DNF: automatic 3 stars because I won't penalize the author because the story/writing style/ and/or author's voice wasn't for me. I received a copy of this book for reviewing purposes. As a DNF, I don't feel it necessary to state which blog. 
 In all fairness, I do believe I should explain why it was a DNF. First, I will state that I am not new to Historical Romance. Second, as an author of 16 published works, I should hope I'm literate and proficient enough in my own craft to read a book. 
 I feel as if I'm setting myself up for ridicule with this honest review (as it is about my experience while trying to read this novel). "How could you not understand it? How can you give a negative review because you're illiterate?" "You're an author who can't read?" 
 I felt as if the book was over-written. As if several words per sentence were replaced with their equivalent in the thesaurus in order to make it sound of the era. While I could comprehend what the author was trying to tell, the words just felt like a jumbled up mess of confusion. 
 Basically, it was a flow issue for me, where I was drawn from the story in order to comprehend words I knew the very definition of but couldn't order without working through them. 
 Not the youdomegreathonorbut speech, which Noah had been prepared for- he did her a very significant honor indeed-but not a meek capitulation either. She managed to reprove without being rude, for which Noah admired her, of course. 
 I know what every word means. But strung together in those disjointed sentences, it took a lot of work on my part to comprehend what the author was trying to say. Simple doesn't mean stupid, nor does it mean that it's not historically accurate. Sometimes over-complicating something that is simple doesn't show intelligence, but rather a need to prove you are intelligent. 
 I feel as if I am not explaining myself properly. With the paragraph I quoted, each phrase yanked me from the story with its jarring nature. This was my first attempt at reading Grace Burrowes. She is very popular and well-loved, but obviously not for me. I don't know if the entire book read like this or not, as I had to stop after the third chapter. I don't know if all of her works are written as such, either. For me, I want to read a story, fall into my imagination for a few hours to escape life. As a writer, I don't want to comprehend each word in order to create a story, because that is what I do by profession. I just want to read a book that doesn't feel like work.