REVIEW: Twice Shy by Sophia Holloway
After her heartbreaking first Season, Elizabeth Ashling resolved to avoid London Society – and matrimony – completely. However, family obligations mean that Elizabeth is thrust back into society where she faces an overzealous poet, a bitter rival and, most awkwardly, the man who jilted her three years before.
Sir Lucius Radstock, dry, dashing and as devoted to horses as Elizabeth herself, is a welcome diversion. But as their acquaintance deepens, Elizabeth begins to suspect she may have judged too hastily. Although surely her second Season cannot rival the misfortunes of the first .
Dear Ms. Holloway,
I’ve come to see your books as good, solid Regencies that aren’t just wallpaper historicals of 21st century people in period dress. As such, I eagerly requested this one. Sadly, I have to say that of the books of yours I’ve read, this is on par with my least favorite.
Elizabeth Ashling lost two men during her first Season. After becoming engaged, her alcoholic father died and his poor investments left her close to destitution. The fiancé cried off and poor grieving Elizabeth crawled home. Now a few years later and having inherited a bit of money from another Uncle, she’s back with her younger cousin for that chit’s first Season. Her Aunt has hopes for them both but Elizabeth just wants to get this over and head back to her estate and live as a spinster. Life has other plans for her.
Elizabeth is like a prickly porcupine ready to get a raging mad on and let fire at any poor schmuck who crosses her path. She goes from calm to enraged in a heartbeat. There are lots of moments when I really don’t like her. She reminds me of so many people on social media today who appear to wake up each morning just looking for a reason to be mad. On the plus side, Elizabeth is bosom friends with a lovely woman, Helen, who has a fantastic marriage to a good guy.
Helen tries, she honestly does, to tell Elizabeth who the good men are but oh, no. Elizabeth with her one Season knows better than anyone. Others try to warn her about two men and, I’ll give her credit here, Elizabeth does see that one man is horrid. Too bad her Aunt wants this ghastly specimen for her innocent young daughter due to a better title and money. Never mind that Elizabeth tells her Aunt flat out that the man is a sleaze. Thinking of the parentals trying to get their daughter to marry this man rather than the Viscount (he’s got a title! He’s nice! His mother is nice!) who loves her as much as she loves him is an added ick.
Now onto the second sleaze who sees Elizabeth as a conquest. Does Elizabeth listen to several more experienced people who warn her? Of course not. Elizabeth trusts her instincts. Yeah, that’s a mistake.
So what about the hero? I felt sorry for him. He starts out thinking Elizabeth is forgettable. But in trying to save her from all the sleazes in her life as well as a deranged former debutante who takes pleasure in messing people up, he falls in love with her. Poor sap. At one point he is talking with another London gentleman about her and that man tells Hero that he’d thought about trying to court Elizabeth who has been made into a prime prize due to Hero’s unfortunate nickname – the Unassailable – for Elizabeth but second man decided he would find trying to court Elizabeth to be hard work. He nailed that.
Why is Elizabeth so determined to spurn all men? Well her father abandoned her (at age ten or maybe it was thirteen) for the bottle but I’m not sure how much time Elizabeth actually spent with him after that. Her fiancé was not love at first sight. Indeed Elizabeth was lukewarm about him until he worked his way into her heart. When we see him later, he’s a sad sack and you have to wonder what Elizabeth ever saw in him. So I haven’t been given the plot tools needed to truly buy into Elizabeth’s cold hearted determination to prevent herself from falling for another man because all men are shit and going to emotionally hurt her.
Who do I like here? Elizabeth’s friend Helen and her husband Giles are delightful. Hero is besties with Giles and I like their friendship, too. Cousin Amelia is sweet and her swain is devoted to her. Even the Aunt – with the exception of pushing for a match with one of the sleazes – is level headed and her husband seems like a nice guy. But Elizabeth started out on my bad side and never redeemed herself. C-
~Jayne
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I can’t think of any book I enjoyed when I disliked a main character. Although I suppose I warmed up to Agatha Raisin. Eventually. But I expect better of romance characters.
@LML: I need to see that the character is learning and growing. It would seem as if the FMC was getting better and then she’d flare up again at someone. One step forward and one step back. And this was for most of the book. It was frustrating.