MTM Day 12: REVIEW of The Ice Around My Heart

 

We are now on the 12th day of Marian Tee Mania, and we are about to review the final book in the Pussketeers collection. By the way, just to be clear, I personally named this the Pussketeers collection. It’s not the actual name though, because it’s really titled the How Not To Be Seduced series. So yeah, I just wanted to put it out there. (Awkward silence)

Going back, for those who have closely monitored the progress of this collection (I am one of them), Ice Around My Heart is really interesting. Why? Because this second installment to Rathe and Mary’s story has been a long time coming. But boy, oh boy is it worth it. 

Title: The Ice Around My Heart (How Not to be Seduced by Dukes #2)
Author: Marian Tee
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Published on: January 27, 2015
Source: Bought

SYNOPSIS:

A young ordinary girl falls for a rich, handsome duke. If this were an ordinary love story, she would have been his bride. Instead, she becomes his mistress. 

In taking the eighteen-year-old Mary Ashton with him to London, Rathe Wellesley - the 5th Duke of Flanders and England’s #1 Heartthrob – knows that his most cherished woman would become the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons. 

Even so, Rathe is unable to keep himself away from her. 

Mary used to think she had the power to change the duke’s outlook on love. But when someone starts spreading lies about her, making Rathe and the whole world believe that she’s too young for him--- 

When she looks into Rathe’s eyes now, she fears that no matter what she does, the duke will ultimately choose…to leave her.

 

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:

Rathe Wellesley is still as cold as ever, but he’s learning to be more vulnerable when it comes to our young beaut. However, this is the same reason he tries harder to push her away. He tries to do everything to have her hate him. He tries his best to break her heart, when he doesn’t even realize that he’s breaking his soul as well.

Mary Ashton is still a shy girl, but she tries her best to be stronger for Rathe. She tries her best to have people see her as a woman and not just a girl. She’s still trying to make Rathe fall in love with her…but there’s only so much she can take.

TO LOVE:

What don’t I love about this book? *incredulous look* seriously though, this book has drama, evil plot, heartache, family problems, and lovemaking. (I just had to get the last one in there *grins widely*.) Mary’s strength is something to be greatly admired, while Rathe is just – an a**hole. But I guess the pain of having hundreds of people judge you does that to a person. 

As usual, I loved the heartbreak that’s in the story. I cried a lot while I was reading this book, but that’s already to be expected. By the way, just want to share, but I’ve always loved a tragic event happening in books. Like, in this book, when Mary fell and hit her head, I liked that so much. *evil laugh* I kinda scare myself sometimes.

I also found the twist in the end very refreshing. I was NOT expecting that at all. I think if that happened in reality…whew! Everyone who owns a TV would tune into that. 

TO BLEH:

To be honest, I got a little confused with the evil plot. I mean, I know what they were trying to do, I just think it needed a little bit more build or depth. I think other people who thrive on drama and plots and stuff might find this book a bit lacking on that part. But then again, this is a romantic novel and not a crime story, so I guess it’s fine. *smiles*

SUMMARY:

This is a really good ending to the How Not to be Seduced series, and for the fans who’ve read every book in it, I’m sure you won’t feel like you’ve been left hanging. So I once again give this a “TO-READ” stamp.

Like I mentioned in another review, I’ll be reviewing a Marian Tee book that I wasn’t a huge fan of, just to prove that I’m not being biased or anything. For now, I hope you guys get her books if you haven’t yet. They’re really good.