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fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
A little boring and pretty absurd. Closed-door.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Infertility
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Child abuse and Deportation
caitlin_bookchats's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
To be fair, I went into this book extremely wary of the premise. Using children just long enough to keep an inheritance? Even if the point was that the couple would grow and see them as actually human beings, it's still starting your book by having your couple dig themselves a hole.
But I also thought it might be an opportunity for a relatively rare couple dynamic. A marriage of convenience where the man is secretly in love and the woman thinks it's just a business arrangement. The book is just too jam packed with things happening to really properly show any of that growth though.
The realization that our couple do maybe actually want to be parents was perhaps the best developed but it still contained a lot of have wavey "they're rapscallions but of course they can't trust us and they bring us joy."
The way working as a team to parent (kind of) the kids helps Will and Emmeline to see each other in a new light is so underdeveloped the I almost missed when they actually admitted they were interested in each other as more than business partners.
I don't think the book had to be open door or more explicit, but the emotional development was just not there?
And the threat of the dastardly brother, thrown in for conflict and an outside threat, really distracted from what I wanted which was the development of this family and their life towards each other.
I will say that perhaps the best thing for readers might be that even when they resolve they're relationship, at least at the end of the book there is no magical pregnancy planted by the power of love. Wherever fertility struggles Emmeline had do seen to persist even after she and Will become adoptive parents. (Even this! Underdeveloped! What are Emmeline's and Will's feelings around their struggles to have children???)
Anyway, ymmv but I was frustrated.
But I also thought it might be an opportunity for a relatively rare couple dynamic. A marriage of convenience where the man is secretly in love and the woman thinks it's just a business arrangement. The book is just too jam packed with things happening to really properly show any of that growth though.
The realization that our couple do maybe actually want to be parents was perhaps the best developed but it still contained a lot of have wavey "they're rapscallions but of course they can't trust us and they bring us joy."
The way working as a team to parent (kind of) the kids helps Will and Emmeline to see each other in a new light is so underdeveloped the I almost missed when they actually admitted they were interested in each other as more than business partners.
I don't think the book had to be open door or more explicit, but the emotional development was just not there?
And the threat of the dastardly brother, thrown in for conflict and an outside threat, really distracted from what I wanted which was the development of this family and their life towards each other.
I will say that perhaps the best thing for readers might be that even when they resolve they're relationship, at least at the end of the book there is no magical pregnancy planted by the power of love. Wherever fertility struggles Emmeline had do seen to persist even after she and Will become adoptive parents. (Even this! Underdeveloped! What are Emmeline's and Will's feelings around their struggles to have children???)
Anyway, ymmv but I was frustrated.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Abandonment, Bullying, and Death of parent
Minor: Infertility
eamily's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Cursing
Minor: Classism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, and Physical abuse
heather_freshparchment's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I am growing to love historical romances. I have learned that they don't have to be trite or substance-less. This, however, is a trite and fairly substance-less novel. The premise is based on the most toxic relationships for everyone: Emmie, Will, and the two children they take in. I realize that the novel is working with the 'marriage of convenience' trope, but when Enoch described their wedding night as "the way he'd unbalanced their agreement and made their partnership about an intimacy she certainly hadn't been ready for", I cringed. If that doesn't merit some examination for consent issues, I don't know what does. In addition, while Enoch's use of nineteenth-century slang is extensive and admirable, her use of the phrase "gifted me" is not historically accurate or necessary. The phrase "gave me" is surely sufficient. Secondly, the ending is wrapped up in less than ten pages with little to no satisfying detail as to how such arrangements came to be. We understand that Emmie and Will become reconciled, but again, the exact nature of that reconciliation is also hidden from the readers. Both of these details make the plot very unbelievable and unsatisfying. I will continue to read historical romances, but I will not be recommending this novel.
I am growing to love historical romances. I have learned that they don't have to be trite or substance-less. This, however, is a trite and fairly substance-less novel. The premise is based on the most toxic relationships for everyone: Emmie, Will, and the two children they take in. I realize that the novel is working with the 'marriage of convenience' trope, but when Enoch described their wedding night as "the way he'd unbalanced their agreement and made their partnership about an intimacy she certainly hadn't been ready for", I cringed. If that doesn't merit some examination for consent issues, I don't know what does. In addition, while Enoch's use of nineteenth-century slang is extensive and admirable, her use of the phrase "gifted me" is not historically accurate or necessary. The phrase "gave me" is surely sufficient. Secondly, the ending is wrapped up in less than ten pages with little to no satisfying detail as to how such arrangements came to be. We understand that Emmie and Will become reconciled, but again, the exact nature of that reconciliation is also hidden from the readers. Both of these details make the plot very unbelievable and unsatisfying. I will continue to read historical romances, but I will not be recommending this novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Vomit, Bullying, and Sexual assault
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