Review: Flawed, but enjoyable. . . a bit better than the previous two
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 15, 2011
After mourning her dead first love for five years, Moira sees her friends' happy marriages and decides to move on. She is already twenty-seven and feels her biological clock ticking away. Her current suitor, Lord Aylesbury, would be a perfect husband, and she has almost decided to accept him when. . . her first love returns, alive but tortured by memories of many years of captivity.She is overjoyed at first, but then recalls that although she has always loved HIM, HE never loved HER back. Her first reaction is to rush her marriage to Lord Aylesbury so that she won't have to suffer through the pangs of having her hopes dashed once again. Her good friends Eve, Kitty, and Abby convince her not to make any rash decisions, but to give Vincent another chance to fall in love with her.Vincent, however, carries a heavy load of PTSD and undeserved guilt, and Moira is nothing more than his friend, the sister of his best friend. He does, however, notice her beauty and appeal and finds himself constantly lusting for her whenever she is around, which also causes him to feel guilty. For a good part of the book, Moira and Aylesbury are constantly together and Vin believes them married. He is relieved to discover that she is unmarried, but not because he wants to marry her himself--oh no, marriage is not for him, especially not to his friend Jason's sister--but because he selfishly cannot stand the idea of someone else having her.Okay, this is the part that bothers me about the hero. She tells him she's not in love with Aylesbury because she has been in love with someone else who doesn't return her feelings. . . and Vin is GLAD that she cannot find happiness with Aylesbury or the mysterious man who doesn't appreciate her! He takes her virginity with no intention of marriage (think friends with benefits here), thinks about how they will still be friends when he tires of her sexually (sorry, but no hero should EVER be allowed to think this way in a romance novel), and STILL discourages her from looking for the husband she wants! But the absolute worst is when he refuses to marry her after they are caught in flagrante delicto, knowing that she will either have to marry him or Aylesbury in order to avoid complete and total social ruin.Apparently Ms. Fortin intends to write sequels for each of the 11 siblings here, so here's to hoping that she will take her time with them and try to avoid making the same errors over and over. I read a lot of historical romance novels and I am an expert on what I do and do not like, and reluctant heroes are a big no-no. Perhaps this one is not quite as bad as Jack in the second book, but it's a big turn-off for me when the women have to go chasing after the men. Another turn-off: when the hero continues to have unprotected sex with the unmarried woman without a single care that she might become pregnant. NOT romantic AT ALL! And frankly, Vin's refusal to allow himself to love Moira goes on way too long. . . so much so that it's not very convincing when--at the very end--he gives in and says the words.Why do I feel that so many of these ebooks are being put up for sale before the requisite editing that we used to expect? Yes, a certain amount of typos can be ignored, but it after awhile, they stick out like a sore thumb and detract from my enjoyment of the story. It's almost like these authors are putting their rough drafts up for sale. The biggest one here--that had me flipping back pages to see if I had missed something--is when the author slips up and has Vin thinking in his thoughts that Moira is the only unmarried woman in the house when at the time he is supposed to still think she is married to Aylesbury. This is just unacceptable in a book you are asking people to pay for! (All you have to do is get someone else--not your good friend who will skim through it and tell you how wonderful it is--to read through it first and tell you what needs to be corrected.)This book shares the same problems with anachronistic behavior and dialogue, proper usage of British titles, etc. as the previous two, and these will keep this author from winning awards for her writing unless she (1) does her due research, or (2) moves on to another genre, perhaps contemporaries. Although I'm sure there are plenty of uneducated readers who won't notice such things as the use of mad for angry, and scared for afraid, which will always provide a nasty jolt to those readers who are more familiar with the time period.Please understand that I say all of this because I believe Ms. Fortin has talent and could be a decent writer of historicals. Unfortunately, too many reviewers don't take the time to give critical and hopefully helpful advice. In spite of the flaws, I did enjoy the book, found myself in tears at the end (due to the story, not the errors), and am still wondering if I will purchase future installments with the hope that the heroes will not be so reluctant and the errors fewer.