Review: Something in the Heir

Something in the Heir by Suzanne Enoch
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
This book was very strange to me, and I could not figure out what the author was trying to do. The pacing felt off, Emmeline and William's relationship/marriage felt odd, and I just could not figure them out as characters. Were they supposed to be...funny? Because my biggest problem with the book was that they came across as clueless, self-absorbed, patronizing, and just unpleasant. I could not get into a book in which the two main characters decided it would be perfectly fine to find two children to pass off as their own, and then GIVE THEM BACK to wherever they came from WHEN THEY WERE FINISHED WITH THEM. It was one thing (although they both seemed just plain stupid during this portion of the book) when they were attempting to "borrow" the children of some wealthy acquaintances. But then when they went to a poor farming family to ask for a couple of kids to essentially just "use" for a couple of weeks--justifying it by saying the children should enjoy a holiday with their betters during which they could live like the aristocracy--I really was shocked at how unfeeling and snobbish Emmeline and William really were. And then when that didn't work, and they finally came to the obvious conclusion that they "needed" some orphans, they still planned to just "give them back" when the children had served their purposes. SERIOUSLY? I could not get over how over-privileged, out-of-touch, and naively stupid Emmeline and William were. How in the world could ANYONE think it was okay to just borrow two little children who had been subjected to economic disadvantages at best and who had lost their true parents and had to suffer untold abuses and tragedies at worst?! I could not get over how idiotic and arrogant these two were, and I think what makes it worse is that it was being passed off in the story as acceptable behavior. What were--I am assuming--supposed to come across as hilarious episodes showing the reader the ridiculousness of Emmeline and William's situation were in fact unfeeling and jarring. I could not find any way to identify or sympathize with these two characters. How could they not realize that even though the sudden addition of two children might "inconvenience" them, the opportunities and safe home environment they would be able to provide for the children would outweigh that several times over--especially when the situation that Emmeline and William were in was created by their own subterfuge and manipulating. This wasn't a circumstance that had been foisted upon them--they created it when then lied because they wanted to live in a nice, conveniently located house.
I found that I could not finish the book because I was too infuriated by Emmeline and William. Whether they "learned their lesson" in the end or not, they just started off as MUCH too irredeemable. You can't just USE other human beings for your own ends. I could not like Emmeline or William and I wanted to go into the book and tell them off. Ugh. It wasn't funny, it wasn't cute, it wasn't a great way to realize you were actually in love the person you'd been married to for eight years. It was stupid, strange, and incredibly pretentious.
I DO NOT recommend this book.

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