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yourbookishbff's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
I loved every single beat of this. Cassandra and Joshua are matched by Cassandra's father in a marriage of convenience (she gets to inherit her family's estate through the marriage, and he gets to have a wife without really "having" a wife, which suits him well because he doesn't want one, thanks). After a few hours in each other's company and two years of separation, these two know nothing about one another, and the immediate tension between them at their reunion is brilliantly done and genuinely hilarious. Vincy balances snappy banter and droll humor with significant character work, as both Cassandra and Joshua have substantial personal and familial trauma. While each of them protects a soft heart, they do so in very different ways - Joshua is acerbic, cavalier, outwardly unfeeling and deeply selfish, and Cassandra is polite, deferential, outwardly serene and deeply selfless. They fight one another off until they fall into bed together, and the weaving together of physical and emotional intimacy is carefully done at every step.
What started as a fun romp gained a depth I didn't anticipate (but should have!), and I ugly cried through the final 20%. The heartache and longing, the fear and hope - I was just an absolute wreck for these two. AND we have multiple explicit discussions (and declarations) of fidelity, which makes this a perfect five-star read for me. Highly recommend on audio, as it's narrated by the incomparable Kate Reading.
What started as a fun romp gained a depth I didn't anticipate (but should have!), and I ugly cried through the final 20%. The heartache and longing, the fear and hope - I was just an absolute wreck for these two. AND we have multiple explicit discussions (and declarations) of fidelity, which makes this a perfect five-star read for me. Highly recommend on audio, as it's narrated by the incomparable Kate Reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
sarahsreadinglist's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Funny, emotional, and engaging, this is one of the best historical romances I’ve read recently. This is the first Mia Vincy book I’ve read, and I will certainly reach for her books again in the future.
First off, I adore the characterization (including both main and side characters). They feel so delightfully alive and unique, and the main couple has such great banter and chemistry throughout their roller-coaster emotional journey. Even with their dynamism and growth, the main characters feel so consistently true to themselves, from their thought processes to their enduring quirks and mannerisms throughout the book. The little details make these characters feel so alive, and Mia Vincy masters these little details.
I also felt truly invested in the characters’ happiness. Even with all their flaws (and the MMC sure had his moments), they’re so loveable and felt so real that you truly felt for them in all their struggles and (in the MMC’s case) boneheaded moments.
My only gripe is how long the conflict seemed to drag. Don’t get me wrong — this was a fast read. However, the primary conflict keeping the main couple from finding happiness with each other is misunderstanding, fear of commitment and loss, and (eventually) a mutual fear of unrequited feelings and abandonment. Relationships are messy and often don’t progress linearly, but emotionally, it felt like a mix between two steps forward one step back and just going around in circles. Towards the end, I felt like shouting at the main couple to get their heads out of their asses.
Other notes:
First off, I adore the characterization (including both main and side characters). They feel so delightfully alive and unique, and the main couple has such great banter and chemistry throughout their roller-coaster emotional journey. Even with their dynamism and growth, the main characters feel so consistently true to themselves, from their thought processes to their enduring quirks and mannerisms throughout the book. The little details make these characters feel so alive, and Mia Vincy masters these little details.
I also felt truly invested in the characters’ happiness. Even with all their flaws (and the MMC sure had his moments), they’re so loveable and felt so real that you truly felt for them in all their struggles and (in the MMC’s case) boneheaded moments.
My only gripe is how long the conflict seemed to drag. Don’t get me wrong — this was a fast read. However, the primary conflict keeping the main couple from finding happiness with each other is misunderstanding, fear of commitment and loss, and (eventually) a mutual fear of unrequited feelings and abandonment. Relationships are messy and often don’t progress linearly, but emotionally, it felt like a mix between two steps forward one step back and just going around in circles. Towards the end, I felt like shouting at the main couple to get their heads out of their asses.
Other notes:
- I love how MMC repeatedly describes FMC’s hands as competent, describes himself as a fool whenever he’s in his feelings over FMC, and says “What? What?” — all without ever feeling so repetitive.
- I love how FMC makes a point of noting MMC’s dynamism, I love how she expresses herself when she’s flustered or otherwise overcome with embarrassment or frustration, and I love how politeness is built into her character. More generally, I just love her character; she’s strong, capable, witty, devoted to her family, and kind, all while still feeling like a real person with flaws.
- I really enjoyed the side characters like MMC’s “secretaries“, especially Das, one of MMC’s secretaries/right-hand-men (who is also Bengali and has some quite funny lines!)
- Speaking of side characters, Mia Vincy fleshes out some of them enough to be interesting and hints at others that could potentially get their own stories, but it never feels like she’s setting the groundwork for a future book (if you’ve read Minerva Spencer, you know exactly what I’m talking about). Anyways, I appreciate that the book stays focused on the main couple rather that serving as exposition for a future book.
- I like how the author dealt with some heavier subjects like grief and loss. It didn’t feel like a cheap way of gaining sympathy for the characters or easily giving them tragic backstories to make them more interesting. Instead, their grief felt real and integral to who they are as people. That said, I wish the author spent more time on some of these tragic backstories (specifically,
FMC’s brother’s death ), seeing as they caused a lot of grief for the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism
Regarding subjects of grief and loss:aoifesbookshelf's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Vincy claims all books in this series can be read as stand alone books and I would agree.
Although this is the second book in the Longhope Abbey series, it is the first of Vincy’s published books and you can tell. Had I not read A Dangerous Kind of Lady I would have been surprised to learn that the Lightwood-DeWitte siblings would not be the focus on the series. In my opinion, you can tell Vincy wasn’t sure which direction to take her series in. Lady Arabella Hardbury (book 1) and the Leo, Duke of Dammerton (book 3) both make brief cameos but not ones that would make you think they are the furture focus. Book 1 really laid the groundwork for connecting the stories and as that book was publish years after this one I can only assume Vincy was undecided between the potential series direction. This is compounded by the fact Juno’s only mention in the book is as part of the paragraphs added to the end of the final chapter in the revised edition of this book.
Some of the story lines in this book felt unfinished, particularly the DeWitt siblings which is why I assumed Vincy had considered basing the series on them. There is easily four or five characters who could lead their own story - Lucy, Isaac, Emily, Bram, Matilda and Miss Vincent. Granted, Isaac did get a novella. I’ve read that Lucy shall be next and I hope this will also bring the return of Lady Francesca “Freddie” Roth from book 1 as they are a similar age. The one line about Miss Vincent also has me intrigued and read as if she will become an important character.
In terms of this book itself, I enjoyed the basis on this story. One of my complaints about A Dangerous Kind of Lady was that there was occasionally too much going on but it was more paired back in this story.
I liked Cassandra for the most part. She was doing her best to keep her family together and asked for nothing in return. Joshua on the other hand I found difficult to like. He constantly switched between two different personalities.
I also had some issues with the Martin story line. This felt like a shock value move and I didn’t feel it added to the story. If you’re going to kill off a child at least make it a pivotal point. It felt far too underdeveloped and could have been used better. Furthermore, in addition to the loss of Martin, Joshua lost his own son and then Cassandra has a miscarriage. I can see what the author was trying to do, and trying to tie these instances together and show Joshua’s hurt/pain/loss but unfortunately I thought it fell short.
I am looking forward to reading Juno’s story next and hope the DeWitt, Lightwood or Roth siblings return in some way.
Although this is the second book in the Longhope Abbey series, it is the first of Vincy’s published books and you can tell. Had I not read A Dangerous Kind of Lady I would have been surprised to learn that the Lightwood-DeWitte siblings would not be the focus on the series. In my opinion, you can tell Vincy wasn’t sure which direction to take her series in. Lady Arabella Hardbury (book 1) and the Leo, Duke of Dammerton (book 3) both make brief cameos but not ones that would make you think they are the furture focus. Book 1 really laid the groundwork for connecting the stories and as that book was publish years after this one I can only assume Vincy was undecided between the potential series direction. This is compounded by the fact Juno’s only mention in the book is as part of the paragraphs added to the end of the final chapter in the revised edition of this book.
Some of the story lines in this book felt unfinished, particularly the DeWitt siblings which is why I assumed Vincy had considered basing the series on them. There is easily four or five characters who could lead their own story - Lucy, Isaac, Emily, Bram, Matilda and Miss Vincent. Granted, Isaac did get a novella. I’ve read that Lucy shall be next and I hope this will also bring the return of Lady Francesca “Freddie” Roth from book 1 as they are a similar age. The one line about Miss Vincent also has me intrigued and read as if she will become an important character.
In terms of this book itself, I enjoyed the basis on this story. One of my complaints about A Dangerous Kind of Lady was that there was occasionally too much going on but it was more paired back in this story.
I liked Cassandra for the most part. She was doing her best to keep her family together and asked for nothing in return. Joshua on the other hand I found difficult to like. He constantly switched between two different personalities.
I also had some issues with the Martin story line.
I am looking forward to reading Juno’s story next and hope the DeWitt, Lightwood or Roth siblings return in some way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, and Colonisation
emeraldrina's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The banter is hilarious, the characters are so real and complex and believable, the romance is both heart breaking and beautiful, and the spice is very well done.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Drug use, Suicide, and Death of parent
kateschu's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction and Infidelity