Anabelle Bryant

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The Den Of Iniquity (Bastards of London, Book 1)

azliana aziz

Synopsis and reviews led me to such expectation that I'm going to enjoy this wild ride of a hero with dark past and a heroine that's hellbent on reforming him. 
Courageous Innocence vs Jaded Beast. 
A trope that could be a hit if it is done right and a sore miss if it isn't.

Unfortunately I am in the minority who don't love this one as much as the others here.
So, let's just get on with it and let me properly make my case on why this book doesn't work for me.

The 'let me reform you to a better man' project by the heroine that went nowhere. I was so baffled at the sudden 'decision' of the heroine to did charity by trying to reform a man ??? Not only it was improper (for the era) but also unnecessary as plot device to let her continue meeting the hero. And what's worse than this ridiculous agenda was it really went nowhere. She never did reformed him until the last page! She was written so stiltedly and not much of dynamic going on for her character to stand alone. So much of what's going on with her in the book had men revolves around her and I don't really get to know her aside from the obvious that she was a beauty which the author keep droning on and on.

Which comes to my second problem with the book. It was very physical. The author seems to had some kind of fascination with overwritten physical attributes. For every encounter between hero and heroine there were always sentences dedicated to their superior physical traits.

'His eyes roved over her person. Long silken tresses reached her waist, a tiny waist at that, but not without the lush curves of a full-grown woman.' 

This is one of the example and I don't want to waste my time to write everything but trust me that they (hero and heroine) were unfailingly being poetic about each other every time they met. It's exhausting.

I don't mind descriptive writing but in this book it was so unbalanced in which other settings like the gambling hell, the social functions, the costumes were not being described as much as the beauty and handsomeness got to be mentioned. 
Another physical thing was how the characters interacted. Or lack of interaction really, unless it involved their bodies touching. I'm all for hot sex scenes but when two lead characters couldn't get in two words without succumbing to their lust and hold proper conversation with each other then NO. 

Don't let me start with the formatting. The sudden switch between POVs, not cool.

Anyway, *sigh* a disappointment and for an intro to a series that's a huge bummer.

The Den Of Iniquity (Bastards of London, Book 1)

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