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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-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
I didn't like Rafe and Clio as much as the couple in the first book, but I still enjoyed their story for the most part. I also liked the secondary characters in the first book more, mainly because most of them were designed to be unlikeable in this book. That being said, this was still a fairly quick read and it held my attention the entire way through.
A cute book with the type of strong lead heroine that I've come to expect to find in Tessa Dare's writing. Clio has been waiting eight long years for Piers to finally get around to actually marrying her after they became engaged when she was only eighteen. For whatever reason Piers never bothers to take any time to explain why he cannot marry her, so Clio becomes more and more convinced that he doesn't truly want to get married. She has finally decided that she is done waiting for him. She is going to break the engagement. Unfortunately, in order to make that happen she needs the signature of Piers's brother, Brandon, an unconventional aristocrat who has turned to the boxing ring to make his living, making him the subject of much gossip in the ton. Brandon wants to keep Clio from breaking her engagement to his brother for reasons that I am still hazy about after finishing the book. It turns out that Brandon is the one who truly loves Clio, and all his work to show Clio why she should marry Piers is actually showing Brandon exactly why he is the one who loves her. Complications ensue. That's the story. It was enjoyable, but I wouldn't say that it stood out from other stories in this genre. I may not have been in the right mood to appreciate it, though, so others may find much to love. There were so many scenes that I know were meant to seem funny or quirky, but they felt forced to me ... maybe a little too slapstick. On a different day I may I have felt differently, but it just didn't work for me today. Three stars. I liked it.
Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads
Blog rating: B+
Clio Whitmore has been the butt of jokes with the ton for 8 years. Nicknamed “Wait-more”, she’s the girl who’s engaged to a man who’s made her wait for eight, long years while he’s been off working, or doing who knows what. Clio’s tired of it and after inheriting a castle, she’s decided to take hold of her life and start to do things for herself. No more waiting for Clio “Wait-more”, she has huge plans to start a brewery at her new castle, but she just needs one simple signature to get things started. She needs Rafe, her fiancé’s brother, to sign the papers ending their engagement. With Piers unable to attend to his business at home, Rafe has the power to sign for him, but he refuses and Clio needs to convince him to do it. Rafe has other plans that include getting the long awaited wedding planned just in time for Piers’s return. But Clio has had feelings for Rafe since they were young. What she doesn’t know is that Rafe has felt the same way but his feelings about his own worth, never having the approval of his father, and never being as good as his brother, weigh heavy on him. He’s convinced himself he’s just a brute, a prize fighter who has nothing to offer Clio. So he’s determined she get what she deserves, a good, solid man in his brother. Clio, however, disagrees.
I enjoyed this story quite a bit, although I will admit that it took me to about the midway point before it became a ‘can’t put it down’ book. It does take a little bit for the story to pick up speed, but once Clio and Rafe start to act on their feelings for each other, I couldn’t get enough. I loved what Clio gives Rafe: love. He’s never felt it, his family never showed it and he was basically estranged from them, especially his father. He’s never had someone love and care about him, just for him. He’s either been wanted for his fighting skills or…that’s it, in his mind. Clio has been there on the sidelines of his life for years and never let him completely slip away. She wrote him many letters, sent him many invitations, none of which he responded to, but the act stuck with him. He tries to resist her but once he’s in, he’s not letting her go for anything.
For Clio, gah, my heart went out to her. To be the joke for so long, to be kept waiting and waiting, I loved that she finally had enough and she made real plans for her future. She knows going into the brewery business, and being a woman, isn’t going to be easy at all. But she’s smart, she’s studied hard and without the support of her family, save her adorably awkward younger sister, she’s had to believe in herself because no one else has. But Rafe listens to her, he respects her and she’s desperate for that in her life. Add in the fact that she wants Rafe, period. She wants him in her life, she wants him as her husband, business partner, she just wants him and I loved seeing her get everything she wanted after being pushed to the side for so long.
Rafe and Clio have some sexy scenes together. Clio has never been kissed before Rafe does the honors (I hated Piers a little more just for that fact alone), and Clio wants to be wicked – Rafe has no problems with that and they have some very wicked scenes together that had me grinning! There are fun supporting characters introduced, namely Clio’s sisters, her youngest sister Phoebe stole my heart with her big, supersized brain, her awkwardness around people and what’s considered proper conversation and what’s not. I can only hope to get a story about her in the future. And then there’s Piers, the absent fiancé who does eventually return and his reasons made me go from hating him to being interested. We don’t get a lot of details about what exactly Piers has been up to for the past eight years, but it’s enough to have me wondering if it was a setup for him being the hero in an upcoming book. I’m intrigued to say the least.
But the story is all about Rafe and Clio and their romance that I adored. After a slightly slow start, I couldn’t get enough of these two once they got together and the sparks starting flying. Clio is strong and ready to live life for herself, Rafe is tortured and convinced he’s a man not worthy of Clio and together is when they both came alive, in life and on page.
Blog rating: B+
Clio Whitmore has been the butt of jokes with the ton for 8 years. Nicknamed “Wait-more”, she’s the girl who’s engaged to a man who’s made her wait for eight, long years while he’s been off working, or doing who knows what. Clio’s tired of it and after inheriting a castle, she’s decided to take hold of her life and start to do things for herself. No more waiting for Clio “Wait-more”, she has huge plans to start a brewery at her new castle, but she just needs one simple signature to get things started. She needs Rafe, her fiancé’s brother, to sign the papers ending their engagement. With Piers unable to attend to his business at home, Rafe has the power to sign for him, but he refuses and Clio needs to convince him to do it. Rafe has other plans that include getting the long awaited wedding planned just in time for Piers’s return. But Clio has had feelings for Rafe since they were young. What she doesn’t know is that Rafe has felt the same way but his feelings about his own worth, never having the approval of his father, and never being as good as his brother, weigh heavy on him. He’s convinced himself he’s just a brute, a prize fighter who has nothing to offer Clio. So he’s determined she get what she deserves, a good, solid man in his brother. Clio, however, disagrees.
I enjoyed this story quite a bit, although I will admit that it took me to about the midway point before it became a ‘can’t put it down’ book. It does take a little bit for the story to pick up speed, but once Clio and Rafe start to act on their feelings for each other, I couldn’t get enough. I loved what Clio gives Rafe: love. He’s never felt it, his family never showed it and he was basically estranged from them, especially his father. He’s never had someone love and care about him, just for him. He’s either been wanted for his fighting skills or…that’s it, in his mind. Clio has been there on the sidelines of his life for years and never let him completely slip away. She wrote him many letters, sent him many invitations, none of which he responded to, but the act stuck with him. He tries to resist her but once he’s in, he’s not letting her go for anything.
For Clio, gah, my heart went out to her. To be the joke for so long, to be kept waiting and waiting, I loved that she finally had enough and she made real plans for her future. She knows going into the brewery business, and being a woman, isn’t going to be easy at all. But she’s smart, she’s studied hard and without the support of her family, save her adorably awkward younger sister, she’s had to believe in herself because no one else has. But Rafe listens to her, he respects her and she’s desperate for that in her life. Add in the fact that she wants Rafe, period. She wants him in her life, she wants him as her husband, business partner, she just wants him and I loved seeing her get everything she wanted after being pushed to the side for so long.
Rafe and Clio have some sexy scenes together. Clio has never been kissed before Rafe does the honors (I hated Piers a little more just for that fact alone), and Clio wants to be wicked – Rafe has no problems with that and they have some very wicked scenes together that had me grinning! There are fun supporting characters introduced, namely Clio’s sisters, her youngest sister Phoebe stole my heart with her big, supersized brain, her awkwardness around people and what’s considered proper conversation and what’s not. I can only hope to get a story about her in the future. And then there’s Piers, the absent fiancé who does eventually return and his reasons made me go from hating him to being interested. We don’t get a lot of details about what exactly Piers has been up to for the past eight years, but it’s enough to have me wondering if it was a setup for him being the hero in an upcoming book. I’m intrigued to say the least.
But the story is all about Rafe and Clio and their romance that I adored. After a slightly slow start, I couldn’t get enough of these two once they got together and the sparks starting flying. Clio is strong and ready to live life for herself, Rafe is tortured and convinced he’s a man not worthy of Clio and together is when they both came alive, in life and on page.
Quite random alright, but a good break on a warm Sunday afternoon.
It took me a little bit to get into the story, but once I did I really liked the characters. I thought they were great together.
rafe brandon well and truly earned the title of lord pain-upon-arse
the saving grace of this book was tessa dare’s unparalleled sense of humour and overall exuberant and cute energy in her stories. for this reason i don’t think i’ve ever given a TD anything under three stars (and hopefully never have to) unless there’s something seriously wrong
the saving grace of this book was tessa dare’s unparalleled sense of humour and overall exuberant and cute energy in her stories. for this reason i don’t think i’ve ever given a TD anything under three stars (and hopefully never have to) unless there’s something seriously wrong
entertaining enough but flat compared to the innovation of the first in this series.