Book Info
Released: August 4th 2015
Series: True Gentleman #1
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Format: eBook
“I still can’t decide if I liked it or not. It’s provoked a mixture of feelings in me..”
~ Under the Covers
Tremaine St. Michael has some to see the Earl of Haddonfield to talk about sheep. To most, this doesn’t seem like a very exciting subject, but Tremaine has amassed a lot of wealth from the wool of his sheep and seeks to improve his herd and Haddonfield has exactly what he needs. But, as well as a herd of sheep, it seems the Earl has a herd of unmarried sisters, one of which is the Lady Nita, practical, no-nonsense and lovely, she is also frustrating, headstrong and lonely. But Nita’s inclination towards selfless charity, putting herself in danger and separating her from her family as well as the man she is coming to fall in love with.
Tremaine’s True Love was our UTC book club read for May, and a book I was excited to be picking up as Grace Burrowes is an author I have often seen hanging around my book shelves, and yet, I have never picked up. This gave me the perfect excuse to finally give her a try, and try I did. And yet, even after a week after I have finished the book, I still can’t decide if I liked it or not. It’s provoked a mixture of feelings in me that made this a hard book for me to rate.
I’m going to break this down, so you can see the particular aspects of the book that I have struggled with:
Writing Style – This is my first Grace Burrowes book, so I don’t know if this is her usual style or not. It was quite wordy and the style was almost as if I was reading a book written within that century. Which, I alternatively found very authentic and charming, the language they used both in dialogue and their own thoughts made it seem very real. And yet, at times it also felt like a slog through the language so I could see what Burrowes was actually trying to say. This left my thoughts mixed on whether I liked it or not, but one thing you can definitely say with Tremaine’s True Love, it wasn’t a contemporary romance dressed up in Historical clothing.
Romance – This wasn’t a book about blazing passion. I was left in no doubt about the couples respect and friendship towards one another, this was very well illustrated, but their love was more understated with little heat. Once again, I was in two minds about this, I loved that Burrowes had created this sense of esteem between Tremaine and Nita, I was in no doubt that they liked each other immensely and that they would have a great marriage. It was that push from a deep like to an all consuming love and passion that I don’t think was quite there.
The Bloody Sheep – Sheep aren’t interesting. They just aren’t. And I hope Burrowes didn’t have to do too much research on them in order to write this book. Every time the subject of sheep came up I found my mind slipping away, which was unfortunate as Tremaine’s main interest, at first, is buying sheep. Not a particularly interesting subject to start this book off and I’m glad all the sheep talk gradually seem to tail off the more you got into the book. But still. Sheep. Blargh.
As you can see, I was conflicted with this book, which I why I rated 3 stars, bang in the middle. I admit, I am now a little wary of starting another Grace Burrowes book…and at the same time I would be interested to see how it compares to this book. Burrowes has left me in a tizzy of indecision! So, beware and start at your own peril. 
READING ORDER & BUY LINKS
About Grace Burrowes
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Grace Burrowes' bestsellers include The Heir, The Soldier, Lady Maggie's Secret Scandal, Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish and Lady Eve's Indiscretion. Her Regency romances have received extensive praise, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Grace is branching out into short stories and Scotland-set Victorian romance with Sourcebooks. She is a practicing family law attorney and lives in rural Maryland.
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Annnnnd I will stop myself there, before I start waxing lyrical about my love of historical romance and fantasy as well; no one needs to know about my elf fantasies. As you can tell, I adore and day dream about most romance genres, and my three big loves are 1) reading about romance 2) writing about romance and 3) talking about romance with my gals. Which, is why I love Under the Covers so much, I get all my bookish needs satisfied and don’t get judged when I talk about my favourite characters like they are real people. Which they are right?
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I discovered Grace Burrowes a few years ago when she released her Captive Hearts series. I loved it so much that I was excited for this one, but it fell incredibly flat for me. I tried the next one in the series, but I put it on hold for now – I can’t quite bring myself to admit it’s a DNF, because the last series was such a win for me. I hope you’ll give her another chance, and if you’re looking for suggestions, start with The Captive.
Great review!
I’ve never read her before but I’ve heard great things about her maybe you should try another book by her but from another series. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Suzanne
I have read about a dozen of her books and have come to the conclusion that it will be hit or miss. The hits- those are the best (like the one Angie describes, loved that one, too), but usually the misses are mostly mixed feeling affairs instead of all out DNF.
I’ve only read one grace burrowes book and thought it was just ok…which is why I haven’t read another yet..
Thanks for the review.