Alice Coldbreath

A historical setting paired with a captivating story and a wonderful heroine, I could not put it down!

Imagine you lose your father and your home in one day. Some obnoxious fellow who claims to be your half-brother promises to take care of you, but instead of taking you home he brings you to a shady inn where he blackmails its rude owner to marry you.

What would you do? I would probably cry. Like a lot. And then some more.

But not Mina, my girl! Mina found herself a room, then got up in the show more morning and found things to do; cleaning, befriending staff, basically making herself at home. All that despite her new husband practically ignoring her.

Do you know that saying that if life brings you lemons you should make lemonade? That’s Mina!

Will Nye was definitely not a Prince Charming, but I somehow enjoyed the romance a lot! It was a very unusual type of chemistry involving unexpected awkward kisses and speaking in half-syllables. She was good at talking, he was better at other things and it created a clumsy dynamic that was surprisingly entertaining to read.

There were things towards the end that felt a little anticlimactic but otherwise I enjoyed this book immensely!

And no third act breakup! show less

A very charming novel. After recently bouncing off a number of romance novels, I find that I appreciate that the male lead is (aside from perhaps his physique) a fairly normal man, rather than a heaven-sent lover. To be sure, he's possessive and passionately jealous--staples of the idealized male romantic lead--but as far as being a good husband goes, those idiosyncracies are perhaps not as important as the fact that he's a very workmanlike, competent manager of his wife's estate? Or, as an show more example, his wife feels insecure about her appearance when they first get married and thinks he won't find her sexually attractive. The reader very quickly learns that he doesn't feel that way at all--not because he thinks she's the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, or even particularly pretty, but because he's a man who enjoys having sex with women even if their bodies don't fit some idealistic norm of feminine beauty. His perspective then is a little objectifying and far from what it is at the end of the novel, but (for the reader) it cuts straight past the female lead's insecurities and lays the bedwork for their later sexual attraction. The novel shows that Mason doesn't need to be the perfect man to be her perfect man. In the same vein, the novel on the whole avoids melodrama or shocking surprises, and that allows the fairly well-realized, imperfect, and idiosyncratic personalities at its center to shine. Its goals as a romance novel are quite simple, and it has no trouble achieving them. show less

I enjoy Coldbreath's writing, and this heroine was a sweetheart, but the romance fell flat for me. I kept waiting for the hero to stop being such a dick, but it was some 11th hour BS. There are big proclamations in the end and he does the right thing, but where was that man for the other 95% of the book? I just kept thinking 'you'd really have to be a beast to be given SO MUCH, and still be an @$$hole at every turn'. Lots of J&P (jealousy & possessiveness), if that's your thing, and they get show more it on a lot, but to me this hero should have been thrown back. show less

3.5 stars

I Buddy Read this over on BlueSky BR thread.

I need to read some more Medievals again, they're the subgenre that brought me to romance and the time period vibes were pretty good in this.

The ending machinations I wasn't really a fan of because of how it was Mason choosing for Linnet and then of course we got a perfect bow.
It was light and fun with pinches of heavy at times. I liked Mason but he had some uneven, Linnet was pretty solid throughout and I liked getting to see her freed show more from her shell, and they had enjoyable chemistry. Will definitely read this author again! show less