Helpful Score: 8
I'm a huge Brockway fan & was eagerly anticipating this book for some time, but frankly, I was pretty disappointed with it. It's not a *bad* book, but I sorta feel cheated; like I ran out and bought a new Brockway & got something else instead.
The H&H just did not have any chemistry. Nothing really physical starts happening until way late in the book & I was so NOT into them as a couple by then, the big love scene felt like it was dropped on me out of nowhere. The best I could give this is maybe a B-, and I'm not even sure if it rates that, or I'm just cutting it some slack because it's a Brockway.
The premise is familiar; both the H&H find themselves in financial difficulties & need to marry for money, and they fall in love not realizing that the other is just as penniless as they are. This could have worked, but it just seems to drag on for chapter after chapter with the hero & heroine secretly pining for each other (even before they knew of each other's financial woes) and never doing anything much in the way of acting on it.
The heroine was fine, if a little lacking in dimension, but the hero is a complete letdown. I have no problem with stoic heroes, but this guy was almost completely bland, and I never 100% bought into the attraction he had for the heroine - mostly because his self-control where she's concerned never seems to slip more than a notch. There's a slight, very cliched external conflict thrown in at the end that you could see coming from a mile away, complete with the obligatory cardboard cutout villain. The most positive thing I could say about this book in terms of originality is that at least there is no magical fix for the H&H's money problems, no fairy godmother or convenient rich relatives dropping dead in the 11th hour & bequeathing them a fortune; they finish as broke as they begin. All in all, it's not a bad story, but I've come to expect much better from Connie Brockway & she just didn't deliver this time.
Grade: B-
Sensuality Rating: PG-13
The H&H just did not have any chemistry. Nothing really physical starts happening until way late in the book & I was so NOT into them as a couple by then, the big love scene felt like it was dropped on me out of nowhere. The best I could give this is maybe a B-, and I'm not even sure if it rates that, or I'm just cutting it some slack because it's a Brockway.
The premise is familiar; both the H&H find themselves in financial difficulties & need to marry for money, and they fall in love not realizing that the other is just as penniless as they are. This could have worked, but it just seems to drag on for chapter after chapter with the hero & heroine secretly pining for each other (even before they knew of each other's financial woes) and never doing anything much in the way of acting on it.
The heroine was fine, if a little lacking in dimension, but the hero is a complete letdown. I have no problem with stoic heroes, but this guy was almost completely bland, and I never 100% bought into the attraction he had for the heroine - mostly because his self-control where she's concerned never seems to slip more than a notch. There's a slight, very cliched external conflict thrown in at the end that you could see coming from a mile away, complete with the obligatory cardboard cutout villain. The most positive thing I could say about this book in terms of originality is that at least there is no magical fix for the H&H's money problems, no fairy godmother or convenient rich relatives dropping dead in the 11th hour & bequeathing them a fortune; they finish as broke as they begin. All in all, it's not a bad story, but I've come to expect much better from Connie Brockway & she just didn't deliver this time.
Grade: B-
Sensuality Rating: PG-13
Helpful Score: 2
This was the first Connie Brockway book I've ever read, and I loved it. Ned was such a sweet, lovable character, so passionate and poetic. At first, I did think Lydia was a bit spoiled and dumb, but she was not a whiny baby about it, like a real rich spoiled brat would be. She had a good head on her shoulders, and was very honest. This story was written so well, I could feel every physical thing described, and emotional. I felt sympathy for Ned when he learned what might happen to Lydia and his brother. I could hear the sweetness of Ned's love for her in his letter. I could taste the caramel ice as Lydia described it. I could see Ned watching her as she described that caramel, his eyes so aroused and glazed in pleasure. It was a beautiful book, and I cannot wait to read more by her.
