TITLE: Three Little Secrets
AUTHOR: Liz Carlyle
STARTED: December 27, 2010
FINISHED: December 31, 2010
PAGES: 374
GENRE: Romance
FIRST SENTENCE: They found him alone in the stable yard.
SUMMARY: [From Amazon.com
] In this third installment of the Regency saga, Carlyle spins a story of long-separated lovers who reunite, but only after much argument, miscommunication and the revelation of a baby's less-than-surprising true parentage. The plot will ring familiar to Carlyle's fans, primarily because it's a carbon copy of Two Little Lies. As in Lies, the hero and heroine—in this case hardened businessman Merrick MacLachlan and his former beau, Lady Madeleine Bessett—meet by chance in London and then spend the bulk of the book casting each other longing looks, declaring they want nothing to do with one another and indulging in angst-ridden personal flashbacks; it all grows tedious fast. It's a testament to Carlyle's skill that her characters engage despite the familiar setup, but in the end, they aren't dynamic enough to satisfy the story line or the reader. This book may contain Carlyle's signature sensuality, but it lacks the complexity of plot and character that made her earlier romances shine. THOUGHTS: Three Little Sins is the last book in the Carlyle trilogy and also my last read for 2010. Of all the books, Merrick was my favorite hero but he alone was not enough to bring this book above a "Meh" level for me.
Merrick is kind of awesome. I don't think I've ever read a romance hero quite like him. He's both aloof and passionate with a streak of meanness and sarcasm. Carlyle nailed his character and I loved every moment he was on the page. I think complex male leads are hard to come by in Regency romances. Usually, the traits of these heroes are defined by the times. Carlyle turned Merrick into an architect with a bitter sense of business and revenge. I like it. I like it lots.
Since Merrick was so darn awesome, everyone else felt flat. Madeleine is sweet but kind of a ninny. I wish she had more of a back bone. It would have been interesting to see Carlyle pit two kind of bitter people against one another - but Madeleine is more of the push over, timid type. Her son was interesting but I wish Carlyle had made his "specialness" a more modern thing than she did.
Spoiler alert! - The son has "the sight" or the Scottish gift. I was rooting for him to have autism. I think the dynamic created with that would have been far more interesting. Two people working together to overcome something that would be misunderstood in that era is far better than having Granny sweep in and save the day. End spoiler.
All in all, Merrick made the book interesting, but the rest of the story could not hold a candle to his complexity.
RATING:5/10 [Meh]
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