Review: Mystery and Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 21, 2013
A great addition to a wonderful series, Romancing His English Rose was a lovely historical romance. With thrilling mystery and steamy romance, this book was definitely a great read. Loved it!Rose was a wonderful heroine. She was so thoroughly likable. She was just a genuinely kind, clever, strong character that it's impossible not to like her. I appreciated that she wasn't one of the heroines in romance that was prone to dramatics. She was eminently sensible and that was another point in her favor. I thought she was lovely and I really liked her.Simon was also great. He was strong, clever, and oh-so-attractive, with a little-boy mischievousness that made him very endearing. In a word, I would call him a rascal, and I mean that in the best way possible. He was sweet and adorable and I really liked him.The romance was okay. It was definitely sweet and the chemistry between these two was on fire. I thought they were great together. But, I wish there had been a little more to it. I say that because, at the start of the book, Rose and Simon don't like each other, even though both of them have every intention of getting married someday. I wanted to see more of why there as an animosity (though it was touched on briefly, it didn't feel like a full explanation) and more of how the changed. Because, with the way it went in the book, it was more a Simon finally seeing  the light and realizing his fiance is actually pretty and kind. And Rose just accepting that. I wanted more depth.But, for the most part, I liked the romance.My only other complaint about this book is that it sometimes slipped into modern slang that was jarring in the historical context. It wasn't just a word or two that I could have ignored. It was quite a few words that most definitely didn't fit. But, that might just be me being a history nerd, so it might not bother anyone else.The plot was fast paced and I was hooked the entire way through. The mystery was definitely thrilling and had me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed the story and the ending was lovely.Romancing His English Rose was a wonderful historical romance. The mystery, the romance. It was all fantastic! I really enjoyed reading this book. Lovers of romance, this is a book you'll want to read.*I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review