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A review by suey_library
Bed of Flowers by Erin Satie
4.0
***Received an Advanced Readers Copy through a blog tour by ANovelTakePR in exchange for an honest review***
Who doesn't love a good Historical Romance with one of my favorite tropes - enemies to lovers? I mean heck, I will give it any time or day just for the swoonage. This was definitely a great dynamic, once I got started I couldn't put my tablet down, I HAD to know where the romance was going to lead.... I needed answers!
The main characters were perfection. There. I admitted it.
Loel is a man of title but by title only. He is still suffering from an accident he caused which has turned him into a poor titled man with nothing to show. He is grumpy, he is stern, he is cruel and with a cold-heart at times, but can you blame him? Though he caused a massive fire in his younger years by an accident, he tries to make amends with the understanding that no one would ever accept him. He was the true angst hero I have been dying to read. You cannot help but fall head over heels for his personality, the sympathy for him left me swooning. Bonny on the other spectrum annoyed me yet I adored her. She is sweet, very sheltered innocent young woman. She annoyed me simply because I wanted her to take a chance, LIVE DAMNIT! But again I had to pull myself back in, the timeframe she lived in just prevented her from doing so. She was a woman with breeding that needed to marry with title, her reputation was everything and her beauty is constantly hovered over her as a fault and not a blessing. So every time I found myself battling my internal hatred I couldn't help but want to help her grow.
The romance between Bonny and Loel was beautifully paced. Obviously Loel would not pursue Bonny as she has been spoken for so there is a sort of forbidden attraction between them as they start this friendship. I enjoyed their progression, the start of Bonny helping Loel with his orchids, learning about their conflicts, really growing together. Once Bonny took that plunge I was holding my breath just waiting.... oh my lanta Loel and Bonny together was romantically scrumptious. This is what I love for in Historical Romance. Those butterfly secret moments to the all consuming romance that leaves me melting off my seat - perfection.
I definitely enjoyed the friendship between Cordelia. They had this diehard bond that I found really empowering and refreshing. Where Bonny was refined, very naive personality, Cordelia was definitely more calculated, really a fierce of a woman. I liked how they were with one another, they supported one another and wanted to see other woman of society grow as they did. It was powerful connection. Cordelia was probably my favorite secondary character because she was one of the only ones with a certain level of depth. Other characters however, at times the substance just feels rushed, the friendships and dynamics of the drama with Bonny and Loel just did not flow properly.
Unfortunately in the midst of all this amazing comments I have a slight issue that affected my ability to connect with the characters. With Historical Romance I pine over my books for extensive details of the surroundings. Though the details I gained throughout, I could imagine this world but I couldn't touch it. Enough description to aid the plot but not enough to see the characters.
Erin Satie has blown me away. Her writing style is absolutely captivating, stunningly beautiful. I say this regardless of my personal pet peeves, this did not deter from my overall enjoyment of this read. I was transported into this time and I couldn't help but swoon every moment Loel and Bonny were together. Satie has such a creative and unique ability to create these character dynamics; rough, cold, callously rude hero that makes your heart pound while the heroine is this beautiful damsel hell bent on bringing him to her. Just an amazing romance that leaves you breathless.
Who doesn't love a good Historical Romance with one of my favorite tropes - enemies to lovers? I mean heck, I will give it any time or day just for the swoonage. This was definitely a great dynamic, once I got started I couldn't put my tablet down, I HAD to know where the romance was going to lead.... I needed answers!
The main characters were perfection. There. I admitted it.
Loel is a man of title but by title only. He is still suffering from an accident he caused which has turned him into a poor titled man with nothing to show. He is grumpy, he is stern, he is cruel and with a cold-heart at times, but can you blame him? Though he caused a massive fire in his younger years by an accident, he tries to make amends with the understanding that no one would ever accept him. He was the true angst hero I have been dying to read. You cannot help but fall head over heels for his personality, the sympathy for him left me swooning. Bonny on the other spectrum annoyed me yet I adored her. She is sweet, very sheltered innocent young woman. She annoyed me simply because I wanted her to take a chance, LIVE DAMNIT! But again I had to pull myself back in, the timeframe she lived in just prevented her from doing so. She was a woman with breeding that needed to marry with title, her reputation was everything and her beauty is constantly hovered over her as a fault and not a blessing. So every time I found myself battling my internal hatred I couldn't help but want to help her grow.
The romance between Bonny and Loel was beautifully paced. Obviously Loel would not pursue Bonny as she has been spoken for so there is a sort of forbidden attraction between them as they start this friendship. I enjoyed their progression, the start of Bonny helping Loel with his orchids, learning about their conflicts, really growing together. Once Bonny took that plunge I was holding my breath just waiting.... oh my lanta Loel and Bonny together was romantically scrumptious. This is what I love for in Historical Romance. Those butterfly secret moments to the all consuming romance that leaves me melting off my seat - perfection.
I definitely enjoyed the friendship between Cordelia. They had this diehard bond that I found really empowering and refreshing. Where Bonny was refined, very naive personality, Cordelia was definitely more calculated, really a fierce of a woman. I liked how they were with one another, they supported one another and wanted to see other woman of society grow as they did. It was powerful connection. Cordelia was probably my favorite secondary character because she was one of the only ones with a certain level of depth. Other characters however, at times the substance just feels rushed, the friendships and dynamics of the drama with Bonny and Loel just did not flow properly.
Unfortunately in the midst of all this amazing comments I have a slight issue that affected my ability to connect with the characters. With Historical Romance I pine over my books for extensive details of the surroundings. Though the details I gained throughout, I could imagine this world but I couldn't touch it. Enough description to aid the plot but not enough to see the characters.
Erin Satie has blown me away. Her writing style is absolutely captivating, stunningly beautiful. I say this regardless of my personal pet peeves, this did not deter from my overall enjoyment of this read. I was transported into this time and I couldn't help but swoon every moment Loel and Bonny were together. Satie has such a creative and unique ability to create these character dynamics; rough, cold, callously rude hero that makes your heart pound while the heroine is this beautiful damsel hell bent on bringing him to her. Just an amazing romance that leaves you breathless.