Review: Well Written
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 12, 2012
I liked this book but not as much as the others in the series.  Cynthia Wicklund is a great writer and I have enjoyed reading the Garden Series but this book had more drama than I realized. Cynthia made this story very believable like this could actually happen and probably did during those times. I have read plenty of historical romance novels where the heroine has a nasty temper but Amanda was spoiled, mean spirited, hateful, neglectful and spiteful. The way she treated James through most of the book was just plain mean and very unnecessary. I wanted to reach through the story and slap her a few times. It's like come on already put the bat down the horse is dead. I admit the way Amanda's father Archie setup James to marry Amanda wasn't the best of ideas. But her father had the best of intentions. I think he knew he was ill and wanted to make sure his only daughter was set before he died. I believe that by the time James married Amanda he truly loved her and wanted to make her happy. Amanda seemed like she only loved him with a word because when she found out about the arrangement through James's mean spiteful cousin she believed him over James. Amanda even treated her father badly when she left her home to be married to James. She didn't have contact with her father until he was dying. By then I think it was too late for her to make a true mends with her father. Throughout this book I felt sad for James even though he tried his best to make up for what happened and tried to make amends to Amanda. It seemed the universe was against him trying to make things right with Amanda too much drama and misunderstandings kept him from having a beginning with Amanda to where James had to settle for a middle instead.