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knitnetic's review against another edition
4.0
This review contains endnotes. When you encounter a number in parentheses, you will find a corresponding note at the bottom of the review. (1)
I first picked this book up while browsing in my local Barnes & Noble. I had read and enjoyed Ms. Thomas' His At Night and Not Quite A Husband, so I knew any book of hers was worth a shot. Furthermore, I love both "marriage of convenience" and "best friend" story lines in historical romance, and was definitely intrigued by Millie and Fitz' pact to maintain a celibate marriage for 8 years. Of course, in the modern (2) way of things, I didn't end up buying the book at B&N -- instead, I whipped out my phone and bought the ebook.
Anyway, the story . I will admit to occasionally being a bad reader and skipping over chapter headings. However, about ten minutes into this book, I had to head back to the beginning to double check in which time period it was set. What I had initially thought were anachronisms (tinned food, bottled beverage, etc) were, in fact, due to the book's setting in the late Victorian period -- it hops between 1888 and 1896. This is later than nearly any other historical romance I've read, but I must say that I rather enjoyed it. Not only did it change the tone of the language, it also permitted the female characters a level of freedom unseen in Regency romances. While this was not particularly evident in Millie, the heroine, it was very clear in the behavior of Fitz' sisters, Helena and Venetia, each the heroine of their own books. Partially due to this, I fully plan to read those books now; both women are strong and interesting characters, and it will be interesting to follow them further.
As mentioned above, the book skips between Fitz and Millie's early marriage in 1888 and their later marriage in 1896. Before their wedding, the two young people, forced together out of economic interests, had agreed to have a celibate marriage for eight years. Fitz, in love with someone else, is incapable of considering life with Millie. For her part, Millie is infatuated with Fitz, and cannot bear loving him in vain, Their first year of marriage is ugly and uncomfortable, featuring excessive drinking on Fitz' part and excessive patience on Millie's. Yet, when their families are thrown into crisis, Fitz grows up quickly and the two establish a partnership and intimacy that has nothing to with sex.
I liked the technique of switching between the early marriage and present day, but was a little disappointed with how little of the present day we were actually shown. To some extent, I'm sure this was intentional -- the entire point of the book being that Millie and Fitz' eight years of quiet partnership are worth more than his youthful passion for Isabelle. Showing us those years and the growth of that partnership was much more effective than telling us about it. I just wish there had been another thirty or forty thousand words of life in the present day, so that Fitz' conclusion didn't seem so abrupt.
This was even more of a problem due to how much of the present day narration was spent on the secondary characters of Helena and Hastings. Don't get me wrong -- I loved their chemistry and will read their story the second it comes out in October. Yet, the present day seemed like just that - their story.
In all, the story was interesting, unique, and moving. I liked that quieter, meeker passions prevailed. Ms. Thomas' secondary characters were interesting enough to attract me to their own books, even though the revenge-sex story line of Beguiling the Beast did not appeal to me at first. I would highly recommend this book to those who love marriage of convenience stories and lovers who were friends first. Rating: B
Ravishing the Heiress (July 2012) is the second book in Sherry Thomas' Fitzhugh trilogy. Beguiling the Beast (May 2012) is the story of Fitz' elder sister, Venetia; the Bride (October 2012) will finish the trilogy with the story of Fitz' twin sister, Helena.
(1) I should note that I have not read the prequel to this book, Beguiling the Beast. I didn't find the cover copy to that book particularly appealing, and so decided to skip the first book and hope it didn't much hurt the second book in the series. I didn't find it to be an issue.
(2) Allow me a momentary detour here to discuss the business of book buying. I feel quite strongly that bookstores should embrace the ebook not as a competitor, but as a different format of the same product. I have found the last three books I read at a bookstore, in spite of the fact that I ended up purchasing them as ebooks. Of course, much of this competition has to do with the fact that different formats of ebooks and varieties of readers have drawn the lines firmly between Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, etc. If there were one format, which worked on any reader, and which you could buy not only online, but also at brick-and-mortar stores (via QR code, gift card, or other mechanism), well, Barnes & Noble would be getting a lot more of my money. I like the experience of paging through a book, sneaking a peek at characters, both in the first chapter and in later chapters. I have, however, made the decision to live free of paper books for the time being. Unfortunately, this means that, for now, my browsing and buying experiences must be separate. Publishing and book selling industries? GET ON THIS.
rachlloyd's review against another edition
This is what I mean when I say I want yearning!!!
polariiis's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5 - Tldr; I loved it a lot actually but I feel like the end was a but rushed.
I’m glad that I was not deterred by the poor ratings I read because this was actually a very good read and had a nice premise. I always wanted to read a story that was a little realistic in arranged marriage or marriage of convenience setups. What if one of the parties were actually in love with another? This book gave it and actually delivered. Sherry Thomas’s prose was on another level.
I couldn’t bring myself to totally hate Fitz; I was annoyed at him because he was stupid and blind, but he had his own reasons which I believe were acceptable. Millie, on the other hand, was a saint, and I have read reviews sort of belittling her impassive approach. But we have to remember that this is how she was raised, and not all women have to girlboss which is also perfectly okay. She girlbossed in her own way, and I loved her for it.
It was lovely seeing the development between the two, and how both of them somewhat did the opposite of what they said lol. Fitz would say he still loved Isabelle, but through a series of flashbacks we realize that he actually just enthralled by the novelty of her return and was not really in love with her. Millie would keep a calm and nonchalant facade but was in truth broken and battered inside.
My major complaint was the end. I wish Fitz was given more time to actually digest the fact that Millie loved him along, and let him reflect on how Millie must have been in pain for so long. Like what the others said, I wish he would have groveled more. I wish I could have seen how they were as a couple who had love and friendship between them. I get that they have been like that for quite a long time but it would have been all the better with their awareness. These missing things really bumped off stars for me, which i think are crucial. These could have been part of the payoff that should have been satisfying. Anyway if we see Fitz and Millie in the other books please point them to me
I’m glad that I was not deterred by the poor ratings I read because this was actually a very good read and had a nice premise. I always wanted to read a story that was a little realistic in arranged marriage or marriage of convenience setups. What if one of the parties were actually in love with another? This book gave it and actually delivered. Sherry Thomas’s prose was on another level.
I couldn’t bring myself to totally hate Fitz; I was annoyed at him because he was stupid and blind, but he had his own reasons which I believe were acceptable. Millie, on the other hand, was a saint, and I have read reviews sort of belittling her impassive approach. But we have to remember that this is how she was raised, and not all women have to girlboss which is also perfectly okay. She girlbossed in her own way, and I loved her for it.
It was lovely seeing the development between the two, and how both of them somewhat did the opposite of what they said lol. Fitz would say he still loved Isabelle, but through a series of flashbacks we realize that he actually just enthralled by the novelty of her return and was not really in love with her. Millie would keep a calm and nonchalant facade but was in truth broken and battered inside.
My major complaint was the end. I wish Fitz was given more time to actually digest the fact that Millie loved him along, and let him reflect on how Millie must have been in pain for so long. Like what the others said, I wish he would have groveled more. I wish I could have seen how they were as a couple who had love and friendship between them. I get that they have been like that for quite a long time but it would have been all the better with their awareness. These missing things really bumped off stars for me, which i think are crucial. These could have been part of the payoff that should have been satisfying. Anyway if we see Fitz and Millie in the other books please point them to me
justinkhchen's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
A tenderly written deep dive into a relationship type not often examined in the historical romance genre, too bad the plotting doesn't quite match up to the high standard of its form. Ravishing the Heiress is a prime example of all buildups with little payoff; concern was brewing when my Kindle showed I was at 95% of the novel, and the story hasn't even begun wrapping up its primary conflict.
Unfortunately my prediction was correct, the ending was not only rushed, the ease of how the issues were resolved crippled all the emotional nuances Ravishing the Heiress spending the whole book dissecting. Being a part of a series, there are noticeable segments exist only to set up Book 3, which further disrupt the overall flow. Usually historical romance novels are pretty stealthy in this regard, but it's not the case here.
Still, there remains some excellent fragments in this mess: the writing is tasteful and modern, with some genius use of metaphors, as well as tasteful insertion of historical context (all the talk on advertising makes this graphic designer gitty). I also really enjoy the devoted observation on unexpected friendship established in an arranged marriage, the way it trickles in in small dosage, until it becomes something fulfilling without anyone's notice (also love how this coincides with the manor renovation sub plot).
Ravishing the Heiress tried to flip the concept of 'a house is not a home' on its head, but only succeeded halfway; it spent the whole book fully realizing the 'friends' state, but barely shoehorned in the 'to lovers' state at the very end. Beautiful writing and great character you will find, but there's not much romance here.
***The Rake Appreciation Society Book Club | January 2022 Selection***
A tenderly written deep dive into a relationship type not often examined in the historical romance genre, too bad the plotting doesn't quite match up to the high standard of its form. Ravishing the Heiress is a prime example of all buildups with little payoff; concern was brewing when my Kindle showed I was at 95% of the novel, and the story hasn't even begun wrapping up its primary conflict.
Unfortunately my prediction was correct, the ending was not only rushed, the ease of how the issues were resolved crippled all the emotional nuances Ravishing the Heiress spending the whole book dissecting. Being a part of a series, there are noticeable segments exist only to set up Book 3, which further disrupt the overall flow. Usually historical romance novels are pretty stealthy in this regard, but it's not the case here.
Still, there remains some excellent fragments in this mess: the writing is tasteful and modern, with some genius use of metaphors, as well as tasteful insertion of historical context (all the talk on advertising makes this graphic designer gitty). I also really enjoy the devoted observation on unexpected friendship established in an arranged marriage, the way it trickles in in small dosage, until it becomes something fulfilling without anyone's notice (also love how this coincides with the manor renovation sub plot).
Ravishing the Heiress tried to flip the concept of 'a house is not a home' on its head, but only succeeded halfway; it spent the whole book fully realizing the 'friends' state, but barely shoehorned in the 'to lovers' state at the very end. Beautiful writing and great character you will find, but there's not much romance here.
***The Rake Appreciation Society Book Club | January 2022 Selection***
surejan's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Oh, this was just lovely. Beautifully written with a wonderful a payoff.
ericas_bookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
“In the end he’d thought only of Millie. Millie, his mainstay, his solace, his coveted companion of the night.”
This is the kind of book where, if I were to see a list of tropes or just read the premise, I likely wouldn’t have picked it up. I saw a fellow bookstagrammer recommend it via an in depth essay, and it convinced me to give this book a try, and wow am I glad I did.
This is a story with flawed characters, lots of mess, and a romance that spans years. It’s beautifully constructed in my opinion, and, given the premise, this is especially impressive. Because it could have very easily gone wrong haha.
The way Millie and Fitz grow up and mature together while slowly falling in love, at their own speed, was just so heartbreakingly beautiful. I cried thrice. I’m telling y’all, this was phenomenal.
And while it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, if you are like me and love mess, flawed characters, angsty romances, and love stories that span years and take time to build, you’ll love this.
ephedawn's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
elllzzaa's review against another edition
3.5
I adored Millie from the beginning, I liked the secret conversation between her and Fitz at the piano and thought that it made her come across as mature and thoughtful. She handled herself very well the whole time, even if she was maybe a little too amicable.
Fitz was incredibly oblivious and maybe a little stupid, but I did like him. It was refreshing to read a Historical Romance where the MMC didn’t treat the FMC cruelly.
I appreciated the build up of their relationship, but when they finally confessed their love for one another, it felt quite sudden, especially considering the 8 years of history between them. I also wish it hadn’t of ended so quickly after the fact, I wanted to experience more of their relationship now that they were finally together.
Fitz was incredibly oblivious and maybe a little stupid, but I did like him. It was refreshing to read a Historical Romance where the MMC didn’t treat the FMC cruelly.
I appreciated the build up of their relationship, but when they finally confessed their love for one another, it felt quite sudden, especially considering the 8 years of history between them. I also wish it hadn’t of ended so quickly after the fact, I wanted to experience more of their relationship now that they were finally together.
dostoyevskyism's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
carriejadud's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0