Format: Mass Market
FTC: Purchased myself
Apparently a rewrite of an older novel published under a pseudonym, Much Ado About Marriage ties both the MacLean curse series and the upcoming Hurst Amulet series together in an Elizabethan romance set in both England and Scotland.
For those really bad with dates, that would be the 1500s aka 16th century. ;)
It's not often I read romances set during the time of Shakespeare. But I think Hawkins pulls this one off for the most part. The ridiculous collars don't seem as out of place. The speech is a nice mix of archaic terms and modern dialogue.
My knowledge of English/Scottish history is...subpar...so I won't even begin to guess about how accurate her depiction of the whole Queen Elizabeth vs. Mary situation was. Or what she tweaked. Clearly she took quite a bit of historical license when describing political events.
I'm pretty sure I haven't read the previous incarnation of this book, but I admit to feeling some serious deja vu while reading it. Maybe it's because I've read the MacLean books, but much of this felt familiar. Not necessarily bad, but a tad distracting.
What I loved about this book was the humor. The heroine, Fia, is a handful. She gives as good as she gets. And knows just how to irritate our hero, Thomas Wentworth, into speechlessness. Much of the humor is characterization and dialogue. Which makes me very happy. There's been a dearth of light-hearted books lately in my reading and this was a welcome change.
My Grade: B
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