Series: Rebels with a Cause, #1
Traits & Tropes: compromised into marriage; class difference
Publication Date: 05.25.21
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; English Countryside
Heat Level: 0
Rating: 3/5
All her life, Lady Amelia Crofton has expected to become a duchess and has prepared for nothing else. But all that planning is shattered when an unfortunate incident sees her compromised into marriage with untitled, ill-mannered Benedict Asterly. Amelia is left adrift and uncertain, especially when she finds herself feeling a pull toward this man she could never have prepared for.
Benedict Asterly thought only to save Amelia’s life, not see himself bound forever to a high in the instep society lady. His hatred of the aristocracy has developed from a young age so he’s very leery of his new wife and suspicious when she offers to help after news of his marriage jeopardizes his business interests. He’s not prepared when Amelia proves to be different from his expectations in many ways and finds his well-guarded heart in danger.
This is a new book from a debut author, and it has so much potential and quite a lot going for it. Sadly, there were aspects here that I enjoyed and others that just didn’t work for me. Amelia as the spoiler, self-centered debutante came off as a bit overdrawn and it took her too long in her development for me—my dislike of her had already solidified by the time there was any improvement and she kept regressing back to that old hateful behavior too often for me to really get past it, especially since she was usually able to recognize when she was doing it. It annoyed me how little respect Amelia showed Benedict as she completely upended his world, threatened his business, and made decisions about the raising of his sister without consulting him, all the while only focused on how awful things now were for her. Amelia and Benedict did both show a great deal of character development as she learned to be her own person and to think of others rather than just herself and he learned he could have associations with the aristocracy without losing himself. Unfortunately, it was three steps forward, two steps back with this couple and Amelia did nothing to make Benedict feel like he was enough for her. He also did himself no favors by trying to please everyone and spreading himself too thin. I didn’t like the feeling that Amelia was finding herself while Benedict was losing himself. There were several missed opportunities for true communication between Benedict and Amelia, especially in the bedroom, that would’ve made all the difference in the strength of their connection, but sadly these scenes faded to black or devolved into more arguments, making the relationship never quite seem stable, even in the end. Their relationship was interesting, it just felt rather incomplete for me and I wasn’t sure they were wholly solid even at the end, largely because this one featured my pet peeve, the third act separation.
There was a lot of plot going on here with conflict coming from Benedict’s business contracts and his relationship with the villagers, as well as Amelia’s attempts to continue her position in the aristocracy, along with their attempts to establish their married relationship. There was quite enough conflict already between Amelia and Benedict before all this extra turmoil was added. The ending was unexpectedly dramatic, which I didn’t mind at all, but it still left me feeling like Benedict spent all of his time working to take care of everyone else and receiving nothing in return. I think more intimacy shown between Amelia and Benedict would’ve helped a lot, even if it was just some intimate, heartfelt conversation. Overall, this was a strong debut, even if it had some elements I didn’t care for. I liked the secondary characters and look forward to Fiona’s story.
I listened to the audiobook version of this as well as reading it and Christy Jones' narration definitely helped pull me into the story much more than when I was merely reading. While her characterizations didn't make me like the heroine any more, rather the opposite in fact, she absolutely nailed her character exactly as I had imagined her in my mind. This story still has elements that don't work for me, but those are down to the characters themselves and were only helped by the lovely narration.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1976385892
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3582190936
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