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wildflowerleahg's review
3.5
I find myself eating this somewhere between a 3 and a 4 star novel.
Both too long and I wanted more, this was quite an interesting experience. I was a huge fan of the first half. I know that a lot of characters and going over mundane life might bore something, but I enjoyed the writing so much.
I think what falls flat is the romance (which sucks in this instant). I loved the family elements and friendships but I have no idea why Gwen waited for this man. Second chance romance has slowly become one of my favorite tropes but it only works when they’re worth the wait.
I’ve been there’s better titles under her name so I’m going to check some other selections by this author.
Both too long and I wanted more, this was quite an interesting experience. I was a huge fan of the first half. I know that a lot of characters and going over mundane life might bore something, but I enjoyed the writing so much.
I think what falls flat is the romance (which sucks in this instant). I loved the family elements and friendships but I have no idea why Gwen waited for this man. Second chance romance has slowly become one of my favorite tropes but it only works when they’re worth the wait.
I’ve been there’s better titles under her name so I’m going to check some other selections by this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Infidelity
Moderate: Fatphobia
haley49's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really enjoyed this over the course of a long car ride. The first half was really good but the second half fell a bit flat. I didn’t understand why the mc’s fell back in love and it didn’t have the slow-burn angst I wanted. It was more miscommunication and odd pacing. However, I liked the setting of the book and how the mmc came into his development and reconciliation with his family. (Except his mom, she needed to do better) His character development was just so strong that hers was lacking and boring in comparison.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Infidelity
Moderate: Sexual content and Fatphobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, War, and Sexism
sharkbrarian's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
If you read romance to enjoy the main characters’ on-page time together, this series-opener from veteran Regency author Mary Balogh may prove to be a challenge. A significant part of this historical is devoted to setting up the premise and introducing the secondary characters that will no doubt become the pairings for Balogh’s future books. In contrast, the opening work of Balogh’s Westcott Saga, Someone to Love, was plotted out to throw Anna and Avery together frequently, making for a more satisfying romance inside the series set-up work that was being also being accomplished.
Plot choices - the hero’s decision to join the British army for several years of the timespan of the book; the attraction between them being written as a long-standing-but-unexpressed connection formed in their childhoods - mean that the reader is often being told, rather than shown, that Gwyneth and Devlin have feelings for each other. As a reader, I kept hoping for flashbacks, perhaps, or, by the end, an epilogue that would show them on-page. As a teen, Devlin thinks of Gwyneth as a ‘wild child’ (she climbs trees and rides astride in breeches) - this character trait could have been used to bring in a few more moments from their time ‘Before the Incident’ to sell their connection more convincingly to the reader.
Even understanding that they were symbolic of the values correction they represent, as Devlin ascends to his place as the head of the family, I felt I was spending a lot of time reading about organizing social events; it felt, to me, that the ‘cost’ of scenes was a lack of scenes in which the principals interact.
While I am still feeling that I will keep an eye open for Book 2 in this series (my guess is Phillipa and the Marquess of Roath - and may I put in a request, Ms. Balogh, that the Dowager Countess get a story of her own? I think that your readership would be uplifted by a woman’s journey back from such a traumatic exposure), I am happy that I waited to read the public library copy of this novel, rather than investing in a personal purchase, as I know (unlike a handful of favourite Balogh stories) this won’t be a re-read, for me.
Plot choices - the hero’s decision to join the British army for several years of the timespan of the book; the attraction between them being written as a long-standing-but-unexpressed connection formed in their childhoods - mean that the reader is often being told, rather than shown, that Gwyneth and Devlin have feelings for each other. As a reader, I kept hoping for flashbacks, perhaps, or, by the end, an epilogue that would show them on-page. As a teen, Devlin thinks of Gwyneth as a ‘wild child’ (she climbs trees and rides astride in breeches) - this character trait could have been used to bring in a few more moments from their time ‘Before the Incident’ to sell their connection more convincingly to the reader.
Even understanding that they were symbolic of the values correction they represent, as Devlin ascends to his place as the head of the family, I felt I was spending a lot of time reading about organizing social events; it felt, to me, that the ‘cost’ of scenes was a lack of scenes in which the principals interact.
While I am still feeling that I will keep an eye open for Book 2 in this series (my guess is Phillipa and the Marquess of Roath - and may I put in a request, Ms. Balogh, that the Dowager Countess get a story of her own? I think that your readership would be uplifted by a woman’s journey back from such a traumatic exposure), I am happy that I waited to read the public library copy of this novel, rather than investing in a personal purchase, as I know (unlike a handful of favourite Balogh stories) this won’t be a re-read, for me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia, Death of parent, Infidelity, and War
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