I really enjoyed parts of the book but it was REALLY long and unnecessarily so. There were numerous unnecessary scenes in the book. There were also nuI really enjoyed parts of the book but it was REALLY long and unnecessarily so. There were numerous unnecessary scenes in the book. There were also numerous holes in the story.
Julie is supposedly almost engaged but her boyfriend NEVER appears in the book.
Julie is 26 and a virgin who never had sex with her boyfriend. All of a sudden she's having sex with our hero, Zack, after a few days. What? Multiple times BTW. Isn't she sore?
Julie's background is described in quite a bit of detail. I'm not sure why, because her childhood experience seems irrelevant during her time with Zack.
Julie betrays Zack in a horrible way because of his grandmother's opinions. She doesn't let Zack explain first.
The FBI agent falls in love with her. It goes nowhere and he disappears from the book so what was the point?
Zack's grandmother kicks him out of the house because she believes he killed his brother. The butler knows the truth but allows Zack to be falsely accused and exiled from his home because apparently the grandmother's feelings about her dead grandson are more important than her feelings about her living one. I could not comprehend that.
There was very little narrative about the actual murderer. It was almost like it didn't matter.
And then there was the threatening phone calls and Tony's murder in L.A. while Zack was in MEXICO. Apparently he wasn't listening to the news because all he had to do was walk into a police station in Mexico and say, "I'm here, so how can I have killed Tony?" Or call the FBI and let them trace his call, then disappear.
And why would Julie believe that Zack left Mexico, came up to L.A. to commit murder, then met her back in Mexico? How does that make any sense?
The title is misleading as our hero is not a rake and our heroine did not romance him.
There were several inconsistencies but overall the story was souThe title is misleading as our hero is not a rake and our heroine did not romance him.
There were several inconsistencies but overall the story was sound.
What I found interesting, although I've read of it in other "ton" books, is how truly horrid most of those people where and how judgemental and unsympathetic they were to people who were even slightly "different."
Our hero, Alec, is plagued by his father's and uncle's reputation and is worried, needlessly so, that he will follow in his father and uncle's footsteps. As he isn't remotely like them it's hard to relate to this insecurity.
Juliet is a shy but strong in her will to survive. She suffered a traumatic injury. She makes herself as unremarkable as possible to avoid people from finding out the extent of her injury. It is a stretch to believe this secret was kept from her cousins and father.
The mysterious kidnapping of several women, including her beloved piano teacher, has a twist at the end, although there are some clues. The piano teacher has a baby and frankly, since she is hardly mentioned, except that Alec takes her home immediately upon finding her with an abusive caretaker, really did not need to be part of the story.
There's a lot of really awful people in this book: the landlady/babysitter, an over-the-top evil mother (Juliet's), a profoundly neglectful father (Juliet's), an abusive and evil father (Alec's), a gambling loser of an uncle (Alec's), a kidnapper/murderer, an evil suitor...how many villians do you need in one book?...more
This was an enjoyable read. We have an actress, Monique, who pretends to be her second cousin, a princess. The princess is ill and needs a replacementThis was an enjoyable read. We have an actress, Monique, who pretends to be her second cousin, a princess. The princess is ill and needs a replacement to attend a conference. Little does Monique know the princess is the target of a murder attempt and the murderer now thinks that's Monique! Meanwhile, our hero, Fulkham, believes the princess he meets at the conference is the actress he met, and was enamoured with, three years ago. The trick is to get her to admit it. Whoever she is, he intends to keep her safe, but not from him. Naturally romantic feelings build amidst murder attempts, blackmail and determining who will be the future ruler of Belgium. Lots of secrets, twists and delightful dialogue....more
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