Helpful Score: 3
~ Callen's Tudor romances are *much* better - this book failed to engage me and was lacking spark (2 stars) ~
[1844, England]
I have liked Gayle Callen's books in the past - most recently HIS SCANDAL, Book 2 in her "His" Series - but I did *not* enjoy THE LORD NEXT DOOR. I found myself wanting to skim parts of the book (which I NEVER do), especially the end and the last scene between Victoria and David where they go on and on, resolving every last thing that's been popping up throughout the book. There were some promising moments and scenes, but on the whole the book did not click for me and I would be hard-pressed to ever read it again, let alone recommend it to someone else. Callen is a talented writer and this is the first book of hers that I have disliked, so I'm just chalking it up as a fluke and moving on to her others (the two remaining books in the series seem promising ... we'll see!).
PRAISE:
~ The conversation between David and Victoria on their wedding night is entertaining and humorous.
~ It is a nice change in the genre to have the hero and heroine be the same age (they are both 26 years old when the story takes place).
~ Victoria's mother and David's father, who at the beginning of the book seem like they will be flat secondary characters cast in cookie-cutter roles (the silly, not-very-bright, social climbing mother and the mean, grumpy, and selfish father) were surprisingly interesting and were actually more engaging than the main characters!
CRITICISM:
~ David is a stern and secretive character and normally I can take my hero any way (geez, I make them sound like ice cream, lol) - laughing and joyful, serious and dour, haunted and vengeful, whatever - but for most of the book I found him inaccessible and not really all that engaging or interesting.
~ Victoria was even worse, IMO. Her character was not at all consistent - at times I found her to be far too boring, placid, and even weak, while at other times she showed a strength of character and will that did not at all ring true with the weak Victoria that we had just encountered a page or paragraph before. (Frankly, the Victoria of the diary entries in the Prologue almost seems more interesting than any adult version of her that we meet!)
~ There wasn't much chemistry between Victoria and David and I couldn't really see why either was attracted to the other ... there was just no spark. Again, this was definitely a failing of the characters that Callen wrote, because I know that she is most certainly able to write great chemistry and interesting characters who complement each other (read HIS SCANDAL).
~ The premise of the book and how it begins is shaky - Victoria's family is in dire straits so she goes to see the servant boy next door ... what could he possibly do to help them? How would marrying him accomplish anything? And if the family is so badly off, why are her two younger sisters working and she's not? This is of course how she and David are set-up to meet (with David actually being himself, and not "Tom") and for the plot and marriage-of-convenience to unfold, but it's all very contrived. Normally I can easily overlook implausible plots or contrived story ploys, but since the book didn't have much else to recommend it, this just added to my annoyance and disappointment.
VERY ANNOYING QUOTE (should have tipped me off right away that I wouldn't really like this heroine):
"She had no great mission in life, as some women had, to reform society or negate poverty. She would cast little scandal on a family already brimming with its own." (p.30)
THE SISTERS OF WILLOW POND TRILOGY:
This book is part of Gayle Callen's "The Sisters of Willow Pond Trilogy." The order of the series is as follows: Book 1, THE LORD NEXT DOOR (Victoria's story); Book 2, THE DUKE IN DISGUISE (Meriel's story); and Book 3, THE VISCOUNT IN HER BEDROOM (Louisa's story).
BOTTOM LINE and RECOMMENDATIONS:
*Skip it!* Read HIS SCANDAL by Gayle Callen instead, or if you want to read a *FABULOUS* marriage-of-convenience book, I recommend Mary Balogh's SLIGHTLY MARRIED, Book 1 in the Bedwyn Family series (the whole series is worth reading and if you plan to do that, I would start with A SUMMER TO REMEMBER, which first introduces the Bedwyn family and is a prequel, or with ONE NIGHT FOR LOVE, which precedes the prequel. You can check out my "So you'd like to ..." Guide of the Bedwyn Family for a complete breakdown.
(http://historical-romance-heaven.blogspot.com)
[1844, England]
I have liked Gayle Callen's books in the past - most recently HIS SCANDAL, Book 2 in her "His" Series - but I did *not* enjoy THE LORD NEXT DOOR. I found myself wanting to skim parts of the book (which I NEVER do), especially the end and the last scene between Victoria and David where they go on and on, resolving every last thing that's been popping up throughout the book. There were some promising moments and scenes, but on the whole the book did not click for me and I would be hard-pressed to ever read it again, let alone recommend it to someone else. Callen is a talented writer and this is the first book of hers that I have disliked, so I'm just chalking it up as a fluke and moving on to her others (the two remaining books in the series seem promising ... we'll see!).
PRAISE:
~ The conversation between David and Victoria on their wedding night is entertaining and humorous.
~ It is a nice change in the genre to have the hero and heroine be the same age (they are both 26 years old when the story takes place).
~ Victoria's mother and David's father, who at the beginning of the book seem like they will be flat secondary characters cast in cookie-cutter roles (the silly, not-very-bright, social climbing mother and the mean, grumpy, and selfish father) were surprisingly interesting and were actually more engaging than the main characters!
CRITICISM:
~ David is a stern and secretive character and normally I can take my hero any way (geez, I make them sound like ice cream, lol) - laughing and joyful, serious and dour, haunted and vengeful, whatever - but for most of the book I found him inaccessible and not really all that engaging or interesting.
~ Victoria was even worse, IMO. Her character was not at all consistent - at times I found her to be far too boring, placid, and even weak, while at other times she showed a strength of character and will that did not at all ring true with the weak Victoria that we had just encountered a page or paragraph before. (Frankly, the Victoria of the diary entries in the Prologue almost seems more interesting than any adult version of her that we meet!)
~ There wasn't much chemistry between Victoria and David and I couldn't really see why either was attracted to the other ... there was just no spark. Again, this was definitely a failing of the characters that Callen wrote, because I know that she is most certainly able to write great chemistry and interesting characters who complement each other (read HIS SCANDAL).
~ The premise of the book and how it begins is shaky - Victoria's family is in dire straits so she goes to see the servant boy next door ... what could he possibly do to help them? How would marrying him accomplish anything? And if the family is so badly off, why are her two younger sisters working and she's not? This is of course how she and David are set-up to meet (with David actually being himself, and not "Tom") and for the plot and marriage-of-convenience to unfold, but it's all very contrived. Normally I can easily overlook implausible plots or contrived story ploys, but since the book didn't have much else to recommend it, this just added to my annoyance and disappointment.
VERY ANNOYING QUOTE (should have tipped me off right away that I wouldn't really like this heroine):
"She had no great mission in life, as some women had, to reform society or negate poverty. She would cast little scandal on a family already brimming with its own." (p.30)
THE SISTERS OF WILLOW POND TRILOGY:
This book is part of Gayle Callen's "The Sisters of Willow Pond Trilogy." The order of the series is as follows: Book 1, THE LORD NEXT DOOR (Victoria's story); Book 2, THE DUKE IN DISGUISE (Meriel's story); and Book 3, THE VISCOUNT IN HER BEDROOM (Louisa's story).
BOTTOM LINE and RECOMMENDATIONS:
*Skip it!* Read HIS SCANDAL by Gayle Callen instead, or if you want to read a *FABULOUS* marriage-of-convenience book, I recommend Mary Balogh's SLIGHTLY MARRIED, Book 1 in the Bedwyn Family series (the whole series is worth reading and if you plan to do that, I would start with A SUMMER TO REMEMBER, which first introduces the Bedwyn family and is a prequel, or with ONE NIGHT FOR LOVE, which precedes the prequel. You can check out my "So you'd like to ..." Guide of the Bedwyn Family for a complete breakdown.
(http://historical-romance-heaven.blogspot.com)
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