Charlotte

by Virginia Taylor

[stacey_is_sassy]

From squinty eyes to happy buzzes

***3.5 Stars***

On one hand you have me happy and content that Charlotte ended well, gave me my little happy buzz and heart flutter. On the other I nearly snapped a tooth my teeth were grit so hard in the first half of the story. I’m not a fan of cheating in any way or form. Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know it was acceptable for a “gentleman” to have a bit on the side, but to me, it just makes my skin crawl. The first half of Charlotte is a lot of justification, explanation and accusation so we know the how and why this “gentleman” made his choices. I get it, and I can sort of understand his reasoning too.

DOESN’T MEAN I HAVE TO LIKE IT!!

Now I have that off my chest…Charlotte is a beautiful woman whose life has been ruled by the decisions of her mother. After her mother passes, Charlotte must find her own way in a world where well educated and brought up women with a lack of funds have two choices – marriage or mistress. In Charlotte’s case, she decides to use her beauty to snare a hubby. There are a few contenders, but she decides to use her head and find the one who could use her as a cover for his own problems. Step up to the plate…Mr Nicholas Alden.

Nick rhymes with??? For the first half of the story, he was an absolute douchewaffle. He drinks till he passes out and normally in his mistress’s bed, spends more time in his club than his own house and avoids his wife who trapped him because she’s too appealing. Yeah…not what I’d call a real hero. All these things together made him the least appealing hero in the history of heroes. I was ready to write him off and say that Charlotte was a dud. Then, I started to see his actions were for a reason and realised his beautiful outside appearance actually sheltered a broken man. His reason for having a mistress started to make sense and the hurt he was dishing out wasn’t really intentional.

THE HORROR…THE DOUCHEWAFFLE WASN’T SO DOUCHEY AFTER ALL.

The story flowed well and kept my attention from start to finish. Yes, my eyes were squinting and I wasn’t exactly, loving the hero, but I was still riveted. I wanted to see if the sweet and beautiful Charlotte had the ability to break down his defenses and change the man. By the end, it was a bit of a role reversal. Could the hero help the secretive heroine share her secrets too?

Charlotte is set in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1865. This is a love story filled with angst. There are misunderstandings, communication breakdowns, and fisticuffs to deal with. Maybe I’m getting tougher in my old age, but I’m not automatically throwing my kindle against the wall at the first sign of cheating or mistress’s. I’m starting to ask the questions and seeking the reason why. In the end, I actually enjoyed Charlotte and was happy how it ended. Would I have been happier if Nick thought before he spoke…YES! Would I have preferred if the mistress did not exist…YES! Would I have preferred Charlotte to stick to her guns and tell Nick to sod off…YES! But…where would the fun be in that.

I received an ARC of Charlotte via Netgalley for an honest review.

To pre-order a copy of Charlotte from Amazon - http://amzn.to/1Tt7V5m

I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -