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A review by mediaevalmuse
The Portrait of a Duchess by Scarlett Peckham
3.0
I liked The Rakess enough to continue on with this series, so here we are. Overall, I don't think there was anything "bad" about this book - it just had some things that weren't to my taste, which made me think that it missed some opportunities. Your mileage may vary.
WRITING: Peckham's prose is not radically different in this book than in previous ones. It's quick, simple, and about what you'd expect of the romance genre (in a good way).
PLOT: The non-romance plot of this book follows Cornelia, a radical painter who wants to raise money to fund an institute for women. Cornelia's estranged uncle has just died, leaving her a sum that can only be claimed on the occasion of her marriage. To get the money, she turns to her secret husband, Rafe, who has, improbably, become the duke's heir.
While I liked the idea of this plot, the stakes didn't feel quite high enough to be interesting. I didn't really feel like the institute was badly needed or desired - it just kind of existed on the periphery. I also didn't quite feel like Cornelia and Rafe manipulated the legal system in an interesting way, so most of the time was spent playing silly games with their friends and working on a scandalous art exhibition.
I did like how a big theme seemed to be public vs private, but I wish Peckham had done more to explore it. There's not much discussion about public vs covert political opposition and how that ties in with public vs private emotion and obvious vs symbolic imagery in art. If Peckham had just linked all those things a little more with higher stakes than just parlor games and fun scandals, I think this would have been an excellent plot.
CHARACTERS: Cornelia, our heroine, is fun in that she's a self-confident woman who knows who she is and what she wants. I was pleased that she was mixed race and older (late 30s - almost 40), and I liked that she had an arc that involved admitting to her faults.
Rafe, our hero, is also an intriguing archetype (bisexual, polyamorous, mid-50s) and is rather the opposite of a lot of romance heroes: overly romantic and emotional, rather than gruff and stoic. He didn't have much of a personal arc, which made him less interesting than he could have been. I don't think his flaws were really framed as something to be overcome, just personality quirks that annoyed our heroine.
Supporting characters were fine. We see more of the sirens, who do their best to support Cornelia and provide some stakes, but I do think they could have been used better. Rhys, Rafe's lover, is nice in that he's a romantic interest who cares deeply for Rafe yet expects no commitment. I liked the exploration of a healthy, queer, open relationship that doesn't demand monogamy, though I do wish some attention was given to building up the emotional conditions of that relationship.
ROMANCE: There were some things I liked about this romance and some things that I think could have been better. I liked that it explored what a healthy open marriage might look like and how a queer relationship might work without focusing on queer suffering and hiding. I also liked that Rafe and Cornelia had to negotiate how much to give and expect from one another and that Cornelia, specifically, had to think about how to love Rafe without feeling trapped or like she was giving up her power.
All that being said, there were times when the romance felt a little repetitive. Cornelia and Rafe would express some physical affection, realize they have feelings, spring apart, then flirt, then get mad, and so on. I wish the narrative had provided more opportunities for them to self-reflect, and as fun as some of the parlor games were, after one or two, I didn't feel like I needed another.
The age gap also was something of a question for me. In the present, it's fine; I'm not one of those people who think it's inappropriate for a 40 year old and a 55 year old to consent to each other. This story does have flashbacks, though, to when our leads are 18 and 35, and I still don't know what I feel about that. Not super great. But I'm not sure if it's problematic or I'm just sensitive.
Still, I enjoyed the flirtatious banter. It was silly. And fun. And I like a dynamic where the love interests tease each other (good-naturedly).
TL;DR: The Portrait of a Duchess was fun but ultimately lacked high enough stakes. The novel also misses some opportunities to entrench it themes into the narrative, so most of this comes off as lighter and silly rather than a thorough exploration of ideas such as public vs private.
WRITING: Peckham's prose is not radically different in this book than in previous ones. It's quick, simple, and about what you'd expect of the romance genre (in a good way).
PLOT: The non-romance plot of this book follows Cornelia, a radical painter who wants to raise money to fund an institute for women. Cornelia's estranged uncle has just died, leaving her a sum that can only be claimed on the occasion of her marriage. To get the money, she turns to her secret husband, Rafe, who has, improbably, become the duke's heir.
While I liked the idea of this plot, the stakes didn't feel quite high enough to be interesting. I didn't really feel like the institute was badly needed or desired - it just kind of existed on the periphery. I also didn't quite feel like Cornelia and Rafe manipulated the legal system in an interesting way, so most of the time was spent playing silly games with their friends and working on a scandalous art exhibition.
I did like how a big theme seemed to be public vs private, but I wish Peckham had done more to explore it. There's not much discussion about public vs covert political opposition and how that ties in with public vs private emotion and obvious vs symbolic imagery in art. If Peckham had just linked all those things a little more with higher stakes than just parlor games and fun scandals, I think this would have been an excellent plot.
CHARACTERS: Cornelia, our heroine, is fun in that she's a self-confident woman who knows who she is and what she wants. I was pleased that she was mixed race and older (late 30s - almost 40), and I liked that she had an arc that involved admitting to her faults.
Rafe, our hero, is also an intriguing archetype (bisexual, polyamorous, mid-50s) and is rather the opposite of a lot of romance heroes: overly romantic and emotional, rather than gruff and stoic. He didn't have much of a personal arc, which made him less interesting than he could have been. I don't think his flaws were really framed as something to be overcome, just personality quirks that annoyed our heroine.
Supporting characters were fine. We see more of the sirens, who do their best to support Cornelia and provide some stakes, but I do think they could have been used better. Rhys, Rafe's lover, is nice in that he's a romantic interest who cares deeply for Rafe yet expects no commitment. I liked the exploration of a healthy, queer, open relationship that doesn't demand monogamy, though I do wish some attention was given to building up the emotional conditions of that relationship.
ROMANCE: There were some things I liked about this romance and some things that I think could have been better. I liked that it explored what a healthy open marriage might look like and how a queer relationship might work without focusing on queer suffering and hiding. I also liked that Rafe and Cornelia had to negotiate how much to give and expect from one another and that Cornelia, specifically, had to think about how to love Rafe without feeling trapped or like she was giving up her power.
All that being said, there were times when the romance felt a little repetitive. Cornelia and Rafe would express some physical affection, realize they have feelings, spring apart, then flirt, then get mad, and so on. I wish the narrative had provided more opportunities for them to self-reflect, and as fun as some of the parlor games were, after one or two, I didn't feel like I needed another.
The age gap also was something of a question for me. In the present, it's fine; I'm not one of those people who think it's inappropriate for a 40 year old and a 55 year old to consent to each other. This story does have flashbacks, though, to when our leads are 18 and 35, and I still don't know what I feel about that. Not super great. But I'm not sure if it's problematic or I'm just sensitive.
Still, I enjoyed the flirtatious banter. It was silly. And fun. And I like a dynamic where the love interests tease each other (good-naturedly).
TL;DR: The Portrait of a Duchess was fun but ultimately lacked high enough stakes. The novel also misses some opportunities to entrench it themes into the narrative, so most of this comes off as lighter and silly rather than a thorough exploration of ideas such as public vs private.