AAR

[Elizabeth Rolls]

[Lynda X]

That's kind of a tough question, Erika. He's kind of both alpha and beta, but I'd lean toward beta. He is not happy to be in the situation he's in with the heroine in the beginning, and he assumes the logical assumptions about her, but, of course, he's wrong. He dismisses her and assumes that she's taking advantage of her femininity and vetoes her wishes, assuming that they are superficial. When he gradually comes to care for and admire her, he still can be abrupt and dismissive. Gracie does a good job in showing the gradual growth of his love and respect. He, of course, has a deep secret which also makes him distrust her, but he has intuitions about her, which, being a romance, are always right.

[Eliza]

For what it's worth, I didn't think of the alpha/beta thing as an issue for this book. He just seemed like a decent hero to me.

[csmiley]

[erika]

Elizabeth, Eliza & Lynda thanks much for responding to my question. Since I'm more inclined to prefer alpha jerks/uber alpha hero I think I'll pass on buying this one.

[Eliza]

I thought the recent AAR review by Louise VanderVliet was spot on and extremely fair. It may help others to decide whether to read this book or not; and it may be helpful to read Louise's profile to see what her personal preferences are, even though the review stands perfectly well all on its own.

Anyway, her review perfectly articulated what I was unable to--why this wasn't a typical A-rated Gracie book for me. Turns out, it's not what's missing as I had thought but the plot device added midway through the book that derailed me. It may be a logical plot turn in some senses, I suppose, but it changed the direction and pacing of the story, which was what didn't work so well for me, as Louise adroitly pointed out.

I'm also glad Louise pointed out Gracie's strong writing despite the plot's "left turn."

Thanks so much, Louise.

[Elizabeth Rolls]

[JaneO]

I picked this book up to console myself after root canal.

It worked. I went to sleep happy. But then Anne Gracie's books always make me happy. That's why I chose it.

[LouiseAAR]

[babyfishmouth]

Thanks for the recommendation of The Perfect Rake.
I just finished it and would rate it between B+ and A-.

I really thought I had read Anne Gracie before but I was wrong (at least based on my Kindle buys and Goodreads list). I love discovering new-to-me authors and I'm looking forward to reading more by her.

[Eliza]