Review: Good but Not Great (Minor Spoiler Alert)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 17, 2013
This book has a lot of potential. It's a decent story, but there are defects that detract from it overall. There are a few  errors in the editing which could be easily overlooked. But there was/is an error in character name as well (our heroine Grace Makepeace was referred to as Grace Upshall at one point). These little things would have been excusable, but there was another annoyance that I found more than a little distracting. The chapters began with little quotes from "Pygmalion." If they'd been attributed to the story the heroine was somehow rewriting, it would have been appropriate, however, I don't think enough attention was spent illustrating this talent in the heroine, and it was supposedly a key trait of hers. In my opinion, something worthy enough to draw notice as a plot device should have been more than a passing mention in one line in an early chapter. But that is something every reader must judge for herself or himself. And another thing I found distracting...I found myself taking the time to go and actually read "Pygmalion" after gaining more interest in the quotes at every chapter beginning. For that reason the quotes detracted rather than enhanced the story for me. And the worst part to me was the truly disconnected blunt ending. Like climbing to a dizzying high summit expecting a thrilling, free fall ski slope and instead finding a plateau into a bunny slope on the other side of the climax. I found myself wondering what happened the interesting dowager marchioness and to Lord Dorset (both were more likable the more you saw of them and yet not given their proper due for resolution). I would love to know what happened to Richard and his practically mad mama, and also I was curious to know what became of Claudette and Brice Wykeham.I will keep an eye on Ms. Marlowe's other work in the hope of finding out what became of the rest of this tale..I would have given three and a half...it was better than three but really not a solid four, but I gave the benefit of the doubt mainly because of the interesting characterizations. I genuinely liked Grace Makepeace, her bluntness was more genuine, unlike the way some blunt characters come across sometimes. And let me say that I liked the hero Crispin Hawke, but he was not as complete to me as he could have been. His disability wasn't harped upon, and yet it wasn't given fair description or explanation either. And the flashbacks to his youth were not developed far enough to give them authenticity as a characterization in general. I liked his dialogue more than I liked him. What I loved about Crispin (the aforementioned hero) was his sexual prowess on the page. And I actually applauded Ms. Marlowe's turn of phrase at one point with the line, "...she felt as if her heart had dropped to her pelvic floor."  I actually found that a splendid way of putting to words that feeling we gals get when a guy lights our fire, so to speak. Bravo! In fact, the love scenes alone were worth a star and a half for me on their own merit. Real words, but delicately put when soft and tender was the intention, while graphic and clever when it wasn't! My real love of this work was the well-written love scenes.In summary, if you don't mind a few mishaps with grammar and spelling (not the English usages, but misused words, SVA, and some minor typos) and you enjoy witty dialogue and very well written love scenes, this book is worth a look.