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Kara Skinner (332 KP) rated A Most Unconventional Courtship in Books

Sep 10, 2019

“Do you not recall last night?” The hidden speaker came into view at last. There was a moment of crowded thought and he realized his mouth was hanging open.

“I remember nothing of it at all, and I’m sure I’d remember you.” He would have to be dead not to, he thought, studying the tall, slender figure standing in front of him, hands on her hips and an expression of exasperated disapproval on her oval, golden face. A veritable Greek beauty, he thought.

There is an instant attraction between Benedict Casper Chancellor, Earl of Blakeny and Alessa, an independent woman in the Greek town of Corfu. Alessa hates everything he stands for– conservative, high society England. It was the very thing her father ran away from all those years ago. But when Chance realizes English relatives of Alessa are looking for her, he wants to acquaint her to her family, and bring her to England where he could court her properly. He was convinced the life of an English noblewoman would be better suited for her than her life full of hard work and responsibilities. But Alessa isn’t willing to give up her independence. yet, especially when her aunt says Alessa cannot bring her two orphaned wards to England with her and then kidnaps her to save her own reputation. Chance will do anything to get her back, even becoming a pirate.

Despite the great opening line in this book– “Someone was trying to commit murder, and apparently they were doing it on her front step.”– I had a difficult time enjoying the first few chapters. They went by slowly with the character introductions and world-building. All of it was necessary, but I wish there was some more action and passion during that time. I liked Alessa a lot. I enjoy strong leads, anyway, especially in historical romance, but in the second half of the book, the dynamic between her and Chance was fantastic. A lot of the conflict in this story was caused by jumping to conclusions, however. That can be good sometimes, but if that’s the main reason for conflict, then I feel cheated. It’s lazy no matter how consistent the jumps are to the character. But the chemistry between Chance and Alessa definitely make this story worth reading at least once, especially for historical romance readers who particularly like world and plot development.