A review by ryreadsreviews
All's Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath

lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Title: All’s Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath

• Publication Date- 05/28/24
• Publisher- St. Martin’s Press
• Overall Rating- 3 out of 5 stars 

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

I need to start this review off by acknowledging that I DNF’d it at 25%. Before you stop reading this review let me tell you why and give you hope that it may be a book for you. I personally really enjoy regency romance and I liked the concept of this one. We have an unhinged (for her time) governess who is going to work for a basically retired military man and help babysit his nieces and nephew for 3 months. 

I read this book off and on at night for like a month before I finally decided it wasn’t for me. The characters are great, the story is interesting, this was a me problem. The thing I struggled with the most is it is so slow moving. This is coming from someone who enjoys slow moving plots, especially in romance and this was either too slow or not interesting enough for me. I would have liked it if there were more comedy scenes because you can tell that the author is a detailed writer and adding more comedy/ banter would have increased my enjoyment. Speaking of a detailed author, I think that is part of what made it feel slow. The story got caught up in details that I personally didn’t have interest in. 

Even though the story moved slow, the romance felt instalove at times. Which I think those things in combination could really work for some. I truly liked the main female character and was indifferent about the male. I’m sure they build a wonderful love together. 

All in all, this is not a bad book I just didn’t need to be there for the long haul.