What I liked:
This book made me laugh out loud multiple times! So many hilarious situations and ridiculous banter back and forth- particularly between the "insane" hero and his servant, and also with Geoffrey.
Lucia had a commendable loyalty towards her siblings, given the difficult circumstances, and she truly loved them. Their relationship was really sweet.
The plot was fast-paced and this book is definitely a page-turner! I read over half of it last night.
The hero realizes the selfishness and deceit of his plan when he is faced with the consequences of his actions, and is truly repentant and seeks to make things right, truthfully.
What I didn't like:
The few cuss words throughout. *sighs* Honestly, this gets on my nerves in any book! :P
The references to being unfaithful in the event of an unhappy marriage, and that no one seems to find anything wrong with it. (Even the hero, [spoiler: at the end when he has resigned himself to marrying Miss Newman to resolve the issues he has caused], states that he will remain faithful to her, as long as she remains faithful to him. What type of true hero is that?)
And then there's Miss Newman...she was...horrible. Most talk of tolerating unfaithfulness was done by her, as well as a good deal of flirting- with.every.one.- and loads of manipulation. She made a very well-played villain, but was also uncomfortably amoral.
Also, there was some minor-but-distracting lack of editing throughout.
The plot was super intricate and came together well, and I really enjoyed the first half of this book especially; lots of wit and humor. However, I had some serious issues with certain characters and different situations in the second half.
Here are some laughs for you from a few of my favorite scenes:
“And that's how it would start. He would make a ridiculous leaping entrance back into the ballroom.”
“He collapsed into a chair bedecked with cushions. "Pillows love me," he sighed.”
“Edmund dashed over to the nearest window. "I'll jump off this ship!" he announced. But the window wouldn't open without more of a struggle than he had time to offer. So he made his exit through the more convenient, albeit less dramatic, doorway with Adrington and Mountdale in close pursuit.”
“Impossible as it seemed, many of these older ladies, who never stirred from the house past sunset, had either not heard the tales of his behavior two nights ago or had not believed them.
The ones who did obviously has enough manners, or at least enough sense, to keep quiet in the presence of his mother. Had anyone said anything outright, his mother would probably have no qualms about asking the offender to choose a weapon and name her second."
Sincerely,
