Title: The Scandalous Widow
Series: Gothic Brides
Author: Erica Monroe
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: April 24, 2018
Publisher: Quillfire Publishing
ASIN: B079D2MSYK
Lady Jemma Forster knows all too well how ruthless gossip-mongers can be. She sacrificed her own happiness to restore her family's reputation. Her marriage of convenience to an affluent earl meant saying goodbye to passion, and any chance at love with the dashing lawman who set her soul aflame. She leads a sedate, practical life as the Countess of Wolverston. Until her husband is murdered, and the only man who can bring his killers to justice is her former love.
Bow Street Runner Gabriel Sinclair has spent the last three years trying to forget about smart, beautiful Lady Jemma, who broke his heart when she married his best friend. The Earl of Wolverston's death thrusts Gabriel and Jemma back together, as they work to find his murderer. Their investigation takes them into the darkest, most dangerous parts of London, with threats coming from all sides. They're perfect partners for solving crimes, but can they be partners in love too?
My rating:
***copy provided by publisher through NetGalley***
Three years ago, she got married to help her younger sister return home after a scandal. Now, her sister is still in the same convent she's been when Jemma had married, and Jemma's husband is killed in front of a notorious brothel.
She knows it wasn't a common mugging, but murder. She also knows who did it, she just needs help in proving it. And the only one she can turn to is the man she left behind after marrying his best friend.
This one had huge potential. Unfortunately, it didn't use it.
The characters were once again rather one-dimensional and flat, there was a jarring imbalance in "power" between the hero and heroine, and I felt absolutely not chemistry between them. Which made the supposed conflict even harder to swallow, since it all stemmed from a single kiss between two friends. For friends is what these two actually were. There was no tension, no chemistry, no passion...Just two people who were supposedly comfortable with each other, and that single drunken kiss three years ago.
Then there was the suspense. It would've definitely worked better if the mystery of the killer was kept longer and the two had to discover his identity along with the proof needed to put him away. The fact we all knew who the killer was from the start, diminished the intensity and interest of the plot itself, also slowing the pace (which was already slow to begin with) even more.
1 star, bodyguard/military/merc/gov/cop/spy, Erica Monroe, freebie, gothic, historical, historical romance, regency, short story/novella, suspense/mystery/adventure/thriller
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