Review: Loved Rose - hated Gil! (Spoilers ahead)
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 14, 2014
Gil is forced into a marriage with Rose due to his father's gambling habits, even though his heart belongs to another. Instead of treating Rose with kindness (its not like the reason they got married was her fault), he beds her, treats her appallingly the second night and then runs away to London. There, he stays away for five years, sleeping with multiple women, living the carefree life of a bachelor and has his lawyer correspond with his wife because he…can't be bothered, I guess.Then Rose comes to London, they meet but Gil doesn't recognise her and they have an affair. She ends up pregnant, she writes to him as his wife, telling him she is expecting a baby, and when he goes to see her, he finds out she is in fact the woman he had a brief affair with in London.What I found ridiculous was he was angry at her for her deception, making comments about whether the baby was in fact his, when he'd been whoring around London. But that's okay, he's a man and he can do no wrong, right?Then when the tragedy happens, he of course isn't around. He allows her to be humiliated, knowing his mistresses have turned up to see her, and yet doesn't really do anything about it. He was such a weak, pathetic character that I cared very little for him. Yes he felt bad for the way he treated her, but all we got was his guilty thoughts. If he'd just told her, apologised in person…well, I suppose we wouldn't really have a story. And that's okay. But what wasn't okay was she was expected to forget his past, forget he had many mistresses, forget the way he treated her, but he could hold onto his grudge about how he was forced to marry her, making her feel like it was her fault.I do believe if Rose's father hadn't gone to see him at the end of the book, he wouldn't have gone to see her at all. I think he would have gone back to his former ways, forgetting about his wife, telling himself it was for the best to assuage his guilt.The reason it gets 3 stars and not a lesser rating was because I loved Rose. She was smart, a hard worker, independent, genuine, caring….way too good for Gil and his peers. And I felt for her, for everything she went through. Her character was written beautifully and she was a fantastic heroine. But I was disappointed when at the end, all Gil had to say was he's really sorry (that took a small paragraph) and an 'I love you' and all is instantly forgiven. Felt like a slap in the face, a bit of a cop out, just to give them a HEA. If the ending hadn't been so rushed, and the author had taken time for Gil to be a little more redeemable, it could have been a great story.3 stars for Rose :)