The Bumblebroth - Patricia Wynn

NO FEMALE STOOD A CHANCE AGAINST THE CHARMS OF LORD WESTBURY.

Mathilda, Duchess of Upavon, had reason to be alarmed. Her fifteen-year-old daughter was the object of attention from the notoriously handsome embodiment of every female's fantasy: Lord Westbury. Since scandal had shadowed Mattie's own life when she wed at sixteen, she vowed her daughter would not make the same mistake.

In truth, Lord Westbury's cursory call upon the schoolroom girl was all part of a lavish, under-handed plot to reclaim some land. But after one look at the lovely mother, his lordship began some scheming of his own....

So the first book I'm going to write about it's not special, not great, not really awful, just an ordinary book, like most of the books we usually read...
When I started reading this book I had two things that attracted me. First there was the seldom encountered plot where the heroine is older than the hero. Great! This should be quite interesting! After all, I do have a problem when reading romances: The Heroines Are Too Insipid!!! So, I try, and try, and hope to find a heroine that doesn't bore / annoy me to tears. I thought that an older heroine, who has lived her life should prove to be a more interesting character than a 17 years old virgin! But I digress...
The second thing was the title itself. English not being my first language, I have to confess that I didn't know what a “bumblebroth” should mean, but it caught my attention anyway.
And so the book starts with 2 strong assets, my frame of mind was quite positive. But I only had to begin the book...
On short, the 2 main characters begin their relation, she thinking that he wants to woo her daughter, so in order to avoid it, she spends a lot of time with him – and of course, starts liking him a lot. He, on the other hand, is attracted to her from the first moment - she is beautiful after all.

What I liked about the book is that their relation is quite simple – two people meeting, liking each other and starting to develop a relation (the main focus is on the heroine who has to learn her own valor and how to assert herself like the duchess that she is). So, not much melodrama where there is no need for it – a thing that I usually like.

What I did not like... okay, here we go:
first the heroine. She is a duchess of 35 years, and she behaves like a virgin of 19. Although technically she is older than the hero, in no part of the book we get to see her behaving like someone older than 20. She has no spine at all, she is ruled by her entire household, she wears clothes that were at fashion 15 years before (ahem, which is a good thing according to the hero, because they make her body more alluring :)), her entire behavior is unbelievable for her age and status! This fact just ruined the whole book for me – I hate it when authors don't stick true to their premises.
There's so little about the hero's thoughts, and most important – we can't imagine why he falls in love with the heroine! Excuse me, but the fact that she's very beautiful is not a reason! The fact that she lets everyone rule over her because she's to sweet to know otherwise is not a reason either. The fact that she loves her daughter and would do anything to protect her is only natural and again not a real reason. So why???
And well, he calls her “duchess” when he addresses her, even on official terms. Now I don't really know much about it, but the correct term is surely “your grace”, and being addressed as “duchess” borders very much on disrespect in my opinion...

In the end... I think the book is recommended only for those who either love the genre too much, or are through with complicated plots and want a break with an easy, non complicated relation that develops (somehow) into love ...

Grade: 2.5 /5