Review: Good Beginning, but Ending Leaves Much to be Desired
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 28, 2014
This book started out like gangbusters.  Fell (Earl of Fellington) and Mary meet for the first time at a social event in the country.  Mary, at the tender age of 16, has already decided that she wants to devote her life to helping the poor and downtrodden.  Unfortunately, her family is determined to see her wed.  In order to discourage a persistent suitor, Mary comes up with a risqué ruse and convinces Fell, whose name she thinks is Phil, to assist her.  At first, 21 year old Fell is convinced Mary is intent on trapping him into marriage, but she soon disabuses him of this ridiculous notion.  LOL  Mary's ruse is successful and she is allowed to pursue her life's goal.Twelve years later, Fell returns to Mary's life at the foundling asylum where she is headmistress.  The portion of the story where Fell and Mary first meet is sweet.  Mary is endearingly innocent, yet determined with a solemnness that is beyond her tender age.  When Fell and Mary are reunited, there is an instant connection between the two, and from there the story quickly progresses to the HEA.IMO this portion of the story progressed way too quickly.  Mary and Fell's reunion, the love scene, and subsequent marriage proposal, all takes place in a day!  Furthermore, in light of Mary's reluctance to return to a life of luxury, and her belief that she would be uncomfortable being a part of Fell's world of opulent wealth, I thought an epilogue was needed.  That way the reader could get to see how Mary and Fell's relationship had progressed at some future point after they were married.  As it was, when the story ended, I wasn't sure how they would adjust to each other and their new circumstances...I was hopeful they would be happy together, but not totally convinced.As far as the technical aspects of the book, it is really well written, the plot unusual and interesting, while the characters are fairly well fleshed out.  I felt like I had a good sense of who Mary and Fell really were, and I liked them both.  Overall the book is enjoyable, but the ending left much to be desired.  If asked I would say this is a worthwhile read, but it's not one that would independently come to mind when recommending a book to a friend.  Happy reading!