Juliana (philippaj) -
Helpful Score: 1
~ LOVED THE SURPRISINGLY ORIGINAL HERO AND HEROINE, BUT THERE WERE TWO BIG DISCONNECTS (3.5 stars) ~
I'm somewhat torn on this book. In the beginning, I was disappointed because it started off feeling a little trite, cliche, and caricature-ish. That quickly changed though and I ended up really enjoying both the hero and heroine, as well as their interactions and developing relationship. I did have two problems though that really marred my enjoyment.
PRAISE:
While they're characters we have definitely seen before - the plain, bookish, quiet, blustocking wallflower and the arrogant, in desperate straits, previously badly behaved hero - Merrill was able to make them refreshing and new.
Both Penelope and Adam were written with more depth than I expected and that took them out of the realm of caricatures; one of the thing that often makes these cookie-cutter romance characters feel, to me at least, like caricatures is that we're told all the standard things ... and then they're written as nothing like that, with the behavior, thoughts, and words not at all matching up, or being way over the top. Penelope is described as sensible and practical - and she actually is sensible and practical; she's said to be a studious bookish blustocking - and she actually is all those things. Adam is portrayed as an arrogant Duke who has this hidden just-a-simple-and-nice-man side - and he actually is like that; he has is supposed to have a less than stellar (morally speaking) past, having been very rakish in very bad ways - and that actually is the case! His guilt for that past also feels very authentic.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Penny and Adam and watching it develop. They start off as nothing more than polite strangers who realize they can be mutually beneficial to one another and should make the best of the situation. They slowly begin to respect and like one another, and then become even more to one another (more on that below). Although I had real problems with the switch to that stage of their relationship, I did enjoy seeing them in the second half when they're getting along and everything is going well between them; was really cute and they seemed like such a good fit for one another, with each really needing something from the other. I loved that Adam helps Penny realize she needs more than quiet, solitude, and her books, while Penny helps Adam try to move beyond his guilt and combine his Duke self with his regular guy self.
The character of Timothy, Adam's friend, was also very well-written, and I almost feel like I wish he should have his own post-Clarissa romance. Will, Adam's brother, was a bit of a puzzle and should have been more heavily featured in the story. Especially given what Adam's thoughts are at the beginning and his guilt over Will being hurt (is nothing super major).
CRITICISM:
For me, where things kind of fell apart is when things progressed beyond that. The make out and love scenes by themselves were well-written and had a nice sizzle, but they felt out of place somehow - for some reason whenever I reminded myself that it was Penny and Adam I was reading about, it made the whole thing feel a little ... fake and forced, for lack of better words. The scenes were, relatively speaking, not really raunchy or anything, but they were more explicit than some mainstream authors (way more than Julia Quinn for example) and I think part of the problem was that there had been no such overtones leading up to these scenes. Penny and Adam had a platonic relationship, with the occasional thought by one or the other than this or that part of their body or face was attractive, and then all of a sudden boom! they're changing the previous arrangement and going to have a sexual relationship as well. Seemed to come out of nowhere, with no transition or warning.
The other thing that was a real failing for me was the ending. It was so unbelievably abrupt and there is not even an Epilogue to soften the feeling. There's the last big Event / Complication that always comes at the end of a romance and while it and the after-effects go one for a few pages, it is only finally resolved with Penny and Adam getting back together on the second-to-last page (and the last page is only half full of writing). Then nothing. That's it. The End.
FAVORITE FUNNY QUOTE:
"I am sorry to have inconvenienced you," he said, not the least bit contrite. "But I will need an heir. Once one has married, it makes sense to look at the obvious solution to the problem."
"And you would ... with me ... and we ..."
He nodded. "Two male children are preferable, but one might be sufficient. If it was a boy, and healthy. If the first is a daughter, then ..."
"But that would mean ... we would ... more than once ..."
"Most certainly. Repeatedly. For several years at least."
Repeatedly. She sat there, eyes round, mouth open, mind boggled. Unable to speak at all.
(p. 212)
FAVORITE SWEET AND ROMANTIC QUOTES:
He looked up to into the mirror to see his wife standing in the connecting doorway behind him. He didn't realise he had been holding his breath until he felt it expel from his lungs in a long, slow sigh. It was his wife, most certainly. But transformed. The gown was a pale green, and with her light hair and fair skin, she seemed almost transparent. As she came towards him, he imagined he was seeing a spirit, a ghost that belonged to the house, that had been there long before he had come.
[...]
His friends would not call her a beauty, certainly. She was most unlike all the other women who were lauded as such. But suddenly it did not matter what his friends might say. It only mattered what he knew in his heart to be true---she looked as she was meant to look. And now that he had removed her from whatever magic realm she had inhabited, he was overcome with the desire to protect her from the coarse harshness of the world around them.
(p. 172)
She stepped closer and reached out a hand to him, touching his hair, and trailing her fingers slowly down his cheek. He closed his eyes for a moment, then turned his head to press kisses into her palm, seizing her hand in his so that she could not pull away. And she felt the familiar thrill of power at the sight of him, cradling her hand as though he feared the loss of her touch. He kissed her knuckles again, and bowed his head to her. "My fate is yours to decide, Penny. I will do as you wish in all things. I will go tonight, if you say I must. But I beg you, do not be apart from me, for I fear I shall go mad with the loss of you."
(p. 280)
BOTTOM LINE:
I would say this book is most certainly worth a read, however having gotten my copy through PBSwap, I'm frankly still undecided as to whether or not I should keep it. Might I reread it in the future? If I still own it, then perhaps. However if I don't have a copy, will I need to get my hands on it again ... probably not. Merrill is a talented author though, and one whose other works I am eager to browse through.
I'm somewhat torn on this book. In the beginning, I was disappointed because it started off feeling a little trite, cliche, and caricature-ish. That quickly changed though and I ended up really enjoying both the hero and heroine, as well as their interactions and developing relationship. I did have two problems though that really marred my enjoyment.
PRAISE:
While they're characters we have definitely seen before - the plain, bookish, quiet, blustocking wallflower and the arrogant, in desperate straits, previously badly behaved hero - Merrill was able to make them refreshing and new.
Both Penelope and Adam were written with more depth than I expected and that took them out of the realm of caricatures; one of the thing that often makes these cookie-cutter romance characters feel, to me at least, like caricatures is that we're told all the standard things ... and then they're written as nothing like that, with the behavior, thoughts, and words not at all matching up, or being way over the top. Penelope is described as sensible and practical - and she actually is sensible and practical; she's said to be a studious bookish blustocking - and she actually is all those things. Adam is portrayed as an arrogant Duke who has this hidden just-a-simple-and-nice-man side - and he actually is like that; he has is supposed to have a less than stellar (morally speaking) past, having been very rakish in very bad ways - and that actually is the case! His guilt for that past also feels very authentic.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Penny and Adam and watching it develop. They start off as nothing more than polite strangers who realize they can be mutually beneficial to one another and should make the best of the situation. They slowly begin to respect and like one another, and then become even more to one another (more on that below). Although I had real problems with the switch to that stage of their relationship, I did enjoy seeing them in the second half when they're getting along and everything is going well between them; was really cute and they seemed like such a good fit for one another, with each really needing something from the other. I loved that Adam helps Penny realize she needs more than quiet, solitude, and her books, while Penny helps Adam try to move beyond his guilt and combine his Duke self with his regular guy self.
The character of Timothy, Adam's friend, was also very well-written, and I almost feel like I wish he should have his own post-Clarissa romance. Will, Adam's brother, was a bit of a puzzle and should have been more heavily featured in the story. Especially given what Adam's thoughts are at the beginning and his guilt over Will being hurt (is nothing super major).
CRITICISM:
For me, where things kind of fell apart is when things progressed beyond that. The make out and love scenes by themselves were well-written and had a nice sizzle, but they felt out of place somehow - for some reason whenever I reminded myself that it was Penny and Adam I was reading about, it made the whole thing feel a little ... fake and forced, for lack of better words. The scenes were, relatively speaking, not really raunchy or anything, but they were more explicit than some mainstream authors (way more than Julia Quinn for example) and I think part of the problem was that there had been no such overtones leading up to these scenes. Penny and Adam had a platonic relationship, with the occasional thought by one or the other than this or that part of their body or face was attractive, and then all of a sudden boom! they're changing the previous arrangement and going to have a sexual relationship as well. Seemed to come out of nowhere, with no transition or warning.
The other thing that was a real failing for me was the ending. It was so unbelievably abrupt and there is not even an Epilogue to soften the feeling. There's the last big Event / Complication that always comes at the end of a romance and while it and the after-effects go one for a few pages, it is only finally resolved with Penny and Adam getting back together on the second-to-last page (and the last page is only half full of writing). Then nothing. That's it. The End.
FAVORITE FUNNY QUOTE:
"I am sorry to have inconvenienced you," he said, not the least bit contrite. "But I will need an heir. Once one has married, it makes sense to look at the obvious solution to the problem."
"And you would ... with me ... and we ..."
He nodded. "Two male children are preferable, but one might be sufficient. If it was a boy, and healthy. If the first is a daughter, then ..."
"But that would mean ... we would ... more than once ..."
"Most certainly. Repeatedly. For several years at least."
Repeatedly. She sat there, eyes round, mouth open, mind boggled. Unable to speak at all.
(p. 212)
FAVORITE SWEET AND ROMANTIC QUOTES:
He looked up to into the mirror to see his wife standing in the connecting doorway behind him. He didn't realise he had been holding his breath until he felt it expel from his lungs in a long, slow sigh. It was his wife, most certainly. But transformed. The gown was a pale green, and with her light hair and fair skin, she seemed almost transparent. As she came towards him, he imagined he was seeing a spirit, a ghost that belonged to the house, that had been there long before he had come.
[...]
His friends would not call her a beauty, certainly. She was most unlike all the other women who were lauded as such. But suddenly it did not matter what his friends might say. It only mattered what he knew in his heart to be true---she looked as she was meant to look. And now that he had removed her from whatever magic realm she had inhabited, he was overcome with the desire to protect her from the coarse harshness of the world around them.
(p. 172)
She stepped closer and reached out a hand to him, touching his hair, and trailing her fingers slowly down his cheek. He closed his eyes for a moment, then turned his head to press kisses into her palm, seizing her hand in his so that she could not pull away. And she felt the familiar thrill of power at the sight of him, cradling her hand as though he feared the loss of her touch. He kissed her knuckles again, and bowed his head to her. "My fate is yours to decide, Penny. I will do as you wish in all things. I will go tonight, if you say I must. But I beg you, do not be apart from me, for I fear I shall go mad with the loss of you."
(p. 280)
BOTTOM LINE:
I would say this book is most certainly worth a read, however having gotten my copy through PBSwap, I'm frankly still undecided as to whether or not I should keep it. Might I reread it in the future? If I still own it, then perhaps. However if I don't have a copy, will I need to get my hands on it again ... probably not. Merrill is a talented author though, and one whose other works I am eager to browse through.
