The Most Improper Miss Sophie Valentine by Jayne Fresina

Miss Sophie Valentine is a bit stunned that the dashing James Hartley has just proposed to her--after all they were just compromised together--but when she sees an interaction between him and another woman, it leaves some doubts in her mind as to his love for her.  It also makes Sophie fall off a balcony that ends up leaving her with a scar and she ends the one hour engagement and is forced to live with her uptight brother and his too-good-for-you wife.  Years have passed and in another burst of anger with her brother and sister-in-law, Sophie writes off  to a local paper for a husband, never really expecting anyone to show up.  So when the mysterious Lazarus Kane shows up for her hand, she is intrigued but can not accept due to reasons beyond her control.  But as Kane has been looking for her this entire time, he will not take no for an answer and soon the two become all the other can think about and just when it seems they can make it work, Sophie's past comes back to cause trouble and the truth of Kane is revealed.

Hmm...I'm a bit torn about this one.  I really struggled with the first half of the book.  Not much happens beyond them lusting after each other and we get just tiny, tiny pieces that allude to what happened in the past.  Like we don't hear the truth about Sophie's scar until three quarters on the way in but there are just little snippets to keep you going but they just made me frustrated, not intrigued.  The same frustration was felt for me with the truth about Kane's past and how he came to know Sophie.  I was pretty certain I knew but it would have been nice to have it confirmed a bit sooner.  I did like that Sophie is a bit older than Kane, it was a refreshing twist of events.  I thought this book was going to be a bit humorous but beyond a few smiles, it was a little flat for me.  Overall, the second half of the book picked up the pace and was much more enjoyable but it just didn't have that extra something for me.  Sophie is bold, impulsive, stubborn and doesn't always think her actions through and it causes a few problems.  Kane is sexy, mysterious, likable and also stubborn and I admired his dedication to finding his angel.  The writing was good and I believe I know who the couple is going to be for the next book and that one looks to be fun so I am going to definitely be reading The Wicked Wedding of Miss Ellie Vyne. So while not a huge winner for me, it was good but it just needed a little more to make it shine.  3 stars

I received this eARC from Sourcebooks via netgalley.com

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 January 1st 2013