Kieran Kramer’s titles stand out; they’re sort of ridiculous, but in a different way than other romance titles. Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage is the third in her Impossible Bachelors series, and my first with this author. If it’s representative of her other books and her general style, it will be my last.

Jilly Jones runs away from a disastrous marriage and opens up a bookstore with an old friend, a foppish former valet who serves as the Regency equivalent of the Gay Best Friend stock character. Unfortunately, that bookstore is on the unluckiest street in London, Dreare St., where everyone is miserable and nothing good ever happens. Also living on Dreare Street is Captain Stephen Arrow, recently retired from the Royal Navy, and current (but temporary) resident of a home on Dreare Street that he is trying to sell. His wild parties annoy Jilly, but her frustration is what attracts him to her.

As Jilly learns more about the street’s residents and its history, she decides that what the street needs is a fair. With Stephen’s somewhat reluctant help, the two begin to organize a motley group of neighbors into restoring Dreare Street to its former glory, all while falling for each other.

This book took me far longer than usual to read – probably at least 3 weeks. I couldn’t get into it. It was just boring. It didn’t hold my attention for more than a few pages at a time. It reminded me of a bad sitcom, with a cast of flat characters trotted out occasionally for comic relief before being hurried off screen. Only… it wasn’t funny. The characters irritated me, the plot was weak, and the slapstick humor and cheap jokes didn’t work for me.

The writing in the novel has me divided. Early on in the novel, there were a few sentences that stood out as being truly well written and evocative. But those standout sentences became fewer and farther between, and the writing grew choppier and choppier; it was rare when a paragraph was more than two sentences, and most were only one. I can’t help but wonder if Ms. Kramer is writing in the wrong genre; I’d be curious to see how a more serious contemporary would stand against this farcical and anachronistic “historical” novel. This is a wallpaper historical if there ever was one.

I know Ms. Kramer has some fans, and her previous books were positively received. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this book. It was dull, trite, and overly dependent on dei ex machina. Maybe if you like her style of writing you’ll enjoy this book, but it just didn’t work for me on any level.