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Ein Unwiderstehlicher Spion: Roman (2012)

by Lecia Cornwall(Favorite Author)

3.67 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Blanvalet Taschenbuch Verlag

series

Secrets

review 1: This was a long drawn out book. It did not make sense that the heroine was a slave of her late husbands family; and there were hints that she accepted abuse at the hands of her brother-in-law. That she was forced to wear half mourning, could not read her own mail, and apparently can't even question the status of her own estates! That the Westerlake family did not pick up on this oddness immediately, seeing that Isobel Maitland was afraid to talk. That the Marquess of Blackwood, Phineas Archer did not recognize Isobels voice. Shaking my head.I thought this book would never end, it went on and on and ended with an unsatifying conclusion. Did she get her lands back? Was Lord Maitland hung for treason? Not even a marriage ceremony for Miranda Archer. In the end I thi... morenk the author could not keep up with all these plot details and just let us use our imagination. So not right.I have the next book in the series not sure if I want to read it.
review 2: I bought this novel based on the reviews on All About Romance (where it got a B) and The Romance Reader (where it got 5 out of 5 hearts), so I had great expectations. The novel has a promising plot: a beautiful, lively, and intelligent heroine who is forced to hide her looks and her personality to be allowed to remain with her child and a hero who is handsome, intelligent, and who sacrifices his own reputation in order to serve his country. I was engaged by their developing relationship even when I became impatient with his slowness in recognizing her as his secret lover; however halfway through the book my impatience turned to disappointment and by the last 100 pages to anger. I will detail the worst offenses below and I warn that there may be some SPOILERS ahead:1.A minor offense that was very irritating was the use of the hero's title as a sentence all through the book (in italics and sometimes with exclamation marks): Blackwood!2. The evilness of three secondary characters is described with a heaviness that hits the reader over the head repeatedly and painfully: Isobel's mother-in-law and brother-in-law are over the top: ugly, fat, EEEVIIIL, stupid, bad mannered, deranged, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever (the mother-in-law is so eeeviiil that she suggested that her second son should kill the eldest (presumably because he had become complacent and she wanted to attain more riches and social standing) and she is even willing to kill her own grandson herself). The mother-in-law's companion is also eeeviiil, mad, hateful, wrinkled, and unattractive.3. Marianne, the hero's sister, is an airhead who does not stop talking. I think that her character is meant to be endearing and funny, but her actions are so stupid and ill timed that I wanted to kill her. She is too stupid to live, insensitive, oblivious, and inane. When she is trapped with Isobel and in danger of being killed, her thoughts turn to making herself presentable and pretty for her husband when he inevitably rescues her, even though Isobel is in agony because she doesn't know if her son is dead or alive.4. Phineas, the hero, is supposed to be the most clever and resourceful spy of England, yet he comes across as unbelievably inept and slow. When he finally comes to a realization it is because it would have been impossible for anyone not to get it. This is true about his finally recognizing Isobel as his secret lover and at other points related to the conspiracy he is supposed to stop.5. The book is 371 pages long, but the relationship between Isobel and Phineas' does not develop beyond the sexual aspect. They lust, lust, lust for each other (sometimes at the most inappropriate and inopportune times), but they don't really get to know each other, because their lust never allows them to finish a conversation. Their sexual encounters are supposed to be hot and steamy, but I found them rushed, awkward, and underwhelming. On a side note, Isobel believes that she could lose any contact with her son if she misbehaves in any way or is involved in a scandal, yet she has intercourse several times and NOT ONCE expresses any concern about becoming pregnant. What?!6. I detest coincidences and contrivances used as resources to move the plot ahead, and sadly the author abuses them abundantly.7. As I mentioned above, the book is 371 pages long, yet the ending is rushed. The last hundred pages drag endlessly and unnecessarily in the resolution of the conspiracy. All this does is highlight the ineptness of the hero and the author's shortcomings in describing the action elements of the story. Due to this, the final moments between Isobel and Phineas are limited and unsatisfying. The anticipated final love scene, in a bed and naked at last (they never saw each other naked before), takes place off stage and we are only told about it.To summarize, the plot, the hero, and the heroine were promising; the writing was acceptable and showed potential. Sadly, the author lost her way and the story turned into a bad play with too much melodrama and not enough character development, depth, and coherence. Regretfully, I am not inclined to give this author a second chance. less

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