Friday 11 March 2016

Review: The Secret Rose by Laura Landon

3 stars
Release Date: 15th of March 2016
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion is my own. 


When I saw The Secret Rose on NetGalley, I thought 'why not?', since I've read a few Laura Landon books and don't remember disliking any of them. I didn't enjoy this one, or maybe I did, but I didn't want to enjoy it. Perhaps it's best to say that I didn't like the content of this book, but I liked reading it.

Abigail Langdon was engaged to Stephen Cambridge, Earl of Burnhaven, until she found him in flagrante with another woman. Now, with Stephen missing, his brother Ethan has had to come from the Caribbean to sort out the mess he's left behind. Thanks to a deathbed letter from Abigail's father, he knows Abigail has the answers. She's is unwilling to share her secrets, but her desperation to stay at her family's estate is obvious to Ethan, so he buys the estate from the new owner and offers her a solution: if they marry, she can have the estate, and he'll gain her father's shipping interests, with which he can pay his absentee brother's debts. But Abigail is no closer to trusting him, and her secrets and his enemies are closing in. 

I made that plot synopsis very melodramatic, but it fits, because this book is super old school. At one point, I investigated whether it was actually a reissue of an old title, because the classic romance vibes were that strong. It was, like, kidnappings, big secrets, affairs, amnesia, menacing villains, near-rapes old school. I wasn't so keen on that, but it did make for weirdly compelling reading. Although the plot was a little crazy, the suspense was skillfully done, so that I kept turning page after page after page, even when I should have walked away.

At the outset of the story, Abigail was a strong and capable heroine. She's alone in the world, struggling with a lot of stuff and just doing what she needs to in order to survive. I looked forward to seeing this develop, but instead she deteriorated, and her strength became overwhelmed by the old school elements. At times, it was almost like there was an inverse relation between her and Ethan, where there was a finite amount of strength and agency, and only one of them could possess these at any given time. When Ethan got increasingly high-handed (and by 'high-handed', I really mean 'kidnaps Abigail to force her into marriage'), Abigail's strength of character just deteriorates. It does make a comeback right at the end, but by then I was too upset at her being so forgiving and taking responsibility for men's actions towards her, that I didn't really care. 

As for Ethan, he wasn't openly domineering, but his attitude towards Abigail was worrying at times. He thinks he has a right to her secrets, and then, as she gradually reveals them, acts exactly the way she feared he would. He comes around, but this process is mainly glossed over, leaving me disturbed that he could so quickly do an about-face from viewing Abigail negatively to deciding he still wants her. He also showed a lack of awareness about Abigail, and what her secrets might be. Despite ample evidence, he never considers the possibility that she was sexually assaulted. Instead, he puts two and two together and gets thirty six, deciding that she spooks at his advances because she is so innocent, and maybe no-one's ever kissed her before. 

I wouldn't go so far as to recommend this book to anyone, but I have to admit that, despite its flaws - or perhaps because of them - it was a compulsive read. However, for anyone who is considering it, be aware that it opens with an attempted rape. 

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