Customer Reviews

The Unlacing of Miss Leigh

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really enjoyed this story. It was surprisingly sizzling for a historical romance. Loved the brooding and insecure hero and the loving woman who helps heal his heart. It was a short story but, as a previous review stated, a very nice introduction to more related stories to come.

What a fabulous Undone!! I loved it! Knowing this short story is a delicious appetizer for The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor by Diane Gaston, Amanda McCabe, and Deb Marlowe made it even better. There's more!

From the moment I met Margaret Lewis I was cheering for her, and I fell in love with Captain Graham Veall before he walked onto the page. My heart broke for Graham, and yet Margaret was simply perfect for him. And I just about burst into tears at the end. This is why I love romance stories. *wild applause*

I read this novella on Kindle. The story is predictable, but sweet nonetheless. Both protagonists are likeable and sympathetic. Diane Gaston is a skilled and experienced author who appears to have tossed this one off in a hurry. Tantalizing problems appear and are easily brushed away. Secondary characters, the former batman Coombs and his drum-following wife are introduced but not developed. As I did not know it was a novella, I was surprised when I finished the book in just a couple of hours (perhaps less).

Initially I thought The Unlacing of Miss Leigh was a good story, but as I have written this review I have become more aware of the missed opportunities. If you are looking for a quick wounded warrior read you may think it perfect. Mary Balogh's Simply Love offers a similar battle-deformed war veteran finding love scenario with far more richness and depth.

As an aside, I do not like the cover art--if it had not been available on Kindle, I would never have bought it.

This short historical story focuses more on the romance between these two not-so-strangers than the love scenes. A very sensual, very sweet story of two lonely hearts finally finding each other. 'Unmasking' would have been more appropriate in the title than 'unlacing,' but I guess that works too. Happy reading!

I was finally drawn to read this book because it keeps popping up on EVERY list of recommended when I pick my books from my tried and true authors. I was disappointed at first by the length of the book, i like long books where the characters become like family but I figures what the heck. The story was progressing nicely but then BAM the ending left me dry and unsatisfied. It was like I missed 300 pages of story! While this is the only book I have read from Diane, I was not enamored and I will be hesitant to purchase another.

I just started writing these reviews on Amazon and in writing this review I'm faced with my first dilemma- Do I base my reviews on how much I enjoyed the book or do I actually look at the work with a critical eye and review it from an objective perspective?? Since I'm not a professional reviewer and I'm writing these reviews for myself (because I read so darn many Romances I need to keep track of them somehow) I've decided to review straight from the heart. This said I'm a fan of fast paced, no long agonizing separation between the leads, lets get right to the point historical romances. I like it when the main characters immediately get a connection going that is not tested by some silly misunderstanding. I love it when they get to rendezvous for an extended period of time. I also like to read my romances in one setting. This quick little read satisfied these requirements.

The more critical part of me feels that I shouldn't be so generous in doling out a 5 star rating here because it's a pretty basic story. For example I recently read A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deverauz. Now that is a novel that was written with great attention to character creation and dialog. It was very well developed and long and detailed. Suffice it to say that this book will stand the test of time in the hearts of romance readers while The Unlacing of Miss Leigh probably wouldn't be remembered by many except for the 10 or so of us who have reviewed it. BUT....I liked Unlacing WAY more than I did a Knight in Shining Armor. It was more satisfying to me. I identified with the pragmatic heroine who needed to figure out how to make a buck and keep her brother in school. I liked the self-deprecating hero who was realistic about his need to be with a woman and was straight forward in acting on it. I would have loved this book even if it was more expensive but I appreciated that it was under $3 on kindle iphone. On a side note I didn't dislike the cover art but I didn't think it fit. To me the cover art seems a bit erotic while the sex wasn't very detailed. Frankly I wouldn't have minded a bit more kink in there while they were in the getting to know each other stage but I still loved it. If my copy wasn't in digital form I'd put it on my keeper shelf.

I own every book Diane Gaston has written. Imagine my dismay to find that she has abandoned print all together to release this offering only electronically. I'm not going to spend over $200 on such a gadget when I can buy a whole lot of real books for that kind of money. Let me know when the paper version appears.