Book Review: How to Live Happily Ever After (Happy Ever Regency - Book 7)
How to Live Happily Ever After (Happy Ever Regency - Book 7) by Bree Wolf
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: This ought to be read before the other books in this series.
Summary: Lord Grant Wentford falls in love with Agnes Bottombrook at first sight across a crowded ballroom and knows he has to have her and proposes instantly. But Agnes knows she’s spinster, older than Grant, and definitely not in the same class as him, so she repeatedly rejects his proposals. But he refuses to take no for an answer when he knows she feels for him to, and continues to call upon her and keeps proposing.
Comments: This is a cute romance between one very ardent would-be-lover and one very stubborn, anti-social wallflower. I was drawn in by the idea of a spinster wallflower finding love since most of the books on the market are about the debutantes. It was heartwarming to see Grant have to convince Agnes at every step along the way to marry him and to keep up his determination when she was so impossible. I did get irritated with Agnes for constantly putting herself down, convinced he really ought to want a young debutante, and I really got annoyed with how little faith she had in him. She so much as saw him utter another word to a pretty woman and immediately she jumped to him being interested in the other woman and not her. She really was rather over-the-top melodramatic. On the other hand, I agreed with Agnes too in that they really needed more than just a day or two before accepting a marriage proposal. It felt rushed and pushy and there is such a thing as courting (or dating as we call it now) which would have answered the question of if his insta-lust really would last longer than a handful of days and they could have actually gotten to know each other beyond just superficially attracted to outer appearance. The story itself felt long and like not much happened outside of his constantly visiting her and asking her to marry him, though I did love that scene in the kitchen. The story did have some problems with it, period detail-wise. Specifically, their first meeting at a ball. I know it sounds like a natural thing to meet at a ball in a Regency set book. Grant was there to socialize with his cousin and friends. But the question is why was Agnes there? She obviously wasn’t there to find a husband, she wasn’t there as a chaperone, she doesn’t seem to have any friends (except for a married cousin), she didn’t seem to be a friend of the party host, and she wasn’t ton. And going to balls is expensive, it means new dresses for each party usually, which is why families are usually limited on how many Seasons they can afford for a daughter. It was like there were details missing that should have been fleshed out, like what did she do in her spare time? Because it didn’t seem like she did anything besides go to balls. And servants seemed largely absent from the story. There was mention of a butler in one scene and a cook in another, but why didn’t Agnes have a chaperone at the balls, or at the very least a ladies’ maid, and why didn’t Grant have a footman accompanying him?
4 stars
Category: Adult
Note: This ought to be read before the other books in this series.
Summary: Lord Grant Wentford falls in love with Agnes Bottombrook at first sight across a crowded ballroom and knows he has to have her and proposes instantly. But Agnes knows she’s spinster, older than Grant, and definitely not in the same class as him, so she repeatedly rejects his proposals. But he refuses to take no for an answer when he knows she feels for him to, and continues to call upon her and keeps proposing.
Comments: This is a cute romance between one very ardent would-be-lover and one very stubborn, anti-social wallflower. I was drawn in by the idea of a spinster wallflower finding love since most of the books on the market are about the debutantes. It was heartwarming to see Grant have to convince Agnes at every step along the way to marry him and to keep up his determination when she was so impossible. I did get irritated with Agnes for constantly putting herself down, convinced he really ought to want a young debutante, and I really got annoyed with how little faith she had in him. She so much as saw him utter another word to a pretty woman and immediately she jumped to him being interested in the other woman and not her. She really was rather over-the-top melodramatic. On the other hand, I agreed with Agnes too in that they really needed more than just a day or two before accepting a marriage proposal. It felt rushed and pushy and there is such a thing as courting (or dating as we call it now) which would have answered the question of if his insta-lust really would last longer than a handful of days and they could have actually gotten to know each other beyond just superficially attracted to outer appearance. The story itself felt long and like not much happened outside of his constantly visiting her and asking her to marry him, though I did love that scene in the kitchen. The story did have some problems with it, period detail-wise. Specifically, their first meeting at a ball. I know it sounds like a natural thing to meet at a ball in a Regency set book. Grant was there to socialize with his cousin and friends. But the question is why was Agnes there? She obviously wasn’t there to find a husband, she wasn’t there as a chaperone, she doesn’t seem to have any friends (except for a married cousin), she didn’t seem to be a friend of the party host, and she wasn’t ton. And going to balls is expensive, it means new dresses for each party usually, which is why families are usually limited on how many Seasons they can afford for a daughter. It was like there were details missing that should have been fleshed out, like what did she do in her spare time? Because it didn’t seem like she did anything besides go to balls. And servants seemed largely absent from the story. There was mention of a butler in one scene and a cook in another, but why didn’t Agnes have a chaperone at the balls, or at the very least a ladies’ maid, and why didn’t Grant have a footman accompanying him?
No comments have been added yet.
