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A review by aprhodes
The Devil and the Heiress by Harper St. George
3.0
Overall: Read this if you're looking for a book that was 0% tension and 40% third-act breakup.
Ok, that is an exaggeration, but I was not the right reader for this book. This book is the second in one of those interconnected series, and I have not read the first book. But I did not feel lost, but I did feel a little bored by all the setup scenes for the next book.
The book starts with Christian asking for Violet's hand in marriage. While he is primarily motivated by money, he is also highly attracted to her and eager for Violet to be his wife. This is what I mean by 0 tension. I don't like the book to start with one of the main characters half in love already. I'm looking for the love story, but this one feels like it's already half-done.
Violet doesn't feel as strongly initially, although she is very attracted to Christian and even kisses him by the 13% mark. And after just a few days in she's also ready to marry him. So they are both totally in love and are ready to marry by the around 40% mark. So then what is the rest of the book?
Well, first it's just a lot of miscommunication as they refuse to discuss their feelings. Then they agree to marry, only for there to be another 25% of the book left. The rest is breakup drama before we get our HEA.
These are not the ratios of love-story to break-up that I'm looking for in my romance. I want the falling-in-love section to be drawn out, full of angst and yearning, and the breakup section to be small (or better yet, non-existent).
I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't like the "MMC is so in love with the FMC that he can't think straight" thing. We get so much of Christian's POV and it's just so boring to hear how Violet is perfect in every single possible way. It's just not realistic and no matter how many times the author tells me it's "love not infatuation", it reads like infatuation because real love is more complex than what is being presented here.
To end on a few things I did like. I liked that this wasn't a Regency book, but was in the 1860s; that felt fresh. I also liked the conversations around women's rights and the needs of the poor, always a good addition to these books.
I think I'll skip the rest of the series, because it seems like it's more of the same. But I can see why this would appeal to certain readers.
Ok, that is an exaggeration, but I was not the right reader for this book. This book is the second in one of those interconnected series, and I have not read the first book. But I did not feel lost, but I did feel a little bored by all the setup scenes for the next book.
The book starts with Christian asking for Violet's hand in marriage. While he is primarily motivated by money, he is also highly attracted to her and eager for Violet to be his wife. This is what I mean by 0 tension. I don't like the book to start with one of the main characters half in love already. I'm looking for the love story, but this one feels like it's already half-done.
Violet doesn't feel as strongly initially, although she is very attracted to Christian and even kisses him by the 13% mark. And after just a few days in she's also ready to marry him. So they are both totally in love and are ready to marry by the around 40% mark. So then what is the rest of the book?
Well, first it's just a lot of miscommunication as they refuse to discuss their feelings. Then they agree to marry, only for there to be another 25% of the book left. The rest is breakup drama before we get our HEA.
These are not the ratios of love-story to break-up that I'm looking for in my romance. I want the falling-in-love section to be drawn out, full of angst and yearning, and the breakup section to be small (or better yet, non-existent).
I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't like the "MMC is so in love with the FMC that he can't think straight" thing. We get so much of Christian's POV and it's just so boring to hear how Violet is perfect in every single possible way. It's just not realistic and no matter how many times the author tells me it's "love not infatuation", it reads like infatuation because real love is more complex than what is being presented here.
To end on a few things I did like. I liked that this wasn't a Regency book, but was in the 1860s; that felt fresh. I also liked the conversations around women's rights and the needs of the poor, always a good addition to these books.
I think I'll skip the rest of the series, because it seems like it's more of the same. But I can see why this would appeal to certain readers.