Review: Not Bad, But Too-Perfect Heroine
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 3, 2013
This was actually a very well-written regency. There were a few writing issues here and there that made this book feel a little like a debut novel but for the most part, the writing itself was tight and very pleasing. The storytelling was also quite good, I definitely got caught up in what was going on and found myself empathizing with both leads at various points. I did have some issues. First, the heroine is too perfect. She has absolutely no flaws. She bests every man she comes in contact with in a social situation. She is gorgeous and always perfectly poised. Gammon. Pick a few attributes and then give her opposing flaws. For instance, she is a card Sharp hoyden who is peerless in the saddle. Excellent, a good hoyden can be fun. However, being raised as a hoyden would not lend itself to having perfect social graces; which would have also given her something to bond with when she visited Madeline. She is a complete innocent but has mastered the art of flirting with experienced rakes. Fustian. Make her completely unaware of her own allure. She is charmingly forthright and honest in her delight to be amongst company and charms the rakes instead of besting them in a game she has never played. Much more believable and goes along with her hoyden upbringing. The lack of social artifice would only add to her charm. My other complaint is the romance itself. It blasted off like a firework and had nowhere to go after that first meeting. They are each struck dumb by the other, lust at first sight, and the heroine decides that this is her future mate. Sigh. I actually pitied the hero at first because the heroine was chasing him rather shamelessly, and for a man so sworn off love, he was running scared before he even had a chance to get to know her properly. As a reader I found their relationship frustrating. It was actually not fun to read. Ashleigh was stalking the hero who was trying to stay away from her because of the violence of his reaction to her and when pressed, he did exactly what he feared he would do. I know this would have taken the book in a completely different direction, but I felt disappointed when Ashleigh doggedly kept pursuing Nick even after he told her he wanted none of her. The carriage scene left me shaking my head and wondering what she was thinking. And then I remembered one very important fact: the heroine is 17 and if ever there is an age where women wholeheartedly believe in their own innate rightness it is the age of 17. Which of course swings the pendulum in the other direction and I wonder why the heck the hero didn't just keep it in his pants. Oh well. And thus, the book. I couldn't find it completely comfortable, but it was engrossing and for the most part well-done. Recommended for Regency Romance lovers.