DUTY by Rachel Rossano is an action-packed romantic drama that promises a little something to tempt every reader. I give it two stars because while the plot was stirring and interesting, there was too much going on for one stand-alone novel. I think I would have enjoyed it more as two novels that allowed more time for detail and fleshing out the political and social plotlines.
In the novel, war has come to the medieval Rhynan. The king is dead and apparently, so are all the men from the village of Lady Brielle Solarius. She and all the women from her village have been given to a conquering army as a part of a cease-fire agreement. As a noblewoman, Lady Brielle is given to Lord Irvaine, a newly-titled earl.
Lord Irvaine has been given the daunting task of ruling Rhynan, which is complicated enough politically without the stress of inadequate provisions and the more personal pressure of getting to know his new wife. The current provisions won't last through the winter, and the perceived success or failure of Irvaine's marriage will have significant political ramifications. And this is only one part of the drama.
Overall, I enjoyed the novel, but it took me significant determination to get through it. In the beginning, there were a lot of names used without enough description of who or what they were in relation to everything else. Getting past that issue to understand the story was challenging. At a certain point I had to make up my own explanations so I could continue reading, and in the end, there seemed to be a lot of sub-plot lines that fizzled out instead of coming to fruition.
The romance was nicely done, making the novel okay for teens, and when declarations of love are made, they are fairly credible considering the circumstances.
This novel really needs another revision with an eye to clarify and simplify the plotlines. I would recommend a revised version to all readers who love medieval dramas.
**Review originally written for The Romance Reviews at
http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=14807
THE WRONG SISTER by Kris Pearson attempts to answer the question: What if you fell in love at first sight with the groom at your sister's wedding? While this is an intriguing scenario to explore, unfortunately THE WRONG SISTER is just all kinds of wrong. To be fair, I expected a serious investigation of the idea, even though the series, entitled Wicked in Wellington, invites the "Bodice Ripper" moniker.
In the novel, Fiona Delaporte has taken leave from her cruise ship employment to be with her wealthy brother-in-law, Christian Hartley, and her niece, Nicola Jane, after her sister succumbs to breast cancer. Fiona and Christian weather some crime and other health issues, and Fiona stays until her leave is over. The twist comes after Fiona returns to her ship, and as expected, there's a happy ending.
I did not enjoy this novel. In fact, I felt sorely cheated out of my personal time. (I acknowledge that my eternal optimism often keeps me chained to books drowning in their own dreadfulness.) Right off the bat, the reader is inundated with the tension between Fiona and Christian--tension which would be understandable if it were just two strangers being forced to cohabitate after the death of a mutual relation. There could be many possible underlying causes of that tension--one person wants to grieve alone, another person feels guilt for being absent from their loved one's life, one person wasn't supportive during their loved one's illness, another feels slighted by another person's response to the death of the loved one--but the tension here is entirely sexual. Each character ruminates over their romantic/sexual feelings for the other and also for the resulting guilt over those feelings. Neither demonstrates any depth of character via their ruminations. Rather, their obsessing merely demonstrates how shallow they are, as they both individually reminisce on their ONLY time spent together--one dance during Christian's wedding reception.
The characters' ruminations also causes the pace of the novel to remain in the sludge or molasses range. It was difficult to get past the first chapter, but again, my own idiosyncrasies forced me to persevere. There was no improvement in either the novel's pace or the plot's substance after the first chapter. Also, the romance in the novel is graphic, making the book suitable for adults. I give this novel two stars because it has potential to be revised and developed into a novel that is both serious and romantic.
**Review originally written for The Romance Reviews at
http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=11781
