A History Nut's Romantic State of Mind

I think Judith James writes with a very distinctive style, which makes her stories very interesting for me. It can be a little trying to follow though. I find it interesting all the same. Whether I love it, I cannot say. But it certainly makes interesting reads.

Broken Wing has a man whore for a hero. I have seen quite a few courtesan books but this is my first book which has the male lead cast as a male prostitute at the time when the story begins. I did not know what to expect so I read on with a certain level of anticipation.

I think 3 things bothered me:

1. Gabriel's inferiority complex: it is only normal that he felt he was not worthy of Sarah. I understand that. I don't always need an alpha hero to like the book. But I do want to see that the characters not pity themselves. When the characters are so harsh on themselves to the point where they exhibit self-pity.....I have trouble holding respect for them. Speaking of a beta hero who I love, Harry from [b: The Leopard Prince|156565|The Leopard Prince (Princes Trilogy, #2)|Elizabeth Hoyt|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1311811634s/156565.jpg|2673256], is a servant in love with the lady of the manor, his employer, no less. But you never, ever, feel that he felt he was really beneath her. Yeah he felt the differences in their social classes, he regonized that she was out of his league. But he did not pity himself or whine about how he did not "deserve" her. Maybe I am too harsh on Gabriel, but I am never one for pity party.

2. Sarah's "wild behaviors": she considered herself unmarriagable. So she enjoyed her freedom, wearing men clothes. That immediately turns me off. I like my girls girly. I have trouble liking heroines who are too "wild". Unconventional, ok, but not feminine, no go. I could not see Sarah as the lady that she was supposed to be. She sounded more like a young lad than a lady.

3. The plots: Like other reviewers have said, Gabriel and Sarah were seperated for a LONG time in this book. Gabriel went on the ship to make a life for himself. I get that. I think it is important too. It is just About 70% of the book is spent on first, getting Gabriel to Sarah's house so that they could get to know each other and second, getting Gabriel to "find a place for himself" to be worthy of Sarah. Where is the romance? I imagine this was necessary for the story, which means, this is probably not my kind of story.