aurora13's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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? Yes
4.0
sadie_rae's review
4.0
I loved how utterly SWEET this story was! Victoria and Tom (David) grew up next door to one another. And they never meet in person they forged a friend ship by writing to one another in a journal. Years latter Victoria remembers her old friend in her hour of need and seeks him out. Imagine her shock when she discovers that Tom is not the cooks son but rather the son of an Earl, and what's this? His name is not Tom but David! After explaining his Duplicity David asks Victoria to marry him, and though she has reservations Victoria has no other choice if she plans to keep her mother and her off the street's.
And thus the story begins! This book is slow moving in time but I found myself rather captivated by the story as I watched Victoria and Davids relationship grow. Unlike most books the H&Hr didn't just fall in bed with one another, nor did she completely shun him until he decided to seduce her. Rather both agreed to wait and David took time to slowly allow Victoria to become accustom to him and the intimacies of there marriage. One might think that this would be boring, instead it rather added to the story and made ever part of there relationship more meaningful.
I highly recommend this story, and if you like it then I might also recommend Lori Wick's 'The Proposal', or any of her English Garden series.
4.5 Stars!
And thus the story begins! This book is slow moving in time but I found myself rather captivated by the story as I watched Victoria and Davids relationship grow. Unlike most books the H&Hr didn't just fall in bed with one another, nor did she completely shun him until he decided to seduce her. Rather both agreed to wait and David took time to slowly allow Victoria to become accustom to him and the intimacies of there marriage. One might think that this would be boring, instead it rather added to the story and made ever part of there relationship more meaningful.
I highly recommend this story, and if you like it then I might also recommend Lori Wick's 'The Proposal', or any of her English Garden series.
4.5 Stars!
mina_reads_30's review
4.0
This book was one of those that I didn't like, but didn't hate. I liked the characters, but the storyline wasn't all that interesting. I found myself skipping some parts of the books hoping it would get so action. Also, the romance between the hero and heroine was so slow that it really annoyed me. Then at the end? BAM! everything is resolved, everyone loves each other, all is good. IDK.
franwiththebookaddiction's review
3.0
This one bored me later on in the book and I just wanted to get it finished. The heroine was irritatingly naive.
ksjones's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
samie_k3's review
4.0
This is the first book by Gayle Callen that I have read, and I found it, if a touch slow in some parts, quite an enjoyable read. Yes, Victoria and David had a time of it, but they seemed to proceed at a natural pace to me. Both of them had to grow and open themselves up, and (yes, the end might have been a *touch* rushed) they finally did. :)
thenia's review
3.0
A story with an interesting premise that somehow failed to engage me as much as I expected.
Victoria and David had been writing to each other as children, but the familiarity one would have expected between people who share that kind of history, was mostly lacking.
For reasons of their own that have nothing to do with affection, the two decide to marry, but David is determined to keep living his life as he has been, consumed by his business and political efforts. Victoria on the other hand strives to become the perfect wife to him, feeling guilty about the secret she's withholding from him about the truth of her father's death, and goes out of her way to initiate his re-entry to society.
There is a slow burn between them as far as intimacy goes, as David follows her wishes and slowly familiarizes her, but all in all the two remain separate for the biggest part of the story and only solve their problems at the very end.
A little less than satisfying, yet with a few interesting elements, this is the first of three books in the series, which continues with [b:The Duke in Disguise|82213|The Duke in Disguise (Willow Pond, #2)|Gayle Callen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386920806s/82213.jpg|79385].
Victoria and David had been writing to each other as children, but the familiarity one would have expected between people who share that kind of history, was mostly lacking.
For reasons of their own that have nothing to do with affection, the two decide to marry, but David is determined to keep living his life as he has been, consumed by his business and political efforts. Victoria on the other hand strives to become the perfect wife to him, feeling guilty about the secret she's withholding from him about the truth of her father's death, and goes out of her way to initiate his re-entry to society.
There is a slow burn between them as far as intimacy goes, as David follows her wishes and slowly familiarizes her, but all in all the two remain separate for the biggest part of the story and only solve their problems at the very end.
A little less than satisfying, yet with a few interesting elements, this is the first of three books in the series, which continues with [b:The Duke in Disguise|82213|The Duke in Disguise (Willow Pond, #2)|Gayle Callen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386920806s/82213.jpg|79385].
tee_m's review
2.0
This book was a lesson in grammar. Not the good kind either. It was kind of an example of all the things you shouldn’t do when writing anything but a text message. (Probably harsh judgment, but bare with me.)
There were so many syntax errors, run-on lines, and missing punctuations, that I was shocked. The author started sentences and entire paragraphs, with conjunctions; particularly the use of And’ and ‘But’. The latter happened at least once on every page. (If you think I’m exaggerating, open a random page in the book.)
There were paragraphs whose first lines were the tail end of the preceding paragraph. How someone could have missed the errors confounds me. The conjunctions were entirely unnecessary too. Many of the sentences could have been fixed by simply deleting the connectors (or switching them with an alternative.)
The premise underlying the plot was also illogical. The FMC’s family was in dire state financially having lost all their wealth. The FMC remembered she had a childhood best friend living in the Earl’s estate next to hers. The best friend happened to be a kitchen boy. I don’t understand why the FMC thought it was a good idea to go to a kitchen boy for financial help with saving her family’s estate. I mean does he secretly invest in Bitcoins? What exactly was the plan? Marry a kitchen boy, save her estate?
I wish I could say the characters came alive or the world did. But nope. (See I just did it. Darn conjunctions!)
There were so many syntax errors, run-on lines, and missing punctuations, that I was shocked. The author started sentences and entire paragraphs, with conjunctions; particularly the use of And’ and ‘But’. The latter happened at least once on every page. (If you think I’m exaggerating, open a random page in the book.)
There were paragraphs whose first lines were the tail end of the preceding paragraph. How someone could have missed the errors confounds me. The conjunctions were entirely unnecessary too. Many of the sentences could have been fixed by simply deleting the connectors (or switching them with an alternative.)
The premise underlying the plot was also illogical. The FMC’s family was in dire state financially having lost all their wealth. The FMC remembered she had a childhood best friend living in the Earl’s estate next to hers. The best friend happened to be a kitchen boy. I don’t understand why the FMC thought it was a good idea to go to a kitchen boy for financial help with saving her family’s estate. I mean does he secretly invest in Bitcoins? What exactly was the plan? Marry a kitchen boy, save her estate?
I wish I could say the characters came alive or the world did. But nope. (See I just did it. Darn conjunctions!)
jacqueline1989's review
2.0
This book was a weird one for me. While I did finish the novel and somewhat enjoyed it, I found numerous issues that made the reading of this story somewhat difficult.
For starters, the hero of the story, David, was a bit difficult to understand. Essentially, he is a very stoic man, extremely rigid in his demeanor and not at all expressive at large. While I do love diverse character types, to some degree, I find characters that are given this personality can sometimes seem one dimensional. This was the issue with The Lord Next Door. While I eventually found myself liking this character, he was very difficult to connect or engage with.
I also found the heroine of this story, Victoria, a bit bland. For all her creativity and alleged passion in the book, she came off as being a bit dry. This was only accentuated by her "I-Must-Be-The-Perfect-Wife" syndrome/mentality throughout the book. Again, like with David, I found her to be somewhat one dimensional, and at times, dull.
My other issue with this novel deals with its structure. Aside from the fact that the ending was very obviously, and quite painfully, rushed, I also noticed the emotional scenes between any of the characters were very badly done. Sometimes they felt cliched and felt like hyperbole, and others they were rather rushed. The endearing words were used, but the phrasing occasionally felt awkward or stilted. This would not be so bad if this awkwardness were limited to just the main characters, for then it would be explained by their character types. Sadly, this occurred in several conversations among the book's sub-characters.
Ironically, after all the aforementioned criticisms, one would assume, especially after analyzing my track record with book's that disappoint, this book would have been tossed by the wayside 30 pages in. However, such was not the case, because I found myself rapidly interested in the developing relationship between Victoria and David. While sadly the book did not seem to satisfy my interest between these two individuals, it was not a complete waste of time.
I did enjoy a few aspects to this book. The fact that Callen decided to forgo the consummation of Victoria and David's wedding was an interesting change of pace. I find that sex is most definitely a very crucial turning point to a relationship, and by constructing the story in the manner Callen did, the book seemed to have more "meat," or content, to it.
Another facet I enjoyed was the unique spin this author took with such a story. I found myself rather interested in the fact that David was an industrialist, and this point did play a marginal (though forced) part to the plot. I do congratulate callen, though, for managing to maintain my interest in the novel to complete the story. Typically, when a book irritates me past a certain level, I don't waste my time finishing it, and when considering the issues I had with The Lord Next Door, it is very ironic that I completed this book.
Overall, it was not vastly enjoyable, but I did not walk away hating the book either.
For starters, the hero of the story, David, was a bit difficult to understand. Essentially, he is a very stoic man, extremely rigid in his demeanor and not at all expressive at large. While I do love diverse character types, to some degree, I find characters that are given this personality can sometimes seem one dimensional. This was the issue with The Lord Next Door. While I eventually found myself liking this character, he was very difficult to connect or engage with.
I also found the heroine of this story, Victoria, a bit bland. For all her creativity and alleged passion in the book, she came off as being a bit dry. This was only accentuated by her "I-Must-Be-The-Perfect-Wife" syndrome/mentality throughout the book. Again, like with David, I found her to be somewhat one dimensional, and at times, dull.
My other issue with this novel deals with its structure. Aside from the fact that the ending was very obviously, and quite painfully, rushed, I also noticed the emotional scenes between any of the characters were very badly done. Sometimes they felt cliched and felt like hyperbole, and others they were rather rushed. The endearing words were used, but the phrasing occasionally felt awkward or stilted. This would not be so bad if this awkwardness were limited to just the main characters, for then it would be explained by their character types. Sadly, this occurred in several conversations among the book's sub-characters.
Ironically, after all the aforementioned criticisms, one would assume, especially after analyzing my track record with book's that disappoint, this book would have been tossed by the wayside 30 pages in. However, such was not the case, because I found myself rapidly interested in the developing relationship between Victoria and David. While sadly the book did not seem to satisfy my interest between these two individuals, it was not a complete waste of time.
I did enjoy a few aspects to this book. The fact that Callen decided to forgo the consummation of Victoria and David's wedding was an interesting change of pace. I find that sex is most definitely a very crucial turning point to a relationship, and by constructing the story in the manner Callen did, the book seemed to have more "meat," or content, to it.
Another facet I enjoyed was the unique spin this author took with such a story. I found myself rather interested in the fact that David was an industrialist, and this point did play a marginal (though forced) part to the plot. I do congratulate callen, though, for managing to maintain my interest in the novel to complete the story. Typically, when a book irritates me past a certain level, I don't waste my time finishing it, and when considering the issues I had with The Lord Next Door, it is very ironic that I completed this book.
Overall, it was not vastly enjoyable, but I did not walk away hating the book either.