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A review by laurenjodi
The Soldier by Grace Burrowes
2.0
The Soldier
2 Stars
Psychologically tormented from his experiences in the Napoleonic wars, Devlin St. Just, the oldest but illegitimate son of the Duke of Moreland, only wants to live a quiet life in the wilds of Yorkshire. So, when he is granted the rundown estate of Rosecroft, he travels there posthaste only to discover that it is already inhabited by an unruly 6 year old and her exquisite cousin - both of whom are about to make his life a lot less peaceful.
Devlin’s story has such wonderful potential. Unfortunately, it falls completely flat mainly due to the fact that Emmie is an excessively “woe-is-me” heroine and is constantly running hot and cold with Devlin. The reasons for her rejection of his suit are also convoluted and incomprehensible -
The tortured hero is usually my favorite trope in any romance genre. Dev has everything going for him in this regard, however, Burrowes’ overly descriptive writing makes it difficult to truly empathize with him as the endless details have the reader nodding off.
Burrowes’ tendency of detailing everything and anything in passage after passage means that nothing actually happens in the story - it is simply page after page of Emmie’s angst, Dev’s nightmares and Winnie’s antics. The result is a tediously long read.
Finally, the familial interactions, which made the first book so engaging, are all but missing from this installment. Dev’s family is relegated to one chapter and his relationship with his step brother-in-law is very strange.
Hoping that Val’s book is better as I already have it and the next two.
2 Stars
Psychologically tormented from his experiences in the Napoleonic wars, Devlin St. Just, the oldest but illegitimate son of the Duke of Moreland, only wants to live a quiet life in the wilds of Yorkshire. So, when he is granted the rundown estate of Rosecroft, he travels there posthaste only to discover that it is already inhabited by an unruly 6 year old and her exquisite cousin - both of whom are about to make his life a lot less peaceful.
Devlin’s story has such wonderful potential. Unfortunately, it falls completely flat mainly due to the fact that Emmie is an excessively “woe-is-me” heroine and is constantly running hot and cold with Devlin. The reasons for her rejection of his suit are also convoluted and incomprehensible -
Spoiler
The man is a bastard himself. Why would he care if she had a child out of wedlock?!The tortured hero is usually my favorite trope in any romance genre. Dev has everything going for him in this regard, however, Burrowes’ overly descriptive writing makes it difficult to truly empathize with him as the endless details have the reader nodding off.
Burrowes’ tendency of detailing everything and anything in passage after passage means that nothing actually happens in the story - it is simply page after page of Emmie’s angst, Dev’s nightmares and Winnie’s antics. The result is a tediously long read.
Finally, the familial interactions, which made the first book so engaging, are all but missing from this installment. Dev’s family is relegated to one chapter and his relationship with his step brother-in-law is very strange.
Hoping that Val’s book is better as I already have it and the next two.