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Loading... Temptations of a Wallflowerby Eva Leigh
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Maybe even 3.5 stars, but I can't quite round up. The dialogue and descriptions are pretty good, and the premise of the book is good, but the part in-between the macro and micro, the individual plot points and how they're strung together, were kinda weak in my opinion. Many felt like they were shoe-horned in not because they made sense for the characters and scenario, but purely because the author already knew where she wanted things to end up and then was trying to twist events toward that direction but didn't entirely succeed. dnf @ 47% i was thinking about it earlier, and it always seems like i have more to say when i don't like a book than when i do. i think it all goes back to that fact that i know better what i don't like vs what i do. or, at the very least i know how to phrase my dislikes better. this book was recommended by a dear friend who also happens to write romance novels. she said look, yknow, chelsea it's got everything: priests, romance, the hero is that guy who you're also using as a face character for a priest... you should read it. i, never one to pass up a book recommendation, ran off to kindle and was delighted to find that it was only $2.99 (which appealed to my parsimonious scottish/french canadian soul) and i snapped it up. i'm gunna say that the first 20% or so of this book was pretty decent buildup. they set up lady sarah and jeremy pretty well and i was digging their romance and not much else. the premise? some crusty old man (jeremy's father) finds out that someone is writing steamy romance novels under the somewhat shitty pen name "the lady of dubious quality" and wants his youngest son (jeremy, also a vicar but like COE because we can't have someone breaking their vows of celibacy no matter how horny the author is for priests) to go and track this horrible woman down for writing something that will corrupt the public. honestly? what the fuck? i think that's where i first went "huh?" honestly? and "the lady of dubious quality?" just pick a name. any name. make something up. don't use something that makes you sound like a third rate porn star with an aristocracy fetish. anyways, this is where it started to derail for me. there was lots of delicate flirting, which is super nice, but not enough to keep me engaged. and then some tittering fops invite sarah and jeremy to an exhibition of erotic far eastern art and sarah is all like "oh if we don't stay they'll win!!one1!" ma'am, please. there are other ways to prove your point than dragging that anglican priest you have a lady boner for through a naughty picture gallery in hopes that your fake friends will somehow respect you for it. that scene was, uh, ill-conceived. AND THEN we get to the masked club thing. i am perfectly willing to accept the existence of club where you put on a mask and sleep with strangers for fun. what i'm not willing to accept is an author building up this event to an almost mythical degree and getting both hero and heroine there and then having...... after that i just kinda... lost interest. i stopped reading when i know a little about how this book ends and, honestly, nah fam. i wasn't going to slog through the last half of the book for a poor emotional payoff. so, onto the next. I am caught in the rapture that is Eva Leigh. Her Wicked Quills of London novels were the bait that reeled me in. Fascinating femme fetales willing to risk it all. Loved it. I received an ARC of Temptations of A Wallflower in exchange for an honest review. Sarah is beautiful smart and quiet, The perfect match for Jeremy who prides himself on his upstanding image. But behind the facade of this convenient union lies deception and heartbreak. Temptations of a Wallflower did have a few hiccups along the way. It started off slow and was hard to follow at times but that was not enough to turn me away. The good outweighed the bad. If you love complex characters this is the book for you. Copyright of Night Owl Reviews no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Series
Eva Leigh's deliciously sexy Wicked Quills of London series continues as a Lady's secret career writing erotic fiction is jeopardized by real-life romance . . . In society circles she's known as the Watching Wallflower--shy, quiet, and certainly never scandalous. Yet beneath Lady Sarah Frampton's demure façade hides the mind of The Lady of Dubious Quality, author of the most titillating erotic fiction the ton has ever seen. Sarah knows discovery would lead to her ruin, but marriage--to a vicar, no less--could help protect her from slander. An especially tempting option when the clergyman in question is the handsome, intriguing Jeremy Cleland. Tasked with unmasking London's most scandalous author by his powerful family, Jeremy has no idea that his beautiful, innocent bride is the very woman he seeks to destroy. His mission must remain a secret, even from the new wife who stirs his deepest longings. Yet when the truth comes to light, Sarah and Jeremy's newfound love will be tested. Will Sarah's secret identity tear them apart or will the temptations of his wallflower wife prove too wicked to resist? No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Leigh knows her genre. This book EXUDES chemistry and has all the contrived meetings, tense will-they-won't-theys, and steamy interludes you could ask for from a Regency romance. I also really liked Sarah, an isolated young woman who throws herself into escapist fiction in order to carve out an identity for herself.
I wasn't as compelled by the plot, which involves Jeremy attempting to unmask the mysterious author of Sarah's novels on the orders of his clergyman father. Jeremy's father is bananapants, but the book doesn't really lean into how ridiculous the situation is. As a result, Jeremy doesn't come off well and there's some inconsistency in tone.
Just as Jeremy's motivations are fuzzy, I wasn't sold on Sarah as a loner. She's not shy and seems at ease in social situations. Her lack of social success is pinned on the fact that she doesn't fit in with other young women, but at times this becomes a "Sarah's not like the other girls" vibe that I didn't care for.
That said, I am a choosy connoisseur of romance fiction, and I read this one to the end. Also, Leigh's most recent book is a friends-to-lovers Regency romance with a lady scientist and an anthropologist, which sounds entirely like my thing.