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chelseaj91 's review for:
Duke Looks Like a Groomsman
by Valerie Bowman
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd hoped to like this one a lot more than I did.
This had the potential for some great sniping/banter/chemistry because both Rhys and Julianna were clearly hurt by things yet neither was willing to actually admit it. What we got was some decent banter leading to potential chemistry that then abruptly ended almost every time. Most chapters where they'd start to give in would end with something starting and then we're on the next chapter and it's later the same day/night or even the next day and one of them is remembering what happened and how they almost got caught or how one of them made a stupid comment that brought things to a halt. Let me see the stupidity, damn it!
While it was obvious on both sides that things were not as expected, I'll admit that I kind of disliked Julianna's plan once she figured out what Rhys was doing. Yes, she was still acting on assumptions, but she started going out of her way to antagonize him and make him give up and some of what she did was just childish and downright bitchy. At the end, the fact that she was going through with the wedding only to show him how stubborn she could be as well was stupid because she was only doing it out of spite/stubbornness. At least at the very end, she'd realized she was being too stubborn for her own good and was going to make a better choice.
Similar to Julianna and all the assumptions, I feel like Rhys handled things a bit better at the house party. Yes, at first he tried to buy her silence but when it became clear that wasn't going to work, he just put up with her asinine actions and even seemed to enjoy it some of the time. I liked that he clearly cared for the horses and I liked the way he was with Mary and how he was able to help her with riding. I laughed at the end when things were going sort of sideways, first with Bell being so calmly correct and then with Kendall telling him off too.
The end is kind of a cliffhanger that sets up Bell's book really well, but I wish it had been added at the beginning of the next book or something. Of course, I'm going to be reading Bell's book as soon as I can get my hands on it, and I hope Rhys, Kendall and Clayton make appearances again.
This had the potential for some great sniping/banter/chemistry because both Rhys and Julianna were clearly hurt by things yet neither was willing to actually admit it. What we got was some decent banter leading to potential chemistry that then abruptly ended almost every time. Most chapters where they'd start to give in would end with something starting and then we're on the next chapter and it's later the same day/night or even the next day and one of them is remembering what happened and how they almost got caught or how one of them made a stupid comment that brought things to a halt. Let me see the stupidity, damn it!
While it was obvious on both sides that things were not as expected, I'll admit that I kind of disliked Julianna's plan once she figured out what Rhys was doing. Yes, she was still acting on assumptions, but she started going out of her way to antagonize him and make him give up and some of what she did was just childish and downright bitchy. At the end, the fact that she was going through with the wedding only to show him how stubborn she could be as well was stupid because she was only doing it out of spite/stubbornness. At least at the very end, she'd realized she was being too stubborn for her own good and was going to make a better choice.
Similar to Julianna and all the assumptions, I feel like Rhys handled things a bit better at the house party. Yes, at first he tried to buy her silence but when it became clear that wasn't going to work, he just put up with her asinine actions and even seemed to enjoy it some of the time. I liked that he clearly cared for the horses and I liked the way he was with Mary and how he was able to help her with riding. I laughed at the end when things were going sort of sideways, first with Bell being so calmly correct and then with Kendall telling him off too.
The end is kind of a cliffhanger that sets up Bell's book really well, but I wish it had been added at the beginning of the next book or something. Of course, I'm going to be reading Bell's book as soon as I can get my hands on it, and I hope Rhys, Kendall and Clayton make appearances again.