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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
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
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Resident Evil 4 Remake came out and I suddenly found myself curious about the bodyguard trope in romance so that's why I'm here. (Not to imply that I ship Leon and Ashley because I don't, more than I was interested in the concept of a bodyguard falling for the person he's hired to protect.)
What's cool about this particular romance is that it features two disabled protagonists. Phoebe is our blind lead and James has a limp and uses a cane. I would say that, while I don't have either one of those disabilities, I didn't feel like the author was disrespectful necessarily in the depiction of them. There's ableism in the book from other characters naturally because in real life people are ableist to disabled folk.
I didn't really care for the constant mention of the age gap between them (Phoebe's 21, James is 33) and how much James would bring up her innocence but that's more a feature of historical fiction rather than a bug I suppose, in this particular time period between these particular kinds of people - a sister to a duke and a retired military captain in polite society.
What's cool about this particular romance is that it features two disabled protagonists. Phoebe is our blind lead and James has a limp and uses a cane. I would say that, while I don't have either one of those disabilities, I didn't feel like the author was disrespectful necessarily in the depiction of them. There's ableism in the book from other characters naturally because in real life people are ableist to disabled folk.
I didn't really care for the constant mention of the age gap between them (Phoebe's 21, James is 33) and how much James would bring up her innocence but that's more a feature of historical fiction rather than a bug I suppose, in this particular time period between these particular kinds of people - a sister to a duke and a retired military captain in polite society.
Bodyguard/age-gap romance with a retired cop and blind woman. Lots of kidnapping. Smash.
I just love this series, each book is wonderful. I really liked how these two admitted to their feelings pretty early on, I love that it was not drug out.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very charming, and it was great that blindness and disability were well explored and positively portrayed. Phoebe was a delight and Trevellion's journey from grump to sweetheart was great fun.
But once again, the ending! So rushed, so free of tension. Such a shame, it felt like there was a quota of sexy scenes in the second half that had to be hit and the actual plot resolution was squeezed in as an afterthought. I won't stop visiting Maiden Lane though, grumbles aside.
But once again, the ending! So rushed, so free of tension. Such a shame, it felt like there was a quota of sexy scenes in the second half that had to be hit and the actual plot resolution was squeezed in as an afterthought. I won't stop visiting Maiden Lane though, grumbles aside.
emotional
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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
Disability rep was ridiculously bad and used as a plot device.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism