A Rational Arrangement by L. RowynMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Book 1 of the Arranging Paradise series
Read 10 Dec 2020
Synopsis (from Goodreads): Wisteria Vasilver does wish to marry. Truly. But though she lives in Paradise, arranging a match is full of traps and pitfalls for the unwary ... or perhaps just for her.
Nikola Striker, Lord of Fireholt, expects he'll wed -- someday. But not now, and never to a rich icicle of a woman like Miss Vasilver. No matter how much his parents might want the match, or his house might need her dowry. Besides, he has his own problems -- most of them people who need his help as a mind-healer.
Lord Justin Comfrey, Viscount of Comfrey, would be more than happy to help Striker with his financial troubles, and not just to ensure that Miss Vasilver's dowry doesn't tempt Striker into marriage. If only he could find some way to make his proud, stubborn friend accept the money!
Can three people of such different temperaments ever find their way to a more perfect Paradise?
Nikola Striker, Lord of Fireholt, expects he'll wed -- someday. But not now, and never to a rich icicle of a woman like Miss Vasilver. No matter how much his parents might want the match, or his house might need her dowry. Besides, he has his own problems -- most of them people who need his help as a mind-healer.
Lord Justin Comfrey, Viscount of Comfrey, would be more than happy to help Striker with his financial troubles, and not just to ensure that Miss Vasilver's dowry doesn't tempt Striker into marriage. If only he could find some way to make his proud, stubborn friend accept the money!
Can three people of such different temperaments ever find their way to a more perfect Paradise?
The synopsis above did not give me a full idea of what I was letting myself in for with this book. At first, I thought it was set in Regency England, but it is actually set in an imaginary world called Paradise that has a similar social structure to the Regency and Victorian periods with fantastical elements added. The main ones are Blessings and greatcats. In this world, certain people have been given Blessings for either healing or working with natural objects. This is where greatcats came from: a person with the Blessing of mind-healing many years ago went into a regular cat's mind and unblocked the parts that would allow them to talk and reason like humans. Although the author didn't mention it, the healer must have unlocked something else, too, because the great cats are as large as horses.
Speaking of leaving stuff out, Rowyn didn't leave much out of this book. She created an interesting world, but the book was far too long for my taste. It was 642 pages and I felt every one! I found myself skimming a lot of the explanations of how the world works and the descriptions of the buildings and the clothing. There weren't any of the problems with grammatical errors or poor word choice that I often come across in indie books, but another pass by an editor to cut down the page count wouldn't have gone amiss.
This was shelved by 27 readers on Goodreads as a romance, and by 26 readers as fantasy. I would definitely side with those labeling it as fantasy (I labeled it as paranormal because I'm too lazy to create a fantasy shelf). There are explicit sex scenes and a happily-ever-after, but the parties in question spend more time apart than together. I think if all the sex and romance was taken out and the author had made them all friends, I would have enjoyed it just as well -- provided she reduced that word count by about 400 pages!
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