Series: The Marriage Game, #1
Trope: I've loved you for years
Publication Date: 09.09.13
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London, England
Rating: 3 stars
Lady Phoebe Stanhope is nothing like other young ladies. Even at twenty-four she has no wish to marry, not since an unwanted kiss from a man she fancied herself in love with eight years ago put her off men and marriage.
Lord Marcus Finley has loved Phoebe since he first saw her eight years ago, but after a drunken attempt to express his devotion went miserable awry, and due to his scandalous behavior, he was shipped off to Jamaica. Now his brother is dying of consumption and since he has no sons, their father, the Marquess of Dunwood, has demanded Marcus' return as heir to the marquesate. As such, he must marry and the only woman he wants is Lady Phoebe, if only he can convince her he's the one for her, preferably before she recognizes him as the same man who fell so far afoul of her eight years ago.
Marcus' behavior was unacceptable, but I think Phoebe's reaction and the grudge she held were rather much. To not bother to get to know any other men and to refuse forgiveness to Marcus just struck me as rather hateful, even if it was billed as her protecting her heart. She's also extremely judgmental of men in general and Marcus in particular, which is problematic given that she admittedly has avoided interactions with men so I have no idea how she's forming these opinions. Phoebe leads Marcus on terribly and insists on judging him by one unfortunate incident from his past while not really trying to get to know the man he has become. This made their whole courtship rather boring to read. Phoebe also seems baffled that Marcus is considered a catch and is desired by other ladies. This just seemed ridiculous and haughty to me and made me dislike Phoebe all over again just when she was starting to grow on me just a bit. Marcus poured his heart out to Phoebe and then tried to give her the time and space she needed to make her decision and she promptly began to doubt his sincerity and intentions and whether he still wanted to marry her, even though he had given her no reason to doubt him. I just couldn't with her.
All these issues with her aside, Phoebe did improve when she finally admitted her feelings to herself and to Marcus and quit being quite such an air-headed ninny. However, as the story progressed it got rather bogged down in details and became a bit boring. The villain popped up, then quickly went away for some time, only to pop up and be dealt with in such a manner that the book's ending felt a bit abrupt to me. I'm still not really sure why Marcus put Phoebe on such a pedestal, as she came off as rather arrogant and high-handed to me much of the time, but I liked Marcus and I did nonetheless enjoy the story when it wasn't languishing in minutiae.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Lord Marcus Finley has loved Phoebe since he first saw her eight years ago, but after a drunken attempt to express his devotion went miserable awry, and due to his scandalous behavior, he was shipped off to Jamaica. Now his brother is dying of consumption and since he has no sons, their father, the Marquess of Dunwood, has demanded Marcus' return as heir to the marquesate. As such, he must marry and the only woman he wants is Lady Phoebe, if only he can convince her he's the one for her, preferably before she recognizes him as the same man who fell so far afoul of her eight years ago.
Marcus' behavior was unacceptable, but I think Phoebe's reaction and the grudge she held were rather much. To not bother to get to know any other men and to refuse forgiveness to Marcus just struck me as rather hateful, even if it was billed as her protecting her heart. She's also extremely judgmental of men in general and Marcus in particular, which is problematic given that she admittedly has avoided interactions with men so I have no idea how she's forming these opinions. Phoebe leads Marcus on terribly and insists on judging him by one unfortunate incident from his past while not really trying to get to know the man he has become. This made their whole courtship rather boring to read. Phoebe also seems baffled that Marcus is considered a catch and is desired by other ladies. This just seemed ridiculous and haughty to me and made me dislike Phoebe all over again just when she was starting to grow on me just a bit. Marcus poured his heart out to Phoebe and then tried to give her the time and space she needed to make her decision and she promptly began to doubt his sincerity and intentions and whether he still wanted to marry her, even though he had given her no reason to doubt him. I just couldn't with her.
All these issues with her aside, Phoebe did improve when she finally admitted her feelings to herself and to Marcus and quit being quite such an air-headed ninny. However, as the story progressed it got rather bogged down in details and became a bit boring. The villain popped up, then quickly went away for some time, only to pop up and be dealt with in such a manner that the book's ending felt a bit abrupt to me. I'm still not really sure why Marcus put Phoebe on such a pedestal, as she came off as rather arrogant and high-handed to me much of the time, but I liked Marcus and I did nonetheless enjoy the story when it wasn't languishing in minutiae.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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