DNF

The writing is twee and immature. The whole feeling is way to modern.

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This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

The story was interesting but I really had a problem with how superficial these people acted. Gavin at first was disappointed that he proposed (couldn't bother to seek her out in person) by letter to the wrong twin (they aren't even identical). He is disappointed when he realizes that he didn't get the beautiful Birdie but her boring not as beautiful twin Robbie.

I liked Colin as he kept telling Gavin that Birdie didn't sound like that great of a prospect for a wife and he should be glad that he made this mistake. Later in the book when Colin meets Birdie, he falls for her beauty. So, my former like of this character changed.

The plot was good but the delivery just left me not engaged in the story. Some of the plot was just too much drama, after drama and no character development in the story. Birdie of course shows up after the first husband that she took from Robbie died and has hysterical blindness, and was so irritating that it was hard to read. Gavin's good friend, Faith, was a villainess that kept trying to ruin the marriage so she could have Gavin to herself.

I was also really offended when Robbie tries to dress like her sister of all people and of course when Robbie looks more like a tart, Gavin is interested. You would think that since they had such interesting conversations in the past & played chess that Gavin would spend some time with Robbie but he doesn't, he pretty much ignores her.

I think there was so much possibilities with this plot and it kind of fell flat for me, along with little things like Robbie trying to dress like her sister, and especially when Robbie and Gavin's mother give Faith the "cut" as that was just so mean girl! Yeah, I know that Faith deserves it but where are the manners that you expect from the mother and good girl?

Robbie noticed the circle of wetness on the bed. The girl asked for something for the pain and the little baby girl was born stillborn and the mother was hemorrhaging and passed away later on. Robbie left and walked to her boarding house after volunteering at the hospital that was for the destitute and the prostitutes. Robbie lived in the slums After their father had died Robbie and her twin Birdie had inherited some money. Birdie had bought a bunch of clothes and stolen Robbie’s fiance and married him and he was a rich man. Robbie had went to college to become a writer but Robbie wasn’t doing too good on that. She did write an underground serials under an anonymous name. Her real life was vastly different - writing erotic material when she was innocent. Then Robbie is kicked out of her boarding house she lives in and has nowhere else to go. Birdie and Robbie are estranged. But then Robbie gets a letter with a proposal of marriage from her childhood crush Gavin. Gavin however is very bookish with his head in the air and had meant to propose to Birdie who is already married. Robbie didn’t know this and showed up at Gavins to marry him.
I didn’t really care for this book. I didn’t feel it was written that well. There was a lot of repetition. I didn’t really care for Robbie she was suppose to be such a “ good girl”. Yet Robbie went around spreading rumors, and she held grudges even why saying she had forgiven the person. Although i did like her patience with Gavin but what other choice did she really have? So I didn’t really see much to like in this book and it wasn’t for me.

Edinburgh - 1872

Robbie Fleming is living in a rat-infested rooming house. While she dreams of being an author, the only way she make make money is to write pornographic stories. She also volunteers at a clinic of sorts to care for prostitutes.

Robbie and her sister, Birdie, lost their mother many years ago and their father recently. A small amount of money was left to each of the girls. Birdie used hers to buy dresses and then she stole and married Robbie’s beau. Robbie used her money to attend college. Her writing is for an erotic underground serial and she writes under the name of Jeremy Greene, a well-known writer, recently deceased.

Just when her landlady tells her she needs to vacate her room, she receives a letter from Gavin Eliot, a young man she has known and loved in the past. He is asking her to marry him. Thrilled, she accepts and journeys to his home, Erskine House. When she arrives, Gavin realizes he meant to ask Birdie to marry him, not Robbie. It turns out that the girls are twins. Gavin got them mixed up and now he doesn’t know what to do.

Dr. Colin Innes lives in Gavin’s home and is his good friend. Colin stopped practicing medicine after he was injured leaving his face scarred. He befriends Robbie who is not at all shocked at his appearance. Gavin and Robbie marry and shortly thereafter, selfish Birdie comes to visit. There are many bumps in the road that try to derail their marriage. But, can they persevere?

This was a busy story. The author’s writing at first did not sound true to the time period and the wording seemed to go with a modern day novel. There is so much going on that it’s almost dizzying. I thought that this had been written by a debut author but was surprised to find that she is an established author. I’m sure that other readers will truly enjoy the book and I will try to read more by the author to see if her other books are more appealing to me.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Robbie is about to be living on the streets when she receives a marriage proposal from Gavin. When she turns up at Gavin’s door he realizes he addressed the letter to the wrong sister. He really wanted to marry her twin, Birdie. The story is entertaining but I did have some issues with the premise and the characters. Just an okay read for me.

Her Sister’s Bridegroom by Jane Bonander

As I read I thought:
* Perfect plot for a black and white silent movie
* Written in a similar vein to books Published in the early 1900’s
* Melodramatic
* Really?
* Hmm…
* A lot happened in 200 or so pages
* Could anyone be so stupid? (at times for more than one character)

I am on the fence about this one. I enjoyed the story as it ambled along but I kept finding it very difficult to believe or invest in.

The twins:
Robbie – darker hair, smarter, more aware, always in the background of her more vibrant sister
Birdie – the more vibrant redhead coquette that attracted men to her as bees are attracted to pollen – but – a total user and useless all in one

The “other” woman:
Faith has had a hankering for the main character for a long time and is not as sweet as he thinks she is – an actress out for herself

Best Friends (one is the hero…sort of)
Gavin Elliott - is a brilliant in some ways and not so much in others. He can remember the ancients but not the names of those more recent – in fact – the reason he proposed to Robbie is he got the twins names wrong. His head is in the clouds but he can keep his feet on the ground from time to time and when he finally realizes his accident might have been a blessing…things might turn out alright
Dr. Colin Innes – liked him till he succumbed to Birdie…much as those bees I mentioned earlier. He is scarred but in so many ways a good man and a good friend to many.

So…easy to read, plausibility iffy, writing style sedate and modest (mostly) with snippets of naughty writing Robbie gets paid to write and a few interactions that take place between Gavin and Robbie a bit warmer, a LOT going on for the characters to deal with and in the end…I was glad I finished the story and hoped the characters would manage to have enjoyable lives… I guess it was hard for me to put myself into any of the characters shoes or want to be any of them or with any of the men mentioned.

Thank you to NetGalley and Diversion Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

I just couldn’t finish this. Couldn’t get into the characters.

Publisher's Description:

When Robbie Fleming is evicted from her Edinburgh rooming house, she fears she’ll have to live on the street. Penniless, orphaned, and on poor terms with her only relative—her fraternal twin sister, Birdie—Robbie has nobody to turn to.

But then she receives a letter from Gavin Eliot, the man she has pined for since she was a girl. Although Gavin (and every other male within miles) seemed head over heels in love with flirty and vivacious Birdie, his letter holds a surprise: He wants to marry Robbie. Thrilled by the proposal and her change of luck, Robbie accepts, landing on his doorstep with little more than the clothes on her back.

Bookish Gavin always has his head in the clouds. When Robbie shows up at his borderlands manor, he’s astonished—he realizes he’s unwittingly proposed to the wrong sister. But with Robbie in need of a home and Gavin in need of a wife, they come to an understanding. Will Robbie’s heart heal from the betrayal? And will Gavin learn to love the last woman he ever expected?

My Thoughts:
I loved this at times poignant and heartbreaking tale. It is much more than a tale of mistaken identity and sibling rivalry.
I read this book in two sittings even though it is by no means a short read.
Gavin is in need of a wife and remembers the vivacious redhead he was infatuated with as a young man. Unwittingly he writes to and proposes to the wrong sister. The girls are fraternal twins and nothing alike in looks or temperament. Robbie has sable locks and is passably pretty. Birdie is the beautiful one with red hair, dimples and the sister who wants what belongs to Robbie.

Robbie is down on her luck and about to be evicted from her rooming house so when she receives the letter from Gavin who she has loved since childhood, she is sure her fortunes have changed.

Will Gavin's error lead to an everlasting love between himself and Robbie or will Birdie's interfering ways intrude once again on Robbie's happiness.

I loved this book. It was not my first read by this author but the best one I have read by her.
I gave this book 4.75 of 5.0 stars for storyline and character development and a sensual rating of 2.5 of 5.0 flames. Although there are intimate scenes most are simply in the heroine's imagination stemming from her stories she writes to pay the bills but the ones that are real are heated also and lead toa drastic change in our hero's opinion of his wife.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley to read and review. This in no way affected my opinion of this title which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

When Robbie Fleming is evicted from her Edinburgh rooming house, she fears she’ll have to live on the street. Penniless, orphaned, and on poor terms with her only relative—her fraternal twin sister, Birdie—Robbie has nowhere to go. Then she receives a letter from Gavin Eliot, the man she has pined for since she was a girl. Although Gavin (and every other male within miles) seemed head over heels in love with flirty and vivacious Birdie, his letter holds a surprise: He wants to marry Robbie. Thrilled by the proposal and her change of luck, Robbie accepts, landing on his doorstep with little more than the clothes on her back.
When Robbie shows up at his home just outside of Galashiels, Gavin’s astonished to realize that he’s just unwittingly proposed to the wrong sister. But with Robbie in need of a home and Gavin honour bound to his word, they find themselves headed to the altar.
I really like the author’s books & this doesn’t disappoint, the characters are well rounded Robbie is delightful as is Gavin but he’s SO naïve. Gavin’s eyes are opened to see that he did in fact propose to the right sister but their road to a HEA isn’t smooth with a blind sister, a friend intent on revenge & an abandoned baby all conspire to keep Gavin from declaring himself to Robbie. The pace of the book is very good & I read it in under a day which is an indicator as to my enjoyment.

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Robbie Fleming is living in a hovel, and about to be evicted, in Edinburgh when she gets a note from the boy she’s been in love with for 10 years. He asks her to marry him and sends money for the coach to get her to him. When she shows up she’s so very happy and thrilled that Gavin has finally asked her to marry him. She had always believed that he was in love with her fraternal twin sister, Birdie.

Unfortunately when unintentionally eavesdropping one night soon after her arrival she hears Gavin tell his friend that he wrote the note to the wrong sister. He intended to write the note to Birdie but thought that her name was Robena (as in the bird: robin…birdie, get it?) But Birdie is a pet name for Roberta, her sister. Robbie plans to leave but Gavin decides, after he hears that Birdie is married, that he will marry Robbie and make things work.

After they marry things are going along, not great but they’re going, when Birdie shows up. Robbie believes that this could be the end of her marriage but Gavin surprises her in a big way. Unfortunately Birdie and her scheming ways haven’t lessened since she was young and she ends up pulling the biggest scheme ever – which might hurt Robbie the most.

A sweet story that I enjoyed reading. My heart went out to poor Robbie. She was always overshadowed by her sister and was so happy that she had finally gotten the attention of the man she loved. She was devastated when she found out that he wanted Birdie instead but I thought she held up well.

The story revolves more around Gavin coming to terms with marrying Robbie and then dealing with Birdie’s scheme that hurts his wife. I honestly wanted more romance in this book. Yes, I thought that Robbie and Gavin fell in love but I still wanted the romantic aspect of that to be…more.

Birdie was a conniver and I didn’t like her at all, nor Gavin’s friend from the village who wanted him for herself. He was a nice guy and apparently couldn’t see evil when it was right in front of his face. He did redeem himself in the end of the book so that was good.

Overall it was a decent story but again, I needed more romance.

Rating: 3 out of 5

This will post as a guest review on Book Binge.
http://bookbinge.com/

It started out great then slowed a bit. birdie was a very annoying character that became a major character.

Sweet romance but unfortunately too fast pace. I had real difficulty getting into the book and warm to the characters. The emphasis of the story was good, Hero asking the wrong sister to marry him and fall in love with her. This book was not for me.
I have received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review that is all my own.

Well written book with great storyline and plot. A sweet book that has great romance. The story is true to it's time period and the language is also. I like when an author has made research about the time period they want to write the story in.

There is drama, family issues, passion, emotions and some twists. Instant attraction. A lot is happening. Way too much for my likening.

I voluntarily reviewed this Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

I am so very sorry to say that I struggled trying to go past 30% of this book. I was liking it and I had hopes that it would be a good book, and I’m sure it’s good for someone out there. Not for me.

The female protagonist, Robbie, lives in Edinburgh, she’s almost penniless and writes naughty stories for a periodical publication. The time she doesn’t spend writing, she volunteers at a sort of hospital for prostitutes and destitutes. She is a good girl… only she’s not. But the male protagonist isn’t much better.
One day, when she’s about to find herself living on the streets she receives a letter containing a marriage proposal from her childhood love (or that she thinks). But seems that Gavin confused her name and her twin sister’s name and oops, he had proposed the wrong sister.

Birdie, the sister, is beautiful… no, she’s more than beautiful. She’s the epitome of beauty. But she’s married, and the husband is a rich man who also happened to be Robbie’s fiancé. But Robbie is fine; she doesn’t hold grudges… only she does. And she’s a good girl, unlike her sister… only she’s not.

I say all this because despite the fact that Robbie implies that she has forgiven and forgotten, she hasn’t done either. If she did, she wouldn’t be constantly reminding everyone what her sister had done to her and how she understands because she’s more than beautiful. Also, there’s a supervillainess who schemes against her but she’s not very good at it so she gets caught. And Robbie tells everyone, and everybody is understanding and supportive because she’s a good girl. But she’s not, as I said. She’s kind and she’s understanding and her patience with Gavin has no limits… but there’s this awful side of her that I absolutely loathe. People who hold grudges and tell tales are not my cup of tea.

And Gavin is a complete disgrace. He’s a bookworm, and they use that as an explanation for his absentmindness, his lack of sense of reality, his lack of sensitivity… basically his feet don’t touch the ground, he lives in the clouds and has an obsession with Birdie because he can’t forget that she was incredibly beautiful.

There were many other things that I didn’t like, their first intercourse lacked sentiment, the villainess was rather pathetic. The obsessions and the repetitions were too much and I’m talking of only 30% of the book (according to kindle). But there is one word that could sum up everything I didn’t like about this novel and is the envy. Everyone wants what other people have, from the first word! A sister that wants her sister’s fiancé, a woman who wants another woman’s husband, a woman that wants a man’s family, a man that wants a man’s luck with women… these people are toxic. There’s so much hatred under the skin.

Perhaps I could save one character, and that would be Colin, I wish the story was about Colin.

I hate giving bad reviews, I really do, but this book was not for me and I wouldn’t be doing anyone any favor if I said the contrary.

Interesting story! Pulled me in and I look forward to more by his author.

Unusual for me, but I am going to start at the ending and say – are you kidding me? I loved the story, but did not care for the ending at all. Spoiler Alert ** Colin marries Birdie!** No, please say it did not happen. There are lots of other reviews that offer insight into the story. I will say that Gavin and Robbie deserved better. There is just way too much going on around their love story. This is my first Jane Bonander book and I enjoyed it up to a point, but when so much kept happening, it just did not make for a good book.

Gavin is way too trusting of Faith. I love that he realizes how fortunate he was not to end up with Birdie. Faith and Birdie are criminals and Colin marries Birdie. I still cannot get over that. Robbie seemed in more trouble for accidentally setting a fire than for Faith and Birdie kidnapping a child.

Colin seems to be a great guy and loyal friend until he marries a criminal. The child could have died when left on a doorstep sick. Birdie just takes Faith’s word the child is okay now and they decide to leave town.

I like books to have a realistic feel and this one did not. Again, too much kept happening and not handled in a realistic way. Sorry, Ms. Bonander, I will not post a public review, but will leave this on Net Galley only.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Robbie is alone in the world except for her twin Birdie, who just so happened to steal Robbie's beau and marry him. She works in a clinic during the day but her paying job is to write pornographic material which is just temporary.

She receives a letter from Gavin, a young man she grew up with and always loved, and he has asked her to marry him. She accepts and goes to him but imagine his shock when he realizes he has asked the wrong sister! He hides his surprise and decides to go through with the marriage but when Robbie is told the truth, from a woman who wants Gavin, she tries to leave but he talks her out of it.

Will love come for Gavin and Robbie? Will others ruin it?

I did like the story but didn't care for her porn writing. Her mentor had passed away and supposedly she was fulfilling his contract and only had a couple more to write. Although she was a virgin she claimed "she used his words" but I guess if one is talented they could muddle through.
Robbie did attend College and was a writer, she just never had the opportunity to write what she wanted due to financial issues.

Robbie and Birdie are fraternal twins. Birdie is a redhead who's beauty captured all instantly, all fluff, nothing underneath. She was spoiled and wanted whatever her sister had. Robbie was a brunette and definitely not unattractive. Her real beauty came from her intelligence and her kindness for others, all stuff.

Gavin is a book nerd, very smart and a bit naïve. He doesn't always see what is in front of him. He is a good man though. When sister Birdie arrives, blinded (hysterically) after a carriage accident that killed her husband, Gavin will get a real eyeful of fluff (Birdie) and stuff (Robbie) and see if his "mistake" is worth it.

I also loved the character of Colin, Gavin's friend. His friendship would be valued by all.

Robbie receives a marriage proposal from one of her sister's old beaus. She accepts. When her groom meets her, he is surprised. He had thought he had proposed to her sister! Will he still marry her? Will he find that she is really the love he deserved?

The storyline was good....but...
The setting was a little off. Robbie is a virgin, in Victorian times writing not just fiction...but pornographic fiction. His letter finds her, after she has moved and is working with prostitutes.

First time reading the author, but i really liked her. Great reading . Loved the characters. Great story.

I don't think there was a single character in this book that I liked. Not even the dog. I'll leave it at that.