2019 TBR Challenge summary

The year is ending in a few days and I want to leave some notes on the TBR Challenge which, for me, is not about if I can do it or finish because I know I can, considering my reading habits and the fact I prepare monthly lists, with the challenge's choice included.

The fun of this for me is in picking a book to fit the theme and see if others have done the same.

This year, my choices all came from my TBR of course and it was good to see I managed to read some good books but others weren't that great. I don't like to switch my pick if a book is not being good. I prefer to write on why I didn't like than to only have great reads which wouldn't be indicative of how the reading year has been.

Here is my completed list of books:

January: Once Upon a Moonlit Night - Elizabeth Hoyt (short story) 8/10

This is a short story in the Maiden Lane series and features known characters. Hyppolita is saved by Matthew and they get along very quickly and very conveniently which obviously intends to justify their quick relationship. I liked it for being part of the series.

 
February: In the Eye of the Storm - Robert Thier (part of a series) 6/10

This is the second book in a series too, but while the first installment about a reserved distant man and his sassy, bubbly secretary pretending to be a man was incredible, this was very repetitive and not really good when it came to advance the plot.

 
March: The Matrimonial Advertisement - Mimi Matthews (favorite trope) 6/10

This historical story has two people falling in love while not initially suited to one another and trying to ignore each other's feelings but the circumstances make them spend time and time together. It was cute but not as emotionally complex as I hoped for.

 
April: In the Days of Rain - Rebecca Stott (something different) 7/10

This is a non-fiction about the childhood and young years of the author while part of a cult. I liked this story for the message, for the ways in which the cult and her life was shaped but there was a lot of introspection and repetition too. 

 
May: The Year We Fell Down - Sarina Bowen (backlist glom) 7/10

This is a NA story with an athlete recovering from an injury and a girl in a wheelchair while she recuperates too. They become friends and then more while navigating the college life and their own limitations. It was enjoyable.

 
June: The Game and the Governess - Kate Noble (historical) 7/10

This is an historical where the hero and a friend make a bet and the governess of the title ends up being the target of that bet. As the plot moves along, the main couple slowly falls in love but I think the resulting drama and angst should have been better done. 

 
July: Can't Buy Me Love - Molly O'Keefe (contemporary) 7/10

This romance reminded me of those contemporaries where the characters are always larger than life but with everyday situations and emotions. It also seems like problems are easily solved as long as someone can think of it. It was good but I expected more from it.

 
August: A House Without Windows - Nadia Hashimi (Random Pick)  6/10

This story has a message to convey, has a different culture to talk about but I think the real aspects of Afghan life and the fiction story were not really balanced and I finished with the feeling I never really connected with the characters.

 
September: Homeward Hearts - Alexis Harrington (kicking it old school) 8/10

This is a sweet old school western romance, where the heroine is brave and independent, the hero strong but in need of help and how they join forces and at last fall in love, even if everyone else disapproves. Great story to finish with a satisfied sigh.  

 
October: Do or Die - Suzanne Brockmann (romantic suspense) 6/10

A lot of action, a lot of detail, many characters, the usual writing from an author who created her name with military romances but to be honest, the main romance was not totally convincing while many elements felt clichéd and others didn't add much to the plot.

 
November: The Heiress of Winterwood - Sarah E. Ladd (sugar) 4/10

What a pity, this story had a promising plot of marriage of convenience, the care of a small child but the rather obvious preaching, the lack of romantic scenes and the constant nagging on things even before the expected marriage happened tuned this into a very boring book for me.

 
December: Christmas at the Comfort Food Cafe - Debbie Johnson (holiday) 6/10

This is a sweet story of a woman learning to like herself again, of cozy cafes and comfort foods while people care about one another but the romance was too quick, not developed enough and the "lesson" learned too easily done as well.

Interesting facts:

I liked January and September the best and, of these two, September must win simply because it was a full length story and made it possible for me to have longer with the characters.

The one I didn't like that much was November because it was really poorly done, in my opinion.

All these books were in my pile because they have tropes or blurbs I was interested in and I can accept the idea that not all will be amazing just because their premises start well. In fact, it can be rather disappointing that not more of the books I have to read won't be even better for me, or more appealing to my tastes. Everything can be relative I know, but the hope to only get amazing reads is always there.

I can also say that of my reading year, most of the books I read were in the 7 or 8 category (out of 10) so I'm doing something well, but very few perfect grades and this average sort of reflects on the challenge picks too. Many 6 and 7, two 8, one 4 but no 1 nor 10.

I hope next year can be better, of course! 

Happy reading, people! 💧

TBR Challenge: Debbie Johnson - Christmas at the Comfort Food Cafe

Becca Fletcher has always hated Christmas but she has her reasons for being Little Miss Grinch. Now, though, she can’t avoid her version of ho-ho-hell – because she’s travelling to the Comfort Food Cafe to spend the festive season with her sister Laura and her family. She’s expecting mulled wine, 24-hour Christmas movie marathons and all kinds of very merry torture.
Little does Becca know that the Comfort Food Cafe is like no other place on earth. Perched on a snow-covered hill, it’s a place full of friendship where broken hearts can heal, new love can blossom and where Becca’s Christmas miracle really could happen – if only she can let it…

Comment: It's December and time for the last TBR Challenge review post. Well, I'm also including a last one with a summary in the following days but when it comes to the themes picked by month, this is the last one. For December the theme has been Holidays, which can encompass so many times of the year but, as usual, it's a lot easier to pick Christmas, even considering the amount of publications out there fitting the season. I also chose a Christmas read I had in the pile since last year.

In this cozy little romance, we have the story of Becca Fletcher, sister to heroine from book #1, which I've read last year.

Becca hasn't liked Christmas since she was a child, mostly because of the negative experiences she still remembers and how she was made to feel. After so many years, she still doesn't like the season and wishes for it to go away quickly but she is a little eager to be with her sister Laura and their parents in Dorset, where Laura now lives and is rebuilding her life.

Becca has seen how Laura suffered after her husband died but she is now moving on, so Becca wants to see how things are and she hopes she can absorb a bit of the holiday cheer and, perhaps, heal herself a little further too.

Although she hoped for the usual little things she knows people - in her opinion - endure during Christmas, she can't help but genuinely enjoying spending time with the Cafe's clients and she comes to care about them for the little while she's there. Of course, there is also the good looking guy her sister sent her photos of, but Becca has given up on all her vices... can she give in just for this one, though?

I've read the first book in this series back in the beginning of January of last year since that book was a Christmas gift. Despite not being the best book ever, I liked it enough to feel interested in getting this one and since it would be set during Christmas I thought it would be perfect for this month's theme.

This is a book with a very basic plot: Becca is one of those people who doesn't like Christmas and all the cheering that usually follows and her reasons are based on her past experiences, she has always had some negative memory of the time while her sister seemed to have loved it. Another detail that doesn't help is a traumatic situation she still hasn't fully processed so she went on to live a life of risks and vices, always sabotaging herself when it came to healing.

However, her views on everything changed when her sister dealt with her husband's death and we get to see how that affected Becca's attitudes and why she chose to become a different person but she doesn't other to notice so she hasn't explained not given indications she is not as wild as in her youth years.

Of course, this has all the hints to be one of those stories where true love and a cozy community are problem solvers. I don't usually mind the way some challenges are so easily solved by love in these types of books but in this story, even though we get Becca's version of events at some point, I felt the situation shouldn't have been that simple to solve or for Becca to come to terms with it so quickly.

I also think it's another one of those cases where a first person narrator didn't help. I didn't think Becca was easy to engage with, she was not such a captivating narrator that would make me feel commiseration for her woes. I mean, I feel sorry for her and I could imagine how heartbreaking her view on life was but that's because I can imagine, not because the writing sold me on that.

I'd also say the development of the story is as basic as it can get and none of the characters really seemed to have evolved from one point to another. I think it was a little too much of telling, quick moving on the plot's moments but for me there was not enough depth in how those situations were developed nor in how the characters were made to interact. The plot has all the bones to be a more emotional and complex story but I don't think that was achieved beyond the superficial.

Becca does share things, she does seem to come to terms with some of her past choices and consequences, she seems to become lighter as she stays near those who love her and those new friends she makes while around the cafe, just like we would expect from stories like this one, where setting and simply likable people make a good contrast to what was before.

However, part of the story also focuses on a romantic interest which, in my opinion, was not well done. I think the love interest never passed basics, just because they talked and went on walks together and were attracted is not enough reason for them to be in love. I could buy the idea they have a connection and they could exploit it and when the book ended, that was the feel I still had.

Regardless of this, though, the romantic relationship didn't convince me, and their I love yous at the end even less. I don't think there was enough development between them for the romance to be convincing and with Becca's "healing" in progress, the way the author chose to end things felt like everything happened too quickly and too convenient but I don't think they even spent enough time together on the page for it to be as sweet and special as I'm certain the intention was.

Thinking about the story in global terms, I liked some parts and some cute scenes, some moments when Becca understands and deals with emotions she was reluctant to face and I liked seeing where Laura from the first book is at now (emotionally speaking). But the story doesn't feel as balanced as it could, the romance was not convincing and I think the emotional situations regarding Becca could have been better developed.

Grade: 6/10

TBR Challenge: Sarah E. Ladd - The Heiress of Winterwood

Amelia Barrett, heiress to an ancestral estate nestled in the English moors, defies family expectations and promises to raise her dying friend s infant baby. She'll risk everything to keep her word even to the point of proposing to the child s father, Lucas, a sea captain she s never met.
Tragedy strikes when the child vanishes with little more than a sketchy ransom note hinting to her whereabouts. Fear for the child s safety drives Amelia and Lucas to test the boundaries of their love for this infant.
Amelia s detailed plans would normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she examines her soul and must face her one weakness: pride.
Lucas strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own discipline.
Both must learn to accept God s sovereignty and relinquish control so they can grasp the future He has for planned for them. 

Comment: November is more than half way through and this month the theme for the TBR challenge post is sugar or spice, which Wendy described as closed door/just kisses or sexy-times-steamy. As time has passed, I found I'm not that much of a fan of erotic romance nor mostly erotica content and it has been rare to find books where the romance and the (more amount of) sex scenes/situations have felt balanced for me. 

Therefore, I picked a sugar type of story and perhaps I went a little too far and chose a so-labeled "clean" romance. I say this because although I like romances with no sex, the story has to be appealing and this one didn't meet the expectations I had.

This is the story of heiress Amelia Barret, a young woman who is going to inherit quite a sum of money and an estate upon her 24th birthday or when she marries and it seems her life is already set for her for she has a fiancé and everything seems secure and planned for her.

Things change when her dear friend Katherine dies in childbirth and Amelia promises to her to raise and protect her child at al times. This, however, is not what her fiancé wants and after telling her the child will need to go after they marry, Amelia takes things into her own hands and when she meets her friend's husband, recently returned from overseas, she bravely talks to him about marrying one another, so baby Lucy can stay with them both and Amelia can keep her promise.

Of course this is not well received neither by her fiancé nor by her uncle and aunt, with whom she has living with since he parents death.

Will Amelia be able to keep her promise and stay true to her beliefs even when everyone around her tells her she is making a selfish mistake?

I expected this to be a marriage of convenience story or, at most, a story where the characters would be put in a position where their personal journey through feelings and a situation in which both of them had to deal with their own issues while joining forces for the sake of baby Lucy would force them to spend time together and, thus, realizing they had a lot in common.

I also knew going in this would be a "clean" romance (as many labeled this type of story which in a loose explanation means a story without sex scenes) but when done well, it can be as richly engaging as as romantic as one with them.

What I didn't expect, to be honest, was how boring this story turned out to be! The plot is not about the main characters' marriage as I assumed by the blurb's mention of  the heroine's "proposing to the child's father". The whole plot takes place between the moment the said father shows up at Amelia's estate - which happens to be side by side with his older brother's - and the moment all is well and they do decide, at last, to be married. I mean, what a disappointment! I thought this would be a marriage of convenience plot and it was not so, which means I had to turn my hopes into the brilliance of the character's actions and personality but... no.

I found Amelia to be a likable protagonist but not captivating. I understand these types of books don't usually have heroines that behave too much outside a certain norm but I've read "clean" romances where the characters and the plots are engaging and easy to be lost in. Amelia was just so...dull and uninspiring and so focused on the child that, even though I liked how she defended an innocent baby and a promise she made, her thoughts didn't go past what she thought was best. Apparently she had to learn the lesson she shouldn't be prideful and accept others' opinions and feelings but what came across to me was not this. Instead, it only felt she was caught in a complicated situation and the author just had to force the reader to think about Amelia's actions in a way the Christian fiction label would see it as a way to teach a lesson.

This is where I would say there's the difference to other "clean" or "Christian fiction" stories out there: in this novel, the preaching and guidance element of the novel was too obvious and too glaring for the reader unlike in other books or by other authors where that is seamlessly inserted and one can get their own mind about it without that being visible in the plot. I know this works for many readers but for me it distracts from the story and those characters. How marvelous when the authors can give this same impression but in a natural way that doesn't seem like the idea was put there artificially... 

The hero, honestly, barely registered in my mind. I can only say that he was a navy officer, his life was at sea and he planned to return to his duty after solving the situation of his daughter but somehow he and Amelia decide to be married and right before that he accepted God's will on the subject. I won't go too much into it but I got the impression this was his end anyway, whatever would happen he would always conclude he had to follow God but this means that, for me, the author didn't really give him any personality. 

Sometimes, many heroes and heroines in these "clean" romances probably don't divert too much from a general idea but it's the author's job to make them alive and charismatic to the reader. I wouldn't say this was the case here, for me.

I won't go more into it because I think I'd only find negative details to pick on but although the plot has some positive aspects (I liked how difficult it was for Amelia to go against the norms but she had a strong side I wish had been done in a more appealing manner) and there were a few scenes that weren't too bad, there is just too much predictability and preaching and boredom all around that stopped me from enjoying it. I know it works well for many readers but for me it wasn't so and I won't read anything by this author so soon. Maybe one day I might see her work differently.

Grade: 4/10

TBR Challenge: Suzanne Brockmann - Do or Die

Navy SEAL Ian Dunn went rogue in a big way when he turned his talents to a lawless life of jewel heists and con jobs. Or so the world has been led to believe. In reality, the former Special Ops warrior is still fighting for good, leading a small band of freelance covert operatives who take care of high-stakes business in highly unofficial ways. That makes Ian the hands-down choice when the U.S. government must breach a heavily guarded embassy and rescue a pair of children kidnapped by their own father, a sinister foreign national willing to turn his own kids into casualties. Shockingly, Ian passes on the mission... for reasons he will not–or cannot–reveal.
But saying no is not an option. Especially not to Phoebe Kruger, Ian’s bespectacled, beautiful, and unexpectedly brash new attorney. Determined to see the abducted children set free, she not only gets Ian on board but insists on riding shotgun on his Mission: Impossible-style operation, whether he likes it or not.
Though Phoebe has a valuable knack for getting out of tight spots, there’s no denying the intensely intimate feelings growing between Ian and Phoebe as the team gears up for combat. But these are feelings they both must fight to control as they face an array of cold-blooded adversaries, including a vindictive mob boss who’s got Ian at the top of his hit list and a wealthy psychopath who loves murder as much as money. As they dodge death squads and play lethal games of deception, Ian and Phoebe will do whatever it takes to save the innocent and vanquish the guilty.

Comment: This is the first book in a new series, the Reluctant Heroes, which works as a spin off of the well known Troubleshooters, the series that made the author also known for more readers. This book was initially published in 2014 but there hasn't been a second installment yet.

The month of October in the TBR Challenge tends to be the month for paranormal or romantic suspense so I decided to pick something more along the lines of adventure...

In this book we meet ex Navy Seal Ian Dunn, someone who seems larger than life and who is in prison when the story begins. Why he is in jail might or might not be directly connected to the prologue where he and some fellow tam members successfully conclude a very specific mission. However, stronger governmental forces get him out of jail so he can help with a delicate situation and for that effect, that same day, he gets to meet his new lawyer Phoebe Kruger, someone he doesn't know and can't trust immediately.

Phoebe thinks Ian might be just one more brash military guy but there's no denying his allure. She insists in being part of the mission the government wants him to do so she can keep an eye on him. As the dangers amount and the secondary characters join the mission, will she and Ian give in to their attraction or not?

When the Troubleshooters series was at its peak among the readers, I was not yet aware of it. I've started reading the books late 2008 or early 2009 and devoured the ones published until then.

There was a two year hiatus and in 2011 there was another release, and then another one only in 2017. These last two weren't as vibrant as I remember the first ones to be. That means this spin off is the opportunity for the author's talent to shine but I can't seem to help thinking this is a (not totally successful) attempt to rekindle her lost momentum...

Two things to consider in this book (and her others): 1) the focus should be divided between the main couple and the plot and 2) the emotional content should glue the reader to what will happen next.

At least these are the elements I would highlight from her books. The stories are full of adventure, full of incredible situations quite difficult for the average person to imagine but the protagonists and their friends are strong and able and trustworthy to try and do their best while often also dealing with personal issues/feelings.

This, I would say, summarizes mrs Brockmann's books for me and I expected it from this one as well.

However, I would say her work has lost some of its appeal and I can't decide if it's one of those cases of "me, not you" or if she simply changed her focus into the wrong/weaker elements...

The plot is quite confusing and has several scenes with fights, with apparently complicated plans related to the saving of two children and the running from a bad guy and the deceit of another bad guy. Since the story is so long and mixes up different threads, at some point I got confused and simply started to read the action scenes int he diagonal. Let it be said the good guys win after a lot of planning and dodging the bad guys' attempts to get them.

For me, what made me read the books the most was the way the author did the character's interactions and how they revealed their personalities in every thing, especially in the personal/emotional situations they faced or dealt with.

I was looking for to have a good romance but also that sense of family and partnership and even camaraderie between Ian, Phoebe and the other good guys who were part of Ian's team. 

It was certainly good to get to know them all a little, Aaron, Sheldon, Martell, Francine, Deb and Yoshi (who had showed up in other books but I no longer remembered them) and even Berto, who seems to have been set to become a hero or a secondary one at some point.

The interactions between these people were all fascinating but in such a long book, they did seem too many, especially because too many things were on going.

Then the main couple's romance. For me it was done a bit abruptly. We have them spending time together, whether in calmer or adrenaline fueled scenes, but their connection for me never went beyond the superficial even when they discussed details to convince us it was not so. With so many pages I think more focus on them and not as much in all the secondary issues would have worked out better. Phoebe is a person not used to military scenarios so some of her behavior felt unlikely. Ian is such a fierce guy, I liked to see his softer side but he was a bit too perfect in some aspects and not as great in others.

I've seen some comments by readers who praise the author and others who have followed her writing for longer and they hint at some reasons why it feels things changed. Of course, everyone sees things in a personal way but thinking of some details, it does feel as if her writing was affected by her personal life. I don't really mind the messages she seems to want to convey but the stories don't have the same feel.

The suspense side of this book was not that difficult to foresee and the romantic element was not as easy to separate from all the other stuff happening.

So long has passed since this was published, I wonder if something else will come out. Some characters still intrigue me so I might try but time does dilute things...

Grade: 6/10

TBR Challenge: Alexis Harrington - Homeward Hearts

Chloe Maitland lives in a dying Oregon mining town and has given up her girlish dreams of love and marriage. What she needs is a man to answer her advertisement for a blacksmith to work in her shop and help save her home from foreclosure. Instead she gets Travis McGuire, an exhausted stranger who collapses in her yard, looking like the devil himself, and proves to be far more dangerous.

Comment: It's September already and today it's time for the TBR Challenge post (it's also my birthday and nothing better than to spend it with books). This month, the theme, which I always like to meet, or try to, is kicking it old school, which means something that was published 10 years ago or even before. 

I just can't help thinking it doesn't seem real that ten years ago was 2009. At that time I was finishing my master's, I was at the peak of my youth lol and now, ten years have passed. Because of this, I tend to think of ten years ago as if it was way before and that is why I chose a book published in the 90s and recently re-published in ebook format.

In this "oldie" by Alexis Harrington, we meet Chloe Maitland, a not so young anymore woman who is taking care of her house and the mortgage associated with it by washing people's clothes. She desperately needs help, though, so she puts an ad for a blacksmith but back in the 1890s, things took time to happen and when a man does show up to fill the position, she is wary since he arrives very sick and doesn't react that thankful when she and the doctor help him.

The stranger is Travis McGuire, an ex convict with secrets and the wish for a free life who thinks the time with Chloe's blacksmith business can be enough to let him get his bearings until the next thing comes along. He didn't count on this apparently uptight woman riling him up as no one else has done before and sparks do fly between them. But can two strangers become the closest of partners?

How incredible this story feels like those old western type of stories that seemed dated at a time and now they make me wish those were still the days... this is a simple story, with some tricky elements through the eyes of today's rules of behavior but that make all sense if one looks at them with the eyes of a romantic fantasy scenario. I liked this story a lot. It was not a perfect story but the time I spent reading was certainly well used.

The two protagonists did seem well matched. I think the author successfully proved they were attracted by giving us small but realistic little scenes between them way before any intimacy happened and the pace was believable too.

The romance developed in a good manner and of course my favorite aspect of it was how we got to follow their individual thoughts and they showed me two people afraid to take a step, afraid to just act on things as perhaps more contemporary people would but they still did the right thing and I got to respect them as characters. I rooted for them and what they had to do before any HEA could happen.

The plot isn't too complicated, it's obvious from the start Travis has some secrets regarding his time in prison and the bounty hunter looking for him. Of course Travis couldn't be the bad criminal we are led to doubt about here and there and although he does talk and act a bit roughly, he hides a tender heart and he starts to understand Chloe and like her for who she is.

Chloe might fear him at first but through his actions she starts to change her mind about him an when we finally have them exchanging confidences, their relationship does seem to evolve easily.

The secondary characters were a little cliché but I suppose the conflict had to come from somewhere, namely Evan, the man who hoped to marry spinster Chloe anyway and the vicar, who doesn't act anything like a religious man.

I'd say what made this not such a perfect story for me were the situations that were used to highlight the drama closer to the end of the book. I can see why the author chose to put her characters in those situations (meaning when Travis makes a decision for them both or when they act on their feelings despite the possible danger) but they don't always fit what the plot would need at that specific time to make sense. There was some interesting drama going on but I don't think it was always well placed.

Despite some flaws, this really worked for me as a romance. The hero is gruff and not always polite but he hides a heart of goal and we believe he will dedicate himself to his heroine.

She is not perfect, has always only counted on herself so it's nice to see her develop feelings for some who has her back. All in all, the most important situations related to the romance were positive for me.

The bounty hunter also has a story. I hope I can read it one day.

Grade: 8/10

TBR Challenge: Nadia Hashimi - A House Without Windows

For two decades, Zeba was a loving wife, a patient mother, and a peaceful villager. But her quiet life is shattered when her husband, Kamal, is found brutally murdered with a hatchet in the courtyard of their home. Nearly catatonic with shock, Zeba is unable to account for her whereabouts at the time of his death. Her children swear their mother could not have committed such a heinous act. Kamal’s family is sure she did, and demands justice. Barely escaping a vengeful mob, Zeba is arrested and jailed.
Awaiting trial, she meets a group of women whose own misfortunes have led them to these bleak cells: eighteen-year-old Nafisa, imprisoned to protect her from an “honor killing”; twenty-five-year-old Latifa, a teen runaway who stays because it is safe shelter; twenty-year-old Mezghan, pregnant and unmarried, waiting for a court order to force her lover’s hand. Is Zeba a cold-blooded killer, these young women wonder, or has she been imprisoned, like them, for breaking some social rule? For these women, the prison is both a haven and a punishment; removed from the harsh and unforgiving world outside, they form a lively and indelible sisterhood.
Into this closed world comes Yusuf, Zeba’s Afghan-born, American-raised lawyer whose commitment to human rights and desire to help his homeland have brought him back. With the fate this seemingly ordinary housewife in his hands, Yusuf discovers that, like the Afghanistan itself, his client may not be at all what he imagines.

Comment: The theme for August of the TBR Challenge is random pick. This seems a good euphemism for "anything you choose" and I'm curious to check other participant's posts and see how they interpreted this theme. For me, the random pick was something a little different from the usual contemporaries and historicals I tend to gravitate the most to. 

I chose this because I was also buddy reading it with my friend H. but I've got to say this wasn't exactly what I imagined it would be by the blurb.

In this novel, the author introduces us to Zeba, a woman in Afghanistan who is accused of murdering her husband. She is taken into prison, refuses to explain why she did it and she is given a lawyer to help with her defense. While in prison, Zeba learns many things about her family, her own self and the simple fact her conscience is the most personal things she can have.

The fellow female inmates she meets also cause an impact on her but her children, so affected by the tragedy, are left to be taken care of by her late husband's family.

Is Zeba telling the truth, did she not kill her husband? Or if she did, why would she do it? This is an intriguing story of love, dignity and honoring one's beliefs.

On paper, this novel had everything to work out: a likable heroine, a different setting to allow the readers to access a bit of a new culture, a worthy campaign to defend a woman without rights, characters motivated by what they have been brought up to believe... the problem for me was mostly due to pacing and my difficulty to enjoy reading about the characters.

What fascinated me the most about this book was the prose. This is the first time I try something by the author but I did like how she told the story, how poetic some passages were and how one could imagine the Afghanistan she described. It's a bit difficult though, because of what we see on television, with so much destruction and desolation, but her words made me imagine a different reality, where things could be as standard as in any other country.

However, at the same time the prose was beautiful, some passages and their descriptions were boring. The book is long enough because some situations just drag and I don't mean Zeba's legal issues that we know would always take a long time to be solved, just as they do in western countries. I mean how each situation is excessively explained and developed to the point where I felt the "hidden messages" if one want to call it that, were lost because the reader couldn't really take time to think about them. 

Some situations dragged and were boring to read and I think another issue here is the attempt to make this story more literary than it had to. I guess if this was just a contemporary novel about Zeba, mixed with the inevitable (and desired!) cultural references/settings this could have been so much richer. But with the - I suppose - need to write in a more polished manner at times, things just felt out of place.

The cultural aspects were probably my favorite detail, at the same time they are so unfair and frustrating to read about. I think everyone knows the life for women in some countries is just not fair and justice is still done in such a unimpressive way that I often felt like going there and shake everyone and make them see reason! How frustrating indeed.

Zeba and the other imprisoned women embodied how things are perceived there and many are in prison for reasons we would never consider right or equitable in our "free" countries. I think this aspect of the story was well achieved, as was the attempt of the lawyer to do right by his client but the way of things, the "rules" of the honor system of that country that sees women as weak and not equal to men is a punch in the face for how difficult it is to fight fairly for justice.

Zeba's character is intriguing but I almost felt like she was the role model to a situation rather than a character whose personality I would be interested in nor someone I could imagine meeting in real life. Yes, she is an idea of someone who could live there and go through that complicated process but I still managed to maintain my distance from who she was.

The secondary characters weren't fleshed out as I imagined. We were told about them and their hopes, dreams, experiences but very rarely I felt I was connecting with them.

Since the book was more on the lines of literary work rather than romance or mainstream fiction, the end surprised me because it was not very realistic in regards to what had happened so far. I'm glad things ended up relatively well but but at that point I expected a bigger climax and things were solved in a unlikely fashion, I'd say. The writing is beautiful and evocative in the last chapter but... this was not as absorbing as I imagined when the story begun.

Grade: 6/10

TBR Challenge: Molly O'Keefe - Can't Buy Me Love

A girl from the wrong side of the tracks, Tara Jean Sweet knows that opportunity will never knock; she’ll have to seize it. Elderly Texas rancher Lyle Baker has a dying request: He will give Tara Jean a stake in his leather business in exchange for a little family subterfuge. All Tara Jean has to do is play the part of a gold-digging fiancée to lure Lyle’s estranged children home. The mission is soon accomplished. 
Now Lyle’s gone—and his ridiculously handsome son, Luc, an ice hockey superstar sidelined by injuries, is the new owner of Crooked Creek ranch. He’s also Tara Jean’s boss. But being so close to sinfully sweet Tara Jean does crazy things to Luc’s priorities, like make him want to pry her deepest secrets from those irresistible lips. But when Tara Jean’s past demands a dirty showdown, will Luc stay and fight?

Comment: Time does seem to pass very quickly and it's again time for the TBR challenge post of the month.

This time, the theme is contemporary, which could encompass a huge variety of titles. I picked a long standing book in the pile for no special reason except it would fit the theme.

In this story we meet Luc Baker, a professional hockey player whose career is about to end because he has a brain injury that, as more hits he gets while playing, the more serious it can get. He is angry he is being forced to end things before he won the major cup in the sport and even more so when his father, a man he never respected and who hit him when he was a child, decides to marry a gold digger.

Tara Jean Sweet is certainly not a gold digger but she needed the money Lyle Baker offered so she accepted to play the role of a vain, empty headed woman only interested in money so Lyle could reunite with his children before he dies. 

The plan only works to some extent and Tara and Luc don't get along at first but the more time passes, the more attracted they feel and the more time they want to spend with each other. If only Luc could see past his own doubts and someone from her dubious past didn't suddenly show up to make things worse...

It's the first time I've tried a book by this author. I saw great reviews some years ago and that is probably why I thought to add it to my TBR but it has been waiting a long time. 

I had no real expectations about it, the only detail I had fixed in my head about the book was the fact the heroine wasn't what others thought of her and this "trope" usually is one I tend to like, if done well. She was not in disguise but those around her imagined the was more spoiled and vain than what she really is.

The idea of this story was cute enough. However, the older man Lyle wasn't a nice person while he was younger and able and he seriously mistreated his children. This means the possibility of having Luc and his sister Victoria going through a dramatic turn in the relationship with their father was lost and, for me, made things a little too unconvincing between them and after Lyle dies. I mean, the biggest point of conflict is gone, so what is left is the character's own behavior and self doubts and issues which could be a little too annoying at times.

From early on, the focus is on Luc and Tara as individuals. they feel attracted, it's clear they will develop a relationship and while I liked some steps of it, I couldn't avoid thinking they made many things, took some decisions behind the curtain. I mean, they would do things and the reader would know about the outcome later on or in another chapter. 

This wasn't happening all the time but it also reminded me a bit of Susan Elizabeth Phillip's writing style. The heroine is often a beaten down woman, whether financially, emotionally, physically and she finds a new strength in her dealings with the hero and those she accepts closer to her (like Tara accepted Luc and his mother Celeste, the housekeeper Ruby, etc) and she often would do stuff that would have a repercussion later on, like her decision in the end regarding the business deal that was so important to her and that we only see what happens after.

The romance wasn't anything special, I thought. They weren't getting along at first for obvious reasons and despite Tara Jean pretending to be more arrogant than what she is, I felt the balance wasn't achieved in all their interactions. They were a match sexually and we saw how they tried to connect emotionally as well and although this was obvious in some scenes, it was not in others. I just felt their relationship moved on too quickly for the type of personality they both had. It wasn't as easy to believe such headstrong people, with serious issues in their lives would want to be that vulnerable with one another so soon, even outside of sex. Still, I'm glad they got happy, of course, and I can say several scenes were good enough to make me keep reading.

Some decisions they took through the novel were a little annoying to me. How Luc put his life in jeopardy over a situation he couldn't control (how certain are you that in a team sport, you can determine the outcome of a season?), how Tara had a problem from her past and in a point she was having bonding scenes with the hero, she didn't trust him with that when they had discussed similar details... I can understand these inner conflicts help the plot move on but then, when things are solved and the HEA approaches, it feels a little uneven.

The secondary characters were mildly interesting. Eli, for instance, was mysterious enough for me to ant to get his story right away. His HEA, though, will be with Victoria, Luc's sister. We get plenty scenes with her and it's obvious she feels guilt and shame over something not her fault and her path will be one of self discovery but I admit I found her irritating here...

As for the major problems Luc and Tara Jean face, in the end there's nothing true love can't deal with... it was the expected ending but I finished the book and thought I certainly expected some more magic and romance from this. I might read the other two books in this trilogy one day...

Grade: 7/10

TBR Challenge: Kate Noble - The Game and the Governess

Three friends. One Wager. Winner takes all.
The Earl—‘Lucky Ned’ Ashby. Pompous, preening, certain that he is beloved by everyone.
The Miller—John Turner. Proud, forced to work as the Earl’s secretary, their relationship growing ever more strained.
The Doctor—Rhys Gray. Practical, peace-loving, but caught in the middle of two warring friends.
Their wager is simple: By trading places with John Turner and convincing someone to fall in love with him, Ned plans to prove it’s him the world adores, not his money. Turner plans to prove him wrong.
But no one planned on Phoebe Baker, the unassuming governess who would fall into their trap, and turn everything on its head…
Three best friends make a life-changing bet in the first book in a witty, sexy new Regency trilogy from acclaimed author Kate Noble.

Comment: I have had this book in the pile for about two years but since this month the TBR Challenge theme is Historical, I decided to go with it, although, to be fair, there was quite a lot to choose from. This is the first book of a trilogy and I got it because it featured a governess and a lord and I tend to like different class tropes in historicals and I figured, if I ended up liking this one, there were potentially two more to add...

In this story we meet "lucky Ned", the earl of Ashby, a man who has grown up with a poor mother but ended up inheriting the earldom at a very young age and that has affected his personality so now he is known to be careless, funny and optimistic and a little cocky everyone else likes him.

To prove this against his much more serious and reserved friend John Turner, they agree on a wager to determine if Ned will be able to make a lady fall in love with him without the back up of his title. 

The wager isn't completely innocent for the two friends but they go into it with the disguise of a lark and they trade places during the time it will take to deal with a business meeting that the earl is supposed to attend in the country, near the place where he grew up but where he hasn't been since then.

However, things don't go as smoothly as Ned and his friend intended and, in the end, which one of them could be more surprised by how the wager is settled?

Obviously, this being a romance, the focus isn't only on Ned and the wager with his friend from the war but also on the romance with Phoebe, the governess in the house where they are staying for there wasn't any proper place for a lord to stay except in the house of the most distinguished/important man near the property they would be discussing.

I'm saying this because it's not until 30 or 35% of the story that the main couple meets properly and starts interacting. I confess I found this amount of pages to be weird. I suppose the author wanted to establish the situation, prepare things for the plot to develop in a believable manner but I'm certain there would have been ways for them to be aware of one another sooner, especially since Ned was playing the part of the secretary.

This sort of delay helped to explain several things but then it made the romance feel a little too quick from a certain point on. Since it took time for them to trust one another, I would say the end was a bit rushed in how they dealt with one another.

Despite this, I was satisfied enough with the way the relationship progressed although, to me, the way Ned and his friend were "discovered" by the others was not as dramatic or emotional as I envisioned thinking on the way things were, romantically and how it would affect what the heroine felt about him.

The story is much more serious than what the development implies. There are some secondary characters which are used mostly to diffuse the main plot. They can be both a comedy relief and a means to crate a situation. This situation often felt so obvious that I couldn't help but think of them as props.

I also would imagine they would be a good way for Ned to be aware of what it's like to be invisible as often servants are but apart from the notion he wasn't as considered by the others as he would have had he been in his own skin, this wasn't as stressed out as I imagined. After all, the biggest hurdle in the different class trope is precisely how one element is perceived by everyone else. I thought this wasn't as exploited as it could have but then again, with so much already on going...

The main characters, Ned and Phoebe, were well developed in my opinion. If they worked out as well as a couple I'm not certain, but individually I liked who they were quite well.

Ned comes across as a little flaky, a bit arrogant, unaware of others might feel but I liked to understand he actually has deep thoughts and feelings but his attitude as a careless man is all but a role he plays, a mask he wears. Throughout the novel we get to see why he avoids seemingly serious issues and conversations or disguises them with comedy and his often "brilliant, marvelous" comment. I think the author could have gone even further with his character and, in the end, I don't feel his redemption was as well achieved as it should.

Phoebe was an amazing heroine. She was practically perfect because she has learned what it was to be on top and come down quickly after her father's demise. I can understand her anger and her hopelessness in the beginning. Also her resignation when the plot really starts. I especially liked how she reacted to Ned's first attempt at seduction and how steady she was in defending her position as the vulnerable side of the pair in case things went wrong, I really liked how aware she was of her position and how she wasn't silly just because she liked Ned. Therefore, when they finally admit their feelings, I expected a different decision from her regarding being intimate with Ned and I can only imagined the author wanted to increase the drama.

I would say this story works in several details. I liked the main character's personalities and how they evolved and I think some relationships were quite intricate (like Ned and his friend John) and offered interesting things to think about. I liked the pace from the moment the protagonist start interacting.

However, for most of the plot, a few of the characters seem to be in a constant state of manipulating someone, even if one can accept they had good reasons, and that made the story a little unfair to me as well as it brought down the end a bit. The classic situation of having enjoyed some parts and not others.

I'm debating if I want to rad the other books. I feel curious about trying another story, just to see how the writing style continues but it would also be true that I don't consider this to be a priority. Perhaps later on the year or next year...

Grade: 7/10

TBR Challenge: Sarina Bowen - The Year We Fell Down

She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead.
Across the hall, in the other handicapped-accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He’s way out of Corey’s league.
Also, he’s taken.
Nevertheless, an unlikely alliance blooms between Corey and Hartley in the “gimp ghetto” of McHerrin Hall. Over tequila, perilously balanced dining hall trays, and video games, the two cope with disappointments that nobody else understands.
They’re just friends, of course, until one night when things fall apart. Or fall together. All Corey knows is that she’s falling. Hard.
But will Hartley set aside his trophy girl to love someone as broken as Corey? If he won’t, she will need to find the courage to make a life for herself at Harkness — one which does not revolve around the sport she can no longer play, or the brown-eyed boy who’s afraid to love her back.

Comment: Time does fly and it's time for another monthly TBR Challenge post. For May the theme chosen is Backlist Glom, meaning something by an author with more than one book in your TBR. I could have certainly have chosen countless authors, that's a given because like many of you there is a lot I haven't yet read and in some author's case I have series to go through.

I picked Sarina Bowen because I've counted 5 books by her in the pile and I thought contemporary would be a good choice since I like to alternate the genre of the books I read so I don't get stuck with one specific genre for long.

In this first book of the Ivy Years series, the author has gone on an interesting journey with a couple not often seen in romance: the girl is in a wheelchair and he has to wear crutches.

Corey is about to start college but she imagined she would be a hockey player and not a wheelchair user. An accident has made her injured and although she can eventually get the use of her legs again, she won't be able to play the game anymore. However, she had the goal to attend the same university as her older brother and she won't let her handicap stop her.

Adam Hartley is a hockey player but he has a broken leg and is recovering by having the use of the handicapped room in front of Corey's. The two connect over the difficulties of managing the campus when everyone else rushes and climbs stairs so easily. 

The two seem to get along perfectly but Hartley has a girlfriend and Corey wouldn't want to have others take pity on her. Still, they do spend a lot of time together and some things can be inevitable.

We are told things alternately between Corey and Hartley's POVs. I'm actually glad this is so because so often in the new adult genre the girl has the most attention and what a loss that can be for the reader if the narrator isn't likable.

This is not the first book I read by this author so I kind of expected the writing to be a certain way. Overall, I liked reading this but it does make me think sometimes how really mature these characters can be. They are in the age gap between 18-25 (that's new adult for me at least) and probably what makes this author a good one is that the characters act this age but in a thoughtful manner. They aren't just silly people doing nothing, they do act somewhat maturely for the life experiences they are supposed to have lived.

The plot isn't complicated. Basically we follow what happens between Corey and Hartley as they get to know each other and we see the characters surrounding them interact as well.

Seen like this, there wouldn't be a lot to be interested in, i suppose, butt he magic is on the details, on how we get to follow each character in their daily routines, in how we follow their thoughts as well and they aren't too perfect nor too unlikely to be real. 

I liked the often over exposition of contrary details, which I imagine are there to give depth to the characters' personalities: the almost perfection of their looks (both are obviously good looking, if not the most gorgeous ever) vs the self doubt in some aspects of their lives, namely if they are going to do what they aim for.

What probably makes me cringe a little is the intimacy side. It is positive that the author has chosen to add some sexual tension to their interactions but I can't help thinking it was so... obvious. 

I mean, of course the reader would expect that outcome, this is a romance after all, but Corey and Hartley themselves think about each other like that, even before acting on it. I'm not saying it's a bad detail, in fact it's quite normal to be attracted to someone else from the start and the emotion comes more slowly. I just think it's so repetitive to keep having scenes in which they (Corey more often) think about the other person for so long, with such determination and focus, with so much time being occupied with those thoughts. I can understand the point is to let the reader be aware of where things are but it sure can be a little annoying to have that so often. I already got the idea, no need to say/think/inner monologue that again!

This means that the cute part of the story (the setting and actions done by the characters) seems to always be placed in second stage behind the sexual aspects. Even in a romance that can be annoying because often the sex thoughts wouldn't really move the plot forward. The more innocent stuff, on the other hand, could show empathy and connection between two people. I'd say more little clues on sexual tension seen in the page would have been better than plain on thinking on it.

The physical limitations the characters face weren't as seriously developed as I imagined. The premise they had obstacles was a good one but the truth is that they do solve those issues later on, or get on that path. They don't have a permanent handicap, and that changes things too, it makes them easier too, of course.

I liked the relationships they had with their parents.

I liked the feel of college living with some details here and there, especially in interacting with some secondary characters.

Overall, I think this was an enjoyable read, the idea is a great one but the NA label and the public target certainly influenced the reason why some scenes were used and why some details felt like they were too easily solved or mentioned. I suppose it wouldn't be believable new adults would forge stronger or steadier relationships emotionally so quickly and at such a young age but in romance they always seem to be able to.

I do plan on reading the other books, to see where this is going.

Grade: 7/10

TBR Challenge: Rebecca Stott - In the Days of Rain

As Rebecca Stott’s father lay dying he begged her to help him write the memoir he had been struggling with for years. He wanted to tell the story of their family, who, for generations had all been members of a fundamentalist Christian sect. Yet, each time he reached a certain point, he became tangled in a thicket of painful memories and could not go on.

Comment: April is the month for "something different" in the TBR Challenge. I chose a non-fiction story because that is the usual difference in the things I read: I dedicate a lot more of my reading to fiction. 

I picked this book because the idea of reading about a cult (one that until the moment I got the book in my hands I had never heard about before) does seem fascinating, not much because of any weirdness those in it might have but because we are talking about people like anyone else so my fascination is more centered on the whys rather than the hows.

In this memoir/non fiction, the author writes about her experience growing up within the strict boundaries of a Christian sect whose more obvious distinction from the so called "normal" society was how they avoided talking and eating with others due to their belief everyone else is a sinner.

The author centers her tale around the history of her family and how they joined this initial group of people into having a different way of life and the slightly creepy way how things evolved from such a simple and humble position in life into such a restricting and separate way of behaving.

I suppose many people have heard about cults or sects or organized groups (religious or not) of a certain smaller dimension that have made their path opposed the majority. If these groups were just a bunch of people living their life with one or two distinguished details from the others, no one would really care. To some degree and to give an example, we have fan bases of musicians who defend or support their preferences with quite a will.

But of course what the common public usually likes about sects or cults is how different their rules are and the possible unimaginable steps those people take to follow them. In a way we also like to know about the shocking ways some of those groups behave and it's human nature to be interested in sexual content, so some of the groups whose tales come out regarding that are also often more interesting and debated.

In this novel, the Exclusive Brethren (one can look up information about it online) is portrayed as one group of people in the 19th century that decided the way people were living and behaving was not according to the Christian faith they followed. Therefore the idea was for them to separate from others in how they behaved, in how they talked but of course not really caring about other's opinions and without hurting anyone not like them.

With time things progressed and, as it often happens, the ideas and demands of those in charge got to be a conflict with the original message. From then on, the group got more and more separate from the rest of society and the biggest problems started.

It was also interesting to think about how these organized groups operate and make people do certain things, how justified those things can be for people to stop thinking for themselves in order to be part of a group. In a way, all groups do it (whether religious or other kind) but which is the last line between being part of something willingly or due to brainwash?

I liked reading this book because this is clearly a personal story and the information given does come across as more intriguing because we can see how important it is for the author and how much more empathy we get by knowing it's a true story.

I think my biggest problem with the reading process is that the author besides giving her story and that of her father within the group, she also gave a lot of information about her family, obviously to create a base for what was to come and to explain why her family, specifically, was a part of the sect. The thing is, so much information became a little boring at first and although the sometimes lyrical writing is beautiful, it can also be a little too whimsical for the type of story.

With this I mean that (and going back to what I wrote above) this is not a book about the scandalous acts of those within the group during its "darker" stages despite that being the probably first expectation of a reader. I liked knowing about the author but yes, I'd say she took a long time to get to the information she wanted to convey.

This book begun as an attempt to follow her father's wishes of writing about his own experience. Since her father died before that, she decided to do it herself. This also means a good part of the book is focused on the role her father had within the group and as an individual. I think the most fascinating and emotional sections were the last ones, when the family had to deal with the notion of faith. After some happenings that made the sect more famous, many elements decided to leave. 

I found myself more interested in the faith issue: after a life dedicated to those beliefs, to that system of behaving, how can people move on after they lose their faith? I know there are other books on this, I'm going to look for them at some point.

In general, I'd say this book makes one think about several aspects, both related to the cult depicted here and the sort of philosophical questions one can imagine regarding faith and belief. The modern woman in me also rebelled about the role women have in such a cult, namely the submissive and silent one. There's a lot of food for thought here but I guess I can divide the story like this: the content is fascinating and intriguing and here and there some details can seem creepy. The writing and the style sometimes make things look less appealing. Of course, it can all depend on personal preferences but for people not yet familiar with cults or such a type of living, this could work as a good introduction to this subject.

Grade: 7/10

TBR Challenge: Mimi Matthews - The Matrimonial Advertisement

Helena Reynolds will do anything to escape her life in London, even if that means traveling to a remote cliffside estate on the North Devon coast and marrying a complete stranger. But Greyfriar's Abbey isn't the sort of refuge she imagined. And ex-army captain Justin Thornhill--though he may be tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome--is anything but a romantic hero.
Justin has spent the last two decades making his fortune, settling scores, and suffering a prolonged period of torture in an Indian prison. Now, he needs someone to smooth the way for him with the villagers. Someone to manage his household--and warm his bed on occasion. What he needs, in short, is a wife and a matrimonial advertisement seems the perfect way to acquire one.
Their marriage was meant to be a business arrangement and nothing more. A dispassionate union free from the entanglements of love and affection. But when Helena's past threatens, will Justin's burgeoning feelings for his new bride compel him to come to her rescue? Or will dark secrets of his own force him to let her go? 

Comment: This month the theme for the TBR challenge is Favorite Trope. This book has a little mix of several tropes I usually enjoy in romances, such as the beauty/beast, mail order bride and marriage of convenience, heroine who needs help, protagonists who can act shy... perhaps it's more of a mix between tropes and plot devices but all together made me really eager to try this book and, as it probably happens with all readers, I imagined certain scenarios in my head of where this might lead...

In this story we meet Helena Raynolds, a woman who replies and accepts a marriage proposal in the newspaper and travels from London to north Devon in order to meet her future husband. Helena is desperate to find a home faraway from London and when she realizes her husband to be is Justin Thornhill, a man who used to be a soldier and was in India just like her brother, her hopes get high she might escape what chases her.

Justin only wanted a wife with no fuss, no courtships and complicated steps so he agreed with his solicitor to put the add on the newspaper. Having been badly burned while in India and living in a place in need of work, with no balls and no parties in the horizon, he hoped his wife would be someone a little older and without much vanity. Helena is beautiful and refined but he still accepts marrying her because he knows she is a woman in need of help and he wouldn't be able to ignore that. Can they find enough common ground to make their marriage work?

If readers were to pile up the elements in the books they read and divide them by likability, regarding this book I'd have a good sized pile with positive aspects.

However, thinking about the set and the final picture, to say so, this book felt a little too bland in the romance aspect. In part it's the fact this could be labeled clean by some people, the protagonists only kiss, but then there are a few passages, a few hints, a few intoned words that suggest differently and I don't think that, in general, cohesion was achieved.

Helena is a likable protagonist and Justin even more so, especially because he has that characteristic of some heroes which is the need to protect others even at their own expense, a factor often mentioned in the plot itself.

I liked Helena and I think the reasons she had, in an historical context, to run and seek protection, even through marriage to a stranger of whom she only required kindness from were understandable and well inserted into the story. It made me think about how people with diseases/conditions not yet understood or correctly diagnosed were treated and how some not ill people were caught in the unknown and mistreated.

I think the setting up of the main plot in Devon and of who Justin is and how Helena makes him come out of shell just by being herself were details the author thought of nicely. 

As a whole, the story was fluid enough and captivating to read about, the characters had their own unique features which I liked knowing about as the plot developed. However, when I had to stop reading for some reason it wasn't difficult. At the same time this was a fascinating story, with enough elements on the protagonist's pasts to make them a good match emotionally, there is some vibe or tone here that didn't make me appreciate the book as much as it probably deserves (other readers have better written opinions on why this book is a successful one).

In this book we have third person narrator but we can follow each protagonist's thoughts, often alternatively.

When the story begins - I had not seen this was also labeled "clean romance" - we get from the hero's thoughts that he wants a wife mostly for company and sex. The way things are written, it becomes obvious this would be an important part of the relationship for him (and I could imagine how it might bring them closer somehow) but as the story develops, his hero complex takes precedence and nothing happens between them except kissing. 

I can understand the author's choices in how the romance was conducted. But at first the tone was so insistent on a subject that the fact it got practically ignored until the very end felt like it didn't matter. If so, why bringing it to the open? The story could have been focused on Helena's plights the same without it. 

This might be a minor detail for some, but for me it affected how I saw what was happening. To be clear, I'm not saying the story should have had sex scenes (although sexual tension could be sexy and clean at the same time) but if that is the way things were, then some details can be misleading or silly in the bigger scheme of things. That's why I said there are some hints and a certain tone in some moments of the story that don't seem to match the rest. I get it but still.

All things considered, this was a good enough story but there's some emotion missing, some notions I didn't see developed as I imagined when I read about the tropes and situations that would be portrayed here. Nevertheless, it's a good historical that touches several details most readers would enjoy.

Grade: 6/10