Marry In Haste by Lynn Kerstan

I'm a picky reader. I just don't see the point of slogging through a book that's not working for me, especially when I have 1200 books in my TBR pile, calling my name. But this can present a problem when it comes to books in a series. This book is the third book in a series, and it's very closely related to the previous book, Lucy In Disguise. I tried reading that book a while back, and it just didn't appeal to me - it started out with smugglers and a "chick in pants" (yuck and double yuck) and then became something of a Regency romp. I'm sure it had good qualities - Lynn Kerstan is a good writer - but I just didn't care for it. Like I said, I'm picky! I think I dropped it in the trade pile somewhere around page 50.

However, I felt a bit lost when trying to read this book, because obviously I missed a great deal of the plot that was revealed in the previous book. I managed to get my bearings eventually, but still, some things didn't make sense. Would I have liked this book better if I'd read the previous book? Probably. But I hate having to read books that feature plots that don't interest me, just to keep up with a series. The result is that I'm wary of buying books that seem too closely related, unless they're by a favorite author.

Authors seem to really like writing books in a series, and obviously they work for a lot of readers. But I'm often left with an "all or nothing" feeling. If one book in the series has a plot that leaves me saying "yuck, I don't want to read THAT", can I still read other books in the series without feeling lost? Or am I better off not buying these books at all?

Marry In Haste by Lynn Kerstan
(1998, Regency) 3/23/08
Grade: 3

In hiding from her dastardly uncle, Diana Whitney is usually very cautious and shy - but when a man tries to break into her house, she hits him with a frying pan! Unfortunately, he is actually Colonel Alex Valliant, her protector’s brother. They end up marrying to save her from her uncle’s schemes, but can their hasty marriage ever turn into something real?

It was hard to grade this one, because in many ways I liked the characters (particularly the insecure but determined Diana). There were some lovely scenes that showed Diana gaining her confidence, and Alex’s pride in her strength (although I wished he’d shared that pride with Diana instead of staying secretive and gruff almost to the end.) However, this book was very closely related to a previous book in the series (which I tried to read but didn’t work for me) and I felt like I was coming in the middle of a movie. Obviously I was supposed to know more about these characters than I did. Also, the book dragged for a long period in the middle. Both the characters had secrets, but Alex’s secrets were drawn out for far too long. (It almost seemed like a plot device to keep them out of bed.) When Alex’s secret was finally revealed, I appreciated that it wasn’t the typical “war memory” secret that we’ve seen before - but it was dropped in way too late and dealt with too quickly. I felt like this book had a lot of potential, but it didn’t live up to it.

When I was reading Regencies, I sometimes wondered if authors put in obstacles to keep their characters from having sex. It wasn't that significant in this book, but I've read books where the author kept coming up with one excuse after another to keep the characters at arm's length. Rather the opposite of today's books, where some authors seem to look for excuses to put their characters in bed together, even if it doesn't make sense in terms of the plot. But still, it's the same idea, isn't it? I find both strategies a bit tiring...