Definitely Not a Standalone

I will admit to feeling cast adrift for quite a while in this book. It is the fifth book of the series, and I hadn’t read any previous ones, so I felt I was dropped completely in the middle of a bigger story about which I knew nothing. The author didn’t say in the description that this wasn’t a standalone and that you really did have to read the other books to understand what was going on in this one. I really think authors should do that. For romances in particular, just because a book is in a series doesn’t mean that it is part of an episodic set of novels. Usually, in fact, in the books that I read, each book in a series is about a different couple and only marginally relates to a bigger story and may only peripherally mention characters from other books. So I really did feel confused about what was happening at first, who everybody was, and what their backstory was. Literally, I did feel like I was plopped down in the middle of something because the author did state in multiple places that certain important events only happened just a few days or weeks prior. So, it would appear that this book was really just a continuation of the previous book with, perhaps, only a slight change of emphasis to make it about the main couple.

The one thing I did like about this book is that it featured an older couple as the hero and heroine. While they are not ancient, the hero is on the cusp of becoming a grandfather, and the heroine is trying to help her lackluster son get out of debt. Probably because I didn’t know these characters from the other books, I found the hero a bit boorish and the heroine a bit naïve in the dealings with her son. Why would any woman give up so much and go to such lengths for someone who has made such a wreck of his life, even if she is his mother? She is definitely what we in modern times would call an enabler. I found myself not liking the story despite the fact that I usually do like romances with more mature couples, and I wonder if that is because I did not read previous books of the series. Definitely, do not let this be the first book you read of the series; you need to have read the other books to make any sense of it.

Hero Too Weak, But Some Good Parts to the Story

I found this Regency to be a refreshing change from the typical. What young woman of the era would not want to go on a Grand Tour? Why should the young gentlemen have all the fun? That is not the only difference between this and other Regencies. The heroine is actually American by birth, the daughter of an English earl who has chosen to live his married life in Georgia so his wife may remain close to her family. But now that Cecilia, the heroine, is of age to secure a good match, her father wants to take the family back to England so she can find a suitable husband, preferably a titled one chosen by him. Lady Cecilia is able to convince her father to allow her a six-month Grand Tour through Italy before she settles in for a London season. While she is in Rome, with her mother and companion, she happens to meet two young Englishmen. One is Lord Frederick Williamson, who is there with his friend, Lord Haverstock. These two young men have been enjoying life on the continent, escaping responsibilities that they both have at home. Frederick, the hero, has been ducking his mother’s more and more urgent missives to return home.

Frederick and Cecilia have a natural affinity for each other that Cecilia’s mother is happy to encourage, though she is not sure if she should because he may not be of high enough rank for her husband. (In a fun subplot, the companion gets a little romance, too.) But Frederick has been hiding a big secret, one he is not sure how Cecilia will respond to. When his mother succeeds in calling him back to England, he does so in haste, not giving proper leave to Cecilia.

I thought the hero and the heroine were well drawn, though a few things did seem odd. First, I find it hard to believe that Cecilia was truly so meek before–that her boldness and the spirit that she showed in Italy is so different from her previous “true” character. She did seem to be that sort of person before, so it wasn’t really new. I liked that Frederick was at first the typical aloof Regency hero but quickly became something more as Cecilia lifted his spirit with her kindness and forthrightness. What I didn’t like about him was how weak he became when confronted by his mother. Seriously, why couldn’t he have stopped and talked to Cecilia before fleeing back to England? He was just going to do his mother’s bidding and take off on the first boat? That seems so different from the way he thought about his mother previously and how he swore he would act. And when they got face-to-face, he changed completely. He actually became pretty weak, and I didn’t like that . . .  another did Lady Cecilia. Not good for a hero to become weak when he must confront his mother!

The book was oddly structured in that what the called the epilogue was really part of the main story. If the book had ended before, where the epilogue started, it would have been a very incomplete book. That said, I still thought the book ended rather abruptly, and I actually do love a true epilogue that gives is somewhat of a glimpse into the couple’s future.

A Bit Dull and Lifeless

I enjoy historical romantic suspense, and I thought this book would be that from its description. However, while the book did have some intrigue at the end, there was really no truly suspenseful buildup to it; it actually felt out of place compared to the rest of the novel. I thought the beginning was strange, essentially having two scenes that set up part of the story but didn’t really feel a part of it. As I was reading, I felt like I was just waiting for something to happen; until the end, nothing much did. The children were darling, and their difficulty adjusting to a new life was understandable. The uncle’s interest in having a fully functional apple orchard and cider barn was mildly fascinating. But most of the scenes didn’t really seem to have any dramatic point. The book is listed as Christian, but nothing religious is really talked about until the end of the book when the governess’s sister is dying; it felt tacked on. I didn’t find the love story aspect believable either, and both seem to jump to conclusions without talking to each other, which is kind of annoying with full-grown adults. (It’s bad enough when ingenues act that way!) I wanted to like this story, but I felt like it just lacked in characterization and plot. And is it becoming a trope that any book that takes place in Cornwall during a historical era has to have something to do with smugglers?

Oh, Ick… on So Many Levels!

Oh, mercy, where do I start with what’s wrong with this book? I’ll start with a few simple things. There were issues with language. I thought all the characters sounded the same. Unfortunately, everyone’s language was incredibly stilted and somewhat pompous (not sounding like real speech or even the elevated type we like to see in historicals), and this bled into the narrative, non-dialogue portions of the book as well. The author misused several words, including the era-specific word of “nuncheon,” which is another way of saying the mid-day meal. In this book, she had the heroine call herself that as if it were a term meaning a silly person.

The book has an extended prologue that takes up nearly 10% of the book and details the time around the murder of the heroine’s father. Chapter one picks up ten years later, and the heroine still isn’t past all that transpired at that time. To bring us forward in time, the author does a lot of telling about what the previous ten years had been like. There had to have been a better way to accomplish this.

I didn’t like the hero—a requirement for me to like a romance—and I couldn’t understand why the heroine liked him either. He treated her terribly throughout the book. The author definitely should have mentioned in the blurb of the book that it contains elements of  what is politely termed in romance fiction as “domestic discipline” or “power exchange.” I never read books that have any aspect of that as I have zero interest in reading about any form of physical abuse (even adult spanking), sadism, or masochism. While some people like that in a book, a lot of us don’t, and it is considerate for an author to let us know so we can bypass books that won’t interest us.

I also thought that the book was a bit outlandish in its plotline. The book was far too melodramatic at times. The title of the book states that it is the author’s cut, and the blurb further states that the author has edited the book with modern sensibilities in mind. I find myself wondering what she adjusted to what she believes modern readers like (as if we were an amorphous mass that all liked or disliked the same thing). This book rubbed me wrong in so many ways; I cannot recommend it.

Regency Tale of Honor and Manners…Sigh!

This is the second Regency romance that I have read by this author, and I really like her style. She has a way of writing historical language that feels somewhat elevated but is still accessible and in no way stilted. From my vast reading in Regency, I think this is a hard balance to strike, but this author does it with flair. At first, the premise for this particular book seemed a little silly, until the day after the setup when you realize that the hero has regrets. The author has created an elaborate plot that focuses on honor and self-respect, mirroring some of the best of Regency in its play on manners. I absolutely adored both the hero and the heroine. The hero appears sometimes at war with himself; what is the meaning of honor and true love, and how does that mark him as a man when he acts on those principles? The heroine is sweet, so kind and compassionate despite being treated like a second-class citizen by just about everybody because she isn’t as beautiful as her younger sister. This hit all the right spots for a good Regency novel, and I ended up staying up way too late reading this book.

Stilted Language and Extreme Characters

I am a great lover of Regency romance, sometimes reading several in a day. I found this book to be off-putting right away. Within the first chapter, the author used several words completely wrong, and beyond that, the language was exceedingly stilted, as if she were trying to affect a heightened level of historical speech (as we like to see in historical romance) but missing the mark and sounding not remotely like true human speech. I thought the characterization was just odd. Both the hero and the heroine seem to be extreme people, like no one you would ever meet. Characters have to be relatable and believable, and these were neither. There were some bizarre hijinks throughout the book as well. It didn’t feel cohesive, like there was a master plot or plan. I just didn’t like it.