When Marrying a Scoundrel Book

This book was a let down, I liked the prequel better. Prior to this, I just read 2 books that were worthy of 4 - 5* by different authors, but the pulse of the problem w/ this 1 wasn't just the lack of xxxtra oomph in the writing itself, but in the inconsistent characterizations, shaky conflict & strangely, the absence of intense emotions, despite its mouth-watering theme (reunion = 1 of my favs) & hero (self-made / rags to riches = 1 of my favs). Methinks if it were executed by any other author w/ more noticeable talent & sets of skills, the whole package coulda / woulda turned out to be more successful. I thought the H/H were flat & I felt detached throughout the book, as if I was just a spectator. Their personalities & background (both Irish) were not fascinating enuff to engage me emotionally. Their friction-causing dilemma didn't really seem insurmountable, esp after a certain major event in hero's life occurred almost @ the end (which shoulda propelled the HEA). The last hurdle seemed like a filler, simply to meet the minimum quota. The ending was not sigh-worthy & the evolving storyline & H/H's relationship were uninspiring. I dunno, mayhap it's just really bad timing 'cuz I was more concerned w/ my leaky roof & wondering if / when the holey ceiling's gonna collapse on me since I haven't bought my dent-proof headgear.

The big estrangement gap was supposed to work well. I mean, 10 friggin' years is helluva long time in my book. She made a good point in his face that things have changed & both of 'em were no longer the same luv-struck peeps. The beginning was intriguing but the ones after, came across as the anti-thesis of a page turner. The family & friends dynamics were not exceptional to make me wanna read the next ones, but I prolly will keep buying, thanx to my OCD. I think they got lost amidst the long family feud, dark clouds of secrecy & big mis that coulda been resolved easily w/ more honesty on heroine's / grandpa's part (like he threw the ball @ her, saying it's not his place to disclose it - what a wimp). It seems like hero's still played like a yo-yo by fate & all parties (esp grandpa & the other blackmailing chick bent on extortion). Even tho' hero's more superior financially now, he still doesn't have the upper hand in the grand scheme of things. Heroine feels unworthy of him 'cuz they come from 2 different social strata, but I sooo wanted her self-inflated unworthiness to die a quick death @ some point. I could believe that she's still distrustful of him & questions if history will repeat itself if she succumbs to his allure again, 'cuz he doesn't have a good track record so far. He abandoned her, to earn his own dough after getting disowned by his family, but being MIA for that long ? Damn, dude. No wonder she moved on. Granted, he had no inkling that she went thru' what she did after he left her, but the weird thing is, w/ so much complications & bad history between 'em, there's a general lack of angst (or my sensory failed me). She refuses to be persuaded by him that they belong to each other & deserve a 2nd chance. She feels resentful that he still doesn't believe in her gift. Tea-leaves reading isn't just a survival means, she really knows her craft. Then boom ! ta daa… His attitude turns 180, instead of a gradual process of opening his eyes to what she's capable of. It was glossed over. The heroine unnecessarily drags her feet on the reunion path for way too long. It felt contrived, to keep the conflict going, on top of her refusal to be the tool between hero & the user aka manipulative, scheming grandpa. The revelations of the big secrets were not smoothly done. I'm all for flawed characters, the more flawed, the better, I say. But in this case, their personalities aren't distinctive enuff to make me feel sympathy for 'em, despite the forbidden luv thing going on. It didn't feel too forbidden @ all. Nice but not memorable for me to re-read. Another pet peeve of mine is the hero's name. I wish his name was not Jack. I've read way too many books w/ that name LOL...