Rating 3.5 stars
Genre: Historical Romance
Recommended for: Fans of Historical Romance with little tension and two heroes who get together well from start
This is a book difficult to rate because it went from a keeper to a wall banger to an enganging read only to end as just OK.
I don't feel like saying much about the plot, since the description here in Goodreads says it all:
The heroine gets secretly engaged to her favorite cousin but then he meets the hero's sister, jilts her for the rich-chick and the hero and heroine who have been friends so far, get caught in a compromising position and forced to wed.
The first half/part of the book was perfect. The part where Lucy and James get better acquainted with each other, the friendship that slowly turns to attraction, Lucy's feelings of guilt since she's betrothed to another, James' admiration of Lucy's strength and courage, all were exquisitely done. I felt their attraction, their tenderness, their misgivings, their hesitation, their passion. And then, they were forced to marry and everything went downhill. Suddenly, Lucy transformed from a calm, steady, intelligent and self-possessed heroine to a frightened, insecure, self-questioning woman that couldn't believe she was worthy of being a viscountess. On top of that, for a woman with enough passion and sufficient lack of self-control to get caught in 'flagrante delicto', she suddenly develops so much self control that she "can't let herself go" during the physical act and have an orgasm. At that point and for the following 60 pages or so, the whole focus of the book turned to whether Lucy would have an orgasm or not. She was frustrated, her husband was frustrated and this poor reader was even more frustrated than both of them.
However, eventually Lucy did get an orgasm -hallelujah!- and the plot could move forward once more. I really liked this part of the book as well, where a big misunderstanding forces our heroes apart and threatens their newfound happiness. I found their reactions realistic, their angst heartbreaking and was looking forward to their reconciliation. And since this a romance, of course there was one. It left me however somewhat disappointed. The ending in my opinion lacked oomph, a certain passion, a feeling that those two were really indispensable to each other instead of just a good match. Though those two were well suited, I read romances for that rare smoldering heat and passion that are not easily met in real life; Not for the understanding and tenderness that's so often met in most happy marriages anyway. But that might just be me after all. I can't help but wishing that the ending was stronger though.
So, 3 stars for the second half and 5 for the first, result in a total of 4 stars. Still, I can't help but feel saddened for the feeling of lost potential in this one. I did like the author's writing style so much though, that I'll probably try more books of hers in the future.
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