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wildfaeriecaps's review
5.0
This was everything I wanted. I literally freaking chortled at some of the banter and had to read it aloud to my partner. Susanna Craig can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned with her romances. Gabriel was the right amount of rake and gentleman and Cami? She is everything. I love her.
lassarina's review
4.0
This was charming and sweet, and a little bit of spice to balance it out. Cami is stubborn and spirited without being irritatingly divorced from reality and consequences; Ash hurt my heart with how he had internalized the damage everyone else has done to him. The "we shouldn't" lasted long enough to be realistic without dragging down into a bunch of will they-won't they (when the answer is obvious because genre). I really liked the supporting characters, Felicity and Foxy in particular. I liked how Cami's interest in, and devotion to, Irish politics and identity was ever-present but not such a singular defining trait that it because caricature; this was true of Ash as well, and Foxy, and Felicity. Overall delightful, and I think I will read more by this author.
boekenworm's review against another edition
3.0
I received this novel via Netgalley and enjoyed it. The story is a bit different from your run of the mill historical romance as next to the romance it gives us a little bit of history about the Irish uprising. Camilla is a strong heroine who is writing a novel and trying to gain her independence through publishing the novel. The hero Gabriel has never been loved and thinks he is not deserving love and wants to settle for an arranged marriage with Camilla's cousin Felicity. Garbiel's reputation within in the ton is that of a rake and Camilla is trying to do her upmost to discourage the marriage between Gabriel and Felicity. What follows is witty exchanges between Camilla and Gabriel and through these exchanges, they start to find a new respect for each other. Camilla has to travel back home to Ireland when an uprising breaks out and her brothers are in danger. Garbiel comes to her rescue and the romance grows. The end seemed a little rushed. I also always like to read an epilogue in my historical romances. However the next book seems to promise a little more of Camilla and Gabriel's story..
nononanette's review
3.0
it was spotty but still managed to have depth and good character development.
emheartsbooks's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
rednikki's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was slow-paced...perhaps a little too slow-paced. Knowing what I do of the history of this time versus how it is portrayed, this very much minimized some of the difficult things that happened. And it immersed you enough in the time and made the characters vivid enough that I felt more uncomfortable with the minimization than I would have with a book that just used the setting as window-dressing. That's the reason that, despite the excellent writing and character development, it didn't quite work for me.
thekuster's review
4.0
3.75* It's been a long time since I read a historical romance novel as innocuous as [b:The Companion's Secret|35638967|The Companion's Secret (Rogues and Rebels, #1)|Susanna Craig|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1545023640l/35638967._SY75_.jpg|57089595] and I don't say that as a slight at all. Romance novels, despite how much I enjoy them, often require a suspension of disbelief greater than fantasy novels (for me at least) simply for the premise of the romantic setup. Not to mention patience and tolerance for male/female protagonists that suddenly become illogical, childish and inconsistent just for the sake of a complication and situations where a simple lapse in communication can result in ridiculous assumptions and often, the "last hurdle" before reaching "happily ever after".
All that to say, this narrative did not contain any of my regular complaints stated above. Cami and Lord Ash were both consistent and likable protagonists, although Lord Ash's qualities were more often told and not shown. (Aside from Lord Ash's opening scene in a gambling hall - there really was no evidence that he was a devilish, heavy gambling rake.) The narrative was believable and did not resort of any incredulous situations and the reasoning behind all their actions were honestly, the most logical I've read in a while!
So why not even a full 4 stars then? Well, the ending and main conflict for Lord Ash cleaned up much too easily which was both anticlimactic and served to make the previous chapters of build-up and tension seems frivolous. There were of course perfectly reasonable explanations, but again - it seems like we're falling into the trap of telling and not showing.
Regardless, this book has revived my interest in historical romances and I will most likely pick up the next installments when I'm feeling like a light and breezy read.
All that to say, this narrative did not contain any of my regular complaints stated above. Cami and Lord Ash were both consistent and likable protagonists, although Lord Ash's qualities were more often told and not shown. (Aside from Lord Ash's opening scene in a gambling hall - there really was no evidence that he was a devilish, heavy gambling rake.) The narrative was believable and did not resort of any incredulous situations and the reasoning behind all their actions were honestly, the most logical I've read in a while!
So why not even a full 4 stars then? Well, the ending and main conflict for Lord Ash cleaned up much too easily which was both anticlimactic and served to make the previous chapters of build-up and tension seems frivolous. There were of course perfectly reasonable explanations, but again - it seems like we're falling into the trap of telling and not showing.
Regardless, this book has revived my interest in historical romances and I will most likely pick up the next installments when I'm feeling like a light and breezy read.