Enchanted
By Victoria Malvey
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TEST

This book was okay – The heroine was okay, the hero was okay, the secondary characters were okay, the story was okay. Did it touch this reviewer’s soul? No.

Amelia Ralston has been in love with her neighbor, Crispin Merrick, for most of her life. Their families have been neighbors since they were children. As playmates, their friendship made up for the attention they never received from their parents. Amelia’s father has been pining for his dead wife for years and it is up to Amelia to see that her four younger sisters are cared for. Crispin’s parents have a deep and passionate love for each other that has never been inclusive of Crispin. His parents have left him to live with his aunt in the English countryside while they tour the continent. The day Crispin leaves the country to attend school, Amelia is devastated. She fears he will never return.

Ten years later, Crispin Merrick, Duke of Bradford returns to his aunt’s country home. His parents have died in a carriage accident, leaving him the title. During his years away, Amelia has grown into a beautiful young woman. She has spun fantasy after fantasy about him falling madly in love with her when he returns. However, he still sees her as his young playmate and friend. Amie has been forced into difficult circumstances to support her sisters. Her father never emerged from his grief and Amie has sold off most of the family heirlooms. She needs a hero, badly.

Because Amie has built up these fantasies about herself and Cris, she experiences some truly humiliating moments in her dealings with him. This story started out well enough; I felt drawn into Amie’s pain as she realizes she has set up beautiful ideas in her mind that have nothing to do with the reality of the situation. Cris is determined not to have the kind of marriage his parents had. He believes that a relationship based on logic and friendship mixed with a touch of desire is the perfect arrangement. He does not want to be a hero, period. Amie wants love and passion – what her own parents had before her mother died.

While off to a good start, I lost my connection as the story unfolded. The weak and unnecessary secondary sub-plot involving the kidnaping of young society women didn’t help, but there was a complete lack of sexual tension between Cris and Amie. Their relationship developed slowly over most of the book, which could have been a positive aspect had I felt any spark between the two. Instead, I found myself twiddling my thumbs waiting for the book to be over! I did find it admirable that Amie did not pine away waiting for Cris to realize his love for her. She goes off to have a season in London with her sisters, thanks to Uncle Hubert, (a stand-in hero) and tries to put her childhood love behind her. Cris follows her to London months later. The secondary characters of Hubert, Patricia, Owen and the four sisters were one of the more enjoyable parts of the story.

There were also some parts of the story that were never explained, and I could not determine what purpose they served in relation to the main story. When a reader is left to wonder about relationships between secondary characters, past and present, that means some loose ends were not tied up as they should have been. By the time this book ended I was disappointed that the connection I felt in the beginning had melted away. Too bad there wasn’t more melting happening between Amie and Cris! There is nothing terribly wrong with this book, but nothing truly fabulous either.

Reviewed by Liz Zink

Grade: C

Book Type: European Historical Romance

Sensuality: Subtle

Review Date: 03/02/99

Publication Date: 1999

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Recent Comments …

  3. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

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