Good author...good ending...but much of story did not appeal to me
935595
Poor, downtrodden, and reserved Charlotte Wilmont has loved her best friend's older brother - Sebastian Marlowe, Viscount Trent - for years, but he barely notices her.  He is now about to be betrothed to a passionless heiress in order to save his family from financial ruin, and Charlotte is miserable.  She inherits an odd ring from her great-aunt and, while wearing it, casually wishes that she could be the woman that Sebastian loves.  It winds up that the ring has magical power to grant one wish, and the next morning Charlotte (as "Lottie") wakes up to a new life where Sebastian does indeed love her...but as his mistress, not his wife.

I enjoy Ms. Boyle's writing, particularly last year's "Something About Emmaline".  This latest offering, however, just did not appeal to me.  The plot device of having Charlotte turn up in a new life with most things reversed was fine, but it was carried on for far too long and weighed down the story.  Also, Lottie's character had a history that was unattractive and mercenary.  It is hard to understand how Sebastian would have fallen in love with such a woman.  Charlotte's assumption of her identity does soften her, but not enough. The story was much better when it returned to her old life in the last third of the book, for this is clearly when Charlotte was her most charming. Sebastian had a good deal of charm as well, as did his quirky family.  I look forward to more satisfying future installments in the series.
4680305
I have a lot of mixed feelings on this book. I like it better than Jaren. I found the world confusing. I kept wanting to like the protagonist but felt let down by decisions she made. The various heroes, if that's what the men were, left much to be desired. But the book was easy to read for the most part. I'd be bombing right along until one of the major characters would bring me up short, move past it, rinse and repeat.

This authors non-fiction is phenomenal. Maybe I expect to much from her fiction.

Do I recomend the book? Yes if you like a woman whose out of step with her culture and ok with that (YAY) but also chases after a bad boy or two (not necessarily in a sexual manner - why I'm left conflicted).

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860650
The writing was great.  Jillian Eaton has the historical romance writing down to an art form.  Unfortunately, I just didn't enjoy this book as much as I have her others.
The story was okay.  The characters were wonderful.  But the ending was satisfactory but lacking something.  I'm not sure how this could be improved but I didn't get the feeling I usually have when I come to the end of a good book.  Too many unanswered questions and not enough information.
A good read but not great.
3693872
I read other reviews about these books and I can't figure out what they saw and I may have missedThis whole set of books left a little to be desired for me. I didn't care for the way the story was written. I did like the characters but sometimes I felt like I may have missed something. I went back a few times to be sure I didn't skip over anything but the details just weren't there to begin with. I don't like a book that gives too much detail but at least give me enough to feel like I'm connecting with the story. I don't believe I'll be reading anymore by this author.
1000748
The story was good & kept my attention throughout.  I had to read pretty fast through some of the descriptions, especially in the last few chapters.  I don't see the point of Pip being perceptive in her way - it didn't add anything to the story & had no clear purpose.  The love story was ok but not particularly interesting.  The ending was disappointing in that there was no connection to anyone in the story, especially none to Jon.  The story was well written, the character development was just ok but enough that I cared what happened to the characters.  I see a lot of 5 star reviews & that is good for the author.  I might try another book by this author.
3207
The author is great at describing scenes and bringing the characters to life but I wasn't a fan of how the book ended. I really would have liked to have seen the book end with Ben showing a court room everything in an effort to put Ian in jail for all the crimes he committed. All the images from Mike and Ben would have been used to show that Ian committed the crime not because he was crazy or anything but because he was a psychopath or something like that. I don't know...I just felt like the ending was kind of lacking.
1165407
This is a new author for me. The story itself was well written. But for lack of a better term, it fell flat for me. It was very long and seemed to drag on at points in the book. It was a bit hard to connect with Leo's character and could maybe have had more of his POV and background and less of Paige's to balance it out. Without giving any spoilers or retelling the story, I didn't care for the way it ended. Again, it fell flat for me.
896391
For me the length works to the author's advantage; despite one awkward ending, it keeps the indulgence by the author to a minimum.  My chief problem is that the author does something in each story that I felt was too sudden of a shift that felt at odds to the initial set up.  I'd feel the author was taking me someplace and then decided not to.  Not in a surprised contrivance way but simply some telling element abandoned.

Still, I did like most of the imagery that the author uses; making it a nice introduction to the author even if at times an uneven one.
2836015
I borrowed this book from my sister. Thank goodness I didn't buy it. I'm not really sure what I didn't like about this story. The ending is definitely number one (though I guessed it long before I finished), but there were other things. Like others have said, the abundance of jewelry metaphors was a bit distracting, and if you could get past Amber's narcissism, then maybe you could enjoy this story. My problem was that I didn't feel like we got to really know Amber. Sure, we know she thinks she's really good-looking, but what was written about her that would make her memorable? Her obsession with her parents love for each other? Is it really that shocking to her that her parents are STILL in love? Okay, here comes a spoiler. So, we're supposed to believe that Amber just imagined Brayden? A boy she never even met and created his whole personality as well (forget making love to him, too). I think this is a bit too farfetched. I knew something was wrong when she was the only person that ever saw him. Then to find out he's dead, and a few weeks talking to a therapist and you're cured? Yeah, right. Talk about your imagination running wild, she even saw him in clothing he no doubt died in from the accident. I'm not buying.
2076820
I think that the author is very talented, but the book never clicked for  me. I never made a true connection to the characters and the story seemed a  little "rushed" (the book IS very small). The sex scenes between  Nina and her brother-in-law were a little too frequent and a little over  the edge for me, but I realize different readers have different tastes. I  LOVED the author's style of writing and it was very visual, but the book is  definitely not a "re-read" for me, nor would I recommend it to  anyone. I think the author has great potential and the people who really  enjoyed this book would probably also love any books by Alice Hoffman  (check site for reviews). I like Alice Hoffman's prose as well, but she  does a much better job with her storylines. I'll admit that the ending was  pretty darned good in that I had to go back and reread the previous page  just to make sure I got it right. :) Best wishes to Ms. Dunmore!
3380705
THE CHARLOTTE CHRONICLES Jen Frederick
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre:Romance.
I adored Jens Kerr Chronicles and was hoping this was in the same style. Its not though and just didn't work for me. that happens, not all books suit all readers. Its a well written book, but the storyline just didn't grab me.
Id not read the stories about their parents, and maybe that would have made a difference, but I don't think so. The first half covers Nathan and Charlottes teen years and the huge trauma they go through. Im not really into teen romances, and could have coped with a 20-25% being that early stage but not the 50% it actually was.
After all that angst they have a huge separation nine years!! I wanted to know why, what had happened in the intervening years, and how on earth Nathan could go from adoring Charlotte to ignoring her for so long. We do eventually get some reasons but they didn't ring true for me, and Id have thought even if he did feel that way that Charlotte would have made more effort at least when he came home to visit the family.
Then theres the final drama, and that was just overkill for me. TBH its possible that its just too close to home for me, having gone through something very similar that makes me overly critical about books where it happens, when characters have a different experience to mine. Thats my problem and not the book of course, but does influence how I enjoyed the story. Sometimes I find it works, its handled well and everything seems genuine, and others its as if the scene has been set to extract maximum sympathy without any research being done. This wasn't like that, it was wellwritten but it was rushed, and on top of the earlier issues I just felt it wasn't necessary, that concentrating on getting through their long break up etc would have been more than enough story to work with.
Still, as ever thats just my view if you want to know more from the characters in the earlier stories youll probably love this, but if you're expecting characters with the strength of characterand sexuality of Tiny and Ian from the Kerr chronicles you won't find it here.
Stars:Two, there were a few parts I liked but not enough for a three star rating. It cetainly won't put me off reading more from Jen, but Ill be looking for those more like TheK.C.
ARC supplied by publishers
1149690
I suppose I may have been expecting quite a bit from this collection of stories, considering the wonderful authors who wrote them. But as I read them I realized no characters were jumping out at me. So I read it again and felt the same way. Many readers will love this book but it just didn't grab me. Beatriz Williams's story was a bold experiment for her, so unlike her other work. I admire the fact that she took a risk, though I didn't enjoy the story in any way. Jennifer Robson's story was delightful, but a little too thin for my taste. I want to hear more -- a lot more -- about her characters. As for the book design, it is gorgeous with the deep reds, and the texture of the cover makes me want to keep holding the book even after I'm done reading.
2298229
I preface this review with: This was a book I would have never have read had I not been part of a book club.
Although I did enjoy this book, and read it in about two days, I cannot give it any more than 3 stars.  It was well written and the story was sound however I kept feeling like the author was trying to parallel too many aspects of the main characters' life into the murders.  Even though they panned out in the end (don't worry, I won't spoil it) it wasn't fulfilling for me.  There was no "ah ha" moment at the end.  It was more of a, "oh, well that makes sense."
489734
This has already been said, but the ending was too happy and perfect. I'm assuming she was going for the calm before the storm feeling, but it just fell flat. The characters did not grow on me and I wasn't worried about the children who will be in the next series.

I love the world the author creates, but she has a tendency of overusing descriptions and social themes. The number of times curls are explained in detail becomes redundant.

A good read, but not great.
4230036
Terrific story, but the ending was not satisfying to me. I bought this for a book club and thought the characters were compelling. However, my biggest issue with the book was there were simply too many characters to keep track of in one story. I am also not a fan of stories that start at a certain point, flashback, and then reveal. That is just a pet peeve of mine. I prefer for a story to unfold without knowing a huge plot twist right from the get go. I think it is meant to grab the reader's attention, but I just don't like that style. Regardless, the story and characters stay with you long after the book is complete.
1161900
A good book, but I was a little disappointed. After the author set up such a great story it sort of falters in the end, and there is no denouement...which makes me want to scream. So how was life afterwards? Did they stay together? So what happened NEXT?
4756209
The author is a fabulous writer, and the story was not bad.  I was expecting a more spectacular ending, though.  The conclusion was kind of timid, and may not have been  worth the effort. For those that like a book that combines love of literature and high tech, this book might fit the bill.  For me, however, the reward wasn't really worth the journey.