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3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
2.5 đ this was a new author for me. The first half was great but the last half fell flat.
You May Kiss the Bride is the first in Lisa Berne's Penhallow Dynasty series. The story focuses on Gabriel Penhallow, a very wealthy and prominent gentleman in search of a bride, and Livia Stuart, the orphaned country girl he accidentally gets engaged to.
The plot of this novel is very long and rambling, and seems to get lost completely at times. Overall summed up: guy reluctantly gets married, girl agrees. Unfortunately I could not bring myself to like either of the main characters. Gabriel seemed for the majority of the book to be nothing more than a puppet of his overbearing grandmother, and it never felt like the reader got a good sense of who he was as a person outside of interactions with Livia. Livia, the heroine, started out plucky and courageous, eager to stand up for herself, but it felt like a quarter of the way into the book she became a whipped puppy who only lashed out occasionally, and blended into the woodwork the rest of the time.
I will be continuing the Penhallow Dynasty series, and am hopeful that the subsequent books are a little better.
The plot of this novel is very long and rambling, and seems to get lost completely at times. Overall summed up: guy reluctantly gets married, girl agrees. Unfortunately I could not bring myself to like either of the main characters. Gabriel seemed for the majority of the book to be nothing more than a puppet of his overbearing grandmother, and it never felt like the reader got a good sense of who he was as a person outside of interactions with Livia. Livia, the heroine, started out plucky and courageous, eager to stand up for herself, but it felt like a quarter of the way into the book she became a whipped puppy who only lashed out occasionally, and blended into the woodwork the rest of the time.
I will be continuing the Penhallow Dynasty series, and am hopeful that the subsequent books are a little better.
The first 3/4 was delightful: a heroine who doesnât want to get married and a pompous hero. My kind of catnip.
But the last 1/4 really dragged... and the heroine lost all her agency, which is my anti-catnip.
One huge pro overall: nobody is a DUKE. Thank god.
But the last 1/4 really dragged... and the heroine lost all her agency, which is my anti-catnip.
One huge pro overall: nobody is a DUKE. Thank god.
2.5 I like the author's style but good lord this was way too long with so much needless action - I mean the MCs spend half the book apart and the FMC's "training" lasted foooooorrrreeeever. I mean, HTF did this get a starred review from Kirkus?
Review originally posted at http://fictionvixen.com/review-may-kiss-bride-lisa-berne/
This is going to be one of those reviews where Iâm not sure of my rating until I get my thoughts on the page. So sit tight and bear with me.
You May Kiss the Bride is the first book in what looks to be a new series by debut author Lisa Berne. The Penhallow Dynasty will follow, you guessed it, the Penhallow family. The first installment introduces this well to do family and brings together the only grandson of the matriarch, Gabriel, and the woman who would go on to win his heart and become his wife, Livia.
Livia and Gabriel meet quite by accident when Gabriel gets lost while visiting an acquaintanceâs estate and comes upon Livia walking about dressed in old, ill-fitting clothing. Why mention the clothing you ask? Well, he mistakes her for a servant and coldly asks the way back to the main house. In an angry huff, she sarcastically spouts off some nonsense and then gives him the long, round about way back. Later on that night at a ball they meet again, this time Gabriel realizes Livia isnât a servant, but a poor relation to a neighbor of his hosts. Her beauty intrigues him. There is just something about the scarlet haired young woman sitting by herself, ignored by the ton, that makes his eyes gravitate toward her over and over. So when she foolishly walks into the garden alone with a man, Gabriel follows. And then does the very worst thing he can do. He kisses her.
I wasnât sure about this romance right from the beginning because while I felt for Livia, who is a poor, orphaned woman living with her aunt and uncle, there were times she irritated me beyond measure. In fact her personality seemed to change back and forth from sad, almost depressed wallflower with no hope for the future, who wants to make an escape into teasing, sarcastic, angry woman. I did not know what to make of it. One minute sheâs running away from her assumed fiancĂ© to find work as a maid in a rundown inn, the next sheâs agreeing to the engagement with Gabriel and throwing in his face that she will learn to be a respectable lady and will relish using him for his money and all he can give her. One minute sheâs lonely and tired of wearing the Penhallow mask, the next sheâs having a sexy interlude with the cold Gabriel and decides sheâs in love. For real, I still donât know if I actually like Livia or not.
Which brings me to Gabriel. This man is cold. And rude and says things to Livia that made me want to kick him in the junk repeatedly. I have absolutely no idea why Livia would even want to have a sexy interlude with him. He really didnât show an ounce of kindness to her before this scene, in fact he enjoys repeatedly mentioning to her that they will live a loveless marriage of convenience and he will never come to her bed. He wears the cold, indifferent mask and treats Livia like a piece of annoying baggage that he canât wait to get away from.
But then Livia has this thought:
And all I could think was⊠what humor? What kindness and passion? Yes, he saves the dog she rescued from the streets. Yes, he helped her off a horse when she was frightened and kissed her a couple of times, but he never warms up and speaks to her in a kind way until after the sexy interlude, which happens a couple of pages later. But then right after the event he says something that hurts her again. Damn it Gabriel.
Then something happens that brings the whole family together and I was like YES, PLEASE, YES. Finally, Livia and Gabriel will open up and connect. Finally, I would be able to see them coming together as a couple instead of two people hopelessly circling each other while saying rude things. And in fact they DO come together and have another sweet, romantic night in each otherâs arms. THINGS WERE HAPPENING! Livia was in love and looking forward to her new life, Gabriel morphs into this teasing, warm human being that canât get enough of his passionate bride-to-be. Then they make the trip to the Penhallow ancestral estate and everything goes to shit again. I canât even begin to describe how frustrated I was. Especially at Gabriel and his reverting back to the cold, distant aristocrat. By the time he does the âmonumentally stupid thingâ at the end that will eventually lead to him and Livia deciding they love each other I was resigned to the fact that he would never win me over. I donât use the term monumentally stupid lightly either, as soon as I figured out what was about to happen I inwardly groaned and took about ten deep breaths. Damn it Gabriel.
The ending is a blur of âI love yousâ, âweâll be happysâ, âdonât ever changesâ, and âhow many kids do you wantsâ. It happened so fast that I wasnât sure if I missed something so I read it twice. All of that angst and suffering and Gabriel acting like an ass and I needed more begging for forgiveness. More soul-searching. More, more, more. A better resolution to the conflict so that I could really believe in this coupleâs HEA.
So why am I wavering over rating this book? Because I could not put this book down. Could. Not. I read it straight through regardless of my frustrations and uncertainties. This authorâs voice appealed to me. When I came to the end I realized that with any other book or author I would have probably taken a break to read something else, but I just couldnât. Does that even make sense? I will most likely pick up the next book in the series, because I want to read this author again. I feel like Lisa Berne has tremendous potential and am hoping her second offering has a more appealing main couple. Final grade- C/C-
Favorite Quote:
This is going to be one of those reviews where Iâm not sure of my rating until I get my thoughts on the page. So sit tight and bear with me.
You May Kiss the Bride is the first book in what looks to be a new series by debut author Lisa Berne. The Penhallow Dynasty will follow, you guessed it, the Penhallow family. The first installment introduces this well to do family and brings together the only grandson of the matriarch, Gabriel, and the woman who would go on to win his heart and become his wife, Livia.
Livia and Gabriel meet quite by accident when Gabriel gets lost while visiting an acquaintanceâs estate and comes upon Livia walking about dressed in old, ill-fitting clothing. Why mention the clothing you ask? Well, he mistakes her for a servant and coldly asks the way back to the main house. In an angry huff, she sarcastically spouts off some nonsense and then gives him the long, round about way back. Later on that night at a ball they meet again, this time Gabriel realizes Livia isnât a servant, but a poor relation to a neighbor of his hosts. Her beauty intrigues him. There is just something about the scarlet haired young woman sitting by herself, ignored by the ton, that makes his eyes gravitate toward her over and over. So when she foolishly walks into the garden alone with a man, Gabriel follows. And then does the very worst thing he can do. He kisses her.
I wasnât sure about this romance right from the beginning because while I felt for Livia, who is a poor, orphaned woman living with her aunt and uncle, there were times she irritated me beyond measure. In fact her personality seemed to change back and forth from sad, almost depressed wallflower with no hope for the future, who wants to make an escape into teasing, sarcastic, angry woman. I did not know what to make of it. One minute sheâs running away from her assumed fiancĂ© to find work as a maid in a rundown inn, the next sheâs agreeing to the engagement with Gabriel and throwing in his face that she will learn to be a respectable lady and will relish using him for his money and all he can give her. One minute sheâs lonely and tired of wearing the Penhallow mask, the next sheâs having a sexy interlude with the cold Gabriel and decides sheâs in love. For real, I still donât know if I actually like Livia or not.
Which brings me to Gabriel. This man is cold. And rude and says things to Livia that made me want to kick him in the junk repeatedly. I have absolutely no idea why Livia would even want to have a sexy interlude with him. He really didnât show an ounce of kindness to her before this scene, in fact he enjoys repeatedly mentioning to her that they will live a loveless marriage of convenience and he will never come to her bed. He wears the cold, indifferent mask and treats Livia like a piece of annoying baggage that he canât wait to get away from.
But then Livia has this thought:
There was moreâ so much moreâ to Gabriel than what he so often presented to the world. She had gotten glimpses, tantalizing glimpses, of his humor, kindness, vulnerability, passion.
But it was like standing at the gates to a magnificent castle. One could peer through the bars, view the tiniest bits of the pleasure within, but one could never, ever gain entrance.
And all I could think was⊠what humor? What kindness and passion? Yes, he saves the dog she rescued from the streets. Yes, he helped her off a horse when she was frightened and kissed her a couple of times, but he never warms up and speaks to her in a kind way until after the sexy interlude, which happens a couple of pages later. But then right after the event he says something that hurts her again. Damn it Gabriel.
Then something happens that brings the whole family together and I was like YES, PLEASE, YES. Finally, Livia and Gabriel will open up and connect. Finally, I would be able to see them coming together as a couple instead of two people hopelessly circling each other while saying rude things. And in fact they DO come together and have another sweet, romantic night in each otherâs arms. THINGS WERE HAPPENING! Livia was in love and looking forward to her new life, Gabriel morphs into this teasing, warm human being that canât get enough of his passionate bride-to-be. Then they make the trip to the Penhallow ancestral estate and everything goes to shit again. I canât even begin to describe how frustrated I was. Especially at Gabriel and his reverting back to the cold, distant aristocrat. By the time he does the âmonumentally stupid thingâ at the end that will eventually lead to him and Livia deciding they love each other I was resigned to the fact that he would never win me over. I donât use the term monumentally stupid lightly either, as soon as I figured out what was about to happen I inwardly groaned and took about ten deep breaths. Damn it Gabriel.
The ending is a blur of âI love yousâ, âweâll be happysâ, âdonât ever changesâ, and âhow many kids do you wantsâ. It happened so fast that I wasnât sure if I missed something so I read it twice. All of that angst and suffering and Gabriel acting like an ass and I needed more begging for forgiveness. More soul-searching. More, more, more. A better resolution to the conflict so that I could really believe in this coupleâs HEA.
So why am I wavering over rating this book? Because I could not put this book down. Could. Not. I read it straight through regardless of my frustrations and uncertainties. This authorâs voice appealed to me. When I came to the end I realized that with any other book or author I would have probably taken a break to read something else, but I just couldnât. Does that even make sense? I will most likely pick up the next book in the series, because I want to read this author again. I feel like Lisa Berne has tremendous potential and am hoping her second offering has a more appealing main couple. Final grade- C/C-
Favorite Quote:
There was, sheâd found, an odd sort of comfort in staying hidden behind this impenetrable mask.
2.5 stars
A relatively enjoyable Regency: Gabriel Penhallow always expected to wed a society woman in a loveless marriage. But he spots Livia at a party and is drawn to her. Even though he is expected to ask for someone else's hand, he kisses Livia. They are discovered, scandal ensues, and they are forced to marry.
I didn't love the portrayal of the h, especially in the beginning. She seemed more jealous than interesting. It did get better as the book went along. But she was almost constantly surrounded by angst and often her reaction was to flee. Repeatedly.
And I'm subtracting .5 star for using my LEAST favorite trope ever: the 'I'm letting you go because I love you and want what's best for you even though I haven't asked you so that I could find out what's actually best for you.' I really, really hate that. (Okay, it might be tied with the 'I have a secret I need to tell you but I can't seem to get around to doing it and now you've found out on your own and we're finished because of it.')
Cover: Okay. That's 1/2 step above 'meh.' Very traditional.
Narrator: Nice job!
Hogwarts Sorting Hat: I think we've got a classic here: he's a Slytherin and she's a Hufflepuff.
Themes: forced marriage, family, Bath
A relatively enjoyable Regency: Gabriel Penhallow always expected to wed a society woman in a loveless marriage. But he spots Livia at a party and is drawn to her. Even though he is expected to ask for someone else's hand, he kisses Livia. They are discovered, scandal ensues, and they are forced to marry.
I didn't love the portrayal of the h, especially in the beginning. She seemed more jealous than interesting. It did get better as the book went along. But she was almost constantly surrounded by angst and often her reaction was to flee. Repeatedly.
And I'm subtracting .5 star for using my LEAST favorite trope ever: the 'I'm letting you go because I love you and want what's best for you even though I haven't asked you so that I could find out what's actually best for you.' I really, really hate that. (Okay, it might be tied with the 'I have a secret I need to tell you but I can't seem to get around to doing it and now you've found out on your own and we're finished because of it.')
Cover: Okay. That's 1/2 step above 'meh.' Very traditional.
Narrator: Nice job!
Hogwarts Sorting Hat: I think we've got a classic here: he's a Slytherin and she's a Hufflepuff.
Themes: forced marriage, family, Bath
Hoovering between 3 and 3.5 stars. A debut novel dealing with a forced marriageable of convenience trope, this novel is sweet overall. No big mystery or gothic elements which I appreciated. However the tone in uneven - the characters move in an out of personalities as if they were trying them on. The heroine also starts off with more intelligence and loses it all near the latter half. She became so passive that she was a blank slate. I think the author was trying to go for the claustrophobic sense that a lack of choice brings, but it came across as lazy or just uninterested. I gave it a pass since I got what the author was trying for.
The novel is also light on events which I am double minded about. I like that there was no evil cousin trying to push the hapless heroine off the ramparts - no spoilers - but I canât say much happened. I think this could have benefited from more focus on the leads and less on the relationship between the grandmother and the heroine.
Also - âgrannyâ. Really?! I hated that - I know itâs meant to show the love Livia had for the grandmother (whose name I canât remember) but it made me cringe every time I read. And for that I docked the half star!
The novel is also light on events which I am double minded about. I like that there was no evil cousin trying to push the hapless heroine off the ramparts - no spoilers - but I canât say much happened. I think this could have benefited from more focus on the leads and less on the relationship between the grandmother and the heroine.
Also - âgrannyâ. Really?! I hated that - I know itâs meant to show the love Livia had for the grandmother (whose name I canât remember) but it made me cringe every time I read. And for that I docked the half star!
lighthearted
medium-paced
Fun, new to me series. I already have Book 2 on hold at the library.
Actual quotes from the book as Livia arrives in her new home: "It was a place to LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE!" and "Now it was filled with LIGHT, LOVE, JOY." (attempting not to gag)
Good story but so poorly written. It feels like it's trying way too hard to be a Jane Austen romcom.
At first, I didn't like a single character in this book. Livia comes across as immature, constantly playing the victim with a "woe is me" attitude. And Gabriel? He's just a Mr. Darcy wannabe.
Now, I love cheesy, over-exaggerated historical romances, but this book takes it to a whole new level of bad writing. The cheesy elements just don't stick.
Finally, just when I start to gain some interest, the book takes a sudden turn in a completely different direction. It's frustrating how it often starts on one storyline, like a tense conversation in the parlor, and then abruptly shifts focus to Livia's internal monologue for the next three pages. Did the conversation even finish? How did it end? And then, it tries to snap back to said conversation or without warning, it's suddenly the next day.
The book rambles on, leaving stories hanging in the middle of the page. It leaves important things out and then overstuffs it with random nothings.
Overall, liked the story, detested the writing.
Good story but so poorly written. It feels like it's trying way too hard to be a Jane Austen romcom.
At first, I didn't like a single character in this book. Livia comes across as immature, constantly playing the victim with a "woe is me" attitude. And Gabriel? He's just a Mr. Darcy wannabe.
Now, I love cheesy, over-exaggerated historical romances, but this book takes it to a whole new level of bad writing. The cheesy elements just don't stick.
Finally, just when I start to gain some interest, the book takes a sudden turn in a completely different direction. It's frustrating how it often starts on one storyline, like a tense conversation in the parlor, and then abruptly shifts focus to Livia's internal monologue for the next three pages. Did the conversation even finish? How did it end? And then, it tries to snap back to said conversation or without warning, it's suddenly the next day.
The book rambles on, leaving stories hanging in the middle of the page. It leaves important things out and then overstuffs it with random nothings.
Overall, liked the story, detested the writing.