Suzanne Allain is a successful screenwriter and novelist. This is my first book of hers.
Story Blurb
It is a truth universally acknowledged that an arrogant bachelor insistent on a wife who meets the strictest of requirements—deserves his comeuppance.
The Honourable Mr. Jeremy Malcolm is searching for a wife, but not just any wife. As the target of matchmaking mothers and desperate debutantes, he's determined to avoid the fortune hunters and find a near-perfect woman, one who will meet the qualifications on his well-crafted list. But after years of searching, he's beginning to despair of ever finding this paragon. Until Selina Dalton arrives in town.
Selina, a vicar's daughter of limited means and a stranger to high society, is thrilled when her friend Julia Thistlewaite invites her to London, until she learns it's all part of a plot to exact revenge on Mr. Malcolm. Selina is reluctant to participate in Julia's scheme, especially after meeting the irresistible Mr. Malcolm, who appears to be very different from the arrogant scoundrel of Julia's description.
But when Mr. Malcolm begins judging Selina against his unattainable standards, Selina decides that she has some qualifications of her own. And if he is to meet them he must reveal the real man behind...Mr. Malcolm's List
My Thoughts/Opinion
As I mentioned, Suzanne Allain is famous for screenwriting and novel writing. In my opinion, this book reads like a screenwriting that was adapted to a book, instead of the other way around. Generally when a book is adapted to a movie, you lose a bit of the richness of the depth of the characters. While this book hit all of the romance beats, it lacked both richness and depth. A quick, fun read but in the end, fairly forgettable.
Favorite Quote/Scene: “There is a certain feeling of . . . insecurity in loving someone. I had guarded myself from that sort of vulnerability for so long that I was petrified to let someone so close to me."