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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
fast-paced
unfortunately, my quest for a 5 star historical romance continues.
there was nothing exceedingly wrong with this book.
i am not sure how to express how i feel towards it.
we have Stella, a short, curvy red head with freckles and glasses and a love for reading and keeping up with current events. clearly, all these qualities make her unwanted by most men out on the marriage circuit for the season. Stella has an overbearing Aunt who is worried about her virtue, and Stella is perfectly
fine to die an old maid if it means she isn’t forced to marry a man who doesn’t love her. additionally, we have Silvester who… wants to marry for love and…. to be honest i’m not quite sure what his desires in life are he’s a duke. Silvester has his eye on his friend Lady Yasmin, they have a good relationship and he’s convinced he loves her. Stella is attracted to Silvester but knows that his affections lie elsewhere. Despite all this, they end up growing closer and closer.
i think i just got so fucking bored of hearing about fucking yasmin. like. jesus christ it got so annoying. like every fucking page was Stella saying she knew Silvester still loved Yasmin and was his second choice and blah blah blah… like there were a lot of moments that were good in this book but it felt so upsetting to read 400 pages where everyone is pretending it’s so clear that the duke loves yasmin when it was so clear that he actually just liked her as a friend. both he and stella were very oblivious and dumb.
he literally was like “i want stella so bad it hurts and i can’t let anyone else have her and i want to spend all my time with her… i didn’t feel this way about yasmin… so i must not actually love stella i must just want to fuck her”
like hello????? anyway. it was enjoyable at times and exceedingly frustrating at others.
thanks avon for the ARC though!!!!!
there was nothing exceedingly wrong with this book.
i am not sure how to express how i feel towards it.
we have Stella, a short, curvy red head with freckles and glasses and a love for reading and keeping up with current events. clearly, all these qualities make her unwanted by most men out on the marriage circuit for the season. Stella has an overbearing Aunt who is worried about her virtue, and Stella is perfectly
fine to die an old maid if it means she isn’t forced to marry a man who doesn’t love her. additionally, we have Silvester who… wants to marry for love and…. to be honest i’m not quite sure what his desires in life are he’s a duke. Silvester has his eye on his friend Lady Yasmin, they have a good relationship and he’s convinced he loves her. Stella is attracted to Silvester but knows that his affections lie elsewhere. Despite all this, they end up growing closer and closer.
i think i just got so fucking bored of hearing about fucking yasmin. like. jesus christ it got so annoying. like every fucking page was Stella saying she knew Silvester still loved Yasmin and was his second choice and blah blah blah… like there were a lot of moments that were good in this book but it felt so upsetting to read 400 pages where everyone is pretending it’s so clear that the duke loves yasmin when it was so clear that he actually just liked her as a friend. both he and stella were very oblivious and dumb.
he literally was like “i want stella so bad it hurts and i can’t let anyone else have her and i want to spend all my time with her… i didn’t feel this way about yasmin… so i must not actually love stella i must just want to fuck her”
like hello????? anyway. it was enjoyable at times and exceedingly frustrating at others.
thanks avon for the ARC though!!!!!
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thank you so much to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Stella was raised by her aunt and uncle who are disappointed in her lifelong love of knowledge, her red hair, and her spectacles. She seen by the ton as an awkward girl and longs to fit in. Silvester is a duke and is interested in Stella only as a friend because his sights are set on someone else. Eventually he realizes he and Stella could be a good match.
This is the 3rd book in the series and after that disclaimer at the beginning of the book, the author notes it isn't necessary to read the others in the series. I disagree. The girl Silvester pursues for most of the book is the main female character from Book 2 in the series. This book takes place at the same time just from a different perspective. A large portion of the book focuses on whether this belle of the season will choose Silvester and how Stella wishes she were Silvester's first choice. As a result, it was distracting from the story between Stella and Silvester so his about face in choosing Stella felt unnatural. I never felt super invested in the story but I think fans of this author and the series will enjoy this book.
Stella was raised by her aunt and uncle who are disappointed in her lifelong love of knowledge, her red hair, and her spectacles. She seen by the ton as an awkward girl and longs to fit in. Silvester is a duke and is interested in Stella only as a friend because his sights are set on someone else. Eventually he realizes he and Stella could be a good match.
This is the 3rd book in the series and after that disclaimer at the beginning of the book, the author notes it isn't necessary to read the others in the series. I disagree. The girl Silvester pursues for most of the book is the main female character from Book 2 in the series. This book takes place at the same time just from a different perspective. A large portion of the book focuses on whether this belle of the season will choose Silvester and how Stella wishes she were Silvester's first choice. As a result, it was distracting from the story between Stella and Silvester so his about face in choosing Stella felt unnatural. I never felt super invested in the story but I think fans of this author and the series will enjoy this book.
Where is the charm of When the Beauty Tamed the Beast?..
And the first part annoyed me so much. Then I realized that Lady Yasmin and the Earl are from book 2 in the series and it made me not to want to read their story ngl.
And then the whole insta-switch? I don't know, not a fan.
And the first part annoyed me so much. Then I realized that Lady Yasmin and the Earl are from book 2 in the series and it made me not to want to read their story ngl.
And then the whole insta-switch? I don't know, not a fan.
I am so over hearing about Lydia and Yasmin! This book focuses on how the heroine is the hero's second choice and only married her because of lust--The first 1/3 of this book is a rehash of the previous book, no chemistry and unconvincing hero professing that Stella really is the love of his life without any real feeling.
3.5 stars
Stella and Silvester are friends, they enjoy each others company and Stella secretly lusts after him but since she is short, curvy, freckled, spectacled and a redhead she's always been told she's inferior so she doesn't believe Silvester would ever consider her especially since he's courting someone else.
These 2 spend the first half of the book focused on other people and the last half disbelieving that the other person actually has feelings for them.
The cat was cute though and Stella got more interesting towards the end but Silvester was pretty much one note through out.
Stella and Silvester are friends, they enjoy each others company and Stella secretly lusts after him but since she is short, curvy, freckled, spectacled and a redhead she's always been told she's inferior so she doesn't believe Silvester would ever consider her especially since he's courting someone else.
These 2 spend the first half of the book focused on other people and the last half disbelieving that the other person actually has feelings for them.
The cat was cute though and Stella got more interesting towards the end but Silvester was pretty much one note through out.
Wow!! I know to have high expectations of Eloisa James but the character in this one are just amazing! I loved both Stella and the Dowager Duchess of Huntington immediately! I liked how they were similar but not exactly the same. I also liked Sylvester. What a lovable dummy. Not that he’s not smart just not great at the whole figuring out who he’s in love with thing. Specs is also a great addition to this book! Finally this book does such a great job with building up sexual tension. Stella is thinking about licking his neck almost immediately and it doesn’t happen for quite awhile. I was hooked! It’s a pleasure to see Stella get her HEA and I’m really curious to see where this series will go next. Do we think Lydia will get a redemption arc?
A solid historical romance. Engaging enough that I wanted to read it, but I don't really care about the characters or reading more from this author unless something really jumps out at me.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wanted to like this book, but there were a few missing moments for me. I strongly disliked the other woman drama, and it put me off from the beginning. The moment of Silvester's change happens off the page, he disappears feeling one way and then reappears feeling differently. His whole way of knowing he loves Stella is just to compare his feelings against another woman, not his feelings for her on their own, and Stella seemed to accept being second best!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content