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chrissy3562's review
5.0
A Man of Honor was the first book I read by Miranda Liasson, but it definitely won't be the last. I found myself hooked into Cat and Preston's story from the beginning. The pacing for this story was nice and steady. It followed the typical older brother's friend story line, but it was done in a way that did not seem overdone. There was some humor and a few times I laughed out loud. This book left me feeling very happy and now I'm wanting to read more by Miranda Liasson. This was a very light and entertaining read and I give this book 4.5 stars.
bananatricky's review
2.0
Oh dear, I was granted a wish for this book on NetGalley by the publisher in return for an honest review, be careful what you wish for!
Katherine (Cat) Kingston has been in love with her older brother's best friend Preston Guthrie since she was a child. He resolutely ignored her/shot down her advances until just before he went away to Afghanistan, they shared an almost night of passion but he felt his best friend's little sister deserved more than a one-night stand. Preston came back from Afghanistan with a badly injured knee and has suffered several major surgeries to reconstruct it, he still needs a knee brace. Nevertheless he and Cat's brother have built up a successful venture capital business and he is now a millionaire.
Preston's father is also a vet, unfortunately the pain from his own injuries caused him to self-medicate with alcohol, Preston has sponsored his father through rehab more than once but he has left his latest stint and is already sponging off Preston. Finally, Preston's younger brother is approaching his twenty-first birthday, but he seems unsure about his future career and going to grad school.
Cat broke up with her long term boyfriend a year ago and is coming under pressure from her family to find someone of the right background to marry, particularly her autocratic snob of a grandmother. As her brother's wedding approaches the pressure gets worse. She decides to approach Preston and find out why he never contacted her after he came back from Afghanistan, even though she corresponded with him while he was out there and rushed to see him in hospital.
Cat and Preston get caught in a compromising position by Cat's brother and Preston lies and tells him that they are dating, they segue this into pretending to be a couple at the forthcoming wedding to ease the pressure on both of them.
This wasn't badly written but there was nothing I hadn't read before. My brief precis hits so many romance cliches that I felt like I was drowning, honestly I thought all it needed was a sheikh and a secret baby to have a complete set!
I still have no idea why Preston couldn't make his mind up and stick to it for more than five minutes. He's not good enough for Cat (never entirely sure why he felt that), he loves her, he must push her away for her own good, he goes antique shopping with her, he must reject her and pretend he has another girlfriend , and on, and on, and on. Frankly, I have grave doubts about his military acumen when he can't stick to a plan.
Cat was such a doormat that I wanted to punch her in the face HARD. She just kept setting herself up for more, despite Preston, her family and her friends all telling her he wasn't interested, she just kept believing he loved her really - stalker!
Apparently this is part of a series, this may explain why I felt things weren't explained or explored in much depth in this novel.
Overall, I thought the book relied upon too many cliches without bringing anything new to the table. I also felt that no real feelings or motivations were explored, Cat grows a pair too late for me to care and Preston changes his mind so often I thought he might get whiplash. Of course when everything is resolved all the characters (major and minor) all acted like an after-school special and
practically vomited explanations and emotions and forgiveness and self-awareness and apologies. It felt fake and lazy.
I remain grateful for the opportunity to read the book but it was not for me.
Bumped for release day.
Katherine (Cat) Kingston has been in love with her older brother's best friend Preston Guthrie since she was a child. He resolutely ignored her/shot down her advances until just before he went away to Afghanistan, they shared an almost night of passion but he felt his best friend's little sister deserved more than a one-night stand. Preston came back from Afghanistan with a badly injured knee and has suffered several major surgeries to reconstruct it, he still needs a knee brace. Nevertheless he and Cat's brother have built up a successful venture capital business and he is now a millionaire.
Preston's father is also a vet, unfortunately the pain from his own injuries caused him to self-medicate with alcohol, Preston has sponsored his father through rehab more than once but he has left his latest stint and is already sponging off Preston. Finally, Preston's younger brother is approaching his twenty-first birthday, but he seems unsure about his future career and going to grad school.
Cat broke up with her long term boyfriend a year ago and is coming under pressure from her family to find someone of the right background to marry, particularly her autocratic snob of a grandmother. As her brother's wedding approaches the pressure gets worse. She decides to approach Preston and find out why he never contacted her after he came back from Afghanistan, even though she corresponded with him while he was out there and rushed to see him in hospital.
Cat and Preston get caught in a compromising position by Cat's brother and Preston lies and tells him that they are dating, they segue this into pretending to be a couple at the forthcoming wedding to ease the pressure on both of them.
This wasn't badly written but there was nothing I hadn't read before. My brief precis hits so many romance cliches that I felt like I was drowning, honestly I thought all it needed was a sheikh and a secret baby to have a complete set!
I still have no idea why Preston couldn't make his mind up and stick to it for more than five minutes. He's not good enough for Cat (never entirely sure why he felt that), he loves her, he must push her away for her own good, he goes antique shopping with her, he must reject her and pretend he has another girlfriend , and on, and on, and on. Frankly, I have grave doubts about his military acumen when he can't stick to a plan.
Cat was such a doormat that I wanted to punch her in the face HARD. She just kept setting herself up for more, despite Preston, her family and her friends all telling her he wasn't interested, she just kept believing he loved her really - stalker!
Apparently this is part of a series, this may explain why I felt things weren't explained or explored in much depth in this novel.
Overall, I thought the book relied upon too many cliches without bringing anything new to the table. I also felt that no real feelings or motivations were explored, Cat grows a pair too late for me to care and Preston changes his mind so often I thought he might get whiplash. Of course when everything is resolved all the characters (major and minor) all acted like an after-school special and
practically vomited explanations and emotions and forgiveness and self-awareness and apologies. It felt fake and lazy.
I remain grateful for the opportunity to read the book but it was not for me.
Bumped for release day.
lauraanne9's review
4.0
4.5 Stars
I liked this book. There was something about the blurb that was compelling. There was something about the cover, wait...I know what I liked about the cover.
And, there was something about the writing, the characters and the actual story that kept me reading.
I liked Cat and Preston. A lot. They had great chemistry, and they were a lot of fun together, even when he was focused on pushing him away.
I liked the pacing of this too...I liked that it was a friends to lovers to friends to lovers, but with enough of the connection built into the beginning (and enough of his internal dialog) the reader could be ok with the time it took them to get together because it was working that way, and it was developing in a way that worked.
I also loved the epilogue. I like stories that have happy endings. I think this is why I read romance, because it is a happy ending.
This one delivered nicely.
***ARC Provided by the Publisher and NetGalley***
I liked this book. There was something about the blurb that was compelling. There was something about the cover, wait...I know what I liked about the cover.
And, there was something about the writing, the characters and the actual story that kept me reading.
I liked Cat and Preston. A lot. They had great chemistry, and they were a lot of fun together, even when he was focused on pushing him away.
I liked the pacing of this too...I liked that it was a friends to lovers to friends to lovers, but with enough of the connection built into the beginning (and enough of his internal dialog) the reader could be ok with the time it took them to get together because it was working that way, and it was developing in a way that worked.
I also loved the epilogue. I like stories that have happy endings. I think this is why I read romance, because it is a happy ending.
This one delivered nicely.
***ARC Provided by the Publisher and NetGalley***
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