Reviews - Something in the Heir

503 reviews for:

Something in the Heir

Suzanne Enoch

3.46 AVERAGE

abookwormwithwine's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful 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

I don't know who needs to hear this, but public disclaimer guys - Something in the Heir by Suzanne Enoch is NOT a traditional romance. When I looked at the cover I thought romance, hopefully romcom, but I have been trying my best not to let covers influence me in that way since my debacle with A Perfect Marriage. Thankfully it worked this time since the amount of actual romance in here is very minimal. The story is also told from multiple viewpoints including the children's which is probably another reason it doesn't scream romance when you read it. That being said, there is still SOMETHING going on between Emmeline and William, and it was super sweet. They also had some great banter at times which I can never get enough of. I was thoroughly entertained by the storyline and having George and Rose as viewpoints was a brilliant decision by Enoch.

I have no idea how other people will feel, but I think the audiobook is the way to go and I am incredibly happy I decided to listen to it. Sarah Nichols in truth probably sounded a little too old to voice Emmeline, but her voices for the children and the other characters cannot be beaten, and I thought her narration was ace. I really enjoyed the Regency setting and the hilarity that ensues from a couple deciding to 'borrow' children to keep an estate. From the reviews I've seen, it would appear that I enjoyed this a lot more than most and I really do think it has to do with the lack of romance with a cover like it has. I honestly don't even know what genre to categorize it, but if you are a fan of silly shenanigans, laughing, and quirky characters I highly recommend giving Something in the Heir a shot. I'm so happy I bought a physical copy, and I will most certainly be doing a reread at some point. Helloooo new comfort read!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

_shannoncarroll's review against another edition

2.5

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book has: logical gaps in the plot, adults who think “adopting” orphans just for eight weeks to fool your family is rather gross, a repeated slur for the Romani people, and almost no romance whatsoever in a book marketed as one. But it’s a cute concept with a fun, farcical plot, so maybe you’re the type of reader who can put its issues on the back burner and enjoy this book.

The base of this book is a fun idea — two people enter into a fake marriage and are brought together by crazy circumstances — and Suzanne Enoch makes the very trope-y concept feel fresh. The writing is cute and quirky, and she captures tons of different perspectives (eight, I think?) cleverly and gives each character a distinct voice. There are enough screwball-ish happenings to make my “Bringing Up Baby”–loving heart happy, and the relationship between the two main characters and the children they “adopt” are occasionally heartwarming. (The kids consistently steal the show within these pages.)

But like I said, there are issues. I think the biggest problem with this book is the treatment of the children. Renting orphans — while telling them they’ll eventually be discarded (but don’t worry, they won’t have to go back to the orphanage) felt icky. And no “oh, think of this as a fun holiday!” or “we’re helping educate them so they can have a better future” can get around that. The kids have no agency and are treated as cute little props to further the adults’ agenda. I mean, they literally decide to go to an orphanage after thinking “if only there was a shop for children,” which… yuck. In this book, the main character, Emmie, has told her family she has two kids, and everyone believes her. (She tells her family the kids are sickly, so no one has ever seen them.) Yet all of Emmie’s friends and neighbors know she doesn’t have kids. I know that some families aren’t close and that she meticulously crafted fake stories and milestones about “her” kids (you’ll never convince me she isn’t a Virgo), but c’mon. In the Regency era, there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot to do other than gossip about people!

This book is promoted as a romance — but there’s really no chemistry between Emmie and her husband, Will, and there’s little development in their relationship other than a “I had no idea you felt this way!” I have more chemistry with the bag of Takis sitting next to me as I’m writing this review than those two do. (Those spicy, tempting red snacks have my number, OK?) I never got those butterflies in my stomach or ever felt there was anything particularly adorable about the couple. It’s fine to write a Regency screwball comedy — actually I’d encourage it and would preorder it ASAP — but you have to commit. And this one teetered on the edge but never tipped all the way over. The book came across almost like Enoch didn’t know how to balance the romance with the chaotic happenings. You can have romance in screwballs, but you need there to be tension between the two romantic leads (*cough* Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn *cough*).

Everything in this book felt like too much of a mishmash to really hold together. The pacing felt off, the romance felt off, the main plot point felt off… you get the picture. Go watch “Philadelphia Story” and imagine them in Empire waistlines and coats with tails, instead.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

asomeone's review against another edition

4.25

emotional funny lighthearted 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

charms_professor_noble's review against another edition

4.0

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

readinginthewings's review against another edition

3.0

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

meg_mazzaferro's review against another edition

4.0

emotional 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

Something in the Heir is so fun! I read this book in the middle of moving, and I really needed something light and funny and enjoyable. This book was exactly that. The premise of the book is fairly predictable, but I really enjoyed the way the story progressed, and the book did an excellent job of avoiding the miscommunication trope even though the premise of this book provided ample opportunity for it. I enjoyed the pacing, and the relationships that developed between each of the four main characters were done really well.

Will and Emmie are interesting characters, and I absolutely loved George and Rose. While the book is technically a romance, and we do spend time watching Will and Emmie reconnect after eight years of marriage, the book is actually lighter on the romance than I was expecting, and the majority of the book was spent exploring how each of the adults, Emmie in particular, learn to change and open themselves up to the chaotic love of two young children. And don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of historical romances, but I really enjoyed the focus of this book being more about them becoming a family than about the romance between Will and Emmie. The romance really develops as the two of them watch each other react to their unexpected circumstances, and it felt really organic that way.

I thought the plot moved along well and I found myself laughing often. The book’s use of different POVs also worked well in my opinion to develop additional characters, and while sometimes those transitions were jarring I enjoyed the way each POV developed the characters. Each character we spend time with has their own little story and contributes to the overall found family impression this book creates.

With all that said, I do have some small criticisms. The beginning of the book is definitely rushed, and I would argue that the resolution is as well. There were also a few plot points in the book that happened off-page, which I think would have benefited from happening on-page. Some of those scenes were plot relevant and it felt like an odd choice not to see those things happen on-page, since seeing play out would have really strengthened the character relationships in this book.

Those minor critiques aside, I really, really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh, it definitely made me invested in the characters and their happy ending, and it was exactly what I needed while I was reading it. It’s a bit light on the romance, but it’s still a really great found family romance story that will give you all the feels. I would definitely recommend it.

elspethm's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this book. I thought it was a very inventive take on the standard Regency romance. Emmie needs to get married before her cousin in order to stay in the house she grew up in. She marries her childhood best friend and supports him in his career, but they have a distant marriage. In 8 years she's requested to go to her grandfather's birthday party and bring the children she was not only required to have in order to inherit, but the children she made up and wrote to family about for years.

Emmie and Will end up "borrowing" two orphans to pose as their children. Along the way they of course fall in love with the children and learn to love each other as adults rather than the childhood friends or "partners" they had been in their marriage. Their relationship was very cute, and it was nice to see them both appreciate each other and also learn to open their hearts to their new relationships with the kids.

Of course there is the villain, the standard misunderstandings, and the children expecting to be left after 8 weeks, and these are handled in such a way as to bring the new family, and the loving staff closer together. There is also a cute secondary love story between the lady's maid and another staff member that I enjoyed.

This was a rated (barely) PG romance that I highly enjoyed. I received a preview copy from NetGalley and am giving an honest review.