| Title | : | The Discarded Wife |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 250 |
| Publication | : | First published March 27, 2018 |
The Discarded Wife Reviews
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Sigh...
No one redeems a cad as well as CO.
I loved "The Absent Wife", but in some ways I loved this one more. I thought the h was stronger in character and there was no OW stuff.
Sophie and Tristan were victims of her circumstances, her disreputably selfish brother, and their own obstinance. They married 7 years ago in 1853 and divorced just months later. Basically, he booted her out of the house as soon as the source of his blackmail was no longer valid. Booted her out with not a penny and barred the door to her for evermore. The servants were to not even breath her name. In so doing though, he didn't allow her to tell him that she was pregnant...
She marries Doug, a musician who runs a music shop and claims the boy as his own. They are happy but poor. Then her new husband dies and circumstances lead to Tristan hearing about her having a child that might very well be his.
Sophie is one strong lady for that time period or any time period. In the face of her large ex-husband who has powerful resources and immense wealth, she manages to hold her own. It was awesome!
But of course, he manages to out manoeuvre her eventually. By then though his usual composed nature was in a jumble.
He really is a stuffy prig at the start of the story and you love hating him only because she doesn't let him get away with it. She is honest to the point of being painfully blunt and he isn't used to that.
Even his closest friend, Minette is careful not to be too obvious in her criticisms.
Minette..., I was worried she would be a source of contention between them, but she was a wonderfully clever matchmaker.
By 50% in, they are on his country estate and he is getting to know her/his son, and in so doing, is learning a thing or two about himself.
There really isn't any overt romance til 80% in, but their verbal swordplay was entertaining and CO is a master at unfolding a character's 'character'.
The ending felt fast and yet I savoured every word. There is a sweet little epilogue too.
I was a little teary when just before the second marriage, Tristan talks to their son Alphie about Doug, and how he was a good man and it was OK to remember him fondly.
Safety is good -
Well, what should I write about this book?
I certainly like it very much, it’s a very slow burn romance.
Also, it’s a second chance romance with a misunderstood hero.
At first, I hate the hero as much as the heroine hated him and like the heroine, slowly, a very slowly I started to see the real him and at the end like him too.
What I love about the story thought, when the hero kicked our heroine out and divorced her, she didn’t feels self pity, she married another and was very happy with her late husband until he died.
When the bastard returned to her life, she made sure, he understood she wasn’t a naive girl like the one he knew anymore and he paid for all the way he mistreated her in the past. She is a bit vindictive in this case 😂.
But I don’t care, served him right and teach him a lesson too, how to treat a woman better! 😘
I think I will check this author other books!
❤️❤️❤️ -
Nice but not at par with the author’s
An Absent Wife that had stunned me with its unusual take on the abandoned/discarded wife trope.
*Spoilers*
Comparisons are inevitable and the present book loses out considerably.
Firstly, maybe because the novelty is lost. And secondly because sadly it is a pale copy as it doesn’t have the angst and the quiet suffering of its predecessor/the original. I don’t mind the author churning out similar books as I love the premise but the emotions are pallid here.
The author does try to show similar tension between the mcs with continual anger, distrust and confrontations that are supposed to represent suppressed/repressed emotions and passion but somehow the potential isn’t achieved. This h evolves from meekness to hotheaded spiritedness (and occasional slapping frenzy) which is okay but is neither here nor there.
Like the first book, the H hates his forced-upon-him wife with a fury.
But in the present, he doesn’t seem like a guy who'd feel anything with such depth. So that should tell me something? Only I didn’t get it! Their interactions somehow missed out the angst and injustice of their past relationship when he had treated her abominably. We are told but it fails to grip me and all this new-fangled intensity only seems to represent repressed sexual tension and nothing more.
We are to believe that he gets so easily smitten by the very wife he had to get sloshed to have sex with? (It was a shame he hadn't seen that seven years ago, but a man wasn’t ready until he was ready.) Simply he didn't want/like her then and now he does. The past is not even touched upon, forget discussed and laid to rest. He doesn’t feel actual or any deep-felt remorse over his past actions and there's certainly no grovel. He’s let off too easily at the end.
And, no mistresses? That's part of the redeeming?
Both the books have a best friend (of the H) who interferes in the h/H relationship. While in the first, the odious Harry is out to ruin the relationship and to belittle and besmirch the h at every opportunity. I never got the why of it.
Here we have the sly but good-hearted Minette, the H’s lady bf. Though she rocks as a character, and acts as a necessary intermediary and later catalyst to prod along the stupid and mulish h/H towards an understanding, I wasn’t quite buying the H/bf’s platonic relationship. Obnoxious and un-pc of me but a man and woman being such exclusive and understand-each-other-so-perfectly friends is out of my small mind’s comprehension. He was friends with her brother at ?Eton but lost touch, but apparently not with Minette. So, there was never a spark, ever? In what 15-20 years? Where is Lord Woolwich, the husband? I think the author should have addressed the evolution of their relationship- either shown a brief and petered out dalliance or actually stated that they never felt anything for each other. These completely opposite personalities with a no-one-understands-me-better-than-her/him tagline made me twitchy - like every time a character who encroaches into that exclusive h/H special space, does.
Strangely the h also accepts that they are just-friends without even a thought/doubt entering her mind. So, it was just me and my fastidious small mindedness that grabbed at this bone and refused to let go.
The things this book does better? The h's rock solid I'm-no-victim-ness and the grouchy H's occasional dry-humor thoughts. (The H from the other book is a complete dry stick with no understanding of humor whatsoever.)
Actually this is a good book that suffers only in comparison. -
*** Book Q & A***
* How did the book make you feel?: I loved this book. I read it in one sitting.
* How do you feel about how the story was told?: It’s told in dual POV and it is easy to understand both characters’ motivations—though infuriating. There were a few typos, but not so many that it detracted from the story.
* What did you think about the main characters?: I loved the h’s spunk and courage in the face of total ruin. I hate that she fell victim to her brother. I was expecting a big grovel from the H but he redeemed himself in other ways with his steadfast loyalty to his family, and sudden possessiveness.
* Which parts of the book stood out to you?: I loved when the H revealed his true feelings. I also loved Minette’s advice.
* What themes/tropes did you detect in the story?: Abandoned wife, secret baby, second chance romance
* What did you think about the ending?: I loved the epilogue. I had wanted more grovel, but it’s certainly implied the H is doing his damnedest to make things right with the H with the honeymoon and lavishing affection and time on his family.
* What is your impression of the author?: I enjoy this author’s historical romance. Needs a bit more editing, but I enjoyed the story very much.
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The H blackmailed into marriage resulting in an unwanted wife situation is probably my very favorite trope, so I one-clicked this bad boy as soon as I saw it on KU. It might be because I set my expectations too high or being a bit under the weather, but The Discarded Wife was just “ok” for me.
Sophie’s brother (unbeknownst to her) blackmailed Tristan, Lord Aberley into marrying his sister. Assuming she was in on it, Tristan wasn’t very kind to Sophie and divorced her at his first opportunity. The book opens several years later with Tristan quickly leaning he has a son and much needed heir.
The Good
✅Tristan is a giant jerk.
✅Sophie has some backbone.
✅ The OW best friend is kind and supportive.
✅ Believable “Hero growth”
The Not-So Good
❌ Not super great chemistry
❌ Not super likable mc’s
❌The conflict/anger parts went on for too long (IMHO)
❌ No deep emotions or feels
Bottom Line- Not bad but not great… just ok. It was slow at times, and I skimmed, it was entertaining at times, but I never really truly connected to the characters. -
It began very good, I couldn’t put it down but the last third of it was not believable much. And there was no grovel, just declaration of H’s feelings.
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3.5 stars
The Discarded Wife was a nice Historical Romance with great characters. I especially loved how independent Sophie was, and didn't just roll over when her ex-husband started demanding things. Lord Aberley is a man who is used to getting what he wants and doesn't take no for an answer. What I liked the most about this book was the the characters stayed true to themselves. There wasn't a major personality change that came out of nowhere. Lord Aberley, was his broody entitled self and was very rude at times. However, the author did an incredible job in showing another side to him, without turning him into a new person. I also liked that the author took her time to tell the story, and show of the two characters got reacquainted again. They were really getting to know one another for the first time, even though they were married before.
The only reason I gave this book 3.5 stars was because I wanted more romance. All the romance happened the last 20% of the book, which just didn't satisfy my romance loving heart. I think I would've loved for this book to be a bit longer, so I could see the characters interact more after they realized they were developing feelings for each other. Overall a solid Historical Romance with a great flow, which kept me interested until the end. I actually finished this book in one sitting. I will definitely check out other books by this author. -
This was a great CO book! Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of CO, nor am I a fan of the "discarded wife" trope. However, I took a chance with this one and loved it! I honestly cannot get enough of snobby asshat heroes. The ruder the better. And you know why? Because it makes the groveling soooooo much better.
What I liked about the book....
#1. CO's smooth and easy writing. Dialogue between characters was like butta! I love realistic and matter-of-fact conversations between our MC's. Please, let us not drag out the story with a bunch of tomfoolery (I've always wanted to use that word in a review).
#2. The heroine DID. NOT. TAKE. SHIT!! I love that CO gave the heroine have a damn backbone, but she had manners and made wise decisions. Thank you!
#3. Give me all the jealous and green-eyed men you can! I just swoon when the H has all these confusing and contradictory feelings! "I hate this woman, and yet I want to bang her" Also known as Mr. Darcy 101: Basic introduction into being a stuffy, snobby, pigheaded man.
#4. TENSION, people! There is a bunch of it!. So much that I decided to knock off a star because at 60% I was screaming at my poor phone "JUST BONE ALREEADY!!!!!!!!!" My dear husband was confused and intrigued. I had to explain to him. He did not understand- he just heard "bone".
#5. A man redeeming himself and groveling is always the pièce de résistance. You can be a psycho. You can be a douche. You can do all kinds of nasty crap, but if you grovel properly, I will forgive you on behalf of the heroine.
Anyway, if you want a nice read that has all the above and then some (including a not annoying small child) then this is for you! I
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3 stars
I was a little worried when I started this book. A hero who divorced and kicked the heroine out of his house? And they have a child? But, soon when I found out (as I didn't read the blurb) that it was not a love marriage and that he was forced in it and he believed she was part of the scheming, and that he does not know about the child, I was calmer. Even though the heroine marrying and loving(!) another man (who later died) still weirded me out - but on the other hand that was very refreshing (even in contemporary romance that's unheard of - a heroine being in love and sleeping with a guy who is not the hero?! - let alone in historical romance), so kudos to the author for that.
I loved that the heroine had a serious backbone, she was very resilient and she didn't let the hero bully her into accepting his demands.
I was very excited that the relationship was developing gradually. However, the problem was that the couple seemed to get together before the development was done! The hero gets attracted to her after seeing her half-naked and boom, they're together. I get it that it's a short book, but still. I didn't buy their feelings, so I felt awkward about them being together (especially on the heroine's part). Now that I think of it, I don't think there were actually ILYs exchanged (except the hero revealing his feelings in different words) ... huh. Still, until that point it was an enjoyable read - the getting-together part just happened too abruptly.
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POV: 3rd person (dual)
story: 3.5
writing: 3.5
heroine: Sophie, in her 20s (?), a widower. 4 stars. She was a very strong heroine!
hero: Tristan (Lord Aberley), 38y, lord. 3.5 stars. He wasn't as bad as I expected in the beginning.
secondary characters: 3
couple/romance: 3
instalove? No, the relationship developes gradually (but not fully, IMO).
steam: Lowish. One (descriptive) sex scene.
angst: Moderate.
enjoyment: 3
ending: -
Reread August 2020. Very very good.
2019: So so good, could not put it down. Of course a bit unreal (not so strict or true to times) but who cares. H was truly awful but his development and character beautifully described, had me smiling as he slowly fell in love. The h was just fantastic. Five stars if the h had also fallen in love in a believable way, now she just loved him from one page to the next. -
I really liked
An Absent Wife by the same author and reading the blurb, it seems to be quite the same kind of story with an abandoned wife coming back from the past...
This one was dispappointing!!
First, the hero was really unlikable. In the first book, Lysander was a jerk at the beginning but he quiclky starts to redeem himself. Here, Tristan kept being a jerk for more than half of the story!!
He was mocking her for being poor, constantly looking down on her, a lot of disdain from his part. He treated her so badly, calling her a creature... I really didn't like him.
The heroine, Sophie, was not any better. I liked her in the first part when she faced him and didn't let him intimidate her.
But in the 2nd half when they were at the Hall, geez she was so annoying. And violent!!
I get that she wanted to protect her son from his influence but the moment you signed the certificate and moved to his house, you need to compromise lady...
The romance was the worst. I felt as the story revolved around little Alfie. Tristan's chapters (his POV) were mainly focused on his relationship with his son, with Sophie being mentionned here and there.
It was like the main plot here was a father getting to know his son, and the romance was the secondary. I felt so robbed! We even had to share those meager Sophie/Tristan moments with Minette, or Herman or the young vicar at the end.
I only kept reading because it was angsty. They kept fighting and you anticipate the moment they will realize their feelings for each story and start anew, but guess what? It happened at 85%% lmao!!
What a joke!! 85% for a mere kiss... And of course, the last 15% felt rushed as we didn't get a real romance!!
1.5 stars. -
A very good story, but some things about the editing bothered me; this is a historical romance book, and though, for most part the author got the tone right; did they really say “icky” or refer to “bellybuttons” during Victorian times? I’m not an expert, but I don’t somehow think so. Also, would the lord of the manor really have saddled his own horse? Just minor things that distracted from the overall enjoyment.
This is an enemies to lovers book. The Hero and heroine first married under forced circumstances that leads the husband to resent his wife and his marriage. As soon as he is able to dissolve the marriage, he throws his young wife out and divorces her. He refuses to see or talk to her so he does not know that she is pregnant.
The heroine goes on with her life, she marries a good and kind man who loves her and becomes father to her child. Though they are not wealthy, the heroine loves him back and is truly distressed when he dies six years later, making her a widow.
It is at this time that the Hero, finally feeling the need for an heir,finds out that his ex-wife has a 6 year old child that could very well be his. He selfishly plots to acquire an heir without bothering with marriage, and the story progresses from here.
There is a clash of wills since, contrary to Hero’s expectations, the heroine will not give up her child, and most especially not to a cold unfeeling character that is her ex-husband. I liked that the heroine was strong and not a push-over. It is certainly a revelation to her ex since he actually remembers her as a demure person.
I liked that the romance of this was a slow burn and the characters really had to get to know one another before they give in to the attraction. The husband had been labouring under misconceptions of the past, so he has had to change his perception of the heroine.
It is a well done story. The heroine has principle and strength of character, and though the Hero is arrogant and unyielding at first, the reader comes to know that this is because his upbringing. Also, his views had been coloured by the circumstances that surrounded their first marriage. Over all he isn’t mean or cruel to the heroine, just overbearing. There is no other woman, rather, there is a female friend of the Hero, who is the one who helps the couple realise their feelings for each other.
Available on KindleUnlimited. -
This was not a great read nor a bad one, just okay. A very easy read. Tristen got on my nerves for most of the book. I like that Sophie stood up for herself. She never succumbed to self pity. I also wonder if the author has children. Alfie was well behaved, did as he was told, never asked questions... you know the typical 7 year old. I hate when authors write so unrealistic kids. She missed an opportunity for humor. I might try another book by this author.
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I’m not sure how historically accurate this is, particularly the divorce process, but I went with it.
Particularly liked his gradual defrosting, to start he was aloof, cold and judgmental, and he gradually changes but still has a certain level of aloofness, it ties well with his childhood backstory. Circumstances have left her with little choices, yet she’s a strong character.
Almost 4 stars -
🎁 FREE on Amazon today (5/25/2019)! 🎁
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There’s no love.
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I'm going with 2.5 stars for two reasons: The book certainly held my attention but the hero was a real dick. I just don't feel that he redeemed himself, it was pure luck that the wife that he kicked out, leaving her penniless, found another husband. A more realistic scenario would have found her in either a poorhouse or a whorehouse. Secondly, I had a hard time with the sentence structure, sometimes I had to reread a sentence three or four times to make sense of it. It was very jarring.
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Jerk wad hero divorces heroine then later decides finding someone to marry and breed is too much effort when he hears rumor that the ex’s son may be his. This is supposed to be a story about two people with a brief history of nothing but bad somehow discover it was love all along. I found the hero to be so unsympathetic I was never able to engage in his story of growth.
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It's okay, an easy quick read with a very interesting premise. I contemplated between 2 and 3 stars.
I absolutely loved Sophie!! She was a boss. She wasn't obnoxious, she wasn't self pitying, she was a strong woman who dealt with the cards she was handed. Alfie was super cute, but seemed a little bit too mellow for a six year old child. Tristan was my lest favourite part of the story,He treated Sophie so badly, especially in the beginning. I did enjoy his evolution as a character, I just didn't like the romance, the switch from hating each other to a sexy time relationship seemed very abrupt. Most of the book is about his relationship with his son, so him developing feelings along with the heroine, seemed extremely rushed. I did not get a feel of the sexual chemistry or leading up to love between MCs, then one horse riding lesson later, random sex scene and bam. Also her dead husband of 6 years who raised her son as his own, like how do you get over him so fast??????? it's like he never existed except as a plot point.
This book started of very strong but seem to have lost its way somewhere along the way. -
3 stars, sophie was such a good character. she never developed feelings or attraction towards her ex husband and had a backbone of steel considering how he’d treated her in the past. instead, we see that tristan is gradually way more affected by the return of her presence in his life.
also, this book was a good example of how you can create an atmosphere of tension and present an angsty estranged couple with the classic unwanted wife trope without throwing in mistresses and cheating. -
I really liked the heroine. She has a backbone and she didn't start out strong. She became who she is out of necessity and that is believable. I am honestly surprised as to why this book didn't get more stars!
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Intrigue originale. Une petite ressemblance à "Kramer contre Kramer" mais à l'ère victorienne qui se finit bien mieux que le film .... J'ai beaucoup apprécié les différents personnages et l'auteure nous montre bien l'évolution des sentiments des principaux protagonistes.
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a blurb like that deserves more angst in actual execution
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I haven't finished this story yet but I'm starting my review now.
This was a really interesting novel. I enjoyed the plot but in all of the stories I've read regarding historical romance, this was incredibly far fetched. Listen, I understand all the stories are made up but they still have to adhere to some rules.
This gets kind of spoilery. Beware.
Lord Aberley was somehow forced into marriage with this nobody young lady due to some mysterious scandal with his sister. Being a Lord he always thought he'd have a wife with a pedigree and unfortunately Sophie does not have that. He winds up randomly divorcing Sophie after his sister's death because he's no longer beholden to her family due to this unknown scandal.
Unbeknownst to him Sophie is preggo when he divorces her but he completely cuts ties with her family. After making one attempt to let him know of her condition and being turned away, her brother sets her up with a kind man who knows she's in a situation and he winds up marrying her and raising her son as his own. After about 5 years though, the guy dies and Sophie takes over running his shop.
This is where the story gets complicated. Lord Aberley finds his bride with a pedigree but she winds up leaving him for someone with a bigger title and this is where Tristan decides that women are trash and he would much rather not get married. Sophie's lawyer spills the beans that she has a son that might be his and Tristan is like "Ah! Instead of getting married, I'll just spirit this child away from his mother and raise him as my heir!"
This kid has another man on his birth certificate... I mean... in every romance I've read, the hero/heroine always have an expedited wedding so the child won't be born out of wedlock and the father can claim the child as his heir, otherwise the child is a bastard and not entitled to his/her inheritance.
So among dire circumstances, Tristan is able to coerce Sophie into living with him and signing off on his parental rights to Alfie.
It just didn't make sense to me. They were divorced when he was born. He has another man listed as his father on his birth certificate. It just doesn't add up.
Fine! It's fantasy! Whatever.
I think Oster, did a good job of turning Tristan's character to appreciate Sophie but I still paused at her legally agreeing to Tristan being Alfie's father.
Because! The way I see that playing out, is once Tristan has that, there's really nothing Sophie could do if he wanted to throw her out on her ear and raise Alfie however he pleases. In my head this would have been a story of Tristan getting rid of Sophie and years later, Alfie reuniting with her when he has more control over his life.
But we get to see Tristan turn around and realize that Sophie is just a mom looking out for the welfare of their child. I did appreciate it was pointed out that Sophie is a good looking dame and would be able to easily find a husband with her looks. But at the same time... how is she not some kind of piranha in the village due to the circumstances? Anyways, once Tristan leave to go back to London, she, Alfie and the tutor do a good job of playing house with each other and it's constantly pointed out how comfortable everyone is while Lord Aberley is gone.
But of course Lord Aberley picks up on this and is like "Huh, I need to get rid of this tutor before he takes my sons mom away from me." And he does and of course Sophie is like "HEY! Stop trying to ruin my life." And Aberley is like "So she DID like him. Good thing I got rid of him."
My issue though, is that Aberley is a pretty toxic dude, so it would be nice for Sophie to settle down with someone a little more chill. Someone who is happy to have informal dinners. Alas that is not Sophie's lot in life.
The best part of this story was Minette. I loved her. I love me some good old fashioned female comradery.
Anyway, the ending felt kind of rushed. I think it made sense for Aberley to start seeing Sophie in a different light but it would have been nice for him to apologize to her for needlessly divorcing, causing her a great scandal, leaving her when she was most vulnerable which required her to find safety in another mans household. But we never get to see that complete 180. And honestly, that's the major reason I had a problem with this story. Aberley is an incredibly toxic person but they never have a candid conversation about how horribly he treated her in the past. And how does Sophie know he won't do that again? He broke her trust in a really horrible way and we're just supposed to get over that? It just didn't sit well with me. -
What a fantastic premise! And, darn it, it could have been a great book. Why, in the age of e-books do authors write such short books? Is it the desire to publish quickly and get the $ or because they don't have the skill to properly develop the story? If possible, I'd take this premise and give it the love and attention it deserves.
And why does the heroine not wear a corset and therefore, walk about with THOs the entire novel? My great-grandmother was born in 1887 into a working-class family in Northern England and let me tell you, she wore a corset in the 1970's. Not a bra. A corset. And she was buried in one. If she could afford them, the heroine could have as well, especially after selling her bookstore for the stupidest reason ever. Sorry. I really wanted to like it. -
Not a fun read. It drags. It probably is realistic though. The hero starts falling in love wayyyy too late in the book for this to be considered romantic. This book shouldn't even be under that genre. What happened to the brother and what was the history with the sister?! Us and the heroine are totally clueless. 'I was blackmailed!' Alright. With what? The hero needed to always been attracted to the heroine and him dumping her without a confrontation needed to be hugely jarring. I do like the heroine, she was driven and loving. The hero had nothing going for him, like at all. Skip. Go writing though, but no for romance.
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The heroine is my new idol.
I’m her fan, her follower, her humble subject.
The first part is exhilarating.
The poor woman had quite a hard life, since her cad of a brother blackmailed the hero to marry her, without her knowing anything and the hero divorced her, throwing her out of his house some months later without any explanation.
She found herself pregnant and couldn’t tell the hero because he prevented her to get near him.
She married a good and honest man, but quite impoverished, that made her happy and was a good father to her son until he died of consumption some years later.
The hero then, who was just been jilted by his convenience fiancée, found out that the heroine’s son was his and decided that he would have the heir without a wife.
The hero. A schizoid if ever I’ve seen one. He has a very limited range of emotions and has zero to none empathy. A potential sociopath. He thinks himself a victim of the heroine and her brother and hates them together with the rest of human race.
He wants the child, as his heir, and tries to buy him from his ex wife.
I recommend everyone to read this part, which takes one third of the book, because the heroine couldn’t have slain him more had she had a katana in her hand. Or a hatchet. Or a uzi.
He goes back to her several times and she doesn’t spare him her contempt, her hate and everything she thinks of him. That he’s a monster. That he’s unfit to raise anything, let alone a child. That she'd rather live in a poorhouse than near him. And when he tries to threaten her and her livelihood she tells him quite frankly that she will go to Australia instead of staying with him.
How I loved her.
And no, she was never in love with him, nor she was in lust.
She tried to be a good wife until she understood he didn’t want her, stop.
But no tender feelings or unrequited love for the sob.
Thank god and the author for this.
Sadly her cad of a brother ends in prison and she has to eventually go and live at the hero’s country house with the child since she had to pay to save her brother.
This was a letdown for me.
She knew her brother only used her and was a dishonest guy, she should have left him rot in prison but we wouldn’t have a book…
The hero never liked her and wasn’t attracted by her when they first wed, because he thought her a conniving dishonest bitch, but now that he understands she was innocent he is able to see her with new eyes…
Those two are like cat and dog, she doesn’t like him and he’s quite a brooding grinch. But he starts liking his son and the child warms to him.
It’s a slow burn, and more on the hero’s side than the heroine’s.
I liked her, a very resilient and sensible woman. She doesn’t pine after the hero, after what he did to her, even knowing he thought her guilty with her brother, she doesn’t like him until the end, and at one point she even thinks she likes her son’s young tutor and could one day marry him. Not a doormat here.
It will be the hero the pursuer, and she eventually decides she will have him, again.
The hero had a lonely and emotionally poor childhood, without any real affection, and he’s not the most easygoing of men, so it’s a real effort on his part to surrender to the love he feels for the first time for the heroine.
Very slow burn, very nice and clean, with their first kiss at 80% of the book, but I must say I wasn’t bothered.
Of course none of them was celibate, he had mistresses but doesn’t seem a profligate, and she married a man she came to love and had a pleasant intimacy with him, while their first marriage was disastrous on that side too.
I missed his apology though, for the very poor treatment of her during and after their marriage, even if he thought her guilty. He could have asked her.
The hero has an interesting matchmaking female friend, I loved her.
A nice and ok reading.
