REVIEW: ‘My Lord Jack’ (2010) by Hope Tarr

Genre: Historical Romance

Setting: Scotland, 1793

POV: 3rd Person

Sensuality: Warm

Violence: Hero is a hangman, so, yes!

Format: Digital (reissue of a 2002 print release)

Source: A digital ARC courtesy of Carina Press via NetGalley

Why I Read It: I liked the idea of a hangman hero and a courtesan heroine

My Grade: C

My Lord Jack by Hope Tarr has a great premise, but unfortunately, the book didn’t work as well for me as I would have liked.

Claudia Valemont is a French courtesan who fled Paris in the bloody aftermath of the Revolution. Her mother was guillotined, as was her noble protector. Claudia does not wish to meet a similar fate. In desperation, she travels to Scotland in search of the aristocrat who fathered her.

Jack Campbell also bears the stigma of illegitimacy. Although his mother eventually married a local man, Jack was always labelled a bastard by his stepfather and the locals. At the age of ten, he witnessed his mother’s brutal rape and murder. After her killer was sentenced to death by hanging, Jack decided he’d found his vocation and trained to be the local hangman.

When the coach in which Claudia is travelling loses a wheel, she’s forced to spend the night in a small Scottish village. Desperate to reach her father’s residence as soon as possible, she foolishly attempts to steal a horse and is caught in the act. Claudia is sentenced to death by hanging, and Jack is the man assigned to the job. The timely intervention of some testimony which throws doubt on her intentions to steel leads the local magistrate to reduce her sentence to a period of indentured servitude. Much to his chagrin, Jack is to oversee Claudia’s sentence.

Due in part to his profession, and in part to the circumstances of his birth, Jack has taken a vow of celibacy. Being forced to live under the same roof as Claudia makes him question this decision, and it’s not long before they become lovers.

Jack’s evil step-brother is among the several villains of the piece. He has always hated Jack and is determined to cause trouble for him and Claudia. With so many people actively working against them, Jack and Claudia have to struggle to find happiness together.

Despite the interesting premise, there are several elements in this book which didn’t work for me. I never fully understood Jack’s self-imposed celibacy, especially when it didn’t take him long to succumb to Claudia’s charms. Apart from this niggle, I thought he made a convincing hero, and I liked his character.

Unfortunately, Claudia irritated me from start to finish. Her reckless endangerment of herself and others made me want to shake her on several occasions. Her tendency to run from safety into certain danger soon got old. She is the typical flighty French heroine of older historical romances.

Finally, the Scottish dialect pulled me out of the story and detracted from the author’s smooth prose style. I realise that this book was originally released at the time when the use of Scottish dialect in historical romances was very popular. Unfortunately, this style rarely works for me.

I struggled to grade this book. Although it didn’t appeal to me, I think readers who enjoy historical romances with big, brawny Scotsmen in the vein of Karen Marie Moning’s Highlanders would like this story. Claudia reminded me of Annique in Joanna Bourne’s The Spymaster’s Daughter, a book which I disliked but most readers loved. In other words, there are a lot of popular romance tropes in this story, but they’re not ones which usually work for me.

Ultimately, though, I have to grade a book according to my personal enjoyment level. While it might appeal to other readers more than it did to me, I give it a C.

Other Reviews of My Lord Jack:

Not Another Romance Blog – 3.5 out of 5 smooches

All About Romance – C

Tagged as: C Reviews, Hope Tarr, Scottish Historical Romance, Virgin Hero