I'm one of those people who loves a good romance novel and HATES a bad one. I don't ask for much, I'd like some hot sex, I want to root for the couple to be happy, and I want any side plots to make at least some vague sense. So, my expectations were not very high for this book. But I still hated it and had to skim the ending rather than finish it properly.
I'm so sick of romance novels where the hero basically rapes the heroine. She says no and get out, and hits him but of course his big strong arms grab her fist and pull her into an embrace. No really, her body totally wanted the sex, ignore what she says. It's this odd regency double standard. I prefer regency romance to modern, there aren't enough road blocks these days. But regency writers often have a problem with reconciling how people actually acted back then without distancing the reader from the characters overmuch. The heroines are always very preocupied with class and rank, but they all seem to speak their minds and be very modern women. But then this basically rape thing happens and well honestly back then maybe men wouldn't care if no meant no. Why both? Ugh and the men never care about society. The hero always pulls some dumb move that actually would probably ostracize the woman forever, making her unmarriagable, keeping her in seclusion for a really long time, ruining her fortune and probably her life. But it's ROMANTIC, omg so no one cares!
Okay, now this book specific. The hero, Sam, is from America, his naive sister needs a chaperone. He lives next door to an attractive widow, Emeline, whose brother died in the very same battle that Sam was labeled a coward from. I don't mind cliches in this genre usually, since most of the cliches are good ones. This just didn't work from the beginning. Things progress as usual, Sam has ulterior motives, he and Emeline have an unwanted attraction, Sam tries to hunt down some convoluted conspiracy. Sam admits that he took the house next to Emmeline's on purpose to find information about her brother. Then he never actually asks for information from her and that thread is left alone. Sam basically ruins his sister's chance in society by being a dumbass. Sam finds out that Emeline is secretly engaged to someone he suspected in the conspiracy, she vouches for her fiance, Sam takes her word for it, he is never suspected again. Sam has sex with Emeline even though she doesn't want it (oh but her body said yes yes yes). Emeline announces her engagement formally, and Sam, so shocked over something he already knew, bashes the guy's face in in the middle of the party, with a lot of vivid writing description of his nose breaking, gushing blood, and the feel of bone crushing under Sam's fist. The next time Emeline sees Sam, they make out. WTF?
In the end, everything ties up exactly how you would expect, particularly in regards to the random characters thrown into the story because this book is part of "The Legend of the Four Soldiers", a conceit I really hate, if a character is in the book, use them, but what a waste to randomly give the heroine a best friend with two lines, an Aunt who does nothing, Sam's sister being such a flat character.
There's so much more but now I'm just rambling and ranting. I told you, I HATE bad romance novels. It makes people ashamed to read the good ones.