Setting: California, England, and New York. ContemporaryGenre: RomanceWell, I'm trying to review this on the merits of the story. The premise is one that's more common in regency romance: Filthy rich Duke must, because of stipulations in his father's will, marry by his birthday on Wednesday. It's Monday. He goes to a matchmaker, but decides to marry her instead of the candidates she provided. Sound familiar? Anyway... This author didn't come close to knowing how noble titles are passed. Yes, a personal fortune can be passed to someone other than the heir to the title, but entailed properties cannot. That entailed estate may be debt-ridden, but it still cannot pass into the hands of the next guy in line. Well, it can happen, but generally, dad has to declare his son a bastard, and dad isn't around to do that, being dead and all. Oh, I also have a problem with the afore-mentioned filthy richness. This Duke was so greedy he had to have it all? If he didn't get it, half was to go to charity, a quarter to be shared between his mom and sister, and the cousin to get a quarter. Needless to say, I found the whole execution of the premise simplistic and unreasonable, especially in a modern setting.I listened to a narration of this book, and that was just terrible. Many of the characters were English, and Tanya Eby didn't even come close. The whole experience wasn't bad enough to make me quit, but I came close. 2.5 Stars.Meh. I was not impressed with the characterization, nor the writing. It wasn't terrible or anything, just not really all that good. It was an oft-recycled plot, but nothing happened to make it seem fresh again, and Samantha and Blake were both just...blah. I feel like there was not adequate character development, and a lot of telling but not much showing (like, "Blake is ruthless in business." Okay, but you have Never shown that).
What do You think about El Contrato (2013)?
i'm a sucker for a marriage of convenience and this one hit all my happy buttons
—chan
Short, light and fluffy - a perfect dip into a genre I don't read very often.
—Sreeja
25/36 not quite Nora Roberts but definitely entertaining #2014books
—brittnierheayn
