One of my biggest frustrations with romance is that publishers try to make the books all sound alike – generic covers, generic titles, and all too often, generic plots and characters. This book sounded like it had the potential to overcome that… but didn’t quite succeed.
How to Romance a Rake by Manda Collins
(2012, Regency Historical) 1/12/13
Grade: 3
Since an accident that left her with a limp, Juliet Shelby has remained on the edges of society – until she meets Lord Alec Deveril. As Alex and Juliet spend time together looking for Juliet’s missing music teacher, both Alex and Juliet begin to see each other as more than just friends.
Although this book had some redeeming qualities, overall I found it very predictable. It felt like romance-by-the-numbers, as if the author was checking off a list of plot points for a Regency historical. (Group of friends who each have their own book – check! No one notices the heroine until she gets a new wardrobe in brighter colors – check! Hero realizes he loves the heroine when his friends say something insulting about her – check!) Some authors can take a familiar story and make it feel new, but in this case it just felt… familiar. Like I’d read it all before. The one unusual plot point was the heroine’s prosthetic leg, which I hadn’t seen in a romance before. There was nothing terribly wrong with this book – the characters were likeable, the writing was serviceable and it was easy to read – but it just didn’t leave a lasting impression.
I want to keep trying new authors (especially since so many of my favorite authors have left the genre) but it’s hard to find something new when so many authors are content with the same-old-same-old.
Karen Wheless
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