Review: The King Of Threadneedle Street (Rougemont #2) by Moriah Densely

Print Length: 309 pages

Publisher: EsKape Press (December 03, 2013)

From Goodreads.com: He owns three shipping companies, a diamond mine, and his own castle.

He knows Portuguese, Hindi, Mandarin and Morse code.
His assets net thirteen million.

Everyone thinks Andrew Tilmore, Lord Preston, the financial prodigy dubbed “The King of Threadneedle Street,” has it all, but he wants the one prize money can’t buy: his childhood sweetheart.

Alysia Villier can’t say if it’s worse having Andrew’s father in control of her inheritance or Andrew in control of her heart. He’s ruined her for any other man, but she simply can’t give in to him. She knows he’s destined for great things — marrying a courtesan’s daughter would jeopardize everything he stands for.

Keeping Alysia out of trouble and away from eager suitors becomes a cross-continental quest for Andrew, and he won’t be stopped by his old-fashioned family or the disapproval of the ton. After all, he’s a man with the power to play newspapers and investors like pawns, tumble world markets and incite riots… but can he win the biggest gamble of his life?

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 My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

I wanted to love this novel. In fact, I fully expected to love this novel as much as (or moreso than)  Book #1 in this series A Song for Sophia. However, where A Song for Sophia was gripping, diverse and well interesting.... this one fell flat. 

Please don't get me wrong, there were a lot of good things to be had in this story. To begin with, I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with several of the characters that I had first been introduced to (and come to love) in A Song for Sophia. I also found certain details of this story (that unfortunately I can't go into as they are definite spoilers), to be thoroughly unique as well as little details that kept me interested and added to the overall plot. I also admired the restraint these characters showed. Instead of giving in to their more carnal pleasures, they were both able to pull back and not engage in any marital "going ons" before they were actually married, and even then, there was no explicit detail given which will appeal to certain readers. 

On the other-side of that, this story had a lot of back and forth that didn't make sense, and some of the key plot details left me shaking my head as well. To begin with, Alysia has an unfortunate habit of "running away" from Andrew, and in one instance, almost got stuck with more than she bargained for (but thankfully our hero was able to find her in time and ride to her rescue). However, even once he had rescued her from one situation, she ended up leaving again. 

I was also a bit confused as to why they continued to push each other away. By all accounts, neither character cares overmuch for society and their rules and opinions, and neither of them would hurt for money should they marry regardless of what his parents or the ton should say. Even when some surprising details come to light, they would still choose to fight what is in front of them, and would rather suffer the bitter disappointment and broken heart than succumb to their hearts desire.  

It feels like this story could have been a lot shorter (and maybe had time for an epilogue where we find out if Alysia gets the son she had always dreamed of) had there not been so much back and forth constantly covering the same ground that had already been previously discussed. 

All of that being said, I will continue to read more works by this author. I saw what she is capable of with A  Song for Sophia, and I hope her next novel lives up to the high standard she set with that story.

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The King Of Threadneedle Street (Rougemont #2) is available from Amazon.com