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missroseroseI like historical fiction, I like well-written romances between interesting people, and given its average rating on GoodReads (4.06 out of 5), this book seemed like a good proposition for both. I could have even dealt with a tepid romance if there were some properly juicy intrigue or fascinating historical tidbits. Unfortunately, I'm more than halfway through the audiobook and, while I keep thinking that the interesting part must be starting now, there really hasn't been anything holding my attention. The pacing could be charitably described as "deliberate" (although "funereal" seems more appropriate), and while we've gotten a Wikipedia overview of the historical period, the narrative hardly seems interested in personalizing any of the political machinations or social issues of the time, choosing instead to focus on the romantic aspects of both the modern and historical time periods.
And really, there's nothing wrong with that - again, I like romances when they're written well. But frankly, this one *isn't* written well. Neither Carrie nor Sophia are particularly interesting; neither seem particularly concerned about affecting their relationships or their surroundings, instead being perfectly happy to let their love interests take the lead. Said love interests are equally poorly developed; despite the fact that one's a historical figure, there's little to their characters beyond "strong handsome intelligent male willing to take charge". No quirks, no idiosyncracies, no unique thoughts or experiences or motivations - no real flaws, even, at least at this point in the narrative. The closest thing we've had to conflict was a misunderstanding between Carrie and her love interest that could literally have been cleared up with a single question that it somehow took two weeks for Carrie to ask. Yawn. Oh, and Sophia is being threatened sexually by the creepy gardener and has to be rescued by her love interest, because she can't possibly stand up for herself. Double yawn with a side of offensive.
To be fair, it's perfectly possible that things pick up in the second half and the ending is totally impressive and makes up for the lackluster start. But a book that takes more than half its running time to become interesting is still not a good book, and given the quality so far, I'll take my chances. D
And really, there's nothing wrong with that - again, I like romances when they're written well. But frankly, this one *isn't* written well. Neither Carrie nor Sophia are particularly interesting; neither seem particularly concerned about affecting their relationships or their surroundings, instead being perfectly happy to let their love interests take the lead. Said love interests are equally poorly developed; despite the fact that one's a historical figure, there's little to their characters beyond "strong handsome intelligent male willing to take charge". No quirks, no idiosyncracies, no unique thoughts or experiences or motivations - no real flaws, even, at least at this point in the narrative. The closest thing we've had to conflict was a misunderstanding between Carrie and her love interest that could literally have been cleared up with a single question that it somehow took two weeks for Carrie to ask. Yawn. Oh, and Sophia is being threatened sexually by the creepy gardener and has to be rescued by her love interest, because she can't possibly stand up for herself. Double yawn with a side of offensive.
To be fair, it's perfectly possible that things pick up in the second half and the ending is totally impressive and makes up for the lackluster start. But a book that takes more than half its running time to become interesting is still not a good book, and given the quality so far, I'll take my chances. D
