Review: Ruined by Rumor

Reviewed by Jen
 

Roxana has been waiting five years for her fiance George to return from the war so they could be married.  But his homecoming is nothing like she expected and he calls off the wedding just weeks before it's scheduled to take place.  What is only supposed to be a moment of comfort from her brother's friend Alex, turns into a scorching kiss -- which puts her reputation in jeopardy.  Alex steps up and offers to marry her right away to save her from the scandal.

Roxana has no idea that Alex has been in love with her for years.  He's terribly shy and has a difficult time socializing.  He would never intentionally risk her reputation, but the chance to marry her is a dream come true.

Unfortunately, Roxana is a bit of a twit.  She refuses to stop mooning over George, even after she agrees to marry Alex and goes forward with the wedding.  She doesn't even really love George. She loves the idea of him.  And she doesn't really see Alex, only his shyness and awkward social skills.  She annoys me.  As for Alex, I did like him, though he had a complete meltdown about 3/4 of the way through the book that I thought was completely out of character.

The biggest roadblock these two face is their inability or unwillingness to communicate.  If either one of them actually came out and spoke honestly to the other, they would have saved themselves (and me) so much trouble.  George's true nature and the reason for his decision to call off the engagement were so painfully obvious that by the time it was revealed on-page, all I could do was roll my eyes.

The story wasn't bad, but it was predictable and somewhat cliched.

Rating: C


*ARC Provided by NetGalley

Click to purchase: Amazon

 Ruined by Rumor

by Alyssa Everett

Release Date: May 21, 2012

Publisher: Carina Press