The Awakening of Ivy Leavold

This book, which turns out to be only the first part of a story, has a bit of a Bronte sisters feel to it. There’s a mystery surrounding the death of Julian Markham’s wives (although I’m pretty sure I know who killed his second wife—author was a bit heavy-handed there.) There’s also a bizarre chapter where the protagonist casually walks 20 miles, then comes home and has a light dinner. Then the book ends rather abruptly, I am guessing to get you to buy the next book ASAP. I don’t think I will.

After the death of her brother Ivy is taken in by her cousin's widower. The handsome and brooding Julian Markham.

Ivy brother died and now she i going to her dead cousin widow to live ... Upon meeting Julian she has feeling for him that make her belly ache. He tease her touches her but refuse to have more with her. So He throws a small party with 13 his friends and gets to see ivy for who she is possibly same as him .

Good book like 50 shades regency style .

Julian has this mysterious way about him when Ivy meets him for the first time. As time goes by he becomes more open to her about his real self.
I couldn’t put it down. Loving this series.

This series was one of the first I ever read from this author and I was hooked immediately! I have read them many times and after binging Bridgerton on Netflix, I came right back to them and read them once again. THEY ARE THAT GOOD!!! My only wish is that Ms. Simone would revisit this genre and give us more. I became so invested in these characters that after I finish the series once again I still wonder what Ivy and Julian are doing now? (((Sigh)))

I went back to check the book description. It mentioned a trilogy, so perhaps I should have suspected it was not a self contained book. I thought it was a series. Still, nothing indicated explicitly that I would have to read three books plus a bonus novella to get the whole story.

Now for the review of what we were given. It’s written in first person. I despise first person. It is the preferred perspective of the contemporary “romance” novels and pay-to-read by chapter books that tend to focus on soulless eroticism. I will admit that the author did a decent job with the first person perspective for the first half of the book. But when you are using a crummy narrative perspective for historical romance, even a good writer would flounder only presenting the “romance” from one perspective, in this case, the “heroine”. Will the second installment be from his perspective? That seems to be the thing in some of the billionaire bad boy sex novel series.

Speaking of the heroine, she is a twit and about as interesting as a dishrag, no offense to dishrags. Her one accomplishment is that she guesses a charades round correctly. Otherwise, she has no self esteem, no pride, and doesn’t want to be a kept woman yet being a governess would “cramp her style” too much. Someone this shallow should not even be attractive to a dark and brooding “hero”.

And speaking of the hero, if he were a woman, he would be considered a tease. It was impossible to understand his motivation to continually arouse the heroine and then leave. And the raunchy house party? What was that all about? Why would a guy bring all these hedonistic people to his house for the express purpose of engaging in a bacchanal and then order them not to touch the heroine? And by the way, if there is male on male or female on female sex, the reader has a right to know that before hand.

I am not adverse to explicit sex scenes in my historical romances, but this book was neither historical nor romantic. It was basically a present day 50-shades, billionaire bad boy sex book masquerading as a historical romance. The writing was a step above the pay by chapter books I’ve been sucked into reading. There’s just enough train wreck to keep you reading, and then you find you’ve dedicated too much time or money to quit. If the rest of the “trilogy” is free, I might read just to discover who killed Violet.

This story is intriguing and I find that I do enjoy a good widowers book. It may be the haunt of the ex, the former or the last that enthralls me. It may be the unwittingly sensual yet taboo flowering of a new relationship so close to an old one. Or it may just be the gold ol’ fashion whodunnit! Either which way I’m ready for it.

But here’s my thing: I think I’m a bit on edge because I’m not feeling completely convinced.

I feel like Ivy became infatuated a bit too soon or without enough wariness.
I feel Julian came on strong from the gate so the anticipation was cursory rather than sensational.
I feel like I wanted to wrongly guess things about the the ancillary characters and I didn’t.
I feel like we still don’t understand enough of Markham’s history to make us really illicit danger and desire.

In other words, do I just want this story to be darker than it is? Am I forcing other stories in this one! I’d hate to do that. Regardless, Simone is my favorite and I can’t wait to see the spin on this story.

Leaves you wanting to see their lives together continue and find out about the previous marriages and the real villain.