Seldom have I read such an unlikeable heroine--poor Lazarus
927622
I bought this book based on the description AND on all the stellar reviews.  So imagine my disappointment when I started reading!  I wanted to walk away from the story after the first few chapters, but soldiered on because in 35 years I have RARELY stopped reading a story.  But Alexandra is SO rude, obnoxious and abrasive!!!  I couldn't stand her, and I started to feel really bad the author condemned Lazarus to a lifetime with her.

I can't count how many times in the 30% of the book I slogged through they had to tell the h "this is a BREEDING PROGRAM".  And yet, after she basically made a scene to be let in, she walks around telling everyone she wants no part of vampires whatsoever.  That would be like working hard to get admitted to the NASA astronaut program and then, once you're there, saying "I want to be here, but I don't really want to do anything space-related.  I just want to wander around all day and hang out".

This h also gives a bad name to investigative reporters everywhere; I think I can safely say most of them would agree most of the job is research, and yet Alexandra can't even be bothered to learn the basics all the other women in the program obviously know.  I don't buy the author's supposed work-around that the h missed the training portion (and then lied about it to everyone).  All a person with half a brain had to do was pull another one of the ladies aside and grill her for a few hours.

I can't believe that out of all the reviews, only one other reviewer mentioned how much of a jerk this h was.  Completely unlikeable.  I only read as far as I did because Lazarus kept threatening to throw her out of the program, and I kept hoping that would actually happen.
2929628
The heroine is swallow, self-centered and witless. I disliked her immediately and she never redeemed herself. The hero could have been great he had depth and a good backstory, but he waited around like a puppy for the heroines love. I had trouble finishing it, but i made myself push through.
3696179
I've read several of the Grace Livingston Hill books for Kindle and have had mixed results from them. Some I have enjoyed very much--others have been more of a slog. This one falls more in the slog category. It's not a bad book and it mostly held my attention, but I found the characters and their stories more ridiculous than involving and I was ready for it to be over long before it was.

My biggest issue with this story is that the heroine is too absurdly perfect to be interesting. I understand that Hill was trying to bring readers to Christianity and these books were her way of doing that, but in making Margaret so impossibly good, Hill is guilty of overselling. No one could possibly be as saintly, accomplished, beautiful, and poised as Margaret is. She never puts a foot wrong, never is mean to anyone, never fails to dazzle everyone she meets ("Margaret, using all the charm of her lovely personality to uphold standards of right, truth, purity, high living, and earnest thinking"). Perfect characters do not make for interesting reading. And even though the hero, Gardley, has some changing to do--for some never-to-be-defined sin in his past--it only takes meeting Margaret in all her glowing perfection for him to instantly turn his life around. It's particularly nauseating that all the lower-class people Margaret comes into contact with are miraculously changed for the better by her, simply by shaking her hand or having her sing to them ("they all sat...and marveled at her. A woman like that condescending to come visit them!"). There's always a bit of snobbery in these novels, but in this case it was truly over the top.

Of course, subtlety was never Hill's strong suit, so you always know whether someone is good or bad simply by the way she describes them. Hero: "broad shoulders, well-set heard, close-cropped curls, handsome contour even in the darkness." Bad guy: "slight, with a putty complexion; cold, pale-blue eyes; pale, straw-colored hair, and a look of self-indulgence around his rather weak mouth." That latter description is for a minister Margaret meets who is in Arizona to rest and recuperate. He falls for her--naturally!--but she wants nothing to do with him, especially after she learns that he doesn't believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible. For that sin, he is eventually shanghaied and basically tortured by a group of wranglers who force him to recant his heresy and extract a promise that he will henceforth stick with Bible teaching. Bizarrely, Hill presents this event as if it is something the reader should find admirable or at least entertaining.

All in all, this wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't a particularly good one either. As far as Arizona stories go, I much preferred Hill's&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Man-of-the-Desert/dp/B004TQVL7M/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Man of the Desert</a>&nbsp;and liked that the hero and heroine of that story also make an appearance in this book.
337925
I think I've read most of Eloisa James's books and I usually LOVE them.  What drew me in to her books was how different they were from other Regency romance novels.  She has very unique story lines that will weave through an entire series - except for this latest series.  They are all one shots, which isn't necessarily bad.  So why don't I like this one?  Here's why:

The hero isn't very likeable, and never really redeems himself.  It's common to have heroes that aren't perfect and have faults, but usually in novels, they grow and change and become better people.  This guy pretty much just stays an ass.

As many reviewers mentioned, the hero and heroine spend most of the book apart.  What kind of romance novel is that?  I've read books where the hero and heroine are separated, but usually that's a short length of time.  This felt like most of the book.

The heroine just takes back the hero without making him really work for it.  This ties into my first point, the hero hardly changes throughout the book.  When he comes back at the end, she just takes him back with barely a fight!  How disgraceful to women!  Usually Eloisa has stronger female characters, but this one...  Wow, she's almost like a doormat.  I get that she had low self-esteem, but it grew as she blossomed, but with his return, she's almost back to square one.

So, I'm very disappointed in this one.  And I hadn't liked the one before, either, so it made this book doubly disappointing.  I feel like I wasted my money.
630551
Having read 3 out of the series prior to this i thought i knew what i was getting an easy reliably enjoyable read and it just didn't happen. I couldn't find a darn likeable thing about her. Even by the end when i understood her motives more, though i despised her less i still didn't enjoy her as a character. She is exactly the kind of vapid, flaky, self absorbed, drama queen i home schooled to get away from back at that age.

I also found the book to be very shallow in regards to her particular struggle. I understood why since the author forewarned you but not getting into  the deep dirty details of living in that state of mind robbed the book in many ways. After this one im not certain i will bother finishing the series as i was iffy about the religious tones of the other book anyway.
3516614
I didn't like the heroine of the first strory, Helena. She's so unlikeable and unpleasant due to her self loathing, I coudn't understand what attracted Edgar to her other than perhaps the physical side of things. Even that'd doubtful since she keeps pushing Edgar away with sharp words and mean attitudes.

The second story was a bit better but nothing like my other favorite Balogh books.
2367806
I didn't even get a third into this book before I put it down.

The main character is perhaps the most frustrating character I've ever come across. She's very hypocritical and it makes you want to scream. The supposed love interest is one of the creepiest characters I've ever read and he's got "bad idea" written all over him, yet the mc is too blind (like she is to most things) to see that. The other characters are all reminiscent of Grimm fairytale characters, so it was easy to guess what was happening and I have the entire idea of the book in my head already. No surprises.

I did not like this at all.

Full review with spoilers and more details on my blog, Lili's Reflections.
1804358
I've before threatened to stop reading Wilkie Collins, but this time I mean it. Maybe. Here was a book with unconvincing characters and nothing at stake. Everyone loves Lewis Romayne for less than no reason--he's condescending, rude, naive, and thoroughly irritable. A Jesuit priest plots to convert him to Catholicism and donate a portion of his estate to the Church. Who cares if the priest succeeds?
872330
The book was painful to read and I had to give up half way through. I have rarely disliked a heroine so thoroughly. Spoilt, selfish and whinny, Zo is a lesson in how a heroine should never be. I spend most of my reading time hoping that she would grow up and is that was too much to ask, at least that someone would tell her what a brat she is. Unfortunately all the minor characters in the book seemed to only have the role of spoiling her further and putting up with her remarkable horrible bad behaviour, and let's not forget self-pitying tirades.

The hero for all his "solid" character had no problems sleeping with his brother's fiance and moping through the book. Honestly I cannot think of one thing that makes this book bearable.
2787340
I REALLY wanted to like this book- and to some extent I did. The story / mystery was great and the book well written, but the lead female character, Rebecca, was just horrid! EVERY other page she bursts into tears and runs out the room. She literally spends 3/4 of the book crying. If you like strong lead female characters, this is not the book for you. I wanted to stop reading it so many times because of her behavior (very simpering and unlikeable), but I did enjoy the story of Tim and Mark. The author seems to think that bc a woman is beautiful that makes up for a lack of brains, backbone, and common sense. It's such a shame bc the story and writing is good but I will not be reading any of her other books if all he has to offer is a crybaby for a "heroine" who cries 5 times a day.
2855458
I wished i could say that i really liked this book. Apart from the first few chapters, the heroine Linet started getting to my nerves. All through the book she kept referring to the hero as "the beggar" and kept saying and thinking how she is of "noble blood" or "I am a de Montfort" or "... it's beneath me" and so on. She turns her nose down on peasants and commoners because her father told her that they are no good. What an infuriating and discriminating heroine! I wanted to wring her neck. She also kept making decisions that brings herself and the hero into even more danger. The hero is known to be a fierce warrior and compassionate to peasants and the less fortunate ones, the exact opposite of the snub heroine. Yet no matter how the heroine kept degrading him and the common folks, he never made enough effort to convince the stupid Linet  who he really was and tell her his name so that she at least would stop calling him the beggar, which is very irritating. Even after so many tumbles in bed, and even after she decided she loves him enough to marry him, she still calls him "the beggar".  Ahhhhh! We have doormat for a hero. I don't understand how he could tolerate a woman like her. But he fell in love instead and wanted to marry her, even knowing her jaded convictions. How fortunate for the heroine then that the hero is of noble blood and wealthy as well, so she didn't have to live like a commoner after all. Who knows then, perhaps she would have done exactly the same as her mother did to her father. I am glad i finished this book without having forgotten that i am not reading a print version for i might then have thrown my kindle across the room in frustration. Giving it two stars instead of one for aside from the repeated use of the word beggar, the book is well written and edited.
2972312
Lots of people seem to LOVE this book, so I'm figuring the fact that I hate it just points to different people having different tastes. Johanna Lindsey is a very entertaining writer, with the most fun heroines. Unfortunately, her heroes usually leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. The hero of this novel is no exception.

Basically, the novel goes something like this:

James Malory, "hero": Ooh, a pretty girl disguised as a cabin boy! I think I'll take advantage of this and seduce the poor thing without her knowing it.

Georgina Anderson, heroine: My goodness, what is this delicious feeling I feel whenever I'm around this strong, virile, pushy, autocratic man? I'm ridiculously naive for a twenty-two year old woman, and apparently I have never felt desire or basic human arousal even once in my entire life.

James: I shall now use this woman to slake my lust, calling her a wench and not once caring about the fact that an unmarried woman is ruined in the eyes of society. As long as I get mine!

Georgina: I will now give into this man for no good reason except that I must give into my urges that I've never felt before because this man is so-o-o-o strong, virile, pushy, and autocratic, and despite my protests that turns me on!

And so forth. James Malory is strong, virile, pushy, and autocratic, and Georgina pretends to hate those qualities but in fact she loves them. This makes for a lot of tedious "dialogue," with James pushing Georgina around and Georgina letting him, huffing indignantly all the while. James is also spiteful and petty and vengeful, and apparently always gets his way, along with insulting and bullying Georgina throughout the book. That's not romance, to me.

I couldn't finish the book. A hero who badgers, kidnaps, and insults the supposed love of his life is a terrible turn-off for me. Georgina is a fun heroine, as usual with Johanna Lindsey, but the hero's antics just ruin the book too much to make it worthwhile.

Conclusion: An extremely unlikable hero makes this book unreadable. But other people love this hero, so if you enjoy most early Lindseys, you'll probably enjoy this one. If you don't like early Lindesy novels, give this one a pass.
4637024
I have been a fan since I discovered Liz Carlyle. I've read every book she's written, and most of them are in my keepers shelf. I put Wicked All Day on my wish list here at Amazon, long before it was published and pre-ordered a month early. So you can imagine my surprise and disappointment as I began reading and realized there wasn't going to be the usual spark of pleasure or desire to read straight through.

The whole problem is the heroine. The father and step-mother, nice people though they are, just exist to serve, suffer, and pick up the pieces. The two male leads are not particularly endearing to say the least. But Zoe is just too irritating to be heroine material. Who wants to read a whole book about a spoiled, self-pitying, ungrateful, and resentful girl who just happens to be incredibly lucky. The odds of an illegitimate daughter being loved and cared for by her father (and later step-mother) and growing up in comfort and luxury, getting an education and all the benefits of being (almost) part of the aristocracy in the 19th century were almost non-existent. Zoe, instead of appreciating her incredible good fortune, reacts negatively and immaturely and creates one scandal after the other. I, frankly, don't care about all the psycho-babble of why she acts as she does. I just found her too annoying to care about, and only made it through about 1/3 of the book.

If she eventually matured later on in the book, I never found out about it because frankly, I figured I'd wasted enough time on Zoe.
1607611
Someone here accused the critics of this book of having "PC sensibilities" in terms of the rape of Hastings by her husband Severin.  The fact of the matter is that while such things did indeed occur in the 12th century (and sadly continue into now), the attempt to somehow make such an act erotic stretches the bounds of imagination.  There is erotic and then there is sheer cruelty.  Rosehaven was sadly the latter.
I disliked Severin.  He was the alpha male taken to cartoonish extremes.  This could be excused if this were Ms. Coulter's first book, but it isn't.  Besides, I've read other historical romances set in this same time period that showed a lot more sensitivity, like 'The Lily and The Leopard' by Susan Wiggs.
I disliked Hastings.  She was a doormat incarnate.  Enough said.
The marten was a nice touch, and the only saving grace. I would have enjoyed reading about its mating expoloits rather than the dysfunctional relationship between the two humans.
Thankfully, Ms. Coulter redeems herself big time with her wonderfully comic 'Bride Trilogy'.
4198028
I am so sorry becasue I really wanted to like The Irresistible Miss Peppiwell, but it wasn't to be. I really didn't like the way Phillpa Peppiwell's character was written. I started skimming pages just to finish it. That's never a good thing. I never understood Lord Anthony's obsession with this ruined young lady. Who didn't seem to mine that she had been completely and utter ruined. I felt sorry that she was so foolish with her virtue, but thats about it. I gave the story 2 stars becasue I did like Anthony and wished the author had picked a better heroine for him. Maybe one like Jocelyn from the novella The Dukes Shotgun Wedding. She is also, one of the characters in this story. The story felt like Modern Romance instead of Historical Romance. I must say I am not a big Fan of  the period late Victorian Romance. It close to the turn of the century. That problem is with me and not the author!! Personal Preference you can say.
4540623
Kresley Cole's series has been one of my favorites up to this point. However, I can't get behind this book. The hero has been too nauseatingly harmful, and his being a reincarnation of a more attractive character to my mind does not in any way mitigate this. For once, it is not a stretch to make a Nazi comparison, and seeing a sympathetic heroine falling for a 'they're not human'/'just following orders' hero made me feel sick. The more I think about it, the less I like it. It's one thing to reform a madman as hero, and quite another to 'reform' a man who belongs on trial at (some Lore version of) the Hague.

On the other hand, this is not a book utterly without good qualities. It is, as usual, extremely well written, and continues the story series readers (like me) have become invested in.
1520239
The "heroine" in this story was the most irritating, stupid female I've read about in quite some time. I never got into the character, from beginning to end. I found myself laughing at her stupid thoughts, reminiscing, and her thoughtless behavior. I like strong female characters, and I'll settle for smart women who make a few dumb mistakes (as they are prone to do in some of the romance novels) but this women absolutely got on my nerves. I would never recommend it. The heroine was too annoying and unlikable.