Paying the Virgin's Price (Harlequin Historical #1000) Book

Boring. Zzzz. Snoozer.


(Mild series spoilers follow. Nothing that you don't glean by reading the blurbs for books 3-8, but still. Fair warning.)


Like the other Merrill HQNs I've read, it starts strong with a good premise & intriguing first chapters'but then everything slides downhill with a super-slow plot, tedious waffling, & bizarre obliviousness on the part of one (or more) MCs. In this case, it's both. Diana is incredibly dense to not guess his identity, & her reaction when she does is beyond extra. STFU, girl. In Nate's case, it's not stupidity so much as a confounding refusal to confront Diana about their past(s), which doesn't fit the character Merrill has already written in the first few chapters. Also, what is Gypsy Stephan's motive here? Revenge? That's what he says. But then he helps Nate win the love of his life, settle into true happiness, & form an alliance afterward? DOES NOT COMPUTE. And why has nobody ever wondered about the most obv remaining suspect (whom I pegged in the first book, & nothing changed my mind) as being the true villain?! 🙄

Thank god I don't have Honoria or Verity's books to read, because I hate them both. I'm really disappointed that Stephan ends up with Verity in the Silk & Scandal finale, because she & Honoria are both annoying little gnats that could've been left out of (what seems to be) an overly long series.

So. I've got two left in this 8-book saga: #4 & #6. But unless they're dramatically improved over books 1-2, I doubt I'll bother tracking down the rest.