Series: N/A
Traits & Tropes: arranged marriage
Publication Date: 04.19.21
Genre/Setting: Historical; Victorian; England
Heat Level: 1.5
Rating: 3/5
Dina Campbell doesn’t much care if she ever marries at all, but she won’t do so for anything less than a love match and certainly not to a man as horse mad as her father. But her father isn’t getting any younger and he’s determined to see her settled, especially with her half-Indian heritage causing a bit of a stir in some high society circles. Her father sets one of his best racehorses as her dowry, drawing a multitude of suitors and lessening her chances of finding true love.
When her father accepts Aetius White, the Duke of Saxton, Dina is unimpressed, but she can’t deny her attraction to him. She decides to challenge him with several nearly impossible tasks, for which he has equally tough answering challenges for her. If she winds, she can cry off and keep her independence, but if she fails, Aetius gets her and the horse he’s after. She’s up for the challenge, she just has to keep her pesky attraction for the duke at bay.
I want to start by saying this was a solid debut story from a promising new author. There were parts I really enjoyed but also elements that were just frustrating. This book was just very long and many parts of it didn’t really fit or advance the romance, so they slowed the pacing and got a bit tedious. Some of the conversations between Aetius and Dina were convoluted and hard to follow and there were several times I wasn’t really sure what was actually happening. For me, the romance took too long to develop and though I love horses more than most, they did receive rather too much attention here, especially given how disproportionate it was in relation to the love story. When there is a literal on page steamy scene between the horses before the MCs have one or in an attempt to somehow set the mood for the MCs, that signals a plotting/pacing issue to me and it was definitely a scene I could’ve happily done without.
Aetius’ issues, while somewhat understandable, went on for too long and just wound up making him seem petty and immature, especially given that he acknowledged these descriptors himself. He made it clear he really just wanted the horse all too often and that remained true for far too long. Yes, he has abandonment issues and for good reason, but then he turned around and hurt others in the same way, which made him unlikable for me.
I never fully grasped where exactly Dina and Aetius were going with the whole bet and the concept fell flat for me. Some of the conversations between Dina and Aetius, as well as their inner monologues, got really repetitive and could’ve used a heavy paring down. I’m not a fan of the miscommunication/misunderstanding trope either and that abounded here, as well as lasting entirely too long. After such a painfully slow burn, I wanted more steam and sweetness than we got, not to mention my unfulfilled longing for real communication. I also hated how both Aetius and Dina handled things in the final third of the book, but most especially Aetius. These two took steps forward only to then take massive leaps back and that sealed my frustration with the overly convoluted plot and solidified my dislike of Aetius. Sure, he groveled prettily in the end, but it was too little too late for me.
Also, while I enjoyed the insertion of traditional Indian cultural elements, it felt like too much was being covered, especially elements that had nothing to do with the romance and it just became too drawn out and had me skimming. There were also several instances of wrong word usage and some stilted prose that had the same effect as I began merely scanning the page without even realizing it. Dina’s secret was held out for too long --again communication is what I wanted to see, and it just didn’t happen. The brief references to the Indian Independence Movement came too late to really fit into the story and, while interesting, it was just another distraction from the romance, particularly when combined with the various other superfluous elements here. Along those lines, the threatening note/sabotage storyline was yet another unnecessary plot point and a bit of a distraction for me. It didn’t do anything to advance the love story and just felt random given its rapid resolution, rather than being developed to its full potential.
All in all, this is a solid debut with a refreshing setting in the late Victorian era, but it needed to be sharper and with a tighter plot. Nevertheless, I look forward to the development of this author’s storytelling prowess.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3909526344
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3987203518
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