Chynna Clugston-Major's story of ego and lust takes a couple of decidedly unusual and unexpected turns in this chapter, but both strength the story. Oddly enough, the two new elements here are diametrically opposed. One is thoroughly grounded and sums up everything one has to know about the two main characters, and the other new element is surreal and over-the-top. But they've drawn me further into this slightly off-kilter world of carefree, youthful concerns.
Ashton Archer's devious attempts to get closer to Margaret Sheldon have had an unforseen side effect: he's become friends with her brother, Drake. Still, Ashton's primary goal remains the same, and he's getting impatient. He comes up with a plan to win her over and get into her pants, but it backfires. Later, Ashton learns a secret about his family history -- a long and proud tradition of womanizing and success without effort -- that puts Margaret's role in his life into a whole new light. As a result, he comes up with a whole new plan altogether.
I continue to be impressed with the less cluttered approach Clugston-Major takes with the artwork here. There's a softer quality to her linework, but she never sacrifices the youthful energy and edge that makes her art such a pleasure to begin with. The Elizabethan flashbacks offer up some stunning designs as well. The art is playful and sexy throughout the book, and the cover sums up those qualities perfectly.
The strongest scene in the book is Margaret's justifiably vicious berating of Ashton after she discovers his devious behavior. Her tirade rings incredibly true, and it reinforces the notion that the main character is actually the villain. Her outrage is a moment of trumph in the story, and we envy her opportunity to tell such a loathsome soul exactly what she thinks of him. Her anger is tempered with her intellect, and she knows exactly what to say to neuter the unwelcome suitor... metaphorically only, of course.
Clugston-Major introduces a decidedly supernatural tone to the mix in the latter part of this issue, but it's not completely implausible, given earlier elements in the series that set it up. A new and hilarious character is introduced in order to bring this new mystical meat to the story, but what really impresses me about it is the clearly harsh change it makes in Ashton. The lone narrative caption on the final page is chilling, though I don't expect the creator to abandon the lighter tone of the series as a whole.
