G19 Book Review of #2 Two Sinful Secrets by Laurel McKee
Author: Laurel McKee
ISBN: 978-1-4555-0548-7
Publisher: Forever
Part of a Series: The Scandalous St. Claires
Type of book: Romance, Victorian Era, theater, adult, France, blackmail, protection, 1665, 1844, 1847, club, England, scandals
Year it was published: 2012
Summary:
A hundred years has passed since the bitter rivalry between the St. Claires and the Huntingtons began. But in London, the feud goes on . . .
In this battle between enemies, passion will win.
Lady Sophia Huntington isn't what she appears to be. Born into a noble family, the impulsive, wild-hearted beauty has fallen on difficult times. Banished from her home, Sophia dreams of the day she can finally win her father's forgiveness and return to London. Until the sudden appearance of a suitor from the scandalous St. Claire family threatens to reveal her darkest secrets . . .
Dominic St. Claire vows to exact revenge upon the Huntingtons, who destroyed his family's fortune generations ago. His perfect target is the lovely but proud Lady Sophia. After using her to discover the Huntingtons' financial secrets, he will cause a great scandal by eloping— and then abandoning his bride. But his plot soon unravels when he finds his own heart ensnared—in a trap not of his own making.
Characters:
Unfortunately the characters didn't really stand out, although the author has tried to make them stand out. Sophia tended to be flat and things happened to her just like with Lilly. Dominic promised to be interesting as well, but again wasn't. The conflict wasn't really felt and summary was far more interesting read than this book. I do wish the book would have stuck to the summary, maybe then it would have gotten really interesting. The secondary characters are far more interesting than main ones, which can't be good...also the villains are flat and predictable.
Theme:
Trust someone else to take care of your problems for you.
Plot:
In third person narrative from Dominic's and Sophia's points of views, although most of the book is from Sophia's. There is a small section in chapter 14 where Elizabeth talks briefly, so one knows that the third book will be about her and Brendan, possibly. Beginning is that from first book, and plot as well as situations are reused from the first novel: the heroine getting married and her husband dying, the heroine unhappy with her previous husband, one time encounter with a kiss and disappearance for a number of years, the heroine can't fit in with her original family and tends to be wild, and so forth. While one time encounters are mysterious and promising, especially when they'll come back in a few years, somehow making books very similar is not a good thing in my view.
Author Information:
(from goodreads.com)
website
http://ammandamccabe.com/mckee/index.htm
genre
Romance, Historical Fiction
About this author
Laurel McKee is the pen name for regency romance writer Amanda McCabe.
Amanda wrote her first romance at the age of sixteen--a vast historical epic starring all her friends as the characters, written secretly during algebra class (and her parents wondered why math was not her strongest subject...)
She's never since used algebra, but her books have been nominated for many awards, including the RITA Award, the Romantic Times BOOKReviews Reviewers' Choice Award, the Booksellers Best, the National Readers Choice Award, and the Holt Medallion. She lives in Oklahoma with a menagerie of two cats, a Pug, and a very bossy miniature Poodle, along with far too many books.
When not writing or reading, she loves taking dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs, and watching the Food Network--even though she doesn't cook.
Opinion:
Wow! Four stars for the cover! Oh wait, I can't give that number just because I like the cover? Rats! I am honest in saying that I like the cover; such a soft shade of pink, so feminine so soft. Oh wait, I'm supposed to review the book. I wanted to like it, and at first it had a lot of promise; intriguing and wild Sophia, the dashing hero Dominic and it wasn't set in Regency, which are pros. Perhaps I'm growing jaded with romance, or whatever, but I guess I'm tired of reading the phrase that no one had made the characters feel that way before. I also couldn't capture nor understand the characters. The book, in all honesty, was boring for me. I have a difficult time pin pointing what is it that I don't like about it. Maybe its lack of personality? Maybe it has a predictable plot? (Read the first one and you'll see what I mean...) Next book, if I'm not mistaken, will star Sophia's cousin Elizabeth and the shy and quiet St. Claire Brendan. I don't want to give this book two stars, but I don't want to lie at the same time.
Quick notes: I won this book on goodreads.com thus this review will appear in its entirety on goodreads as well as the blog
2 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
Good some like photos :)
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