When Amelia Allenby escaped a stifling London ballroom for
the quiet solitude of the Derbyshire countryside, the very last thing she
wanted was an extremely large, if—she grudgingly admits—passably attractive man
disturbing her daily walks. Lecturing the surveyor about property rights
doesn’t work and, somehow, he has soon charmed his way into lemon cakes, long
walks, and dangerously heady kisses.
The very last place Sydney wished to be was in the shadow of the ruins of Pelham Hall, the inherited property that stole everything from him. But as he awaits his old friend, the Duke of Hereford, he finds himself increasingly captivated by the maddeningly lovely and exceptionally odd Amelia. He quickly finds that keeping his ownership of Pelham Hall a secret is as impossible as keeping himself from falling in love with her.
But when the Duke of Hereford arrives, Sydney’s ruse is revealed and what started out as a delicate deception has become a love too powerful to ignore. Will they let a lifetime of hurt come between them or can these two lost souls find love and peace in each other?
Book 3
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
B&N ~ Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
Avon – Harper Collins
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
The very last place Sydney wished to be was in the shadow of the ruins of Pelham Hall, the inherited property that stole everything from him. But as he awaits his old friend, the Duke of Hereford, he finds himself increasingly captivated by the maddeningly lovely and exceptionally odd Amelia. He quickly finds that keeping his ownership of Pelham Hall a secret is as impossible as keeping himself from falling in love with her.
But when the Duke of Hereford arrives, Sydney’s ruse is revealed and what started out as a delicate deception has become a love too powerful to ignore. Will they let a lifetime of hurt come between them or can these two lost souls find love and peace in each other?
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
B&N ~ Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
Avon – Harper Collins
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Erica – ☆☆☆☆
On the fence between three and four stars, so I rounded up to four because of how much I enjoy the author and the debut in the series.
Spoiler-Free Review
A Delicate Deception is the third installment of the Regency Imposter series. While in a series, I don't believe it would be difficult to read out of order, without any confusion. There is a connection between books one and three, the hero (Alistair) in book one is the brother to the heroine (Amelia) in book three, where we get glimpses of Amelia and Sydney in past books, but it doesn't truly affect reading this installment.
Amelia has anxiety, is a bit of an introvert and socially awkward, so obviously I felt the heroine was my spirit animal. I enjoyed reading about her in the previous installment, but there was something missing that I couldn't quite put a finger on during her narration. I enjoyed Amelia more as a side character than as the main character. Not to be insulting, as I did enjoy the character, I felt as if she didn't have enough story in her to support an entire novel herself.
Equally awkward, Sydney and Amelia were an adorable couple, developing a friendship of sorts, built on many run-ins where they slowly got to know one another. The connection was organic, cerebral, with deep conversations meant to form a bond. No spark. No passion. The romance aspect fell flat, because it felt more like a friendship than a relationship. While I felt their relationship authentic, I wasn't necessarily entertained by it, not as much as I thought I would when intrigued by both of them in past installments.
Attempting to be vague to avoid spoilers, this is where I'm on the fence between three and four stars: there are several plot threads that crop up during A Delicate Deception, but no overall plot from start to finish. Many seem to come out of nowhere, then fizzle out as quickly as they appeared, with more taking over the story. Several just felt unnecessary, muddling the story. It felt distracted, not focused, slowing the pacing down and removing my desire to know what happens next. It just felt like there wasn't enough meat to the story to support the page length, so new threads were introduced. At the halfway point, I felt the novel resolved, then it transformed from plot-driven to character-driven with no overall plot propelling it forward.
Cat Sebastian is one of my go-to authors in historical romance, eager to jump at the chance to read the newest installments. This is a case where the novel wasn't my cup of tea. That happens. Every book can't be a hit with every reader, especially with such a large backlist. This novel just felt as if it was missing the spark that engaged me, a crawling pace with less exciting characters and a meandering storyline.
Also Available in the Regency Imposters Series
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
B&N ~ Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
Avon – Harper Collins
For reviews & more info, check out our stop on the Unmasked by the Marquess Blog Tour.
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
B&N ~ Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
Avon – Harper Collins
For reviews & more info, check out our A Duke in Disguise post.
Cat Sebastian lives in a swampy part of the South with her husband, three kids, and two dogs. Before her kids were born, she practiced law and taught high school and college writing. When she isn't reading or writing, she's doing crossword puzzles, bird watching, and wondering where she put her coffee cup.
Connect with Cat
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Website ~ Goodreads
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of A Delicate Deception (Regency Imposters #3) by Cat Sebastian to read and review.
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments are reviewed by a blog admin before being published. We thank you for visiting our blog & leaving a comment.