Been pretty internet-less lately, so I'm making up for lost time. I did go right out and by "Married By Morning" and I will admit to sneaking a peek at the AAR review written by Jane Granville before I started it. I try not to allow reviews to sway me from something I'm anticipating, but I agree with her review completely. It wasn't a bad story by any means, it just didn't live up to what I wanted it to be.
It's almost as if they like each other too much by the time they get their own book. It's a little too easy on some levels. The best thing prior to "Married..." was the incredible tension between them - always arguing to cover their growing attraction. I wanted to see more of that.
The real problem for me boils down to Catherine's character development. I would have liked a different background for her than the over-connected one she got. I'm a fan of the Jane Eyre - "Handsome Lord falls for Practical Governess" plotline - which he is and she is - but that isn't really what "Married By Morning"was.
Series and connected books can be a double-edged sword. In some ways you love seeing the family members who have already had their HEA, living out their HEA (typically by showing the first heroine 'increasing') and still very much in love with their hero. However there can be too much. Nothing is worse than an author who feels the need to rehash the first 3 books for readers dropping in at the end of the series, when you've already read the books she's summing up. Kleypas doesn't really do that, just a line or two to refresh your memory, it seems she caters more to her faithful readers than those who may not have realized they're in the middle of a series. BUT, the family connections within the Hathaway Series are beginning to really bother me. This is book number four and without trying to spoil anything, we now have 4 men, 4 women, and 3 sets of married siblings. Two brothers married to two sisters, then a brother and sister married to a brother and sister (who are also siblings to the sisters of the first). It isn't incestuous by any means, but it's starting to feel that way. As if the Hathaways world is a little too small or they're such outcasts that there are no new people in it. It's all much more complicated of course, there are secrets and surprises, but I have to say I'm thankful for Beatrix's story and some new faces on the way.
