Elizabeth Thornton 'The Pleasure Trap'

The heroine writes Gothic novels. The hero is approached by an old soldier friend to find out who is writing some stories being published in the paper about mysterious deaths from the past. It becomes a personal task when his family is the subject of the next story published. And thus they meet.

Overall the book wasn’t horrible, but the writing was too expository. In character’s internal dialog they continually dither. “..in spite of what he said, no one wanted to be an open book that anyone could read at will. All the same it would be comforting to have someone to whom she could unburden her heart…She wasn’t that brave so she could hardly expect Ash to be different. For a time there she had felt close to him, until she’d mentioned his mother.” Even if people really think this way, it’s quite annoying in a novel.

Early on the hero accuses the heroine of not knowing how to write a male character. To which she replies, “You mistake my books, Lord Denison, my hero’s are mere accessories to my heroines.” I loved this comment but it’s ironic because by the end Lord Dennison is SO an accessory.

I never fell in love with either of these characters and I have to attribute it to the heavy-handed writing.

Historical Romance 2007: 2 of 5 stars.

Picture Attribution: LoveSwing.com