Reviews for No Place to Run

The average rating for No Place to Run based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-11-06 00:00:00 Paul Ondo My second book by Jane Donnelly and it repeats the trope of a heroine driving away the hero through an unjust accusation of theft, as was the premise in Donnelly's The Black Hunter. What worked for me was the setting of Strona, a gloomy, primitive, but deeply romantic island off the coast of Scotland, where h and H spend an idyllic week falling in love with each other, and a great, romantic, swoon-worthy, hero. Unfortunately, the h is a weak martyr who lets herself be easily manipulated by cold, selfish parents, waiting on approval that never comes. She runs from the man who evokes true love in her and back into the pink, smooth, hands of her aristocratic, mama's boy, fiance, who has promised not only to give her a fairy tale marriage but also to pull her idiot parents out of a deep, financial bind. The rest of the book is a series of repetitive encounters between h, H, and the OM, with h harshly rejecting the H's entreaties as well as her own, true feelings, time and time again, until you root for the H to find himself a more deserving OW and put himself out of his misery. It was very painful being inside h's tortured, conflicted mind. Donnelly did a great job conveying in a plausible manner the anguished inner conflict of the heroine, her growing resentment with the phoniness, selfishness and controlling nature of her own parents, as well as her fiance and future in-laws, together with her weakness to go against the status quo and rock the boat. Future mom-in-law, in particular, was a brilliantly repulsive secondary character that really came to life on the page. I could almost hear her clearing her throat and looking at me with her sucking-on-a-lemon puckered mouth, and cold, calculating, judgy eyes. The author did yet another fantastic job of painting a swoon-worthy, luscious, upstanding hero. When he has his epic big-fat-jerk moment, calling the heroine out for playing obedient dog to her future masters rather than taking a chance on her true feelings, it is actually quite understandable and forgivable and I wonder that he has managed to restrain himself after really appalling behavior by the h, who not only rejects him hypocritically, but has the gall to accuse him of swindling her great-aunt out of money and will when it was her own father who was squeezing the poor old lady of what she was worth. I think the author did too good a job of creating a weak, wishy-washy character in the person of the female protagonist so that by the time she is ready to grovel and earn the hero's trust back, I actually thought he was too good for her and he would be better off without her. I especially do not envy him the constant headache that her infantile parents are likely to cause for him down the line. A+ hero coupled with a C heroine did not result in a satisfying romance imho though I do really like the author's writing and the charming, vintage feel of her stories.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-05-09 00:00:00 Chris Bierbaum A 2 star, don't bother lethargic romance with great writing. I really wish Jane Donnelly's heroines were as awesome as her atmosphere and writing, but sadly they have all the intuition of a piece of paper. In need of a break from her self-centered parents and her blancmange of a suitor, Lucy runs to a small, wild island and meets Matt. They enjoy the island's rough and tumble charm in an almost childish way. When I say childish I mean they just revel in the beauty of the island rather than entertain a sophisticated romance. A pretend wedding binds them so, of course, the stupid heroine flees from the suggestion of real passion and runs back to the path of least resistance, her bland but titled boyfriend. From there it's a glimpse of England and its mannered society with the snooty future MIL outlining how life will be in the best noblesse oblige way, the shallow greedy parents, and the slightly batty Great Aunt. No tea sandwiches that I can remember sadly. Then there's the romance. Only there isn't. Matt comes to town and miscommunication and mistakes happen that are manufactured and boring. I don't think the heroine is a gold-digger or a social climber, but as I said she takes the path of least resistance getting engaged to the town's little lordling which helps her worthless father. She finally ditches Lord Boring and then dithers around because she's afraid that Matt will think she is only after his money. Who knows? He deserved better. I was hoping for one more scene with the potential MIL as in ,"How could you drop my precious son, you lowlife chick!", but didn't happen.