I think Sarah MacLean is a marvelous writer, and I've enjoyed her previous books, and really wanted to love this one, but it just fell a little short for me. Penelope and Michael were childhood friends who were very close. Michael, however, went away to school when she was about twelve and he never returned. First his parents died, then he lost his inheritance in a card game to his guardian, then he spent years accumulating massive wealth so that he could snub his nose at society.

From the beginning, I had a hard time relating to Michael. He lost his inheritance in a card game against his guardian, a neighbor who had run his estate until Michael reached the age of majority. Part of the problem for me was that the narrator would have you believe that he was only this incredibly reckless during this one card game, but I could hardly buy that. So, in a large part, I felt like Michael got (or lost) what he deserved. Sure he had an unscrupulous man who played against him, but it wasn't like they were gambling for peanuts!

Penelope, for her part, seemed to be unaware of her own love for Michael until he compromises her, forcing a wedding upon her, and as she laments (often) taking away her choices. I understand that the ability to make choices for herself, especially as she had been jilted before (and obviously had no choice in the matter), was supposed to be at the heart of her character. However, I felt like she whined and whined about it and then didn't make good choices for herself when she did have the opportunity.

The marriage of convenience plotline is nothing new, and MacLean doesn't do anything to make it so. Instead, we have the typical story of the h falling in love with the H and his continued resistance to the idea of love. The writing was done well enough, but without caring too much for the characters, I couldn't love this book. I really wanted there to be a bigger revelation on Michael's part, a stronger showing of remorse and regret, but it never came.

Interestingly enough, I can't wait for the next book in the series&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/One-Good-Earl-Deserves-a-Lover-The-Second-Rule-of-Scoundrels-The-First-Rule-of-Scoundrels/dp/0062068539/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">One Good Earl Deserves a Lover: The Second Rule of Scoundrels (The First Rule of Scoundrels)</a>. This book will feature Penelope's sister and Michael's friend and business partner. Both were introduced in this book, and their story shows much  more promise.
I think Sarah MacLean is a marvelous writer, and I've enjoyed her previous books, and really wanted to love this one, but it just fell a little short for me. Penelope and Michael were childhood friends who were very close. Michael, however, went away to school when she was about twelve and he never returned. First his parents died, then he lost his inheritance in a card game to his guardian, then he spent years accumulating massive wealth so that he could snub his nose at society. From the beginning, I had a hard time relating to Michael. He lost his inheritance in a card game against his guardian, a neighbor who had run his estate until Michael reached the age of majority. Part of the problem for me was that the narrator would have you believe that he was only this incredibly reckless during this one card game, but I could hardly buy that. So, in a large part, I felt like Michael got (or lost) what he deserved. Sure he had an unscrupulous man who played against him, but it wasn't like they were gambling for peanuts! Penelope, for her part, seemed to be unaware of her own love for Michael until he compromises her, forcing a wedding upon her, and as she laments (often) taking away her choices. I understand that the ability to make choices for herself, especially as she had been jilted before (and obviously had no choice in the matter), was supposed to be at the heart of her character. However, I felt like she whined and whined about it and then didn't make good choices for herself when she did have the opportunity. The marriage of convenience plotline is nothing new, and MacLean doesn't do anything to make it so. Instead, we have the typical story of the h falling in love with the H and his continued resistance to the idea of love. The writing was done well enough, but without caring too much for the characters, I couldn't love this book. I really wanted there to be a bigger revelation on Michael's part, a stronger showing of remorse and regret, but it never came. Interestingly enough, I can't wait for the next book in the series&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/One-Good-Earl-Deserves-a-Lover-The-Second-Rule-of-Scoundrels-The-First-Rule-of-Scoundrels/dp/0062068539/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt? ie=UTF8">One Good Earl Deserves a Lover: The Second Rule of Scoundrels (The First Rule of Scoundrels)</a>. This book will feature Penelope's sister and Michael's friend and business partner. Both were introduced in this book, and their story shows much  more promise.