I'm not one to write a bad review. As a writer myself, I know how getting a story down on paper is like revealing the deepest depths of your soul. But when I come across a book where the character's conflict is meager at best and the story jumps from one sexual encounter to another, I can't keep quiet.
I'd been looking forward to reading Bride by Mail by Katy Madison (Harlequin Historical, June 2014.) Here's the back cover blurb:
27-year-old fur trader seeks wife and helpmate."
Expecting a plain, dependable woman to reply to his advert, what Jack Trudeau actually gets is pampered fashion plate Olivia Hansson. There's no denying she's pretty, but patently ill-equipped for life in his simple log cabin—with its one bed—in the wild Rocky Mountains.
Olivia must make a success of her new life. But how to convince her skeptical husband that she is capable? She doesn't cook and only knows how to grow flowers, not practical vegetables! Undaunted, Olivia sets out to win his grudging admiration—and his closely protected heart.
Sounds good, right? But I was so disappointed. First, Jack and Olivia come across as two of the most insecure people on the planet. He worried that she'd want someone more civilized(though he'd been very upfront about his life as a trapper) and Olivia could barely tie her shoes much less handle life in the Colorado Rockies. The one thing these two had no problem with--sex, and lots of it.
Which made the whole book seem very episodic. Very disappointing.
I'd been looking forward to reading Bride by Mail by Katy Madison (Harlequin Historical, June 2014.) Here's the back cover blurb:
27-year-old fur trader seeks wife and helpmate."
Expecting a plain, dependable woman to reply to his advert, what Jack Trudeau actually gets is pampered fashion plate Olivia Hansson. There's no denying she's pretty, but patently ill-equipped for life in his simple log cabin—with its one bed—in the wild Rocky Mountains.
Olivia must make a success of her new life. But how to convince her skeptical husband that she is capable? She doesn't cook and only knows how to grow flowers, not practical vegetables! Undaunted, Olivia sets out to win his grudging admiration—and his closely protected heart.
Sounds good, right? But I was so disappointed. First, Jack and Olivia come across as two of the most insecure people on the planet. He worried that she'd want someone more civilized(though he'd been very upfront about his life as a trapper) and Olivia could barely tie her shoes much less handle life in the Colorado Rockies. The one thing these two had no problem with--sex, and lots of it.
Which made the whole book seem very episodic. Very disappointing.
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