It's Always Been You

This book was more about plot and mystery than the characters, hence the three star rating. While I still enjoyed it, I never felt the excited connection of A LITTLE BIT WILD, where the hero and heroine's emotional growth outweighs any external plot events. Katie and Aidan have a secret history, some big misunderstandings, and a whole murder-mystery subplot that gets hinted at all book long. I would have much preferred to focus on the dialog and wit that Dahl writes so well, everything else was just a distraction.
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IT'S ALWAYS BEEN YOU is a historical romance that's light on history and plot. It's got one significant strength: Adrian, the hero. He's absolutely besotted with the heroine, Katie, head-over-heels, no-shame, follow-her-to-the-ends-of-the-earth in love with her, but never seems weak or pathetic. That's a tough tightrope to walk; most guys who ooze depthless devotion the way that Adrian does end up seeming spineless, on the page, but Adrian is tough, no-nonsense, masculine, determined, organized...he's a convincing alpha male who has a weakness for this one girl, who means the world to him. That's sweet and touching and lovely.

I quite liked the heroine, as well. Her fear of being swallowed by her old life was palpable, her strength and determination to persevere on a new path believable. She managed to do some very foolish things without making me think less of her for it.

But, alas, I'm going to return to the original point: light on history and plot. Scenes where Katie does her own cooking and burns her sausages or where Adrian stops by to chat over a glass of wine felt too modern to me. Mostly, though, the plotting was weak; Katie is a widow who fled Ceylon, the scene of her unhappy marriage, before her husband's body was cold. She is constantly, deeply terrified of being held responsible for her husband's death and lives under a false name just in case a hint of suspicion followed her to England - but, despite her fear, we have to wait until the book is halfway over for her to seek out news from Ceylon to find out if she's actually in trouble or not. She doesn't turn to friends, family, or Adrian to avert disaster, once she sees it coming.

The whole murder/Gerard subplot really only existed to keep Katie frightened and give her an excuse to tell a lot of lies. The thing is, it's a pretty thin excuse & by the end it didn't hold water for me...and that's around when Gerard shows up to twirl his mustache.

Adrian is a total dreamboat and makes IT'S ALWAYS BEEN YOU a fun read, but if I were going to pick up another Victoria Dahl (and I'd be happy to), I'd probably look for a contemporary rather than a historical setting, having now read one of each from her pen. ( )

Annoying heroine: Katie doesn't share her troubles until the very end of the book. For me, its very hard to see how a romance can develop when so much is unresolved and hidden...An OK romance. ( )

Too much suspense hangs over this plot and made me rush through it. Anxiety for characters safety ruins romance for me.

Reviewed by Valerie
Review copy provided by Kensington
Oh, the lost love of youth! This book had me hooked from the very beginning...I wondered to myself...was it because it started with Aidan’s glimpse of a woman that reminded him of someone he lost or was it because both Aidan and Kate were fated to be together? Regardless, this is one I devoured in a few hours.

Aidan and Kate were young lovers but when she told her father she wanted to marry him, and could marry no one else since she was ruined, a horrible hand was dealt to them both. She was sent away to a tropical island, sold to a man who didn’t want her so her father could collect her dowry. Aidan spent his days and nights mourning her death since her family shared the story of how she died tragically at such a young age. Ten years later (be still, my beating heart), he STILL stops each and every time he thinks he might be spotting someone that reminds him of Kate...

Kate’s version is a tad bit different than her family’s. She was sold to a man who didn’t want her but also tormented by his stepson who did want her, badly. Trying to make a new life for herself, yet stay safe and away from anyone who might know her, she has opened up a coffee shop using her knowledge from the decade she spent on the island.

Watching these two characters reconnect was sizzling and incredibly heartbreaking. While she feels that he betrayed her by never rescuing her, he can’t believe she’s alive. The biggest twist of all though is that both are hiding a secret. Once the secrets are exposed, how they work through the repercussions kept me flipping the pages as quickly as I could read.

Advice: From the very first page I was hooked!

Quote: There. A woman walked far ahead, her dark green skirt kicking out slightly with each step she took...Aidan frowned at the way his pulse leapt. Page 2 ( )