Review: The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter by Mimi Matthews
Print Length: 226 pages
Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press (December, 2018)
From Goodreads.com: A WORLD-WEARY RAKE
After years of unbridled debauchery, Tristan Sinclair, Viscount St. Ashton has hit proverbial rock bottom. Seeking to escape his melancholy, he takes refuge at one of Victorian society’s most notorious house parties. As the Christmas season approaches, he prepares to settle in for a month of heavy drinking…until an unexpected encounter changes his plans—and threatens his heart.
A PRIM VICAR'S DAUGHTER
Valentine March is not the drab little spinster she appears to be. When her new job as a lady’s companion lands her smack in the middle of Yorkshire with England’s most infamous rake, she resolves to keep her head down and her eyes fixed firmly on her future—a future which most definitely does not include a sinfully handsome viscount.
A MATCH MADE IN SCANDAL
A friendship is impossible. An affair out of the question. But when one reckless act binds them together, will two star-crossed souls discover there’s more to each other than meets the eye? Or will revelations from the past end their fragile romance before it begins?
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My Rating: 1 star out of 5
Where to begin with this absolute train-wreck of a story. For one, it is in desperate need of another round of editing. There were instances where the wrong tense of a word was used, and other instances where the words (while historically accurate) just made the sentence sound weird (for instance instead of saying he was "in his cups" or "foxed" he tells her that he is "disguised?" Huh?
The characters were one-dimensional and unbelievable. Valentine comes across as naive and lacking any backbone whatsoever. She allows people to consistently speak ill of her (right in front of her) without making any attempt to even correct their misassumptions or stand up for herself. The whole story surrounding her birth makes no sense either. It seemed as though something that should have been obvious to everyone was easily overlooked (or maybe that was just the fact that it read like the author wanted to do something to make her a more suitable bride, I don't know).
Tristan is supposedly a rake of the worst kind, according to his father he's also basically little more than a waste of space. He doesn't want to do anything with his life (for no apparent reason I might add), and he's content to let the one property he owns falls into absolute disrepair because he prefers to live off his allowance from daddy (until his father says enough and cuts him off).
These two couldn't be more opposite of one another, and yet we're supposed to believe that these two have fallen in love with each other after just one kiss (during which one of them had admitted to being drunk)? Oh, and let's not forget the times Tristan calls her a "little idiot" and a "little fool" when she doubts him or his supposed feelings for her. Yup. That's just what I want to be called from a man who claims he wants to marry me. Get out of here.
The whole story tried to revolve around Tristan wanting to better himself for her, and in fact becoming a better man for her, when in reality we don't see any of this. He is told to leave her alone so that she may get her footing and experience some of what London society offers, but after a month, he's back in her life. He acts out of nothing more than his own desire for her, and the wanting to have her as his wife.
And then we are given an absolutely atrocious epilogue. Suddenly the entire book shifts from being told from the perspectives of the main characters to being told by a narrator. And we are TOLD that they were married. And TOLD that they have a child, but we don't get to see any of it. A solidly disappointing ending to an already disappointing book.
Where to begin with this absolute train-wreck of a story. For one, it is in desperate need of another round of editing. There were instances where the wrong tense of a word was used, and other instances where the words (while historically accurate) just made the sentence sound weird (for instance instead of saying he was "in his cups" or "foxed" he tells her that he is "disguised?" Huh?
The characters were one-dimensional and unbelievable. Valentine comes across as naive and lacking any backbone whatsoever. She allows people to consistently speak ill of her (right in front of her) without making any attempt to even correct their misassumptions or stand up for herself. The whole story surrounding her birth makes no sense either. It seemed as though something that should have been obvious to everyone was easily overlooked (or maybe that was just the fact that it read like the author wanted to do something to make her a more suitable bride, I don't know).
Tristan is supposedly a rake of the worst kind, according to his father he's also basically little more than a waste of space. He doesn't want to do anything with his life (for no apparent reason I might add), and he's content to let the one property he owns falls into absolute disrepair because he prefers to live off his allowance from daddy (until his father says enough and cuts him off).
These two couldn't be more opposite of one another, and yet we're supposed to believe that these two have fallen in love with each other after just one kiss (during which one of them had admitted to being drunk)? Oh, and let's not forget the times Tristan calls her a "little idiot" and a "little fool" when she doubts him or his supposed feelings for her. Yup. That's just what I want to be called from a man who claims he wants to marry me. Get out of here.
The whole story tried to revolve around Tristan wanting to better himself for her, and in fact becoming a better man for her, when in reality we don't see any of this. He is told to leave her alone so that she may get her footing and experience some of what London society offers, but after a month, he's back in her life. He acts out of nothing more than his own desire for her, and the wanting to have her as his wife.
And then we are given an absolutely atrocious epilogue. Suddenly the entire book shifts from being told from the perspectives of the main characters to being told by a narrator. And we are TOLD that they were married. And TOLD that they have a child, but we don't get to see any of it. A solidly disappointing ending to an already disappointing book.
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The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter is available from Amazon.com
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