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junjun10's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
So good! Author had such a good grasp of how to depict autism, and wrote the time period so well while also maintaining an interesting plot and cast side by side with the developing romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Ableism and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
cluckieduck's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This started off so promising, but I’m left feeling disappointed with the turn it took. The story & characters hooked me right in through the first few chapters, but overall it lacked the substance I look for in a romance.
I didn’t think Ian & Beth were developed enough or had enough chemistry, and their sex scenes were very basic and almost…off putting in their monotony.
Sad to say it just fell a bit flat overall and I think it’s a 2.5 ⭐️ read for me.
I didn’t think Ian & Beth were developed enough or had enough chemistry, and their sex scenes were very basic and almost…off putting in their monotony.
Sad to say it just fell a bit flat overall and I think it’s a 2.5 ⭐️ read for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
lilyofthevalley_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Violence, and Death of parent
maidmarianlib's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Strong unique male lead
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Murder
fa1th_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I love this one! I have been a fan of Jennifer Ashely ever since her Below Stairs series, and having seen booktubers rave about her more famous series about the Mackenzies, I thought why not? I'm fairly new to the historical romance genre, a few that I've tried were not bad but not great either, but I think this book was a great start of the series. (And I have now realized just how much historical romances love a Scottish hero lol)
I love Ian so much. The fact that he was straightforward, blunt, honest, say what he wants and do what he wants, unafraid to be who he was, he was just a breath of fresh air. In some ways he was all-sharp-edges, and Beth, our heroine, was the absolute perfect match for him. She was rounded, kind, embracing, and she saw Ian for who he was, without all of the judgements and prejudice. The fact that in the beginning Ian could not understand Beth's jokes to the end of the story where he tried to make jokes, ah, my heart just could not handle all of this cuteness.
And I must say I really love the mystery aspect of the story as well. Coming from the Below Stairs series, I was most in love with her murder mysteries, and reading this one was just as intense and puzzling. Though the end of this 'whodunit' was a bit underwhelming. The whole plot of the book was Beth finding out what happened that night, but the ending was confusing since the murderer died off so suddenly, and we only read about pieces of what really happened through Beth's words.
Nevertheless I'm satisfied with this one, cute romance, great group of characters, fast read too. I'm most likely to pick up the next book of the series soon.
I love Ian so much. The fact that he was straightforward, blunt, honest, say what he wants and do what he wants, unafraid to be who he was, he was just a breath of fresh air. In some ways he was all-sharp-edges, and Beth, our heroine, was the absolute perfect match for him. She was rounded, kind, embracing, and she saw Ian for who he was, without all of the judgements and prejudice. The fact that in the beginning Ian could not understand Beth's jokes to the end of the story where he tried to make jokes, ah, my heart just could not handle all of this cuteness.
And I must say I really love the mystery aspect of the story as well. Coming from the Below Stairs series, I was most in love with her murder mysteries, and reading this one was just as intense and puzzling. Though the end of this 'whodunit' was a bit underwhelming. The whole plot of the book was Beth finding out what happened that night, but the ending was confusing since the murderer died off so suddenly, and we only read about pieces of what really happened through Beth's words.
Nevertheless I'm satisfied with this one, cute romance, great group of characters, fast read too. I'm most likely to pick up the next book of the series soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
militantlyromantic's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Ian has knowledge otherwise and lets her know. I'm going to set aside my issues about what Ian knows about her fiancé to talk about later, since it's one of my issues with this book. Overall, I also like Ian. Is it not really acceptable that he has his not-exactly-valet dude look into Beth before he decides to tell her what he knows? No, not really, but also, Ian's ASD is pretty darn well constructed, and even if his actions are still not particularly acceptable, within his history and the way his mind works, they're definitely understandable.
(His valet sits in that weird position that happened a lot in late 2000's romances where the main male character had a lower class valet with whom he was strangely close and allowed unusual behavior in to show that...it was okay that he was rich?? And honestly, for the most part I didn't blink much at that, because okay, sure, but it's evidently a theme with the brothers that gets pointed out repeatedly in this book, presumably for emphasis of their lack of airs, and at one point one of the brothers makes a comment about his valet being a Rom and therefore "hard to tame" that was hella uncomfortable for me.)
Anyhoodle. Ashley writes well, and Beth and Ian have great chemistry, and if you're into the sexy parts, there's a lot of that, and people assure me that it's hot. There's a mystery element to the book that as far as I can tell readers are split on, and I could care less about because I could always care less about mysteries.
The interactions between the Mackenzie family, particularly around Ian's early-life institutionalization and the reason for that, were what really drove this book for me, outside of the push-pull of Beth and Ian.
However. There's a lot of underlying WTF in this book for me. Returning back to what Ian knows about Beth's fiance, it's that he's a male sub. That is, he likes to be spanked by women. Oh, the horror. The worst part is, this isn't necessary? The guy is a spendthrift who wants to marry Beth purely for her money and that's more than enough of a reason for her not to marry him. But no, evidently he has to be a "pervert." This problem is made a bigger problem by the fact that it turns out that Ian's eldest brother, who, you know, will get his own book later, is a Sadistic Top. E.g., it's fine to be kinky, as long as you're the right KIND of kinky. How's that for some toxic masculinity for you?
Throw in there that this book has a surprise!lesbian villainess for no obvious reason--and this woman literally has no role other than to be a faceless sex worker and a murderer--and an obsessedmistress!villainess--again, having no role other than to be the older brother's masochistic sub and a murderer, and I'm like "there's, uh. A lot happening here."
It puts me at a quandary. Because if you take out the mystery element and Beth's fiance, neither of which are actually necessary for the book, weirdly enough, it's a well-written romance between two enjoyable characters with unusual representation of ASD in histrom. Except that you can't take all those out? I suppose it's kind of a "now you know, you can make your own decision."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Homophobia
briannareads1342's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Medical trauma
Minor: Alcoholism and Confinement
ashleycmms's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Torture, Violence, and Forced institutionalization