After her husband died rescuing several of his fellow passengers on the Salty Dove, Brina Feld has lived a sober and sedate life of service, running a school for those orphaned by the same tragedy which left her a young widow. She has no desire to remarry. No interest in finding a new man to love. Which is why she is shocked to discover that the scandalous Earl of Blacknight has bet that he will be able to woo the virtuous widow and have her accept his suit by midnight of the final ball of the season.
Zane, the accidental Earl of Blacknight, has only ever had eyes for one woman – the woman who he’d stolen a kiss from at a masquerade ball several years prior. When he discovers that she’s the elusive and impeccable Mrs. Feld, that doesn’t cool his ardor one whit. He’s going to prove to her, and the rest of Society, that he’s the one for her. Even if that means giving up every single vice to do it!
I went into this book with an open mind. I’ve never read anything by the author before and the premise sounded quite cute. I love a good enemies-to-lovers story. But this one fell flat for me.
I absolutely loved the first chapter. It was exciting and the banter flowed like champagne. However, the action slammed to a screeching halt and the banter devolved into inquiries after various relatives’ health. I felt thrown. Worse, the action didn’t pick up and the pacing just dragged. Worse still, because the pacing dragged so much I kept finding various anachronistic phrases and words – something I don’t generally notice if the banter and flow are on point.
I also found myself disliking the main male character. While I love a good reformed rake/rogue… I didn’t like Zane’s refusal to take Brina’s no for an answer. He kept pushing and pushing and putting her on the spot – even in public. Something that didn’t sit very well for me.
I made it to the 30% mark and then started skimming, hoping–praying–that the action would pick up. It didn’t. Honestly, this book bored me. Others might find it right up their alley, but for me it was a miss.
Two Stars
If this is your jam, you can get it here.
If you like these kind of honest reviews, please consider supporting us here!
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley
Comments