I could not get myself to finish this book. As much as I liked the characters, it was just a bit long winded....I liked the premise of the book. I really did. I do love historical fiction. I do! Just not this one! It was soooooo boring at times. I tried hard to get past it, tried to give it another benefit of the doubt, another chapter and it might get interesting finally... nope...I am really sorry and I usually try not to write bad reviews, but this book was one big snooze.I got it free ( I borrowed it from a friend) and am grateful for that! I would absolutely KICK myself if I had paid for it. I would actively not only seek a refund for my money, but for the time spent trying to read it. The story of the book is a little lady short on cash with a scientist father that sort of "lost it" writes Plays in Elizabethan England. Since nobody "in their right mind" will produce a woman's play, she talks some handsome hunk of a stranger into pretending he is the playwright. The scenarios are far from being plausible, given the time this story was set. Now, most of you know, I am not a stickler for historical accuracy when it comes to fiction, but common behaviour of people and reactions should jive with the time frame the story is set in. For me to get so put out over mistakes like this, they have to be plenty....I thought the main character read like a spoiled brat at times. I could not get interested in the story plot. The author tries to be very eloquent about her descriptions and ends up rather boring.I hate giving this book only one star, but I have to. I just can't justify two. I just thought it was incredibly boring, you may not think so.... try it for yourself... but be warned! :) I am pretty sure that this is full of anachronisms, but it was a fun story as it was. I thought it would be awful, but it was amusing enough that I was thinking about it when I wasn't reading it, wondering what would happen next. The character of Min's father in particular was very interesting. And while it was clear that the author was setting up Alice to be a character who would get her own story next, I was okay with that, too. I would read another story in this series, definitely, the characters were interesting enough to make up for any flaws in historical accuracy - in this case, anyway.
What do You think about Her Secret Desire (2000)?
I look forward to reading more from Ms Archer.
—soccerchik9798
