My Rating: 1 star out of 5
If you like smut with barely any plot and horribly written characters, than look no farther, this is the book for you! God, I hardly know where to begin with just how bad this one is. And a part of me hates saying something like that because I know how much work goes into writing a story, but this was just a trainwreck of epic proportions.
Let's start by discussing the characters. In a typical historical romance trope, Simon needed the biggest dowry he could find, and Margaret (Maggie to her close friends and family who also happens to be an American) was "sold" by her father for a title. Where this book differs from others of the same trope, is that instead of trying to find some common ground, Simon leaves his new wife immediately after the wedding to go back to his mistress (who while she was the woman he loved, she was also married to another peer of the realm). Not only did he abandon his wife, but he even refused to consummate the marriage, saying that he never would because if he couldn't marry and have children with his mistress, he wanted neither.
Fast forward A YEAR. Yes, for an entire year, this man played house with another man's wife and apparently, no one batted an eye. At least until the mistress "was summoned back home" to her husband because he wanted an heir. Heartbroken because she left him, Simon takes himself off for a weekend of debauchery at a house party known for two things. Masks and anonymous sex. Unfortunately for him, his abandoned wife has decided to attend the same house party in order to cuckold her husband which she hoped would force him into divorcing her. Unfortunately for them, after a year of being apart, not only can they not recognize each others with the masks on, but they don't remember how the other sounds either because they end up sleeping together. Random stuff happens and they end up making an agreement. For the next month they will live together as man and wife. And because the only thing they have between them is disike, hurt feelings, and apparently amazing sex, at the end of the month they will go their separate ways.
Except two weeks into this arrangement, they begin to think they might like having sex with each other enough to stay together (to be fair we are told they start to like each other, they open up to each other, and we do get a glimpse of that potential here and there, but honestly its just more pages of them having sex at every available opportunity without actually forming a believable relationship outside of it). In fact, Simon seems to make it a point to remind her that he didn't want her as his wife. I kid you not at one point he asks her point blank "why are you being so good to the man who never wanted you?"
But of course, just as these two decide that the sex is enough (because I've still not seen anything that makes me think their relationship goes beyond this no matter what the author tries to portray), the mistress shows up. Apparently things did not go well with her brute of a husband and she needs a place to stay. And of course, Simon allows her to stay at his home.
To save you the trouble of reading, Elenor (the mistress) tries things with Simon in his bed-chamber, Simon kicks her out. But not before Maggie overhears "voices" in his room. She can't make out what is being said and she's too cowardly to burst in and see for herself what is happening. Instead, she lets the hurts fester. For his part, Simon gets drunk, Maggie confronts him and is too stupid to realize that her husband is now drunk on top of stupid, and believes that what she sees is his turmoil over still being in love with his mistress (which to be fair he IS, but Maggie doesn't know it as he swears to everyone including himself that he's not). Elenor then approaches Maggie and gives her the love letters that Simon has written to her over the years (although they aren't dated because why would anyone date a letter?).
Obviously, this upsets Maggie and she does the first sensible thing of the story and leaves his sorry ass. But of course, Simon can't have that, and he not only finally, I mean firmly, ends things with Elenor once and for all, he takes off after Maggie DEMANDING (and yes it is important to note that he DEMANDED) she come home. Only once they arrive they find out that Elenor has killed herself on his estate. Which of course sends Simon into a tailspin (even though by this point he has come to supposedly realize that not only was she not the woman he thought she was, but they he had come to have feelings for his wife). I think the worst part of this novel is when during all of this Simon tells his wife "I chose it for her. I left her. My God, if I had realized how delicate she was, I never would have gone."
If you had realized your EX would kill herself because you chose your WIFE over her, you would have let your wife leave you in order to stay with your ex? I'm sorry, this was supposed to be a romance right?"
It was at to the point he not only yells at and berates Maggie (who is only trying to comfort him despite his harsh words and her once again broken heart), that he also shoves her to the point she "trips and falls" (her words not mine). Of course this makes him realize he's a monster because he might hurt Maggie, so after he orders her to leave him (and she goes to bed), he then leaves her.
For a month. No communication. She had no way of knowing if was was okay, much less if he was coming back to her. But then in true this author makes me worry for her mental health if she thinks this is okay, Simon barges in on the place where his wife is, gives her more half-assed apologies, claims to be in love with her, then has sex with her. So of course, even though at first she holds out against him, his superior prowess in the bedroom wins out and I'm supposed to believe they live happily ever after? And fell in love?
I need to remember to add this author to my do-not-read list. As this is the second time I've been taken in by a decently written synopsis just to have trash to read.
