What a Widow Wants

November 5, 2018
Jaxon’s uneven third Widow’s Club Regency (after Wedding the Widow) features Fanny Tarkington, recent widow of the brazenly unfaithful Stephen, whose “desire for dalliance” gets disrupted when Matthew Lathbury, her former lover, seeks to claim her now that she’s available. Desiring freedom and fearful that Matthew may prove as unfaithful as Stephen, Fanny repeatedly rejects his proposals, though she happily engages in “sexual congress” with him—as she did during their four-month affair three years into her marriage. Matthew’s faithful adoration and Fanny’s stubborn resistance both feel perplexing, as does his inexplicable abandonment of Fanny when she reveals that her daughter, Emma, is his biological child, something she only realizes after seeing them together. With the notable exceptions of Matthew’s mother and Fanny’s brother-in-law, the supporting characters lack distinguishing characteristics. While slowgoing initially, the story’s pace and suspense pick up when the potential scandal of Emma’s true parentage becoming public presents a genuine obstacle to their marriage, Fanny’s in-laws seek revenge for her infidelity, and Matthew rides to the rescue. But the exciting closing chapters can’t really make up for the lackluster rest of the book. Agent: Kathryn Green, Kathryn Green Literary.