Helpful Score: 4
2.5 - 3 stars. Just can't decide.
The feisty girl is Fiona who we meet, along with her family in the Bridegroom Wore Plaid. Fionas mother Mary Fran and Fionas father married in a handfasting ceremony not recognized by her fathers family. When her father died, his family had nothing to do with him and Mary Fran moved in with her brother, Ian MacGregor, the Earl of Balfour. But Fiona is not fading away in Scotland, shes been looked after by her uncles. Mary Fran marries Matthew, brother of the Countess of Balfour and the two of them are out of country on vacation when Tiberius comes calling. I do not recall if we met Hester but she is the sister of Matthew, so an aunt but not by blood.
Back to the story, the plot is one seen many times before. That alone didnt scare me off, the simplest of romance tropes can be good if written well. This one has its moments. Tiberius is here to take Fiona back to the family seat based on his fathers orders. He falls for Hester and vice versa and the relationship moves at a predictable pace with the inevitable lies, evasions, and betrayals. Burrows had potential with this one, but too many weak points made it unsalvageable.
What worked: The dialogue. Tiberius has a way of speaking that drew me inflat tone with big words with subtle wit. Tiberiuss discussions are full of amusements and slights of phrase.
Hester. She s a well rounded character who avoids falling into a doormat role. She makes unusual choices and shows more strength than I would have expected. I wanted a happy ending for her.
Earl and Countess of Balfour: Ian and August appear again and they continue to be two of my favorite Burrows characters.
Now for what doesn t work.
Tiberius the character: Despite his sexy speech, I couldnt warm up to him. Hes the doormat of the story. The one that falls in line with his fathers orders to take the child knowing hes taking her from a loving environment. The reason why stunned me as well as Hester and my opinion of him plummeted even further.
The MacGregors. Despite the unity they had in the previous book, they are all gone here (except Ian) and there is no explanation why Fionas mom never responds to Ians wires about the problems with her daughter. Their absence was a shadow over the story.
Tiberiuss father: There s a whole side story to Tiberiuss father, his mother, and what drove his father to do what he did. I found it childish and a painful addition to the book.
Pacing: When it becomes clear what Tyes intentions towards Fiona are, we wait and wait and wait for the inevitable to happen. There s a good 50 pages I could have yanked out and with little impact on the story.
I give this one three stars. An okay story, not a bad read, but easily forgettable
The feisty girl is Fiona who we meet, along with her family in the Bridegroom Wore Plaid. Fionas mother Mary Fran and Fionas father married in a handfasting ceremony not recognized by her fathers family. When her father died, his family had nothing to do with him and Mary Fran moved in with her brother, Ian MacGregor, the Earl of Balfour. But Fiona is not fading away in Scotland, shes been looked after by her uncles. Mary Fran marries Matthew, brother of the Countess of Balfour and the two of them are out of country on vacation when Tiberius comes calling. I do not recall if we met Hester but she is the sister of Matthew, so an aunt but not by blood.
Back to the story, the plot is one seen many times before. That alone didnt scare me off, the simplest of romance tropes can be good if written well. This one has its moments. Tiberius is here to take Fiona back to the family seat based on his fathers orders. He falls for Hester and vice versa and the relationship moves at a predictable pace with the inevitable lies, evasions, and betrayals. Burrows had potential with this one, but too many weak points made it unsalvageable.
What worked: The dialogue. Tiberius has a way of speaking that drew me inflat tone with big words with subtle wit. Tiberiuss discussions are full of amusements and slights of phrase.
Hester. She s a well rounded character who avoids falling into a doormat role. She makes unusual choices and shows more strength than I would have expected. I wanted a happy ending for her.
Earl and Countess of Balfour: Ian and August appear again and they continue to be two of my favorite Burrows characters.
Now for what doesn t work.
Tiberius the character: Despite his sexy speech, I couldnt warm up to him. Hes the doormat of the story. The one that falls in line with his fathers orders to take the child knowing hes taking her from a loving environment. The reason why stunned me as well as Hester and my opinion of him plummeted even further.
The MacGregors. Despite the unity they had in the previous book, they are all gone here (except Ian) and there is no explanation why Fionas mom never responds to Ians wires about the problems with her daughter. Their absence was a shadow over the story.
Tiberiuss father: There s a whole side story to Tiberiuss father, his mother, and what drove his father to do what he did. I found it childish and a painful addition to the book.
Pacing: When it becomes clear what Tyes intentions towards Fiona are, we wait and wait and wait for the inevitable to happen. There s a good 50 pages I could have yanked out and with little impact on the story.
I give this one three stars. An okay story, not a bad read, but easily forgettable
Helpful Score: 3
I've really enjoyed Burrowes in the past, but this book has a ho hum plot and lumbers to a predictable conclusion. I will not give up on GB, but this one was not her best.
