Review: Good Novella.....Irritating Heroine
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 13, 2013
I thought this book was well written.  It is the second novella by Ms. Fisher that I've read.  While quite good, I did not enjoy this story as much as I did the first one I read, "A Bride For Christmas".  In this story the hero, Stephen, has returned home from the Napoleonic war after being injured in battle.  Upon his return he is told that both his parents were killed in a house fire the day before his arrival.  Poor Stephen is wracked with grief and subsequently drowns his sorrows in alcohol.  While in his cups he throws out a less than gracious proposal to his lady love, Jane.  Jane and Stephen have been friends since childhood.  Jane's family estate adjoins Stephen's Uncle's, who is an Earl.  When Jane was 14 Stephen enlisted in the Army.  Although there was no formal agreement between the two, they've each had a fondness for the other, which has been nurtured during the six years Stephen has been away.  Jane at 20 has had two London seasons, but has kept her heart free for Stephen.  Now that he's returned Jane is devastated by Stephen's drunk induced proposal.  She immediately begins to doubt her feelings for Stephen.  She wonders if over the years she may have built Stephen up to be more than he actually is.  While I could understand Jane's misgivings to a certain extent, I couldn't see why she was so much in angst about whether or not she should marry Stephen.  It seemed to me that she had one excuse after another as to why she couldn't marry him, but none of them were the least bit convincing.  Furthermore, I found her thought process very confusing.  I was so irritated with Jane that when Stephen decided he would look for another young lady to marry I cheered!  Of course since as Jane is the heroine of the story that was not to be.  And, since I really loved Stephen and he really wanted Jane I had to root for the irritating female.  After all, I wanted Stephen to have his HEA.  Now don't get me wrong, I liked Jane.  The author however was not able to get me to sympathize with her.  All my sympathy was for Stephen.  Overall I would say that this was an enjoyable read.