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Secrets Of A Scandalous Marriage (2013)

by Valerie Bowman(Favorite Author)

3.9 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1250008972 (ISBN13: 9781250008978)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

St. Martin's Paperbacks

series

Secret Brides

review 1: *I won this book through Goodreads FirstReads Giveaways.*Actual rating 2.5 starsThis book...was just not my cup of tea. I found I could not really care for either the hero or the heroine all that much as they didn't feel like three dimensional characters to me. The hero was too perfect at first (and by the time that facade cracked a little, it was too late), and it never bodes well for the heroine when her most defining trait seems to be her beauty. I am not sure more than five pages went by at a time when we weren't reminded how exquisite she was.The book was slow to get going, but did get much better during the middle sections, before losing me again at the end. I think the murder was resolved way too easily and too soon, and the last quarter or so of the book was a bit ... moretoo melodramatic with the push and pull between the H/h for my personal taste. And...I'm actually pretty good at suspending my disbelief when reading, but there were instances in this book that really strained that ability. The whole ball thing was the biggest one. It totally took me out of the story.
review 2: I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.This was a fine example of not enough conflict in a story. Not with the characters, not with the plot...nadda. I had so many questions! Why would the Hero take a murderess into his home? Why was the pamphlet so important to drive him to risk his reputation...possibly his life (if she is a murderess) or the lives and reputations of those around him. It didn't make sense to me.The pamphlet was an obvious ploy to get him to want her under his roof...a trade he'd consider. Kate said she'd write the pamphlet if she could live the remainder of her life LIVING under his roof. Weird? Okay, he agrees, then throws her a ball, lets her make social calls with his close friends, has dresses made for her, allows her to wear family jewels...she's a murderess as far as they know! AND he hires investigators to solve the mystery...did she kill her husband or not. So he doesn't feel he KNOWS. It was all so ridiculous.He loses his house, his reputation, and all for a woman who, in the end didn't write the pamphlet, which was so important in the first place.Frustrating, slow, boring...pretty much a dnf since I had to skim so much of it.Sorry, Ms. Bowman, I know how hard it is to write a story. Thankfully, I see now, how important it is for characters not to get an easy ride. Crank the misery! It makes for a much better read. less

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