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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Roger Ebert has written frequently about the problem with a five star rating system, and this is the kind of book that really touches on it. Can I compare this with other books I've given four stars, like [b:Howard's End|6322150|Howard's End|Peter van Onselen|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328840744s/6322150.jpg|6507583] or [b:The Year of Magical Thinking|7815|The Year of Magical Thinking|Joan Didion|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327878638s/7815.jpg|1659905]?
Not really. But it's one of the most enjoyable straight-up romances I've read--I liked the characters, the problems keeping the characters apart fit in with the plot and their characters, and things kept moving and changing, so it wasn't just the same misunderstanding happening over and over again. This was a four star romance.
Not really. But it's one of the most enjoyable straight-up romances I've read--I liked the characters, the problems keeping the characters apart fit in with the plot and their characters, and things kept moving and changing, so it wasn't just the same misunderstanding happening over and over again. This was a four star romance.
When Elissande and Lord Vere meet, she is trapped with her sickly aunt in her tyrannical Uncles' house and he is pretending to be a total idiot as part of a persona he adopted years ago to conceal his work as a government agent looking into her uncles' past. Not an auspicious start. After an initial attraction, they are both strongly repelled, she by his idiocy and he by the fact that she is clearly willing to what it takes to get herself out of her situation, including trapping someone who repels her into marriage. I fond the overall set-up and their respective characters very compelling and the chemistry between them is very strong - they are a clear match for each other and the stakes are pretty high. Elissande's slow discovery that her newly acquired husband is no fool at all is very well done.
On the less positive side, the side romance is not particularly compelling and felt superfluous. More importantly, over the course of the book I got increasingly frustrated with Vere who cannot seem to move past Elissande's initial ploy, despite being increasingly aware of how desperate the situation that drove her to this was. To her credit, Sherry Thomas pulls off the final twist on this extremely well, and once Vere comes to his own realisation that his reaction to Elissande is mainly based on the fact that it makes him face the fact that he has been deceiving the people closest to him for over a decade, he does well to redeem himself. But at that point, I had spent quite a lot of time being frustrated ;)
On the less positive side, the side romance is not particularly compelling and felt superfluous. More importantly, over the course of the book I got increasingly frustrated with Vere who cannot seem to move past Elissande's initial ploy, despite being increasingly aware of how desperate the situation that drove her to this was. To her credit, Sherry Thomas pulls off the final twist on this extremely well, and once Vere comes to his own realisation that his reaction to Elissande is mainly based on the fact that it makes him face the fact that he has been deceiving the people closest to him for over a decade, he does well to redeem himself. But at that point, I had spent quite a lot of time being frustrated ;)
There were aspects to this that absolutely didn't work for me, and aspects that I absolutely loved.
I appreciate that he recognizes how royally he fucked up..and yet, with no grovel, I am completely unfulfilled.
What really kills it for me is their wedding night...he arouses her just to literally stab her with his penis...and neither of them orgasm? Wow cool use her burgeoning sexuality and desperate need for physical affection against her. Awesome
What really kills it for me is their wedding night...he arouses her just to literally stab her with his penis...and neither of them orgasm? Wow cool use her burgeoning sexuality and desperate need for physical affection against her. Awesome
I really liked this and thought the story and writing were so clever. The last third after the MMC figures out what it is that the FMC is trying to do is really well done, though it also leads into my one issue with the book — that the FMC has to suffer for too long! It should have been immediately clear to an AGENT OF THE CROWN that she was suffering from abuse at home — she's not that sophisticated a liar! — but the fact that the MMC takes forever to figure that out and finally be empathetic to her plight took the wind out of my sails a bit.
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-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
A professional idiot, who uses a fool as his public persona to allow him to investigate cases for the Crown, and a woman desperate to escape her manipulative uncle who has been taking advantage of her for years, make for a couple less than honest with each other.
The two are very attracted to one another from their first meeting, and find themselves forced to marry after Elissande's attempts and Vere's curiosity. Both of them hold on to their secrets for too long and have a long way to go before they can forgive each other and themselves and reach their happily ever after.
An interesting story that I would have liked more had I not been so frustrated with both of them at times.
The two are very attracted to one another from their first meeting, and find themselves forced to marry after Elissande's attempts and Vere's curiosity. Both of them hold on to their secrets for too long and have a long way to go before they can forgive each other and themselves and reach their happily ever after.
An interesting story that I would have liked more had I not been so frustrated with both of them at times.
The best kind of escapist cheese - much needed despite the shame of 1) the grossest book cover ever and 2) what an easy target for ridicule I became among my significantly more literary friends (you know who you are). Next up: Gail Carriger, I'm on my way!
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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