This is another re-read of an old book in my personal collection. Unfortunately, I'm not entirely certain when I finished reading it for the second time, but I do know it was after I gave birth to my son, but before the end of 2019. I'm going to estimate it was in early December of 2019. This review was penned on May 19, 2020, so please forgive me if it's not my most elaborate. You can find my original review of this book HERE. The review dates all the way back to 2008, so I wouldn't really recommend it...it's far too vague and brief to be of much good to anyone.I seem to have enjoyed this book less than I did the first time around. Maybe it's because I'm more jaded from the last 12 years, or maybe because I am mature enough to recognize just how unhealthy the relationship between Grant and Vivien really is... There is something to be said for a man wanting revenge, but I feel like Grant's reaction was a bit disproportionate to the slight he received at the hands of Vivien. As he continues to press forward with his plans, I didn't find it sexy or romantic...I found it borderline reprehensible. I didn't see love blossoming; I saw fascination and obsession. Grant set out to do something vile and I think that made me take a step back from his character. Because of this, I found myself less attracted to him than I should have been, given the genre of this book. We readers are supposed to fall in love with the male leads in these books, but I fell short of that with Grant. Sure, his character was flawed (and I DO really love a well-written, flaw-inducing backstory), but not always in a way that made him charming or attractive. I got glimpses of what he could have been, but I never, ever really felt much for him as a character. Aside from his revenge plot, I think part of the problem was that we didn't really get to experience much of what made him unique. We know more about him from accounts given by other characters. I wanted him to be more fleshed out by his own actions, hobbies, hopes, dreams, etc.
Where do I start with Vivien? I KNOW she doesn't remember who she is or what her life was like before she was attacked; however, she fell short for me as well. She was so accepting of Grant's stories and was relatively acquiescent when it came to her belief that he'd want to share her bed because, as he'd said, they were in a relationship. I found it less than believable. A true, strong female lead would never have allowed it -- would never have just taken his word for it -- not when she thinks over and over again how wrong it feels and foreign the notion is to her.
One of the biggest issues I encountered was I couldn't put my finger on WHY Grant and Vivien fell in love. They were attracted to one another, to be sure, but Grant didn't actually know anything about Vivien...and we saw so few personal details about Grant. Though I finished the book rather quickly and I can appreciate the plot twists and the ending, I think some of the components fell short. Lisa Kleypas has written some wonderful books, but this older one just did not resonate as much with me anymore.