How to Train Your Viscount: A FREE Steamy Regency Rom-Com

This book is one of those rare finds: it hits on all of the points you want in a book. The humor was execellent and continued throughout, even when you least expected it to. The climax (and not those other ones, which were also great ;) was believable, the author went so far as to make assertions for the antagonists actions; I could actually picture this scene so realistically it was like a clip from a movie. I also liked that she added historical facts and tied them to the story; often an author throws in historical facts because they relate to the subject matter of the story but the facts just sit there without explanation for why they were added; it was beautifully connected here. The characters were realistic, they actually reminded me of my own family, so developed and practical as they were in the storyline. I will usually find a fault, whether small or large within a story, and I am guilty of reading about 3 books a week, but I am unable to do so here. Great story!

Uneven and Disparate Parts — This debut novel had its ups and downs for me. I liked the hero and heroine. They were well delineated, and both had shades to their characters that were at turns unbecoming and charming as well as believable. The book feels like it's split into sections, though, that don't quite meld well with each other. The first part of the book feels like a chase, as we come to understand the characters' backgrounds and their first steps in trying to find missing objects that are important to them. For the most part, I found this fun and insightful. Before the timeline of this story, the hero humiliated the heroine when she was just 15 years old. The author doesn't give us specific details of this humiliation until about 12% into the book. As it was referenced quite frequently before this, I was antsy to find out the details to see if it was an event that the heroine perhaps had overblown or if the hero had really acted like a cad. Yes, he truly said horrible things about her that she overheard, but in the present timeline, he is remorseful and willing to do what it takes to get back in her good graces, including helping her find a missing artifact. I felt like the book went off the rails in the second part of the book when the hero chose to keep a very big and important secret from the heroine. He could have trusted her, and they could have worked through the difficulty together, as they had been doing previously. He had many instances where he could have come clean, and I thought the heroine forgave him far too easily. While the title of the book is a clever play on the name of a popular movie, it in no way reflects the story. She didn’t “train” him in any way, shape, or form. I’ve seen this recently happen with two books, and I sincerely hope it is not a trend! This second part of the book had several long and involved sensual scenes. Now, I don't mind a few of such scenes in a novel—I actually usually enjoy them!--the length and detail of them felt excessive and impeded furthering of the rest of the plot lines. And it always amazes me how authors depict young women in historical romances approach these intimate moments, as I believe in real life back in the day they would have been sheltered innocents who would need time to acclimate to that new physical reality and aspect of the relationship. I think authors often go a bit too far, giving historical heroines more modern sensibilities in this area—which leads to anachronistically discordant thoughts and actions, ones that would have been unlikely back then. All in all, I found this book disappointing on several levels, but I hope this debut author will continue to hone her craft. -- I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

The first book in the Astley Chronicles series by a new Author, this is her debut book and I can not wait to read the next book. The story is well written with a very good storyline, and flowed smoothly across the pages. I enjoyed seeing Lady Caroline Astley and Henry Greville, Viscount Thetford get their happy ending and all the ups and downs they went through to get it.