I was so so so bored reading this book.

It really is quite a shame. I had such high hopes for the book because of all the raving reviews. I agree with other reviewers that it isn't very sporting of Robert to refuse to marry Belinda but expect her to stay on as his mistress. But that did not bother me so much. I mean, Belinda should have left him then, instead of staying with him after she realized that he was not going to marry her. I don't even think she should realize only then. She should have known from the beginning that one day she would need to walk away.

I have always believed, that in love there is really no shame. Call me someone with loose morals but true love happens ever so rarely and the reality ever so harsh. The important thing is to make your decisions and BE ABLE TO live with the consequences. No false hopes. As for hurting someone else' feelings.....well, in the end we are only responsible for our own happiness. This is not being selfish. This is about making decisions being fully aware of the ramifications and consequences of your actions. If you give, give freely. That is the only way to live a responsible life. If you love, it hardly matters if the other person loves you back or does what you expect them to do. If it matters, well, then maybe you need to re-examine your intentions.

Belinda made the decision to stay knowing that Robert would not offer for her. Why did Robert's decision to marry come as a surprise, for the life of me, I could not understand. Nobody lied to anybody. They both knew what they were doing, walked in with their eyes open, so to speak. Then at least part amiably and accept that it was not meant to be. I would have more respect for them both, had they acted thusly.

But enough with my heathenish view on relationships.

My real problem with the story is that I don't like either Robert or Belinda. I like Belinda even less than Robert. I must say the courtesan theme is not what bothers me. I read Elizabeth Hoyt's [b: The Ice Princess|17227081|I'm Dating the Ice Princess (The Ice Princess, #1)|Filipina|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1381763065s/17227081.jpg|23739727] and I love the herioen, who had been a prosititute for 10 years when the book started. I do not care if the heroine is a courtesan. But I do care whether I could identify with her. And I could not identify with Belinda. It was not her fault what had happened. So please stop with the self-pity and wanting. A duke naturally would need to think twice before he committed himself to a known courtesan. Was that ever a surprise? I do not believe in this romantic notion of "if he loves me he must do a and b". Sometimes people need time to come to such revelations. You can only make decisions based on your wishes and beliefs, not on what you wish others would do. It is childish and unfair. Be an adult and make your decisions. Own them. No one is responsible for making you happy. And you are not responsible for anyone else's happiness.

For 400 pages I was bored out of my freaking skull. I never could like Belinda or Robert. There is too much "building-up" of the story with all the secondary characters who I hardly care about. It is not a poorly written book at all. But I do not care for the story, much to my dismay.

(Re-reading [book: Lord of Fire] actually made me realize: I have read this series before. Maybe not the entire series but definitely the first 4. And I only recall loving Lord of Fire and mildly liking [book: Lord of Ice]. I remember disliking The Duke. If my memories had served me I could have saved myself 5 euros. But well, without The Duke I would not have found Lord of Fire again. So all is forgiven!!)

I love to follow characters through a series and what better way than to do that than with a family with lots of brothers? Here are some of the best Historical Romance Series featuring biological brothers! 

 

 

1.  MacEgan Brothers by  Michelle Willingham

 

     Her Warrior King - Patrick MacEgan 

     Her Irish Warrior-  Bevan MacEgan

Today's theme is books that feature a poor or lower class hero or heroine. So, I tend to think historical for this type of theme and that is reflected in my choices. The lone contemporary book is The Distance Between Us which has a poor girl/rich guy thing going on. It's YA and I loved it.

 

Any Duchess Will Do (my favorite historical romance of last year!) is about a duke with an overbearing mother that REALLY wants him to marry. So, in an effort to get her to shut-up he tries to find the most unsuitable bride possible and picks... a barmaid. It's such a wonderful story.

 

The Duke is a book I read years and years ago. The heroine is a courtesan. This trope doesn't always work for me, but it did in this book. They fall in love, but the hero, mindful of his position asks her to be his mistress and she cannot accept that. There is a rather fabulous "grand gesture" at the end that sticks in my mind even now.

 

The Distance Between Us is, as I mentioned a poor girl/rich guy theme, but what made it interesting was that the girl is really anti-rich. She has certain prejudices about them, which I thought was a nice change of pace.

 

'Twas the Night After Christmas is a typical lord falls for the servant type of thing, but it did have a truly lovely Christmas feel to it.

 

With Beauty and the Blacksmith the name really says it all. Personally, I found this to be one of the less stellar Tessa Dare books I've read. At times I found it a bit silly. This is a pretty great sex scene in the blacksmith's shop though.

 

 

First off this book had a rape scene. It's between Bel and a minor character and it's not very graphic, Bel kind of blacks out as it is happening. I know some people have a problem with these types of scenes in their romance books so just be forewarned.

 

Hawk is a bit of a jerkface for awhile and as the reader I was pissed off at some of the things he said to Bel. Basically comments in regards to her being a slut. (Bel is posing/trying to become a courtesan) Foley does a valiant job of setting the scene and atmosphere of London and it's slums. These lush descriptions definitely add to the feel and flow of the book.

 

When I read romance books I am usually drawn to the lead male but with this book Bel stole the show for me. As a woman it's hard not to cheer and cry for her. The options for Bel after she is raped in 1800's England are made blatantly and shamefully clear in this story, very moving.

Hawk clearly grows emotionally as a human-being throughout the story and man I can tell you it is a wonderful thing to read.

 

This is not an upbeat book but a beautiful, tragic, and love in all it's glory and ugliness story. Highly recommended!
Oh and I can't forget to mention the chemistry between these two; HOT! Their first kiss scene over the blackjack table is not to be missed.
And I almost forgot to mention the ending scene where Hawk proposes. (Insert little girl sigh here) It was so completely cheesy but jesus it was romantic. Tears and huge happy grins galore. I can't imagine anyone not being affected by this scene. Just so, so sigh worthy :)

For some reason I was actually expecting a lot less from this book, in a sense that I've been disappointed in historical romance in general lately. It probably is something that comes from reading too much of one genre. At least I can say that I didn't like it as much as I could because nowadays I'm just too picky!There's a lot of nonsense thinking in this book (from all characters really) but I liked the (finally) realistic view on the marriage part of the plot and in all the real historic people of the time (I'm not even sure if they were all timed correctly but I make all sort of allowances for the sake of good fiction) so all in all I enjoyed it.