arr reviewed Beguiling the beauty by Sherry Thomas (Berkley sensation historical romance)
Review of 'Beguiling the beauty' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
2.5
Sherry Thomas is a more than competent writer, which is why I decided to read this book despite my noted disinterest in mistaken identity plotlines (UNLESS they involve crossdressing), and much of the actual romance between the hero and heroine is engaging and genuine. Unfortunately, this book is brought way down by its central conceit: namely the incredulity-straining, suspension-of-disbelief-shattering incredible physical beauty of the heroine.
There were various moments where it was just silly, but that could have stood if not for the fact that her beauty was also given as the reason for the hero's decade-long obsession with her true identity, without ever having spoken to her, an obsession that persisted even after he'd fallen in love with her in her disguise. There was a lot of psuedo-scientific chatter about the evolutionary purposes of and responses to beauty, but it also got mixed up in the hero's premonition …
2.5
Sherry Thomas is a more than competent writer, which is why I decided to read this book despite my noted disinterest in mistaken identity plotlines (UNLESS they involve crossdressing), and much of the actual romance between the hero and heroine is engaging and genuine. Unfortunately, this book is brought way down by its central conceit: namely the incredulity-straining, suspension-of-disbelief-shattering incredible physical beauty of the heroine.
There were various moments where it was just silly, but that could have stood if not for the fact that her beauty was also given as the reason for the hero's decade-long obsession with her true identity, without ever having spoken to her, an obsession that persisted even after he'd fallen in love with her in her disguise. There was a lot of psuedo-scientific chatter about the evolutionary purposes of and responses to beauty, but it also got mixed up in the hero's premonition upon first seeing her that she was The One, which clouded the actual point the author was trying to get across.
Is Venetia's physical beauty and Lexington's reaction to it simply an easily dismissed, lizard brain reaction OR was he drawn to her because he ~just knew~ that she was his soulmate? It feels like the author couldn't really decide so she just muddled it all together. Not to mention this tangled narrative fixation on her physical beauty undermines the actually touching, believable chemistry and affection they had based on their personalities. Then there's the fact that while Venetia calls him out for it a few times, the unfairness and, yes, misogyny of Lexington's intense resentment of Venetia due his resentment of his own obsession with her was never addressed to my satisfaction.
