Stevie‘s review of Kisses, She Wrote (The Prince Catchers Book 1.5) by Katharine Ashe
Historical Romance novella published by Avon Impulse 03 Dec 13
This is one of those books that feels very much as if two separate, competing stories have been shoehorned together to provide sufficient word count for the desired book length. The first seems to be a Christmas treat for fans of the previous book, which I haven’t read and am not really encouraged to read on the basis of what we see here. The second story is altogether more interesting and could have stood very well by itself were the book not destined to be a series extra. Although the story is set around Christmas and New Year, there are only a few festive touches in there, so it should work well at other times of the year too.
Cam, Charles Camlann Westfall, the Earl of Bedwyr, is a rake of the first order, although he stops short of seducing virgins. He generally prefers to conduct affairs with widows and with women in unhappy marriages. He’s also a poet, though currently suffering from writer’s block and temporarily very short of funds. While staying in his cousin’s chateau in Brittany, he comes across a diary written by one of his fellow guests, Princess Jacqueline of Sensaire, and discovers that this rather plain, shy virgin has an astonishing fantasy life – mostly involving him.
Jacqueline has been issued with an ultimatum by her family to marry a man of their choosing by the end of the year, but Cam does not feature on their list. Jacqueline’s family, their relationships and their various political manoeuvrings didn’t catch my interest – and that took up at least half the book – although I can see that fans of the series would appreciate them. However, the diary entries and Cam’s reactions to them do tend to please me.
Once he is drawn into reading the diary entries, Cam finds that he is able to write again and begins a long poem based on some of the images Jacqueline’s story inspires in his thoughts. At first he plans to give the poem to his new twelve-year-old ward, but soon the poem’s story takes a racier turn – as do Jacqueline’s diary entries – and so he has to come up with another destination for the finished work.
The action moves to London and to a series of matrimonial-related adventures for both of them, even as they draw ever closer to each other. Cam needs funds to buy a house he has always loved – it’s that or marry the woman his great-aunt is trying to foist on him – and realises that if he sells the poem and pulls together everything else he has, he might just manage it. Part I of the poem is a great success, but far too many people suspect that Jacqueline is the inspiration behind it – potentially jeopardising the upcoming marriage her family is forcing her into – and Cam tries to prevent the publication of Part II, but without success.
The scandal spreads, and Jacqueline reluctantly agrees to marry her family’s choice of an English aristocrat. To stop the gossip, she writes her own ending to the poem, which she submits before Cam can deliver his version to the publisher. All now hangs on which version is printed and distributed… Then the story ends rather too abruptly for my liking. There’s a happy ending that feels rushed, and an Epilogue that doesn’t really add anything, leaving me rather dissatisfied and wishing we could have seen more about the diary and poem and less about Jacqueline’s family.
Overall, this book just doesn’t do enough to please me, and I really wish the author could have written it as a standalone novella or expanded it into a complete novel. It may work better for those who’ve read the first book in the series, but it does little to make me want to recommend it to those who haven’t read that book, or to investigate the series for myself.
Grade: C
Summary:
Christmas in town has never been so steamy . . .
Handsome as sin and scandalously rakish, Cam Westfall, the Earl of Bedwyr, is every young lady’s wickedest dream. Shy wallflower Princess Jacqueline of Sensaire knows this better than anyone, because her dreams are full of the breathtaking earl’s kisses. And not only her dreams—her diary, too.
But when Cam discovers the maiden’s not-so-maidenly diary, will her wildest Christmas wishes be fulfilled in its pages . . . or in his arms?
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
