Silent. Cold. Chiselled perfection. That is Rikkard Ambrose, the most powerful business mogul in Great Britain.Free-spirited. Fiery. Definitely NOT attracted to the aforementioned business mogul. That is Lilly Linton, his personal secretary and secret weapon.
The two have been playing a cat and mouse game for months. So far, Lilly has been able to fight down and deny her attraction to Mr Ambrose. But what happens when suddenly, the dark secrets of his past begin to surface and they are forced to go on a perilous journey into the South-American jungle? A journey they can only survive if they band together?
Comment: This is the third installment of the Storm and Silence series by author Robert Thier. This story begun on wattpad and now there everything is being published in different full length installments, of which this is the #3. I've already seen there are two more after this one and apparently one yet to be published, right after the author finishes his weekly? postings, eventually.
This idea of publishing everything at the end is very good for those who don't want the stress of having to wait week after week and can simply enjoy ti all at some point.
In this third adventure of the couple Ambrose and Lillian, they travel to South America to look for some gold while at the same time trying to stay away from their personal bothers. In Ambrose's case, it's a meeting with his family and in Lillian's, running away from the proximity of a potential suitor.
In the jungle, the two of them, and the always present Karim, try their best to survive and to reach their goals but it's not easy to be in a different environment... or is it? So far away from London, in the middle of the jungle, no one needs to know what happens, right?
When I read the first book of this series, I was really happy with the way things developed. The historical setting provided many interesting possibilities in how the relationship between rich but skinflint Ambrose and wanting to be independent but young woman Lillian developed. I thought the author had done a good job presenting the opposite attracted couple and despite the fact their feelings were never admitted, I foresaw many positive scenarios.
In the second story I was a little wary of the repetitions, of the way some situations were dealt with too much flippancy but I still imagined it would have to be the signal for better things.
Now I'm here at book #3 and I'm a little disappointed.
I should say that this series is somewhat based on the premise that two very different people, in complete opposed social situations somehow got close enough for it to exist a relationship between them, even if it's an unbalanced professional one at first. The idea of these two slowly getting to know one another was catnip for me but I think there are two main details about the overall story that I can't help but think won't ever be "solved" and the story won't be what I imagined nor as satisfying as I hoped for.
The first big issue is that this is quite obviously a comedy. In the first book I think my impression was a little wrong because I felt the narrative to be more balanced, there were funny things/scenes and the main perspective of young but self proclaimed feminist Lillian was captivating. There was still some content to let the reader get to their own conclusions, some elements that made me think the characters' relationship would be a romantic one but facing some (natural) class issues which would confer this a slight serious tone at times.
However, as the stories have progressed to books #2 and #3, there is quite an emphasis on the fun things, on the silly and unlikely stuff, like young single Lillian traveling so easily everywhere with people not her family while having the permission of her uncle and the lack of attention of her aunt behind her. This is so... difficult to accept that instead of silly adventures I can only focus on the ridiculous and frivolous side of things.
Therefore, the second issue is that by exploiting the unlikeliness of an historical story like this ever being reliable, and by basing his writing method on installments, which takes time to develop and present, it seems the author wants to squeeze every drop before concluding the story. This wouldn't be such a problem if the author didn't delayed any plot action to the point of repeating things over and over, not really advancing the overall story. Where is this going could be the question but for me, even more important, when is this going to advance takes precedence.
Since there isn't much happening in the more than 300 pages of my edition, there isn't a lot to comment either. I do like the fact the main couple seems to be finding the common ground that should be expected in a romance and I admit there are good scenes, there is some fascination with the characters and some of the situations they meet. But I don't think I'll be as eager to read the other books, if what seems to be the promise is more of the same.
Grade: 6/10
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