The Poetics of Passion

 

The Poetics of Passion

A Muses of Scandal Novel

Delphine Ross

Publication date: July 25, 2023 by Muse Publications LLC

Genre: Historical Romance

Rating: 4 🍷🍷🍷🍷

Summary: In 1872 London, a scandalous love poetess and a passionate children's book illustrator are set at odds in this sparkling enemies-to-lovers debut historical romance.

Musa Bartham has a secret. To support her destitute family after her father’s disappearance, she’s been publishing steamy poetry under the pen name of Felicity Vita. As Felicity Vita, Musa’s scandalous books have won legions of devoted fans—including an anonymous gentleman pen pal whose letters spark unruly desires she would never ever succumb to in her orderly daily life. But when Musa’s cherished younger sister, Angela, is offered sponsorship by their aristocratic great-aunt for an advantageous marriage, Musa realizes her dangerous double life as Felicity must come to an end. Instead, she’ll write books for children.

Sebastian Atkinson is a passionate artist reduced to working nights as a printer. Though Seb is infuriated by the prim yet alluring young woman who corners him into illustrating her insipid children’s book, he can’t turn Musa away: he suspects she may be Felicity Vita, the seductive poetess with whom he’s been exchanging love letters for the past year. Egged on by his best friend, an ambitious journalist desperate for a break, Seb seeks to unmask Musa’s secret identity. But the closer Seb comes to the truth, the more Musa entices him—and the more Musa finds Seb curiously attractive and even more curiously familiar. Could he have anything to do with her anonymous gentleman pen pal?

Unable to resist each other, the two shift from enemies to lovers just as their love letters are stolen, setting Angela's future at risk. As Seb and Musa frantically come together to contain the damage before it's too late, it’s uncertain whose hearts and lives will be broken amid the most sensational scandal of all.

My thoughts: I'm not normally a romance reader but I was intrigued by this book claiming to be a twist on my favorite movie You've Got Mail. For a debut novel this one packed quite a punch. There were mysterious family backgrounds, secrets, suppressed desires, unbridled passions, and two main characters who exchanged plenty of witty banter. In the comparison to You've Got Mail it checked the boxes for correspondence with a secret admirer, working towards a common goal, and the enemies to lovers trope. There were times where both Seb and Musa fell into long winded monologues and these slowed the overall pacing down. Some of the fun of the book was the setting as the culturally accepted behaviors of the time period dictated Musa's decisions. This story would not have worked at all had the setting been changed to the modern era. Overall it was a delightfully fun read that had some pretty significant twists. 

I received a copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley.