Book Review of An Enchanted Affair by Barbara Metzger

 


Thank you #NetGalley and to #HistriaBooks for the chance to read and review this selection.

 Who isn’t entranced by a love story that is totally out of the norm? In this novel Lisanne Neville, who is a childlike young lady, is entranced by the woods behind her home Sevrin Woods and all the animals that reside there. She has an unexplainable gift of healing and also working with herbs and such for homemade remedies. At the times, this gift is considered witchery.  

Alas her parents die and her greedy and uncaring Uncle and his wife become her guardians. The story quickly turns somewhat similar to a Cinderella saga but it missed the boat in a few ways.  The token prince in this story is Sloan, a military man with a penchant for gambling and sleeping around.  Not hardly the pick for a young naive beautiful woman but yet their paths do cross.

Lisanne proposes to him, after sneaking in his window at night when he is visiting his parents’ home, part of his inheritance as the Duke of Sevrin.  She wants a deal, a marriage in order to give him wealth and give herself freedom to watch over Sevrin Woods without fear of it being harmed.  

What follows is the struggle to acclimate to each other’s world and find a middle ground to have a future that has love, children and happiness.

It is beautifully written but it could have been wrapped up in fewer pages.  The premise of the storyline was good but something was lacking, I can’t quite put my finger on.  I found myself skimming the last quarter of the book and by the ending, realized I had not missed much of the substance of the story.  I don’t agree with the criticisms from others of the characters in the novel because an author’s responsibility is not necessarily to make their created characters likeable or believable, just interesting and readable.  I did find the characters that but the romance was sorely lacking of any real passion.  There also did not seem to be a buildup of the usual sexual tension you would expect in a romance.  


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