Not So Perfect Wife

I just read  The Perfect Wife by Lynsay Sands

Hmmm, I guess I sorta liked this one. It’s my first time reading a novel by Lynsay Sands, and I sincerely hope her fantasy novels are a little more put together. I am reading one of those next.

The cover art on the book I read was misleading; the lady on the cover seems more at home in the Victorian Era than the medieval setting of the actual book…that should have been my first clue that something was amiss.

I knew the premise sounded a little flimsy, but the optimist in me thought it promising:  The knight comes home from the Crusades and hopes his betrothed is of the fleshy and well-rounded persuasion. The said lady is actually suffering from massive image issues due to low self-esteem brought on by her evil cousins, who talk trash to her about her body and her looks. Won’t it be lovely when he finds out that she is exactly what he hoped for and that she has a husband who finds her utterly irresistible?  Unfortunately, what should have been a recipe for success cooks up utter disaster instead.

The story progresses from their wedding scene, which frankly I thought went on too long seeing as how the whole “actual size” revelation that was mentioned in the blurb on the back cover gave me the impression it would happen on the onset of the story rather than almost three chapters into the book (it doesn’t happen until the end of #2) Well, then it drags on from one misunderstanding between the bride and groom to another…to another.

I was getting frustrated because I wanted to know when it would end. When are they going to see each other for who they really are? I was reading as quickly as I could, just hoping there would be a juicy scene, but really it was a lot of anticipation between Paen, the groom, and Avelyn, the bride, mostly sexual attraction on his part because Avelyn is so convinced of her own unattractiveness and so naive that she has no idea that he is even turned on by her appearance. They spend the majority of the book (at least 75%) in this state.

When they finally consummate the marriage, it could be good, but it’s over too fast for my taste, and not repeated in any case. Oh well… I could tell who the villain was from the get-go. The second villain was a semi-surprise, the surprise being that I hadn’t thought to pin the mishaps on a second person, but who it was seemed unoriginal and hardly shocking.

The only thing I could say was that I finally read the book. I had seen it plenty on the shelf and finally picked it up. I don’t recommend it to anyone but the most stalwart fan and quick reader. I think from cover to cover, it took me no more than 3 hours to read.

Update(2018): The cover art for the new book sold on Amazon now has a lady wearing medieval garb. So maybe the designers finally got it together for the reprint and ebook releases!