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lphr3ads's review
4.0
i liked the story well enough but Bel's constant self-righteous acts of charity annoyed me so much. Such an overachiever. :(
lilopalu's review against another edition
The heroine really grated on me and it felt like the hero had to do all the lifting. She comes across as very self-righteous and still unable to see that complex social issues need patience and finesse to be solved. Reading a few reviews confirmed that this problem consists throughout the novel. So, I am giving up and concentrate on Tessa Dares newer works.
storytimed's review
2.0
I like the hook of the novel (dissolute aristocrat is inspired to get political!) and Isabel's neuroses felt pretty real, but... god, the execution. I feel like the political world and the romantic one didn't necessarily mesh: you never really felt the weight of issues like the exploitation chimney sweeps or the fact that Isabel grew up AROUND SLAVES, and the narrative kind of brushes it all off as "it's because of trauma from your mom! go eat some sugar!"
Also can we just not have entire romantic plots built off of the dude protagonist lying to the woman and hoping she won't notice? That's... bad.
Also can we just not have entire romantic plots built off of the dude protagonist lying to the woman and hoping she won't notice? That's... bad.
heyhaley17's review
2.0
Never have i been so disappointed in a book that had a lot of potential and actually was very good if only not for the heroin bringing everything down. Toby practically carried the entire story on his shoulders and frankly I could've given him someone better. Ideals are fine but Bel is so naively idealistic that it leaves her cold and emotionless in my eyes through the near entire book, ten pages at the end don't make up for that. I just found myself being so turned off of her as a character that I felt sorry for Toby. That is not want I was hoping to read, shame as I love Dare's books and characters.
hijinx_abound's review
3.0
It begins with revenge but moves into something else.
Both of these mains made me want to bang their heads together. Both are so married to who they must be that they do really dumb stuff.
Both of these mains made me want to bang their heads together. Both are so married to who they must be that they do really dumb stuff.
tales_and_teacups's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
3.5
livruther's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
the secondary romance was nice, and i liked toby, but the pacing of isabel’s character development was weird, and i didnt love the interaction between toby and sophia. i liked seeing the past characters, but i didnt really appreciate the scene of lucy giving birth, especially because i felt like there was no closure at the end of it. i feel like if shes gonna bring in old characters, the interactions should be mostly positive, because thats what readers want to see
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Pregnancy
megallenbooks's review against another edition
2.5
This was a mix of "it's a book" and "it's a slog". At times I was listening and thinking, 'this isn't going to be a read again type of book but it's enjoyable at the moment" and other times I was thinking "oh come on, this needs to hurry up"
I think the concept was good (seducing his rival's sister for revenge) but it wasn't actually followed through on, within the first chapter almost, it had completely given up on that concept wanting to make Toby "a good guy". I would have much preferred for him to be a douche and have his love redeem him.
Belle was also frustratingly obnoxious. In the end they tried to explain her personality but it needed to be told to me for it to make sense, which means all the "showing" that happened earlier in the novel was just wildly unsuccessful.
There was also a side romance between Black Sea Captain, Jose and female surgeon Hettie, which deserved it's own book. Instead it was kind of shoved in and under developed.
Not Tessa Dare's best. I wanted to give up multiple times and probably would have if I had another audiobook I really wanted to listen to.
I think the concept was good (seducing his rival's sister for revenge) but it wasn't actually followed through on, within the first chapter almost, it had completely given up on that concept wanting to make Toby "a good guy". I would have much preferred for him to be a douche and have his love redeem him.
Belle was also frustratingly obnoxious. In the end they tried to explain her personality but it needed to be told to me for it to make sense, which means all the "showing" that happened earlier in the novel was just wildly unsuccessful.
There was also a side romance between Black Sea Captain, Jose and female surgeon Hettie, which deserved it's own book. Instead it was kind of shoved in and under developed.
Not Tessa Dare's best. I wanted to give up multiple times and probably would have if I had another audiobook I really wanted to listen to.
excel_spreadsheet_book_nerd's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0