Willy W. reviewed on + 503 more book reviews
A mixed bag. The late 19th century story is about a man, Lord Vere, who has adopted an alternative personality in order to spy for the British Crown. He's so undercover that even his closest friends and family don't know he's faking. The heroine, Ellisande, is a woman who has lived her life under the reign of a controlling uncle who rarely allows her from the house and has basically imprisoned her to care for her ailing aunt.
The hero in this story is interesting because of the role he's playing. I think this touches on how lonely undercover work really would be and you can see how he's really hoist on his own petard when he begins to fall in love with someone who can't know he's faking.
But the writing is clumsy. Ellisande tricks Vere into a compromising situation so he's forced to marry her. She's written as a woman in a desperate situation, willing to take any measure, even something that goes against her morals, in order to escape. However although the villain is really evil, his evils didn't much extend to Ellisande. I kept waiting for the reveal that he'd beaten her or raped her or told her she was fat or some horrid abuse. He hits her, after she's married Vere, but she admits he's never done it before. Sure he kept her home to care for her aunt. It sucks but it isn't torture and among the less affluent, that would be considered normal at the time. His big crime - he got rid of all the books in the house. Terrible yes, torture no. By the end his villainy was quite clear but Sherry Thomas failed to get me believing in the heroine. She also neglected to tell us early on in the story that her aunt and uncle had raised her from infancy, so they were, for all intents and purposes, her parents. That's a pretty important emotional fact that we needed to know.
The sensuality in the book was okay but not much of a centerpiece of the love story. The ending felt a bit anti-climactic and I wished there had been more of an emotionally shattering between the two before the happily ever after.
There was a very enjoyable side story (romance) about Freddie, Vere's younger brother, which was a nice addition to the book.
The hero in this story is interesting because of the role he's playing. I think this touches on how lonely undercover work really would be and you can see how he's really hoist on his own petard when he begins to fall in love with someone who can't know he's faking.
But the writing is clumsy. Ellisande tricks Vere into a compromising situation so he's forced to marry her. She's written as a woman in a desperate situation, willing to take any measure, even something that goes against her morals, in order to escape. However although the villain is really evil, his evils didn't much extend to Ellisande. I kept waiting for the reveal that he'd beaten her or raped her or told her she was fat or some horrid abuse. He hits her, after she's married Vere, but she admits he's never done it before. Sure he kept her home to care for her aunt. It sucks but it isn't torture and among the less affluent, that would be considered normal at the time. His big crime - he got rid of all the books in the house. Terrible yes, torture no. By the end his villainy was quite clear but Sherry Thomas failed to get me believing in the heroine. She also neglected to tell us early on in the story that her aunt and uncle had raised her from infancy, so they were, for all intents and purposes, her parents. That's a pretty important emotional fact that we needed to know.
The sensuality in the book was okay but not much of a centerpiece of the love story. The ending felt a bit anti-climactic and I wished there had been more of an emotionally shattering between the two before the happily ever after.
There was a very enjoyable side story (romance) about Freddie, Vere's younger brother, which was a nice addition to the book.
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