An Appetizer for Claire’s Story

“In that charged moment, he was flooded with wishes. He wished he had never met her. He wished she weren’t so beautiful. He wished he were more capable of expressing the emotions he normally crushed down deep inside himself. He wished she would ride away and never come back. He wished, very fervently, that she would come up the stairs and kiss him.”

FINAL DECISION: I liked this book but it suffered for me because it made me want Claire’s book more than I was excited about reading this story. There was nothing particularly wrong with this book, but it raised the anticipation for Claire’s book such that I wanted to read that book more than this one.

THE STORY: Gabriel Woodley, the youngest son, has been obsessed with finding his twin sister since she disappeared. He keenly feels the loss of his sister because he considers her the emotional part of himself. Without his sister, Gabriel has difficulties with personal relationships. Indeed, Gabriel doesn’t want anything or anyone to get in the way of his search for his sister. The one person who threatens his single minded devotion is Juliet Gray. Juliet is a healer who helped save his mother’s life. In gratitude, the Dowager Marchioness of Woodley wants to take Juliet to London to help her find a husband. Juliet agrees only because of the budding romance between her father and the Dowager. For herself, she knows that she cannot hope for marriage because she is already ruined. She cannot help her attraction to Gabriel even as she knows that there is no future in it.

OPINION: Gabriel is a difficult hero to like. He keeps himself emotionally apart from others and his obsession with finding his sister has made him a jerk in other books. Through this book, however, readers get to see that Gabriel loves his sister tremendously and while it makes him disregard others, he has good intensions. As Gabriel falls for Juliet, he finds a new outlet for all that passionate caring. His journey in this book is to turn from his obsession to find meaning in his own life.

Juliet is sweet and independent and too willing to sacrifice herself for others. For a great portion of the book Gabriel doesn’t treat her very well and frankly, I would have smacked him silly. Juliet’s compassion and intelligence makes her a great pair for Gabriel. She moves him in a different direction even as she understands and accepts his obsession.

This book doesn’t feel as grounded in an actual historical period. Because the Woodleys are nontraditional people and so are their friends, the standards and morals of the time don’t really apply to them. I don’t mind these types of historical books – where the historical part is more flavor than accuracy, but I know that some people are particularly disturbed by these types of books.

I was also pleased to see a cameo by characters from the Notorious Flynns series. I have a particular fondness for seeing old characters again. Readers who are not familiar with that series will not be confused.

My only problem with this book is that I would much rather be reading Gabriel’s sister Claire’s book. Her story has been an incredible mystery since the beginning of the series. Her book is next in the series and this book brings forward more questions about what is going on with her. I suspect that I will like this book better after Claire’s mystery is solved and I can concentrate on something other than my questions about Claire.

WORTH MENTIONING: Virgin hero catnip.

CONNECTED BOOKS: Tempted is book 3 of the Wicked Woodleys series. There is an ongoing story in the series regarding Gabriel’s missing twin sister, but enough is recapped here that readers could start with this book.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in order to provide a review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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