What the Lady Wants by Emma Orchard [ARC Review]

 *I’d like to thank NetGalley, Bollywood Books and Emma Orchard for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

“What the Lady Wants” is the third book in Emma Orchard’s “The Runaway Heiress”-series, and tells the story of the young widow Lady Isabella Ashby and Captain Leo Winterton.

18 months ago Isabella lost her beloved husband at the battlegrounds of Waterloo. Grief struck, she had received Regency style mental health interventions, and hid from the world for almost two years. Now she has decided that the only way to regain control over her life is to follow a list. A list that contains all the things she wants to do for one last time before resigning herself to never be with anyone ever again. Her chosen and very accomplice Leo had fallen for Isabella 18 months ago when they met perchance in Brussels. He hides his feelings in order to enter the arrangement, willing to have his heart broken just to hold Isabella in his arms for a short time. When both of them get invited to a house party, the tension between them heightens. And soon they find themselves on a crossway to either have their hearts broken or forge a way for the future. Unfortunately, the choice is quickly taken from then…

First of all I thought that Isabella and Leo were very well crafted characters with strengths and flaws. Isabella’s journey out of grief and into a fulfilling future was well portrayed from her clinging to her list to soon adding experiences before dropping the entire thing altogether. It was a joy to read her gain control by abandoning control. There are many great lessons in her story. Leo had been an absolute cutiepie. I loved how much he cared for Isabella even though he was sure she might never return the sentiment. His impatience paired with his hurt when Isabella did reject his declaration added great tension to their relationship, but also showed that he did have some boundaries and wouldn’t just get trembled on by a hot and cold love interest. I especially liked the dynamic of their intimate relationship. Isabella finding out that she prefers taking on a more dominant role in the bedroom, and Leo discovering his instincts to comply was very lovely and very steamy to read. Also, the way Isabella turned an insult Leo had endured as a child into an endearing nickname in the bedchamber, because what others ridiculed was something she adored very much, was a sweet moment indicating the growth in their emotional intimacy. However, I felt the last third of their story and the development of their relationship sort of fell flat. The back and forth simply lasted for too long, and it got really tiring to have them fail to communicate over and over again.

Additionally, the writing did not help with this flaw in the storytelling. Though Emma is a very talented writer with great wit, she had the tendency to tell instead of show. Many chapters are constructed completely on the inner life or more the thoughts or recollection of the main characters instead of showing the actual scenes happening. A lot of the relationship development is told instead of shown, failing to create an emotional bond between the main characters and the reader. This also creates a great lack of action. When everything is recollected and told instead of shown as an action, scenes can feel incredibly long, and the intensity of feelings get lost in between descriptions of feelings and thoughts. 

I am not quite sure how I feel about the Jane Austen references. For one Isabella does read Austen, and enjoys her novels. Secondly, the group of house party attendees meets the Bingleys and Bennetts on a country dance, creating ties to the world of “Pride and Prejudice”. Though it was a cute homage to Austen, I found it to be unnecessary, creating a weird plot hole in the world building. 

Overall, “What the Lady Wants” is a good novel with its highs and lows. I think the writing style might not suit everybody, however some might enjoy it very much. The characters are the gold piece of this novel, and show great talent of the author.