Shannon Donnelly
Autor de Eleanor Roosevelt
Sobre El Autor
Series
Obras de Shannon Donnelly
The Cardros Ruby 3 copias
Show & Tell: Secrets to Improve Your Writing (Fiction for Fun Book 1) (English Edition) (2012) 1 copia
Edge Walkers 1 copia
Obras relacionadas
Fright Time #05: Forest of Fear, Ghost Twin, Something's in the Sewer (1995) — Contribuidor — 55 copias
Fright Time #18: Escape from Evil, Dead-Lines, It Knows We're Here (1997) — Autor, algunas ediciones — 15 copias
Etiquetado
Conocimiento común
- Género
- female
Miembros
Reseñas
Listas
También Puede Gustarte
Autores relacionados
Estadísticas
- Obras
- 24
- También por
- 2
- Miembros
- 694
- Popularidad
- #36,476
- Valoración
- 3.2
- Reseñas
- 10
- ISBNs
- 54
Being so beautiful is exactly Geoff's problem, though - as mentioned in the blurb, he scared off his previous amour by being passionate with her, and he firmly believes the fault lies with him, because his beautiful Cynthia was the model of perfection. His base desires (and his horrid father) had her fleeing in tears away from him and into the night. She marries the staid local vicar instead, and Geoff can't help but mourn his loss.
His father, the Earl, is dying, but that's nothing new - he's a codgy old man who's been on death's door for most of his life. Its only the fact that his father's physician writes to him and pleads for him to return with a bride on his arm that he listens, and wonders. His mother died when he was a child, and though he doesn't really like him, his father appears to have mere weeks to live. How could he not fulfill his father's dying wish to see his son married?
He chooses Eleanor because she is the opposite of Cynthia. She is a little slip of a girl who is known for being sensible and pragmatic. He quickly discovers that she has a need to rescue pretty much every creature she comes across in need, and he slowly starts to want her to rescue him as well.
Eleanor sees his pain and is drawn to him because of it. She quite quickly falls in love with him, and berates herself for it. Even when the two of them strike a deal that she, also should get something out of their arrangement, she's too fearful to tell him what she actually desires most: for him to love her instead of merely tolerating her.
She tries to fortify herself for a lifetime of loneliness, but the more her feelings develop for him, the more miserable she becomes. Of course, she won't actually open her mouth and say any of this, especially not when they return to Westerly to prepare for the wedding, and she sees the woman who broke her future husband's heart.
Even in the midst of holiday cheer, with both of their families celebrating the season, they find themselves absolutely miserable and unable to speak of it - to each other, or anyone else.
All this misery went on just a bit too long, for my liking, without enough tease of their mutual attraction to counteract it. I did appreciate the fact that this book doesn't fall into easy traps, like having Cynthia be a complete witch, or pairing up siblings from either side with each other, or have the family matchmaking too obvious. I liked that they exchanged their boon and Geoffrey made good on what she asked for, even though it meant changing a HUGE tradition in the village. I even like the fact that their wedding was miserable and both were disappointed by it.
Its not until the end, when they finally admit their fears, that the magic happens. The final scenes of the wedding night and the morning after are absolutely breathtaking, and a perfect example of being able to write an intimate love scene without explicit sex. It gave me those gut-wrenching chills that all great romance strives for, and it almost makes up for all the angst that sags through the middle of the story.
I'm definitely going to give this writer another go - I already have another of her books in my collection.… (más)