I've finished it now. I skimmed the last 50 pages, because it seemed like a shame not to see how it ended, but what I really wanted to do was to throw this book against a wall and never touch it again. I actually did throw it against a wall, but I picked it up again and finished it, and then put it on my trade shelf. What a waste of time and of a potentially interesting storyline! A D, at most.

I've no idea why I had such a violent reaction to it. It didn't just bore me, it offended me and made my stomach ache with frustration at the stupid, stupid characters. Julian had so much potential! But London just had to pair him with that witless Claudia Whitney! Oh, she had her heart in the right place, as a real feminist, but that only prompted anti-feminism from most other characters, and that just made me angry. And what was the message of that imbecile Sophie's storyline? "Girls, the men in your family really do know best what's good for you"?

I hated Sophie's subplot. I especially detest it when characters like that evil wife-beater William Stanwood get away with it. Julian got a divorce for Sophie, but he had to give Stanwood 50.000 lbs. to get it. If that isn't getting away with murder then I don't know what it is.

And I hated the way Julian and Claudia's relationship progressed, all that back and forth because of little misunderstandings and miscommunications. Frustrating, that's the word for this whole book.