Cover 5

False Engagement

2018

Ratings1

Average rating2

15

This was a pretty disappointing read. It isn't very long, yet at least half of it could have been cut, and it would have been the same story. It's an interesting take on the Regency setting, with same-sex marriages and multiple-person marriages as totally unremarkable. But the setting doesn't really matter, because the book takes place almost totally inside the main character's head, with page after page of introspection, resentment, waffling, longing, and plotting, and very little action. I think this book would've been much better if we had seen his love interest's point of view, too, and I was surprised the PoVs did not alternate. It was not a surprise to me that the MC's longing was not one-sided and they were in fact carrying torches for each other, because I have read fake relationship stories before. This is the second book I've read by this author (the first was [b:Wes and Kit 22914628 Wes and Kit (Steampunk Mystery #1) Hollis Shiloh https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1409110835s/22914628.jpg 42445784]) and I don't know if I'll try again. In both books, there is a cool concept, a lot of sexual/romantic tension, and a conclusion that brings the pair together without being emotionally satisfying.