was a buddy read with my buddy, sitelinkNenia, and here's her review or it will be once she's finished reading and writes it.
Read for the sitelinkURRNew Year's Reading Challenge prompt 'Victorian Romance'
Big spoilers under the tags, don't click unless you already know or don't care.
/I really appreciated the way Heath wrote Grace's character, The way Grace dealt with and Lovingdon's dissolute lifestyle were really interesting.
She didn't curse him or cry and wail about why didn't he love her or try overtly to get him to change his mind even if that's exactly what she wanted, she tried to understand why he was behaving that way, how the deaths of his wife and daughter had changed him and through that understanding she was able to get through to him and he fell in love with her without her having to push him into it.
Her final revelation of her to Lovingdon rang true to me .
My favourite scene was Grace's .
I was worried he might or ask her too many probing questions, but he was really great and reacted exactly as I would want in the same situation.
He was fuelled with worry about her long term health that had him throwing his clothes off a slightly irrational reaction, but maybe he didn't want Grace to feel more vulnerable because she was the only one topless, but considering what happened to Juliette and Margaret I think we and Grace can forgive him for that behaviour.
I also thought Lovingdon's way of finally dealing with his first wife and child's death was very mature and sensible not completely erasing their existence from his house, but also not shoving his past love in Grace's face.
The information about the way was very interesting, especially Heath's author's note that told us a little extra detail about how doctors were treating it in those early days.
The book started out alright but quickly descended into mediocrity,
The heroine Grace is so transparent that I cringed to read about her "innocent questions" about love and lust, I mean anyone could see that Grace was using her quest for love in marriage as an excuse to get close to Lovingdon, Only Grace herself thought she was fooling anybody, For this alone, I lost respect for her,
In the story it was mentioned repeatedly that Grace had "imperfections", which appeared to be some kind of terminal illness, I wanted to find out but honestly atI completely lost interest in Lovingdon and Grace, I just read other reviews and found out what her "imperfections" were.
In the end, I cannot understand why Heath wrote the story this way, I think what happened to Grace was quite a life event, but somehow it was very much downplayed, I don't think this is right, Not that I want to see Grace in sorrow but I have trouble picturing someone who has suffered such a fate to be so naively conniving about pursuing the man she wanted as Grace did with Lovingdon.
I expected more maturity from Grace, But instead she acted true to her age, ayearold who dreams about Prince Charming and uses idiotic excuses to get close to the man she has identified as her Prince Charming.
I am always harder on the heroines than the heros because I have the need to identify with the women, whereas I have a rather low expectation for men.
Lovingdon . I have trouble picturing him as an adult because I just read his mother and Jack Dodger's story where he was justyears old, And his "true love" with his late wife Juliette just seemed empty to me,
I think this book is a bit shallow, I apologize for my harsh words but Heath writes about huge losses in life in this book, I would expect the characters to exhibit the level of maturity which one unwillingly acquires through such losses, But she had Grace and Lovingdon act like animals in heat and engage
in childish playacting and make up excuses to indulge in their lusts.
You write about such significant life events, then make your characters worthy of their journeys, Grace and Lovingdon act too lustfully and childishly to do these life events justice,
Heath's writing is the only thing that saves this book from being a complete disaster for me, I was able to skimread most of it but atI completely gave up on the couple, It seemed kind of perverse what Lovingdon did with Grace, Brotherly/sisterly love, my ass, The characters believed their excuses, I lost respect for them for that, This was so cute! Lovingdon was a damaged hero and he was still grieving his deceased daughter and wife, I loved how Juliette wasn't a damsel in distress and she would do whatever she wanted, no matter what society thought, I also loved how Juliette was so determined to find true love and enlisted Lovingdon's help to teach her how to know when a man truly wants her and not her money.
The romance was friends to lovers and more slow, especially on Lovingdon's part, but it was adorable and I really enjoyed this historical romance! On Kindle sale todayst of Mayfor USD.
Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Unrequited Love, Best Friend's Sibling, Widow, Scar physical heroine / mental hero
"A lady requires an objective person, one who is familiar enough with love to assist her in identifying and weeding out the insincere, separating the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.
Someone like you. "
This book starts off in a way that I absolutely LOATHE the hero in bed with another woman, AND, he continues this behaviour as we progress into the book, We don't get to see it, but it's certainly happening, Up to a point, but still,
Major. Pet. Peeve.
Also, having lost his wife and child, he is understandably grieving, but goes on and on and on and on about how much he loves his wife and how he will never lover Grace.
It's such a wet blanket in a romance novel, Another pet peeve.
That said, I found the interaction, friendship, and chemistry between Lovendale and Grace electric, So while I thought about not finishing a few times, I was unable to put it down,
She was Lady Grace Mabry, lover of kittens, thief of biscuit tins, and climber of trees, What the devil was he doing thinking of her wrapped in silk sheets
“The trouble is that Im not certain I want a perfect gentleman.
None of the gents courting me excite me the way that you do, ”
“Ill want him to be keen on having me kiss him again, so Ill want to ensure that I do it in such a way that hell be unable to resist begging for more.
Mayhap I should practice with someone for whom I havent a care, ” She leaned in.
“Grace,” he cautioned.
“Whats the matter, Lovingdon Afraid youll be enticed into wanting more”
“You deserve a man who smiles every time he sees you.
”
“Unlike you, who scowls, ”
Reading about the offspring to the Scoundrels of St, James Series you'd expect some guest appearances Jack Dodger consoling and/or guiding his distraught step son come on golden opportunity here, but they are so few and so short it was a bit disappointing, but I can totally understand LH's decision to keep the focus on the characters.
It takes a lot to pull me back from the edge, when two major pet peeves are included in a book so for that alone I will nearly give itstars.
.stars. .
Earn As Lições Do Amor (Scandalous Gentlemen Of St. James, #1) Generated By Lorraine Heath Format Kindle
Lorraine Heath