Good Story, Excellent Characters, But…
eBook Review:
At its core, I enjoyed this romantic suspense story and the interaction between the hero and heroine. The writer is a talented Regency author who understands the time period and its societal mores. However, a bunch of small things kept me from pure enjoyment of this story. I've been reading this author for years, and for some reason lately, her books feel overwritten. I'll admit when I first start the books written in this style, I find the language charming, but soon it becomes tedious, as every little nuance and moment described is heightened and emphasized to the point of melodrama at times. The cover also didn't quite do it for me. She doesn't look remotely like a Regency heroine. Instead, to my eye, with the hairstyle, diaphanous dress, and no stockings, she reminds me of a certain type of 1970s heroine. Regency ladies always wore their hair pinned up, even for days at home, and they also always wore stockings!
I like how the suspense plot evolved. The heroine does jump to conclusions fairly quickly, which was, at times, annoying, the queen of believing circumstantial evidence. For quite a while, she believes the hero had a hand in the death of her husband, though he proclaims his innocence. The readers know from chapters written from his perspective that he was not involved. These two decide to work together to figure out the culprit, her because she truly wants to know and seek revenge against her husband’s killer and him because he wants to clear his name of any wrongdoing (as the cruel ton, not just the heroine, comes to believe he may be guilty). I enjoyed watching their interactions change as she began to believe he had nothing to do with it and they shared special moments as they were trying to puzzle everything out. The author did a great job showing how they could fall for each other under these highly charged circumstances. Like all good romantic suspense, a fantastic scene at the end has the hero and heroine at the mercy of the villain, but the teamwork they have perfected over time saves the day. The book also has an excellent cast of secondary characters, who watch all that happens between this couple with amusement and at times, astonishment. Despite its flaws, a good read.
Thoughts about the Audiobook: I first picked up this story's eBook version on a book review site. At the time, I wished the audiobook was available because I would prefer that format. Interestingly, just a few days later, when I was about halfway through the book, the audiobook version popped up at the site as well! Kudos to the author for getting out a quality audiobook at almost the same time the eBook was published! I wish more authors were able to pull off that feat! So I snapped that up, too, and actually listened to it during a long car ride on my birthday. One thing I like about the audiobook format, especially with a talented narrator, is that it can enhance a story with minor flaws. An audiobook novella moves so quickly I tend not to notice language errors—or in this book's case, the melodramatic writing—quite as much as I do when reading, even if I found them quite irksome then. This author has used several talented narrators in her audiobooks. I wouldn't call this one my absolute favorite, yet she still imbued key characters with life and energy, giving them particular quirks. This made the audiobook quite enjoyable, a pleasant diversion during a somewhat uninteresting ride. For future books by this author, I will wait to see if she puts out an audiobook version quickly before just automatically choosing the eBook version! I hope she does!
I received a free digital copy of this book and a promo code for the audiobook, but that did not affect my review.