Implausible and illogical, even within a fairly pedestrian setting.
I went through the vast majority of this book pretty indifferent to the charactersImplausible and illogical, even within a fairly pedestrian setting.
I went through the vast majority of this book pretty indifferent to the characters and its many far-fetched, uninteresting subplots and red herrings, until about an hour before the end when one of the two FMCs makes a life-changing decision that made me screech what. And then the rest of the book is spent justifying her massively selfish choice. (view spoiler)[Look, not everyone is cut out to be or wants to be a mother and certainly there are circumstances in which it is the best choice to leave your kid for someone else to raise. But a well-off person abandoning her young child after just after divorcing his father, after raising his older brothers, so she can run off to another continent with her lover? And to LIE TO EVERYONE about it and casually switch places with her twin?! What the actual Parent Trapping fuck. (hide spoiler)] So much time is spent on defending that choice, whereas literally none is given to the deception or potential trauma for her family and friends. If complicated motherhood and other themes had been explored with any depth or skill, or if this were a slick thriller where this decision is presented very differently, or if this was a poignant decision made without deceit, I wouldn’t mind so much. But as it’s served to us, within middling domestic fiction wrapped up in a mystery, this felt unbelievably privileged and awful.
Oh, and prepare yourself for monstrous amounts of wine talk. I live in California, I go to wineries on the reg (I’ve specifically been to Napa and spent a week in the Finger Lakes in upstate New York, both featured in this story), I’ve read other books set on wineries, but jfc. It is endless, tedious, and mostly unrewarding here because of the sheer volume of it.
The ending chapter is minorly interesting when finally you find out what happened to the dead husband. But again, not really a believable scenario and it proves again how ridiculously self-centered, bumbling, and idiotic everyone in this book is. This is not a complex, exciting, or compelling thriller. Just characters not revealing major information for decades and me not caring about any of them.
So annoyed by the ridiculously implausible plot and villain and absolutely astonished by the painfully earnest, simplistic writing and characterizatioSo annoyed by the ridiculously implausible plot and villain and absolutely astonished by the painfully earnest, simplistic writing and characterization. If you’d handed this to me blind and told me this was the author’s first book I would’ve believed you, whereas of course she’s had a lot of success with a partner and written other books on her own.
Audio Notes: Also hated the way Laura Benanti read this story overall. Okay voice, okay secondary voices, but the way she narrates and interprets the main character’s thoughts and sentences is overly exaggerated and excitable, so much so it made it seem as though it was this lawyer’s first time being duped, disappointed, come across something exciting, etc. Also felt tonally off and way too upbeat for a thriller. It’s not a cozy mystery where someone’s pie recipe has been stolen, ffs....more
I really liked the kids, his girl-dad vibe, and the western setting.
But the FMC is incredibly shallow and childish. I get thatDNF a few chapters in.
I really liked the kids, his girl-dad vibe, and the western setting.
But the FMC is incredibly shallow and childish. I get that stereotypical NY girl will change, but it is a LOT very early on without seeing pretty much anything that is interesting or redeeming about her--her internal digs at people, including repeatedly thinking how gross her friend's pregnancy is, aren't even funny. Plus she's engaged to the biggest douchebag on the planet! Which says a lot about her. And when I took at a look at the synopsis for book two, wondering if this protagonist just wasn't for me and maybe I should try another one, something huge and serious happens to one of the other characters, very much beyond the scale of what I'd expect even with the trigger warnings at the beginning. It's too heavy for a contemporary romance for my taste, especially as I have no confidence it would be handled well based on how the FMC is written.
Also, 400+ pages for a romance...ugh. Almost always a bad idea....more
DNF after about an hour. Probably too meta for me to be reading a book about an author going into a downward spiral over a negative review.
But anywayDNF after about an hour. Probably too meta for me to be reading a book about an author going into a downward spiral over a negative review.
But anyway, the MC is flappy and overreacts to everything, the parts with her novel are really bad and take up far too much time, and this is another teller vs shower.
The only way this is even remotely interesting is if the twist is that it turns out the author realizes that she is the ridiculously unhinged stalker at the end. But I’m not holding my breath.
Audio Notes: Not a huge fan of the narrator, either. Very similar to Karissa Vacker—pleasant voice, but too stylized and intrusive in the offbeat delivery....more
“She writes about incredibly messy, well-meaning women” sort of sums up the whole book (and relationships and plot), too.
Overall, just muddled and la“She writes about incredibly messy, well-meaning women” sort of sums up the whole book (and relationships and plot), too.
Overall, just muddled and lacking in coherent flow, with frustrating non-obstacles (I’m looking at you, “I’m not gonna open this important box now,” “I’m suddenly gonna call off sex now,” etc) and annoying calculated missteps (“oh noes, I accidentally drunk-texted the wrong brother so I don’t have to take responsibility for my choices”) put in to drag out the story. Chemistry other than the actual grabby sex felt lacking, and aside from the occasional sudden sex scenes and engagement, a lot of the dynamics felt very YA--and it isn't helped that SO much YA is mentioned, even making allowances for her job as a youth librarian. Like seriously, I can't even think of an actual YA book that lists and is centered around so many YA titles and discussions.
Once again amazed that this didn’t go through more drafts and comes from a big publisher....more
Bored at 44%, so I skimmed reviews to see if I should keep going. At first, a bunch of reviews excited about the twists made me think I would, but theBored at 44%, so I skimmed reviews to see if I should keep going. At first, a bunch of reviews excited about the twists made me think I would, but then this one https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... confirmed a few of my predictions and made me laugh at the rest.
So many subplots stuffed into one book and pedestrian writing on top of that. See ya.
Audio Notes: I listened to Andi Arndt read a previous book and wished she’d read it with a little more emotion, but that book was well-written and engaging so I mostly looked past it. With this one, however, I really noticed how perfunctory her performance was....more
DNF after it crossed into I Love Lucy territory with a full-on white tablecloth dinner spread out on the guy’s first 3 hours on his first day at work.DNF after it crossed into I Love Lucy territory with a full-on white tablecloth dinner spread out on the guy’s first 3 hours on his first day at work. ‘Cause billionaires are just that clueless when they’re going undercover at one of their companies.
(I love Lucille Ball, but that was 70 years ago and a tv show.)
The first few books of this series were fun and #2 is still one of my favorite contemporary romances, but the last few have been incredibly tone-deaf and irritating. I don’t normally rate books I haven’t read at least 100 pages of, but I’m feeling cranky....more
The title chafes, but I gave it a go anyway. The chafing, however, did not stop.
Mild spoilers follow. I was very much interested in the central mysterThe title chafes, but I gave it a go anyway. The chafing, however, did not stop.
Mild spoilers follow. I was very much interested in the central mystery when it finally revealed itself (I've read a fair amount about women, children, and minorities forcibly imprisoned in institutions ostensibly for their own good), but the execution is muddled. A subject like this begs urgency and deep feeling, but it never reaches the point where it touches upon any real emotion--plus it really takes a back seat for most of the book.
The biggest issues, however, are that I just didn't like the heroine and I didn't buy into many of the scenarios we're presented with in the context of this point in history. She is An Independent Lady scorned by society for her declaration that she will never marry, and yet we are never given any real explanation what history, education, or self-edification leads her to this point--nor are we provided with any attempt towards explaining why as a young woman she's permitted to lead such a ridiculously unconstrained life. While it's natural that modern stories set in historical times will be influenced by what we have learned and how we have evolved, skillful writers will incorporate more advanced thinking and attitudes into the story. (And yes, I hold mysteries to a higher standard than I do romances, particularly when they're a 300-page $27 hardcover from a big six publisher.) For example, wealthy widows, a girl of "good" family whose independent nature is indulged from childhood, etc., etc. Petra comes and goes as she pleases, feels free to take a lover, makes proclamations and demands without care, and so on. She is also So Very Virtuous and Progressive--there are so many instances of her ensuring we know she is a Benevolent Person of Character, such as during the climax of the story when she drops a curtsy to a housekeeper with whom she has very little relationship. We're meant to admire her so much, and maybe I would have if her qualities weren't forced upon us with such a heavy hand and there was more proof of them. She also leaps to irrational conclusions and doesn't seem to have any self-preservation instincts (DO NOT ACCEPT A GLASS OF WINE FROM THE MAN YOU SUSPECT OF MASTERMINDING THE SCHEME, MISS.), neither of which is a ringing endorsement for someone supposedly sleuthing a mystery.
Which leads me to the illogical way so many things occur. During the same final act, Petra has just been freed (at great risk to others) but instead of making a break for it right away, she wants to get proof of the ill deeds first. Fine. But she spends what feels like a lot of time reading reading reading through documents and then thinking about why the villain is the way he is and the choices he has made. What little tension there is is lost, and that's just one example of meandering writing and plotting. Her father the earl's overly wordy interaction with her at the end as well as the descriptions of serviceable Duncan's overly effusive feelings (and the whole romantic scenario, really) strain your tolerance, and I even laughed incredulously at one point; they are borderline indie-romance novel levels of simplicity. None of the characters or story feel grounded or believable.
Finally, there are so many issues crammed into this debut that it almost felt like the contract for book two wasn't inked yet and token racism, feminism, prejudice, abuse, etc. all had to be tackled in case there wasn't another chance. (And boy, does the homophobia run rampant through this--so weird how often and sneeringly it came up, with very little to say.) All important topics, but all ham-fistedly jammed in.
Not a great experience overall. I guess I should've known since I hate the title--and doesn't it make more sense to think like a lady and act like a lord in this context? Since she is set up as a Regency Nancy Drew and behaves with the freedom of a man? Idk, it's weird.
Audio Notes: Narrator is tolerable, but her accent and vocal performance were not my favorite....more
Wendy Darling
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