Thursday, March 13, 2008

Review: The Perfect Wife by Victoria Alexander

The Perfect Wife by Victoria Alexander
published by Avon Romance in March 2008


The perfect wife should be beautiful, trusting, and absolutely agreeable—or so the Earl of Wyldewood thought. But in New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander’s intriguing tale, he finds that marriage is about more than mere appearances . . .

When the Earl of Wyldewood meets Sabrina Winfield, he thinks he’s found the ideal match. Graceful and genteel, the elegant blonde will look simply exquisite displayed on his arm. And a lady like Sabrina will undoubtedly occupy her time with proper matters, leaving him free to pursue his own pleasures . . .

But beneath Sabrina’s delicate beauty lies the most infuriatingly stubborn, wildly adventurous woman the earl has ever met. She’s nothing like the perfect wife he had imagined. And before long, all he can think of is quieting her biting wit (with his kisses), putting an end to her outlandish schemes (with his own carefully planned seduction), and doing everything inhis power to become the perfect husband.

Genre: Historical Romance
Series: --

Why I got this book? I thought this book was the 4th and final book in the author's Wager series... turns out I was wrong.

The Story: Lady Sabrina is in a financial pinch as her new financial advisor has screwed it up and she's lost a substancial amount of money. After all the money spent for her daughter's first season, she now must find money for the dowry. It wouldn't be the first time that Lady Sabrina has financial difficulties, but the only solution she can come up is finding some buried gold coins in Egypt based on a letter her late husband won in a wager.

Nicholas Harrington has just inherited his title. Widowed with a son who just got engaged, Nicholas finds himself in a pinch too. He needs a wife, someone who can socialize and take care of all the household. He's attracted to his son's future mother-in-law, Lady Sabrina, and believes that she'd be perfect... however, he quickly discovers that she is not who she seems to be.

My Opinion: That back blurb? Totally misleading!! It might have been worth to mention Sabrina and Nicholas' grown up children!!! Ugh. I felt a bit cheated. In a contemporary, I wouldn't mind Sabrina's age too much, 36 y.o., but in a historical? Well I have to admit I was a bit put off. I really didn't expect it. Throw in the children and I was really put off.

Basically, after coming back in London's society, Sabrina has repressed herself and lived a model life, so her daughter wouldn't suffer from a bad reputation. However, Sabrina yearns for adventure and going to Egypt is just what she needs. However, Nicholas follows her. That wasn't in her plans. Then, he proposes and she accepts - a marriage of convenience. As for the kids, Sabrina's daughter is convinced that Nicholas' a rake and so she can't leave her mother alone with him. Thus, along with her fiance and his aunt, she goes after them... however, the trip doesn't turn out as she expected.

Ugh, unless you're a die-hard fan of Ms Alexander, this book is skippable. I read the whole thing, but seriously... Sabrina and Nicholas and their relationship were okay. I liked their individual personality... of course, I'd have liked them better if they were younger and had no kids. I thought they came together a bit quick, but okay, it wasn't so bad. However, did she have to leave at the end? I mean, what about talking about it? Ugh. Stupid. As for the secondary characters, all annoying. Especially Sabrina's daughter and Nicholas' son. Talk about spoiled and naive kids. Sigh. I just felt the story went nowhere and plotline was a bit too weak. There were a lot of characters and each person was going their own way instead of working together. All in all, a very disappointed read :(

My Grade: C-

ps - guess what? I just discovered that this book was a reprint. Well no wonder then...