Review: Oh So Good
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 13, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this little novella.  It's set in London during the Victorian era, at the time of Jack the Ripper.  The Ripper case actually has nothing to do with the story, other than the fact that Elizabeth's father, Detective Chief Inspector Ainsworth, and the hero, Detective Inspector Ian Reed, happen to be working the case, at the time the romance between Elizabeth and Ian occurs.  This story encompasses one of my favorite romance formulas...the so-called plain spinster, with the sexy, handsome hero who has eyes for no one, but the heroine.In this book, Elizabeth, at the age of 24, is just about a confirmed spinster.  A very independent minded, modern thinking, bluestocking type, Elizabeth does not think marriage is for her.  For one, she doesn't think she will ever find a man who will allow her to continue with her work as a teacher, in the impoverished Whitechapel area, for another, she doesn't think she can find a man who will appreciate her for herself.  It doesn't help that Elizabeth is constantly overlooked by the many young officers under his command, her father brings home regularly for dinner.  None of these young men ever sees past Elizabeth's younger, beautiful, accomplished sister, Sara.  Ian, however, is the complete opposite; from the first moment he and Elizabeth meet, he is captivated by her and has eyes for none other.When she shows up at his door offering herself up for "carnal pleasure", Ian is sure he's having yet another erotic dream that revolves around Elizabeth.  I found it particularly sad that Elizabeth felt she had to bribe Ian, in order to induce him to sleep with her.  As independent and resourceful as she is, IMO, the poor thing really suffered from massive insecurity.  I was never more happy than when Elizabeth got her HEA with Ian...a young, intelligent, ambitious man, who has a successful future in the police force; it doesn't hurt that he's sexy as sin and handsome too.  LOLIn any event, the story moves at a nice, quick pace.  I found it to be well written and absolutely loved the characters.  Despite the fact that there is no actual sex between the protagonists, there is a lot of heavy foreplay, which makes for sensual reading.  Consequently, I would not classify this as a clean romance...at least not for those readers who don't like any sex, or explicit language in their novels.  I loved this book and recommend it as a very enjoyable read.  Happy reading!