As an author who regularly breaks genre rules herself, it came as no surprise to me that this book was self-published. It is absolutely a love story and romance. But it centers on more than the two heroes, includes a healthy dose of family drama, and has the audacity to feature more than two points of view.
Basically, it breaks the rules in all the best ways. I devoured the text in two sittings, and once I was finished I felt emotionally mauled at the hands of my Kindle. At turns, the story is sexy, clever, poignant, and hilarious. But most of all, it’s fun. It’s escapism that makes you think, and a plausible alternate history that could be real, and absolutely worth ignoring any criticism about how it shatters romance tropes.
There is a certain amount of “poor little rich kid” to the story, and I would have had no patience for that in any characters who were not part of the world’s most famous royal family. This is simply not a plot that would have worked with billionaires or dukes or whatever else is popular in romance stories these days.
Overall, this book is more than just about Eddie and Isaac. They’re the heart of events, but there’s so much else to get absorbed by. Two love stories get their happily ever afters in this book, but Dubner leaves room to revisit those characters by planting the seeds of other romances. I already can’t wait to come back to the world of the Kensingtons.
Rating: 5 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.