Review: Needs work, but still an amazing first book!  ***3 1/2 Stars***
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 19, 2014
I really loved this book.  While the plot is not really an original one, the story that unfolds is sweet, engaging, and sometimes LOL funny.  Furthermore, the characters are all well drawn and relatable.  The book is written by a new author, and to be honest, while reading it you can tell that the person who wrote it doesn't have a lot of experience.  That's not meant as a criticism, just an observation.  After all, every author has to start somewhere.  And Ms. Slater has definitely made an auspicious start to her writing career!The book does need some work, but the story that unfolds is so wonderful that I was willing to overlook any number of problems that normally would reduce my enjoyment in a book.First, a good editor is needed....though not necessarily a professional one.  There are many misspelled words and incorrect words (such as wonton instead or wanton and letter instead of latter.)The biggest issue I had however, was with the numerous run on sentences....you know, several sentences strung in a row with no punctuation.  Then there is the modern tone of the writing, by which I mean that certain words and phrases that were used seemed out of place for the time in which the story is set.  That usually ruins a book for me.  Yet, in this instance, I was able to overlook it for the most part.  I think the fact that Gabrielle is American made some of the language used more acceptable.  Plus, although they seemed out of place, these phrases and words weren't overly intrusive.  For example, the phrases "full of it" and "fly on the ointment" are used.  It also helps that the author has the characters behave true to the time period, despite the sometimes modernish language.  But enough with the criticism.I LOVED this story.  If I was going to write a historical romance it would be one such as this.  It is a straightforward, no nonsense romance with characters to match.  Gabrielle's good for nothing scoundrel of a father dies.  Because of his machinations before his death, she is forced to flee her home.  With nowhere else to go, she decides to take a chance and go to her maternal grandmother who lives in England. (Can I say how much I loved her maternal family?  They are all wonderful, but I especially loved Gabby's grandmother and her rogue of a cousin, Blake.)As soon as she arrives on British soil, Gabby meets Jason, Earl of Langdon, a delicious concoction of manhood.  LOL He comes to her rescue and offers her the use of his carriage to take her to her grandmother's home.  This poor man, who is accustomed to women throwing themselves at him, and who has no thoughts of getting married any time soon, is lost to a pair of blues eyes from the onset.  Although the attraction between the two is instant and marked, their love grows at a slower pace (or at least their awareness of their love does.)To add a bit of intrigue to the plot, Gabby's past catches up to her, and there are a few kidnapping attempts made against her.  These, of course, serve to bring out the white knight in our hero. What I really liked about the story is that both Gabby and Jason are level headed, no nonsense people.Gabby is an amazing heroine.  She doesn't sit around waiting to be rescued like some hot house flower.  She's smart, sassy, and brave....a credit to her American heritage!  Jason too is a wonderful character.  He's selfless, kind, and caring.I have to say though, that I was a bit disappointed at the cause of a misunderstanding between the two, that occurs towards the end of the book.  The misunderstanding itself wouldn't have been so bad if Gabby's reaction hadn't been so out of character.  But, thankfully it was very close to the end, and even Gabby had to admit that she'd been stupid.  As Gabby thought to herself "...she was basking in the glow of her own stupidity."  LOLAnyway, I loved this book.  I forgave a lot, but I really had no choice.  Ms. Slater wrote a book I found so delightful that I just had to overlook the problems.  That's not an easy thing for an author to get me to do.  Modern language, too many grammatical issues, and the like, usually seriously detract from my enjoyment of a book.  The fact that I gave this one 3 1/2 stars with all its problems is a testament to how much I loved it.  Ms. Slater you are amazingly talented.  Keep writing.  I, for one, am definitely looking forward to Blake's story.  BTW this is not a clean romance.  There are a couple of love scenes which, while descriptive, were not IMO, overly graphic.