I was surprised by how short this was! It's a cute story inspired by My Fair Lady, but it didn't have enough depth or character nuance to fully satisfI was surprised by how short this was! It's a cute story inspired by My Fair Lady, but it didn't have enough depth or character nuance to fully satisfy me. Enjoyable, but I would have liked it much more if it had been given space to get under the skin of these two characters....more
I enjoyed the first book in this series, so was excited to pick this one up when I saw it pop up on NetGalley (though apparently I somehow missed the I enjoyed the first book in this series, so was excited to pick this one up when I saw it pop up on NetGalley (though apparently I somehow missed the second!). It absolutely works as a standalone; though characters from the first two books do pop up, you don' t need to have read their stories to get on with this one.
Marguerite, the heroine is the third sister of the family on whom the series focuses - all three sisters were widowed at once by the war, and this is their second chance at happiness. For Marguerite, it's only really her first chance, as her husband was a nasty, abusive man who controlled her and physically hurt her. The hero, Jack, also has a tragic past, as his wife was murdered just outside their home about two years ago, and he has been left extremely anxious about the safety of his daughters. The two of them obviously have a lot of healing to do before they can even think about falling in love again, and the story follows the surprising ways in which they help each other get over the evils of the past.
I do like a romance with a governess heroine, and this has a particularly well-written relationship between Marguerite and Jack's daughters. The girls have been coddled and babied hugely, so they seem much younger at first than they are, but Marguerite really pulls them out of themselves and helps them to become much more personable. Jack's rules - put in place to prevent harm - are themselves harming the girls' development, and it's nice to see Marguerite come in and breathe some life into his stuffy regime. You really get the sense that Marguerite bonds with the whole family, not just with Jack. That being said, there's plenty of chemistry between Jack and Marguerite, and though their romance is a meeting of the minds, there's a great physical spark too.
Just what I want from Regency romance, really - heartwarming and easy to read, but with great characters you can really understand. I'll be going back to pick up book 2, and will continue to look out for the rest of this series!...more
I think I would have enjoyed The Storm Crow a lot more if I wasn't so burned out on YA fantasy, because the plot is extremely generic. I paused at theI think I would have enjoyed The Storm Crow a lot more if I wasn't so burned out on YA fantasy, because the plot is extremely generic. I paused at the midway mark and really struggled to motivate myself to pick the book back up again, because I could predict exactly how the rest of the plot was going to go (and I was right!).
I did like the main character, who is a typical YA heroine (princess forced into politicking for the sake of her land, special power no-one else has) but isn't so cookie-cutter in terms of being sarcastic and feisty. She experiences depression, which is a nice thing to see in a book aimed at teens, but I felt it was pretty much hammered home rather than being shown organically (at one point she yells at someone that she is depressed, which didn't ring true as something she would a) realise, b) state, and c) have a word for given the generally medieval state of medicine in the world. So, nice to have the rep, but it isn't very nuanced.
It's not a bad YA fantasy, by any means, and if you enjoy the genre then this is a really good example of it. But as I say, I've just seen one too many similar plots to have loved it....more
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