Capturing Emilia

by Brooke Adams

Emilia, 29, has left the suburbs and a dead-end job to make a fresh start in London. Recently qualified as an archivist, she is getting over her past relationships and freeing her mind from her obsession with New Age thinking. She soon finds the perfect job in a heritage library in Mayfair where she unexpectedly meets Charles. Emilia is initially repelled by him given their opposite personalities, while he falls for her from the very beginning.

Charles, 38, is a Mayfair-based lettings agent to the rich and famous, not quite the kind of boyfriend Emilia had in mind. He is charming, worldly, adept, and wealthy and likes to enjoy the finer things in life. Charles realises that he has truly found a real love but will he be tempted to return to his old ways?

This love story unravels within the urbane and sophisticated setting of London’s Mayfair. Will Emilia have the courage to let herself fall? Even though she’s convinced that this isn’t the way it was meant to be.

Genres: Romance

80 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 10, 2020

Reviews

[Moony (Captain Mischief) MeowPoff · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this eARC from Nergalley in exhange for a honest review
Yeah, no. I have to be one of the many who did not like the book. The story went so fast it felt like a short novel - maybe. The characters did not have any character development, the chemistry was off - it went from 0 - Emilia disliked Charles and why won`t he take a no for an answer? to 100 - THEY ARE IN LOVE Too freaking fast. Suddenly he was so amazing and interesting and Emilia was soo delighted. Ugh. Everything in the book happend so fast and Charles was so obsessed with Emilia and he wanted to "Capture" her. See what i did there? He did not take no for a no and just plowed on, Emilia eventually let him as well and BAM Happily ever after.

Hard pass.

[Alanna Jenkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very fast one-sitting read that didn’t overly impress me if I’m honest. I like the premise of the story - the blurb was the reason I requested it on NetGalley - but the execution fell a little short in my opinion.

I felt thrown into the middle of a story, which meant that instead of getting a chance to immerse myself in it properly, I felt like I was playing catch up for the first 10-15 pages (doesn’t sound like a lot, but the book is only 79 pages long). Because the book was on the shorter side, the pace of the story felt rushed - it jumped from the characters just having met to them declaring their love for each other in the time it took to blink an eye - I couldn’t keep up with all the time jumps that were supposed to be happening for the story to make sense at that pace.

I liked both main characters - Emilia was charming, if a little judgemental, and Charles was dashing but misunderstood - but their budding (speedy) romance was undeservedly let down by some of the language used to describe their feelings; it felt antiquated and jarred with the tone of the characters.

My character summaries above reminded me of Lizzie and Darcy from Pride and Prejudice when I was writing them. That’s what the book felt like - Pride and Prejudice on speed, and it just didn’t hit the right mark for me.

[Shuhada Ramli · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's about finding what the heart wants. The story was a simple and easy read. Too straight-forward until I could guess what is going to happen next.
⠀
But why I gave 2 for the rating?
Because it was too straight-forward, each sentence comes with an explanation. Why Emilia did this, why Charles is doing that. Followed by what is next, next and next. It's like reading a manual and it killed my excitement. I love it for the first quarter but killed my interest when reading next. Honestly, the plot is great. The author has an idea of writing the story. But it would be greater if the author stops spoon-feeding the reading by telling what is next and next after because this is not a manual. This is supposed to be a sweet romance novel.
⠀
Well, I guess, it is not for me. Romance is my most favourite genre but, this book didn't meet my expectation. Nevertheless, I finished it. Poor Charles. Emilia was dumb. Sorry.
⠀
I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley, Author(s) and Publisher(s) for the chance of having this ARC. Looking forward to reading more! All the best!

[thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me, too short, no character development, too much trying to speed through the story and I’m not sure for what purpose, not for me sorry

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

[Melinda_and_her_books · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for an honest review. Unfortunately I did not care for this story. I found myself wanting to just get it done and over with already. I found it pretty boring and kept thinking blah blah blah while I read it. The romance was way too fast and there wasn't a ton of build up or character development. I don't see why Emilia hooking up with her childhood friend had to be in the story either. I feel like the author just added that part to make the story longer. Romance books are so much better when there is a slow build up to the relationship instead of being instantly in love. I also don't like how Charles was kind of an alpha male. I don't care for books with alpha characters that think they can get whatever they want and think money can give them the happiness they want. Definitely not a book I recommend. I find it ironic how they mention in the book not wasting your time on a crappy novel when there are so many other books out there you could be reading.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this was not the book for me. I read it in one sitting as it was very short, but it was far too fast paced.

I felt as if I was thrown into a story, there was no character development, and the relationship and story went from 0 to 100 too quickly. There is more information in the description than there is in the whole book.

I don’t really understand the purpose of this and the book felt too rushed. The book could easily have been a lot longer and the story executed properly, but this was just a mess - I really don’t understand how it got published. Having read the description, I was excited to read this as I think that there was so much potential, but I was very let down. I won’t read again and recommend others not to waste their time reading.

[Emandherbooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was over so quickly that I didn’t realise I didn’t even have a chance to DNF it. It was written very clumsily and fell very short of what I was expecting. There was really no substance at all. Not for me.

[Olive · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a very short book (which is perhaps its only saving grace) which means that you don’t even really have time to get to know the characters before it’s over, no connection, no empathy, absolutely zero character development (both Charles and Emilia come across as pretentious and arrogant, really not my kind of people).

The actual story jumps around with little to no continuity, for example Charles expresses his upset at the thought of Emilia being with another man, a man who we aren’t even properly introduced to for another few chapters, when Emilia (now predictably) spends the night with him. Similarly, at the end of chapter 12 Emilia confesses that she is ‘so in love with Charles’ to her mother, and is excited to announce their engagement shortly- but as far as us the reader is concerned, she hasn’t spoken to Charles for months and is certain that she doesn't want to be with him anymore? Just confusing to be honest, I kept going back a few pages to check that I hadn’t missed something or accidentally jumped a chapter whilst reading.

Sorry to say it but only 1/5 stars from me.

[Stephanie Goodrich · Rating 1 out of 5]

Emilia is a girl who escapes her old life for a new start in London, where she becomes an Archivist at a library. Charles is a big shot letter who lives the playboy life. One day, they meet and their lives change.

This story had so much potential, however potential is all that it has. This didn't feel like a full story to me. It was like reading an excerpt from the middle of a book. I felt like the characters were one dimensional and didn't get a chance to grow. As a result, we never get a chance to relate to them or feel invested in their lives. I also felt like the writing was a bit inconsistent. I recall reading a part where they held hands walking down the street, and then several pages after that, it said that they touched hands for the first time.

This book had potential to be great, but for me, it fell flat.

[Sarita Subramaniam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet romance which had very engaging albeit somewhat old fashioned characters. The writing style was very appealing. This was a short sweet read that made you feel good. I love books set in London as it is one of my most favorite places in the work. As a bookish teen, who spent summers in London with my extended family, I enjoyed the protagonist who seemed to be somewhat of a late bloomer. I will definitely check out other stories by this author. Reminded me of Jenny Colgan books which is a huge compliment!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

[Cotes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not really sure why this book was written. We never get invested in the heroine; she is lovely and demure but never three-dimensional. And the hero, while fleshed out a little more, isn’t a character one roots for. The romance seems to consist of the book declaring that each is in love with the other without ever showing why.

***I was provided with a free copy of the book. All opinions in this review are mine.***

[jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting read...it’s a fast read, like if you have time you can read it in one sitting.

I liked the tone of it, it was also interesting to read the will they won’t they of opposites attract.

The main issue I have is how quick the plot moves forward. I’m uncertain if this is a short story or a book, there wasn’t much substance...just the plot constantly propelling forward.

Also, some of the dialogue was unnatural and a little cheesy but that might be a personal preference.

[Beth Younge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite disappointed by this as it had a lot of potential and i thought this was going to be an excellent romance. I found the characters underdeveloped and were a bit two dimensional and they did not work for me. The writing style was fine but it did not blow me away entirely.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very fast moving romance, which I read in one sitting.

There's some lovely description of their love and barriers falling down, but it was all way too fast for me.

The book could be written alot better, and longer.

Otherwise a sweet story.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for ARC. Opinions are my own.

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Opposites attract love story - an engaging narrative.

[TBHONEST · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capturing Emilia is a sweet and very easy to read romance. It's the type of book you pick if you want to not think and just escape the world.

[Zubeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read. I found it to be quite a sweet read but everything felt a bit rushed and I couldn't really get into it.

[Chelsea Knowles]

DNF. This was terrible. Read on 19/02/21.