Once Upon a Tower
Gowan, the Duke of Kinross, usually finds attending balls a chore because they distract from business. And an English ball is worse, with the wiry English ladies in attendance. When he’s unable to dodge a ball due to business connections, he doesn’t expect much. Until he dances with Lady Edith “Edie” Gilchrist, whom he falls for fast and decides that he must marry as soon as possible.
On the other hand, Edie barely remembers the dance, as she’s in the middle of a fever haze. The men are all smitten with a (literally) hot, rosy cheeked woman that remains mysteriously silent. Including Goawn, who is intent on ensuring that Edie is his, and brokers a deal with her father. After all, what is marriage but a type of business transaction? And things seem well, as Edie and Gowan seem more than compatible.
Things begin to unravel on their marriage night, when Gowan tries too hard to ensure Edie’s pleasure in his own way, and Edie finds the whole affair too painful to bear but unable and a bit afraid to voice the pain. Hurt feelings and misunderstandings soon drive a wedge between the couple. To make matters worse, Edie feels that she can’t talk to Gowan because he’s always working, and they have little to no privacy.
It is a tough book to read at times, as it is fairly realistic with Edie’s pain and Gowan’s enthusiasm. Both are inexperienced, and the book does a fairly decent job depicting that clumsy and painful inexperience. The story ends with a resolution that the characters are happy with.
But is it satisfying to the reader? I felt there are more issues for the couple to tackle waiting off-page and off-book. However, I also felt that the story ends with them with solid ground and understanding between each other to figure out and resolve those new issues. I didn’t feel like I ended with a happily ever after, everything is magically okay, but a happily ever after, this couple will figure out the tough times, and enjoy the good times.
Which is something I’ve hoped to see in a romance book, and I was surprised to find it.