this was a really interesting read as we get a unique hero for the era in that he's a poc main character and had good tropes such as best fri 3 stars
this was a really interesting read as we get a unique hero for the era in that he's a poc main character and had good tropes such as best friend's brother and lots of banter/animosity between the leads, however, i felt as though gabriel's non-white side could have been explored more since we didn't get too much information on that. also, I struggled to like minerva's character which made it hard for me to become attached to the couple.
still, this was a solid historical romance read, and the writing style captures you.
nora was such a cute character! i love how she cared more about animals than people, and was fierce when it came to protecting the weak and d 3 stars
nora was such a cute character! i love how she cared more about animals than people, and was fierce when it came to protecting the weak and defenseless. christian was clearly smitten by her and their relationship was well done except for the middle portion of the book which felt laggy....more
sooo ... i was not expecting to like this book so much? while gabriel and cassandra (the mc's) are pretty likeable and have lots of chemistry 4 stars
sooo ... i was not expecting to like this book so much? while gabriel and cassandra (the mc's) are pretty likeable and have lots of chemistry the real strength of this book lies in the supporting characters and supporting relationships. the author takes a lot of typical tropes in the genre and subverts them:
- the poised, perfect ex-betrothed (he was going to have to marry his deceased brother's fiancée) is cassie's first friend and ally in england instead of the typical ow that she would have been endlessly compared to. - gabriel's best friend christopher is very fond of cassandra, but he genuinely wants them both to be happy together and he's not turned into an om. - the stuffy cold duke aka gabriel's father. so instead of going the typical route of unmendable parent-child relationships, a lot of this book focuses on gabriel and his father's relationship and what went wrong so many years ago and how decades of neglect leads to resentment in children. the duke's relationship with cassie was really well built up too. - the parallels between how the duke treated his second wife (gabriel's mother) and how gabriel treated cassie in fits of anger were great too and acknowledged by the characters.
plot twist at the end becomes kind of predictable as the book goes on, but i really enjoyed the family and friendship dynamic of this. ...more
this book had such a great setup with tempest and dare knowing each other since childhood and growing up in the slums together because of 2.75 stars
this book had such a great setup with tempest and dare knowing each other since childhood and growing up in the slums together because of family issues they both had. i really wish we had gotten to see flashbacks of those formative years and see their meeting/building of friendship/first kiss etc. the characters were both very likeable as they genuinely wanted to do good and their chemistry was solid.
the main downside was the abrupt ending, and i had to remove a star for that. it feels as though the issue between the dare's grandmother and tempest is left unresolved and it would have been nice to see a page or two devoted to fixing that relationship.
all in all, this was a really easy to read, endearing historical romance with likeable characters with believable motives.
- love is truly a disease because i adored brenna up until like the 70% mark where her whole fierce personality altered into her willing t 3.25 stars
- love is truly a disease because i adored brenna up until like the 70% mark where her whole fierce personality altered into her willing to accept mere scraps of affection from garrick
- garrick is useless and for me had zero charisma as a male lead, he was intriguing in the start but the more you get to know him the less interesting he becomes.
- despite my annoyances, this was still well written and i enjoyed the setting a lot....more
the spirit of royce westmoreland needs to rise from the grave and beat his useless descendant clayton’s ass because wtf ???
here we have feis 2 stars
the spirit of royce westmoreland needs to rise from the grave and beat his useless descendant clayton’s ass because wtf ???
here we have feisty, tomboyish, whitney with tons of potential who gets shipped off to france with her aunt and uncle because of her embarrassing crush on a childhood acquaintance and becomes the toast of high society. ofc clayton aka the duke of claymore spots her from afar and becomes infatuated with her beauty and uniqueness blah blah you know the drill. he finds out her father is in severe debt so he sets up a betrothal contract which promises whitney to him in exchange for him giving her father 100,000 pounds.
the rest of the novel follows clayton attempting to woo whitney in secret by disguising his true identity while she (still) pines over the childhood acquaintance. the writing is what saves this book from being a dnf or 1 star read because the following plot points literally made my blood boil
the premise of this book has the daughter of a scottish earl kidnapped from her abyss by a rival english duke in the middle of england and 4.5 stars
the premise of this book has the daughter of a scottish earl kidnapped from her abyss by a rival english duke in the middle of england and scotland tensions which results in a marriage decreed by the kings of both countries ... how could one not be hooked by that opening ???
jennifer is one of the genuinely kindest and strongest female characters i've read in a historical. she has a heart of gold, but is also stubbornly loyal to her family. i love that she didn't fall in love with royce after a couple of kisses, and even after she did acknowledge her love for him it never made her spineless.
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