Author: Ella Quinn
Genre/Age: Historical Romance/Adult
Series: The Worthingtons (Book Four)
Publisher: Zebra Publishing
Format: ebook via NetGalley
Rating: ✺✺.5
Links: Goodreads
Synopsis: Trouble is no match for a lady of the extended Worthington family—except when it comes in the form of a most irresistible gentleman...
Lady Charlotte Carpenter’s brother-in-law has put an infamous brothel owner out of business—yet it is Charlotte who suffers the consequences. Abducted by thugs and held at an inn, she is plotting her escape when she’s suddenly rescued by a dashing gentleman. Only afterward does she realize she’s seen him before—with two courtesans! Unwilling to tarry with such a man, Charlotte makes her second escape. But it is too late to repair her reputation.
A known gossip has spied Charlotte’s movements, and his report is speeding through the rumor mill. Soon, everyone knows that Charlotte spent the night with Constantine, Marquis of Kenilworth. And everyone agrees the only answer is marriage—including Constantine himself, his overjoyed mother—and his mistress! But Charlotte’s abductors aren’t finished with her yet. Now Constantine will do anything to protect the spirited woman he loves and win her heart.
Started off so well...and then went down hill from there.
Charlotte isn't having a good day. First, she's abducted by two men who she's sure are working for a woman who is after revenge. Next, she is rescued by a gentleman who turns out to be a well-known rogue and keeps a mistress, something Charlotte cannot forgive. And then, to top it all off, she is found in a compromising situation with said man and forced to fake an engagement to him. One she will absolutely never allow to turn into a marriage.
This isn't Constantine's idea of a good time, either. After doing his gentlemanly duty in saving the lady, he has somehow found himself shackled to her in order to save both of their reputations. To make matters worse, the woman despises him, simply because he entertains a mistress, like so many other men of the ton do. Even if he can cut ties with the mistress, he still has to convince his newly betrothed that he isn't as despicable as she believes him to be.
This book fell short for me. Don't get me wrong, I was super excited for this installment of the series and giggled like a schoolgirl when I got approved to review it. Then I moved it up my TBR so I could get to it sooner. And the book did start off in a great way, with an abduction and near ruination of our main character. I enjoyed the banter between our couple during the escape/rescue portion.
But then the story hit a wall and never really recovered, in my opinion. I was highly enjoying it until they returned to London and that's when the plot began to lose its shine. Nothing really happened for a long while as our couple were caught in a limbo while the hero tried to convince the heroine to marry him and she paid attention to another suitor instead. I got bored enough to put the book down for several days.
Even after I picked it back up, the story just kept winding on and on with no plot progression. It was one mundane errand or dry conversation after another. Reading it became a chore and even the "action" in the last quarter was mostly just our group making plans over and over, running back and forth between inns, and little else. I managed to finish it, though I was mostly skimming the last several chapters to get to the conclusion.
In closing...
While not a hit for me, I still think this series has potential and I love the closeness of the family. I may still give it another go in the future with a different set of characters and plot. 2.5 suns.
No comments:
Post a Comment