Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: Too long for a mediocre story

I picked up this book expecting another fabulous historical from Stephanie Laurens, rich in characters and an intriguing plot. But the book was too long to support this plot, and the characters, especially the heroine, wore thin. One of Laurens' strengths as a romance writer is how well she writes the hero's journey to win over the heroine. And in this novel, the heroine's protestations are extremely weak and outcome is obvious from the beginning.The Lady Chosen certainly cannot compare with any of the Cynster novels, which have distinct characters and compelling romances. I fear the Bastion Club series is going to be 7 novels of retread ground, especially if Laurens is writing 2 per year.