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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
***** Late review ---
My first read with Stacy Reid. I am not sure how to rate this book. There were some of the things I liked and some of the things I hated also. From the title and blurb, anyone could have guessed the scenario and that’s exactly what happens here.
Adeline was strong. She was a heroine who accepts the situation in her own term. She took initiative to avoid her abuser fiancé. I wasn’t mad with Adeline because she tried to create a scandal with a man because they already liked each other. Things didn't go as planned and she had to marry Edmond but still, she tries to work on her marriage...
Adeline relation with her two stepdaughters was good. They didn’t start to call her mother immediately. The relationship between them was friendly and surprisingly refreshing.
The things I hated-
Then Adeline decided to create a scandal with a man named Mr. Artwoods. Mr. Artwoods already asked Adeline hand in marriage but got rejected because he wasn’t titled. Adeline liked Mr. Artwood and she believed they will be happy after their marriage; obviously, the Scandal would have led to marriage. So, Adeline asked help from her best friend Evie. There was a party in Evie’s house and the guests were staying for the night. Adeline asked Evie to give the key to Mr. Artwoods’s room and said to bring Evie’s mother to Mr. Artwood’s room after some time. But Evie did the terrible thing here. Evie gives her Edmond(hero) room’s key deliberately not mistakenly, why???
The hero, Duke of Wolverton, Edmond was attending the party because he wished to talk to Evie and her father for the marriage. Evie was in love with another man, so to avoid her marry with Edmond she deliberately gives Edmond room’s key to Adeline. And later not just her mother Evie sends enough people to catch Adeline and Edmond together. And then obviously Edmond and Evie had to marry. This is the definition of the best friend, we get.
Now, Edmond, I liked the fact that he was honorable and gentle with Adeline. But I hated that he didn’t tell her that he had no intention of consummate the marriage and obviously no desire for another child. Well, the reason was his dead first wife who blamed him that his desire for an heir got her killed. Obviously, Edmond was guilty about it. After the Edmond research for the childbirth death and got a scary result which killed his desire for another child and heir. Well, why bother with the marriage if you weren’t interested in sex and child. Again the reason is Edmond daughter Sarah wanted a mother for her birthday. Well, she got one. Huh …
Adeline got angry when she got to know all about this and vowed to make a successful marriage. Well, then it was successful.
The End…
*****
My first read with Stacy Reid. I am not sure how to rate this book. There were some of the things I liked and some of the things I hated also. From the title and blurb, anyone could have guessed the scenario and that’s exactly what happens here.
Adeline was strong. She was a heroine who accepts the situation in her own term. She took initiative to avoid her abuser fiancé. I wasn’t mad with Adeline because she tried to create a scandal with a man because they already liked each other. Things didn't go as planned and she had to marry Edmond but still, she tries to work on her marriage...
Spoiler
Her relationship with Edmond was good in a way. Edmond was respectful, he didn’t behave badly except for two occasions. The first time, when Adeline wanted the Duchess room to use and Edmond refused. Well, after his first wife died the room was closed for three years because whenever he went there, Edmond smelled blood. So, he decided to close the room. The second time when Adeline got pregnant and he was afraid he will lose her.Adeline relation with her two stepdaughters was good. They didn’t start to call her mother immediately. The relationship between them was friendly and surprisingly refreshing.
The things I hated-
Spoiler
Adeline was engaged to an old Earl Lord Vale, who abused and terrified her. She ran to his father and wished to end the engagement but her father refused to do that. What father does that after hearing her daughter had been abused?Then Adeline decided to create a scandal with a man named Mr. Artwoods. Mr. Artwoods already asked Adeline hand in marriage but got rejected because he wasn’t titled. Adeline liked Mr. Artwood and she believed they will be happy after their marriage; obviously, the Scandal would have led to marriage. So, Adeline asked help from her best friend Evie. There was a party in Evie’s house and the guests were staying for the night. Adeline asked Evie to give the key to Mr. Artwoods’s room and said to bring Evie’s mother to Mr. Artwood’s room after some time. But Evie did the terrible thing here. Evie gives her Edmond(hero) room’s key deliberately not mistakenly, why???
The hero, Duke of Wolverton, Edmond was attending the party because he wished to talk to Evie and her father for the marriage. Evie was in love with another man, so to avoid her marry with Edmond she deliberately gives Edmond room’s key to Adeline. And later not just her mother Evie sends enough people to catch Adeline and Edmond together. And then obviously Edmond and Evie had to marry. This is the definition of the best friend, we get.
Now, Edmond, I liked the fact that he was honorable and gentle with Adeline. But I hated that he didn’t tell her that he had no intention of consummate the marriage and obviously no desire for another child. Well, the reason was his dead first wife who blamed him that his desire for an heir got her killed. Obviously, Edmond was guilty about it. After the Edmond research for the childbirth death and got a scary result which killed his desire for another child and heir. Well, why bother with the marriage if you weren’t interested in sex and child. Again the reason is Edmond daughter Sarah wanted a mother for her birthday. Well, she got one. Huh …
Adeline got angry when she got to know all about this and vowed to make a successful marriage. Well, then it was successful.
The End…
*****
3.5 stars. Nearly 4, but the hero's attitude doesn't quite pull it up to that level for me.
I saw this on SBTB's book sale roundup, and there was a note that readers complained the book had too much sex. It's also written by a Black woman. Sign me the fuck up.
The good:
The characters were lovable, especially the heroine. I stayed up late reading this, engrossed in the plot. It had the elements of a slow burn, with Adel slowly thawing the hero's heart—I love an elongated seduction! It's really the last third of the book that heats up. I thought there was a normal amount of sex in this book, and the scenes struck a balance of erotic and romantic without diving too deep into either end of the spectrum. Metaphors for genitals were few and far between.
A theme throughout the book was of loss. I love how Adel drew on her own experiences of grief to bond with Rosa and Sarah. I wish their relationship had been fleshed out more, but I don't know where those scenes would have gone.
The bad:
This book used the word "mien" a criminal amount. The dialogue was unrealistic; the character felt like their conversation was from the meta-narration of a Regency novel. The spoken words were flowery and occasionally pulled me out of the story. Edmond's reaction in the final plot climax seemed to undo so much of the work the previous parts of the work had done to humanize him and explore his emotions.
This is the first in a series, and weirdly the third book (not the second) was set up in this one. I'm interested in the side characters and how their stories will play out. Evie's story is on my list!
I saw this on SBTB's book sale roundup, and there was a note that readers complained the book had too much sex. It's also written by a Black woman. Sign me the fuck up.
The good:
The characters were lovable, especially the heroine. I stayed up late reading this, engrossed in the plot. It had the elements of a slow burn, with Adel slowly thawing the hero's heart—I love an elongated seduction! It's really the last third of the book that heats up. I thought there was a normal amount of sex in this book, and the scenes struck a balance of erotic and romantic without diving too deep into either end of the spectrum. Metaphors for genitals were few and far between.
A theme throughout the book was of loss. I love how Adel drew on her own experiences of grief to bond with Rosa and Sarah. I wish their relationship had been fleshed out more, but I don't know where those scenes would have gone.
The bad:
This book used the word "mien" a criminal amount. The dialogue was unrealistic; the character felt like their conversation was from the meta-narration of a Regency novel. The spoken words were flowery and occasionally pulled me out of the story. Edmond's reaction in the final plot climax seemed to undo so much of the work the previous parts of the work had done to humanize him and explore his emotions.
This is the first in a series, and weirdly the third book (not the second) was set up in this one. I'm interested in the side characters and how their stories will play out. Evie's story is on my list!
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Edmond and Adelaide's story was more than scandalous. I received an ARC of Accidentally Compromising the Duke in exchange for an honest review. Due to the fact that I read so many different types of stories, it is hard to surprise me. Stacy Reid did. A spur of the moment plan, leads to a hasty union between the most unlikely of suspects. Adelaide is a fun character. She acts before she thinks and that makes for a lot of hilarity. Edmond is more serene. Rough around the edges, closed off to the masses but when he loves, he does so with such depth that it is self-destructive. Adelaide got to see the sides of him that he did not reveal often and Edmond ended up playing a pivotal part in helping her settle down. Ms. Reid's story of loss, love, laughter and healing is all that I look for when reading romance and deserving of a 5 star review.
I have to admit that it took what felt like 5 minutes to get thru this story – I just couldn’t put it down and it was such an addictive read, so smooth.
We start off with Adel's dilemma and with the help of a friend she plots to get a different husband, one of her choice. Unfortunately her plotting doesn't go quite the way she wants. Enter the Mad Duke. He's in search of a wife, one that he won't love like he did his first wife. Which brings him to the same house party as Adel, to ask for the hand of her friend ... who doesn't want to marry him. Yeah, this is going to turn out just fine. As expected, Adel does get herself a different husband, just not the one she anticipated.
Even with the bad start, Adel and Edmond develop a fantastic relationship. Unfortunately he’s got some troubles left over from his first marriage and the death of his wife. It’s good that Adel is intelligent and kind hearted because she’s going to need every bit of it to handle him as he works through his fears.
Reid does a fantastic job of describing how he ended up in this spot and why he feels the way he does. She’s deft enough to do it and take us along for every enjoyable (and sometimes heartbreaking) moment.
If the first book in the series is this good, I can't wait for the rest!
(Complimentary copy provided in exchange for an honest review)
We start off with Adel's dilemma and with the help of a friend she plots to get a different husband, one of her choice. Unfortunately her plotting doesn't go quite the way she wants. Enter the Mad Duke. He's in search of a wife, one that he won't love like he did his first wife. Which brings him to the same house party as Adel, to ask for the hand of her friend ... who doesn't want to marry him. Yeah, this is going to turn out just fine. As expected, Adel does get herself a different husband, just not the one she anticipated.
Even with the bad start, Adel and Edmond develop a fantastic relationship. Unfortunately he’s got some troubles left over from his first marriage and the death of his wife. It’s good that Adel is intelligent and kind hearted because she’s going to need every bit of it to handle him as he works through his fears.
Reid does a fantastic job of describing how he ended up in this spot and why he feels the way he does. She’s deft enough to do it and take us along for every enjoyable (and sometimes heartbreaking) moment.
If the first book in the series is this good, I can't wait for the rest!
(Complimentary copy provided in exchange for an honest review)
Creo que debo empezar a aceptar que el romance histórico ha dejado de ser para mí.
Part of the romance/flu binge.
I had asked on Twitter for recommendations of regency romances that weren't all about a man too traumatized to love. I believe this book, or at least this author, was a rec. I get why because I like the way Reid told this story but also... this is a book about a man too traumatized to love. By the time we reach the end of these kinds of stories, and the main character has made some kind of false assumption, and sent the woman away in pain and anger, I'm so #overit. That's exactly what happens here. I mean, I read the whole damn thing, but it just wasn't my favorite.
3.5 — This was a solid 4 stars for me until the end when the Duke abandoned her for six weeks while pregnant and, IMHO, did not do nearly enough groveling to get her back.
emotional
hopeful
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death, Death, Death of parent
I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one.