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pinofomoh's review
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Body shaming
Minor: Sexual assault
procrastinatewithreading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was my first Kerrigan Byrne book and my second Scottish historical romance. The content is dark (definitely check for CWs, but be aware that kidnapping and selling children into sexual slavery is a major plot point) and the plot moves quickly. Cecilia meets Ramsey, the Vicar of Vice (Lord Chief Justice) and they have chemistry, however, her inheritance of a gambling hell/school for women comes between them. The issues I had with this book are a few:
-the comparison of Ramsey to an animal- it is stated often and frequently and it seems to be a correlation to his being Scottish. I found it distracting and possibly offensive.
-the traveling from London to Scotland, which can apparently happen quickly/easily at this time?
-the pacing is so fast that it feels like nothing gets fully developed, it is just wrapped up or left to be handled in another book
The things I loved about this book:
-Positive female friendships
-Fully formed female MC who is enhanced by circumstances but not formed by them (her inheritance did not make her re-evaluate her life or give up anything)
-Found family, especially Jean-Yves and Phoebe
Overall this book will definitely be loved by some and disliked by others. Perhaps reading all 3 books in the series would help me connect better with the characters and understand the fast pace of the story line.
-the comparison of Ramsey to an animal- it is stated often and frequently and it seems to be a correlation to his being Scottish. I found it distracting and possibly offensive.
-the traveling from London to Scotland, which can apparently happen quickly/easily at this time?
-the pacing is so fast that it feels like nothing gets fully developed, it is just wrapped up or left to be handled in another book
The things I loved about this book:
-Positive female friendships
-Fully formed female MC who is enhanced by circumstances but not formed by them (her inheritance did not make her re-evaluate her life or give up anything)
-Found family, especially Jean-Yves and Phoebe
Overall this book will definitely be loved by some and disliked by others. Perhaps reading all 3 books in the series would help me connect better with the characters and understand the fast pace of the story line.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Body shaming and Child abuse
Minor: Alcoholism and Rape
roomforbooks's review
3.0
3.5
CWs: parental abuse, fat-shaming, slut-shaming
Rep: fat heroine, poc side character, Indian side character
I received an early copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
When I saw this was in the Read now section on NetGalley, I clicked on it in half a second, I adore historical romance books but I especially love their sequels.
This one was overall an easy read but it wasn't always an enjoyable one.
When you write a hero that doesn't trust women, you have to thread carefully because you risk making him sound like a plain misogynist which is what happened with this book unfortunately.
The hero had mommy issues if that is even a thing, basically he grew up with a careless mother who wasn't fit for that role and that's how he grew to resent her and in the end, all women. Now I could understand him being mad with his parent but I could absolutely not understand why he'd spend the entire book calling her a "whore" and shaming other women for being... women and using their bodies the way they saw fit. That's a very certain way to make the hero unlikable and it's a pity because he started to redeem himself towards the end of the book but his behavior before that was just unacceptable so I couldn't overlook it.
The general plot was what I liked the most about this novel, it was interesting and the book could be read fast because of that, moreover there was more than one plot twist I did not see coming and that's definitely a point in its favor. The romance had great potential as the hero and heroine started out as enemies but it felt like they skipped some of the stages in their relationship: they went from hating each other to loving with no in between.
I'm definitely gonna read the next book because I like this author's writing style but I really hope the hero in it is nicer than this one.
CWs: parental abuse, fat-shaming, slut-shaming
Rep: fat heroine, poc side character, Indian side character
I received an early copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
When I saw this was in the Read now section on NetGalley, I clicked on it in half a second, I adore historical romance books but I especially love their sequels.
This one was overall an easy read but it wasn't always an enjoyable one.
When you write a hero that doesn't trust women, you have to thread carefully because you risk making him sound like a plain misogynist which is what happened with this book unfortunately.
The hero had mommy issues if that is even a thing, basically he grew up with a careless mother who wasn't fit for that role and that's how he grew to resent her and in the end, all women. Now I could understand him being mad with his parent but I could absolutely not understand why he'd spend the entire book calling her a "whore" and shaming other women for being... women and using their bodies the way they saw fit. That's a very certain way to make the hero unlikable and it's a pity because he started to redeem himself towards the end of the book but his behavior before that was just unacceptable so I couldn't overlook it.
The general plot was what I liked the most about this novel, it was interesting and the book could be read fast because of that, moreover there was more than one plot twist I did not see coming and that's definitely a point in its favor. The romance had great potential as the hero and heroine started out as enemies but it felt like they skipped some of the stages in their relationship: they went from hating each other to loving with no in between.
I'm definitely gonna read the next book because I like this author's writing style but I really hope the hero in it is nicer than this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Child abuse
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