Review of The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck by Kathleen Y'Barbo is the historical fiction story of a girl who wants to follow her dreams of becoming a business woman and getting married, in that order. Charlotte has always wanted to grow up. Even as a child, she put all of her effort into convincing her father that she was a woman, but to no avail. In fact, she tends to build a reputation of just the opposite everywhere she goes, much to her father's dismay. When Charlotte meets the dashing, yet insufferable astronomer Alex Hambly, their first encounter is anything but pleasant. However, their paths continue crossing until Charlottes father has a revelation- the two should marry! He pressures and pressures both. Charlotte longs to go to college and head up her father's company. Alex wants save his family from financial disaster. Charlotte's father proposes a simple plan- he'll solve both problems if the two marry.

Although very reluctant, the pair agrees, but they secretly plan to annul the ridiculous contract after their inconvenient marriage. But when Alex wants to honor his commitment, how will Charlotte get out? Does she even want to?

Charlotte's is very unique. Never have I seen such a spirited and turbulent female main character, and I like how Alex sort of balanced that out with his levelheadedness. The first half of the book was great, and it seemed really promising! Charlotte is an unconventional young woman who is very familiar with Buffalo Bill and his shows, and she shocked the English society when she acts like them. The relationship between Alex and Charlotte also starts off great.

As I said before, Charlotte is unique, but perhaps she's too unique. To put it mildy, for about 4/5 of the book, she's very much like a spoiled child. I came to somewhat pity Alex for having to put up with her. Also, the story was really predictable, and I never really got closure on what had happened to Charlotte's mother or Alex's twin brother. There didn't seem to be any standout scenes in this book. The behavior of Charlotte's father seemed too extreme, and I didn't quite like how he was so pushy. In addition, when the two decide they're ready to really be married, it is strongly, strongly implied that they do.

This was not my kind of book. It was very promising in the beginning, but in the end, it just didn't deliver. I rate this book two out of five stars.

Note: The publisher provided me with a free electronic copy of this book for reviewing purposes.

Blessings,