Willy W. reviewed on + 503 more book reviews
Having read several other books by this author, My Darling Caroline was a real disappointment. I found the hero, Brent, to be unlikeable from the start. Sure he was supposed to be a man who just always says what he's thinking but I found him mean and untrustworthy. His initial reaction to the heroine, that she's ugly and old (because 26 is So Old -especially to a 34 year old) isn't the stuff romantic dreams are made of. And instead of him discovering her inner beauty or some other revelatory experience he simply wakes up the next day and thinks she's beautiful. His sudden turnabout - that she is beautiful and desirable - was unconvincing. It came out of nowhere and because he started out so mean-spirited he had a long way to go to redeem himself, which he never did (IMO).
The plot of this book is that these two people, forced to marry, both have a lot of secrets. These secrets are revealed to the characters as they are revealed to us, so the reader is just as blindsided by the news as the character. It is a unique ploy by the author and it does change how you read the book. But for this reader, the tactic didn't engage me further in the story, it just made me mad at the characters. Also major revelations about backstory and character were made by outsiders. A sister whom we haven't really gotten to know suddenly emerges with complete knowledge of everything Caroline has ever thought or felt. An uncle emerges who reveals everything Brent ever thought or felt. Instead of the two characters talking to each other, they are taking to strangers. It is weird and disengaging.
My final complaint out this book is that the hero, in 1815, keeps referring to the heroine as "sexy". A word which didn't come into use until the 20th century. I'm not a lexicographer or anything but you can tell when language just doesn't fit a certain period. It draws you out of the story and you start doing things like googling a when "sexy" came into use. I don't think that's what the author intended for me to do when she wrote that word in her book.
Overall, if this had been my first Adele Ashworth book, it would probably have been my last. It may still be the last, that's how little I enjoyed it.
Also this book says copyright 2010, but is actually a reissue of her book from 1998. Maybe it was her first book and could explain why it is so bad....
The plot of this book is that these two people, forced to marry, both have a lot of secrets. These secrets are revealed to the characters as they are revealed to us, so the reader is just as blindsided by the news as the character. It is a unique ploy by the author and it does change how you read the book. But for this reader, the tactic didn't engage me further in the story, it just made me mad at the characters. Also major revelations about backstory and character were made by outsiders. A sister whom we haven't really gotten to know suddenly emerges with complete knowledge of everything Caroline has ever thought or felt. An uncle emerges who reveals everything Brent ever thought or felt. Instead of the two characters talking to each other, they are taking to strangers. It is weird and disengaging.
My final complaint out this book is that the hero, in 1815, keeps referring to the heroine as "sexy". A word which didn't come into use until the 20th century. I'm not a lexicographer or anything but you can tell when language just doesn't fit a certain period. It draws you out of the story and you start doing things like googling a when "sexy" came into use. I don't think that's what the author intended for me to do when she wrote that word in her book.
Overall, if this had been my first Adele Ashworth book, it would probably have been my last. It may still be the last, that's how little I enjoyed it.
Also this book says copyright 2010, but is actually a reissue of her book from 1998. Maybe it was her first book and could explain why it is so bad....
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
