Review: Misses the mark
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 01 19, 2014
Perhaps if the Accidental Countess had a different heroine, I might have liked this book.  The story line was interesting and the hero was imminently likable.When Stephen Chesterfield, the Earl of Whitmore awakens he is finds himself injured, with no memories of the last few months and married to his childhood sweetheart, Emily.  He is frankly stunned and disbelieving that they are married as he has no memory of their wedding.Emily has not seen her husband in months, he left very soon after their wedding and she is holding a major grudge and accuses him of all kinds of misdeeds.  She seems to truly dislike her husband and it is apparent to the reader she wants Stephen to remain her husband so he can protect and provide for her and her deceased brother’s children.Stephen’s memory does not return easily and Emily seems to resent him for it.  She is irrationally angry that Stephen cannot remember their wedding night.  This is just plainly ridiculous.  She is quick to believe the very worst about him.Stephen sets out to discover the missing pieces of his memory and it becomes apparent that someone wants him dead.  Even when the first attempt is made on his life, Emily displays little reaction.  I found her to be unemotional with Stephen unless she was angry.Later she begins to thaw toward the hero, but her earlier action and her inability to trust the hero had already cemented my view of her as an illogical (she never made any inquiries to her husband’s whereabouts while he was gone for months), self-serving heroine.