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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
It took me by surprise toward the end, given the time period. A little dose of reality.
3.5/5 stars. It was okay but I never eally loved it. The whole time I was just wondering when it would end.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Lorraine Heath is masterful at creating a great premise and amping up tension in the first and second acts, but her third acts tend to disappoint me. This was no exception.
I loved the backstory for Lovingdon and Grace: he is a grieving widower Duke and family friend and she is a debutante who has loved him since childhood. The agreement they reach for him to vet her suitors to see who truly loves her is a new spin on the relationship coach trope and set the stage for delicious mutual pining.
Lovingdon’s grief was a believable obstacle to their marriage and sensitively paced throughout the story. I hate when first wives are treated as inconveniences in romance and this book neatly avoided that by giving sufficient detail about Juliette to establish that Lovingdon had truly adored her. The epilogue tied up the theme of love and loss in a satisfying way. My favourite aspect of the book its portrayal of love as unconditional, unwavering and intimate rather than something showy performed for the ton.
Much less satisfying was Heath’s reliance on a third act kidnapping by Lord Vexley, Grace’s dubious suitor. I’ve seen a variation of this trope before in another Heath book and both times it threw the pacing off because the kidnapping/murder attempt came from nowhere. It’s a much less enjoyable way of making the leads recognise they love eachother than say, a roadtrip or an almost engagement.
I did enjoy the Lady Chatterley’s Lover moment where Lovingdon deflowered Grace (and discovered her history of breast cancer) in her drawing cottage. Interestingly the closer they got to marriage, the lower the temperature of their sex scenes. Again, I think that was a pacing issue.
I enjoyed this book but the third act prevented it from being great.
I loved the backstory for Lovingdon and Grace: he is a grieving widower Duke and family friend and she is a debutante who has loved him since childhood. The agreement they reach for him to vet her suitors to see who truly loves her is a new spin on the relationship coach trope and set the stage for delicious mutual pining.
Much less satisfying was Heath’s reliance on a third act kidnapping by Lord Vexley, Grace’s dubious suitor. I’ve seen a variation of this trope before in another Heath book and both times it threw the pacing off because the kidnapping/murder attempt came from nowhere. It’s a much less enjoyable way of making the leads recognise they love eachother than say, a roadtrip or an almost engagement.
I did enjoy the Lady Chatterley’s Lover moment where Lovingdon deflowered Grace (and discovered her history of breast cancer) in her drawing cottage. Interestingly the closer they got to marriage, the lower the temperature of their sex scenes. Again, I think that was a pacing issue.
I enjoyed this book but the third act prevented it from being great.
unrealistic in so many ways that you find yourself skimming. the characters werent bad, the motivations behind them decent - just badly executed.
emotional
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2015/03/2015-book-64.html
This was a fairly interesting historical romance. Our girl is just nineteen and has a huge dowry, so she goes to an old/friend neighbor for assistance--how can she know who truly loves her, and who just wants her money? Of course, she has an ulterior motive--she's loved him since she was a little girl. Meanwhile, he's tormented by the loss of his young wife and daughter to typhus several years earlier, and now lives a very scandalous lifestyle, determined never to fall in love again. That's all fine, and it's fairly obvious how things will go, even when it's hinted that she has a SECRET (the secret is fascinating!!). Plus, her family is also fascinating! I felt like this book was the sequel to a book I hadn't read (though it's the first in this series) b/c her parents' lives/courtship is referred to a bunch and it's crazy! (Her mom grew up in a den of thieves and somehow married a nobleman, she also totally owns a gambling hall.) (OK, I just looked this up, and it IS a sequel series--I gotta go read those earlier ones b/c they sound like they're also full of DRAMA. Look, the author has a chart explaining!! http://www.lorraineheath.com/character-guide.html) There's also some very funny business with the girl and her friends keeping a list of how to tell if a man truly loves them (they also totally sneak smoke breaks). Things get super hilariously crazy toward the end, and even it's all kind of cheesy, I still liked this a lot. A-/B+.
This was a fairly interesting historical romance. Our girl is just nineteen and has a huge dowry, so she goes to an old/friend neighbor for assistance--how can she know who truly loves her, and who just wants her money? Of course, she has an ulterior motive--she's loved him since she was a little girl. Meanwhile, he's tormented by the loss of his young wife and daughter to typhus several years earlier, and now lives a very scandalous lifestyle, determined never to fall in love again. That's all fine, and it's fairly obvious how things will go, even when it's hinted that she has a SECRET (the secret is fascinating!!). Plus, her family is also fascinating! I felt like this book was the sequel to a book I hadn't read (though it's the first in this series) b/c her parents' lives/courtship is referred to a bunch and it's crazy! (Her mom grew up in a den of thieves and somehow married a nobleman, she also totally owns a gambling hall.) (OK, I just looked this up, and it IS a sequel series--I gotta go read those earlier ones b/c they sound like they're also full of DRAMA. Look, the author has a chart explaining!! http://www.lorraineheath.com/character-guide.html) There's also some very funny business with the girl and her friends keeping a list of how to tell if a man truly loves them (they also totally sneak smoke breaks). Things get super hilariously crazy toward the end, and even it's all kind of cheesy, I still liked this a lot. A-/B+.
while a tiny bit tedious, and a little predictable I enjoyed this. I like the scoundrels of St. James, so figured I would enjoy this one. I did think it dragged a bit in certain areas, but not enough to detract.
I did wish that grace's secret reason for wanting/needing a husband who loved her had been revealed to us sooner. I think hiding the reason made it harder to treat her desires seriously, and until then thought it something petty or that she was a bastard. I did enjoy the heroine who was not perfect, but also thought that lovongton was eh as a hero. I couldn't see any reason to gush over him, he was a mediocre hero, to me Drake, even though he barely appears, was a better hero.
I did wish that grace's secret reason for wanting/needing a husband who loved her had been revealed to us sooner. I think hiding the reason made it harder to treat her desires seriously, and until then thought it something petty or that she was a bastard. I did enjoy the heroine who was not perfect, but also thought that lovongton was eh as a hero. I couldn't see any reason to gush over him, he was a mediocre hero, to me Drake, even though he barely appears, was a better hero.
This book is an interesting contradiction. It's both incredibly busy and boring as heck. It's a follow up to the unique Scoundrels of St. James series, but is itself rote and by the numbers.
If the rest of this series is any better than I would say that Grace and Lovingdon were terrible choices to start this series.
The best thing this book can say is that it more than likely is the reason we got William Graves' story [b:The Last Wicked Scoundrel|18142675|The Last Wicked Scoundrel (Scoundrels of St. James, #5)|Lorraine Heath|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1382677063s/18142675.jpg|25489539] finally.
I might read [b:Once More, My Darling Rogue|19099623|Once More, My Darling Rogue (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, #2)|Lorraine Heath|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1398312589s/19099623.jpg|27129061] but I won't hold my breath.
If the rest of this series is any better than I would say that Grace and Lovingdon were terrible choices to start this series.
The best thing this book can say is that it more than likely is the reason we got William Graves' story [b:The Last Wicked Scoundrel|18142675|The Last Wicked Scoundrel (Scoundrels of St. James, #5)|Lorraine Heath|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1382677063s/18142675.jpg|25489539] finally.
I might read [b:Once More, My Darling Rogue|19099623|Once More, My Darling Rogue (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James, #2)|Lorraine Heath|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1398312589s/19099623.jpg|27129061] but I won't hold my breath.
This is the first Lorraine Heath novel I've read and I didn't love it. It had a lot going for it but I literally groaned looking at the last three or four chapters, like "when is this going to end." That said I have a couple of her other books and it may be better. I'll read her again. Probably.