With six new romance books having come out yesterday, I went out in the morning and bought the three I thought I would like the best and was so excited to get started ... Ms. Kramer's was the first one I read and I was unbelievably disappointed. Stopped at p22 yesterday and then decided to pick it up and quickly finish it today so I could PBSwap it. I honestly could barely finish the book and had to skim through parts, which is something I rarely, rarely ever do.
The characters - supporting and main - seemed more like caricatures of themselves than anything approaching three-dimensional people. Everything - their gestures, words, actions, feelings - seem exaggerated and the book ends up reading like a parody. This was especially true for the secondary characters, with Otis in particular driving me *absolutely* crazy.
I didn't find Jilly and Stephen at all engaging, but rather flat. Within the first two pages we're told by the heroine how unbelievably handsome and desirable the hero is - though she will of course resist, unlike every other female in the galaxy, because she's made of sterner stuff - and within the first six pages the hero has the hots for the heroine and has decided to pursue her. Surprise, surprise, Jilly doesn't resist very well and by p20 is wanting to "eat him up" because he's so delicious looking. Way to stand your ground Jilly! Despite the numerous mentions of the other's hotness and physical attraction, the chemistry between the two of them is negligible and the romance scenes are lackluster.
Some standard HR-type components are thrown in: Stephen's family/betrayal issues, Jilly's big bad secret that she's running away from, annoying distant relatives that require Stephen to "pretend" to pursue her with matrimonial intentions, a community that is about to be screwed over until Jilly steps in to save the day, a coup encounter with Prinny, and an unbelievably convenient reveal that solves all of Jilly's secret problems - with a few misunderstandings and upsets between hero and heroine in between.
Jilly's big bad secret is revealed on p22 so I don't feel like I'm ruining anything when I tell you what it is - if you don't want to know, skip this paragraph. Turns out she is married to her distant relative, Hector, who is a cruel and horrible man and a thief to boot. She's run away but is still married to him, yet does all this dallying with Stephen (always saying 'oh no, i can't' and then giving in about 3 lines later). And, conveniences of conveniences, she is still a virgin because Hector couldn't perform, so Stephen gets to do the deed.
This rating is so low that I was questioning myself as I wrote this review. I had originally decided not to write anything, because I didn't really have anything positive to say. I will tell you that I have been reading historical romances for ten years now, so I have read almost all the HRs already published that I am going to want to read. This leaves me to reread my favorites and wait for these new release days. The buildup is therefore great and my expectations are high - had I read this book five years ago, I might have given it 2 or 3 stars. But I didn't read it then, I read it now.
I really am sorry I so disliked the book - believe me, I would *MUCH* rather have had a new one to add to my HR favorites and rereads shelf - but this is my honest opinion. Kramer is very nice: she had a contest on her Facebook Page to name the fourth heroine in the series and commented back to me about my suggestions, which I thought was lovely. I also love her titles - makes for a nice change when you have a title you can say to a bookstore staff member without blushing. But sadly the book was a chore to read and one I wouldn't recommend.
THE IMPOSSIBLE BACHELORS:
Book 1 -
When Harry Met Molly (3.5 stars)
Book 2 -
Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right (didn't read)
Book 3 - CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MARRIAGE
Book 4 -
If You Give A Girl A Viscount (coming out Nov 1, 2011)
***P.S. The entire purpose of reviewing is so that you can provide other buyers with your honest opinion. As it is a known problem on Amazon, there has been talk in my comments section about whether people who are plants were writing positive reviews and voting mine unhelpful, as it was brought to my attention by another reader that many of those who rated this book positive had only written reviews about this book or only about Kieran Kramer books.
I cannot know what is in anyone's mind and should not jump to conclusions, so whatever the truth of the situation, I think we can all just agree that when that does happen it goes against the entire reason the reviewing process exists. It was not pleasant for me to write such a negative review, however no one else had and being someone who bases most all of my book purchases on other people's reviews, I did want to give my opinion for any other readers out there like myself.
