By Love Undone (Bancroft Brothers Series #1) Book

Madeleine Willits works as a companion to Malcolm Bancroft. After Malcolm falls ill his nephew, Quinlan Bancroft, Marquis of Warefield, is sent to help run the estate. Even before Maddie sees Quin she knows that she will hate him. She knows his type and is definitely not impressed. For Quin's part he isn't that thrilled to be ordered by his father to go to Langley Hall. He was supposed to be on his way to spend some time with his soon-to-be-but-not-quite-yet betrothed. After his arrival Maddie tries not at all to stifle her contempt for him and Quin finds himself quite fascinated by her (for some reason). Malcolm tries to get Maddie to be nicer to Quin which results in her insulting him in the most sugary sweet way possible. She seems to believe he's an idiot and chortles to herself about him not picking up on her oh so subtle insults. After more insults on Maddie's part and fascination on Quin's part they indulge in a kiss. Malcolm catches them in the act and much drama ensues. Because of Quin dishonoring Maddie he agrees to have his family sponsor her in town and try to reestablish her in society.

I disliked Maddie enormously. It was really hard for me to like the book because most of it is told from her perspective and she made me want to smack her. I don't have a problem with unlikeable characters that learn and grow from their mistakes, but I never saw that here. If I can understand the motivation of a character and see that it is in line with how their personality is portrayed I can deal with even the most unlikeable traits. Maddie, however, did not have a compelling reason to act how she did. I get that some lout stole a kiss and everyone in the ton (including her family) turned their back on her. I understand that she would be a little (or a lot) bitter. But she never really owns to any sense of responsibility for anything. She revels in her preconceived notions of nobility (even though she's one too) and even when shown that not all noblemen are cardboard cutouts of each other she still refuses to believe that she may be acting like a whiny immature child. She was just so rude about everything!

Quin was a little more likable than Maddie, but I never got a good grasp of his character. I didn't understand why he liked Maddie. I know that I was supposed to be taken in by the fact that he was fascinated by her, but I couldn't believe it. We are told again and again in the book that no one had ever spoken to him like Maddie did. Is the fact that he was never angry about it (for some mysterious reason) supposed to show me that she's the one? It just didn't make any sense. Added to that was the fact that he had an agreement to eventually be engaged to Eloise when he kissed Maddie. He dipped dramatically in my esteem there. I spent most of the story feeling sorry for him because he didn't have a backbone. He let people insult him (Maddie again and again) and push him around (his father) through the whole book. The fact that he finally stands up to his father at the end didn't convince me of his character growth. As I saw it, there was never any real threat from his father. He may have been able to stop paying for his lifestyle, but I didn't see how his threat to not let him inherit his title held any weight. Maybe I missed something there...

The kiss that Malcolm saw didn't seem like a good reason for Quin to have to reestablish Maddie in the eyes of the ton. She never said no. She never even tried to discuss why it wasn't a good idea. She was just as responsible for it as Quin was. I'll admit that she told his uncle as much, but she was very dramatic and nonsensical about the whole thing. Why would she try to run from Langley Hall because she felt she was ruined again? Malcolm already knew about the first kiss that ruined her. He even told her he wouldn't kick her out. Then Malcolm presents his plan to fix her reputation. Maddie tries to get out of it but ends up agreeing to go along with it for a limited duration. After that time period is up she gets to return to Langley Hall having fulfilled her part of the bargain. How does that even remotely make sense? She was ashamed and tried to leave, then she gets pressured into the bargain but only for a while and then she can come back to Langley Hall. What??? Wasn't she just trying to leave there because of the shame? Why is ok to come back after a limited time period? Maybe I'm once again missing something.

I was really disappointed with how the situation with Eloise turned out. In the beginning it seems like there's this perfectly nice girl that Quin has known since he was a child. There has always been an understanding between their families that they would eventually marry. She was understanding and let him keep dithering about the wedding date and not being officially engaged. They wrote letters to each other all the time and visited often. Instead of having Quin have to deal with wanting to be with Maddie but not wanting to hurt Eloise, which would have added depth and real conflict to his character, Quin never has to question himself or his feelings because of who Eloise is shown to be. It seemed like a cop out to the possibility of a genuine conflict. Eloise was such a caricature. Everything about her was so over the top. I get that the author had to show us why Quin could never possibly be with her, but come on. A little subtlety would have been nice.

I didn't mind the fact that this was a reissue, I knew that going in. I am a very big fan of Suzanne Enoch and have enjoyed many of her older works. However, this one really did not work for me. For those new to Suzanne Enoch: If you did not enjoy this book, do not write this author off completely. Try another (newer) book by her and see if it works better for you. It might just turn into a keeper for you.