Sometimes it's not the book, it's me. This was probably one of those times, as I put it down about halfway in and I don't usually abandon books after having committed that much time. With a plot of good-girl-going-sort of-bad, this felt to me like Sarah MacLean's NINE RULES but not as original. Most of the plot devices were just past my ability to suspend disbelief. For example, I could never believe that the hero was taking the heroine out on dates in order to woo her for his brother, who didn't have the time. That's just not a thing. For starters, the heroine was supposedly in such dire straits that she didn't need to be wooed. Second, that's not how relationships work... and the story does indeed hinge upon that fact. It's not that I didn't believe that the two of them were a good fit. It's because I did believe it that I didn't finish the book. I could see the ending and just hit fast-forward in my head. ( )

I liked Eleanor's character a lot, especially how she thought of blurry half-seen Alex as a tree. Some of her inner musings made me crack up laughing. I also love how she and Alex both grow and balance each other out from two extremes. She goes from someone who not only doesn't speak her mind but is so penned in by expectations of propriety that she doesn't even allow herself to think and feel fully. On the other hand Alex goes from someone known for his "blunt speaking" and learns to curb his tongue in deference to the feelings and reputations of others. I love that they both feel worthless and help each other find value in themselves, not just because someone else values them but for the people they truly are.

The gambling den scene seems awkward and irrelevant, like it was just stuck in there for filler. About three quarters into the book Alex thinks something like he loves the chaise-lounge red if her face now when he used to hate it. I didn't feel a hatred of her blushes was ever expressed in their early interactions, so that really stuck out as strange to me. Besides, why should such an easy going fellow HATE a lady's blushes, be they ever so red and though he thinks her ever so dim-witted? And, um, why did they all need to meet to strategize a plan of attack when it was decided that Alex would talk to his father and Eleanor would speak with her parents? How does speaking about their wishes to their parents help avoid a scandal for calling off the engagement? Another weird superfluous scene.

I adored this book. Megan Framptons characters are realistically flawed, lovable, and charming, and her writing is wonderfully witty. However I have to knock off a star for the repeated awkward scenes inserted as seemingly superfluous filler, making an otherwise streamlined storyline jerk off course briefly at repeated intervals. ( )