A Rumored Engagement (Review)

I received a free copy of this book to review. I was under no obligation to write a blog post nor create a vlog. All opinions are 100% my own.

Since somewhere around my middle school years, I have been in love with romance novels. You could find me holed up in my room reading non-stop. It wasn’t unusual for me to read four or five books in a week. But one thing that ran through all of those books were the inappropriate settings and situations. (Did that stop my teenager-self from reading? No. But in retrospect, I can’t believe I was reading them.)

As I’ve grown up a bit, I’ve lost that curiosity about what some of racier books include (after all, I do have three kids). Now, I appreciate a good story, good writing, and a good amount of angst.

There’s still a formula that needs to be followed (in my opinion) for a good romance story. Let me explain:

• Guy and girl meet.
• Guy and girl generally dislike one another for some reason.
• Guy and girl start to find common ground.
• Guy and girl start to really get along.
• Guy OR girl (or both, depending) begin to fall in love.
• Guy OR girl does something stupid, and it’s misunderstood.
• Guy and girl quit talking to one another (this is the angst part!).
• Guy OR girl discovers the error of his/her ways and does what he/she can to reconcile.
• Guy and girl ride off into the sunset.

There are many variations of this formula, but it is pretty much what makes me come back to romances time and again.

When I had a chance to read Lily George’s A Rumored Engagement, I wondered what she was going to do to a) deal with that formula and b) work around the typical romance novel situations that involve less than classy descriptions. As this is a Love Inspired Romance with Harlequin, it has a much different tone. George still does a fabulous job with the angst and the formula, but she doesn’t sacrifice a good story and good writing for the “smut” factor.

I highly recommend Lily George’s A Rumored Engagement, and I look forward to reading more of her novels.

Be sure to watch my vlog where I tell you more about the characters and plot!

Tags: amreading, lilygeorge, review