Reviews with content warning for Slavery - An Extraordinary Union

I really wanted to love this book. I truly did. But I just couldn't get into it. This book had so much promise but it fell flat for me.

First off, I tend to have issues with insta-love in general, but I feel like it's even more unlikely considering the circumstances in which these characters find themselves. Elle and Malcolm knew each other for, like, two weeks before they're professing their love for each other and willing to undo all the hard work they've each done to defeat the Confederacy. Also, I felt like Malcolm was a caricature of performative white allyship. Throughout the book, he keeps saying that he wants to free the slaves but he doesn't give much thought to what freedom means for slaves, how their lives would be affected once freed. He even admits this to himself when talking with Elle, thinking that he hasn't really considered how their lives are impacted by slavery and who they don't have any resources to assist them when freed. He also says that he recognizes how selfish he is being by pursuing Elle but that he doesn't care. He even goes so far as saying that it's not Elle's job to educate him on the plight of Blacks in the U.S., but he allows it anyway.

The plot was also SO SLOW. Normally this doesn't bother me too much but when there is zero character development, it's really noticeable. I was 70% of the way through the book and nothing happened yet, which means the last little chunk of the book was just a free fall. The plot twists didn't really leave any emotional impact. Overall, it was just blah.

I will say that I love the time period selected for this historical romance. I think part of my issues is that this should have been marketed as historical fiction that happens to have a romance rather than a romance outright. There are plenty of people in my book club that loved the book, though, so check it out if it sounds like your cup of tea!

Content Warnings

megloveswords12's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

jmmd's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

emfass's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I really wanted to like this book. I'm updating my review a week after finishing it--the more I think back to this book, the more I think it just overall didn't work for me. Both the romance and the spy plot weren't compelling to me; I was SO STRESSED for the two main characters at all times, and I didn't find the development of their relationship very convincing.

I did appreciate how Malcolm was maybe the first person to make Elle feel really seen, but otherwise I just was not impressed with where he sat in his privilege, and didn't think he grew enough to deserve to be with Elle.

Also, for being a spy plot romance, I found things moved pretty slowly. The switching back and forth between trying to further the romance and trying to further the action felt choppy throughout. There was also so much redundancy in their inner monologues.

Content Warnings