BOTM 1 - February, 2020 - Charming the Prince

[Jultri]

Shaz wrote: "Going from daddy's little princess to dogsbody to her stepmother's family. You hope live would treat her better. But she get's a bold knight who turns out to be a wimp. Poor Willow. Now reading cha..."

Yes, unfortunately her Prince Charming was a bit of a wuss. Not sure that he really did get his comeuppance. He could used a bit of a switch to his backside for his treatment of her and the kids.

[Jultri]

Petra wrote: "I was patient with this book hoping for romance. But there was very little romance. I also feel that our heroine is just giving and giving and not getting much back.
Also did anyone else found the..."

Petra, I agree that the heroine was more proactive in their relationship mainly because she wanted so very much for a fairytale HEA. She probably made it too easy for him and he only started to put in the effort when he thought he might lose her. I think it got too light-hearted and comic for it's own good and deviated from the emotively based story that the early chapters promised.

[Petra]

Jultri wrote: "Shaz wrote: "Going from daddy's little princess to dogsbody to her stepmother's family. You hope live would treat her better. But she get's a bold knight who turns out to be a wimp. Poor Willow. No..."

Jultri wrote: "Petra wrote: "I was patient with this book hoping for romance. But there was very little romance. I also feel that our heroine is just giving and giving and not getting much back.
Also did anyone ..."

Yes I agree with our hero being a wuss. At the beginning we got teased that he is this amazing lover but besides his supposed good looks I didn’t find anything special in him. Not my Prince Charming.

[Jenifer]

Hi all - I enjoyed this read. Author is new to me. It was cute, cheesy at times, but I enjoyed the twist of him taking in children that were not his. I also enjoyed the tidy little bow at the end when her step sister and the town tramp had loves of their own. In the end it was very sweet and I am glad I participated this month! :)

[🐝 Shaz 🐝]

An enjoyable read. Loved all the muppets, especially Mary Margaret.

[Mariana]

Lots of great comments I agree with. Definitely had to read as lighthearted, which was reinforced by the comedic element to the story, else the childhood pain of H/h would be too much too easily forgive and move on. I also thought an overall good story, rated 3 stars.

[Sha]

@Chapter 11

I've finally started this one and I may actually finish it because it has made me laugh a few times, and I always appreciate that.

I am fond of the plot moppets and the subplots, but have to say the romance isn't shaping up to be my favourite thing so far. It had all of those tropes which make me side-eye the text, like (1) hero being unable to control his lust, oh wow and (2) the main conflict is basically a misunderstanding about how the heroine thinks the hero doesn't desire her when the actual situation is the exact opposite. Suffice to say that romance wise, I'm far more interested in the implied Desmond/Bea from that one throwaway line.

I do like most of the characters on their own (even Bannon the Hapless Dad). The stepfamily is comically evil and I do appreciate that from a story point of view, but I could have done without the rape threats. I think I can see the basic shape of the rest of story from this vantage point, and I'm not expecting to /love/ it. But it's entertainingly written and idk maybe plot developments could surprise me. It definitely did in The Secret.

[Joanna Loves Reading, Bluestocking of HR novels]

I had purchased the ebook intending to join in but didn’t get through much reading in February.