Romance
Description
What's a lady to do when the man standing in her way might also be the man of her dreams?
Henry Deeping and Kate Meacham seem to clash every time they meet. Kate is frustrated by the change in her status following the death of her grandfather, a legendary figure in diplomatic circles. As a lone single woman, she is now effectively nobody, even though she knows everyone and has made important contributions to diplomacy in the past. Henry, just joining the Foreign Office, is wondering how to make his mark.
They agree to an exchange—Henry will serve as Kate's escort to important events to which she is no longer invited, and Kate will introduce him to the important people she knows so well. But when they spot a foreign agent they thought had been apprehended, they decide to investigate on their own, enlisting a motley group of friends and relying on each other to uncover the truth…
3.5 STARS
While this was a well written book with good world building, I didn't like it as much as I had hoped. It did have it's good points though, and most of them I felt had to be with the people themselves.
It's pretty clear fairly early on that you underestimate Kate at your own risk. I liked the clever idea of Kate and Miss Daphne Palliser basically thumbing their nose to societies restrictions by living together. Each would be the chaperone for the other. Which they thought a ridiculous need, since they were smart, resourceful adult women not children. I liked Daphne and found her as unusual and resourceful as Kate.
What a creep Jerome Delaroche was, a thankless interfering one that Kate had thought had her back. He thought she expected marriage, while she had looked at him as a faithful brother. He proved to be a snob, social climber who thought needed no one's help. He actually resents the help that she gave him. She's the one that gave him his boost in his job.
Another person I didn't like was Henry's Uncle Brinsley. He might have been a power in the Foreign Office with years of experience, but still he just expected everyone to bow to his wishes. Well, he expected Kate to fade away but she wasn't one to meekly follow. One of my favorite things is a statement made by Daphne. She basically said, that power is not given but taken. That also set Kate's thinking in a new way and operating.
I have to say that Henry just might have been born before his time He was not trying to hold Kate back from who she was. I liked that. In fact, he found her fascinating as he got to know her more. He saw how clever she was and liked it even though others didn't. They began to work together as a good team.
It does have a good ending and epilogue with a unexpected way to the H.E.A. ending for Kate and Henry.
“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”
-NETGALLEY-
No comments:
Post a Comment