Just Finished:



Why I Read It: I’ve seen reviews for this one all over the place. I had to get my hands on it, even if it is an ebook.

Synopsis: An inconvenient proposal.

Ian MacKay, Laird of Graenfrae, has no use for love or marriage. However, his stepfather’s will mandates that marriage is what he must have...to an Englishwoman. A sensible man, Ian develops a list of requirements in a wife: Plain, moderately dowered, older and practical. He thinks he has found the perfect candidate in Lady Annabelle.

Labeled The Ordinary her first season, Annabelle longs for a man who will see her as beautiful and love her as her father loved her mother. When she meets Ian, she thinks she has at last found that man. Until his proposal, in which he has the audacity to list his "requirements."

She refuses his proposal. He informs her that she will marry him at the end of the season.

The battle of wills is on.

My Thoughts: Well, I’m wondering what I missed. I should have loved this book, and I’m not sure why I didn’t. I liked Annabelle and her independence; I liked Ian and his willful attempts to get Belle to agree to marry him. So what was off?

I expected Belle to hold off longer than she did. That’s why I got the book. I wanted to see how resourceful Ian would be in getting her to change her mind. And I wanted to see how resourceful Belle would be in getting Ian to fall in love with her. I was disappointed with how quickly Belle relinquished, to tell you the truth. Not even halfway through the book she agreed to marry him, knowing he didn’t love her. The crux of the whole thing was she wasn’t going to enter a loveless marriage. Sure, she fell in love with him like at page 2 (okay, that was sarcasm), but I really wanted it to take the length of the whole book for them to come together. I felt cheated.

I’m also left wondering what William (the supposed protagonist) was doing in this story. It’s almost like he was there for decoration and didn’t really add anything to the story. In fact, at first when he popped back into the story I had to go back to remind myself who he was. I just didn’t think his character was necessary. But he eventually served his purpose and the conflict caused by him was quickly rectified.

Also not necessary were the number of times Belle had to be nearly kidnapped (3) and for Ian to rescue her. That irked me. Why create what should be a strong character in Belle only to have her become helpless and in need of Ian’s rescuing so many times?

I’d say it’s a Good read. Not as good as I'd hoped for, but not a complete waste of time. The ending was satisfying and I got my happily ever after, which is why I read in the first place.

Labels: Ebook, Good, Historical Romance, Lucy Monroe