Meant to Be by Sara Bennett

Non-Heroic Hero

I am not quite sure what to make of this novel. It certainly isn’t your standard hearts-and-flowers Regency. The book starts with a prologue that is set in the current timeframe of the novel, but the next couple chapters go back in time to show the hero and heroine’s relationship starting when they were small children. The heroine comes across as very naïve, which unfortunately is probably true to the times. She certainly trusted the hero more than she should have. Because of a scandal instigated by the hero’s father to keep the couple apart, the hero and heroine are separated for a few years. In that time, the heroine has remained true to her memory of her childhood love and hopes that he will rescue her. But the hero is actually not the rescuing kind, shall we say, and frankly I didn’t find him terribly heroic. Or at least not the way I like to see a hero in a historical romance. I don’t think he treated Sophy, whom he is supposed to care about so much, very well. When they were small children, he was better, but as he developed feelings for her, things became a little sordid. And I just didn’t like the way he treated her when they found each other again after the three-year break. Silly me, but I like my romantic heroes to actually be decent men who live up to the term of hero, even if it is in a small way. It’s never good when you hope that the heroine will end up with someone other than the hero. I thought this book was way overly sexual, too. For those who have triggers, there is an attempted rape in this story. I just did not like this book.