Review: An entertaining story!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 11, 2013
Simon is engaged to Rose; he just doesn’t know it yet. In fact, everyone but the ten-year old boy seems to know it, including little five-year old Rose. As you can imagine, Simon is not pleased. Fast-forward sixteen years and Simon is still displeased with the situation. But then he starts noticing little things about Rose. Has her hair always been so captivating? Why is her smile doing weird things to his heart? And why can’t he get her out of his mind…What an entertaining story! While I can see why Simon would be upset about finding himself tied down and not even knowing it, his resentment did seem a bit extreme, and I was glad when he came to recognize that. Rose is an adorable character. She’s patient with Simon, yet she’s living her own life with with her friends and Garden Society club. She’s smart and determined when she sets her eyes on something, but she is also considered bookish and shy by society. I love that she’s able to be herself with Simon, and I do feel bad for their situation since their budding romance is complicated by the betrothal set up by their parents. Yes, they’re destined to be married, but neither is sure if that’s what the other really wants.There’s a murder mystery storyline that is pretty far-fetched and even the characters recognize the near impossibility of solving it. I liked that the characters doubted the questionable aspects of solving the mystery, which added tension to the story and made the storyline more entertaining. There were still some points where you had to suspend belief and some reveals happened a bit too conveniently, but it was still fun to read. I also liked how they were using scientific methods and deductive reading to solve the mystery (very handy that Rose has photographic memory!).I found it interesting that the romance angst was pretty much resolved about three-fifths of the way into the book instead of getting resolved at the end. As such, it’s like we got to experience the beginnings of their happily every after, which was so sweet watching them in love without doubts. At this point, we get to see them working as a team as the mystery line takes the forefront. There are sex scenes so I’m labeling this as medium heat (it’s not too graphic and the word choice makes it clear it’s love-making as opposed to being raunchy).This can be read as standalone although this is the second in the series. I haven’t read the first one, but there’s enough backstory to see how the characters in this one relate to the storyline in book one. There are also hints of future pairings, which will be fun to read. For those of you who like historical romance with a mystery storyline, you should check this one out. This is a 4 out of 5 for me!(Originally posted on my blog; I received an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)