Tuesday 20 November 2007

"Miss Wonderful" by Loretta Chase

Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase 2004

"Miss Wonderful" is the story of Mirabel Oldridge, the only daughter of a slightly crazy but amiable man, and Alistair Carsington, a younger son of an Earl. At the beginning of the story, the reader discovers that Alistair, an injured Waterloo veteran, because of a long list of follies from his past, is being forced to either wed an heiress or find himself employment. Not particularly wanting to marry at the present time, he goes together with his friend, Lord Gordmor, in a venture to build a canal to Gordmor's coal mines in Derbyshire. When Alistair arrives and attempts to persuade the residents to his side, he discovers that his strongest opposition is from Mirabel, a feisty and intelligent girl who runs her father's estate. The two butt heads frequently and an attraction starts to grow between them...

This story was a bit of a dissapointment. At the beginning, it was set up well and was very entertaining, but it fizzles out towards the end. She gives away her character's "secrets" (such as they are) too early, and there is no real climax to the book. It just kind of drifts in the direction it's going without any real purpose. And this was a great dissapointment, because it had a good deal of potential. Mirabel, also, was riding the line of an "Amazon" woman - one of my greatest pet peeves when it comes to women in Regency novels. She was not ~quite improper, but she certainly did not seem the least bit concerned about her reputation, which I felt to be a bit unrealistic. Alistair was a good character, but I think that he should have had some major revelation, or actually let us know what happened to him at Waterloo, rather than his major revelation being something as pitiful as admitting he was afraid. Well, duh. Also, I didn't like the sex scene right before the wedding, with them coming to their wedding all rumpled. I found it rather unrealistic that people wouldn't be absolutely horrified at that. And think that Mirabel was quite a slut.

RATING:

FAMILY FRIENDLY RATING:

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RATING RUBRICS

OVERALL RATING

(or less)
Seriously. Don't waste your time. The author could spell and put together a sentence, but not a whole lot else.

This book might be worth reading, but it had some major flaws. Perhaps there were a lot of anachronisms, or plot elements that were not resolved. Perhaps the heroes were one-dimensional. Perhaps the love story was not believable. Perhaps the writing style left a great deal to be desired. Perhaps the plot was so complex that you got laden down with it about halfway through. These books are worth reading if you're really, really bored, but I wouldn't buy them at full-price.

This is a good book. There is a strong story line, the book is well written, and there aren't too many anachronisms. Still, there is something missing. Perhaps there are holes in the story. Perhaps one of the heroes is insanely annoying. Perhaps there are unrealistic elements in the plot. All in all, worth reading, and perhaps even buying, but there are better ones to be had.

This is an excellent book. Strong characters, good reader connection. The book is well written, interesting, and stays true to the time period. The heroes are engaging and three-dimensional. These books are worth having on your shelf.

These are books that are phenomenal, above and beyond the call of duty. They have everything that exists in a four-star rating, plus that extra little something that just throws them over the top. These books are worth having in hard-cover.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING

(or below)
There is very little to no sex in this book. What little that exists is not the least bit graphic. There is very little, if any, innuendo.

There is a small amount of sex in this book (one or two scenes). The scenes are loving and not incredibly graphic.

There is a moderate amount of sex and innuendo in this book. It is moderately graphic, but consensual and not violent.

There is a lot of sex and innuendo in this book. The sex is quite graphic, but not violent. The innuendo is quite coarse and descriptive.

This book is inappropriate for children. There is a good deal of graphic sex, some of which may be violent or non-consensual. The innuendo is very coarse and descriptive, and found quite frequently. The sex is the over-riding purpose of this book.

Historical Romance Novel Reviews

Tuesday 20 November 2007

"Miss Wonderful" by Loretta Chase

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