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Liked It “Lady Annabel McBride is caught kissing Simon Blackwell, a man she barely knows. The only thing she knows is the attraction between her and this rude and arrogant man. But now her reputation is on the line and Anne’s older brother demands from Simon to do the honourable thing and secures a...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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D.L. wrote this review Monday, October 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This book caused me physical pain. I wasn’t even through the first page when I severely regretted the purchase of this novel. I spent the few hours it took me to read it alternately crying from the headache and laughing from just how bad it could get. She managed to use parallel structure in every... single... paragraph.
It’s difficult to call Simon Blackwell the hero of the story, because in no way does he act like a hero throughout the 300-pages of this drivel. His biggest accomplishment is coming out of his world of self pity and realizing he loves his wife. He spends the majority of the novel drunk or wallowing in his misery, or both. His lamentations come off more as angst than any real sorrow. His character lacked a certain amount of dimension. It was if he had a switch which flipped between his unending sadness and his desire to have sex with Annabel. The fury with which he attempts to deny his attraction to her almost becomes laughable as Samantha James fails to reveal his logic in the denial. Also, she doesn’t develop the growing love that Simon supposedly feels for Annabel, making his final confession seem somewhat arbitrary.
The character I could not stand was Annabel. Yes, she was described as independent and courageous, but I thought she was a bit of an idiot. Definitly TSTL. This is your typical romance plot where the heroine loves a troubled man and therefore endures the neglect he heaps upon her in the hopes that one day her kindness will cause him to love her back. Not my cup of tea, but if it’s yours and you can withstand severe abuse of the English language, you may find this novel acceptable.
And what was the secret passion of Simon Blackwell!? I never actually figured it out. That he loved Annabel? It wasn’t that secret… When you have a title that obvious and you still don’t know the answer by the end, you know something’s wrong.
What to Watch Out For:
Simon is haunted by his past. Simon is haunted by his dreams. Simon is haunted by thunderstorms. I am haunted by the excessive use of parallel structure in this novel. And the use of broken sentences. Incomplete sentences. To show emotion! Exclamations seem to be a favorite. Descriptions are dull, repetitive, and by page thirty you could probably recite along. Do not read this if you have any appreciation of prose and the English language. Also, you can still see the formula etched onto the pages. Someone really should call the publishers about that. The novel is not only predictable, there is little transition between the stages of there relationship. Simon and Annabel move from sparring, to denied attraction, to accepted attraction without love, to one-true-love at a jarring pace, with long plateaus followed by sudden changes in the status quo. The entire novel is resolved in the final ten pages, with a fairly unsatisfying climax for anyone who enjoys any sense of suspense- or any use of their senses. ”“Lady Annabel McBride is caught kissing Simon Blackwell, a man she barely knows. The only thing she knows is the attraction between her and this rude and arrogant man. But now her reputation is on the line and Anne’s older brother demands from Simon to do the honourable thing and secures a proposal from Simon. Right after the wedding they leave to Simon’s home on the Moor of Yorkshire. Now Annabel finds herself married to a man she hardly knows and doesn’t want anything to do with her.
Lady_Caella wrote this review Monday, October 13 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Simon Blackwell didn’t intent to marry. He has been married before and the tragic death of his wife and two sons in a fire several years ago still hunts him. Now he finds himself married to a beautiful young woman, he certainly desire but cannot love. And to keep his heart save, he ignores his wife the moment they arrive home.
But Anne has plans of her own, having two older brothers; she knows how to react to this kind of behaviour. She accepts the challenge that Simon presents to her and will win.
The secret passion of Simon Blackwell by Samantha James is the first novel in the McBride Trilogy and I really enjoy reading it. This novel is easy to read and it is full of emotions, determination and eventually true love.
The main characters Simon and Annabel are right for each other, even when they started on the wrong foot. Simon Blackwell lost his first wife and two sons in a fire several years ago and the accident still hunts him. So in order to keep his heart save, he never intent to marry again. Until he and Annabel are caught in a passionate kiss in the garden and Annabel’s older brother demands Simon to do the right thing. So they marry and are moving to Simon’s home, but the moment they arrive he made is quite clear this marriage will be in name only. Annabel is furious and hurt, but determined to let this marriage succeed and take the challenge. The first thing to do is claiming her personal space in the house and then win the heart of the man she’s beginning to love. Will she be able to break through his shield and fight for his love?
I haven’t read any of Samantha James books, so this was the first novel, but I can truly say I like her style. The novel is easy to read and quite relaxing, just what I needed after some heavy paranormal novels. I will definitely pick up the next novel in this series soon, because I’m curious to see what will happen to one of Annabel’s brothers in The seduction of an unknown lady.
”
“Reviewed on my blog”
Laurie Gold wrote this review Monday, June 16 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Oh, Simon. Loved this story. The hero was so noble. He felt terrible about the death of his wife and children and he blamed himself. Never fear, the heroine has him wrapped around her little finger by the end. Awww, sweet love.”
Brandy T wrote this review Monday, May 26 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“http://booksbypickles.blogspot.com/2008/05/jens-review-secret-passion-of-simon.html”
Jen wrote this review Saturday, May 24 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I enjoyed reading the story of Anne and Simon’s marriage based on one scandalous kiss. I like that they got caught right away and forced into marriage. So often that doesn’t happen in Regencies. I did like the characters in general, though their inner monologues started repeating about halfway through the book. It got just a bit old. Overall, an enjoyable read with a lot of really nice chemistry between the characters.”
Sonja Foust wrote this review Friday, April 25 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Not my cup of tea, I love gothic romance novels, this is not one of them. Would someone slap them and tell them to quiet whining. It could have been better and less predictable. I started out like the main character but slowly spiraled in to a loathing by the end of the book. I'm glad it only took me two evenings to read.”
Alisa wrote this review Thursday, April 24 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“ToBe Read BookList”
nikel27 wrote this review Tuesday, April 22 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Poor Simon, he is a sad case and not very knowing with relationships but the story is good. The ending is very nice”
HBee wrote this review Thursday, October 25 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
