Series: Rebels of the Ton, #2
Traits & Tropes: kidnapping; age-gap; tortured hero
Publication Date: 06.29.21
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; 1816
Heat Level: 5
Rating: 3/5
Lady Eva de Courtney is determined to put a stop to the torment her brother has been facing at the hands of Godric Fleming, Earl of Visel, even if it means kidnapping the man. Unfortunately, once Eva has her brother’s nemesis bound in her carriage, she notices an inconvenient attraction to the passionate nature he is so obviously keeping under wraps. Worse still, her plan is left in shambles when Godric gains the upper hand and becomes her kidnapper instead, insisting they must be married immediately to stave off scandal.
Godric has no interest in marrying, much less marriage to Eva, but he can’t deny his attraction to her spitfire nature. His past experiences have taught him that love is too painful to dabble in, but he must do the honorable thing for her, no matter how much Eva resists the infringement on her independence. Their travels to the Scottish border are plagued with dangerous incidents, but the biggest struggle is keeping their hands to themselves and their feelings unengaged.
I finished this book a few days ago but I’m still not sure how I feel about it. The ending was satisfying, but the road to get there was fraught and one of my pet peeves, the third act separation, was employed, to my annoyance. That said, this plot device made sense here, but the length of separation was rather too long for me. Nevertheless, that personal tic was not my biggest issue here, but rather the characters themselves. I don’t mind an age-gap romance, but it was hard to believe the romantic aspect when Godric continually referred to Eva as an infant and she was so childish in her behavior much of the time that it was hard to fault him. Her penchant for flying into fits of temper got old fairly quickly, as did the childish arguments she insisted on with such frequency. I wound up liking Godric in the end when he finally let his guard down and confided his past hurts in Eva, but it was a hard-won thing. Despite my issues with these MCs, however, I very much appreciated the character growth we saw from both of them over the course of the story, though I’m not sure either of them would’ve put things to right without the help of their friends. By the end, the love story was fairly believable, but much of the book was focused on the lust of their physical attraction and there wasn’t enough honest communication to make the foundation of their love strong. Overall, the writing was good, the steamy scenes well-crafted, and the action entertaining, but I wanted more communication between the MCs and among the other characters as well.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3283185069
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3601855573
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