It Takes Two to Tangle by Theresa Romain

Narrated by Michelle Ford

It Takes Two to Tangle is the first in a new trilogy from Theresa Romain, and it’s an extremely strong start to the series. It’s a beautifully written, character-driven romance that’s full of warmth and humour in which the two principals are both people who have been affected in different ways by war, and who have to learn to accept their pasts and move on.

Henry Middlebrook has recently returned from the continent, having been seriously wounded in the battle at Quatre Bras. While physically intact, he has completely lost the use of his right arm, and every day, has to face the realities of the things he is no longer able to do, from the ‘big’ things, like being able to write to smaller ones like being able to handle a cup and saucer, or hold a woman during a waltz. He doesn’t want pity; he doesn’t want allowances made. He just wants to get on with his life, a sentiment which is fully endorsed by his brother and sister-in-law, who are so relieved to have him back home in (almost) one piece that they fail to see the changes that have taken place on the inside.

As part of “operation re-introduce Henry to society”, his sister-in-law has decided he needs to find himself the right wife, and she knows just the woman. Lady Caroline Stratton is a widow of some nine years standing, and is the most sought-after lady in the ton. She’s beautiful, intelligent and wealthy – and Henry immediately realises he will need a bit of help if he is to secure her hand.

To that end, he approaches Caro’s companion – her cousin, Mrs Frances Whittier, also a widow, whose husband was killed in the early days of the war. He and Frances hit it off immediately and the air fairly crackles between them as they trade quips and engage in a little low-level flirtation. But while he certainly enjoys Frances’ company, it’s Caro he wants to pursue, so he asks Frances if she will give him the odd piece of advice in order to help advance his cause. For the first time since her husband’s death, Frances has found a man who attracts her – but she is not unused to being overlooked in favour of her vivacious cousin, and because she likes Henry and desires his happiness, she agrees to help him.

On the surface, Frances is the perfect lady’s companion; loyal and a little austere, but underneath, she is somewhat impulsive, a trait which has led her astray once before, and which she allows to get the better of her when she writes Henry a letter telling him how much she enjoyed meeting him and that she looks forward to furthering their friendship. It isn’t the done thing for a lady – even a widow – to write to an unmarried man, so Frances signs the letter merely “a friend”, sure that the references to their conversations the previous evening will leave Henry in no doubt as to her identity.

Unfortunately, Henry is so single-mindedly bent on his pursuit of Caro that he immediately jumps to the conclusion that the letter is from her and starts wondering how on earth he is to reply. He can’t write at all well with his left hand and doesn’t want to ask Jem or Emily for help – but there is one person he can trust.

Frances is stunned to discover Henry’s mistake – but before she can correct it, he tells her how much it means to him to have received a letter from Caro and she can’t bring herself to crush him by owning the truth. She helps him to learn to write with his left hand, and the correspondence continues.

Fortunately, however this case of “mistaken identity” is not allowed to drag on, as Henry comes to the realisation that Caro is not the woman for him after all, even though he still believes her to have written the letters.

Frances knows she’s been playing a dangerous game, but each time she determines to tell Henry the truth about the letters, something prevents her from doing so, which means, of course, that when he does eventually find out, the situation is that much worse.

Henry and Frances are both sympathetic, likeable characters whose flaws make them seem that much more real. As well as coping with his physical disability, Henry has to come to terms with his guilt over the actions he took during the battle which are closely linked with what happened to his arm. And Frances has to face her own demons about her first marriage, and the guilt she feels over her husband’s death. One of the things I found so endearing about her was the fact that even though she was mindful of her past mistakes, she nonetheless had enough belief in love to risk making another one.

The romance is a slow burn, but it is beautifully written and developed and the love scenes are both sweet and sensual. The familial relationships between Henry and his brother and sister-in-law are also superbly written, and the whole book just exudes warmth and bristles with a wonderfully dry wit.

Michelle Ford has quickly become one of my favourite female narrators, and she delivers another excellent and very naturalistic performance. Her narrative is well paced and her characterisations are all appropriate and well-differentiated. She is very good at finding and bringing out the humour in a book, and one such as this, laced with dry wit and subtle flirtation, presents her with the ideal opportunity to showcase that particular talent.

While Ms Ford doesn’t lower the pitch of her voice very much to portray her male characters, she nonetheless manages to make her heroes sound suitably masculine and sexy by giving them a slightly sharper edge and injecting a deeper resonance into her tone. Henry is particularly well represented; she has captured his warmth, his wit and his insecurities successfully, perfectly transitioning the character on the page into the ears of the listener. There are a number of secondary male characters in the book and while they are all distinct, sometimes the differences are very subtle and I admit to occasionally having had to pay attention to the dialogue tags to make sure I knew who was speaking in conversations involving Henry and his brother or his friend, Sir Bart.

The female characters are similarly well-served, with Caro’s vivacity and Frances’ dry wit and kindness really shining through in the narrator’s skilful portrayals.

This is without a doubt one of the most enjoyable stories I’ve listened to so far this year, and I know I’ll be revisiting it as I look forward to the next in the series, which is Caro’s story.

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Caz

AUDIOBOOK INFORMATION

TITLE: It Takes Two to Tangle

AUTHOR: Theresa Romain

NARRATED BY: Michelle Ford

GENRE: Historical Romance

STEAM FACTOR: Glad I had my earbuds in

REVIEWER: Caz [button type=’link’ link=’http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H5A1DE0/?tag=audiogalsnet-20′ size=’btn-lg’ variation=’btn-default’ target=’blank’]Buy It Takes Two to Tangle by Theresa Romain on Amazon[/button]