No Proper Lady

by Isabel Cooper

• ISBN10: 1402259530
• ISBN13: 9781402259531
• Publish Date: 1 September 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Sourcebooks Casablanca
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

I am disappointed. I generally love the combination of Historical Romance and Urban Fantasy, so I was excited to read No Proper Lady. I also love time travel, so that just added to my excitement. Unfortunately, the paranormal and sci-fi elements are lacking and as a Romance, it's simply boring.

Joan is from a Post-Apocalyptic future where demons have taken over and destroyed much of civilization. She's been sent back in time to stop the wizard responsible for unleashing the demons to save her world at her own expense. There she immediately meets Simon who is acquainted to this evil mastermind and wants his own revenge. This all sounds fun and exciting, but it wasn't.

There's a six week time jump, which I assume is just Joan's "training" in etiquette and the like. But after that...still nothing. It's boring. Joan is attempting to seduce this wizard, which seemed to take no effort at all. In the meantime, we're constantly told how aroused Simon is by Joan. Their first sexual encounter was brought on by an aphrodisiac that the evil wizard slipped into Joan's drink for no apparent reason (he didn't even make a move on her, just sent her home). It just wasn't good.

No Proper Lady's only interesting character was Simon's younger sister, Ellie. She's the reason for Simon's revenge. This evil wizard had summoned a demon who then possessed Ellie's body! That is screwed up. She's now dealing with the aftermath of that, and I wanted to know more about her.

No Proper Lady had all the makings of an excellent hybrid novel, but it fell short on all elements. The lovers are boring. The relationship took too long to get going and then wasn't believable. The bad guy was also boring and defeated easily. The ending was beyond cheesy.

[Stephanie]

Really 4.5

Joan is humanity's last hope. 200 years ago a man opened the portal between demons and our world. It isn't looking good for humanity right now either. It is decided that Joan is humanity's best chance so she can stop the portal from being opened. Intelligence has found the man and where he lived. During the procedure to send Joan back she and her people are attacked but they are just barely able to send her back in time.

Simon Greenville is cooling his heels in the country. There was quite a scandal in London and it involved his little sister. A young military man was killed in the process and his sister may be scared for life. The worst part of it is that he expected more from his best friend. Now all he can think about is the blind betrayal that Alex has dealt him. Simon wants Alex to understand the error of his ways even if they can never be what they once were. A lifelong friendship has been destroyed. Even though Simon and Eleanor's departure is enough to cause a stir they are still able to avoid outright scandal under the guise that Ellie is sick and the country air is all she needs.

On a ride one morning Simon decides to try and find a path he and his father discovered when he was a boy. Simon finds that and something a little more. There is a stranger in the clearing and she may be a bit mad. Her name is Joan, daughter of Arthur and Leia, and she says she's from 200 years in the future...and she's there to kill his old best friend. Simon is able to negotiate with her and gets Joan to agree that she'll simply destroy the manuscript and let Alex live under very strict conditions. After all, the weight of the future is on Joan's shoulders.

Oh my goodness! This book was described as "It's Terminator meets My Fair Lady in this fascinating debut of black magic and brilliant ball gowns, martial arts and mysticism." No Proper Lady has a little bit of something for everyone! There's paranormal, time travel, historical romance, and suspense. While that may sound overwhelming, Cooper does a wonderful job of balancing it all out. I instantly bonded with Joan and felt her urgency for trying to save the world she knows. Simon balanced her out nicely. He was open to her claims and didn't try to dissuade her from it. Simon is also a thinker and much more level-headed than Joan. Watching love sneak up on this couple was great.

If you're looking for something fresh and a little addictive, I'd suggest picking up No Proper Lady by Isabel Cooper. It's a great romp through London with a spin I haven't come across yet!