Review: A Practical Arrangement
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 17, 2012
This book follows Evangeline and Thomas through their brief courtship than marriage. Evangeline is advance for her time. She is out spoken and against marriage. This is unheard of in a time when the man spoke for the woman. And if you were not married by a certain age, people thought that there was something wrong with you. I like Evangeline, she had a sharp tongue and quick wit. Unfortunately her father has stated that she has to be married by spring. When Thomas and Evangeline meet sparks don't fly instantly but they can tell there is some connection. Neither choose to act on it until Thomas finds out that he has to marry in order to get his inheritance. He finds out about Evangeline's marriage situation and realizes that they could be each others solutions. Thomas doesn't tell Evangeline about his predicament with his inheritance. You know that Thomas is making a mistake, not in marrying Evangeline but in not telling her the full truth. She is skeptical about people already and he is adding fuel to that fire by not being truthful.Evangeline has a warped perspective on sex and relationships with men in general. This is all thanks to her mother. Her mother, Opal, tells Evangeline all these horrid tales about sex in order to take out her anger against her father on Evangeline. Opal is a sick woman. Years of depression has taken it's toll on her. Being that she is the oldest, Evangeline has to take the brunt of actions that the illness causes. This affects her relationships with people other than her sister.Thomas has a reputation with the ladies. He gets around. He is content to staying a ladies man but something about Evangeline makes him want to change. It could be the challenge of trying to win her over. Either way they are both good for each other. They show each other sides of themselves that they didn't know existed.The author did a good job with this book. I haven't read a lot of historicals before but this is one I did like. I like the fact that the author doesn't put the female characters in a role that was typical of that time, speak when only spoken to. She allows them to have a mind of their own. Her writing flows great through out the story and is easy to follow. The dialogue of that time is not hard to understand. It is a great book for someone just starting to read historical romances to read.Overall I enjoyed the book. I loved how the author tied the story up at the end and left it open for a possible future book. I definitely will be adding more of this author's books to my book list. It is a recommend read.**Disclaimer: I received this book from the author for the purposes of a honest review.