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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Any time I can imagine the love interest being played by Cary Grant, I'm gonna like it. I think the premise of this one sounds a little dumb, and it does have some cringe aspects to it. But the best parts for me are when Penny is his true self with Elisande because he's so dour and stormy. I guess you'd call that brooding but it's his anger that I enjoyed the most. He's so angry at the whole situation and being stuck with this conniving wife that actually he can't resist. And it all comes out right, as it should.
The plot is too contrived for me.
Chemistry shines when Vere dropped his idiot persona, unfortunately these scenes are few & far between.
The pacing puts me off a bit -- I thought the bits about Freddie and Angelica breaks the flow too much.
✨
lilan ♥ |
Chemistry shines when Vere dropped his idiot persona, unfortunately these scenes are few & far between.
The pacing puts me off a bit -- I thought the bits about Freddie and Angelica breaks the flow too much.
✨
lilan ♥ |
oh this started out so promising but then it went on for way too long and had a really unnecessary side romance that should've been left off for another book because frankly it was tedious and i could have cared less about it.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
what a fun little scandalous historical romance! honestly, I felt for the MMC since he was trapped in this marriage, but also the FMC was desperate and she was playing the game. some of the dialogue was a bit weird to me and that's just because this was written in like... the 1800s ?
honestly, the biggest reason I knocked this down to a 4 star is I didn't care that much about Freddie and Angelia and Vere doesn't think women should have the right to vote b/c they'll just vote what their husbands do ?? (ok buddy)
was a fun read!
honestly, the biggest reason I knocked this down to a 4 star is I didn't care that much about Freddie and Angelia and Vere doesn't think women should have the right to vote b/c they'll just vote what their husbands do ?? (ok buddy)
was a fun read!
This was my favorite of the trilogy. I have trouble with a lot of regency era romances because the heroes can be quite cruel, but this one was perfect. It had all the typical tropes of this genre, hero forced into marriage, mustache twirling villain, etc. Thomas managed to make it fun and palatable to a modern sensibility. I listened to the audio read by Kate Reading, which was fantastic.
I came in with the wrong expectations I think. I expected this to be sort of spy thriller + romance with the main couple joining forces but it really wasn't that. I didn't find it very romantic and content warnings should be heeded. The MMC was really rough and hard to like.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Murder
“I knew it!” exclaimed Lord Vere, strolling into the room. “I never forget a face or a name. You were the lead detective on the Huntleigh case.”
“The Haysleigh case.”
“That’s what I said. When Lady Haysleigh was discovered to have faked her own death in order to escape a prior marriage and marry Lord Haysleigh—and then she attempted to murder her first husband when he arrived at the Haysleigh estate.”
“That, sir, would be the plot of a Mrs. Braddon novel."
It was at this point, a bit over halfway through His at Night, that I realized exactly what I’d been puzzledly reading for about 200 pages – Sherry Thomas’ version of a Victorian sensation novel. If I hadn’t read Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s [b:Lady Audley's Secret|588747|Lady Audley's Secret|Mary Elizabeth Braddon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388692586l/588747._SY75_.jpg|1294338] and [b:Aurora Floyd|1147799|Aurora Floyd|Mary Elizabeth Braddon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1181403934l/1147799._SY75_.jpg|2728440] in recent years I’d never have put two and two together and understood what Thomas was doing, but once the penny dropped my appreciation for this novel increased quite a bit.
Sensation novels focused on subjects like adultery, robbery, disguise, revenge, kidnapping, insanity, bigamy, forgery, murder, and false identities. Almost all of these come into play in His at Night. Remove the sex scenes and almost everything in this book could have taken place in an 1860s melodrama. I have to hand it to Sherry Thomas for making the attempt! I was fascinated and kept turning the pages wanting to see what happened next. Thomas is a really good writer, and a cut above a lot of others in the genre in terms of style and intelligence.
That said, I don’t think this was totally successful as a romance novel, at least not for me. The relationship between the hero and heroine, which is the heart of any romance, wasn’t the most convincing to me given the way it started and the way the hero treated the heroine for most of the book. I also wasn’t so convinced by the hero’s “witless idiot” façade, which he put on as a cover for his work as a government agent (shades of the Scarlet Pimpernel); or at least not convinced that nobody else had figured it out in over a decade, until the heroine came along.
Also, while the secondary romance between Frederick (a side character from the second book in this trilogy, [b:Private Arrangements|2660720|Private Arrangements|Sherry Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1243615721l/2660720._SY75_.jpg|2685945]), and his childhood friend Angelica was sweet, it tended to slow down the rest of the story and feel a little bit like filler.
Overall though, I had fun reading this somewhat wacky story and had a hard time putting it down. 3.5 stars, rounded up for Thomas' homage to trashy 19th century literature.
“The Haysleigh case.”
“That’s what I said. When Lady Haysleigh was discovered to have faked her own death in order to escape a prior marriage and marry Lord Haysleigh—and then she attempted to murder her first husband when he arrived at the Haysleigh estate.”
“That, sir, would be the plot of a Mrs. Braddon novel."
It was at this point, a bit over halfway through His at Night, that I realized exactly what I’d been puzzledly reading for about 200 pages – Sherry Thomas’ version of a Victorian sensation novel. If I hadn’t read Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s [b:Lady Audley's Secret|588747|Lady Audley's Secret|Mary Elizabeth Braddon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388692586l/588747._SY75_.jpg|1294338] and [b:Aurora Floyd|1147799|Aurora Floyd|Mary Elizabeth Braddon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1181403934l/1147799._SY75_.jpg|2728440] in recent years I’d never have put two and two together and understood what Thomas was doing, but once the penny dropped my appreciation for this novel increased quite a bit.
Sensation novels focused on subjects like adultery, robbery, disguise, revenge, kidnapping, insanity, bigamy, forgery, murder, and false identities. Almost all of these come into play in His at Night. Remove the sex scenes and almost everything in this book could have taken place in an 1860s melodrama. I have to hand it to Sherry Thomas for making the attempt! I was fascinated and kept turning the pages wanting to see what happened next. Thomas is a really good writer, and a cut above a lot of others in the genre in terms of style and intelligence.
That said, I don’t think this was totally successful as a romance novel, at least not for me. The relationship between the hero and heroine, which is the heart of any romance, wasn’t the most convincing to me given the way it started and the way the hero treated the heroine for most of the book. I also wasn’t so convinced by the hero’s “witless idiot” façade, which he put on as a cover for his work as a government agent (shades of the Scarlet Pimpernel); or at least not convinced that nobody else had figured it out in over a decade, until the heroine came along.
Also, while the secondary romance between Frederick (a side character from the second book in this trilogy, [b:Private Arrangements|2660720|Private Arrangements|Sherry Thomas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1243615721l/2660720._SY75_.jpg|2685945]), and his childhood friend Angelica was sweet, it tended to slow down the rest of the story and feel a little bit like filler.
Overall though, I had fun reading this somewhat wacky story and had a hard time putting it down. 3.5 stars, rounded up for Thomas' homage to trashy 19th century literature.
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
This was different than the other ST books I have read. This didnt have a ton of moments that grabbed at your heart strings, it didnt rip them away, and it didnt leave you feeling devastated at the end. First, it was more about the journey, and the romance felt secondary to me. Especially the sex. I really liked it. Second, the two main characters, Elissande and Vere, are both pretending to be people they arent, until they are married. Then Elissande decides she must stop, and eventually she sees through Vere's character.
If you are looking for a romance that is more about basically everything else, with less graphic sex than normal romances, then this is the one for you!
If you are looking for a romance that is more about basically everything else, with less graphic sex than normal romances, then this is the one for you!
adventurous
dark
emotional
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