Lord Dashwood Missed Out

A cute little novella in the Spindle Cove series - can't really go wrong with them, they're just short, sweet with a little spice.

Ondanks dat dit een novelle was, vond ik het wat langdradig en saai met momenten.
De auteur had zo weinig pagina's om het verhaal uit te diepen, en koos dan toch om een soort onnodige zij-plot te fabriceren die compleet niks voor het verhaal deed.

this book was my first Tessa Dare and I was really excited about it, every romance lover recommend her. But it was a miss for me... let me explain :

Elinora is an intelligent young woman who decided to dedicate her life to her work of author. After Lord Dashwood, a childhood friend and crush, left without notice after the death of her brother she decided to pour her frustration, anger and sadness in a pretty vigorous pamphlet : Lord Ashwood Missed Out. The success is immediate and she is now a known author. As she must leave to read her pamphlet in a library in Spindle Cove her carriage left early because of the coming storm and she found herself in an other carriage with Lord Dashwood. She is not the only one angry anymore : indeed Lord Dashwood's reputation suffered from this pamphlet and he is now curious to know what he missed out...

Like I said at the beginning of this review it was a miss for me, not everything is bad and I will for sure read more of Tessa Dare. Let's begin with what bothered me to later end on a sweeter note. the first thing I didn't like were the cringy lines... some lines were cringy and really out of nowhere, not a single soul would say such things today or before in time.. It was a mix of awkwardness and laugh.
Then I think that the history of the relation of the characters was more developed. I know it is a novella but several times they talk about the death of Elinora's brother, clearly a difficult moment for both of them, hanging beyond their head as a dark cloud, but not at any moment the accident is told, no memories of them together, younger are told neither and I think I would have cared more if it was done.
The last thing I wish was done differently are the characters from previous book of the series involved in this novella : like I said I didn't read previous books in this series. So first of all I don't really care about them, second they don't push the story forward and third it doesn't seems like a lot of things happen to them, so was it really necessary to put them there ? Like I said they don't push the story forward, those scene are not necessary, it could have been used to deepen the characters of Elinora and Dashwood.

But let's move one to what I liked : the plot was interesting and quite well done. I like stories with characters that already know each other : it's more realistic and for me it opens doors for really romantic and nostalgic scenes that I am a sucker for ! Interactions between the characters were, mostly, cute and funny. And last it was easy to listen to, no reading slumps in the middle of it.

So even if there was elements that I didn't like over all this was not a bad book, I am sure that if I read more of T.D I will find something that I like more.

Fofo, não é?

Super cute, super quick story! I even managed to laugh. It got a little cheesy at the end, but isnt that why we read HR?

I probably won't write a full-length review of this one, since it's just a novella. Suffice to say, it definitely wasn't perfect. But it was just what I needed at the moment - a quick, fun read to get me out of my post-Twelve Houses malaise. It was great to be back with the Spindle Cove crew again, and I am so excited to hear that Charlotte is finally getting her own book!

However, the hero revealed something toward the end that is extremely problematic. I am willfully ignoring so I can retain my own enjoyment of the book, but I could not in good conscience bring myself to rate it more than two stars.

Fun while you're reading it, but the more you think about it, the plot falls apart. First, if he planned the entire thing to get her alone in a coach and then the cabin, why was he such a dick to her at the start of the coach ride? Would a driver really intentionally drive his coach and horses off the road? Seems like a big risk and likely to lead to actual injury. I really like the MC and enjoyed the cameos from other Spindle Cove characters, but this is kind of like cotton candy. Fun while you're enjoying it, but doesn't stand up afterward. (Probably more like 2.5, rounding up.)