Bound By You Touch by Meredith Duran
This was a very good book but my grade is a little lower than others you'll find around the blogosphere. Read on to find out why.
Lydia Boyce meets James Durham when he interrupts her speech about her father's archeological findings. James, Viscount Sanburne, is only interested in showing up his father with his new antiquities acquisition, which turns out to be a fake. Lydia and James team up to investigate the fake and find adventure and romance.
The above description doesn't begin to hint at the depth to this book. The characters, their romance and their relationships with their families are very complex. Both Lydia and James have unhealthy relationships with their fathers -- Lydia idolizes her father and James hates his. But all of their behaviors and decisions are determined by their feelings for dear old dad. Lydia has a difficult, (and very real) relationship with one of her sisters. I loved it that Lydia and James had to resolve these unhealthy relationships to find their happily ever after. The writing was fantastic and the character development first rate. The author is great at internal dialogue so we get to know the characters and understand their thinking and motivation.
Now, on to what didn't work for me. The story was almost too complex. At times it was hard to follow and I had to read it slowly to make sure I got everything. Also while the internal dialogue worked most of the time, there were other times when I thought, "these people think way too much." For example during the one of the sex scenes Lydia is analyzing what's happening -- what it means, what James is thinking, why she's doing this -- and it pulled me right out of the story. These little things reduced my enjoyment and therefore kept this from being an 'A' read.
My grade: B+
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