A Natural Attachment - Katherine Kingsley

THE SHOCKING LORD SEATON
Miss Eliza Austerleigh was a retiring young lady, living quietly on her country estate. But she knew all too well what manner of man Lord Edward Seaton was.

She had met Lord Edward only once, but that was enough to learn how dangerously handsome he was and how vulnerable she felt in his powerful presence. London gossip had told her still more about this insatiable and shockingly successful womanizer.

But nothing prepared Eliza for the appearance of Lord Edward on her doorstep. And she found no way to refuse the utterly outrageous proposal of this man who made no pretense of propriety and promised anything but love...

This was my first Katherine Kinsgley story and although it had some interesting parts it also had a couple of flaws that made me give it a lower grade. I liked the middle but I found the beginning a bit forced.

Lord Edward needs to get married. He believes he is currently unable to father a child and since he finds out he has a natural son and wants to make him legitimate he needs a wife who will admit to have secretly married him in the past. This was ok but the only reason for him to have chosen Eliza was because she had spent time in the same caribbean island he did around the time the baby was conceived. I thought he went to a lot of trouble to find and convince Eliza when he could have found some anonymous woman and and have her lie about it. It's not like anyone could say he and Eliza had spent time together then...

She at first mistakes his proposal for something else but eventually accepts to play the part of his wife. Edward is totally mistaken about who Eliza is and what are her interests and she sets out to show him she is a total air head and completely silly thus annoying him to no end. This part was interesting and funny because everyone else could see through her ruse and she really wasn't anything like he believed her to be. Eventually he finds out the truth, that she is a level headed woman that manages her farm with competence besides being a renowned author. Although Eliza has already been in love with him for sometime, it's just then that Edward realises he has feelings for her.

There was a paragraph near the end that totally jolted me out of the story though, Edward refers to Eliza's breasts as udders. She really likes animals, especially cows but somehow that comment seemed totally inappropriate and really modern (weird)sounding.

Grade: 3/5