Book 69: A Countess Below Stairs

TITLE: A Countess Below Stairs
AUTHOR: Eva Ibbotson
STARTED: August 26, 2009
FINISHED: August 31, 2009
PAGES: 383
GENRE: Romance

FIRST SENTENCE: In the fabled, glittering world that was St. Petersburg before the First World War there lived, in an ice-blue palace overlooking the river Neva, a family on whom the gods seemed to have lavished their gifts with an almost comical abundance.

SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] After the Russian revolution turns her world topsy-turvy, Anna, a young Russian countess, has no choice but to flee to england. penniless, Anna hides her aristocratic background and takes a job as servant in the household of the esteemed Westerholme family, armed only with an outdated housekeeping manual and sheer determination. Desperate to keep her past a secret, Anna is nearly overwhelmed by her new duties—not to mention her instant attraction to Rupert, the handsome Earl of Westerholme. to make matters worse, Rupert appears to be falling for her as well. As their attraction grows stronger, Anna finds it more and more difficult to keep her most dearly held secrets from unraveling. And then there's the small matter of Rupert's beautiful and nasty fiancĂ©e

THOUGHTS: This is a romance novel? For a book that is supposed to be about a couple falling in love, the two lead characters spend a remarkably small amount of time together - like 10 pages worth. I didn't see the romance, the spark, the lust. There was nothing there that actually portrayed Rupert and Anna falling in love, except for when she comforted him after a bad dream. Say wha? To me, a romance novel needs spark and this lacked that feeling entirely.

Also, stop making the lead characters perfect. I like my leads to be human - you know, flawed in some way. These people were too good for my taste.

The only reason I am not completely panning this book is for the following reasons:
   1. The secondary characters rock. They're not set pieces and the seem to have emotions, unlike the leads. I particularly enjoyed Olive. She was a hoot.
   2. The writing. The vivid descriptions, pacing, and tone were just right.
   3. The setting. I have not read a book set in this place and time, ever. That made the book a little bit more interesting than it would have been otherwise.

RATING: 5/10 [Meh.]

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