Review: The Wrong Girl by C.J. Archer

Author: C.J. Archer
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication Date: May 25, 2013



It's customary for Gothic romance novels to include a mysterious girl locked in the attic. Hannah Smith just wishes she wasn't that girl. As a narcoleptic and the companion to an earl's daughter with a strange affliction of her own, Hannah knows she's lucky to have a roof over her head and food in her belly when so many orphans starve on the streets. Yet freedom is something Hannah longs for. She did not, however, want her freedom to arrive in the form of kidnapping.

Taken by handsome Jack Langley to a place known as Freak House, she finds herself under the same roof as a mad scientist, his niece, a mute servant and Jack, a fire starter with a mysterious past. They assure Hannah she is not a prisoner and that they want to help her. The problem is, they think she's the earl's daughter. What will they do when they discover they took the wrong girl?

Review The Wrong Girl is one of those stories that could of been a contender had someone bothered to listen to early reviews coming in and not decided to just throw every typical trope into it that you'd think would make the story be more popular. The beginning of this story was amazing. In fact, it had a very V.C. Andrews feel which I loved! However, once the story left the estate things quickly started to unravel. First up, I've said it before and I'll keep saying it until I turned blue in the face. I hate Insta-Love. Granted this story is more like Insta-Infatuation but still, Hannah being instantly drawn to the dark and brooding male protagonist Jack is just so predictable and cliched that it had me rolling my eyes at first blush. Secondly, I absolutely was annoyed with Hannah herself. Rather than explore her powers and solve the greater mystery surrounding her existence, she spends almost the entire time focused on Jack. I get he's hot but my goodness a lady of her time should be way more focused on behaving appropriately than feeding her own desires. Lastly, the ending left me with more questions than answers. The lack of an appropriate wrap up to the story was just an added letdown to what really could of been a good series starter. Overall, while I liked the beginning of the story, by the middle of the book I was just going through the motions of reading instead of thoroughly being engrossed by the plot. I don't think I'll continue with the series unless the characters and the Authors focus on them changes significantly in the next book.  With that being said, I'll be rating The Wrong Girl by C.J. Archer ★★★.                                     *Copy reviewed provided by Author.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in an which way  for providing them.

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C.J. Archer has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two. She has at various times worked as a librarian, IT support person and technical writer but in her heart has always been a fiction writer. Her first historical fantasy series, THE EMILY CHAMBERS SPIRIT MEDIUM TRILOGY, has sold over 45,000 copies and garnered rave reviews.

C.J. spent her early childhood in the dramatic beauty of outback Queensland, Australia, but now lives in suburban Melbourne with her husband, two children and a mischievous black & white cat named Coco.

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