Indiscreet by Carolyn Jewel - A Review(-ish)

Truth: I've been carrying Indiscreet by Carolyn Jewel around with me for about three weeks. So why has it taken me so long to read the book? Well, I loved Scandal. No, I mean, LOVED it. It's going in my top 3 favorite books of the year. And I was...trepiditious about reading Indiscreet. What if I didn't love it? What if Scandal was a one shot deal for me? I mean, I'm a *giant* pickwad when it comes to historical romance. I read very little of it anymore, mostly because it all seems to be more or less the same to me. But I fell in love with Scandal, truly finding Jewel's prose to be stupendous, and lush, and the story and characters fascinated me. Needless to say, I was worried about Indiscreet. I dove in slowly, but found myself completely captured by the prose and the characterization.

Sabine Godard is disgraced through no fault of her own. The Earl of Crosshaven has spread a particularly spurious piece of gossip about her that has caused her uncle, a scholar, to whisk her away from England altogether. On the night that the gossip is spread, Lord Edward Marrack is in attendance. He is repulsed by what Crosshaven has done, and realizes immediately that Sabine is utterly ruined. A year and eight months later, Sabine finds herself in Turkey traveling with her uncle, and helping him write a book. One night she meets Lord Edward, now the Marquess of Foye, while reading tea leaves to pass the time at a gathering.

Foye is an honorable man - and a giant one. He's tall (6'6") and burly and possessed of a hook nose that he fully realizes makes him intimidating to the fairer sex. But Sabine finds herself fascinated by the man's style, his intelligence, and his wit. Foye befriends Sabine's uncle, and soon the two are thrown together often. Sabine's uncle never truly believed Sabine when she said that she and Crosshaven had not committed an impropriety, but Foye knows it's not true. Sabine also has an education that would rival any man's. She's fluent in multiple languages, conversant in a number of "unladylike" topics. Foye is captivated and one night, after saving Sabine from a crush at a ball, he kisses her.

By the time they parted he was panting, and so was she. And she looked like a woman thoroughly kissed. He stared at the carved wooden ceiling while he fought for control.

She touched his face, following the line of his cheek. "I'm sorry if I've upset you."

Foye stared at her. "Upset? Upset that I've been indiscreet and ungentlemanly?"

"You haven't been." She drew in a long trembling breath while he scrubbed his hands through his hair. "Well, perhaps a bit indiscreet."

"Indiscreet. It was a good deal more than that, Miss Godard."

After that encounter, Sabine can think of little else. Every time she sees Foye, she wants him to kiss her. And he is fighting to be a man of honor. But their attraction is thorough, and soon they realize that they are destined for each other.

Sabine is an incomparable beauty, and Foye quickly realizes that she has captured the interest of a Pasha -- one who is reputed to be active in the slave trade. Unfortunately, Sabine's uncle quite likes the Pasha, and agrees that he and Sabine will travel to be guests at the Pasha's home. Foye does what he can to convince Sabine's uncle that the visit would be unwise, but her uncle is resolved. Foye can do nothing to stop her uncle, so he promises Sabine his help, and swears that he will find a way for them to be together. The Godards leave, and Foye quickly assembles a group of mercenaries and follows. When he arrives, uninvited, at the home of the Pasha, he is informed that Sabine's uncle has passed away, and Sabine is not available to see him. He immediately realizes that the Pasha is intending to either keep Sabine for his concubine, or sell her for profit. It is up to Foye to break Sabine out and get her quickly to a British consulate, where he will marry her and give her both his heart and the protection of his name. But will they be able to outrun the Pasha, who is in hot pursuit of his prize?

There is so much to recommend this book. Yet again, Carolyn Jewel shows herself to be a master with prose. The book is beautifully crafted, and while full of adventure, the book never ever strays from building the relationship between Foye and Sabine.

And Foye, what a hero. Big, brawny, and noble. I appreciated his wit, and his tremendous honor. My favorite scene between Foye and Sabine is one after he's removed her from the Pasha's home, they are on the run, fleeing with Foye's hired band of men to the British consulate. Sabine is quite an accomplished artist, and throughout the book, she expresses her wish to draw Foye. In a quiet moment, she is finally able to get her wish.

Foye looked at it for quite a while before he said anything. "My God," he whispered, "Me to the very hook in my nose. You are an artist, Sabine." He touched the page. "Did Godard know this about you? I know he discouraged you, but did he understand the extend of your talent?"

She reached over and took the sketchbook back. "He knew a great deal, Foye. But not everything. Now, since you will not let me draw you from life, I think we are done. Surely now we may sleep."

But Foye stared at her, his eyes intent. "I've lost my soul to you," he said. "My heart"

And right then is when I heaved The Big Sigh.

The book is faithfully set in the middle east and the settings are lovingly drawn by Jewel. But it is the characters who make the book shine. Sabine, both fiercely intelligent, and inexplicably drawn to Foye, and Foye, so steadfast and honorable. Their love story is compellingly drawn and completely satisfying to read. Jewel's prose continues to sparkle and it draws the reader in absolutely. I found Indiscreet to be a delight to read, and a romance to wallow in.

Final grade: A-