Unbuttoning Miss Harwick by Deb Marlowe

June 18 2012

Come out, Come out where ever you are or maybe stay where you are because you're high maintenance.

http://www.debmarlowe.com/
Unbuttoning Miss Harwick is the first full length story I've read by Deb Marlowe and I was impressed with her turn of phrase.  I wanted to like this book, it had so much promise, but in the end there was just one thing standing in my way.  The hero.  Braedon.  What a grumpy, nobody likes me, guess I'll go eat worms kind of guy.  How our heroine, Chloe Hardwick, could put up with this guy, Ill never know.  Oh sure, he didn't want to get hurt, you see he had his feelings hurt as a child over and over and over by his psychopath brother.  So, he protects himself by becoming this cold, cold man.  He isolates himself from everyone and everything.  Especially love.  He builds a collection of stuff just so he and he alone can enjoy it.  He spends 3 quarters of the book shutting people out, turning people off and having his eyes turn cold.  BBRRRR.  He even manages to trample on the feelings of his young nephew, jumps to conclusions about this young nephew - who by the way he didn't know existed.  And the reason he is a Mr. Meany-guy to his nephew.  Well, his nephew is the spitting image of Braedon's psychopathic brother.  So, of course the nephew must be a psychopath also.  But, let's get him a puppy, because we all know how psychopaths and puppies get along. 
 
This gloomy-gus routine went on and on. After awhile I just wanted to hear a different tune.  And, the poor heroine, Chloe.  Oh sure, she had her problems too, but hers were always overshadowed by Mr. Woe-is-me.  She just wanted to be free!  Free!  In her little cottage by the sea.  Run Chloe!  Run to that cottage by the sea!  Dump the Mr. Mopey!  Gee-willikers, I did not like this guy.
 
And then there was Braeden's bizarre sister Mairead.  I'm not quite sure what her problem was.  I always had the feeling that I was supposed to know, maybe there had been a prequel or something.  I looked and could not find one.  So, I'm not sure why her storyline was added.  Evidently the psychopathic brother harassed her, not sure, wasn't too much detail.  And, there is some kind of separation from her husband, not sure why, except someone has a temper and may have got the wrong impression when they saw her with another man.  I wasn't sure, things were never made clear.  But, she's going to give her husband a party.  That will show how much she loves him, nothing says love better than a huge surprise party with lots of people in the house.
 
Then, we have another sub-plot of the magical mystery sw-ord.  There is a lot of time spent on intrigue and hub-bub surrounding this enchanted sw-ord.  However, it does nothing to enhance the love story.  In fact, it is a bit of distraction away from the two main people in the book.
 
So, what started out as an interesting story turned into a depressing tale of a Mr. Humbug.

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality Rating:  Warm Warm