a noble affair by jennie goutet

Publisher:

Date of publication: April 28th, 2016

Genre: Romance

Purchase Links: Kindle | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound |

Format read in: eBook

Goodreads synopsis:

Is there such a thing as Prince Charming?

Chastity didn’t take a teaching job in France to find hers, but a woman can dream, n’est ce pas?

If the father of one of her students—the Viscount Charles Jean Anne Monorie de Brase—is the best local example of princes, Charming or Otherwise, Chastity is ready to put aside any thought of falling in love again.

As much as she would prefer him to keep his distance, it seems there is no avoiding each other. With the ongoing pressure of a repentant ex-boyfriend, a nefarious drug dealer, and an art heist that spans the decades, Chastity and the viscount are thrown together by circumstances she would soon rather forget.

As the intimacy between Charles and Chastity deepens, they must decide if their love is enough to bridge the gap between their disparate worlds, and if happily ever after can exist outside of fairy tales.

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First Impressions:

I was pretty excited to start reading A Noble Affair. I have had it sitting on my TBR since October 2018, and I figured that it was time to read it. Plus, the blurb got my interest. Well, I have to say I wasn’t impressed by the first half of the book. There were zero sparks of romance between Charles and Chastity. Instead, it went the exact opposite direction. There was so much animosity between the two that I was taken aback by it.

Chastity’s job as a school teacher was fascinating, but there was little focus on it. Instead, there were a couple of student/teacher meetings, where she accused Charles’s son of doing drugs. Her proof, a whiff of marijuana here and there. I hardcore eye-rolled at that. Frankly, I found her annoying that first half of the book. She led her baby daddy on about being in a relationship. The only thing that I remotely agreed with was that she allowed him to meet their son.

I didn’t care for Charles either. He was an absent parent who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) talk to his son about his slipping grades. Instead, he was focused on his work, appeasing his mother and his girlfriend. There was no mention of what he did for work during the first half of the book. This is important come the middle of the book.

Louis, Charles’s son, was also introduced. I was “meh” about him. I understood why he acted the way he did, but at the same time, I wanted to shake some sense into him. Things got a bit dicey towards the end of the first half of the book.

There were a bunch of secondary characters thrown in during the first half of the book also. I had issues keeping track of them because of how the chapters were written. There was no lead in the next character. Just, bam, here it is. At times, it made no sense. Also, clue in that secondary storyline was introduced while this all happened, and my head was spinning.

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Mid-Book Impressions

Chastity and Charles’s romance (or lack of one) was still going strong by the book’s middle. She thought he was an uptight idiot, and he returned the favor. It was kind of amusing to read, though. Their interactions were painful to read. I kept thinking to myself, “And where is this romance?” because there was ZERO.

Instead of the book picking up speed, it faltered, big time. I kept waiting for something to get the book moving. It did happen, but it took forever for it to happen. There were points where I was going to put the book down.

Louis’s storyline because more interesting. There was some intrigue about his dealing, his schoolwork, and him owing the dealer money. I did feel bad for the poor kid because he was in over his head. He was willing to do anything to pay back the money.

The storyline about the art heist was interesting too, but there were some flaws in it. Add in that Louis’s dealer is also the person behind the new heist, which made me go “Hmmm.” Only a couple of chapters sprinkled in the middle of the book explained what happened there.

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End of Book Impressions

Chastity and Charles’s romance finally picked up. But weirdly, it was after her son was hit by a car and put in a coma. Guess who his neurosurgeon was? Charles. I was just as surprised as Chastity was when that was revealed. Like I mentioned above, I thought he lived off a trust fund or something like that.

There was still no sparks between Chastity and Charles. The author did try, but their romance didn’t come across as believable. Even the kiss that they shared was “meh.”

The storyline with Louis and his drug use finally came to ahead. Charles finally talked to him about it. I don’t know who was more relieved, Louis or me. It took an entire book for Charles to get around to doing it. It was a lovely scene but long overdue in coming.

The secondary storyline about the art heist ended excitingly. There was a neat twist to that plotline that made me go “No way.“

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My Overall Thoughts on A Royal Affair

I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. As a romance, there should have been at least some sort of spark between the main characters. There wasn’t, and it felt fake at the end of the book. It wasn’t believable.

The book’s drug use angle was ridiculous, but I liked how the author chose to show Louis battling through the situation he got himself in. When Louis found himself getting in too deep, he turned to his father. The same father should have been more present in his life.

I loved the art heist storyline. I was shocked at who was behind the heist. I knew that it was the same person supplying Louis his drugs, but I didn’t know his identity. I had a holy crap moment when that happened. Talk about a surprise.

I would recommend that no one under the age of 16 read A Noble Affair. It is a clean book. There is no sex and a couple of brief kissing scenes. Several scenes got violent, and a couple where Louis is high. But nothing explicit.