You say you'll stay, and then you go -
You're undecided now, so what are you gonna do?
First you say you do, and then you don't,
And then you say you will, and then you won't;
You're undecided now, so what are you gonna do?
Now you want to play, and then it's no,
And when you say you'll stay, that's when you go -
You're undecided now, so what are you gonna do?"
http://samanthagraceauthor.com/about.html
I'm always torn when I have a debut author who is promising but I've had to struggle to finish their book. I felt that way about Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel, by Samantha Grace. Should I, shouldn't I, write how I feel about this book? It is all subjective after all, so there are some of you out there who probably won't agree with my thoughts on this story.
When the book started, I was amused with the heroine and hero. I thought they had some funny dialogue and their first encounter with each other was a hoot. However, it didn't take me long to become really irritated with our heroine, Lana. And, by the way, the name Lana reminded me of Superman, not someone from the 1800's. I digress. Lana. I wanted nothing more than to reach inside those pages and squeeze that alabaster neck. Talk about an inferiority complex! OMG! She's not pretty enough - she's got horrible freckles - she's been hurt in the past - no one will ever love her - she cannot trust any man, especially if they are rakes - she believes the lies of the villain, for no particular reason - she wants a secret betrothal - she is a virgin - no she's not - he doesn't love me - he'll never be faithful - she can't be loved, and did I mention: She Has Freckles! She sends the hero after his mistress because she doesn't want that woman to feel bad and then she has conflicting feelings about whether she can trust the hero - whether he's in bed with the woman she sent him chasing after. Up and down, up and down, I was just very confused over who Lana was. Lana was just too much of a yes/no whiny- downtrodden- poor- me-jumping-to-the-wrong-conclusion heroine for my taste.
Andrew could have been a wonderful hero, if only Lana had been a better heroine. There is only one time I sighed...when he asked a woman friend to flirt with him so he could see if Lana became jealous. Bet you can guess if she was or not. That was a teeth-grinding moment; I don't like games played between couples in real life, and I most certainly don't want my fake romance people to play silly juvenile games either!
By the end of the story, I really had strong doubts as to whether these two people could ever have a HEA...there was just too much distrust from Lana to make me believe this could ever happen.
So, I was disappointed in this debut book. I wanted the characters in the book to be more fleshed out and less silly. I didn't understand some of the background story with the parents; that had an unfinished feel about it. I will read the second in the series, just to see how the author grows and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
And, a special thanks to Les Brown and His Band of Renown
Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality Rating: Hot
No comments:
Post a Comment