Review: Contracted as His Countess Louise Allen

Print Length: 288 pages

Publisher: Harlequin Historical (December 1, 2019)

From Goodreads.com:  From a recluse secluded in a castle…

…to his countess!

Cloistered away in a castle since birth, Madelyn Aylmer must now fulfill her eccentric father’s dying request: wed nobleman Jack Ransome! She has what Jack needs—land—and so he accepts their marriage of convenience and vows to introduce this sheltered innocent to society. But what Madelyn hadn’t expected was the way her body reacts to Jack, especially to his promise of a union filled with unbridled passion!

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

This book was very hard to get into. In fact, I almost marked it as DNF on more than one occasion. The sad thing is, there was nothing wrong with the author's writing style. It was the fact that there was NOTHING between the two leads. 

Jack continually thinks of Madelyn as "plain", he even goes so far as  to wonder if she performed some type of witchcraft as he's not even attracted to her. AT ALL.  He laments that she will do something to embarrass him, he even becomes angry with her on occasion and for what? He knew she was not accustomed to the life he had thrust her in. And even when she tried? It didn't seem to be enough. She wasn't what he thought she should be, so he was only interested in getting between her legs. 

It was ridiculous. At some point I expected them to have a revelation. And yet, they remained distrustful of each other. And yet, instead of talking like rational adults, they argued, they went against each other. I got to read once again how much of a "scandal" she was going to cause. Or how he thought she was "purposely" doing something to hurt him.

In my opinion, there was nothing to sell this story or this relationship. And I'm not sure if I would read more from this author, no matter how good she is -  if all of her relationships are this vexing, no thanks.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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                     Contracted as His Countess is available from Amazon.com