Review of Can You See Me?

[Eunice Geres]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Can You See Me?" by Louise G. Wert.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Lady Lili Ann Mayville has lost everything she had ever known because of a tragedy that faced her family. She was stripped of her title, kicked out of her home, and lost her loving parents. With nowhere to go, her cousin, Dalton, took her in and got her employed in the Windamir castle.

Lord Theoderick Kantor is spending the summer with his friends in the Windamir Castle owned by his family. As he entered the castle after having fun with his friends in the wild, he noticed a beautiful servant with injured hands. He immediately knew something was off with that servant, and with the help of his friends, he would find out what it is.

Can You See Me? by Louise G. Wert is a historical romance fiction set in the 1780s of Great Britain. In this novel, readers would meet Lord Theoderick Kantor, the heir to the Windamir Castle, and Lady Lili Ann Mayville, who lost her title and became a servant to the Kantor’s dwellings. Written in a third-person point of view, readers would follow the journey of Lili Ann as she faced obstacles thrown in her way, all the while accepting and adjusting to her new life as a servant. Readers would also see how Theoderick would find the answer to what happened to Lili Ann’s parents.

For most of this book, I genuinely enjoyed reading it. I find most of the characters to be interesting. The building of the mood and aura of the book is written magnificently. I felt all the emotions and was swept away by the beautiful way of how the author narrated the emotional scenes in the book. Even though the romance between Lili Ann and Theoderick was love at first sight, I liked that the author slowly built the characters' chemistry as the story goes on. There was never a part where the attraction felt forced. The romance was indeed a feel-good story that intends to melt the readers’ hearts.

Every romance reader is well acquainted with a story like this. I admit that the whole romance present in this book is not technically unique. We all know that the beautiful, kind, and lowly servant would get the rich man’s attention, then they would live happily ever after. That kind of story is not new to us. However, there is a significant plot that I think most readers would like. The plot I’m talking about is the mystery of the death of Lili Ann’s parents. The mystery, for the most of it, is good. I wouldn’t say it is the best because there were parts that are just not well-written. The thought of the mystery is intriguing, and it would keep the readers wondering what truly happened. However, how the mystery unfolds was not well-constructed. The author gave no clues to ponder until almost the end. I feel like readers would like the mystery plot more if there are clues scattered throughout the story.

There is also a technical issue I found in the book. The editor did not edit it well. The list of all the homophones and typos I found was quite long. It irked me while reading because I couldn’t reach the level of satisfaction I usually get while reading light-hearted romance when wrong words are thrown in almost every paragraph. The description of the male lead is also very inconsistent. The only person described perfectly, in terms of physical appearance, is Lili Ann.

With all of that said, I would rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I knocked off one star due to technical errors and another star due to the not-so-good construction of the mystery plot. I would say that the novel is reasonably good. It is not very good, but it is not horrible. I can imagine other people enjoying this book like how I enjoyed it.

I would recommend this novel to people who want to relax and read a light-hearted story. This book will certainly get you feeling butterflies flapping in your stomach. I wouldn’t recommend this to a younger audience because explicit scenes are not suitable for all ages. And I also wouldn’t recommend this to picky readers because you would have so many criticisms that would deter you from actually enjoying it.

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Can You See Me?
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[Kira Bonita Reece]

This book seems like a romance cliche but I wouldn't mind giving it a read. Thanks for the review