Meredith Duran

Part of my 2023 reassessment of books I read … so I rated this 4 stars because I thought Duran’s writing was compelling enough. But as I reread my notes and highlights, I’m feeling my rating should reflect my initial thoughts about the book - that I didn’t like it much, actually! I also think after having read an amnesia book that I really enjoyed in spite of disliking that trope (Sherry Thomas’s Tempting the Bride) I find how the amnesia was used in this book to be an even bigger weakness. 2.5 stars

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Original review: Amnesia books aren't for me, I don't think. They bore me! I am bored reading about how bad people are literally knocked into being morally upstanding while other characters are all, "ooh, ahh, this new version of so and so makes them soooo interesting and whatnot boringness bla bla bla". I actually much preferred Crispin Burke as he was first presented - the second born son of a Viscount who was dangerously ambitious. Jane was fine - she sure tried hard to be deceptive. I was drawn into the story at the beginning of the book, however it became a bit tedious after about 20% and the magic I felt from the first pages was extinguished. shrug.

I’m not sure the rest of this series will be for me so I may just focus on reading Duran’s standalone books. HOWEVER, I think Meredith Duran is an amazing writer which is why I gave this book 4 stars even though it really isn't for me.… (meer)