Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Read Winter Garden, it's far superior. This one is full of implausibilities, little sexual tension, aggravating hero, the mystery was so OBVIOUS...and there was no "set up" for the "dark secret" in her past. Read if you are a fan, but if you are new to this author, definitely check out My Darling Caroline or Winter Garden for superior romances, and skip this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost Perfect.
Review: Such a simple storyline, written with effortless skill, and the love scenes are drawn with touching finesse. I have read countless romance novels and this author's ability to shape a love scene measure up with the best. The description of her lingering romantic moments is seductive, sensual, and so beautiful. **Sigh**This book is the sequel to Ashworth's "Someone Irresistible". The setting is Cornwall, England in the year 1855. The story begins with the tragic ending of a much-loved sister. Marcus Longfellow, the Earl of Renn, has come home seeking answers. He implores Miss Mary Marsh, his sister's friend, to aid him. The beginning of the book is slow paced, and this leisure tempo enables the reader to understand the characters fully. Mary Marsh, 29, is a spinster by choice. She is wellborn, but not of the noble class. Mary makes her way in the world by designing lacy erotic ladies' undergarments. Thus, the path Ashworth draws upon to set up some of the romance. Marcus Longfellow is gentle, poised, confident, and poetic. The morning following their first warm liaison, the Earl of Renn whispers softly: --- "I learned something last night, Mary. I learned that in all of my thirty-four years, I've never once been given paradise. Oh, I thought I'd had paradise before, several times in fact, but I learned last night that I was wrong. Very, very wrong. Nothing in my experience has been like the paradise you gave me, Mary." **Sigh. Are there men in the world like this?** --- The stimulating subplot surrounding the sister's death is intriguing. The mysterious secrets circling the family are compelling, and throughout the pages, Ashworth continues to tease the reader with carefully timed connections. This Adele Ashworth's work is close to perfection; however, I was troubled with one element. It bothered me that Mary embarked on a career designing erotic lingerie. Why? Upon suffering the forceful loss of innocence, would any woman then move forward and design lingerie meant to arouse wild sexual passion in a husband or lover? Nevertheless, this is a good book. A solid read all the way. Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.
Rating: 
Summary: I liked it!
Review: This is my first Adele Ashworth novel and I liked it a lot. It was different than the usual regency novel. The little bit of suspense did not overpower the romance - as so many do. I enjoyed learning more and more about Christine, the Earl's dead sister, at the begining of very chapter. I had to stop myself from reading ahead to find out what happened to her. In the end, the truth was a little silly, but as I said above, more detail where that was concerned might have over-powered the romance aspect of this book. The romance, itself, is a little slow to start but I feel that Ashworth pulled it off. I would be happy to read more from this author!
Rating:
Summary: Elements of gothic novel and cozy mystery--unusual, engaging
Review: When It's Perfect is not "perfect," but I do have to say that it is one of the best and most original books I've read this year. Ashworth places the protagonist, Mary, in Cornwall, isolated within the house of the enigmatic--and absent--Earl of Renn. When the earl's young sister dies mysteriously, however, he returns to untangle the riddles surrounding her last weeks alive. When It's Perfect has a wonderful, gothic atmosphere. The Renn family is not a happy one, a detail which Ashworth demonstrates with great subtlety and insight that heightens the tension in the story. The novel also has the feeling of a cozy mystery, with Christine's death in the enclosed environment of the Renns' household and the earl, Marcus, who is essentially an outsider, trying to "solve" it. The best part of When It's Perfect, however, is the relationship between Marcus and Mary. I found it completely believable that they loved each other, liked one another, and should be together--in fact, I thought they were perfect for one another. This is more than I can say for most romance novels, including Ashworth's Someone Irresistible. There was just enough sexual tension in the novel, and both Marcus and Mary were likable and interesting. Not that this book didn't have problems--the conclusion was lame, and why does Ashworth remind us of the plot to Someone Irresistible, which was so ridiculous it would be better for her to just pretend it never happened and move on. Also, Marcus' attempts at "romancing" Mary occassionally strayed into what I would think of as sexual harrassment, and Mary's revelation concerning what happened to both her and Christine could have been executed A LOT better than it was. Ashworth's prose has also lost a lot of its unique rythym and texture in this novel, no doubt due to the lovely Avon editors who strive to make all writers sound the same. Beyond that, however, When It's Perfect is truly an excellent romance with a very good story-line. Ashworth is definitely thinking more about her characters and their interactions in the world they live in; I greatly look forward to her next novel.
| 
