Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Captain Bradshaw Carroway is at a crossroads in his life. He loves his current mistress, the sea, but he is also hitting the beginning stages of burn out for his current life. When a sealed order from the Royal Navy and a request from the Duke of Sommerset send him on a mission he finds the perfect cure for his restlessness-a feisty, improper lady, Zephyr Ponsley. Miss Ponsley and her famous botanist father, Sir Joseph Ponsley are in need of transportation to the South Seas to examine the flora and fauna. Given the importance of their research, and with the power of the Royal Society, the Ponsleys receive one of the best captains in the biz.
Right from the get-go Shaw and Zephyr engage in a battle of words and wits. In their initial meeting, our heroine was more than willing to throw our hero into the "stupid brute" stereotype. Not one to turn down a challenge, Shaw came up with his fair share of witty retorts to her snobbish comments. Surprising Zephyr with his quick mind and quicker lips their verbal sword play became a highlight for this book. I found myself a few times at the droll banter of these two. Once these two establish that they are a match in the intelligence department they realize they are also physically attracted to one another. Shaw, an alleged rake does a very un-rake like thing and begins to court her like a proper lady. Well, at least as much as he can on a ship.
The real scene-stealer in this book was the action. You have cannibalistic, Dahmer-type natives on the islands, spiders the size of football fields in the jungles, and "The Perfect Storm" type weather on the seas. You wonder where they found time to fit in this courtship and the romance.
Well, Enoch really didn't. Didn't fit in romance that is. The action, subplots, and dialogue (even if it was witty and made me laugh) completely trumped any relationship developement/romance in this book. Now I'm not saying you can't have a fantastic plot and dialogue in a romance novel. That's not it at all. You just have to make sure you leave enough room for a little somethin'-somethin' to bloom, or you might as well just label it historical fiction. The sneak kisses and the passionate scenes just felt forced. It didn't work for me.
The other gripe I had with this book is Shaw's invitation to the Adventurers' Club. I know, I know...It is a somewhat petty and self-indulgent gripe to put in this review. But that invitation felt forced too! It was like Enoch wanted to bring in as many "blasts from the past" as she could, so she shoved Sommerset in this book. With it being Sommerset, she of course had to bring his club into it. If you bring his club into it, you might as well throw out an invite. Right? Silly! Then on top of it there was the little disgruntled speech from Mr. Thomas Easton about the only qualification needed to join the club nowadays was surviving rough seas. That just makes me think Enoch knew that Shaw had no business being in that club, but SHE decided to be self-indulgent and do it anyway.
If you are looking for an amusing tale with some engaging action and a smooch here and there...Buy this book! If you are looking for the next Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, you might want to keep on looking. This just isn't up to par with Enoch's usual work in the romance department.
Kiss or Diss? Too busy fighting natives, but meh...Give me a quick peck!
-Sarah of RomanticallyReviewed
Click Here to see more reviews about: Rules of an Engagement (Avon)
For proper young ladies, good behavior has always been the rule…
Captain Bradshaw Carroway loves the seafaring life-though he'd rather be battling brigands than his current assignment of ferrying a boatload of spoiled aristocrats. One passenger, however, has caught his eye: a bewitching young minx who definitely distracts him from the rules of shipboard decorum . . .
Some rules, of course, are meant to be broken.
Miss Zephyr Ponsley has traveled the world, but she's completely innocent in the ways of love. She's never learned to dance or flirt. But scientific observation has taught her that the laws of attraction have no rules, and that no adventure, on land or sea, is more dangerous-or delicious-than passion!
Click here for more information about Rules of an Engagement (Avon)
0 comments:
Post a Comment