Review: Wish It Was A Full Length Book
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 20, 2013
For a Maya Rodale fan (which I am), this is a good buy at 99 cents.However I can't help but wish it was one of her full length novels. She's created two wonderfully compelling characters who, in my opinion, deserve to have more development than she was able to give them with this novella.  Miss Susannah Grey tugged at my heart with everything that she's been through - the death of her parents, the neglect and abuse from her various guardians, and the neglect and social embarrassment caused when her fiance Damian ran away to the Continent for nine years rather than marry her.  The lady doesn't even get to keep her pride, as she sends him a letter at one point begging him to come and help protect her from unscrupulous guardians who use her inheiritance for themselves, but he never responds.  Then Susannah finally turns 26 and becomes an independent heiress. For the first time in her life she's free, free to experience life, free to dress in clothing that flatters her, free to marry whom she will - or at least take a lover if she desires passion since she has no interest in giving someone else control over her life every again.At least, she has all of that until Damien reappears upon the scene, the report of his demise proven incorrect.  After nine years of debauchery he's decided he needs to reform - and tells a rather touching story at one point about how he came to that realization (although to be honest, I wish he had done this privately with Susannah rather than with an audience because something about this scene made me feel like he was putting on a show).  The biggest part of his reformation, of course, is honoring the agreement his father made and marrying the unattractive wallflower he left behind... except that Susannah is no longer unattractive and she's certainly not a wallflower.As I said, for 99 cents this is a decent buy, but I really wish that Ms. Rodale would consider re-writing this as a full length book.  The development of the characters and the plot is far too rushed.  Susannah's character in particular is weakened by the headlong rush into Damien's arms. There was very little struggle on the part of either of the characters; Susannah coming off as much weaker in willpower than she initially appears and Damien coming across as insincere at times.  Especially considering that he references past amorous conquests in front of Susannah and then winks at a barmaid when they're at a tavern.  Susannah expresses some indignation over this, but it doesn't seem to affect her view of him, or how quickly she succumbs to him, which really bothered me. For a novella it's very well done, but I can't help but repeating myself that I wish this was a full book.***Possible Spoiler****As noted by another reviewer (and I don't really consider this a spoiler) there is a girl on girl kiss while Susannah is disguised as a young man, but I thought that the scene was rather tender and touching, two lost souls reaching out to one another and it didn't matter what their sexuality or gender was. Also... Damien's reaction was hilarious.