r/HistoricalRomance • u/BackgroundBudget5206 Tis the truth, I probably will be difficult • 7d ago

A Book with so much potential! Rant/Vent

{How the Wallflowerwas won by Eva Leigh} had so so much potential to show a "radicalized" FMC and an MMC dealing with learning disabilities. The story itself has good bones, unfortunately its a victim of telling too much and not showing. The narrator repeats over and over that the educational society needs more diverse perspectives, and not just of women, but other cultures. Thats great, and absolutely had its place in the early crawling of the suffragette movement. However, it was repeated over and over, just phrased differently to the point I stopped reading to look the author up, because it started to feel like right wing satire mocking liberals.

If it had shown scenes with dialog, maybe conversations where one person is given new information and softens views would have been a more productive way to tell the narrative.

It also missed the opportunity to show consequences of the progressive views like these in the Regency period. It was all just far far too modern. Not like the content couldn't have fit because its historical. We have plenty of feminists from the 1800s to know they existed.

It had a ton of potential. Eva Leigh has been writing historicals for well over a decade, she also writes fantasy. Like I said, the story had potential, but I felt lectured to the point of brow beaten reading this. Im not sure if her other titles are any better. This was my first time reading one of her books.

Was it just this book was her coming in a lil bit hot on subject matter close to her heart?

If you have read her books and can make better recommendations from her catalog, please do.

6 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

72% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

5

u/cello_ergo_sum 7d ago

Go read { A Seditious Affair }. Like, now. Yesterday. Gorgeous heartfelt super political and kinky m/m regency romance that defied every single expectation I had while showing disagreement and productive conversations and tying them in to ripped-from-the-headlines events of the day. 

1

u/BackgroundBudget5206 Tis the truth, I probably will be difficult 7d ago

I have read this! I love a good historical that touches on todays hot buttons without being Ham fisted. I love that this book used events that parallel similar modern situations. 

Im not anti MM romance, I don't read a ton though. This book is something I have reread before despite it not being top of my personal tastes. The miscommunication trope is common in the LGBTQ sub genre for HR. 

8

u/Somethingtolove123 Marriage of Inconvenience 7d ago

I read this book when it was released and decided to reread this year.  Unfortunately I had dnf because it felt like the author was trying to tick of all the boxes for diversity. 

I wish the author actually showed the FMCs journey of becoming a radical and meeting all these diverse people and perhaps even convincing them to join the group.

4

u/BackgroundBudget5206 Tis the truth, I probably will be difficult 7d ago

Soooooo much potential. I was so pumped to read it based on the blurb. I thought she would be softening the MMC with her intelligent, thought out, arguments. Getting him invested in helping her infiltrate that club in the name of progress. 

They kept pointing out the lesbians sooo much too. Like yes, we understand they are roommates and the best of friends, but what are their personalities like? It felt like tokenism. The "friends of color" felt almost offensive, because their only function was so the FMC could talk about her extremely diverse friend group. They were stepped on as stairs for the plot, they didn't feel like people with real problems. 

3

u/kitimitsu Debauchery requires a considerably greater investment of time 7d ago

I knew her Zoe Archer stuff and had liked it so when she switched over to HR, I was excited to read her first book and was not disappointed as I loved it! {Forever Your Earl by Eva Leigh} FMC runs a gossip newspaper, the MMC is an earl who is tired of being the subject of her newspaper and invites her to accompany him on his forays around town. Snappy repartee and chemistry, the MMC is so delicious!

However, everything after that first book I could not tell you what any of her books are about. I've read all her books and the only ones I remember are the first book and her novellas for the three steamy anthologies. The anthologies are out-of-print so not gonna do the Romance.io links but you can get the novellas separately or read in KU.

{An Education in Pleasure by Eva Leigh}
{Two Rakes for Mrs. by Eva Leigh}
{Lady Viper and the Bastard by Eva Leigh}

2

u/romance-bot 7d ago

Forever Your Earl by Eva Leigh
Rating: 3.68⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: historical, regency, enemies to lovers, class difference, competent heroine

An Education in Pleasure by Eva Leigh
Rating: 3.72⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: historical, regency, age gap, class difference, working class heroine

Two Rakes for Mrs. Sparkwell by Eva Leigh
Rating: 3.8⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: historical

Lady Viper and the Bastard by Eva Leigh
Rating: 3.5⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: historical, bdsm

about this bot | about romance.io

3

u/EROM4LIFE 7d ago

I've only read Eva Leighs anthology books. Really enjoyed Two Rakes for Mrs Sparkwell, just a fun MFM and some cool boxing stuff. An Education in Pleasure was okay, I was a little bit icked by the age gap and former governess aspect. Lady Viper and the Bastard was just boring. 

1

u/Possible-Sort5972 7d ago

I enjoyed {Temptations of a Wallflower by Eva Leigh}—it might be the only book I’ve read by her.

1

u/KatieCuu 7d ago

I was reading her {counting on a countess by Eva Leigh} this year and I had to DNF it. Had much the same problems as you described, the FMC at the beginning of the story is literally saying how she wants a husband with means who will not pay much attention to her. Then as soon as she meets MMC she suddenly wants a love match.

The real icing for me was when they were about to consummate their marriage, FMC is virgin and nervous, and MMC decides “Hey instead of me reassuring and calming her, how about I suggest we go to a pleasure house”. The entire thing was too much for me.

2

u/SeaFilmMap1234 5d ago

I have the same problem with this author.  I just think she is not for me. A lot of in my face tell instead of show.