More Than a Stranger by Erin Knightly (Sealed With a Kiss #1)
Historical Romance
June 5, 2012
Signet

Reviewed by May

Favorite Quote: Benedict squeezed his eyes shut. The mere thought of hurting and subsequently losing Evie stole his breath and seared his heart. Resolutely, he opened his eyes and reached for his quill. It was for the greater good, he reminded himself. Besides, no matter how much she had meant to him, he was surely just a small, faceless part of her childhood. She had plenty of other people who cared about her. IN a few months she would forget all about him and move onto the next thing in her life.

Benedict could not be more wrong. While he, a second son from a family that can’t stand him, sets off for the continent to work for the crown as a spy, Evie is left utterly destroyed. At the tender age of sixteen her long time penpal and her brother’s best friend severed all ties and broke her heart. Having never even met, theirs was a relationship based on letters and being absolutely true with each other. For Benedict, Evie was the one true friend, and the only person who ever wrote to him at school.

Seven years later Evie is helping her father run his stables (quite the unladylike pursuit, but she loves it and has a real gift), and wants to be taken off the marriage mart and allowed to live in peace in the country. Tired of London, the ton, and society’s rules in general she is hoping to make her parents see that all she wants is to stay at their estate, raise horses, and be at content.

Benedict is back from the continent and has some very serious issues at hand. He is dealing with something huge, and he needs a bit of space and time to mull over what his next move will be. He seeks out his old friend Richard (Evie’s older brother) and asks if they can go to the country estate – where surely nobody will be. Of course the whole family is in residence, including Evie who he finally meets.

One second, Benedict’s brain had been frozen from the shock of discovering that the incredibly beautiful blonde goddess before him was, in fact, Evie. His Evie. The Evie who was supposed to be in London, far away from the house he sought refuge in.

The next thing he knew, he was jerking into action, opening his mouth without a clue about what he would say, only suddenly very sure that Evie could not know he was Hastings. “Mr. James Benedict, at your service, my lady.”

The lie was like vinegar in his mouth, and he gritted his teeth with the effort to keep his expression neutral. God, what had he done?

This sets off Evie and Benedict getting to know each other, and falling in love all over again of course. Both characters exercise herculean restraint and never get physical beyond a passionate kiss, and the big bad secrets and suspense plot portion of the story felt both under developed and shoved into the end to force conflict.

Indeed, I had a hard time understanding why Benedict had to lie to her, and for so long. It did not make sense to me that he would think she’d prefer lies to the truth, no information over an explanation that would make sense of everything. Part of this problem is that I feel the author held onto secrets for too long, and then once revealed they were anti-climactic and didn’t add much either. I had hoped Evie would help Benedict with his problem, perhaps lend a hand to his mission, but instead she’s left behind and left out. I could have seen them as such a strong partnership if only we’d been able to see that.

Despite my desire for more action (suspense or sexual) as well as more insight into the characters and understanding of their actions; this was a fun read and I will definitely pick up the next in the series. The writing was interesting enough, and kept things flowing so quickly that I did not realize I was wanting more from the book until I had finished it.

Grade: C+

Recent Reviews:
Under the Covers – 4/5
All About Romance – B-
Book Binge – 3.5/5
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