“Is that why you came here today, Miss Kincaid? Because you wish to hire me?”
“No, Mr. Wescott,” she replied coolly, turning to face him. “I came here today because I wish to marry you”
Actually, that wasn’t the real reason Catriona Kincaid tracked down the Navy hero turned scoundrel in Newgate Prison. What she really wanted was to be free to go to Scotland and track down her brother who had sent her to her uncle’s house in England for her own safety when their parents were murdered by conquering redcoat ten years ago. But with her uncle doubling her dowry and lowering his standards on who to marry her off to, her independence promised on her twenty-first birthday was looking slimmer and slimmer unless the man of her dreams for five years can come to her rescue again. For a price of course.
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So, the book is without a doubt really well-written. I actually preferred to pay attention to the words on the page instead of the TV blaring in the living room, which is a rarity. But while I found the story excellent, Catriona and Simon likable, and even the sex scenes good, I found the love story itself lacking.
Simon has had a rough past. Being an illegitimate son of a Duke wasn’t easy when he never could measure up to his brother, the heir to his father’s fortune and title. It didn’t help that his mother abandoned him on his father’s doorstep “for his own good”. It makes sense that his character was flawed, but he was a huge jerk to Catriona on multiple occasions. Even after falling in love with her, he was full of manipulation and plans to leave her destitute on her uncle’s doorstep while he took her dowry to pay off debts. When he let her run off into the woods and get pulled into the river while he got drunk, I decided I really disliked him. Once I have found the love interest an asshole, it’s really hard for me to find him as a good love interest no matter what he does in the rest of the book.
For that, I give the book three out of five stars. Historical romance readers who like complex characters will enjoy this book, especially if they are more willing to forgive characters than I am.
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