Sunday, May 25, 2008

Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase

I read like lightening, so any book that takes me longer than one day to read has something going on with it...could be good, could be bad. On a quick side note, too, I read The Duke and I (Julia Quinn) concurrent with this, so I'm having to think hard to keep the two of them straight.

Anyway. This was a good read, but it took me a while because, while the writing was wonderful and the story entertaining, it just didn't suck me in like usual. Which is a con, I suppose. There was never any doubt that I wouldn't finish it, it just moved at a leisurely pace; a pace I am not used to reading at.

So it took me two days to read this one. I have high hopes for the next two in the series (I love love love series books, but only if the whole series is out, as I hate hate hate waiting for books), as they have commanded some high marks. So here's a quick rundown:

I loved the older heroine, Mirabel. She's great, and at no point does she not behave like what she is: a 31-year-old, well-established, thoroughly intelligent woman, who is held in high regard by her family and community. I love how old she is, and how the author used her age to develop her as a character.

The hero, Alistair, was also well-rounded, and made a great match for Mirabel. He came off as younger than her (hell, he could BE younger than her, for all I know...I never did catch his age) which is fabulous, because he had so little experience with responsibility and she's just had so much, it would look odd if it weren't that way. And so much of these characterizations were shown and not told, that I really did love Mz. Chase's writing.

The plot was well thought out, and provided the right amount of movement for the story. There were some "revelations" near the end that I thought could have been incorporated better into the beginning of the story, though, and would have provided some interesting development of both protagonists' parents. It seemed a little tacked-on, to me, although it sat well with the story as a whole, it's just that the reader was not a party to the happenings, so when it was introduced, it sort of blindsided me.

But the writing was wonderful, and the relationships and the hang-ups, and the characters' individual issues and quirks were so well realized, I DID love reading the book. In the end, though, I had to give it a 3.5, because it seemed my attention just lulled, or something, and that is rare. But I'm looking forward to the next two, secure in my knowledge that they will make up for this lapse. You can check out Loretta Chase here.

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