Nicholas Sinclair comes back from the Battle of Trafalgar with more wounds in his heart and mind than those obvious ones in his body. He has a secret that is keeping him from feeling as if he deserves to find any kind of happiness, and he isn't sure he'd find anyone who could deal with his constant nightmares from the war anyway. He swore, when he left the estate, that he would never become his father because he had a hard enough time living with himself and the way his brother died as it was. Yet, when news of his father's passing reaches him, he knows he has a duty to his station as Duke of Blackmore to return home and take a wife so he can produce heirs.
Reverend Shackleford has eight daughters and thinks little of them, but he must marry them off well so that he has the funds for his only son to be able to gain a position of influence in the upper echelon. When he promises his eldest daughter Grace to the new Duke, she is not only entirely opposed to the union but doesn't know how she could possibly live up to the reputation the Duke desires to make for himself. She's a bit of a wild child who likes only to read and get into trouble. It doesn't help that she's keeping a secret of her own and her reverend father is complicit in the scandalous that could ruin all of them.
It was a cute short read that only took an afternoon, but with all the hype from others, I expected so much more. The fact that it was written in Omniscient POV was a complete turn-off for me. I not only find it confusing because I have to reread spots to figure out who's speaking, but I simply find Omniscient POV to be lazy writing. It could have been a much better-developed story if only one point of view was used at a time because, without the head-hopping, the story wouldn't be so confusing, but also because characters are more prone to misunderstand each other, and it keeps the reader on their toes to not have all of the facts.
I also thought the characters were fairly one-dimensional, and I wanted to know more about each of them. I wanted to feel more of their personalities and know more about who they were as individuals. There was little interaction between the sisters, so the hierarchy was difficult to establish. I did like Reverend Shackleford, however, because had he not spent so much time "in his cups," there wouldn't have been a large enough conflict for the story to move forward. And, I liked the fact that Grace was headstrong and independent because it made the underlying story between her and her husband more interesting - especially since he was not receiving the wife he expected.
Although I found it a bit too shallow for my tastes, I thought the story had some good bones. I may read the others in the series at some point in the future on KU to find out how the other daughters fare, but I'm unsure when because I just didn't feel invested.
Kindle Customer
E&JTorres
Amazon Customer