Title: Mask of Duplicity (The Jacobite Chronicles #1)
Genre: Historical Romance
Pages: ebook
Will Be Published: June 2015
Where I Got It: My shelf (Amazon freebie)
Following the death of their father, Beth's brother Richard returns from the army to claim his share of the family estate. However, Beth's hopes of a quiet life are dashed when Richard, dissatisfied with his meagre inheritance and desperate for promotion, decides to force her into a marriage for his military gain. And he will stop at nothing to get his way.
Beth is coerced into a reconciliation with her noble cousins in order to marry well and escape her brutal brother. She is then thrown into the glittering social whirl of Georgian high society and struggles to conform. The effeminate but witty socialite Sir Anthony Peters offers to ease her passage into society and she is soon besieged by suitors eager to get their hands on her considerable dowry. Beth, however, wants love and passion for herself, and to break free from the artificial life she is growing to hate. She finds herself plunged into a world where nothing is as it seems and everyone hides behind a mask. Can she trust the people professing to care for her?
The first in the series about the fascinating lives of beautiful Beth Cunningham, her family and friends during the tempestuous days leading up to the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, which attempted to overthrow the Hanoverian King George II and restore the Stuarts to the British throne.
It’s been a while since I’ve done this format, so why not give it a go for this review?
The Good
- Even though this book centers on Beth trying to find a hubbie, this didn’t feel like your typical HR book. There was an actual plot. The courtship was legit and felt real. Sometimes one needs in a romance.
- I liked Beth. At first, she seemed like a perfect character waiting to happen, but as the story goes along she wasn’t perfect which made me happy.
- Sir Anthony is the best. He seemed like just an atypical British dandy…but I grew to adore him.
- Same with Beth’s female cousins. They seemed bleh, but they were fun and I loved how they really did like Beth.
- I hate Richard. How is this a good thing? This story needed a baddie to get the ball rolling. As things went along, he did show a human side that he did feel a hair bad for the wrongs he did. GOOD! You evil, nasty fellow. *sticks tongue out at him and throws pebbles*
- The middle of the story was the best. The beginning was okay too.
The Bad and the Ugly
- That ending. Holy dragging on and on and on. Sure a lot of things happened, but OMG I just wanted it to end.
- There are FOUR MORE BOOKS IN THE SERIES ABOUT BETH AND HER HUBBIE! WHAT? WHY? Ugh. I feel like this was good enough as it is. Maybe the others are good too? But I just feel like this good enough and maybe there could’ve just been an epilogue.
- Richard. Yes, I said I liked his character, but then I loathed him and one scene really, really bothered me. I feel the writer didn’t need that part…I felt it was too much and not realistic. Any other lady would’ve run away screaming to the police or priest or someone. It bugged me.
- I’m not really sure if I liked Alex’s POV. Hard to say why without giving it away, but I honestly think there could’ve been a different way to go about this that made it more of a shocker and a twist! It was easy to figure out and connect the dots.
Overall
This was a fun story about a lady trying to make it in the world of political unsteadiness. I enjoyed Beth and her journey. I am torn. I wouldn’t mind reading more, but the story dragged at the end, so I am unsure. I’ll stamp this with 3 stars.
Beth is coerced into a reconciliation with her noble cousins in order to marry well and escape her brutal brother. She is then thrown into the glittering social whirl of Georgian high society and struggles to conform. The effeminate but witty socialite Sir Anthony Peters offers to ease her passage into society and she is soon besieged by suitors eager to get their hands on her considerable dowry. Beth, however, wants love and passion for herself, and to break free from the artificial life she is growing to hate. She finds herself plunged into a world where nothing is as it seems and everyone hides behind a mask. Can she trust the people professing to care for her?
The first in the series about the fascinating lives of beautiful Beth Cunningham, her family and friends during the tempestuous days leading up to the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, which attempted to overthrow the Hanoverian King George II and restore the Stuarts to the British throne.
It’s been a while since I’ve done this format, so why not give it a go for this review?
The Good
- Even though this book centers on Beth trying to find a hubbie, this didn’t feel like your typical HR book. There was an actual plot. The courtship was legit and felt real. Sometimes one needs in a romance.
- I liked Beth. At first, she seemed like a perfect character waiting to happen, but as the story goes along she wasn’t perfect which made me happy.
- Sir Anthony is the best. He seemed like just an atypical British dandy…but I grew to adore him.
- Same with Beth’s female cousins. They seemed bleh, but they were fun and I loved how they really did like Beth.
- I hate Richard. How is this a good thing? This story needed a baddie to get the ball rolling. As things went along, he did show a human side that he did feel a hair bad for the wrongs he did. GOOD! You evil, nasty fellow. *sticks tongue out at him and throws pebbles*
- The middle of the story was the best. The beginning was okay too.
The Bad and the Ugly
- That ending. Holy dragging on and on and on. Sure a lot of things happened, but OMG I just wanted it to end.
- There are FOUR MORE BOOKS IN THE SERIES ABOUT BETH AND HER HUBBIE! WHAT? WHY? Ugh. I feel like this was good enough as it is. Maybe the others are good too? But I just feel like this good enough and maybe there could’ve just been an epilogue.
- Richard. Yes, I said I liked his character, but then I loathed him and one scene really, really bothered me. I feel the writer didn’t need that part…I felt it was too much and not realistic. Any other lady would’ve run away screaming to the police or priest or someone. It bugged me.
- I’m not really sure if I liked Alex’s POV. Hard to say why without giving it away, but I honestly think there could’ve been a different way to go about this that made it more of a shocker and a twist! It was easy to figure out and connect the dots.
Overall
This was a fun story about a lady trying to make it in the world of political unsteadiness. I enjoyed Beth and her journey. I am torn. I wouldn’t mind reading more, but the story dragged at the end, so I am unsure. I’ll stamp this with 3 stars.
3 comments:
If it was a freebie, sure
IDK if it still is.
It had a plot? Strange...
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