Love by Numbers Book 2
This seemed to take forever to get through. When I started it, I had very little free time and I read it in short snippets, which made it difficult for me to get absorbed into the story.
Lord Nicolas St. John is sent on a mission to find his friend’s runaway sister. Following her to Yorkshire, he stumbles across Lady Isabel Townsend who runs a rather unconventional household and he’s determined to uncover her secrets.
Overall this book gave me a general feeling of apathy. The plot was a bit dull and not much happens, and the characters were equally unexciting.
Nicolas is an antiquarian, adventurer, and traveller who was involved in some secretive stuff in the past. At first I was exited and thought, Indiana Jones, or even Brandon Fraser in The Mummy, but he turned out to be far less exciting, despite the hints that he’s a dangerous former spy of sorts and saver of damsels in distress.
Lady Isabel was also a bit uninspiring for me. She uses her family home as a safe haven for runaway girls and takes them in. She’s desperate for money to keep the project going, and literally stop the roof falling in on them. She’s taken on the role of man of the house, to protect her younger (still a child) brother’s inheritance and place in society. It’s all very noble and should make me want to get behind the character, which it does a bit, but I’m not fully onboard. She sees it as her life’s work but refuses to marry to save them. She’s mistrustful of men because her father was a total cad and inveterate gambler who even wagered her in marriage on more than one occasion.
So despite her attraction to Nick she fights against it, unwilling to succumb to a handsome face and charming smile. Of course she does succumb, and very easily, despite her claims otherwise.
I just didn’t feel much of anything about either of them. Whether this was because I had to read in short sessions, or because they just didn’t draw me in, I’m not sure.
Apart from some sensual kissing scenes, and a few steamy love scenes, this book just did not generate the feels for me. There were no butterflies, and no real concern for what was happening to the characters. I kind of forced myself to finish because I really wanted to try with this author, but her books seem to be very hit or miss for me. If I’m honest, I skim-read the last quarter just to get to the end.
Plot: ⭐️⭐️
Feels: ⭐️⭐️
Heat: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️
