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Unrivaled (Against All Expectations Collection Book #6): A Novel (2013)

by Siri Mitchell(Favorite Author)

3.7 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Bethany House Publishers

review 1: This novel starts out incredibly strong. Lucy Kendall has been on a year long tour of the continent. When she returns home it is to find her fathers confectionery on the brink of bankruptcy and her father a mere shadow of himself after a bad heart attack. Lucy wants nothing more than to create a delicious delight that will put City Confectionery back at the top of the candy competition in St. Louis. But to do that she will have to beat the Royal Taffy candy owned by a competing firm. A firm that had stolen the recipe to that candy, their prize money maker, from her father.When Charlie Clarke meets a girl he'd like to get to know a whole lot better he has no idea that that girl's family owns the rival confectionery in town. But proving to Lucy that he's a good guy proves d... moreownright impossible when the two companies begin an all out war for the city's sweets lovers. Normally it is the hero who cheats, badgers and steals his way through the book and has to come up with a big grovel at the end of the novel but in this case Lucy's family are the ones who lie, connive and cheat their way to the finish. I think I would have appreciated the grovel at the end more had it involved the whole family but only Lucy and her father are required to make amends and it feels as though they are being punished for being dreamers rather than for being cheaters. The most selfish character in the book is viewed as practical and gets off with nary a comeuppance. At the start of the novel I loved the whole look at the world of candy making, the fascinating look at St. Louis at the turn of the century and the romance between Charlie and Lucy. By the end I was so exhausted with their shenanigans that I couldn't cheer for them as a couple.
review 2: Loved the time period and the rivalry between the hero and heroine's candy businesses. I did not like how the romance was handled--basically nonexistent until the final third of the book and then it felt overdone and rushed. I also didn't care for the heroine's personality; she is a brat, for lack of a better word, and hard to like, so I wasn't sure why the hero liked her either. The hero, on the other hand, was very easy to like. His reasoning for doing the things he did and acting the way he acted felt completely justified, whereas the heroine just came off as selfish and whiny.Despite the flaws, it was an enjoyable read. The candy-making element and how businesses ran during that time period were clearly researched well, and I found it highly interesting. I could easily see this as a movie, too. I kept picturing the heroine as Rachel McAdams. Her character was very similar to Rachel's role in MORNING GLORY--self-centered, determined, and not making the best decisions along the way. Annoying, but I still wanted to see how things turned out for her.A solid 4 stars for this one, and I will read more of the author's work in the hopes that the romance part of it is handled better there than it was here. less

Download links for: Unrivaled (Against All Expectations Collection Book #6): a novel

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