Scan barcode
A review by killerwhaletank
His at Night by Sherry Thomas
1.0
I had a lot of problems with this book. The premise was interesting and I think I could have liked it a lot if it had been executed differently. However, I found both characters very unlikeable and the plot hard to swallow. The hero in particular I had no respect for based on any of his actions or thoughts throughout the book. Their romance made me cringe… it was so toxic. Neither character could redeem themselves by the end of the book and the whole relationship between them and between the hero and his brother is just… ick.
There’s insta-love/lust which turns immediately into disgust with each other for a good half of the book. She tricks and uses him, he lies to her, he pretty much rapes her on their wedding night… they are supposedly falling in love but as he’s constantly pretending to be a different person and treats her pretty awfully throughout their marriage, it’s really hard to understand why. It’s just really hard to like either of them.
Not to mention the plot line (which is revealed early so it’s not a spoiler) that he’s been pretending to have been incapacitated by a brain injury (he pretends he’s an imbecile) since he was 16 (for 13 years!) just so he can move around society without suspicion and no one will think anything of it if he’s caught somewhere he’s not supposed to be. It was too much… and I didn’t buy the fact that apparently he’s universally liked even though he’s a “dimwit” because when they show him acting the part, he pretty much just spouts nonsense and annoys people, so why is he so tolerated? I don’t get it.
I think I would have loved the concept if he’s been portrayed more as a Freddy Standen type character (from Georgette Heyer’s Cotillion) who is someone that is universally liked but people think he’s simple and they underestimate him a lot. That’s not the case here.
And… I could not respect the hero for putting the burden of worrying about him and looking after him on his younger brother and not telling him the truth about his ruse. What a jerk thing to do. He gets forgiven WAY too easily when the truth eventually comes out.
I did not like this at all. I don’t know if Sherry Thomas romances are for me if they are all like this one.
There’s insta-love/lust which turns immediately into disgust with each other for a good half of the book. She tricks and uses him, he lies to her, he pretty much rapes her on their wedding night… they are supposedly falling in love but as he’s constantly pretending to be a different person and treats her pretty awfully throughout their marriage, it’s really hard to understand why. It’s just really hard to like either of them.
Not to mention the plot line (which is revealed early so it’s not a spoiler) that he’s been pretending to have been incapacitated by a brain injury (he pretends he’s an imbecile) since he was 16 (for 13 years!) just so he can move around society without suspicion and no one will think anything of it if he’s caught somewhere he’s not supposed to be. It was too much… and I didn’t buy the fact that apparently he’s universally liked even though he’s a “dimwit” because when they show him acting the part, he pretty much just spouts nonsense and annoys people, so why is he so tolerated? I don’t get it.
I think I would have loved the concept if he’s been portrayed more as a Freddy Standen type character (from Georgette Heyer’s Cotillion) who is someone that is universally liked but people think he’s simple and they underestimate him a lot. That’s not the case here.
And… I could not respect the hero for putting the burden of worrying about him and looking after him on his younger brother and not telling him the truth about his ruse. What a jerk thing to do. He gets forgiven WAY too easily when the truth eventually comes out.
I did not like this at all. I don’t know if Sherry Thomas romances are for me if they are all like this one.