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el_tayo 's review for:
An Amiable Foe
by Jennie Goutet
Mmm I think I've finished gathering the data on Jennie Goutet. And my conclusion is I really enjoy her writing style, but her stories don't click with me. Definitely a case of it's not you, it's me.
With every entry I've read from Goutet I always find the writing to be great and the character work to be exceptional, but where it always falls down for me is the execution of the romance and the pacing. And all of that rings true for this book.
The premise is that the castle that Marianne has lived in her whole life is bequeathed to her uncle's distant relative upon his death leaving Marianne to have to build a new life so apart from the one she loves and has grown accustomed to. The inheritor of the castle is Perry who comes to inspect his new property.
From the jump Goutet writes Marianne and Perry beautifully as incredibly flawed characters who aren't impossible to root for. And this is something I feel like she always excels in across all her books. I was really looking forward to the gradual character growth for both characters as they grew closer. Now gradual doesn't mean slow, it just means progression. As in, seeing the change happen, rather than leaps and bounds. For example, in the first half of the book Perry is pretty selfish. Not mean-spirited, but definitely very self-focused and -interested. He's also a little lost in the world in terms of excessively seeking the approval of those from a higher station. Through the first half of the book, he regards Marianne but not excessively so. He's still more focused on himself and his own goals. Suddenly at the halfway mark or so, there's this huge shift and he's in love with Marianne and is doing all these things to please her and make her happy. That in itself isn't bad but the suddenness of it make it feel entirely unearned. And once that happens my investment takes a nosedive.
This really is the central gripe that I have with the story, which can be boiled down to poor execution. All the ingredients were there but it didn't come together. The character development was sort of abandoned halfway through, the romance never laid down a sufficient foundation for lift-off, and the plot itself wasn't engaging enough to maintain my interest.
I feel if I go through all my reviews for Goutet books I would have said similar things, which makes me conclude that her books don't click with me.
Definitely a me thing though, she's an excellent writer.
With every entry I've read from Goutet I always find the writing to be great and the character work to be exceptional, but where it always falls down for me is the execution of the romance and the pacing. And all of that rings true for this book.
The premise is that the castle that Marianne has lived in her whole life is bequeathed to her uncle's distant relative upon his death leaving Marianne to have to build a new life so apart from the one she loves and has grown accustomed to. The inheritor of the castle is Perry who comes to inspect his new property.
From the jump Goutet writes Marianne and Perry beautifully as incredibly flawed characters who aren't impossible to root for. And this is something I feel like she always excels in across all her books. I was really looking forward to the gradual character growth for both characters as they grew closer. Now gradual doesn't mean slow, it just means progression. As in, seeing the change happen, rather than leaps and bounds. For example, in the first half of the book Perry is pretty selfish. Not mean-spirited, but definitely very self-focused and -interested. He's also a little lost in the world in terms of excessively seeking the approval of those from a higher station. Through the first half of the book, he regards Marianne but not excessively so. He's still more focused on himself and his own goals. Suddenly at the halfway mark or so, there's this huge shift and he's in love with Marianne and is doing all these things to please her and make her happy. That in itself isn't bad but the suddenness of it make it feel entirely unearned. And once that happens my investment takes a nosedive.
This really is the central gripe that I have with the story, which can be boiled down to poor execution. All the ingredients were there but it didn't come together. The character development was sort of abandoned halfway through, the romance never laid down a sufficient foundation for lift-off, and the plot itself wasn't engaging enough to maintain my interest.
I feel if I go through all my reviews for Goutet books I would have said similar things, which makes me conclude that her books don't click with me.
Definitely a me thing though, she's an excellent writer.