Johanna B. (beekbook) -
Helpful Score: 2
This book surprised me, as I found the writing to be far richer in detail by comparison to the other three books, and denser as well. I can only guess that Ms. Kleypas wanted to make sure that her Wallflower world was thoroughly established at the beginning (although I didn't have any trouble reading the books out of order). She doesn't disappoint, the writing is excellent and you get the impression that she did a lot of research into the time period. Although this book is considered a romance, I'd venture to say that's only a portion of the whole story. It's equally about friendship and the difficulties upper class women had to overcome at that time, particularly those that were impoverished. Definitely a lot of Jane Austen themes here. Annabelle's story revolves around her desperate hunt for a husband during the tail-end of an era where the peerage held the reins, socially, politically and economically. She meets and develops a deep friendship with the Wallflowers--ladies, who like herself, are not considered marriage material by the upper class. She meets Simon Hunt who is not a member of the peer, but a self-made millionaire, and he pursues Annabelle to be his mistress for the greater part of the story. Perhaps my only only complaint about this book is that we are not given any good reason why Simon is not "the marrying kind." He comes from a very solid family background, lots of siblings, good parents. I am not sure, other than maybe greed at getting any woman, any time with no strings attached is his reason for not snapping Annabelle up sooner. That, however, is just my guess, because we really don't get to know the hero all that well. Other than that, Annabelle's story is worth a read, not a quick read compared to the other 3 books, but still worth the time.
