Playing Through Every Choices Book In Order (Part 109: Desire & Decorum, Book 3)

Hey! Today we finish up our time at Edgewater as we plan our wedding and deal with a newly not-dead brother!

Next time, we move into our late aunt's house on Vermillion Lane, only to be swept up in a murder mystery as the HOA president dies in our foyer...

Link to previous reviews: https://www.reddit.com/user/stresseatingdog/comments/sj3s3m/all_choices_reviews_megapost/

Desire & Decorum, Book 3:

M/C: Anjali Valentine Sinclaire

Love Interest(s): Mr. Sinclaire

Favorite Characters: Mr. Sinclaire, Ms. Parsons, Prince Hamid, Briar, Sir Luke, Ms. Sutton, Viscount Harry, Mr. Chambers, Mr. Konevi

Least Favorite Characters: Gideon Payne

Rating: 8/10

Review:

This book maintains the charm from the previous books, but I felt it lacked in terms of plot.

The last book had the bombastic plot and tension of taking down Duke Richards and avoiding getting married to him. This book tries to add some conflict with Harry and Sir Payne returning, but I feel the tension just isn't there this time around. Gideon Payne feels somehow a far lesser threat than Duke Richards, despite being more powerful. The wedding planning aspect isn't enough to really carry the plot either. Luckily, I think some of the sub plots at least keep the plot from being too dull.

Each LI has a subplot in this book, but I feel all of them are sidelined. Ledford Park burns down, and...we barely spend time on it. Ms. Parson's father is trying to force her to seek a husband...and we barely spend time on it (unless she's your LI). Sir Luke's gambling-addicted brother with whom he has a bad relationship resurfaces...and we barely spend time on it. Prince Hamid's mother wants him to leave England forever and return to the Ottoman Empire...and we barely spend time on it. I like the idea of each LI having their own subplot, and I love how it fleshes them out as characters, but I do wish we spent more time on each of these plots. We get a start and end to each plot, and barely any meat.

Viscount Harry is an interesting character, and I like the slow way in which he begins to trust M/C (assuming you make the right choices). While I don't think he's a strong enough plot point to single-handedly carry the story, I still like him, and his relationship with Miss Sutton is really sweet.

I love the secret wedding you can have for Mr. Chambers and Mr. Konevi so, so much. It's a truly sweet moment that just oozes charm. Speaking of, I just love the little details in this book, such as the LI-specific events/choices actually affecting things. For instance, Ms. Parsons has a special wedding ceremony compared to the other LIs, and Sir Luke has an alternate LI with Cordelia. I love how if Mr. Sinclaire is your LI and you suggest he adopts Percival, then Percival will call M/C "Mama".

The wedding planning stuff, as I mentioned earlier, is merely alright. It's the usual Choices error where M/C makes all the decisions and LI seems like a total doormat. I do wish LIs got more agency and free will in these wedding books...

I absolutely adore the epilogue chapter, though. I feel an epilogue chapter would greatly enhance so many books. Getting to see how certain characters are doing, how M/C and LI are doing, all of it is so charming and a great way to end a book. I loved it when Big Sky Country did it, and I love it here as well.

Overall, I can't say I loved this book as much as book 2, but I think the overall charm, character interactions, and detail make me enjoy it thoroughly nonetheless.