Mara intrigued me because she is wholly conscious of the nearly-impossible rigidity of her position in society and does what she can-even when it's morally ambiguous at best-to find a way she can live her life outside those restrictions. This book definitely fits that description. I read something recently by an author of historical romances (and, sadly, can't remember who) who said that she writes about characters who "could have" existed and whose experiences "could have happened" within their social context. No Good Duke Goes Unpunished worked for me largely because of both main characters' stories focus on their struggles against social expectations. In order to help her brother, she agrees to out herself to London society and clear Temple's tarnished name. She's remained hidden for over a decade, but breaks her vow to never return to the society she's abandoned when her brother finds himself indebted to Temple's casino.
Mara is that woman who disappeared before her marriage to Temple's father. He has no idea what happened that night, as he has no memory of the events, but he carried the guilt with him all those years, never daring even hope for redemption. No body was ever found, but the evidence pointed in Temple's direction. His reputation is disastrous, as twelve years prior he was accused of killing his father's fiance on the eve of her wedding.
Temple is one of four partners in The Fallen Angel gaming hell. It's an intriguing and compelling setup that made No Good Duke Goes Unpunished work for me when others have not. But, it also features a "ruined" male main character, largely takes place in a sketchy casino (called a "gaming hell") and stars two lead characters who, despite their noble lineage, are outsiders on a social level. It's set in England and features characters from the nobility, yes. Such is the case of Sarah Maclean's No Good Duke Goes Unpunished, which surprised me with its awesomeness. However, I also try to keep an open mind and when so many people with excellent taste rave about an author, I'll give one of their books a shot, even if it's something I would normally shy away from. I'm an extremely picky romance reader as it is, and the settings (Regency England, primarily) and class issues (nearly exclusively featuring the titled classes) just don't appeal to me, and neither do the gender dynamics (power, female virginity obsession, etc.) endemic to the time periods popular in historical romance. Historical romance is even a harder genre for me. Despite that I'm a colossal history nerd, I just have the hardest time finding historical fiction that works for me-as a novel-lover and a history dork, I find that the balance rarely hits the right notes. and actually likes it! My complicated relationship with historical fiction has been well-documented on this blog at this point, I believe.
Or, in which Sarah reads a historical romance.
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