45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Selfish heroine ruins it *spoilers*, April 10, 2009
This review is from: The Secret Wedding (Mass Market Paperback)
I am an avid Jo Beverley fan, but I have to admit that this book will not be a reread for me. I enjoyed parts of this story, but by the end I was very disappointed. I think I'm not enjoying this off-shoot of Jo Beverley's Georgian series.
At first I understood Caro's motivation for hiding. Since she thought Christian was a relative who might be her "dead husband's" heir who might take everything from her, I felt her fears were legitimate.
But as we went along, her obsession with maintaining her own wealth for the sake of dead ancestors (rather than dependents) became tiresome. And then her behavior at the masquerade was so appalling -- accusing him before witnesses of attempted rape when she knew it wasn't true -- I didn't blame Thorne for disliking her, and I had a hard time accepting that Christian continued to love her. What a weak man to want to win someone like that over. So both characters were unlikeable for different reasons by the end.
I've had a problem recently with authors letting murderers and rapists off without any punishment whatsoever. Again, we see someone completely insane getting away with near murder. It's as if Ellen's trying to make sure Caro didn't get any of the poison clears her completely. Well, why not? The whole world revolves around Caro and her loot, so why not make helping her avoid the death being dealt to another a get-away-with-murder pass?
I don't love the use of Rothgar and Diana in this trilogy. It imposes on the main characters. The same formula is being used where the hero and heroine meet at an inn, then face some danger together, then get separated by the occasionally TSTL heroine's impulsive action, then Rothgar takes over with the heroine while the hero does his thing separately and then they meet again at a masquerade. In this book, the entire thing could have been accomplished with much less Malloren presence. I can't believe I want that, but they just aren't all that interesting in these books, so I'd rather not see them at all. Rothgar and Diana have been diminished considerably as a couple by the extended sex scene where dry conversation took precedence over passion. And I really loved their story, too.
But back to the heroine. In "Secrets of the Night" we saw a similar plot. A dishonest act to preserve property. But in SotN there were dependents involved who would have been hurt terribly by the loss. In TSW there were no dependents. Just one selfish, childish, heroine who used the hero and, when she found out he was the right man all along, went so far as to humiliate and attack him in front of others. And the entire time we're treated to her inner monologue that adds up to "my money, my money, my money, it's allllll minnnnnnnnnnne."
So, while I'm sorry to give one of my all time favorite authors a bad review, I am very disappointed in this book. Caro deserves no stars. The Hessian cat-rabbit and Christian (before he became spineless -- he should have ditched her at the end) are all that make it a two star from me. :(
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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
very disappointing, April 10, 2009
This review is from: The Secret Wedding (Mass Market Paperback)
I've loved many of Jo Beverley's previous books, so I was anxious to read her new one. However, I found it very disappointing. I found the heroine completely unsympathetic. She wants to know if her husband is still alive, but when someone comes who could answer her questions, what does she do? She runs away like a lunatic and spends the rest of the book sneaking around disguised as someone else!
I find it very, very irritating when the entire plot revolves around an "adventure" that could have been avoided by 5 minutes of sensible conversation.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some parts good, some parts bad...an okay read, April 10, 2009
This review is from: The Secret Wedding (Mass Market Paperback)
I found myself pretty bored throughout the first half of this book. I thought a lot of the conversations between the characters were useless and boring. Other than the idea of the story, there wasn't much going on that was very interesting. The second half picked up pretty good and I remained interested in the story til the end, with no desire to skim. The problem in this half, however, was the diminished likability of the heroine. Another reviewer explains it in detail with spoilers so I won't do so here, but I agreed with her assessment. I was appalled at the heroine's treatment of the hero at the party, and overall. My goodness, what he did to protect her, and on many occasions. What an ungrateful wretch she was. She could have been angry with him, and even untrusting, but the way she handles it made her most unlikable, and the end was not enough for redemption in my opinion. I still love the Mallorens and will continue to read these books...they just seem to be a little hit and miss, and I think a good and honest editor could do wonders.
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