, is pretty unpleasant throughout the story. But, at the end we learn that Elizabeth is married to a vicar. Let's vote---does Elizabeth deserve a happy ending or do we hope (maybe just a tiny bit) that the vicar is a harsh disciplinarian?
Before marrying Cici, Andrew had a mistress, which was common during the time. They have a couple of frank discussions about the mistress and Cici's uncertainty that Andrew has, in fact, stopped seeing her. What did you think of how this was handled in the story?
Anything else you'd like to share?
Come back next week---Cara Bristol will be leading a discussion of Leena Darling's Spanking the Naughty Bride.
