An Engagement of Sorts by Alene Wecker

An Engagement of Sorts
by Alene Wecker

ISBN-13: 9781524417642
ebook
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Released: August 9th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
More comfortable in breeches than ball gowns, Anne Fletcher sees the freedoms she once enjoyed slowly taken from her in the name of fashioning her into an eligible young lady. When her parents try to force her into marriage, Anne makes a desperate attempt to salvage her last vestige of independence. Anne strikes a deal with her intended husband: if she cannot secure a man for herself in London, she will marry him when she returns. Her parents agree to send her to help her pregnant sister who lives in London if she agrees to finally marry some eligible man. Now she simply needs to find a way to get out of her sort-of-engagement.


My Review:
An Engagement of Sorts is a Regency romance. Unfortunately, the book wasn't what I expected from the description, and I didn't find it believable due to the inaccuracies. For example, an explosion that threw people away from a fireplace and toward the window also shattered the window, yet somehow the glass shards ended up all over the floor inside the room. A lot of odd things about that scene, like this bomb-like explosion occurred in a powder horn that her father was wearing, yet he didn't even suffer a flesh wound? Anyway.

Anne didn't defy convention so much as she was willfully ignorant of etiquette and propriety to a degree that just didn't seem believable. Granted, multiple times she deliberately tuned out what other people said then later realized it would've been good if she had listened to them. However, she seriously didn't seem to realize that there would be any problem with her wandering about a village at dawn in her nightgown and then demanding that the vicar allow her inside a room alone with him. Worse, he knew the possible consequences and didn't want to marry her, yet he let her in? All to create another scrape for her to get out of.

Anyway, Anne had an abusive family where everyone criticized her every behavior and called her silly and stupid, so she's drawn to the one man who loves her willful, bold, rude, and unpredictable behavior. She feels like every man ogles her bust or leers at her. The villain repeatedly tried to rape her, including in her own home (with plenty of people about) and in outdoor areas where he could be spotted. She's traumatized by these attacks and has nightmares, but the few people she tells either don't believe her or say that her behavior rather invites that sort of aggressive response. The whole story was about her trying to find someone who won't abuse her and will help her stop this villain from hurting other women.

I liked that the author tried to make complex characters, like a hero so disgusted with his father's behavior that he acted the exact opposite of him even though it didn't really achieve anything. But the numerous inaccuracies drained any realistic feel from the story. While I appreciated how the hero believed and supported Anne, he actually went too far with this by saying that she shouldn't change anything about herself. Is it really a good thing to discourage Anne from improving her flaws (like her temper and impulsiveness now that she finally realizes that actions have consequences)? Anyway, this was clearly not a story suited to me. While there was attempted rape, there were no sex scenes. There was no modern bad language.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.