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lifeinthebooklane's review
2.0
Thank you to Netgalley for an arc of this book, which I also read as part of a buddy read with my Dark Erotica girls. Well where to start! I'd seen the chat around the previous books and was impressed enough to want to find out more about this author. Sadly it seems that this isn't one of her better offerings. I'm not sure whether I would have rather read her other work first, so at least I would feel more confident with reading her work again, or am glad I didn't set my hopes to high for a spectacular end to the series, which we definitely didn't get!
At the 70% mark I found myself questioning when something of any real note was going to happen. At the 80% mark we get the one and only sex scene, and it's rather "one-and-done" at that. By 90% I was wondering how the solving of who was out to get our poor heroine, Felicity, would be approached. Well the answer to that last one was rushed, badly and lacking in all credibility. Though given the whole "disfigured hero who underwent facial reconstruction surgery" plotline, I should have expected further suspension of belief to be necessary. You would have thought that with not much happening at least the characters would be really well portrayed, but yet again I was disappointed. They were bland, underdeveloped and easily forgettable.
The plot had all the bones of a great story but nothing, not one damn thing, was fully explored and there felt to be very little, if any, cohesion between the separate story elements. What resulted was a plodding, disjointed, and too far fetched story. There were the pieces of information that led absolutely nowhere. Links between scenarios were missing, imagine my surprise when a conversation between two characters seemed to expect me to know that Mrs Winterton was , yet the only previous mention of this had been that she was "suffering the gastric effects of a poorly cooked fish stew"
The cherry on the cake came in the form of the stories resolution - namely who was out to get Felicity. To describe it as "out of left field" would be an understatement in fact it allows me to throw the phrase "deus ex machina" into a review. And it wasn't done well. Not only was there zero foreshadowing, the whole thing was revealed, concluded and nicely wrapped up within the span of a few pages. Based on feedback from friends, I would still read this author's work in the future. I have nothing to compare to, but their view is that this isn't reflective of the usual quality of Kerrigan Byrne's work and I respect their opinion enough to believe them.
At the 70% mark I found myself questioning when something of any real note was going to happen. At the 80% mark we get the one and only sex scene, and it's rather "one-and-done" at that. By 90% I was wondering how the solving of who was out to get our poor heroine, Felicity, would be approached. Well the answer to that last one was rushed, badly and lacking in all credibility. Though given the whole "disfigured hero who underwent facial reconstruction surgery" plotline, I should have expected further suspension of belief to be necessary. You would have thought that with not much happening at least the characters would be really well portrayed, but yet again I was disappointed. They were bland, underdeveloped and easily forgettable.
The plot had all the bones of a great story but nothing, not one damn thing, was fully explored and there felt to be very little, if any, cohesion between the separate story elements. What resulted was a plodding, disjointed, and too far fetched story. There were the pieces of information that led absolutely nowhere
Spoiler
for instance all the hints about Marco and whether he was behind the attacks and the needless dead end of the families former solicitorSpoiler
seriously ill in hospital as the result of poisoningThe cherry on the cake came in the form of the stories resolution - namely who was out to get Felicity. To describe it as "out of left field" would be an understatement in fact it allows me to throw the phrase "deus ex machina" into a review. And it wasn't done well. Not only was there zero foreshadowing, the whole thing was revealed, concluded and nicely wrapped up within the span of a few pages. Based on feedback from friends, I would still read this author's work in the future. I have nothing to compare to, but their view is that this isn't reflective of the usual quality of Kerrigan Byrne's work and I respect their opinion enough to believe them.
selin_1704's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
420blazeit's review
2.0
this had the whole "he was actually watching her the whole time" trope, and im not sure how i feel about it. in this case, i did end up liking it. i still don't understand why felicity hired gabriel to be her personal guard on the spot, but hell it was the 1800s so what do i know. to sum it up this was very short, as were the rest of the good girl books so i knew what i was getting into, but you know disregarding the length, i still liked mercy and raphael a bit more, felicity was just way too sheltered, which didn't really make sense. it was said that bc of her bad eyesight the other sisters sheltered her but honestly... what kind of a reason is that?? like get her glasses lmaooo. also, the introduction of the hidden goode family in order to write more books was gracefully done, so i did get invested in the rest of the siblings immediately. i do have to say that i feel like it isn't byrne's fault that these books are short? i mean maybe she really is writing such short books, but why do i feel like its the publisher that wants that and not her... anyway after i finish the next good book, im going to try her other longer books, i feel like there at least some semblance of a plot in those.
duanur's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
leafonthewind's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
kswatton's review
3.0
Loved this but the ending seemed rushed. Felicity and Gabriel are a great couple finding each other and just allowing themselves to be together in the moment.
Although as soon as Mercy appeared everything was rushed to the ending. Felt like a convient way of opening up for another series of books with the twist that wasn't hinted at in any way in any other of the Goode girl books. You'd think that the behaviour of _____ would have hinted something.....how had _____ done that and not been discovered???
But o my Gabriels declaration of love in front of the whole family! Poor him! All he wants is felicity and he gets all of them!
Although as soon as Mercy appeared everything was rushed to the ending. Felt like a convient way of opening up for another series of books with the twist that wasn't hinted at in any way in any other of the Goode girl books. You'd think that the behaviour of _____ would have hinted something.....how had _____ done that and not been discovered???
But o my Gabriels declaration of love in front of the whole family! Poor him! All he wants is felicity and he gets all of them!
melledotca's review
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. The fourth in the Goode Girls series, and these characters have the highest stakes in terms of their own issues getting in the way of life and happiness. Felicity is a bluestocking, with what would be diagnosed today as a severe anxiety disorder, neither of which lend themselves to making one the belle of any balls. Which is fine with her. Gabriel has had a life filled with pain, trauma, and disfigurement, so neither knows how or has much interest in fitting in with society or wooing the ladies.
This one leaned a bit hard on the he/she couldn't possibly want ME/I'm not worthy trope, but at the same time, neither of them has had much reason to develop confidence socially or romantically. Once the romance arrives, that dynamic improves, and there's a much needed element of playfulness that comes into it. Also, though, that initially Felicity hires Gabriel as a bodyguard almost literally sight unseen, without bothering to try and find out anything about him, also stretches credulity, but we'll go with "romance reasons".
The (sub)plot behind the threats against Felicity do tie – sort of – into existing information through the series, but the big reveal at the end was pretty out of left field, and again, Felicity's immediate acceptance made it feel far too neat. But it quite obviously it set up several several more books for the series, and indeed it looks like four more are coming, now that we're past the original Goode sisters. It felt like the series was supposed to end, and then the author got an idea.
Not my favourite of the series, but solid enough to keep reading. There's be a fair bit of new character introductions and world building, I suspect, in the coming stories.
This one leaned a bit hard on the he/she couldn't possibly want ME/I'm not worthy trope, but at the same time, neither of them has had much reason to develop confidence socially or romantically. Once the romance arrives, that dynamic improves, and there's a much needed element of playfulness that comes into it. Also, though, that initially Felicity hires Gabriel as a bodyguard almost literally sight unseen, without bothering to try and find out anything about him, also stretches credulity, but we'll go with "romance reasons".
The (sub)plot behind the threats against Felicity do tie – sort of – into existing information through the series, but the big reveal at the end was pretty out of left field, and again, Felicity's immediate acceptance made it feel far too neat. But it quite obviously it set up several several more books for the series, and indeed it looks like four more are coming, now that we're past the original Goode sisters. It felt like the series was supposed to end, and then the author got an idea.
Not my favourite of the series, but solid enough to keep reading. There's be a fair bit of new character introductions and world building, I suspect, in the coming stories.
always_anxious's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely not as much steam as the other books I’ve read by this author but still, very enjoyable read ! As always, it ended far too quickly for my liking.