Scan barcode
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
We open on two people sharing their body warmth to survive frostbite, so it's a grand, trope-y start. The strangers are found together and assumptions are made, so the couple ends up engaged to salvage the fallout from the scandal.
Regency aristocratic airs are alive and well in Amelia, but her sudden and horrific fall into a countryside marriage provides a new, incongruous environment for her behaviors. Her new husband, Benedict Asterly, might have a bit of blue blood running through his veins, but he's a working engineer and businessman with more than a bit of anti-aristocratic sentiment. I liked the concept of their unlikely match.
I found Amelia to be the more compelling character of the two. She's more unlikeable in the beginning, but she makes sincere progress throughout. It was intriguing not having a bluestocking lead who would be more instantly relatable. I liked Benedict from the start, but I'm not sure his journey was for the better. He has a complex about his mother that is passed to Amelia wholesale, which is a bit uncomfy. Also, he's too... manly?... for fashionable standards, and he is self-conscious about that. For the character, that's fair play, but as a reader, it was hard to swallow that we were being sold an able-bodied, blonde-haired, blue-eyed man as someone whose appearance is under intense scrutiny by society. Furthermore, it seems that he ultimately is meant to learn that not all aristocrats are evil incarnate, and I think the sidestepping of a conversation about systemic issues was unfulfilling and even misleading.
This is also a bit of a whirlwind in terms of romance, which isn't my favorite. On top of that, the characters had many spats over the same underlying issues only to make up and seek each other out again. There's nothing wrong with it; I just didn't particularly enjoy the back-and-forth.
Regency aristocratic airs are alive and well in Amelia, but her sudden and horrific fall into a countryside marriage provides a new, incongruous environment for her behaviors. Her new husband, Benedict Asterly, might have a bit of blue blood running through his veins, but he's a working engineer and businessman with more than a bit of anti-aristocratic sentiment. I liked the concept of their unlikely match.
I found Amelia to be the more compelling character of the two. She's more unlikeable in the beginning, but she makes sincere progress throughout. It was intriguing not having a bluestocking lead who would be more instantly relatable. I liked Benedict from the start, but I'm not sure his journey was for the better. He has a complex about his mother that is passed to Amelia wholesale, which is a bit uncomfy. Also, he's too... manly?... for fashionable standards, and he is self-conscious about that. For the character, that's fair play, but as a reader, it was hard to swallow that we were being sold an able-bodied, blonde-haired, blue-eyed man as someone whose appearance is under intense scrutiny by society. Furthermore, it seems that he ultimately is meant to learn that not all aristocrats are evil incarnate, and I think the sidestepping of a conversation about systemic issues was unfulfilling and even misleading.
This is also a bit of a whirlwind in terms of romance, which isn't my favorite. On top of that, the characters had many spats over the same underlying issues only to make up and seek each other out again. There's nothing wrong with it; I just didn't particularly enjoy the back-and-forth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity and Fire/Fire injury