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govmarley's review
3.0
Well, I didn't hate this as much as other people who have reviewed it, that's for sure. Maybe because the other Barbara Metzger books I have read were worse. And hey, I needed a book with a character named Penny, so here we are.
Penny has been engaged for 13 long years without any contact with her future husband. You see, that's what happened back then with arranged marriages. It's dumb, but there you have it. For some reason they both feel like they are stuck in this arrangement because of a dowry, but the viscount saves and saves to pay it back and be released from his father's promise. His offer is denied, they are forced into a quick marriage, and there are lots of misunderstanding and arguments and insta-love. This book is silly but she's definitely written worse. I also didn't want to punch anything while reading it.
If you want to really be annoyed by Barbara Metzger, read her House of Cards trilogy instead. 3 stars.
Penny has been engaged for 13 long years without any contact with her future husband. You see, that's what happened back then with arranged marriages. It's dumb, but there you have it. For some reason they both feel like they are stuck in this arrangement because of a dowry, but the viscount saves and saves to pay it back and be released from his father's promise. His offer is denied, they are forced into a quick marriage, and there are lots of misunderstanding and arguments and insta-love. This book is silly but she's definitely written worse. I also didn't want to punch anything while reading it.
If you want to really be annoyed by Barbara Metzger, read her House of Cards trilogy instead. 3 stars.
wealhtheow's review
3.0
Kendall Westmoreland was promised to Penny Goldwaite when she was thirteen and he not much older. The engagement was beneficial to both sides: his impoverished aristocratic family got access to the Goldwaite banking fortune, and the Goldwaites got a title and access to the ton. That was thirteen years ago, however, and since then West's father and elder brother have died, leaving him Viscount Westfield, and he has striven to make up the debt he owes the Goldwaites in order to cry off the engagement. It is no use--at least West is forced to declare himself for Penny and actually marry her. He isn't thrilled to marry a stranger he remembers as a gawky child, but finds that Penny is now a gorgeous, strong-minded woman who's devoted herself to good works. Penny, on the other hand, was once in hero-worshiping love with West, but thirteen years of neglect on his part destroyed her gilded image of him. Now he has to prove that she can trust him not to abandon her again.
I really liked this! Both characters are well-drawn, and their mixed feelings about their arranged match and forced intimacy are totally understandable and make for an engaging story. (I also appreciated the presence of several non-straight characters.) The plots not driven by Penny and West's personal conflicts are resolved unbelievably easily, but that was fine with me--I'm in this for the relationships, not the specifics of how a card shark is defeated or a ball becomes a success.
I really liked this! Both characters are well-drawn, and their mixed feelings about their arranged match and forced intimacy are totally understandable and make for an engaging story. (I also appreciated the presence of several non-straight characters.) The plots not driven by Penny and West's personal conflicts are resolved unbelievably easily, but that was fine with me--I'm in this for the relationships, not the specifics of how a card shark is defeated or a ball becomes a success.
rebleejen's review
2.0
This book started out promising enough, but it went on for way too long and eventually just got wacky. Like if books could get senile.
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