Review: Delicious Little "Guilty Pleasure" Read!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 4, 2012
I had been reading some "heavies" lately (Bonhoeffer Bio, Sky of Red Poppies--Islamic Revolution in Iran) so I needed a little "escape" literature. This is it: this book is a luscious little petit four with a frothy latte chaser. To its credit, it is not overly cliché: surely, it has the lovely debutant (19, lithe figure, emerald eyes, auburn hair, fiery personality) and the rakish earl (chiseled face, wash-board abs, playful personality, mischievous eyes), but somehow the author makes it work, and keeps the book tight with lively plots, unexpected (if not shocking) twists, and some real tension between the two leads, before it all resolves itself in happily ever-after. It's not Shakespeare, of course, but there is a bit of the madcap mishaps of "Much Ado About Nothing," which is saying a lot for this genre. The book could have been formulaic, but because of the pace of the story, and some of the unexpected actions of the hero/heroine, it really does have a fun, fresh feel to it. If you're looking for a fast-paced, bubbly escape before the holidays set in, this little literary mimosa is a refreshing get-away.