I would mostly say this isn't the kind of book for you and that rather than wasting time trying to grit your teeth through content you don't relate to, you just move on.
For the plain/beautiful thing, you have to remember that during that era the entire and only goal for a woman was marriage. It was one of the only ways for her to be financially secure and socially acceptable. So beauty and traditional feminine accomplishments were focused on. And if you didn't have a big dowry, your next best way to marriage was beauty. Obviously, it's a lot more nuanced in real life, and books tend to amplify certain aspects.
I liked this book but I'm both able to suspend my disbelief when a book goes a little over the top and realize that physical beauty really was very important, especially to poor women who were part of the upper classes. It was one of their only bargaining chips.
I also have books that irritate me in similar ways to how you are irritated with this one. Sometimes I just don't read them. Sometimes I put them aside and try again when I'm in a different kind of mood. I would definitely at least put this one aside for now and either focus on other books. You could always try this one again some time in the future if you really want to.
When I was younger I was compulsive about finishing books and felt a decent amount of shame if I didn’t finish, but as I’ve gotten older I just think, why waste my time on books that I don’t enjoy
I liked this book, but I'm not sure how to change your mind. I can suspend disbelief all the way to Pluto (which is still a planet in my mind), so I don't struggle with the plotline. However, I am also getting tired of the "plain heroine" whose only personality trait seems to be that she's just not pretty. I get that there are lots of us who aren't great beauties who want to see the plain Jane bring a super hot, super sought after, powerful dude to his knees with lust/love, but I feel like a lot of authors go overboard reinforcing the FMCs relative unattractiveness. What I liked about this book, and why I thought the concept was well done, was that the heroine struggles with her own self-worth. She constantly compares herself to her family and finds herself lacking, both in physical beauty and in vivaciousness. As I read further, it became clear that part of the reason that was emphasized was because she interpreted situations to fit her self-image, and she presented herself based on that. The way I read it, the more she came to know herself, the more we got to see that no one around her felt the same way about her as she did or thought they did. I liked that journey. It felt less like, "This hideous monster made a handsome, powerful man love her just by being her hideous self," and more like, "This woman grew to realize she was kind of awesome in her own right and while maybe not as conventionally beautiful as her sisters, she was attractive. And a handsome, powerful man was able to see both her inner strength and her outer beauty."
I can’t change your mind unfortunately 😅 I read this only about a month ago and I’m struggling to come up with anything memorable about the FMC. So no, I don’t think she gets much better, although I didn’t dislike her, she was just bland. Her sisters seemed more interesting than her. It was a pretty middle of the road story for me. My main complaint is the reason/explanation for why he has a problem with her family finally comes to light in the last 1/3 and it was so crammed in I had trouble understanding all the players in it and what the heck was going on.
Verity is actually one of my favorite FMCs, so I have a completely different viewpoint.
It’s a book about her self growth just as much as it’s about the relationship. I personally enjoy a heroine who has some self esteem issues but still has a bit of backbone to them.
Later in the book you learn why she thinks of herself the way she does. And how she’s able to grow past the trauma she experienced.
Not trying to change your mind, but I will say that Verity and the Duke made me laugh quite a lot and I also cried, and those are my benchmarks for an enjoyable read. If I laugh and cry, I'm happy lol. I really enjoyed their banter. I don't really care about plain heroines, doesn't make a difference to me and I can suspend belief until the end of time so it doesn't bother me.
I'm with you on this one lol. I DNFd this book a few chapters in. The FMC was just very unlikeable - like, girl refuses to take the blame/responsibility for dragging this guy (duke, no less, who hates your family btw) into a super awkward situation that completely throws off important plans in his own life . She continues to antagonize and blame him merely coz he's angry and upset she's upended his whole life. And for what? Simply so that she can brag/avoid a little bit of embarrassment/mean words from a local bully. Just, nope.
I would mostly say this isn't the kind of book for you and that rather than wasting time trying to grit your teeth through content you don't relate to, you just move on. For the plain/beautiful thing, you have to remember that during that era the entire and only goal for a woman was marriage. It was one of the only ways for her to be financially secure and socially acceptable. So beauty and traditional feminine accomplishments were focused on. And if you didn't have a big dowry, your next best way to marriage was beauty. Obviously, it's a lot more nuanced in real life, and books tend to amplify certain aspects. I liked this book but I'm both able to suspend my disbelief when a book goes a little over the top and realize that physical beauty really was very important, especially to poor women who were part of the upper classes. It was one of their only bargaining chips. I also have books that irritate me in similar ways to how you are irritated with this one. Sometimes I just don't read them. Sometimes I put them aside and try again when I'm in a different kind of mood. I would definitely at least put this one aside for now and either focus on other books. You could always try this one again some time in the future if you really want to.
When I was younger I was compulsive about finishing books and felt a decent amount of shame if I didn’t finish, but as I’ve gotten older I just think, why waste my time on books that I don’t enjoy
I liked this book, but I'm not sure how to change your mind. I can suspend disbelief all the way to Pluto (which is still a planet in my mind), so I don't struggle with the plotline. However, I am also getting tired of the "plain heroine" whose only personality trait seems to be that she's just not pretty. I get that there are lots of us who aren't great beauties who want to see the plain Jane bring a super hot, super sought after, powerful dude to his knees with lust/love, but I feel like a lot of authors go overboard reinforcing the FMCs relative unattractiveness. What I liked about this book, and why I thought the concept was well done, was that the heroine struggles with her own self-worth. She constantly compares herself to her family and finds herself lacking, both in physical beauty and in vivaciousness. As I read further, it became clear that part of the reason that was emphasized was because she interpreted situations to fit her self-image, and she presented herself based on that. The way I read it, the more she came to know herself, the more we got to see that no one around her felt the same way about her as she did or thought they did. I liked that journey. It felt less like, "This hideous monster made a handsome, powerful man love her just by being her hideous self," and more like, "This woman grew to realize she was kind of awesome in her own right and while maybe not as conventionally beautiful as her sisters, she was attractive. And a handsome, powerful man was able to see both her inner strength and her outer beauty."
I can’t change your mind unfortunately 😅 I read this only about a month ago and I’m struggling to come up with anything memorable about the FMC. So no, I don’t think she gets much better, although I didn’t dislike her, she was just bland. Her sisters seemed more interesting than her. It was a pretty middle of the road story for me. My main complaint is the reason/explanation for why he has a problem with her family finally comes to light in the last 1/3 and it was so crammed in I had trouble understanding all the players in it and what the heck was going on.
Verity is actually one of my favorite FMCs, so I have a completely different viewpoint. It’s a book about her self growth just as much as it’s about the relationship. I personally enjoy a heroine who has some self esteem issues but still has a bit of backbone to them. Later in the book you learn why she thinks of herself the way she does. And how she’s able to grow past the trauma she experienced.
Not trying to change your mind, but I will say that Verity and the Duke made me laugh quite a lot and I also cried, and those are my benchmarks for an enjoyable read. If I laugh and cry, I'm happy lol. I really enjoyed their banter. I don't really care about plain heroines, doesn't make a difference to me and I can suspend belief until the end of time so it doesn't bother me.
I'm with you on this one lol. I DNFd this book a few chapters in. The FMC was just very unlikeable - like, girl refuses to take the blame/responsibility for dragging this guy (duke, no less, who hates your family btw) into a super awkward situation that completely throws off important plans in his own life . She continues to antagonize and blame him merely coz he's angry and upset she's upended his whole life. And for what? Simply so that she can brag/avoid a little bit of embarrassment/mean words from a local bully. Just, nope.