Tuesday 18 December 2007

"The Heir and the Spare" by Maya Rodale

The Heir and the Spare by Maya Rodale 2007

Description from back of book:
All of London is raving about the newly arrived American Emilia Highhart. She has beauty, charm, wit, and a hint of the exotic. Unfortunately, grace is decidedly not one of her virtues. Staircases, doors, even floors have proven her enemies, often leaving Emilia prostrate and mortified in a pile of muslin. Nevertheless, at her first ball, her dance card soon fills with the names of highly suitable men. But Emilia's eyes are on just one man - the one her aunt points out as the entirely unsuitable Lord Phillip...

In fact, he isn't Lord Phillip. While Phillip, the heir, goes about spending the good family's funds, his identical twin, Devon, the spare, must attend society functions as Lord Phillip-all because of a few blasted miniutes' age difference. Soon, both twins are vying for Emilia. And, under the not-so-watchful eye of Lady Palmerston, aunt and chaperone to the young lady, Emilia is unknowningly courted by two different men with the same face! But only one of them is the love of her life...

This book was not very good. She kept bringing up ideas and then dropping them, pulling things out of nowhere, and on top of that, the writing itself just wasn't very good. Perhaps she'll get better, as this is her first book, but I can't say it's a very strong debut.

RATING:

1/2

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING:

No comments:

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 18 December 2007

"The Heir and the Spare" by Maya Rodale

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