Review of No Proper Lady

No Proper Lady

Isabel Cooper

Sourcebooks Casblanca

ISBN 9781402259524

   The year is 1888 in Victorian England. Joan is an assassin from two hundred years in the future. Her mission is to destroy a dark magician before he can summon the demons that will completely destroy her time. Before she is able to do so, she must learn how to act in polite Victorian society.

   Enter Simon Grenville, who has his own reasons to want Alex Reynell destroyed. Simon and Alex were best of friends until Alex almost destroyed Simon's sister. When he meets a half naked Joan in the forest, he thinks he may have found the means to bring Alex down. As the days roll on, and Joan steps into her role as the almost proper Victorian lady, Simon is afraid he wants her no where close to Alex Reynell.

   The author paints a world where dark magic is all too prevalent and the world as it is known, will be all but obliterated in the future if our alpha female does not intervene successfully. Joan is your futuristic terminator type who is expected to turn into "My Fair Lady" in a very short period of time. As the story progresses, sexual tension flies between Joan and Simon; but he is too much the gentleman to act on it no matter the cost. The question remains, can he can hold out without driving them both crazy in the process? Simon is determined to protect Joan with his magical powers; but terminator woman doesn't need his help. We have Eleanor, Simon's younger sister, who is afraid of her own shadow. Joan's strong will helps to draw Eleanor out of her shell and she eventually shows some back bone. 

    All in all this was an okay story; but it just did not flow very smoothly. It also had a tendency to drag along the way and you just wanted some action to develop. I had some difficulty maintaining interest because of the lack of action until almost the end of the book. Once the confrontation started, you were almost at the end and then it was over. This was an average fantasy read with some romance mixed in. I cannot, however, rate it on the top of my list.

    I wish to thank Sourcebooks for providing me with an ARC to read and review. I was not required to write a positive review. I was not compensated in anyway except for receiving the book to read and review.

I give No Proper Lady 3 out of 5 stars