Grace Burrowes - The Virtuoso

Gifted pianist Valentine Windham, youngest son of the Duke of Moreland, has little interest in his father's obsession to see his sons married, and instead pours passion into his music. But when Val loses his music, he flees to the country, alone and tormented by what has been robbed from him.
Grieving Ellen Markham has hidden herself away, looking for safety in solitude. Her curious new neighbor offers a kindred lonely soul whose desperation is matched only by his desire, but Ellen's devastating secret could be the one thing that destroys them both.
Together they'll find there's no rescue from the past, but sometimes losing everything can help you find what you need most.

Comment: This is the third book in the Windham series by author Grace Burrowes.I can see there is a continuation of this series (which seems was supposed to have been a trilogy) but at this point I'm not certain if I want to keep going; I only wanted to read this one and "finish" the main character's stories.

In this story we have Valentine's story, he's the younger son of the three sons of the duke of Moreland and a recurrent character in the other books. Valentine is known for his talent and career as a pianist but when this story begins, he is still feeling very poorly for the doctor told him if he didn't rest his hands, especially his left one, he might not be able to play again as he was used to.

In order to rest, or attempt to, he decides to go to his recently acquired estate, to restore the house and find some purpose. He also meets again Ellen, a widow he had met and kissed once in the past and that he finds out he didn't completely forgot. 

The problem is that the previous owner of the estate wasn't as indifferent to have lost it and there's also the fact he has a connection to Ellen. 

Are they too many coincidences? Can Valentine sort things out and find a new goal for his life?

I won't go too much into this as the book felt like average for me, despite the grade I chose to give it. This was good enough in the average mark but there's certainly something about the author's style that makes her books well structured but also a little too plain... I'm not certain if I can fully explain but the book lacks some allure despite its execution.

I think the strengths of the author - and how they reflect on this book - are basically centered on the details. The plot happens, but there is a lot of explaining what is going on, there are situations that seem unimportant but that end up being so. Of course there are also scenes that are redundant but nothing is fully perfect.

I really like how the characters interact with each other, especially Valentine and his brothers and friends. The reason why some secondary characters are here can be a little forced but it still works and I felt very happy to see how that helped with the story.

I'd say the language used is what probably people in the 19th century would use? I cannot really say so but it does feel very proper and serious and formal and perhaps this is one reason why this author's books can also feel dull. As if characters couldn't be this rigid, even when discussing intimacy. It's not that bad overall and I could abstract myself from it but sometimes it does feel too much on our face.

Positively, there is the fact the main couple actually discuss things makes the usual conflicts useless and it was indeed nice that they talked to one another.

Thinking of the romance, though, despite its positive aspects like what I mentioned, I have to say the majority of it was very boring. I can respect the author's style but her romances have all the potential for the right amount of angst and tension but none happens and I suppose that is a let down.

Both Valentine and Ellen had the same type of personality so they didn't clash, they didn't feel like complements, they suited each other just by their words alone. They were, pretty much, a boring couple. 

I think what they said was cause for separation - mostly on Ellen's side - was easily solved and, added to the solution of the villain's fate, made for a very frustrating conclusion.

Sure, I' happy they found each other but I think a bit more sexiness and passion (not sex scenes!) would have certainly lifted this to an ever higher note.

Because it delivered on a lot of details, I think this is a positive graded book, but as a whole, it was a bit too much on the boring side.

Grade: 7/10