Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Isabel, Lady Pelham and Gerard, Lord Grayson make an unconventional marriage in more ways than one. The first is the age difference: Isabel is five years older than Gerard. While five years may seem negligible in the 21st century, it was a BIG FREAKING DEAL back in the 19th century.
The other aspect of their unconventional marriage is that while they are very friendly and companionable with each other in their marriage, they do not sleep together and instead find sex and passion outside their shell of marriage. It's all well and good until something happens that sends Gerard away from London and Isabel for many years.
When he returns, Gerard is a changed man and must convince Isabel that she can indeed find friendship and love within a marriage.
What I enjoyed most about THE STRANGER I MARRIED was that Isabel and Gerard talk to each other - like adults and human beings. They lie, dissemble and hide their feelings, but eventually it all comes to light as trust builds and their superficial friendship and marriage develops into something much deeper. There are some major emotional hurdles for each to overcome and they do so with very real struggles, setbacks and realizations.
There were a couple of BIG TIME narrative ticks though that really annoyed me. The word "egress" is used too much! Once, maybe twice is ok, but it's such an unusual word to use in place of exit that when it occurs every 10-15 pages, it's too much. Also, I have to admit, the words "creamed" in reference to lubrication and the "c-word" bother me. I know they're common references in bluer romances and erotica, but the "c-word" strikes me as too harsh and "creamed" makes me think the lady's got a problem that goes beyond too much lube and might require an anti-biotic.
I also felt like Grayson's mother got off too lightly. She was a BIG TIME BITCH and spread some nasty lies to get Isabel and her son to divorce. At the climax of the novel, she precipitates the BIG MISUNDERSTANDING with some awful truth-bending and yet there's no come-uppance. I'm not asking for a big shift in character and for her to come over to the side of Love & Romance, but at least have her bad behavior acknowledged by Isabel and Gerard. As it was, they solve their BIG MISUNDERSTANDING without realizing that it was his mother who brought the issue up, though it was something that needed to be dealt with so they could get their HEA. Just for the sake of justice, I wanted some kind of confrontation where they told the nasty old biddy to go to Hades.
If you like your romances extra-steamy and with some fascinating non-traditional characters, this is a great book! The e-format was solid too. No crazy typos or anything weird with the formatting.
The other aspect of their unconventional marriage is that while they are very friendly and companionable with each other in their marriage, they do not sleep together and instead find sex and passion outside their shell of marriage. It's all well and good until something happens that sends Gerard away from London and Isabel for many years.
When he returns, Gerard is a changed man and must convince Isabel that she can indeed find friendship and love within a marriage.
What I enjoyed most about THE STRANGER I MARRIED was that Isabel and Gerard talk to each other - like adults and human beings. They lie, dissemble and hide their feelings, but eventually it all comes to light as trust builds and their superficial friendship and marriage develops into something much deeper. There are some major emotional hurdles for each to overcome and they do so with very real struggles, setbacks and realizations.
There were a couple of BIG TIME narrative ticks though that really annoyed me. The word "egress" is used too much! Once, maybe twice is ok, but it's such an unusual word to use in place of exit that when it occurs every 10-15 pages, it's too much. Also, I have to admit, the words "creamed" in reference to lubrication and the "c-word" bother me. I know they're common references in bluer romances and erotica, but the "c-word" strikes me as too harsh and "creamed" makes me think the lady's got a problem that goes beyond too much lube and might require an anti-biotic.
I also felt like Grayson's mother got off too lightly. She was a BIG TIME BITCH and spread some nasty lies to get Isabel and her son to divorce. At the climax of the novel, she precipitates the BIG MISUNDERSTANDING with some awful truth-bending and yet there's no come-uppance. I'm not asking for a big shift in character and for her to come over to the side of Love & Romance, but at least have her bad behavior acknowledged by Isabel and Gerard. As it was, they solve their BIG MISUNDERSTANDING without realizing that it was his mother who brought the issue up, though it was something that needed to be dealt with so they could get their HEA. Just for the sake of justice, I wanted some kind of confrontation where they told the nasty old biddy to go to Hades.
If you like your romances extra-steamy and with some fascinating non-traditional characters, this is a great book! The e-format was solid too. No crazy typos or anything weird with the formatting.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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:
Complicated
DNF. Skipped to the end and I’m pretty satisfied. May rate when I finish
The surprise in this marriage certainly went the complete opposite way that I thought it would go... And it was one sexy read! Fresh off of reading the Crossfire series (and waiting patiently for books 4 and 5), I had to pick up another Sylvia Day story! This exceeded my expectations, and man, it made me want to time travel back to the proper of British society and just be down right filthy dirty! Lord Gray took after Mr. Gideon Cross and left me weak in the knees!
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd probably say this was more of a 3.5 / 3.75 star rating but it kept me hooked enough to read it all in one sitting so I bumped it up a bit. My main complaint is that the writing in some areas just sort of flew by. Especially the beginning when things are being set up. And to me the ending was a little oddly put together, especially the stuff about having children. But as a whole I thought it was good and I even liked the little side romance with the heroine's brother. I'm just hoping others by the same author flow a little more smoothly.
