More Than a Stranger
By
Grade : B-

What does a reviewer do with a book that had no glaring flaws, no plot blunders, and good characterizations, but also did nothing to grab the reader’s attention and is predictable from start to finish? This is the dilemma I faced with Erin Knightley’s debut work, More Than a Stranger.

Benedict Hastings and Evelyn Moore became penpals in their childhood. It all began when Evie was first threatened by the growing friendship between her brother, Richard, and the usurper Hastings. From such humble beginnings the relationship grew, but as the second son, Hastings had to carve a life out for himself . When the crown recruited him to be a spy, Hastings accepted – even though that meant that he had to cut ties with everyone in his life, even Evie. Brutally, Hastings sent a final letter telling her never to contact him again.

Now, years later, Evie is still nursing a broken heart and is still distrustful of all men. When Richard shows up at the country estate with a stranger in tow, Evie is still determined to follow through on her threat to her parents and remain a spinster for the rest of her life. Love is not for her, as her first foray with the emotion proved well enough. But as Evie starts to get acquainted with Richard’s mysterious friend, her broken heart starts to mend and she begins to doubt her convictions.

The relationship between Evie and Hastings is good. The way that their affection for one another grew over their correspondence is revealed through snippets of their letters at the beginning of each chapter. Plus, the way that the relationship matures as adults is clear to see. The two share much in common in terms of interest and this relationship shows much more than lust at first sight. In that respect, this book was good. The love story was, without a doubt, the strength of the novel.

The problem was that though the story was lovely, it wasn’t much more than that. It never excited me or caused me to bite my nails in anticipation over what was to come next. Yes, there was the big reveal of the trouble that Hastings was in to look forward to, but there wasn’t enough about it to really worry me. After all, Hastings rarely thought about it, so neither did I. I knew that at some point Evie was going to realize that “Benedict” was Hastings, but even when that happened, it lacked excitement. The book was cute and enjoyable, but, in that sense, it never quite rose about average.

One criticism that I definitely had was that I had no idea how Hastings survived all those years as a spy. His attention to detail was lackluster at best and he never seemed to think like a spy. Perhaps it was because we were supposed to feel that Hastings was lulled into this false sense of security by being at the Moore’s estate, but to me it just seemed incomplete. If he really was this successful spy, I would have thought that his spidey sense wouldn’t really turn off as much as it seemed to in this book. I think that was the biggest inconsistency in the story, but it was, overall a minor one.

Was it bad? No, not at all. It was pleasant. But pleasant books aren’t the ones that I reread over and over again and look forward to the author’s next installment. Is there potential from this debut author? Absolutely. The writing was smooth and the characterizations were enjoyable. To me, there is a lot to be said for that and it is the reason why I would recommend the book.

Reviewed by Louise VanderVliet
Grade : B-

Sensuality: Kisses

Review Date : May 18, 2012

Publication Date: 2012/06

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Louise VanderVliet

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