Sandy M’s review of The Perfect Kiss by Melody Thomas
Historical Romance published by Avon 28 Jun 11
I’ve read only one Melody Thomas book a number of years ago, and I remember really enjoying it. I’m not sure after all this time what type of review grade I would have given it at the time (I wasn’t reviewing books then, I don’t think), but my feeling now is it would have been a pretty good grade. So I’m kind of surprised this latest book by her didn’t grab me and haul me into the story like I imagined it would.
This is a good book, but it’s not one that bowled me over. I like the characters well enough. The story is somewhat intriguing, better in the second half than in the first. But there’s just something for me that keeps the book from being one I absolutely love.
We meet Camden, seventh earl of Carrick, and Christel when she’s an independent eighteen-year-old, able to run around as she pleases, being the bastard child of an adulterer and an earl and national hero. Social mores don’t apply to Christel, which has now gotten her in trouble and she’s being sent to America. Before she goes, however, she’s determined to let Carrick know how she feels, to live that one dream with him, to know what it’s like to be in his arms, all the while knowing she can never really have him. It’s time Cam took a wife, though the young urchin who runs along the beach and who is now so enticing in her ball gown and mask makes him think twice. All to no avail, since she disappears the next day.
Nine years later Christel returns home to Scotland. She married and worked with her husband as a spy during the war. After her husband’s murder and receiving word her cousin Saundra has died – and receiving a letter from Saundra after her death to be governess to her daughter – Christel knows something isn’t right. Learning that Camden’s ship is in port, Christel takes a chance that he will allow her onboard. Coming face to face after so many years, all the old feelings return for both of them, despite what they’ve each been through the past few years.
They try to keep their distance now that their lives are intertwining again, but that’s difficult to do. Chrstel’s home is on Carrick land, and she needs money to keep it afloat. In the midst of all of this, Carrick’s brother, Leighton, is still a thorn in his side, though Christel knows if only Carrick would give him a chance, things would be different between them. She needs to take her own advice as far as her half-sister is concerned. She learns that though the war is over, Leighton may still be involved in smuggling and the Robinhood adventures he’s still suspected of from years before, bringing offenses down on Carrick if it’s true.
There’s a lot that goes on in this book, culminating in the discovery of how Saundra died, along with an unexpected twist or two, which is nearly the best part of the story. Though Carrick and Christel do consummate their relationship, despite the fact neither of them believes they have a relationship, they try to keep it to one night only. But it’s Carrick who can’t stay away, and their impromptu, intense couplings show his feelings clearly, but he can’t see that until much later. Christel is much better at keeping her distance, knowing she’s below him in station, but when he initiates all that intensity, her resistance disappears, despite her better judgment.
Anna, Carrick’s daughter, is a fun element to the story, as is Christel’s stray pet, Dog. Both are introduced early on and used very well throughout, helping to elevate the story in emotion. So I’m still baffled as to why it all is only so-so for me. I’m leaning toward Carrick not having that extra something that I need in my heroes. He seems tortured enough, but we never really see his anguish totally. We never see the talk between him and Leighton, something that has been thrown at the reader quite a bit up to that point. I want to see what happens between them, just as we see what transpires between Christel and her sister when they talk.
The writing is good, immersing me in the era and the characters’ lives. I just want a little more to bring it all together.
Grade: B-
Summary:
It was the moment she had been dreaming of: a stolen kiss at a masquerade ball with the dashing Camden St. Giles. He may not have known who she was, but Christel would never forget . . .
Nine years have passed since that magical evening. Now Camden, the seventh earl of Carrick, is widowed with a young daughter, a man with a heart in need of healing. And Christel has just stolen onboard his ship bound for Scotland. Neither has forgotten the kiss that had set their hearts ablaze. The longer she remains with him, the hotter his desire burns. But as they grasp their second chance at love, will the secrets from his past threaten to destroy the one love true enough to free his tormented heart?
Read an excerpt.
