≫ Libro Free Confessions from an Arranged Marriage The Burgundy Club Miranda Neville 9780062023056 Books

Confessions from an Arranged Marriage The Burgundy Club Miranda Neville 9780062023056 Books

Download As PDF : Confessions from an Arranged Marriage The Burgundy Club Miranda Neville 9780062023056 Books

Confessions from an Arranged Marriage The Burgundy Club Miranda Neville 9780062023056 Books

This is the first I've read by Miranda Neville, and I'm impressed!

The story is unusual, interesting, and imaginative - hallelujah! Skilled writing with only the rare anachronism. The plot was solid. The narrative and the dialogue were fluid. The characters were developed in a smooth fashion.

This is an intriguing mix of romance, politics, and dyslexia. Quite an exceptional undertaking. Thought-provoking. What *would* an aristocrat of this era do if he suffered from dyslexia, a condition not even acknowledged at the time? How on earth would he handle it? The story gives us a window into the possibilities.

We also see the frustrating effects that the strictures of the time must have had on many an intelligent, educated, and ambitious young woman.

The author's talent and capable research shine through in this lovely novel.

Btw, I'm puzzled by the naysayers who criticize Minerva for her ambition when we seem to admire women today who exhibit the same ambition. Funny that. ..... I'm equally nonplussed by those in high dudgeon over the politics presented in the novel. This *is*, after all, an HISTORICAL novel, and the politics were deftly woven into the story and were not at all over-powering. Just...interesting.

I enjoyed it! :)


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Confessions from an Arranged Marriage The Burgundy Club Miranda Neville 9780062023056 Books Reviews

I really only had two issues with this book, which I'll detail later because I really, really liked this story.

I loved the characters Min and Blake. They were very well-drawn with powerful character arcs; the plot was thoroughly engrossing, so well-paced and fulfilling, but I just have to take a moment and gush at Neville's craft-woman-ship.

I really enjoy the way Neville arranges her paragraphs. They're like a Platonic argument which begin "if this then that, if that then this." The last sentence ends up being the summation or proof of the points, but the conclusion was usually in averse to the wisdom of the presented arguments. Very entertaining!

She's a fantastic "snapper" You think the story is on a predictable route and then she pulls tension tight in another direction and snaps your attention like a rubber band.

The love scenes, especially the consummation, was perfectly true to life! And they got better and better with practice.

My two issues? The first is a big one for me. Neville head-hopped. That's a headache inducing issue for me personally. Typically in a romance we hop from the heroine's to the hero's POV. The hop is usually indicated by a line break or a chapter break. Sometimes we'd be in Min's head and then in the next paragraph we'd hop into Blake's. It jarred me each time and made me reread, which took me out of the flow of the story a number of times. Still the story was so good, I forgave...got over it...kept going.

My other issues is that the very end, which was wonderfully unexpected, got a bit too sappy with the I Love You's. Neville makes these characters work for their respective skipped heart beats, which was so satisfying. But once the I Love You's rained down, it poured!
This is the first book I've read by Miranda Neville & I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't usually read series out of order but I saw this recommended to me on & bought it straight away, not realizing it was the fourth in a series. It's no matter though, the story of Minnie/Blake stands very well on its own.

Minnie is a woman who pines for political power & influence & Blake is born into the very thing but wants nothing to do with any of it. She's a voracious & opinionated reader & he's of the sporty end & prefers to be with his horses. A funny if not cliched turn (her epic migraines are never mentioned again in this book) causes their paths to cross in such a way that marriage is the only choice to avert scandal & that's where the story really takes off. It's quite clear early on that Blake isn't the slacker Minnie (& most others) regards him as. He has a secret that he's been keeping for years & will go to most any length to continue to keep.

It was very easy to feel for Blake as the story unfolded & while I wanted him to fess up to Minnie, I could understand why he was so reticent. Huntley, our resident extortionist, was reason enough to make anyone wary of divulging a secret ever again in life. For Minnie's part, she was very informed & smart in a good many ways but she was just as stunted when it came to reading people or having any clue about why Blake was the way he was. I suppose that could make Minnie seem highly & unforgivably inconsiderate & put some readers off, but I liked it because it was clear that she too was deeply flawed & needed growth in perspective. It was as though she couldn't conceive of people relating to the world of books & reading in any other way than she did, so watching her grow over the course of the story was interesting. I did feel badly for both of them often as they stumbled along in the story. Also, I was worried when Blake became Hampton because I kept thinking that as he was relying on his secretaries (or anyone other than Amanda) to give him summaries of all things before he signed all things political, he could be signing anything (much like the IOU Huntley had him sign before). His vulnerability made me anxious & I wanted someone, anyone, to tell Minnie before something drastic happened! In the end, that wasn't the drastic event I needed to worry myself over but the one that presented itself was handled well, even if it was a bit predictable.

The romance between Minnie/Blake was very well done & believable & not overwrought & sappy. I appreciated that. It was nice to watch them evolve as people & as a couple & I cheered for them. Their having genuine affection for one another was sweet but I most enjoyed that they had mutual respect & felt protective & supportive of each other. I'm a huge historical fiction fan so I was probably a bit predisposed to enjoy this & I would read others in the series.
This is the first I've read by Miranda Neville, and I'm impressed!

The story is unusual, interesting, and imaginative - hallelujah! Skilled writing with only the rare anachronism. The plot was solid. The narrative and the dialogue were fluid. The characters were developed in a smooth fashion.

This is an intriguing mix of romance, politics, and dyslexia. Quite an exceptional undertaking. Thought-provoking. What *would* an aristocrat of this era do if he suffered from dyslexia, a condition not even acknowledged at the time? How on earth would he handle it? The story gives us a window into the possibilities.

We also see the frustrating effects that the strictures of the time must have had on many an intelligent, educated, and ambitious young woman.

The author's talent and capable research shine through in this lovely novel.

Btw, I'm puzzled by the naysayers who criticize Minerva for her ambition when we seem to admire women today who exhibit the same ambition. Funny that. ..... I'm equally nonplussed by those in high dudgeon over the politics presented in the novel. This *is*, after all, an HISTORICAL novel, and the politics were deftly woven into the story and were not at all over-powering. Just...interesting.

I enjoyed it! )