desertbookworm's review
This book was not compelling or particularly well-written.
leilin's review
2.0
Omg, this felt so long. Very little happens, drowned out by over-rehashed inner dialogues with stretched (at best) logics and overplayed drama.
Well... overplayed in strange places, because there was also a lot of very justified drama to be had, that was really not addressed at all.
The way trauma is treated in this book is at best unrealistic and, too often, borders on silly.
When the story starts, the heroine has been subjected to very violent abuse for around 9 years... but then, for all intents and purposes, her current everyday life is pretty much unaffected by it. She does say it was awful and she does look pale remembering it a couple times, but over than those utterly superficial displays, she's pretty much unscathed.
Julien actually feels more traumatized by ever having been poor, than she seemingly is by years of vicious abuse! Hell, if it wasn't for the other women around, I was tempted at times to forget that there was even more than just an unhappy marriage, there.
The authors were apparently more at ease with hinting at unseen horror than dealing with the actual consequences of it, in their heroine. Problem is, the plot centers around that part of her life, so it becomes very hard to over look this writing flaw!
But this not the only time this book commits the "tell, don't show" capital sin of narration.
Other than love, depictions of human feelings are rather botched.
The mother-son bond:
Actually, don't get me started on Malcolm: he's pretty much a kid who lived sequestrated in a room of the castle, his abused mother as his whole world, and who continuously had to witness horrors done to her or other women by the castle's lord, all the while his mum was slowly dying of disease... But don't worry, apparently he just needed some good French pastries, a pony and some toys to be ready to replace his mother by Makenna, and never think back about anything. Ahhh, the power of croissants! Some people earn PhDs and write whole psychology books about trauma, while really it was just matter of finding the victim a good pastry shop and replacing the problematic figure in their life - from there it takes apparently two weeks tops, and done!
Makena and her family:
For example, at one point, she explains that her older brother (the clan's head) is away and she doesn't know when he'll come back... Come on! She has 6 other siblings and the clan must be able to operate without the titled lord, otherwise he wouldn't have left. Plus he's staying at Julien's place in Paris, so they could send him a letter! We were told before that Makenna kept hearing about Parisian gossip surrounding Julien, through letters, so if gossip can be snail mailed "abused sister unjustly accused of murder and possible impeding clan feud" could too!!
For a time, there were new reasons popping up every couple pages and being added to the pile of nonsense, as we read. Felt like a child clumsy argumentation as to why they absolutely had to eat the whole candy jar: as convincing, as well executed -_-
Actually, to be honest, even the romance could could have been done better. This was more a case of out-of-nowhere attraction than real romance - if budding feelings there was, then they probably happened in the background of the first book, because we see little more than sexual tension here. At one point, I couldn't remember who had said "I love you" to who, or whether anyone actually did, that's how much I was caring...
As for the male lead... At first, Julien seems to think Makenna would have only needed to be reminded she was strong to have dealt with abuse. She does tell him a couple times that women have no recourse and are basically owned by their husbands in their society, but there's never any kind of follow up to that statement. Julien's absence of reaction to it is not used in any meaningful manner either. I kept thinking that was maybe the point - showing that men could be oblivious to the vast disparity of their condition compared to that of a woman, I kept waiting for him to realize that and have a sort of paradigm shift down the line… it never happens. Why even bring up that theme then?
It's a shame really, and all the more so because Julien was such a likable and interesting character in the other books of this series, but comes out as flat as a crêpe in his own story.
Conclusion: writing well about extremely complex subjects, such as psychological trauma, is hard. Not every author can do so masterfully from the get go, but then one shouldn't embark on a whole story solely about abuse! Half-assing it ruins any credibility and makes it all look like it was just for cheap drama in the background. It's a shame, really.
Also, one could tell who was the murdered from the first time that person made an appearance in the story... that certainly didn't help making the plot feel any less excruciatingly long to resolve.
Well... overplayed in strange places, because there was also a lot of very justified drama to be had, that was really not addressed at all.
The way trauma is treated in this book is at best unrealistic and, too often, borders on silly.
When the story starts, the heroine has been subjected to very violent abuse for around 9 years... but then, for all intents and purposes, her current everyday life is pretty much unaffected by it. She does say it was awful and she does look pale remembering it a couple times, but over than those utterly superficial displays, she's pretty much unscathed.
Julien actually feels more traumatized by ever having been poor, than she seemingly is by years of vicious abuse! Hell, if it wasn't for the other women around, I was tempted at times to forget that there was even more than just an unhappy marriage, there.
The authors were apparently more at ease with hinting at unseen horror than dealing with the actual consequences of it, in their heroine. Problem is, the plot centers around that part of her life, so it becomes very hard to over look this writing flaw!
But this not the only time this book commits the "tell, don't show" capital sin of narration.
Other than love, depictions of human feelings are rather botched.
The mother-son bond:
Spoiler
between Julien and his mum, it is decent... but the one between Makenna and Malcolm is laughable. He never factors in her thinking, other than the handful of occasions when the story needs her to remind us she feels like a mother to him.Actually, don't get me started on Malcolm: he's pretty much a kid who lived sequestrated in a room of the castle, his abused mother as his whole world, and who continuously had to witness horrors done to her or other women by the castle's lord, all the while his mum was slowly dying of disease... But don't worry, apparently he just needed some good French pastries, a pony and some toys to be ready to replace his mother by Makenna, and never think back about anything. Ahhh, the power of croissants! Some people earn PhDs and write whole psychology books about trauma, while really it was just matter of finding the victim a good pastry shop and replacing the problematic figure in their life - from there it takes apparently two weeks tops, and done!
Makena and her family:
Spoiler
during most of the story, she refuses to contact her own clan, which is supposedly pretty powerful and benefits from a solid reputation in the Highlands. The reasons given keep changing, and some are just purely ridiculous!For example, at one point, she explains that her older brother (the clan's head) is away and she doesn't know when he'll come back... Come on! She has 6 other siblings and the clan must be able to operate without the titled lord, otherwise he wouldn't have left. Plus he's staying at Julien's place in Paris, so they could send him a letter! We were told before that Makenna kept hearing about Parisian gossip surrounding Julien, through letters, so if gossip can be snail mailed "abused sister unjustly accused of murder and possible impeding clan feud" could too!!
For a time, there were new reasons popping up every couple pages and being added to the pile of nonsense, as we read. Felt like a child clumsy argumentation as to why they absolutely had to eat the whole candy jar: as convincing, as well executed -_-
Actually, to be honest, even the romance could could have been done better. This was more a case of out-of-nowhere attraction than real romance - if budding feelings there was, then they probably happened in the background of the first book, because we see little more than sexual tension here. At one point, I couldn't remember who had said "I love you" to who, or whether anyone actually did, that's how much I was caring...
As for the male lead... At first, Julien seems to think Makenna would have only needed to be reminded she was strong to have dealt with abuse. She does tell him a couple times that women have no recourse and are basically owned by their husbands in their society, but there's never any kind of follow up to that statement. Julien's absence of reaction to it is not used in any meaningful manner either. I kept thinking that was maybe the point - showing that men could be oblivious to the vast disparity of their condition compared to that of a woman, I kept waiting for him to realize that and have a sort of paradigm shift down the line… it never happens. Why even bring up that theme then?
Spoiler
Somewhere at the 2/3 mark (ish), he switches from pushing her to being more protective of her. It doesn't stem from any paradigm shift though, it's just a way to tell us he is getting more attached/in love with her. And that's all we'll get on that subject.It's a shame really, and all the more so because Julien was such a likable and interesting character in the other books of this series, but comes out as flat as a crêpe in his own story.
Conclusion: writing well about extremely complex subjects, such as psychological trauma, is hard. Not every author can do so masterfully from the get go, but then one shouldn't embark on a whole story solely about abuse! Half-assing it ruins any credibility and makes it all look like it was just for cheap drama in the background. It's a shame, really.
Also, one could tell who was the murdered from the first time that person made an appearance in the story... that certainly didn't help making the plot feel any less excruciatingly long to resolve.
emmylux7's review
3.0
Consent tends to be an issue when dealing with erotica. I'm happy to report that that was not the case with this book. More people in this genre should take note of how these authors delt with that; especially if your character has been abused. Bravo to Howard & Morgan.
Unfortunately there wasn't much of a plot beyond the fear McKenna had of being kidnapped by her dead husband's clan. Which is reasonable, but lost its tension by the midway point. I also was able to call out the "plot twist" fairly early on. Seriously how could the other characters not see that?!
I look forward to reading other books by Howard & Morgan; both together and separately. And recommend others do the same.
Unfortunately there wasn't much of a plot beyond the fear McKenna had of being kidnapped by her dead husband's clan. Which is reasonable, but lost its tension by the midway point. I also was able to call out the "plot twist" fairly early on. Seriously how could the other characters not see that?!
I look forward to reading other books by Howard & Morgan; both together and separately. And recommend others do the same.
sm_almon's review
3.0
A good follow-up to the first book in this series, and I particularly enjoyed listening to the audiobook.
kt44's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? Yes
3.5
serenaasora's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Domestic abuse
tween2teenbookreviews's review against another edition
5.0
Like the previous books in the series, this book was great! The male protagonist annoyed me at times, but otherwise I really enjoyed it. I felt that the depiction of abuse was also well done. The characters were compelling and I definitely shipped the two main characters.
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