Scan barcode
books_and_more_books_byt's review against another edition
4.0
A Matter of Manners is the first book in the Shades of Sin series. This was the first book I have read by this author and I was pleasantly surprised. It had a solid storyline, well developed characters, and was fast paced. There was a mystery of a murderous traitor that needed solving. I do wish that we could have seen more on the development of the main characters relationship
cnewby927's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
This was an enjoyable read but it's definitely missing something. I think it would have been a little better had the setting been different. I don't know if that's the something I'm referring to though.
I enjoyed reading about Jeremy and Katy but the writing felt a bit clunky a points. The BDSM was entertaining but once again I just feel like the setting was off. I think if you just want an easy read though, this wouldn't be bad.
This was an enjoyable read but it's definitely missing something. I think it would have been a little better had the setting been different. I don't know if that's the something I'm referring to though.
I enjoyed reading about Jeremy and Katy but the writing felt a bit clunky a points. The BDSM was entertaining but once again I just feel like the setting was off. I think if you just want an easy read though, this wouldn't be bad.
crystalisreading's review against another edition
2.0
OK, I'll admit it. I started reading A Matter of Manners last night, and hate-read a quarter of the book in nearly one sitting. Why hate read? Well, I kept reading because the story moved along quickly, with main characters Katy and Jeremy that were interesting and sex that was intriguing (historical BDSM romance sounded worth a try.). But I hated myself for it because the writing itself was bad and distracting and slightly disturbing--full of awkward turns of phrase and factual inaccuracies, as well as things that just didn't make sense.
But even my hate-reading has limits. About 28% of the way through the book, I hit a section so incredibly fat-phobic it shocked me. And then I closed the book. Had this been a physical book, not on my electronic device, I would have thrown it across the room. A character is introduced who is unpleasant and abusive to those beneath her. And her size/ weight is presented less as a physical description than an additional indictment on her character.Katy says of the woman,"the fat tyrant's ass reminded her of a hay bale draped in velvet." A few paragraphs later Katy refers to the other woman's "rolls of blubber." The language is disgusting and hateful, and it was the final straw for me. I cannot read any more of this book.
But before I delete this book from my device and my life, let me lay out a few other reasons why this isn't a terrific book. I might have been tempted to go easy on the writing, since this was an advanced copy through #NetGalley, had the author not used the language she did. But she did, so here we are.
First, can we just talk about how nobility in historic England would have been addressed? I already knew this, based on my vast experience with reading Barbara Cartland novels as a teen (Hey, no one is perfect.), but just to verify, I Googled the question, "How should you address a duchess?" The VERY FIRST RESULT, courtesy of Merriam-Webster, is a thorough and thoughtful article listing all the titles of peerage in the UK, the origins of those terms, and how people with those titles should be addressed. Which is to say, that if the author had spent LESS THAN 5 MINUTES doing Google research, she would have known very well that no one would refer to the Duke and Duchess in this story as "Duke" or "Duchess". They'd be "Your Grace" or "Lady ___" or "Lord ___." Clearly the author did not do this, because the characters, from the uptight, correct butler to the humblest maid to the Duke and Duchess themselves don't seem to be able to do this consistenly.
There are also lapses in logic, anachronisms, and bizarre turns of phrase: One minute Katy is removing something from her pocket. The next minute she has nowhere to place the hairpins she removed from her hair and has to drop them on the floor. What happened to your pockets, Katy? The author also later refers to a character's "short booming voice"; what does that even mean?
Jeremy thinks to himself that Katy tastes as delicious as lemon cheesecake when he pleasures her--a flavor description I've never heard for that area of the body before. I'm not even sure if lemon cheesecake as we know it existed at this point in history. The author also describes being served maple syrup at breakfast, apparently with oatmeal. I guess it is possible, but British breakfasts, especially for the aristocracy, were generally heavy on savory dishes like unsweetened meats and eggs, with toast on the side, not the American meals drenched in sweet syrup that we expect now and which this author describes.
I was especially put off by a scene where Katy's lips tremble when speaking of her mother's untimely death, and Jeremy is TURNED ON by that. Well, to be specific, his "c**k twitched." This is something it does at least once a page, and the reader is told about it every time. Honestly, Jeremy's penis is pretty much a third character in the story, and a very annoying and one dimensional one that nevertheless seems to control Jeremy.
I get that Jeremy is a sadist, and there's not anything particularly wrong with that between consenting adults. But his mind goes to really dark places really quickly--when he first met Katy, he marveled how she had been able to travel to England from Ireland without being raped or kidnapped or "locked in a whorehouse, forced to do things even he wouldn't inflict on a woman." Really? Really? This is where his mind immediately goes? It's creepy. As is the fact that he, by his own admission, spied on her while she slept.
So, bottom line, this book is gross and inaccurate and poorly written and made me angry. While I appreciate #NetGalley and the publisher sharing a free digital advanced copy of #AMatterofManners with me, that can't compensate for writing like this. I would not recommend this book to anyone I know, and I have zero interest in ever reading another book by this author. This is my honest opinion.
But even my hate-reading has limits. About 28% of the way through the book, I hit a section so incredibly fat-phobic it shocked me. And then I closed the book. Had this been a physical book, not on my electronic device, I would have thrown it across the room. A character is introduced who is unpleasant and abusive to those beneath her. And her size/ weight is presented less as a physical description than an additional indictment on her character.
But before I delete this book from my device and my life, let me lay out a few other reasons why this isn't a terrific book. I might have been tempted to go easy on the writing, since this was an advanced copy through #NetGalley, had the author not used the language she did. But she did, so here we are.
First, can we just talk about how nobility in historic England would have been addressed? I already knew this, based on my vast experience with reading Barbara Cartland novels as a teen (Hey, no one is perfect.), but just to verify, I Googled the question, "How should you address a duchess?" The VERY FIRST RESULT, courtesy of Merriam-Webster, is a thorough and thoughtful article listing all the titles of peerage in the UK, the origins of those terms, and how people with those titles should be addressed. Which is to say, that if the author had spent LESS THAN 5 MINUTES doing Google research, she would have known very well that no one would refer to the Duke and Duchess in this story as "Duke" or "Duchess". They'd be "Your Grace" or "Lady ___" or "Lord ___." Clearly the author did not do this, because the characters, from the uptight, correct butler to the humblest maid to the Duke and Duchess themselves don't seem to be able to do this consistenly.
There are also lapses in logic, anachronisms, and bizarre turns of phrase: One minute Katy is removing something from her pocket. The next minute she has nowhere to place the hairpins she removed from her hair and has to drop them on the floor. What happened to your pockets, Katy? The author also later refers to a character's "short booming voice"; what does that even mean?
Jeremy thinks to himself that Katy tastes as delicious as lemon cheesecake when he pleasures her--a flavor description I've never heard for that area of the body before. I'm not even sure if lemon cheesecake as we know it existed at this point in history. The author also describes being served maple syrup at breakfast, apparently with oatmeal. I guess it is possible, but British breakfasts, especially for the aristocracy, were generally heavy on savory dishes like unsweetened meats and eggs, with toast on the side, not the American meals drenched in sweet syrup that we expect now and which this author describes.
I was especially put off by a scene where Katy's lips tremble when speaking of her mother's untimely death, and Jeremy is TURNED ON by that. Well, to be specific, his "c**k twitched." This is something it does at least once a page, and the reader is told about it every time. Honestly, Jeremy's penis is pretty much a third character in the story, and a very annoying and one dimensional one that nevertheless seems to control Jeremy.
I get that Jeremy is a sadist, and there's not anything particularly wrong with that between consenting adults. But his mind goes to really dark places really quickly--when he first met Katy, he marveled how she had been able to travel to England from Ireland without being raped or kidnapped or "locked in a whorehouse, forced to do things even he wouldn't inflict on a woman." Really? Really? This is where his mind immediately goes? It's creepy. As is the fact that he, by his own admission, spied on her while she slept.
So, bottom line, this book is gross and inaccurate and poorly written and made me angry. While I appreciate #NetGalley and the publisher sharing a free digital advanced copy of #AMatterofManners with me, that can't compensate for writing like this. I would not recommend this book to anyone I know, and I have zero interest in ever reading another book by this author. This is my honest opinion.
jillmlong's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting story. It has suspense, intrigue, BDSM but not much romance. The plot made me keep turning the pages but I felt something was missing...the connection between the Duke and Duchess. I just didn't feel the chemistry or love between them. The entire relationship felt one sided, which was the Duke's side. I didn't feel what the Duchess was getting from this relationship.
I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
bandherbooks's review against another edition
3.0
A Duke who believes he is sterile keeps on the pregnant Irish woman who he finds out was married to him by proxy. He's insistent he'll never touch her but their blazing chemistry land them in bed and the Duke discovers Katy is definitely into his sadistic nature.
An erotic historical with a lot of steam, but please see the CW below for more info if needed.
CW: Katy has a miscarriage on page. The Duke finds out he is not sterile and they go on to have many children.
An erotic historical with a lot of steam, but please see the CW below for more info if needed.
CW: Katy has a miscarriage on page. The Duke finds out he is not sterile and they go on to have many children.
bandherbooks's review
3.0
A Duke who believes he is sterile keeps on the pregnant Irish woman who he finds out was married to him by proxy. He's insistent he'll never touch her but their blazing chemistry land them in bed and the Duke discovers Katy is definitely into his sadistic nature.
An erotic historical with a lot of steam, but please see the CW below for more info if needed.
CW: Katy has a miscarriage on page. The Duke finds out he is not sterile and they go on to have many children.
An erotic historical with a lot of steam, but please see the CW below for more info if needed.
CW: Katy has a miscarriage on page. The Duke finds out he is not sterile and they go on to have many children.
More...