A review by max_pink
You May Kiss the Bride by Lisa Berne

challenging sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

 2.75 Stars 

 

A competently written historical romance that feels…weirdly unromantic? Livia starts out in a bad situation, struggling with self-worth issues, and then spends the rest of this book in better circumstances with…people who magnify her self-worth issues. At every turn, she’s just insulted and emotionally dragged through the mud. 

 

Gabriel is…eh. He’s so emotionally constipated that I’m not really convinced he ever really opened up. 

 

I think I’m also pretty tired of wealthy landed gentlemen in these books having a chip on their shoulders about gold diggers. Like, y’all. This is a dependence YOU created. Deal with it. 

 

I’m not totally sure I buy them being in love, either. It seemed to come out of nowhere. 

 

It sounds like I really didn’t like this book. And that’s not true. I finished it, so the writing was compelling enough. Really, the star of the show here is Mrs. Penhallow, Gabriel’s grandmother. I love a bitter, meddling matriarch, and her development over the course of the book is really engaging. 

 

That being said, it’s kind of a problem when my favorite character in a romance is…neither of the main couple. This just wasn’t a super fun read, tbh. 

 

Carolyn Morris did excellent audio narration, though.