Review: Not as good as the first one.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 15, 2012
I read this as I enjoyed the first one of these in which the hero's elder brother finds his match. In that one St John, the hero here, was the bad guy, a dissolute gambler and a poor brother. Now he is reformed and back from the war but battling demons and a junkie. Esme is desperately trying to escape her abusie father and marriage to an old and rather sinister man. She throws herself at St John to escape. The plot follows their romance. I found this well written but it failed to make magic for me. Perhaps this was partly because St John was not so likeable in the first book which I read quite recently and therefore could not make the switch to like him. Perhaps it was Esme who just kept throwing herself at him and despite several attempts to get close which failed, still did not really appear to be looking at alternatives seriously to escape what awaited her where she to return home. I cannot say this is bad, the 3 rating is based solely on my gut reaction and the lack of chemistry I felt. I did work my way through it but it was disappointing after book one.