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Why are the men in this series so utterly useless? The women are only marginally better, but for God's sake, Niall.

Claire is Too Stupid to Live. Given the time period, I don't expect a sheltered viscountess to know much about international travel, but I'd think that she would recognize her own ignorance and accept help or at the very least, learn from her mistakes. No such luck with Claire. It's quite painful to read, especially since it invalidates her protests about the hero's patronizing behaviour when I want to support her!

I'm not sure I can read much further. Neither Lucky nor Bo have caught my interest: the former because he's shown the emotional range of a teaspoon so far and he's unfunny; the latter because he's only spoken a couple sentences. Nearly a fifth of the way into the book, the plot hasn't picked up yet and I'm not sure a story about drugs, crime, and love should be this boring. Plus, typos ):.

I'm over halfway through and I'm still not sure of the plot, though several threads feel very derivative of Jane Austen. I'm also less taken with the writing than I expected to be and I'm disappointed that the glamour doesn't matter more.

I assumed I'd nearly reached the end, only to find I still had 55% left and I feel like the plot hasn't progressed since then. Georgiana and Quinn have every chance to communicate properly, but they just...don't. The writing is good enough that I'll (probably) finish the book, but I wish there were a little more to it.

1. The Abyssinian lovebirds~ were obviously ill-advised, but did Maddie forget that she bought Buttercup to spare her and her owner a worse fate?
2. It's a serious problem when the rapist!hero declares that he'll come to hate the heroine if she alienates his tenants and that he's already annoyed that her attitude towards him hasn't improved. St. Aldric has bought his own hype and so has Maggie, but I just can't.

It's hard to empathize with a hero after he sexually assaults the heroine, coerces her into marriage, and expects her to fall in line thereafter, even if he has a painful past. Of course, I knew the plot before I started, but I thought Christine Merrill would avoid rape apologism and forgiveness-as-obligation. She hasn't done so thus far and I'm giving up hope.

So far, superfun!

First, I'm expected to believe that Sabrina would kiss a man who reeks of prison dirt, sweat, and sickness. It seemed a little strange when the author made so much of his stretch, but I set aside my scepticism. Then, she expected me to believe that Mac can deflower virgins when a page earlier he almost died and I lost it.

So far, I don't like anyone except the Kinnions. The other side characters are presumptuous and/or rude, while Sabrina is a hypocrite who doesn't know her own mind, whatever she might claim. I've yet to judge Mac since he hasn't been conscious, but I'm not sure I'll actually get that far :/.

You'd think Gideon would improve security after the first three break-ins, but he doesn't seem fussed and Sabrina no longer has a credible reason to hide the danger she's in.

I'm bored to tears. I realize Sophia Nash has to inspire interest in the next heroine (presumably Miss Amelia Primrose), but it's a little premature when I couldn't care less about Isabelle and James.

The descriptions are florid and know-it-all heroes frustrate me. Wesley hasn't once treated Caitlin with the respect she deserves as a warrior and leader, but he expects respect and love from her and the narrative supports him. UGH.

I could overlook the more-or-less instant love in The Worst Best Luck, but the back-to-back chapters on Peter and Matt's teen years are a slog, so I decided to take a few days off. It's hard to work up excitement for the diary of a poor little rich kid, especially when his background does so much to undermine the idea that working with one's hands says nothing about one's intellectual capacity.

If the characters thank the lord one more time, I'll lose it. I have no problem with Christian fiction, but I don't need a mediocre author to take me to church. Worse still, it's no better than the original fairytale and quite possibly worse: the villains are cartoonish, Gisela is inept and naïve, and the romance is under-developed. I'm not convinced the second half will improve, but I guess I'll see.

If the characters thank the lord one more time, I'll lose it. I have no problem with Christian fiction, but I don't need a mediocre author to take me to church.

I have less than a third left and Gil isn't quite as much of a douchecanoe on this page as he was in the last dozen or so, but it's only a matter of time. I wish Rose would deliver a scathing setdown, but so far, sobs are the closest we've come.

I'm nearly halfway through and I still think the hero is a self-absorbed brute. It will be a miracle if I can tolerate him by the novel's end, let alone support a reconciliation.

Not Quite a Lady would be half its length if Darius and Charlotte spent less time in compromising positions (but not, fortuitously, compromised). It's a bad sign when an author has to throw "crystalline pools" into the middle of a makeout session because she's exhausted every other description of pleasure and it doesn't convince me that the characters are meant to be. Quite the opposite, actually.

I like Not Quite a Lady so far, but I think the descriptions are a little overwrought and I'm always wary of such intense attraction. If nothing else, though, it's an improvement on the last romance novel I read.

I think there's a little too much going on here.

I don't think I particularly like the universe and I feel like the characters are inconsistent. Maven is a prime example. One more minor issue is that Sharra endured an extremely violent form of transport without any nausea, but can't ride in a carriage or sit in a gently bobbing sloop. I mean, seriously.

There are so many typos, I thought for a second that The Mapmaker's Daughter might've been self-published. It doesn't appear there's any such excuse. Moreover, I'm confused and I can't decide if I like the main character or not. At the moment, her behaviour seems crazy.

I'm bored to tears. It shouldn't be possible with a plot that involves the disappearance of an aristocrat and a forbidden romance in the first few pages, but I'm struggling to get from one page to the next :/.

So far, The Marchington Scandal is a transparent combination of Georgette Heyer's Lady of Quality and Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I'm sceptical that Ashford can carry it off, but open to the possibility that she'll surprise me.

I assumed the author used a more didactic style in the early chapters to correspond with the characters' ages, but even now that they're in middle school, their emotions and experiences are told. I'd like to finish because I'm curious about their interactions with each other, but I'm bored to tears. I suspect the book is twice as long as it needs to be.

I steeled myself for the excessive description, but I didn't expect the departures from Evenfall and I don't know that I believe them. Given that the staff have distrusted Sin for a decade and dislike Vivienne, it doesn't make much sense they'd accept him and the characters themselves identify better reasons not to nominate Boyd than they do the opposite. I'll continue until missions start, at least, so we'll see!

I've barely started and I don't think I can finish. The description is overwrought and the main character's voice is intolerable. Much as I like the premise, I've seen a similar one done better :/.

I've confirmed it's Supernatural fanfiction due to a find-and-replace error ("Castile returned the look evenly") and a quick Google search. It strikes me as a little clumsy and I feel like it's a waste of money to purchase a story that's still available for free, but that aside, I've enjoyed Hollywood and Mine for the most part. I only wish the characters would have two-sided conversations.