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sarah_moynihan's review
4.0
'Some love matches begin with marriage.
Hazel Trethow is infatuated with a notorious rake despite her father’s plans to betroth her to the heir of a wealthy barony. Her scheming to find a love match for her dearest friend and herself turns into a scandal that could ruin them both.
Harold Hobbs returns home from business in India with a plan to save his family from ruin. He does not anticipate his father’s plot to wed him to Miss Trethow. When he meets his intended, sparks fly.
This is the love story of Hazel and Harold as they find love in the most unlikely of places.'
___________________________________
The Heir and the Enchantress is the fifth book in The Enchantresss series by Paulett Golden and is a historical romance that can serve as a stand-alone. This is the third book in the series that I have read and the storylines do not build or cross over at all so there no worry about reading them out of order.
I have enjoyed the other books by this author that I have read previously and that remains true for this book as well. There's nothing new or groundbreaking about the plot of this book, it's like many other you've read before. But the lovely main characters more than make up for that and give it a unique feel.
I'll admit I didn't much care for Hazel at the start of the book. She's flighty, a bit arrogant, and most certainly naive. But I had to keep reminding myself that she was very young, only 17 and had been, up until that point in her life, spoilt and sheltered by her father. When I reminded myself of that I was abe to reserve judgement and, once beginning her new life surrounded by her new family began to grow up a little and get a bit more of a personality and I found her to be much more likable of a character. Harold was a great character, but suffered from a bit of cowardess. I understand his hands were a bit tied and his father closed off to reasoning, but an earlier confrontation with him or coming clean with Hazel was a bit overdue.
I really appreciated that the inevitable misunderstanding that fed the conflict between the two main characters was not drawn out. It played out in a qiuckly and believable fashion that worked well. Hazel and Harold undergo some awkwardness at the start, but learn to grow together in a very sweet way and become a great team.
Overall the plot was well-paced and I enjoyed Harold and Hazel's story. I also adored the supporting characters of Nana and Patrick. Nana was hands down my favorite chacacter, she was fun and loved to shock those around her. In my opinion, she was the star of the show. I would read more by this author and from this series.
_____
I would like to thank BookSirens and Paulett Golden for sharing an eARC of The Heir and the Enchantress with me. This is my honest review.
Hazel Trethow is infatuated with a notorious rake despite her father’s plans to betroth her to the heir of a wealthy barony. Her scheming to find a love match for her dearest friend and herself turns into a scandal that could ruin them both.
Harold Hobbs returns home from business in India with a plan to save his family from ruin. He does not anticipate his father’s plot to wed him to Miss Trethow. When he meets his intended, sparks fly.
This is the love story of Hazel and Harold as they find love in the most unlikely of places.'
___________________________________
The Heir and the Enchantress is the fifth book in The Enchantresss series by Paulett Golden and is a historical romance that can serve as a stand-alone. This is the third book in the series that I have read and the storylines do not build or cross over at all so there no worry about reading them out of order.
I have enjoyed the other books by this author that I have read previously and that remains true for this book as well. There's nothing new or groundbreaking about the plot of this book, it's like many other you've read before. But the lovely main characters more than make up for that and give it a unique feel.
I'll admit I didn't much care for Hazel at the start of the book. She's flighty, a bit arrogant, and most certainly naive. But I had to keep reminding myself that she was very young, only 17 and had been, up until that point in her life, spoilt and sheltered by her father. When I reminded myself of that I was abe to reserve judgement and, once beginning her new life surrounded by her new family began to grow up a little and get a bit more of a personality and I found her to be much more likable of a character. Harold was a great character, but suffered from a bit of cowardess. I understand his hands were a bit tied and his father closed off to reasoning, but an earlier confrontation with him or coming clean with Hazel was a bit overdue.
I really appreciated that the inevitable misunderstanding that fed the conflict between the two main characters was not drawn out. It played out in a qiuckly and believable fashion that worked well. Hazel and Harold undergo some awkwardness at the start, but learn to grow together in a very sweet way and become a great team.
Overall the plot was well-paced and I enjoyed Harold and Hazel's story. I also adored the supporting characters of Nana and Patrick. Nana was hands down my favorite chacacter, she was fun and loved to shock those around her. In my opinion, she was the star of the show. I would read more by this author and from this series.
_____
I would like to thank BookSirens and Paulett Golden for sharing an eARC of The Heir and the Enchantress with me. This is my honest review.
andrea_author's review
4.0
Though strangers, Harold and Hazel are forced to marry as part of an investment scheme arranged by their fathers. When Hazel discovers that they're on the verge of ruin, can Harold save their fortune—and their love?
This started off a bit slow for me. Once it got moving, I enjoyed the story. Hazel is incredibly naive in the beginning but is forced to grow up quickly. Harold is a good match for her, patient and kind.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
This started off a bit slow for me. Once it got moving, I enjoyed the story. Hazel is incredibly naive in the beginning but is forced to grow up quickly. Harold is a good match for her, patient and kind.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
bookfever's review
1.0
If I had to sum The Heir and The Enchantress up in one word I would use: lackluster. It pains me to say this because historical romance is one of my favorite genres but this book was just so monotonous, tedious and really fell flat for me. There were different plots all over the place which for me didn't bring anything extra to the story except major confusion.
The characters weren't any better than the boring plots. Hazel Trethow was very childish, which can be attributed to her being only 17 years old but still I couldn't help but dislike her very much. Harold Hobbs wasn't my kinda hero either. The only positive thing I can say about him that unlike other historical romances he wasn't a rake, which I guess could be refreshing if he hadn't been so dull.
I wish I had better things to say about this book but I really couldn't find anything enjoyable. The story just didn't happen to be my cup of tea, sadly enough.
The characters weren't any better than the boring plots. Hazel Trethow was very childish, which can be attributed to her being only 17 years old but still I couldn't help but dislike her very much. Harold Hobbs wasn't my kinda hero either. The only positive thing I can say about him that unlike other historical romances he wasn't a rake, which I guess could be refreshing if he hadn't been so dull.
I wish I had better things to say about this book but I really couldn't find anything enjoyable. The story just didn't happen to be my cup of tea, sadly enough.
rainelle_barrett's review
4.0
The Heir and The Enchantress. The writer of this book caught my attention with a unique plot to this romance novel. I enjoyed the entertainment and the action that the story gave me. I would have like to see that the two leading characters Hazel and Harold shared that entertainment together, earlier in the book. I believe that maybe the writer wanted the two main characters to tell their story separately, but then come together at the end of the book.
The book read a nice pace. The dialogue between the characters was casual, but stayed focused to the topic at hand. I appreciate it when the writer doesn’t go off topic. There are some wordings that I felt were a little to broad, that had me trying to follow the meaning with the story. This had me slightly detached from the enjoyment of the book.
I enjoyed the different personalities of all the characters. I was able to imagine them perfectly, by their descriptions in the story. The romance between Harold and Hazel was sweet and charming. I would like for the leading lady/ love interest to be a bit more older than seven-teen though, perhaps over twenty plus. Reading love scenes with that age range is a little difficult. The detail descriptions of the scenes provided me with a wonderful imagination of a cute love story.
The book read a nice pace. The dialogue between the characters was casual, but stayed focused to the topic at hand. I appreciate it when the writer doesn’t go off topic. There are some wordings that I felt were a little to broad, that had me trying to follow the meaning with the story. This had me slightly detached from the enjoyment of the book.
I enjoyed the different personalities of all the characters. I was able to imagine them perfectly, by their descriptions in the story. The romance between Harold and Hazel was sweet and charming. I would like for the leading lady/ love interest to be a bit more older than seven-teen though, perhaps over twenty plus. Reading love scenes with that age range is a little difficult. The detail descriptions of the scenes provided me with a wonderful imagination of a cute love story.
triz193's review
4.0
I love Paullett Golden :D, and it made may entire week to get this ARC from BookSirens. Now let's do this:
Somehow the author always manages something really peculiar in the best way: a historical novel that is very unique while still familiar - it feels very light, while showing deep scenes... The writing can sometimes be very poetic and the people... Ah the people are the best.
Let me state here just a tinyyy bit of a thing: this took a little while to really start - the heroine (Hazel) and hero (Harold) really only seem to meet and start talking after the 20% mark - it wasn't bad, and I liked the opportunity to explore secondary characters more, like the heroine's friend Agnes and the hero's problematic relationship with his father. But the romantic dinamic felt so good (and cute) that for me it was a shame they took so long to find each other.
Now to the main characters: here's where she nailed it, I mean NAILED it :D. Hazel and Harold are... young. And it feels like it... Our heroine just turned 17, and our hero is barely 20. Often times youger characters are either shown as immature and stupid or exceptionally mature and experienced for their age, but here Harold and Hazel were just young people: they had difficulty assimilating some parts of love life, how to stand up to their parents (and discover they were only people), and it felt real. Their reactions made sense. Both of them were well grounded characters with defined personalities, but they were also young. It does not mean they are stupid, it does not mean they are smart despite their age, but that the author made it mean something in the way the narrative works... Beautiful... Absolutely beautiful.
Many thanks to the author, booksirens and all the others involved in granting me this copy, have the best day! Your work made me really happy and I leave this review because I want to.
Somehow the author always manages something really peculiar in the best way: a historical novel that is very unique while still familiar - it feels very light, while showing deep scenes... The writing can sometimes be very poetic and the people... Ah the people are the best.
Let me state here just a tinyyy bit of a thing: this took a little while to really start - the heroine (Hazel) and hero (Harold) really only seem to meet and start talking after the 20% mark - it wasn't bad, and I liked the opportunity to explore secondary characters more, like the heroine's friend Agnes and the hero's problematic relationship with his father. But the romantic dinamic felt so good (and cute) that for me it was a shame they took so long to find each other.
Now to the main characters: here's where she nailed it, I mean NAILED it :D. Hazel and Harold are... young. And it feels like it... Our heroine just turned 17, and our hero is barely 20. Often times youger characters are either shown as immature and stupid or exceptionally mature and experienced for their age, but here Harold and Hazel were just young people: they had difficulty assimilating some parts of love life, how to stand up to their parents (and discover they were only people), and it felt real. Their reactions made sense. Both of them were well grounded characters with defined personalities, but they were also young. It does not mean they are stupid, it does not mean they are smart despite their age, but that the author made it mean something in the way the narrative works... Beautiful... Absolutely beautiful.
Many thanks to the author, booksirens and all the others involved in granting me this copy, have the best day! Your work made me really happy and I leave this review because I want to.
55_sallymander's review
5.0
The Heir and The Enchantress by Paullett Golden
This is a standalone in a series. I have not read any of the other books and had no problems with the story.
Hazel and one of her best friends, Agnes is determined to marry for love. But due to an unfortunate incident, as the two are playing matchmakers and enablers for Agnes' governess, they are caught up in a disaster that causes Hazel to become married to Harold Hobbs, heir to Collingswood barony.
Hazel and Harold were already betrothed from childhood, but have not seen each other for years. Harold wanted to marry for love but instead offers up their match to save Hazel from disgrace.
How they decide to live with their choices is interesting. You can have a cheerless, loveless union or take steps to make it a glorious, heartfelt union.
Sincere thanks to #netgalley for the complimentary copy of #theheirandtheenchantress I was under no obligation to post a review.
This is a standalone in a series. I have not read any of the other books and had no problems with the story.
Hazel and one of her best friends, Agnes is determined to marry for love. But due to an unfortunate incident, as the two are playing matchmakers and enablers for Agnes' governess, they are caught up in a disaster that causes Hazel to become married to Harold Hobbs, heir to Collingswood barony.
Hazel and Harold were already betrothed from childhood, but have not seen each other for years. Harold wanted to marry for love but instead offers up their match to save Hazel from disgrace.
How they decide to live with their choices is interesting. You can have a cheerless, loveless union or take steps to make it a glorious, heartfelt union.
Sincere thanks to #netgalley for the complimentary copy of #theheirandtheenchantress I was under no obligation to post a review.
bookbutch's review
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.
----
This was, all in all, a very satisfactory romance novel. I liked the two main characters and their relationship building. It has a slower pace to it, which I enjoyed.
I did find that they were too young for the experience and maturity that they were purported to have.
They should have been aged up a bit. Harold was only 20, I believe, and that is waaaaay too young. A lot of romance novels have men that are closer to their 30s, so he seems like a baby compared to a lot of the romance I've been reading lately. And Hazel is 17. I know that people, especially rich people, got married young, but dang is 17 young.
I found that this book was a bit hard to follow originally and there were too many characters, but that is my fault for jumping in on book five of a series, even if romance novels do tend to be made to stand alone.
Overall, it was a fun read and I will probably pick up the series at book one.
----
This was, all in all, a very satisfactory romance novel. I liked the two main characters and their relationship building. It has a slower pace to it, which I enjoyed.
I did find that they were too young for the experience and maturity that they were purported to have.
They should have been aged up a bit. Harold was only 20, I believe, and that is waaaaay too young. A lot of romance novels have men that are closer to their 30s, so he seems like a baby compared to a lot of the romance I've been reading lately. And Hazel is 17. I know that people, especially rich people, got married young, but dang is 17 young.
I found that this book was a bit hard to follow originally and there were too many characters, but that is my fault for jumping in on book five of a series, even if romance novels do tend to be made to stand alone.
Overall, it was a fun read and I will probably pick up the series at book one.
chloebooktwt's review
1.0
I really hoped to like this book, but the writing is just average. It reminds me of Wattpad in a way: a lot of dialogue without really saying anything, boring characters, and descriptive of only the love interest. The plot moved fast and was very confusing at times. There was a lot going on, but it felt really flat. The book is unnecessarily drawn out. I felt like I was done with it only 10% in. I wanted to like it, but it fell short.
Hazel is 17 years old and still childish. I didn't like her character at all, but Harold wasn't an up-side either. Both characters were flat and without any charms.
Writing examples:
"A pregnant pause," was used to describe a long pause between dialogue. This just felt icky in a sense. I did not enjoy reading that at all.
Nana also described sex as "it tickles in all the right places," which made the character and myself uncomfortable to read.
Hazel is 17 years old and still childish. I didn't like her character at all, but Harold wasn't an up-side either. Both characters were flat and without any charms.
Writing examples:
"A pregnant pause," was used to describe a long pause between dialogue. This just felt icky in a sense. I did not enjoy reading that at all.
Nana also described sex as "it tickles in all the right places," which made the character and myself uncomfortable to read.
wanderlustdamsel's review
4.0
And she does it again!!! Paullett Golden back with her patent historical romance plotline that makes my heart swoon.
First and foremost I love the writing style, it legit transfers you back to the era with all her narrative and background settings and dialogues.
Another thing I absolutely love is her story writing and character development is always present.
But I guess after reading most of the books in the series, this one felt a tad bit repetitive when it came to the conflict and conflict resolution.
Still a very good read. Definitely will read another one in the series if it comes out!
First and foremost I love the writing style, it legit transfers you back to the era with all her narrative and background settings and dialogues.
Another thing I absolutely love is her story writing and character development is always present.
But I guess after reading most of the books in the series, this one felt a tad bit repetitive when it came to the conflict and conflict resolution.
Still a very good read. Definitely will read another one in the series if it comes out!
freemajo's review
3.0
3.5 stars rounded down.
The Heir and the Enchantress is set during the 1750s and concerns a pair of young adults whose arranged marriage is moved up after 17 year old Hazel is compromised by a peer during a house party. 20 year old Harold is freshly returned from 4 years in India and barely gets a chance to take his boots off before he finds himself married to a girl everyone just caught in the parlor with another man. Harold and Hazel’s parents wrap up a complicated business deal into the hasty marriage, and this is the primary conflict of the novel.
This is not what I would consider a mainstream historical romance; it’s more Jane Austen than Julia Quinn. There is very little passion, struggle, or conflict throughout the story, and I found the story and main characters boring. A couple of sex scenes does not a romance make.
The atmosphere and setting are sometimes very realistic and well-detailed and other times anachronistic to a disturbing extent. For example, descriptions of powdering hair and clothing are often correct and add welcome flavor to the narrative, but there’s a prominent LGBT character who is accepted by Harold, immediately welcomed by Hazel, and cherished by Harold’s grandmother as well. Hazel and Nana both subsequently attempt at matchmaking this character with other men at parties.
In reality, anal sex was punishable by death during this time period in England, and in fact laws outlawing the practice started cropping up in the early-mid 1700s. Supposing that Harold welcomed his friend regardless of his sexuality, it’s unlikely Hazel would have embraced him with open arms and set about matchmaking, and it’s even less likely that everyone else would have been paragons of allyship/potential sexual partners.
While perhaps an attempt to rewrite history for the sake of inclusion, this character and his experience felt disrespectful to LGBT people who died for their perceived deviance throughout this time period. If inclusion was the intent, the author should have portrayed the situation more realistically or included a note at the end about what life was like during this time and why she chose to give this character a better life than he would have had.
In general, the characters were pretty boring, especially Hazel and Harold. To be fair, they are 17 and 20 years old. If they had been aged up by 7 years or so, they probably would have had more interesting (read: any) backstories that could add depth to the narrative and character development. There’s no real conflict for the first ⅔ of the book, so we end up with a lot of this:
His admiration of her was not because of her behavior, but seeing her in different situations increased his admiration, nevertheless. She was, to him, already perfection. He could not take his eyes off her. He could not stop thinking about her. He was a man obsessed with his own wife. Even now, the way she held herself, the way the light shimmered off her hair, the way she laughed, everything. Perfection.
We get it, dude.
There is also a creepy, lecherous grandma character nicknamed Nana who insists on showing Hazel a thousand nudes of herself, opens Hazel’s mail with the hope of reading sexually explicit words from her own grandson, and gives us scenes like this:
A voice broke their embrace.
“It’s about time you pleasured my granddaughter.”
Ew.
The Heir and the Enchantress would be a good, quick book for people who want to read a historical romance with zero angst and a HEA.
I received a free copy through BookSirens. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The Heir and the Enchantress is set during the 1750s and concerns a pair of young adults whose arranged marriage is moved up after 17 year old Hazel is compromised by a peer during a house party. 20 year old Harold is freshly returned from 4 years in India and barely gets a chance to take his boots off before he finds himself married to a girl everyone just caught in the parlor with another man. Harold and Hazel’s parents wrap up a complicated business deal into the hasty marriage, and this is the primary conflict of the novel.
This is not what I would consider a mainstream historical romance; it’s more Jane Austen than Julia Quinn. There is very little passion, struggle, or conflict throughout the story, and I found the story and main characters boring. A couple of sex scenes does not a romance make.
The atmosphere and setting are sometimes very realistic and well-detailed and other times anachronistic to a disturbing extent. For example, descriptions of powdering hair and clothing are often correct and add welcome flavor to the narrative, but there’s a prominent LGBT character who is accepted by Harold, immediately welcomed by Hazel, and cherished by Harold’s grandmother as well. Hazel and Nana both subsequently attempt at matchmaking this character with other men at parties.
In reality, anal sex was punishable by death during this time period in England, and in fact laws outlawing the practice started cropping up in the early-mid 1700s. Supposing that Harold welcomed his friend regardless of his sexuality, it’s unlikely Hazel would have embraced him with open arms and set about matchmaking, and it’s even less likely that everyone else would have been paragons of allyship/potential sexual partners.
While perhaps an attempt to rewrite history for the sake of inclusion, this character and his experience felt disrespectful to LGBT people who died for their perceived deviance throughout this time period. If inclusion was the intent, the author should have portrayed the situation more realistically or included a note at the end about what life was like during this time and why she chose to give this character a better life than he would have had.
In general, the characters were pretty boring, especially Hazel and Harold. To be fair, they are 17 and 20 years old. If they had been aged up by 7 years or so, they probably would have had more interesting (read: any) backstories that could add depth to the narrative and character development. There’s no real conflict for the first ⅔ of the book, so we end up with a lot of this:
His admiration of her was not because of her behavior, but seeing her in different situations increased his admiration, nevertheless. She was, to him, already perfection. He could not take his eyes off her. He could not stop thinking about her. He was a man obsessed with his own wife. Even now, the way she held herself, the way the light shimmered off her hair, the way she laughed, everything. Perfection.
We get it, dude.
There is also a creepy, lecherous grandma character nicknamed Nana who insists on showing Hazel a thousand nudes of herself, opens Hazel’s mail with the hope of reading sexually explicit words from her own grandson, and gives us scenes like this:
A voice broke their embrace.
“It’s about time you pleasured my granddaughter.”
Ew.
The Heir and the Enchantress would be a good, quick book for people who want to read a historical romance with zero angst and a HEA.
I received a free copy through BookSirens. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.