While overall. the writing and mood are done with some feel for the era, I don't like the story. It simply went in directions I do not appreciate.
My favourite Austen man is Colonel Brandon competent, and soulful. I prefer otomes without so much steambased/chemistrybased scenes as well. In the meantime, this story instead of companionship capitalizes too much on chemistry and mutual attraction. It is not my idea of Regency romance at all, it doesn;t feel right to me. I seek romances with less "romance" to them in popular understanding cause love can develop differently not just as sex attrction (companionship, trust, reliance on another, mutual help), like here Ex in Stanton route: there is more chemistry attraction than anything else and it dissapointed me, though the premise for his story had a lot of potential, but somewhere along the line it was ruined for me by too much focus just on the attraction and MC saving him. I am bothered by this. Also, regardless of choices, MC is made to look competent and it is not very credible, or rather you made a point to exaggerate it too much to the point it;s too contemporary for me and feels unbalanced. She always saves the guys, like the lame Captain Blake can;t say a word to idiot Lord huttington, that scene made him simply look LAME from the start, when she has to speak for him in defence. an austen man would find a way out of this on his own, wouldn't rely on MC to help him like that. I don;t like that, it made Blake seem lame from the start. Or in Stanton route...it began promising but .the ending is SO anticlimatic and illogical and lacks credibility cause MC all of a sudden saves him like that? As if a guy like she's dealing with would just let her off, and seriously how lame can a guy be? Stuck in service to someone like that.... nope, totally lacks credibility that ending. Stanton's true love end is too much of an easy deus ex machina. And I"m also annoyed that he was like a slave, and in the end did;t seem competent at all himself, though you explained him and all, but the ending simply undermined, for me, his appeal. He ended up being too lame and helpless and it annoys me. The guys just seemed to lack character whatsoever. It just makes it seem like it;s unbalanced, like they aren;t partners, like Mc is too much of a saviour, it feels unbalanced for me. And also plot really went in the direction that killed the initial anticipation. Especially with the sort of easy ending you went for without much development of Vale guy.
Promising, but needs work. I was disappointed all in all, this isn;t my idea of Regency romance and definitely too contemprary in several senses. Puts me off totally. I'm an old fashioned kinda person,I want chivarlous guys saving damsels in distress, and I'm also an idealistic person who likes more dealistic approach to romance, rather than this sort of psychical attraction based "romance". I"m tired that most otome games games lately only emphasize physical attraction and there are fewer for me that empaisze subtelty and delicacy and idealistic approach (i./e focus more on plot and subtle developments rather than heavy handed steamy or sex scenes. Romance is not just about that) I think there's too much contemporary thinking in this/ I like otome stories with focus on something else than what I see here, and this is not my thing I'm afraid. Too bad, cause at first it seemed extremely promising,
it is well written and the concepts were good but it simply went in a direction I simply did not appreciate. .