Review: Somewhat Mediocre ***2 1/2 Stars***
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 02 21, 2014
In my opinion this book is an ok read, but only just.  The writing is decent, but it really does need a good editor.  That's not to say that the grammatical errors, etc., overwhelm the story, but they are numerous, and noticeable.  As for the characters, I liked the hero well enough, but I didn't really care for the heroine.  IMO, she was a bit flighty...flirtatious, giggly, a little too full of herself, and even a bit spoilt.  She is the quintessential pampered peer's daughter.  She's not unkind or selfish, but as far as I was concerned, she fit the bill perfectly, for the type of woman every other hero (in other regency novels) tries to avoid...a simpering, empty headed chit.  I couldn't see why Declan loved her so much; there was just nothing special about her.  She is supposedly well read, but I saw no evidence of that in the story, other than the fact that she could identify Shakespeare whenever the hero quoted him to her.  Frankly, I couldn't care less if she got her HEA.As for the story, it's a straightforward romance with no real misunderstandings--notice I said "real", the author does try to create a couple, but they just seemed stupid--intrigue, or excitement.  The events occur during a house party at the Marquis of Ashford's country estate...Ashford is Poppy's older brother.  Poppy and Declan, Duke of Hawksley, first meet when he arrives at the house party.  There is an instant connection between them...and I do mean instant.  The rest of the story is just about them getting to know each other, including several clandestine assignations which are quite sensual.  Had the author left it at that, I think the book would have been pretty good; instead she tries to create tension within the plot, which came across as contrived.Declan struggles with his feelings for Poppy because he thinks he does not deserve her, and that he cannot love her the way she needs to be loved.  Unfortunately, the author does a poor job of explaining why Declan felt the way he did.  There was nothing in his past that would explain his feelings.  Consequently, his reluctance to embrace a relationship with Poppy wasn't realistic.  One night he pretty much compromises Poppy, goes to bed all happy because he is decided on marrying her, and the next thing you know he has disappeared.  When his friends finally track him down, he's going on about not deserving the chit.  It confused me; I was so convinced I had missed something that I went back a few pages and reread them...I hadn't.Then there was the whole misunderstanding surrounding the marriage proposal, that seemed so fake as to be almost ridiculous.  I mean by that point the two loved each other, so I didn't understand why Declan couldn't just give a normal proposal and get it over with.  In my view, the author tried too hard to create friction in the story and the whole thing just came across as false.  Honestly, take away 100 pages and all the nonsensical misunderstandings and this book would be so much better, at least that's what I think.I read some of the reviews for this book, where reviewers felt it was unrealistic that Poppy and Declan spend so much time alone together.  I actually thought that their sneaking around, having secret assignations, was quite believable.  What I did find to be unrealistic is Parker's inviting his friends, who are all purportedly renowned rakes, to attend a house party, with his two, innocent, unmarried sisters in residence...and their innocent, unmarried friends (a more giggling gaggle of females you cannot hope to find!)  I know the aunt was in residence as a chaperone, but in those days just being in the company of a rake could ruin a young lady's reputation--not to mention Aunt Adele is nothing, if not lax, as a chaperone.The other thing that got on my nerves was how perfect everyone was...and I do mean PERFECT.  The women are all perfectly beautiful, the men perfectly handsome and rakish, everyone is super rich, and extremely well connected.  The end result is that the characters are not relatable.So, the bottom line is that I cannot recommend this book.  It isn't terrible, but it's certainly not good either.  It's a pity because it started off fairly well, a strong 3 star rating, maybe even a 3 1/2 (well, all but the prologue; that was a bit overly dramatic, bordering on cheesy.)  Unfortunately, the more I read the worse it got, and  after a while I couldn't wait for it to end.  By the time I finished it, the rating had dropped to somewhere between 2 and 2 1/2 stars.  BTW, for those of you who like to know about the sex content of a novel, this is not a clean romance.  Happy reading!