Book: An Unwilling Bride by Jo Beverley

Rating: 5/10

It seemed like a promising story plot, but I was deeply disappointed. I was looking forward to a story about how 2 unwilling people get together and the guy first falls for the girl and after they are married, he tries to get her to fall for him. However, all I read about was a supposed independent woman who becomes so terrified about her future husband and a man who is constantly thinking about going to war, but isn't allowed to because the Earl, "his father" won't let him without him first making some grandsons for the Earl first. At first, I was drawn to the sad story about the Earl and his wife. But even that wasn't enough for me to condemn the father figure in this story. He shows no love for his bastard daughter or his "son" for that matter.
Pros: It was an ok story. Seemed interesting enough. I liked some of the characters, such as the White Dove who is a strong actress and won't back down from a challenge. She was the mistress of the main guy but she feels no jealousy or hatred towards the main girl even though she is/was in love with the main guy. Although, I must say I enjoyed the quote and philosophical banter between the main characters (even though I'd enjoy it more if I read the books they were talking about).
Cons: I was bored to tears and skipped many parts (since it was about war and it got boring and confusing). Also, the relationship of the couple is just odd - it is not the volatile passionate type, but a hot and cold type. It doesn't feel like they are in love. I agree every relationship has its ups and downs but this is ridiculous. He often threatens to hurt her when something doesn't go his way. Oh, and the one thing I was ABSOLUTELY PISSED ABOUT... HE HIT HER AND SHE FORGAVE HIM JUST LIKE THAT *snaps fingers*. I absolutely can not stand that. He backhanded her somewhere near the end of the story and even though it was a misunderstanding and he keeps saying sorry and that he won't ever do it again, it is annoying how the main girl claims to be an independent but she totally just just acts like it's not a big deal. Agreeably, at that period of time, a woman is basically a man's position, but it still annoys me to no end. And of course, the story seems to carry too much, too fast - especially at the end where it feels like it was hurried. The pace of the story was not (sorry for the lack of a better word...) paced out. It starts off slow, but then too much happened in too little time and everything was rushed to a conclusion.