Two Stars

I read my first Amy Rose Bennett book last year (How to Catch a Wicked Viscount), I decided to skip the second book in her Disreputable Debutantes series and dive into book three. To be honest, I couldn’t resist the synopsis! Hot scot with an eye patch and scar? Shy heroine trying to escape her tyrannical family? Yes, please!

This book started strong! I enjoyed Olivia’s interactions with Hamish. He appreciated her for her quiet strength right off the bat, and Olivia wrestling with her crush on Hamish was adorable. When the plot slowly morphed into a marriage of convenience, I was like, YES, this is IT! Unfortunately, that’s when the entire book went off the rails.

Hamish’s self-incrimination about his time in the service quickly turned from manly and brooding, to whiny and self-indulgent. Yes, I am sure Olivia will be MUCH better off as a divorced social pariah than married to a Marquess with ~issues~. I guess it’s not entirely the book’s fault that it morphed from one of my favorite tropes to one of my least favorite tropes, but it felt like a bait and switch.

On top of that, this book is the slowest, slow, slowwww burn I’ve read recently. I was ready to throw my kindle across the room at points. I like a good slow burn, but this book was a slow burn solely because the hero was being a nincompoop.

Overall, I really like Amy Rose Bennett’s fast-paced and witty dialogue, but the book fell flat after the first half. I will be reading more books by this author in the future; I just don’t recommend this one.

**I received a free copy of this book in order to provide an honest review**

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