That is such a shame. I was really looking forwardto this books as teh blurb sounds really exciting.

You know, you might like it!

It's just a long estrangement (something I don't care for in romance) combined with very blatant infidelity on his part during said estrangement. That sort of thing doesn't bother some readers as much as it does me, and I really can't emphasize enough that this is one of those books that's really good as far as writing style, plot development, and packing an emotional punch.

lol I actually hated rating it so low because I love her writing style, and Theo is EASILY a favorite historical heroine of mine. Had it not been for the blatant cheating, it would've been 4.5 or 5. :-/

Hmm I know. Sometimes one thing in a book sticks out n ruins your enjoyment of the entire book.

Good review. I hate cheating unless there's a REALLY REALLY good reason, like they thought the other person was dead for several years or some such. DEAD, not just estranged. The title sounds intriguing - is she really "ugly"?

She's got "strong" features -- a masculine chin, a big/strong nose, is very thin, and has a very small bust, so not at all what "society" deems as pretty at all. Of course, the hero finds her beautiful, even at the beginning of the story (though he sees her more as a best friend than someone he'd want to bed), and she develops her own sense of style and panache as she gets older, but she never changes into a "conventional" beauty (she doesn't miraculously gain curves and get a larger bosom, or anything silly like that), which is really refreshing I think.

Oh I like that.

Hi Jess! I was a bit put off with the affairs too, but it seemed to be appropriate for that point in the story for me. I wish it hadn't happened, but I still enjoyed the story. I don't know about you, but I'm kind of hoping Sir Griffin (the pirate friend) gets his own story :)

I know! I think a LOT of people are going to be able to look past them because they're of such huge importance to not only the story but the character development. I just couldn't stomach it :-/

I just finished this last night and I felt exactly the same. I thought I would vomit. I guess I can understand - after all it was 7 YEARS but why is it always the woman who must remain faithful?
When he came back he was so blasé about it after all the things he left her burdened with. He was just "i'm home now - you're my wife" but while he was away he decided the marriage ended.
Still - I loved the writing and she made him grovel and work for it in the end. But it was hard to stomach at times.

Exactly. If perhaps she had found a discreet lover or two (which, admittedly, wouldn't really have fit her character), or he could have at least been apologetic about it and not all "yeah I slept with other people, what of it" (paraphrasing obviously), I might have been able to get past it.

He did grovel nicely, but it just felt like too little too late to me by that point :-/

lol I'm glad you can see why I felt so bad about giving it a low rating -- it was very well written, I just couldn't handle that part of the plot, so I couldn't honestly say it was great.

Thanks for the highlighting the infidelity. I would have hated this book.

I know that it was 'acceptable' for a man to be adulterous in that period, but to show no guilt or remorse when he tells his wife about it? No. I don't think I would like this one at all. Thank you for the heads up.

Well......

(view spoiler)[ He EVENTUALLY groveled a tiny bit, and has some psychobabble excuses about how he was punishing himself and the honorable part of him was dead when he did it, and he'd lost his mind a bit when his father died, and blah blah blah but it was SO a case of Too Little Too Late by that point. (hide spoiler)]

Had he been apologetic as soon as he returned, I MIGHT have been able to get past it, but he was even disgruntled that she had the nerve to be pissed off about it at first.

Blech.

(having read the spoiler) Oh man, that's like watching a cat try to cover up on linoelium. Pathetic. I would have marched him right out the door again.

I just finished reading it and I thought I was the only one disgusted by the infedilty.

Oh dear...this underlines what I read earlier...and I thank you for your insights. Wondering if I can return it to Amazon. Infidelity in a ROMANCE is a HUGE turn off for me.

If it's a Kindle book, you have I think 7 days to return it. I'm not sure what their policy is for paperbacks...

Jess the Romanceaholic wrote: "If it's a Kindle book, you have I think 7 days to return it. I'm not sure what their policy is for paperbacks..."

You are right and I have just done so. That's a hard limit for me. Thanks for letting me know. Will use my reading $$$ on something else!

I just started but somehow I can't bring myself to read on. The couple is so young and I kind of feel like a pedophile reading about their relationship. I read the spoilers and really don't know if it's worth reading any further...

I'm still going to read this, because I had it pre-ordered, but I have a feeling the cheating is going to disgust me as well. Ugh. I hate the cheating.

Hooray, I agree with you completely. I loved Theo, but James... that was just unforgivable to me too. Especially when he pretty much blamed it on Theo. "Yeah, you know when you found out - in the most horrible way possible - that I only married your for your money and the whole world was saying you were too ugly for me to really love you? Well, when you told me to get out, that was my license to have sex with any and everyone." I wanted to kick his ass, not just for doing it, but for blaming her for it.

I gave it four stars, but the infidelity and long separation were what knocked it down for me, too. Great characters, though.

They really were wonderful characters. If it hadn't been for the horribly long estrangement (a year or two would've been okay I think) and obviously the cheating, I really think it'd have been a 4.5 or 5 for me, because the writing style and the characterizations were fantastic.

I'm so glad to see so many others agree about the cheating :)

Hi Jess, your post got me thinking about things that aren't sexy for me in a romance :) and this is what I came up with:

porno language (you know what I mean!)

threats/abuse/blackmail (including emotional blackmail)

money/position storylines (e.g. I really didn't want to like him, because he was only the butler... blah)

murder mystery plots that take over the storyline

the 'third' woman syndrome + cheating

I am a spy....


Which seems to me to leave very little room for operating, I mean most 'romances' have at least some of these featured to create suspense, but to me they just often seem like writers crutches... and a turn off. :(

Cheating is a big turn-off for me too, but there are extenuating circumstances in this novel. It surprised me because I didn't think the plot would go in that direction, but I was able to get over it at the end. But this probably would have been a 5-star read for me if that bump in the road hadn't been there.

For me at least, had he honestly regretted it, I probably would have been able to get over it. But the fact that he outright blamed her for it pissed me off. That plus his I-Own-You-And-Can-Pick-Up-This-Marriage-Whenever-I-Want and his total disinterest in making things right (I can't believe he ran like a coward for seven years, rather than *try* to talk to her... and then was surprised that she couldn't magically just be over everything by the time he got back) combined to make him irredeemable to me.

I can't stand stories where the hero cheats and all the other problems with the hero in this one does not make the story sound appealing at all. I'll be avoiding this one. Great review!

Annie wrote: "Hi Jess, your post got me thinking about things that aren't sexy for me in a romance :) and this is what I came up with:

porno language (you know what I mean!)

threats/abuse/blackmail (including..."

I have a list of "pet peeves" that pull down my final ratings as well.

Mine are:
*Forced Nudity (any situation where others saw the heroine nude without her knowledge or permission, AND she is embarrassed or would be embarrassed had she known). I'm not big on exhibitionism either, but it doesn't affect the rating as much..
* Infidelity of any sort (barf)
* Magic Peen Syndrome (sexually traumatized heroine has wonderful sex with the hero on the first go and *poof* all better now)
* "Plus Size" or "Plain" heroine who loses weight/turns conventionally beautiful before she gets her Happily Ever After.
* The Ex being heavily involved in the story (nobody wants to have their partner's sexual past shoved in their face)
* Clinical Language in love scenes *shudders*

I occasionally get to the point where I don't like Lord Spy stories (you know, where the powerful Duke is also a spy) or even the books where there are five or six young/handsome/virile Dukes floating around London, not to mention members of the aristocracy having cover model bodies even though in reality members of their class would all be pretty soft but those aren't big ones for me.

I actually enjoy the blackmail ones though, if done correctly..

Anyway, I DO see why some people really enjoyed this one, even with the cheating. It's just such a turnoff for me in romance that I couldn't honestly say I enjoyed it in the end :(