Reviews

When I read historical romance, I typically read regency-era romances set in the UK and Scotland, so I'm happy to finally start widening that net and reading more historical romances that don't fit into that box, starting with An Extraordinary Union. I love a romance with a strong heroine and a hero who is infatuated with her strength, so obviously, I loved seeing that dynamic play out with Elle and Malcolm.

What's keeping this from a 5-star rating is that I don't know that I'd re-read it, and I try to reserve my 5-star ratings for things I know I'll want to re-read. That's nothing against Cole's writing or storytelling, more an agreement with the acknowledgment she makes at the beginning of the novel, that a lot has changed in the world in the few years since it was written.

mweis's review against another edition

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informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

ifyouhappentoremember's review against another edition

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3.0

I found this to be an uneven reading experience for me.

One of the tropes was ‘insta-lust’ which for me, put a damper on the chemistry between the main couple. I personally prefer a slow burn when I read a romance novel but that’s neither here nor there.

I also found the espionage element lacking. I felt that it took a backseat to the romance.

I feel that I went into this book with very high expectations and the book wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I did enjoy it, but ultimately did not fit what I thought of “historical romance + spies”.

dynamicdylan's review against another edition

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3.0

Listened to this on Audio. I liked it. I did find trouble focusing on it, and it was a bit slow.
I didn't really like the hero that much, but Elle is a great character. The best part was the climax.
I really liked the narrator, but this disappointed me a little bit. I'll still continue the series.

amdaniel's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was an easy read with a strong female lead. I enjoyed it but did feel like most of the action happens at the very end (almost too much).

liketheday's review against another edition

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2.0

I don't want to talk a lot of smack about this book because I can see why other people would like it a lot, but it was just absolutely not written for me. It kind of reminded me of [b:Fortune's Pawn|15790894|Fortune's Pawn (Paradox #1)|Rachel Bach|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1375610325s/15790894.jpg|21512449] where you've got this interesting story going and then WHAM sex bits and you're like, but, wait, the story, okay, fine. Except that the story part of Fortune's Pawn is sci-fi, which I am totes into, and the story part of An Extraordinary Union is historical fiction, which I am totes not. I did not care about the Civil War spy shenanigans, partly because the characters also seemed not to care so much about them.

However, toward the end of the book I left my Kindle at home, which would normally mean no ebooks because I hate staring at a backlit screen more than I already have to, and yet I found myself loading up the book on my phone and flicking through pages at lunch, at the dentist, and then at home where I could have gotten my Kindle but then I would have had to wait to know what happened! So props to Cole for writing a page-turner, even if the story in those pages was not to my liking.

heather667's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

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